It’s by design if you’re on console. They reduced the graphical quality to alleviate the memory issues (black screens and CTDs). Don’t know if it’s a problem on pc.
Seriously, given the amount of posts reporting blurry ground textures under various circumstances on vastly different hardware … even if they were unable to reproduce it, they could have easily reached out to some of the users reporting it. Maybe there are even some settings that would enable specific telemetry that could be enabled on the systems of those experiencing it. Hard to find the cause of an issue unless someone really tries to hunt it down. Would the issue have the necessary priority to do that? Only Microsoft or maybe Asobo could answer that.
Just tried to log into PS5, the PS5 havibg just updated the system and now it is stuck on 2% for the last 15mins! ![]()
I feel like the avionics is still messed up, but I don’t think you folks touched it yet.
Xbox Series X
One of the things I’ve learned over the years is the need to do a clean install in the event of severe issues like blurred textures to verify that the problem is not caused by an add on. Add ons, especially related to scenery - can and do cause horrible problems from time to time.
Now some people with many third party airports and other add ons are understandably very reluctant to do that clean install … but it is the only way to properly evaluate problems with a new build…
Pleased with this update. Much smoother.
Well, changelog tells us:
Improved terrain degradation when memory is getting low.
This of course can last for consoles as well as for PCs. And I think, “memory” can be RAM as well as VRAM. Maybe it is worth a check.
I’m still waiting for clarification because “Improved terrain degradation” could be interpreted two completely opposite ways. Seems like most on these forums are choosing to interpret it to mean “Increased terrain degradation” but I think it’s very possible the intention is that they have improved the issue of terrain degradation by decreasing it when memory is getting low.
Hopefully a CM can check in with the production team for clarity here.
I am very worried about the HDG functions in the CJ4. On T/O I just cannot get the HDG knob to recognise the mouse trying to highlight it. It works OK on the ALT knob and the FLC knob. Also the button to switch HDG on struggles to highlight. I have to wiggle the mouse wheel back and forth, side to side to get it to capture.
If they didn’t want to “admit” to it they wouldn’t have published it in the release notes. I highly doubt they’re trying to intentionally mislead us by using language that’s open to interpretation - Hanlon’s Razor and all that good stuff.
Does it really matter? The key message is, there is a terrain degradation at low memory, which was not the case so far afaik. It would be interesting to see, how memory occupation looks if people are suffering from this problem.
Does it matter if they have intentionally made the degradation worse or if they have intentionally made the degradation better? I mean, I think it does…?
I would guess we are over thinking it. I can’t ever recall a company putting out release notes stating they purposely degraded something as a fix
I’m pretty sure this is just poorly worded release notes from a company in France for which English is not their native language. We have seen this a lot in live streams and when questions and answers aren’t interpreted properly or conveyed as clearly as we would like. They are most likely trying to convey they had scenarios where terrain was being degraded due to low resources, and they improved some of those cases. This doesn’t mean everyone will be happy with how it looks for them. In fact that’s certainly not the case ![]()
What I’m seeing on Xbox is that they got the dynamic settings to protect against low memory more efficiently while also allowing more severe graphical reductions in heavy load scenarios, so both could be true, I guess. Nonetheless, the sim is now 100% stable for me.
Since I don’t use ATC/EFB, they completely overshot the corrective measure from my perspective. Hopefully it helped pilots who still use those features.
From my point of view they introduced the degradation. So nothing to be worse or better.
Look in the threads made during SU5.1 beta phase how often people requested a feature reducing the texture resolution based on the available memory. Maybe this is this feature?
Therefore it does not matter, if it has become worse or better. We have to figure out, under which circumstances the degradation occurs, and if a terrain degradation improves the overall performance. Has it become worse or better then?
And that is why I would like to see the memory of the people suffering from this degradation.
Whats going on: Texture MIP Streaming
SU5.1 deals, among other things, with the solution to memory issues. This is the imo most leading one. Texture MIP streaming is an optimization technique in video games that drastically reduces the required amount of video memory (VRAM) and loading times. This is achieved by storing textures in multiple resolutions (mipmaps) and loading only the resolution that is needed by the camera at that moment. Here is an overview of how it works and the pros and cons:
How it works
When you move through a game, the engine uses specific versions of a texture based on how close or far away the object is. Instead of keeping the heaviest texture permanently in your video memory, MIP streaming does the following:
- Low resolution immediately: The object first receives a fast, blurry texture of lower quality.
High resolution streaming: As you get closer or the engine has space in memory, the sharper, final texture is loaded from your storage (for example, an SSD). - Advantages
- Saves VRAM:
It significantly reduces the load on your graphics card. - Fewer lags:
It prevents crashes and stuttering in games with large, open worlds. - Better scalability:
It makes games playable on systems with less video memory. - Disadvantages
“Texture Pop-in”: You may notice that textures take a long time to become sharp. Players sometimes refer to this as it looking like an “old game” for a moment. - Storage strain:
Because data is constantly being loaded, more is being read from your hard drive or SSD.
If that is what’s happening, wouldn’t mip lod bias setting be helpful to allow people to tune the quality/performance curve to suit their needs
PS5 Pro with PSVR2
career worked relatively well in versions 1.7.29-32 but thia new v1.7.35 I cant complete one single SAR mission in helikopter in VR, hard crash to home screen every time..
free flight seem fine tho.
EFB is glitched and constantly zooms in and out.
MFDs on MH-60 AddOn constantly getting broken after every sim update, only way to fix them is console unplug from the power outlet for 5mins.
not any that can effect the trim.
Firstly I have a very critical eye for the visuals, and also have been equally highly critical of the 2024 and 2020’s visual direction since su16 of 2020 almost drove me from MSFS entirely a year ago. So I don’t write this lightly but after several more flights I can confirm for me that visually I do feel there is improvement in 5.1. (On PC in 4K)
The terrain and aerials seem to be sharper, and TLOD seems to be handling quality and transition better with an overall clearer and cleaner look.
However I have seen a 3-5 fps drop. Up until 5.1 I capped at 60 fps (no frame gen) and it held that. Now it is dropping to mid 50’s even in non demanding areas (outside TIN / PG). Did the normal cache remove / clean community process without change to this.
Seeing the mix of comments and experiences it is so strange how different it can be from one person to the next. Some have better performance and blurry aerials, while myself the opposite.
But if the 2020 su16 experience indeed did make you move away from MSFS and have been on the fence about returning, it might be worth giving 2024 5.1 a try, and hope you see the same improvements I have (so far).