Here are my system specs :

Intel Q9450 @ 2.66ghz
Asus P5Q3 Deluxe Mainboard
2x Kingston 2048mb PC3-8500F (@ 533Mhz)
MSI Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2 (2x 512mb) running single mode (not sli)

My falcon 4.0 AF ran online (at multivipers) at a mere 17fps in campaign.
Offline the same, it seems airports are a real frame killer. Even worse when i zoom in (L)

In my nvidia panel I enforce following settings for Falcon:
Anisotropic : 16x
Antialiasing : 8xQ
Triple buffering: On
Vertical sync: Force on

In game I run resolution 1280x1024 , all maxed out (no extra command line options)

(Just in case they matter: my BFOps.cfg file)

Make sure video mode in graphic setup is "D3d HAL " .
Also try running 1600x1200 with 2xQ or at least lower than 8xQ for test.

Hi Red,

You should start by setting A/S to "Application controlled" in the CP. Falcon has an in-game A/S setting, so handle it there. It is more efficient to let the game take care of rendering whenever possible.

I'm assuming you did not did not use the -gN setting on the shortcut? I've got a C2D @3.6 and a 9800GTX+ and I start to notice FPS drops higher than -g2

Like Ed said, you should turn down AA too. If you find that the A/A setting doesn't stick if you lower it. here's what you do:

1) In your custom Falcon 3d profile, set A/A to "Global setting."
2) Then go into your global settings, and set your A/A to desired level (avoid using any setting higher than 4x -- most can't notice the visual difference past 4x, and anything further really kills performance)
3) Start Falcon. Run any mission. If there are no jaggies, then exit.
4) Now go back to the Falcon 3d profile and set the same A/A. Then reset global settings back to whatever you want.

Last, but not least: overclock that proc

What is the difference between running the game in D3d HAL and the other option? What does HAL & TL even mean? Does it make a difference for better or worse either way?

More letters=more better????

No idea

TL is texture and lighting but it is a huge FPS hit.

Without the T&L will explosions still light up the night ?

I want eye-candy dammit

it will visually look exactly the same. There really should not be a difference in performance between both but there is for most so use D3d Hal.

From what I gather, essentially the two modes are the same; one is a setting with a longer name, and the other isn't.

Hi, I just installed a new GTX 260 (see my recent post). When I fired up F4:AF the first time it was LITERALLY a slide show and all the colors were off. I HAD to change the in game setting from D3D HAL to D3D T&L HAL in order to get any semblance of video quality. Still struggling a bit to get rid of the 'shimmer' effect and get AA to kick in. I will try the tips in this thread for the AA setting and make sure I have AF to Application Controlled with it checked in Game. Originally, I did have AF set in both the control panel and the game. I think I turned it OFF in the Control Panel rather than to Application Controlled.

EDIT: OK the anisotropy set in game and APPLICATION CONTROLLED in NVIDIA seems to work. I also switched to D3D HAL without T&L and that works now too.