Long loading/infinite time for free flight after pressing "Start flight" - LOD reduce as workaround

Bug Reporting Hub Install, Performance & Graphics
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1

First:
I opened this report as probably several of these issues are reported, maybe with a different background.
I here now just report about that bug which result in an endless loading screen after hitting “start” in free flight, BUT(!) the workaround is to reduce LOD to 10!

Again: maybe other endless loading scenarios do happen, but ith this post I only want to report this specific.

ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Description of the issue:

When setting up a free flight and hitting start, the flight does load endless. Rotating circle on the lower right, ESC on the left.

[PC Only] Did you remove all your community mods/add-ons? If yes, are you still experiencing the issue?

No, but happens with several addon airports, mostly with large amount of PG around.

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

How often does this occur for you (Example: Just once, every time on sim load, intermittently)?

reproduceable, 100%

REPRODUCTION STEPS

Please list clear steps you took in order to help our test team reproduce the same issue:

  1. set up a free flight
  2. press start
  3. wait for loading

However, it probably depends, where you load.
One example is at Aerosoft EDDF airport, JustSim EDDS, just to name a few examples.

It just has occured with SU1 beta.
And the frustrating thing is, that is has reported several times and have been vorted, but the bug has just been ignored :rage:

Extreme loading times of free flights - Alpha/Beta Archive / SU1 Beta Archive - 2024 - Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums

Unable to load into any free flight since 1.3.13.0 - Alpha/Beta Archive / SU1 Beta Archive - 2024 - Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums

Workaround:
works here 100%

  1. Press ESC at that stage if you encounter the endless laoding circle.
  2. Go to settings in the upper right (gear wheel)
  3. Reduce your Terrain LOD to 10
  4. save end back
  5. Press start flight again
  6. Should load now nearly immediately

so, issue has sth to do with LODs.
And AGAIN: was not present for me before SU1 BETA.

7 Likes
2

Nope.

Zooming out helped me.

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5 Likes
3

I think this same issue is somehow occurring during career mission loads too. Trying to load the CL-415 ariel firefighting special mission after the hanger screen and it’s just spinning forever.

1 Like
4

Zooming out only seems to work some of the time. Right now it isn’t working for me–I’ve been waiting over 10 minutes to fly.

4 Likes
5

Lowering TLOD to 10 seems to be the sure fix for this issue. Once you are in, restore it to whatever is desired.

2 Likes
6

Only getting this issue at one airport EGGD. Will have to give suggestions a go

1 Like
7

This issue seems to be unpredictable in my experience. When I do find that flights won’t load unfortunately none of the workarounds make any difference, zooming out, lowering LOD etc. Can’t detect any pattern in why flights sometimes load as normal but then take forever.

2 Likes
8

Hi @guenseli ,
Your title says “long loading time” but in the description you are saying “the flight does load endless”. Could you clarify if after some time you succeed to get in into the flight or you definitively cannot get in and just see the rotating circle ?

3 Likes
9

ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Description of the issue: If you zoom into an airport and select a parking spot and start flight, the loading screen will not load, just infinitely has the spinning circle, with no ssd activity or no network activity. But after getting support in this thread:

I discovered based on a suggestion by another user, that if you zoom right out before starting flight it will load. I was using the A350 by Inibuilds, but i think i had it on other aircraft during the beta too, but only recently seeked out an answer on the forums

[PC Only] Did you remove all your community mods/add-ons? If yes, are you still experiencing the issue?
yes, just tried now, using default A330-200RR, was waiting over 5minute, as soon as i pressed ESC, zoomed out, and it loaded within 1 min

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

How often does this occur for you (Example: Just once, every time on sim load, intermittently)?

dont get much time to fly, and tbh constant ctd’s have massively reduced motivation to use the sim, but it was happening every flight for the few flights i have done (after zooming to airport first)

REPRODUCTION STEPS

Please list clear steps you took in order to help our test team reproduce the same issue:

  1. zoom world map to an airport so you see parking spots
  2. press start flight
  3. see if hangs, then go back using ESC zoom world map out, press start flight see if it starts the flight (i did get ctd once when zooming out after hang once)

System is a 13700kf, 64gb of DDR5, and a RTX3090 & NVME ssd

everytime i get in this way using this hack and start the flight it usually results in CTD anyway, making the SIM unuseable for me atm. not sure if the 2 are related, but that is my current situation

:loudspeaker: For anyone who wants to contribute on this issue, Click on the button below to use this template:

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
•

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:
•

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:
•

2 Likes
10

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
• no

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:

  • select the A330, KSFO
  • select gate G9
  • max zoom in
  • click Start Flight
  • aircraft loaded correctly at gate
    @Skylord5190 : have you disabled all your addons, emptied your community folder ?

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:
•

Screenshot (397)
Screenshot (397)1920×946 193 KB

Screenshot (398)
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1 Like
11

Happens to me sometimes when loading into areas with a lot of buildings. No CTD though, just infinite loading screen.

Reducing the terrain LOD from 200 to 100 was the fix for now. Otherwise it seems to load forever.

3 Likes
12

I’ve tried the zoom thing (out and in) and reducing LOD. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

1 Like
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image
image761×172 12.9 KB

2 Likes
14

As mentioned in OP, i did rename my community folder for testing, still got the loading issue.

The only thing i could think of is, you shouldnt zoom all the way in, i usually zoom so i have most the airport and spaces in view, but right the way in, only shows a handful of parks (like in your screen shot).

made a quick vid (sry for quality, not a content creator), trying the park and airport you suggest, demonstrating the issue

1 Like
16

Same issue here (2024)

1 Like
17

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
• Yes

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:

  • select Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000
  • select RWY31, KLGA
  • max zoom in
  • click Start Flight
  • wait forever - f you get bored, just watch the spinning loading circle

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

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image1920×1080 127 KB

3 Likes
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  • select Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000
  • select RWY31, KLGA
  • zoom all the way out
  • click Start Flight

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20

We’ve got two bugs here.
1 Long loading time - just means that eventually, the plane will show up at the airport.

2 Infinite loading - for example, I waited an hour and twenty minutes… though to be fair, I won’t lie - I fell asleep in front of my monitor.
When I woke up, the loading circle was still spinning … so I gave up and went back to the desktop.

So, we’ve got two bugs here: long loading time and infinite loading.
One just takes ages and the other traps you in a black hole of waiting.

edit
Anyway, I’m not OP so it’s not up to me to decide whether the topics should be merged

7 Likes
21

Just started happening to me this morning. Infinite load time after selecting parking spot. SU1 installed and the sim itself loads much faster. It seems like the sim can’t find the google earth data. To be fair, we’ve had some T’storms roll through here in JAX, FL, but internet connection tested fine with high speeds.

1 Like
22

The other topic title says “long loading time” but the description says “the flight does load endless. Rotating circle on the lower right.”
So could be the same issue. Will ask for OP clarification in the other topic.

2 Likes