Traffic Limiter option for Planned Airport Ground Lmiting

[Pete Dowson]

On 2/24/2017 at 0:31 PM, f.skywalker said:

i can not find the entry PlannedAirportsPreference in my fsuipc.ini

I have installed  FSUIPC4963

And did you run the Sim afterwards? The INI cannot be updated until FS is actually run!

Anyway, you can add it manually. All those parameters are manually set in any case -- only the Limiter value can be set in Sim.

[LATER] I'll be making the Limit options appear more readily in 4.964, released today.

Pete

 

[Pete Dowson]

19 minutes ago, Mark777 said:

Is it possible to toggle these settings on and off with a hot key?

There are now offsets for every value in the Limiter, so, yes, you can do what you like with a Lua plug-in or external program.

21 minutes ago, Mark777 said:

Is it also possible to toggle the traffic slider on and off with a hot key?  (This I think is a yes).

Traffic Slider in FS? You can certainly assign a button or keypress to toggle it or set a value. It's a long-existent FSUIPC control.

Pete

 

[Mark777]

Great news, thanks Pete.

[Mark777]

Pete, which document do I need to review to find the offsets for Traffic.  I looked through the LUA and Offset document but did not see it.   thanks.

[Pete Dowson]

10 minutes ago, Mark777 said:

Pete, which document do I need to review to find the offsets for Traffic.

As the "Changes" document said, the one accompanying FSUIPC 4.963 in the same ZIP file, this is already covered in the FSUIPC Offsets document actually installed for you!

I really do recommend reading the documents accompanying each new release!

Pete

 

[Mark777]

OK thanks, I was looking at an older FSUIPC version documents.  I have updated now and I think I have them

 

86E0 2 Traffic Limiter: limit value Intl Intl
86E2 1 Traffic Limiter: target frame rate value Intl Intl
86E3 1 Traffic Limiter: ground preference value Intl Intl
86E4 1 Traffic Limiter: planned airports preference value Intl Intl
86E5 1 Traffic Limiter: airports preference value Intl Intl
86E6 1 Traffic Limiter: near preference value Intl Intl
86E7 1 Traffic Limiter: reserved Intl Intl
9540 64 Current aircraft Profile name (63 chars aSCII + zero term). Intl No

 

Next step is to try to write an LUA to turn them off and on as desired.

[Sabrefly]

On 2/25/2017 at 8:14 PM, Mark777 said:

OK thanks, I was looking at an older FSUIPC version documents.  I have updated now and I think I have them

 

86E0 2 Traffic Limiter: limit value Intl Intl
86E2 1 Traffic Limiter: target frame rate value Intl Intl
86E3 1 Traffic Limiter: ground preference value Intl Intl
86E4 1 Traffic Limiter: planned airports preference value Intl Intl
86E5 1 Traffic Limiter: airports preference value Intl Intl
86E6 1 Traffic Limiter: near preference value Intl Intl
86E7 1 Traffic Limiter: reserved Intl Intl
9540 64 Current aircraft Profile name (63 chars aSCII + zero term). Intl No

 

Next step is to try to write an LUA to turn them off and on as desired.

Mark, please don't forget to share it here when it's ready, thanks!  :)

Igor.

[Powayjoe]

Hi Pete

I have an issue I can't figure out.

I have installed the latest registered version of FSUIPC 4.963 on my flight sim PC and WideFS on my client PC and everything works as it should.

However when I went to use the AI Limiter my .ini file only has 3 options to set not the full 5.

I have:  NEARPREFERENCES      TARGETFRAMERATE      and     TRAFFICLIMIT

I set these 3 and even loaded a flight plan but I can't seem to figure out why I don't have GROUNDPREFERENCE and AIRPORTPREFERENCE  options available in my .ini file?

In a previous version I had and was able was able to set GROUNDPREFERENCE before you added the recent additional settings.

Please advise

Joe

[Pete Dowson]

8 hours ago, Powayjoe said:

However when I went to use the AI Limiter my .ini file only has 3 options to set not the full 5.

I have:  NEARPREFERENCES      TARGETFRAMERATE      and     TRAFFICLIMIT

I set these 3 and even loaded a flight plan but I can't seem to figure out why I don't have GROUNDPREFERENCE and AIRPORTPREFERENCE  options available in my .ini file?

Did you delete the previous additions? You never need to do that!

You can put them in manually, but download 4.964 instead and use that. It will be uploaded to the usual places within the hour. There are several bugs fixed.

