I see.
Sorry for meddling, then . I thought you had some sort of mis-setup - and maybe I could help.
But there's little to do in your case. It's either wide pit, or black bars, or stretch.




No 3rd party pits for me.

I did try the stopwork pits for AF (those I got are 4:3 - don't know if wide versions were made).
I remember I wanted them so badly. Sure they looked cute, but they don't work at 1024x768! Must
be at least 1280x860 or something - I don' recall the exact figure. Their native res. is 1600x1200.
All nice and dandy... if it wasn't for a detail: any res. greater than 1024x768 makes the MFD
and HUD fonts unreadable for me. The B, G, E, 6, 8 and 0 all look the same, which makes dogfights
next to impossible, and all other situations in which you've got to think fast become Freeze-bound.
It's no fun.

"Be happy with what you have" -I learned. And you know what? It's a true blessing.

So I stick to Aeyes' AF stock pits. At 1024x768 the font has fantastic readability. And with the
addition of FSAA 8xQ I totally remove the aliasing (as my screens demonstrate). It's pointless
for me to go any higher than 1024x768.



[edit]
I've added the thumbnails to the pictures in my previous posts. They look so cute!

Your FSAA is sweet. Anyone who says Falcon Allied Graphics are dated....pfffzz-
When I force AA, my interface can't be seen...except for 16xQ CSAA...whatever that is-
If I ask the card to 'Enchance'....then it doesn't seem to remove the stair-stepping.

This card was cheap new. It at least let me see what FF5 and BMS were about.
But the onboard graphics did some fair justice to Allied and Falcon4.08-
But F4.08 doesn't like this card either, unless I rollback the drivers.

Thought I'd try another go at the Balkans Campaign. I found an Su-32 that wasn't skinned.
SA-6..(2)SA-10s fired at me from all directions. I couldn't shake'em. I should've stocked a pair of harms, dammit.
I'll upload snaps later.

Yeah, there's some funny driver support (rather say: un-support) for Falcon. Only the more recent
nVidia driver versions (> 266.xx) seem to have brought back some support, and even so it's
exclusively for Allied Force (I heard of falconeers renaming the .exe of their favorite falcon
breed into falconaf.exe, so to fool the driver and benefit from the support given to AF).

Unless you have such newer drivers (I don't), then you're supposed to 'Override' the antialias
settings (as opposed to 'Enhance'), and make use of 'set g_bForceSoftwareGUI 1' inside BFops.cfg.
That should cure all interface problems while granting you FSAA in flight. At least it does for me.

But if you 'Enhance' the FSAA you aren't going to see any difference (per the aforementioned lack
of driver support).

When choosing the FSAA level to activate, keep in mind that we have 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x. That much
everyone knows. What most don't know is that the Q versions (Q = Quincunx, should be a proprietor
technology developed by nVidia, IIRC) are equivalent to the next level of FSAA but with a reduced
performance cost.
So, a 8xQ FSAA is as fast as a proper 8x, but with practically-the-same-quality of a 16x.
The 16xQ is overkill instead. It'd be equivalent to a 32x FSAA. But you have no reason to use it
unless you play an old 3D game that only knows small screen res. such as 640x480 (max 800x600).



Oww, yes if they catch you high in the air there's little hope of fooling them.
Gotta speed-dive vertically, then NOE cockroach-style. That works. But that's where the infantry
usually kicks in, hehehehe. Lost count of how many times I've been downed that way.

Get Outta Here? Are You Serious.
Holy Hell...where'd ya hear stuff like that?
Is there a Falcon Allied Only club drifting around somewhere?

