X Plane 12 VR is AMAZING NOW!
It’s certainly been a struggle with X Plane 12 VR with issues of blurriness being a constant issue initially. The world has moved on and with it has the blurriness of X Plane 12 VR performance. Personally, I certainly prefer to fly exclusively in virtual reality. I have been a fan of X Plane since the X Plane 11 release that I picked up and now have hundreds of videos on the letsflyvfr.com YouTube channel.
With the release of X Plane 12 I was excited on what improvements would be on offer and how it may improve with a full rewrite of the graphics engine along with ATC, introduction finally of 3D trees 🌳 which is a small thing but makes the sim so much more real.
X Plane 12 vs MSFS 2020
Yes the elephant in the room is always the graphics quality of flight simulators that we all love to fly. I accept MSFS 2020 holds the high ground on graphics. It’s pretty hard to argue but although we talk about graphics it’s also how we interact with a sim.
This is where I fell off the MSFS 2020 wagon. In fact, I have just u installed it because I could not for the life of me get a smooth stutter free experience. I found the navigation of the sim totally foreign from the menus to working the external camera system and menus infuriating. Honestly even back with older Flight simulator releases from Microsoft I felt the same back then. It was with X Plane I immediately felt at home. It was easy to operate cameras and controls. It was simply home and that’s why I continue to pursue flying in X Plane 12 VR.
Frustrations.
I was like many with complex flight simulators, frustrated by all the hours, yes hours spent trying to balance fps, graphics settings and stuttering in an effort to get a smooth fps delivery. It just proved to illusive and frustrating, so I ended the pain!
Common Causes of Game Stuttering.
Stuttering in games is a common problem that many gamers face, and it can be caused by various factors. Stuttering refers to the phenomenon of the game freezing or stuttering during gameplay, causing the player to experience a brief moment of lag. There are several reasons why this may happen, and some of the most common causes include:
• Insufficient hardware: One of the primary reasons for stuttering in games is that the hardware components of your system may not be powerful enough to handle the game’s requirements. If you have an outdated CPU, GPU, or RAM, it may struggle to keep up with the game’s demands, causing it to stutter.
• Graphics settings: Adjusting the graphics settings can also cause stuttering. If you set the graphics settings too high, your system may not be able to keep up, causing the game to stutter. Similarly, if the graphics settings are too low, it may cause the game to stutter.
• Software conflicts: Conflicts between different software applications running on your computer can also cause stuttering. If there are too many programs running in the background, they may interfere with the game’s performance, causing it to stutter.
• Overheating: Overheating can cause your system to slow down and stutter during gameplay. If your system is overheating, it may be time to clean out the dust and upgrade your cooling system.
• Internet connection: A slow or unstable internet connection can cause stuttering in online games, as it may cause delays in the game’s data transmission.
• Game optimization: Poor game optimization is also a common cause of stuttering in games. If the game is not optimized properly, it may cause the game to stutter during gameplay.
In conclusion, stuttering in games can be caused by a range of factors, including insufficient hardware, graphics settings, software conflicts, overheating, internet connection, and poor game optimization. By addressing these issues, you can minimize stuttering and enjoy a smooth gaming experience.
Can You Get Stuttering at High FPS?
The answer is you can get stuttering in any game at any fps but more commonly at lower fps levels. So, what is stuttering? How can I tell if I’m suffering from stuttering and how to fix it in X Plane 12 or other games. It’s the inconsistency in frame delivery where you could get seconds of smooth delivery but then the smooth frames start essentially stopping and being delivered at inconsistent rates.
If you’re getting a steady 30 m/s frame delivery, it’s not ideal but it’s smooth. If your getting frames delivered sub 20m/s then things are good. When you watch your frame delivery with an application like MSI Afterburner or the inbuilt X Plane 12 or MSFS performance monitoring tools you will see the sim producing frames at say 20 fps but then jump to 45 m/s or more then go back to 20 again. This is when you will notice stuttering especially in VR.
Stuttering Causes Fix!
This is an elusive subject because there are so many possible causes. Let’s look at some personal experience to highlight a few.
Heat Is Dangerous.
I recently discovered my AMD RYZEN 5600X was thermal throttling due to heat. I decided to replace my CPU cooler with an aftermarket model similar to the popular HYPER 212 and my temps dropped dramatically. My CPU ran faster and more consistently than ever. Temps dropped and all I hoped would be fixed. It wasn’t to be!
Although much improved my 2D experience was amazing with X Plane 12 mixed on all graphics settings! Yes maxed out with Antialiasing set at 2X. The experience is stutter free and fps around the 50 -60 fps range and frame delivery was around 20 M/s.
The X Plane 12 VR experience proved elusive, and I suffered from bad stuttering even with graphics all at minimum! This left me shaking my head because the stuttering remained regardless. Super frustrated with X Plane 12 at this point one of my own YouTube videos appeared on my feed.
I knew I had had a great experience when doing that video, so I watched and followed my own settings. Magically with X Plane 12 graphics maxed and antialiasing at 2 X I had a smooth 40 fps and a constant frame delivery time around 25 M/s. Life’s good again and have been enjoying some local flights with pleasant results.
Author
Brendon McAliece (Aka Gunnie) is a military veteran with 23 years working on Jet Fighters, their weapons systems and ejection seat/module systems as well as munitions and R&D. Involved with flight simulation since the 1980s, he has flown all the major flight simulators over the years.
He is an Australian expat who has lived in Malaysia, UK, Saudi Arabia and more recently Thailand. He is a multi-lingual blogger who loves to share his life experiences here on LetsFlyVFR.com and DreamingGuitar.com, with his lifestyle and Travel experiences Blog plus his Dreaming Coffee website.
Learn More @ DreamingGuitar.com – DreamingCoffee.com – LetsFlyVFR.com
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