Pete

 

[Pete Dowson]

On 2/24/2017 at 0:31 PM, f.skywalker said:

Hallo Pete,

i can not find the entry PlannedAirportsPreference in my fsuipc.ini

I have installed  FSUIPC4963

You can add it if you like. I'll make it appear more magically in 4.964, releeased later today. There are some minor bugs in 4.963 in any case.

Pete

On 2/24/2017 at 6:35 PM, Mark777 said:

s it possible to toggle these settings on and off with a hot key?

Is it also possible to toggle the traffic slider on and off with a hot key?  (This I think is a yes).

On the latter you can assign a key or button to the traffic contols implemented in FSUIPC long ago.

For the FSUIPC limiter values you'd need to use an Offset control (Offset Word for the limit, Offset Byte for the other values) to change the values, or have a Lua plug-in to change the offsets for you.

Pete

 

[Powayjoe]

Pete

Thanks for fixing the "missing" entries in the FSUIPC.ini file regarding Aircraft Limiters with version 4.964. I assume they are working but I manually added them yesterday before the release so when I installed the latest release over the previous as I always do they didn't change and the values I had set stayed the same, so again I can't be sure they would have shown up since I had already manually added them.

On another note can you tell me if there is a negative impact if I set the P3D AI slider too high when using MT6 since if I use the Frame Rate Limiter option it would remedy the higher aircraft count automatically. I traditionally have been setting my slider around 20% and the number of aircraft in your app to 100. So if I were to theoretically increase the slider to 100% and all of the FSUIPC limiter settings stay the same wouldn't the aircraft be the same? Or would the number of deletion responses increase so that I would see momentary stutters or performance hits and therefore I should strive for an optimum slider % for AI in P3D combined with the relevant settings in FSUIPC?

I am just trying to best understand how to maintain realism while minimizing frame rate hits. I run a 30 Hz  4K TV  at 30 FPS with Vsync and TB and my system runs well as long as I don't drop below 30 FPS for too long and obviously AI can do that. I try to achieve the same results as you do with airports being more loaded with some activity happening there and less in the skies around me.

 

Thanks for your great value added to our hobby and also for your timely efforts!

Joe

[Pete Dowson]

13 minutes ago, Powayjoe said:

On another note can you tell me if there is a negative impact if I set the P3D AI slider too high when using MT6 since if I use the Frame Rate Limiter option it would remedy the higher aircraft count automatically.

There should be virtually no performance impact as the deletions happen immediately as each aircraft is added, whether it is that one deleted or another (according to the settings etc). The only possible impact I know of depends on whether the memory used by the initial loading of the aircraft is regained immediately, later, or not at all. I cannot tell you that, but it is probably one of the first two.

So far I've not noticed an increase in VAT usage just from raising the slider value, but that's something you'll need to see for yourself.

Some folks say that traffic being injected into the Sim by UT2 or similar will cause a problem after deletions by re-injecting them, but I've not found that -- it seems to behave well. I have my FS/P3D slider set at about 60% with MT6 and the UT2 ones at 40% and 30%

Pete

 

[Sabrefly]

21 minutes ago, Pete Dowson said:

There should be virtually no performance impact as the deletions happen immediately as each aircraft is added, whether it is that one deleted or another (according to the settings etc). The only possible impact I know of depends on whether the memory used by the initial loading of the aircraft is regained immediately, later, or not at all. I cannot tell you that, but it is probably one of the first two.

So far I've not noticed an increase in VAT usage just from raising the slider value, but that's something you'll need to see for yourself.

Some folks say that traffic being injected into the Sim by UT2 or similar will cause a problem after deletions by re-injecting them, but I've not found that -- it seems to behave well. I have my FS/P3D slider set at about 60% with MT6 and the UT2 ones at 40% and 30%

Pete

 

Guys, please note, in some dense areas and heavy ariports, like LA area, if you set the ingame sliders too high, then no matter what you limit is in FSUIPC the scenario will crash right at the start. I've seen it in many airports, partly with some of them due to poor design. But this is a serious factor, unfortunately. I wish I could keep my ingame traffic sliders at 100%and limit the number of AI in FSUIPC only or could change them dynamically without going to P3D's UI.

Igor.

PS: MT6 here and I'm speaking about add-on planes, areas and airport at mid to high gfx settings. 

[Pete Dowson]

20 minutes ago, Sabrefly said:

Guys, please note, in some dense areas and heavy ariports, like LA area, if you set the ingame sliders too high, then no matter what you limit is in FSUIPC the scenario will crash right at the start.

Which Sim is this? I've never had such a crash and have tested the limiter all the time up to release with 100% on the FS/P3D slider. What sort of crash is it, in which module?