Ok..here's my options via nVidia's panel list-
Here are my AntiAliasing choices for this card-
2x
4x
8x CSAA
8x
16x CSAA
16xQ CSAA
AntiAliasing-Mode
Off
App Controlled (Default)
Enchance the app
Override the app

Anistropic Filtering-
Off
App Controlled (Default)
2x
4x
8x
16x

AA Gamma Correction
On/Off (Off by Default)

AA Transparency
Off (Off by Default)
Multisample
2x Supersample
4x Supersample
8x Supesample

CUDA-GPUs
All (w/option to uncheck the 8400's gpu)

Extension Limit-
Off/On (Off by Default)

Maximum pre-rendered frames
0-8 (3 being default)

Multi-display/mixed GPU acceleration-
Multiple display performance mode
Single display performance mode
Compatability display performance mode

Texture Filtering-Anisotropic Sample Optimization-
Off/On (Off by Default)

Texture Filtering-Negative LOD bias-
Allow (Default)
Clamp

Texture Filtering-Quality-
Quality (Default)
High Quality
Performance
High Performance

Texture Filtering-Trilinear Optimization-
Auto (Default)
Off/On

Triple Buffering-
Off/On (Default Off)

Vertical sync
Use the 3d app setting
Force Off
Force On

I have a layman's grip on the above at best.
I didn't study Computer Science at MS State, Cal-Tech or MIT...
Ain't plannin' on it either.

And here's a goodie-
I've tested the various driver updates...which will load up the PhysiX stuff
I've read where sometimes, the PhysiX doesn't do all that much.
Can't confirm EXCEPT-

I decided a few days ago to remove the video drivers and just load what was

absolutely necessary for windows.
Only about 30 megs...vs the 120 megs for standard express install-
Allied looked really nice with an AA view that put me in mind of maybe say

4x....w/FPS highs of 76 and 30s for lots of explosions...( I use the older explosions found in the old Falcon4)

This minimum device loading didn't give me a control panel to adjust any settings, mind you...

So, as you can see, I'm a dog chasing is tail.
So Basically, from viewing Allied w/this monitor..I see absolutely no polish using 'Enhance the app setting' whatsoever.
What I do witness is as long as objects move....they are smoothed out. But just to look at a plane flying straight and level...you get the stair-step. Move the flight stick and the steps go away. Same for AI...using 9 or 10 key to view, and you get steps.
Use the Shift 9 or Shift ~ keys...the steps go away. Take a pic....you get steps.

I have to use the 'Overide' to see improvements. Using overide, I'll get the silky-smoothe appearance, and my fps are cut in half...using the 16xQ CSAA....lower overide settings of AA kill my interface.

This is what I don't understand...I've never witnessed such mass confusion, and I'm not totally ignorant on computers, but I just became a big dumbass w/this nVidia card.
I'm beginning to suspect that this intel board doesn't like to play along either. I've heard in the past that the intel boards were the most stable, but they were NOT a gaming board. I understood this when I took delivery so I can't complain. It it what it is.

OT- does anyone know how to edit something in AF so I can change the default Instant Action clock from 12 noon to another time.
I prefer 5:30 am-

Later, Boss-
Ed
Roll Tide

Here's my first 'LeaveScreen' I cooked up yesterday.
Try it out...backup your oem, naturally.
Place it in....C:\Program Files\Lead Pursuit\Battlefield Operations\art\ckptart\Res_1024\Common
You'll see your 'leavescreen and loadsplash pix...that's the folder.
Just copy your oem over to the side...be sure its renamed.

or wherever you have your AF installed-


More to follow as I see better scenes to capture-

The whole italian AMVI is an example. Or maybe it was. I don't know anymore what they're up to.
Pretty big a group, they used to fly with Allied Force. When they discovered FreeFalcon, many of
them switched to it. But they would have problems with the FSAA working/not_working.
Then on the nVidia forums appeared a thread pointing out the problems of Falcon with all nVidia
cards (namely, the FSAA problems). The thread quickly became humungus. Then I don't know what
happened exactly, nor when. nVidia seemed to forever ignore the complaints, but then -bang- one
day I hear that their new drivers do re-introduce some support specific for Allied Force.
Support that was previously and implicitly there, as it implicitly is for all games, but that got
silently removed (at some point) because Falcon was labeled too old a game.

Anyway, it wasn't long before there was this advice spreading among falconeers: update to latest
nVidia drivers, then change the .exe name into falconaf.exe.

Someone else hopefully reads this and can recount you the story with the details I'm missing.

