Article: Q179350
Product(s): Microsoft Home Games
Version(s): WINDOWS:1.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbenv kbui kbusage fs98 kbimu msgame
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series, version 1.0
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SUMMARY
=======
This article discusses how to optimize game performance in Microsoft Combat
Flight Simulator.
MORE INFORMATION
================
To optimize performance in Combat Flight Simulator, find a balance between the
number of sound and display features you enable and the frame rate you can
maintain. The frame rate is the speed at which images or frames are drawn on the
screen, and is often measured in frames per second (fps). The appearance of
realistic motion improves as the frame rate increases.
Performance in Combat Flight Simulator depends on both the features that you
select and the configuration of your computer. A set of features that you select
on one computer may not result in the same level of performance as an identical
set of features on a different computer.
A computer that has a fast Pentium processor, sufficient memory, a 3D video
accelerator card, and more recent device drivers can maintain a higher level of
performance than a computer that barely meets the minimum system requirements.
To optimize performance in Combat Flight Simulator, you must optimize your
hardware configuration, configure Combat Flight Simulator for the best
performance, and then monitor the frame rate when you select your preferred
features and settings.
To do this, use the following methods.
Quit Unnecessary Programs
-------------------------
To increase the amount of available system resources, quit all unnecessary
programs that are running on your computer before you start Flight Simulator 98
or Flight Simulator 2000.
To quit all unnecessary programs, use the appropriate method for your version of
Microsoft Windows.
Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98:
1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
2. In the Close Program dialog box, click any program except Explorer or Systray
(which are components of Microsoft Windows), and then click End Task.
If you receive a message stating that the program is busy or not responding,
click End Task again.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to quit all unnecessary programs that are running on
your computer.
Microsoft Windows 2000:
1. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC.
2. On the Applications tab, click any program, and then click End Task.
Repeat this step to quit all unnecessary programs that are running on your
computer.
3. Quit Windows Task Manager.
NOTE: Some programs start automatically every time you restart your computer. For
information about how to disable these programs, see the printed or online
documentation for the program.
Optimize Your Hardware Configuration
------------------------------------
To optimize your hardware configuration:
1. Contact your video hardware manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and
install the latest version of the video driver for your video adapter.
2. Contact your audio hardware manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and
install the latest version of the sound driver for your sound card.
Set the display color palette to 256 colors:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Display.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. In the Colors or Color Palette box, click 256 Colors, and then click OK.
5. If you are prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.
Configure the Program for the Best Performance
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To configure Combat Flight Simulator for the best performance:
1. Disable stereo sound and reduce the audio sample rate in the program. To do
this:
a. Quit Combat Flight Simulator.
b. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories,and then click
Notepad.
c. On the File menu, click Open.
d. Type the line listed below (including the quotation marks), and then click
OK
"<drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight
Simulator\Combatfs.cfg"
where <drive> is the letter of the hard disk on which Combat Flight
Simulator is installed.
e. Type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line, and
then press ENTER again after you type the last line:
[SOUND]
Channels=1
SamplesPerSec=11025
f. On the File menu, click Save.
g. On the File menu, click Exit.
NOTE: To restore stereo sound, type a SEMICOLON (;) at the beginning of the
Channels=1 line. To restore the default audio sample rate, type a
SEMICOLON (;) at the beginning of the SamplesPerSec=11025 line.
2. Disable weather options in Combat Flight Simulator. To do this:
a. Start Combat Flight Simulator, and then click Fly Now.
b. On the World menu, click Time And Weather.
c. Click Haze in the Clouds box, and then click None in the Wind box.
d. Click OK.
3. Reduce scenery complexity and display preferences in Combat Flight Simulator
to their minimum settings. To do this:
a. On the Options menu, click Settings.
b. In the Image Complexity box, click Very Sparse.
c. Click Advanced Display Settings.
d. Click to clear all selected check boxes under Aircraft and Scenery.
e. In the Full Screen Resolution box, click 320x200x16.
f. Click OK.
g. Under Display, click to select the Enable Hardware Acceleration check
box.
NOTE: Hardware acceleration may affect performance in different ways,
depending on the video adapter that is installed in the computer. If you
disable hardware acceleration in Flight Simulator 2000, performance may
improve with some video adapters, and it may decline with other video
adapters. If the Enable Hardware Acceleration check box is unavailable,
your video adapter may not support 3D hardware acceleration. Contact your
hardware manufacturer for more information.
h. Click OK.
i. If Combat Flight Simulator is running in Window mode, press ALT+ENTER to
switch to Full Screen mode.
Enable Features or Increase Settings in the Program
---------------------------------------------------
To finish optimizing performance in Combat Flight Simulator, use the previous
methods to enable features or increase settings one at a time. Start with your
favorite features, and stop before the minimum frame rate decreases to a level
that you consider unacceptable. To display the frame rate, press and hold down
SHIFT as you press Z twice.
NOTE: The frame rate in Full Screen mode is faster than the frame rate in Window
mode. If you want to enable more features in Flight Simulator, switch to Full
Screen mode. To switch between Full Screen mode and Window mode, press
ALT+ENTER.
Additional query words: msgame combatfs cfs flightsim fltsim
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Keywords : kbenv kbui kbusage fs98 kbimu msgame
Technology : _IKkbbogus kbGamesSearch kbCombatFlightSim kbCombatFlightSimSearch kbSimSearch
Version : WINDOWS:1.0
Issue type : kbhowto
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