I only reduced mine now, but to a level which still gives me most airlines, because I wanted to balance the mix better with what I have UT2 also doing. At Aerosoft Heathrow, before I started limiting, I was getting up to 600 total aircraft (not all on the airfield itself of course) within a short time of starting up.

24 minutes ago, Sabrefly said:

I wish I could keep my ingame traffic sliders at 100%and limit the number of AI in FSUIPC only or could change them dynamically without going to P3D's UI.

You can set different FS slider levels using FSUIPC controls. I'm pretty sure those work in P3D too.

Pete

 

 

 

[Sabrefly]

This is P3D, same was in FSX-SE. try to load AI at 100% in say FSDT LAX, FTX SCA with Scenery DENSE, Autogen Dense, Trees Dense. Never worked here, I can load a scenario at 40% max even a little less only.

Igor.

 

Pete, try to launch P3D with 100% traffic in a PMDG or even AS Airbus in FSDT KJFK v2 with high GFX settings and some wx clouds, and you won't even get into the scenario. But please don't use your cockpit, you need a heavy VAS plane. 

[Sabrefly]

There was a thread on avsim discussing your new Limiter with references to the same, so the consensus was about 40% was good enough. Try Imaginesim KATL with 40% Airliene slider and you won't get into the scenario either. It's all VAS related, even though it might show some decent VAS available, there's no continuous free block left when AI slider is too high at launch. 

 

PS: Sorry about the AI Traffic sliders Controls available in FSUIPC, I recall I even used some of them. Now I need to work them from a wideclient... (Traffic Density Set)

 

PPS: Why I'd like traffic sliders at 100% and control the number in FUSIPC Limiter - there's better chance I'll see more rare flights = more variety.

I have just tried our beloved EGLL /UK2000 at 100% - and it loads ok, what a design!!  :D

[Pete Dowson]

2 hours ago, Sabrefly said:

Pete, try to launch P3D with 100% traffic in a PMDG or even AS Airbus in FSDT KJFK v2

Ah, I don't have any of those, but I see the problem you have. It's going to run out not only of memory very quickly, but probably also of available object handles.

Overload your Sim in any way and you'll get a crash. it isn't specifically the number of AI.

1 hour ago, Sabrefly said:

have just tried our beloved EGLL /UK2000 at 100% - and it loads ok, what a design!!  :D

Well, I have both UK2000 and Aerosoft EGLL, and I currently use the Aerosoft one because it's quite significantly faster. Both are okay here with 100% traffic (in the sense they don't crash).

I don't recall ever having a crash with AI except maybe long ago with some bad AI aircraft models -- with 100% you are more likely to pick up obscure ones which yo may not otherwise get. I'd check your AI aircraft files if I were you.

Pete

 

[Sabrefly]

7 minutes ago, Pete Dowson said:

Overload your Sim in any way and you'll get a crash. it isn't specifically the number of AI.

 

It's combination of many factors of course, but AI at 100% being the main one that suffocates the sim out of VAS and what not in certain scenarios. Set it at 30 and I can fly all day long with the same settings and sceneries.

Thanks,

Igor.

[Alti]

Hello Pete, what for Future:

when the Simulator needs more VAS, then delete more AI´s ?

when more VAS for free, more AI´s in the Sim?

[Powayjoe]

Hi Pete

I had one more clarifying question so to be sure I understand something.

When the Target Frame Rate variable is set to 0 (zero) in the .ini file then the limiter will reduce the aircraft to the number set in the Traffic Limit variable right at startup and continuously thereafter whenever the number of aircraft exceed the Traffic Limit setting correct? Or said another way setting Target Frame Rate .ini variable to zero disables the function as if it weren't there. I assume this setting would be the best approach to limit VAS issues?

Thanks in advance

Joe

[Pete Dowson]

On 3/4/2017 at 7:26 PM, Powayjoe said:

When the Target Frame Rate variable is set to 0 (zero) in the .ini file then the limiter will reduce the aircraft to the number set in the Traffic Limit variable right at startup and continuously thereafter whenever the number of aircraft exceed the Traffic Limit setting correct?

Yes, of course. 

Pete

 

[Sabrefly]

Pete, could you share your current settings of [Traffic Limiter] section?

Thanks,

Igor.

[Pete Dowson]

They are adjusting as I see more how Traffic is loading and populating. It's a see what happens and adjust thing. Luckily, you can do that by editing the file and not having to restart FS -- just visit the FSUIPC Options and OK out.

I don't have my current settings set up yet as I've just upgraded my cockpit PC and screens. I'll be sorting it all out when I get back from holiday at the end of the month. I *Know* that my settings will end up very different to before, because now I'm driving three projectors and struggle at busy airports to maintain the VSync of 25Hz.

Pete