But for a quick link to support my claim, read here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook-win7-winvista-260.89-whql-driver.html
The page takes a while to open. Be patient. When ready, scroll down to the "Other Improvements"
section, and search for the text "Falcon 4.0: Allied Force". See what it says

Man, do NOT download and do NOT try to install those drivers.
The page in the link points to nVidia drivers probably NOT for your system/card combo. I just gave
you a link so you could read about the FalconAF thing. If you want to try recent drivers suitable
for you, you'll have to find those that specifically support your Windows/Gfx Card combo. K?



Here you lost me.
Are you saying that if you use Override + 16xQ FSAA, you suffer a FPS chop, yes, but you *can* play?
Instead if you Override + <other_FSAA_less_than_16xQ>, you do *not* see your interface?
Please confirm.
What parts of the interface, exactly, do you not see?

But anyway, it sounds like you are having some weird problem that you should not.
Maybe installing some beefer nVidia drivers will fix this problem? But I'm no techy either,
so don't take my word for it.
My advice is that **if** you are going to upgrade the drivers, you might as well try the latest
ones (as far as compatibility with your system/card goes).

That's a rog, Comet. The entire interface would be gone, save the jet cursor. If I Alt-Tab back to the desktop and change things in the nVidia control panel...then flip back to Allied....the interface would be restored.
This is why I get so confused...I've never had so many options/switches I've had to encounter before in using any computer.
And I go back to the days of Win 3.1 when we had to configure ports/drivers/IO/ and so forth. Way before PlugNPlay and Plug n PRAY-
And these figures sometimes will change, depending on which drivers are loaded.

I loaded up B61 to test the frames....everything was laid waste for 20 miles....didn't blow me up at 28000 ft. FPS fell to 7 as I stared through the HUD. Viewing the ground FPS would hit 4. Then chugg along up to 11, then 16, then 33, then 27.
I decided to land at my base which was completely erased from the landscape, save all the trees burning...and I have the fog turned on up to 800 ft. So landing in the fog, with the burning trees as a good landmark...I touched down and pulled up alongside the forest fire.
FPS was about 23 thru the HUD.
Then BOOM....I guess the fuel fumes didn't get along w/the bonfire and I was toasted still strapped in my seat.

So, knowing that everyone posting about the 'Big One' thats featured in Allied Force and the huge drop in FPS they report, I didn't see any reason to complain. I can still keep things around 71-76 fps during the calm flying at say....angels 14...naturally fps will go up as you climb higher.
Drop as you fly lower. That's expected.
Flying NOE, I'll get anywhere from 60-45 depending on whether or not a metropolis is in view.
Trees/Clouds/Shadows/Reflections have no impact.
I really think its this card, man.

What's your take on using the PhysiX part of nVidia?

HolySpit...you see how damned many driver updates nVidia has released in the last 6 months just for my card-
at least 6...and this is for a low end card????

http://www.f-16.net/gallery.html

Note the HUD framing in this photo...then think about the MLU variant in Allied.
Hmmm..

Well, I'd be confused too in your shoes. Definitely you're having a problem that we don't. And
that you shouldn't have neither. I don't know what to think of it, save that it could be the
card itself for real.

There's Gaming cards, and there's Desktop cards.

Desktop cards are not built for performance, and in general do not support a whole host of
capabilities that their gaming counterparts do. Often a desktop card of generation X is plain
inferior to any gaming card of the previous generation (X -1).

If your card is a desktop one, it'd explain a lot of things.
What's the exact model of it?



I got a few games that say they'll take advantage of PhysX.
Know what? I'm not sure they do. Whether I enable/disable PhysX from the nVidia control panel I
don't see a difference in game. The FPS are pretty much the same. Or maybe they do use it, but if
it's missing they revert to CPU routines to emulate hardware PhysX support. I don't know.

But I know that lots of games make use of the 'Havoc' library to implement physics in the game.
Havoc is software. PhysX is hardware. Havoc is cross platform. PhysX is nVidia only.

From *my* point of view, PhysX is a technology with no future. Why invest on it when it only works
on 'half' the cards out there? Then you (game developer) have to resort on something like Havoc to
make your game work on the remaining half? Might as well invest *solely* in Havoc and be sure that
your game works the same on all machines, regardless of the card they mount.

I repeat: that's *my* point of view. Nobody reading this start a holy war because I dared speak
against something nVidia. I couldn't care less. K?

