CFS: How to Optimize Performance in Combat Flight Simulator (179350)

MORE INFORMATION

To optimize performance in Combat Flight Simulator, find a balance between the number of sound and display features you enable and the frame rate you can maintain. The frame rate is the speed at which images or frames are drawn on the screen, and is often measured in frames per second (fps). The appearance of realistic motion improves as the frame rate increases.

Performance in Combat Flight Simulator depends on both the features that you select and the configuration of your computer. A set of features that you select on one computer may not result in the same level of performance as an identical set of features on a different computer.

A computer that has a fast Pentium processor, sufficient memory, a 3D video accelerator card, and more recent device drivers can maintain a higher level of performance than a computer that barely meets the minimum system requirements.

To optimize performance in Combat Flight Simulator, you must optimize your hardware configuration, configure Combat Flight Simulator for the best performance, and then monitor the frame rate when you select your preferred features and settings.

To do this, use the following methods.

Quit Unnecessary Programs

To increase the amount of available system resources, quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer before you start Flight Simulator 98 or Flight Simulator 2000.

To quit all unnecessary programs, use the appropriate method for your version of Microsoft Windows.

Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
2. In the Close Program dialog box, click any program except Explorer or Systray (which are components of Microsoft Windows), and then click End Task.
   
   If you receive a message stating that the program is busy or not responding, click End Task again.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer.

Microsoft Windows 2000

1. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC.
2. On the Applications tab, click any program, and then click End Task.
   
   Repeat this step to quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your computer.
3. Quit Windows Task Manager.

NOTE: Some programs start automatically every time you restart your computer. For information about how to disable these programs, see the printed or online documentation for the program.

Optimize Your Hardware Configuration

To optimize your hardware configuration:

1. Contact your video hardware manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest version of the video driver for your video adapter.
2. Contact your audio hardware manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest version of the sound driver for your sound card.

Set the display color palette to 256 colors:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. In the Colors or Color Palette box, click 256 Colors, and then click OK.
5. If you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.

Configure the Program for the Best Performance

To configure Combat Flight Simulator for the best performance:

1. Disable stereo sound and reduce the audio sample rate in the program. To do this:
   1. Quit Combat Flight Simulator.
   2. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories,and then click Notepad.
   3. On the File menu, click Open.
   4. Type the line listed below (including the quotation marks), and then click OK

      "drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator\Combatfs.cfg"

      where drive is the letter of the hard disk on which Combat Flight Simulator is installed.
   5. Type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line, and then press ENTER again after you type the last line:

      [SOUND]
      Channels=1
      SamplesPerSec=11025

   6. On the File menu, click Save.
   7. On the File menu, click Exit.
      
      NOTE: To restore stereo sound, type a SEMICOLON (;) at the beginning of the Channels=1 line. To restore the default audio sample rate, type a SEMICOLON (;) at the beginning of the SamplesPerSec=11025 line.
2. Disable weather options in Combat Flight Simulator. To do this:
   1. Start Combat Flight Simulator, and then click Fly Now.
   2. On the World menu, click Time And Weather.
   3. Click Haze in the Clouds box, and then click None in the Wind box.
   4. Click OK.
3. Reduce scenery complexity and display preferences in Combat Flight Simulator to their minimum settings. To do this:
   1. On the Options menu, click Settings.
   2. In the Image Complexity box, click Very Sparse.
   3. Click Advanced Display Settings.
   4. Click to clear all selected check boxes under Aircraft and Scenery.
   5. In the Full Screen Resolution box, click 320x200x16.
   6. Click OK.
   7. Under Display, click to select the Enable Hardware Acceleration check box.
      
      NOTE: Hardware acceleration may affect performance in different ways, depending on the video adapter that is installed in the computer. If you disable hardware acceleration in Flight Simulator 2000, performance may improve with some video adapters, and it may decline with other video adapters. If the Enable Hardware Acceleration check box is unavailable, your video adapter may not support 3D hardware acceleration. Contact your hardware manufacturer for more information.
   8. Click OK.
   9. If Combat Flight Simulator is running in Window mode, press ALT+ENTER to switch to Full Screen mode.

Enable Features or Increase Settings in the Program

To finish optimizing performance in Combat Flight Simulator, use the previous methods to enable features or increase settings one at a time. Start with your favorite features, and stop before the minimum frame rate decreases to a level that you consider unacceptable. To display the frame rate, press and hold down SHIFT as you press Z twice.

NOTE: The frame rate in Full Screen mode is faster than the frame rate in Window mode. If you want to enable more features in Flight Simulator, switch to Full Screen mode. To switch between Full Screen mode and Window mode, press ALT+ENTER.