Before you read the post PLEASE NOTE:
1.) If you don't have FPS issues with the Carenado Caravan, you don't need this fix
2.) This fix might not work on your setup as well as on mine, due to the million possible hardware/software/configuration variables
3.) This method will fix the following problem: FPS gradually falling by 30-40% after 5-10 minutes.
4.) In other words this fix won't give you an overall performance boost, it just makes sure that performance stays constant and won't degrade through the flight.
A bit of background (if you're interested, otherwise skip this section):
One of my favorite planes is the Caravan. When Carenado made one I loved the textures and the look but the FDE was rubbish. That's until Bernt Stolle frixed the issue, and Carenado published it as an optional patch. There was only one problem left: performance. I have a FSX set up that is capable of a constant 30FPS with almost all add-on planes. Sure enough, when I start the flight with the Caravan, it is 30, then gradually it falls down to 17-20 within a 10 minute time period. I know that turning off the weather radar helps a bit, but it didn't fix my issue. So, I just accepted that HD textures might be too much for my gear and removed the bird from my hangar. But a couple of days ago, I decided to dig deep and find the cause, even change the texture size if needed.
I've been testing it with the VC textures removed - same outcome, FPS drops down after a while. So it's not the textures. It must be the gauges then. I removed the gauges, and reloaded the textures. Surprise, surprise, same result. FPS dropping down. Strange. When I switch to external view FPS flies up to 30 almost instantly. There is something wrong with the VC.
Then I started to play with the panel.cfg file, and after 5-6 trials I FOUND A FIX! Now I can fly for hours and the FPS stays around 28-30 constantly.
The fix:
1.) Make a backup of the panel.cfg file in your Caravan folder
2.) Open the panel.cfg file
3.) At the bottom you'll find four separate VCockpit sections
4.) Change all size_mm and pixel_size values to 512,512. Don't change anything in the 2D section (WindowXZ)
5.) Save the file
6.) Load the plane up and see if it made a difference for you
I wanted to understand why it worked. I found a couple of virtual cockpit tutorials. They all mention that these values (size_mm, pixel_size) always have to be the same! Otherwise very bad things can happen
Again, I want to stress that this DOES NOT APPLY TO THE 2D PANEL, DON'T CHANGE THE VALUES FOR THAT.
Hope this fix will work for you too!
Dan