^^ Sorry for that . Disclaimers are a necessity when you touch certain arguments.



Drivers no longer support only 1 card . Those days are gone, by a long time. Now they support
entire series at once, and of course your card is going to be mentioned in many different releases.
Make sure you consider only the 'WHQL' (Windows Hardware Quality Lab) drivers. Avoid any and all
the 'Beta' releases, as they lead to trouble more often than not.

And before you download and install a specific driver version that you think is safe, make sure
to search the internet for anybody having anything to say against that XXX.yy driver version you
are thinking to install.
Also, making a combined search for your favorite game name(s) and the driver version you want to
install is a good move. When you don't find anything specific it's a good thing

No, I'm serious. If you don't find too many people complaining for too many different reasons, then
they are good drivers (people will always complain. Gotta distinguish between the Forrest Gumps
that don't know which end of the keyboard is which, and between those that have an actual reason
to complain).
Else do yourself a favor and pick another version, even if older. When speaking of nVidia drivers,
'older' is not always 'badder'. Remember this.

ROTFLMAO


We speak the same language-
Older sometimes is way way better.
The computer industry has become a very sneaky industry, indeed.
Everything wants to 'phone home'

Sorry (afraid of repeat myself)...my card is an Asus GeForce 8400 GS Silent (IE-huge heat sink...no fan.)
No worres about cooling, though. 3 fans inside the chassie and if that don't help, I'll stick the damned thing in the frig.

Thought I'd try OpenFalcon 4point whatever and see what it would do.
CTD.
At least I got to copy the pit files and examine the sounds if I like any of them I'll replace them and//or edit them.

I wish I could just drag the tiles into Allied.
Hmmm..

PS- have you flown enough of the campaigns to see if the B61 became available?
PSS- I'll spit on any hardware mfg whenever the need arises.
I'll also spit on my abilities and capabilities as the need arises.
I've invented a whole dictionary on the art of swearing.

The 8400 GS is a desktop card. Low-end for playing games.
Its main weakness is the reduced memory interface width, chopped at 64-bit.
Not only this makes its memory banks work at a slower speed than other cards do, but it affects
the technologies allowed to the card by the driver. The slower a card is, the less feasible the
use of some advanced technologies. Because they'd just not fit on slow hardware.
So they inhibit them techs entirely when you're lucky, or they do worse and substitute them with
surrogates that only seem to make the job right. But when you ask for that little more, you run
into rendering defects or outright anomalies.

I would consider to upgrade. You can find cheap and robust gaming cards today.
But don't do this by yourself. Find someone who can 'follow' you. The cards themselves today have
hardware requirements:

• Max Watts consumption, which your PSU must be able to exceed comfortably, not just 'sustain',
  or you damage the PSU - then the sudden reboots/BSODs while aplay begin and you wonder wtf?.
  That's sign of a PSU failing.
• Type of PSU connectors required, to empower the card. You'd be surprised at how many people
  cry that their PSU only has got one 8-pins connector while their card wants two (only an example).
• Physical space (Width x Height x Length), taken by the card inside your case. Just will it fit?
  Nothing more hilarious than having the perfect PSU for your flashy new card and then you can't stuff
  the thing into the case. When there is a problem, 99 times out of 100 it's of insufficient Length only.
  Nevertheless, people have gone postal over it.

Upgrading the card can be tricky. Need to know what you're doing. The above list is okay for the due
hardware checks. As for which GPU's are good and which are not, you can ask that on almost any
forum where gamers gather. Nothing better than talking with people that have direct experience
with a card. Reading a web articles that reviewed the exact model you eyed is also recommended.



My first CTD with OF 4.7 happened at 9 minutes into the ramp start.
And this was after a long hour of installation / deflating / rebuilding / younameit.
I've got to be honest: it was the only CTD I had with OF - I have uninfested it after the first.



By my own experience, I have never seen a B61 in the standard campaigns. But I haven't flown them
all yet. I think some custom campaigns may have the B61. The Skunkworks mod, maybe?


Wait. At this [link] there's the official answer to your question:

Looks like the war simulator can't handle the consequences, at a strategic level, that the
deployment of a single B61 would bring. But it's okay, we forgive it.