SteveFX - DX10 Scenery Fixer

The long-awaited DX10 Scenery Fixer has been released: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/421399-dx10-fixer-released/

The price seemed a bit steep to me, but I am happy I bought it. Even though it is called "DX10 Scenery Fixer", it also fixed a number of aircraft issues for me: I can finally fly my imported Century of Flight aircraft in FSX in all its DX10 glory

Yeah that price point is keeping me away for now, especially since following the AVSIM DX10 howto and his free patch and manual fixes has not resulted in a smooth flying experience for me (I get some strange vsync tearing).

Hopefully the product will eventually be carried by Flight1 where it will have their 30day money back guarantee and I can try it and not be out $35 if it doesn't work any better than the free patches...

At one point in time, I saw a nice FPS boost and smoother performance with DX10. Based on that, I was (at one point) planning on buying the fixer when it came out.

However, that was several addons, tweaks, and drivers ago. Prior to the fixer's release, I tried DX10 again and saw worse performance compared to DX9. If it was $10, it might give it a try anyway. But at $35, it's just not worth it. Not with all the cool stuff ORBX is coming out with...

You gotta pick it up. It's great. The black squares problem in FTX Global is gone now. The flickering runway problem in some airports: gone. The rain distortions: gone.

I've never really tried DX10... is it worth it? What does it do? Graphical updates? Faster? Less CTDs?

I think the biggest sell seems to be cockpit shadows:

Cockpit shadows, better water and (slightly) better FPS.


I don't get a performance improvement with DX10 though.

Thanks Kludger and Heretic.

I, too, am on the fence on DX10. Wondering if it is worth all the "potential" hassle. I am definitely not a "tweaker", I just know I would mess things up!

I have never even checked the preview button in FSX, and using Bejotes automatic tweaker, I have a good experience in DX9, and don't want to fix what ain't broken. Cockpit shadows would be nice, but are not essential, to me. I do like the idea of unloading work from the CPU to the GPU (although I run on a laptop, my GPU has 3GB VRAM), but...??

My FPS is 2-3 times faster under DX10, but then again, I turn my graphics up way high, and set target FPS at "unlimited." So where I get 20 FPS using DX9, I get over 50 with DX10. Where I get 9 FPS with DX9, I get 21-24 with DX10. It's consistent. And, of course, DX10 simply looks better, especially the water. That's probably the biggest difference. But again, I have the water slider all the way to the right on maximum. I have traffic on 100% even with third party traffic program installed. Running 1920 x 1200 x 32.

You may be using more modest settings and limiting your target FPS, so may not see much difference in FPS.

Keep this rule in mind: the greater you push the graphics, the bigger the gap between DX9 and DX10.

To be fair Plainsman, you have always reported amazing DX10 performance/results that I have never been able to match even before this new fixer was available... so did this fixer do much for you other than fixing the FSGlobal runway lights?

That's the frustrating thing about DX10 for me, some people report great framerate and results, while others of us don't get the framerate improvement just the bugs that this fixes supposedly.

BTW I also run on a high end system with almost all sliders to the right (besides AI which I do externally).

Not asking for help tweaking DX10 as I've lost patience with it after this last try this week, but just wondering if the DX10 Fixer provided $35 worth of fixes for you since you have always reported DX10 worked well for you.

There are many fixes but only three that I cared about:

1. FTX Global black squares (must have fix and got it)
2. Rain fix (nice to have fixed)
3. Flickering runways (never bothered me but nice to have fixed)

I don't think I would call what I've reported over the years "amazing." I don't think it's amazing. It just is. Isn't DX10 supposed to be better? I thought each iteration is supposed to be an improvement. For me it is.

Frankly, I'm mystified that everyone doesn't get the framerate boost that I do. I don't understand. I'm not a techie so I really don't understand why. Is your target framerate set to "unlimited?" I you running at 1920 x 1200 x 32? Extremely dense on your sliders? Maximized water? You could have a high-end system but maybe you aren't pushing it. Do you have Nvidia GPU or the competition? 3GB+ of video ram on your card? I don't know if this last matters but I have Nvidia and 3GB video ram. Just trying to see where there might be similarities.

The FPS difference is so great it makes playing in DX9 totally unacceptable. Again, I lack your technical knowledge, so I don't have an explanation for it. But the more I tax FSX with add-ons (REX, MyTraffic 2013, GEX, FTX, city scenery add-ons, etc.) the greater the framerate gap between DX9 and DX10 on my PC. When I can get 25-30 FPS at low altitude (500 ft)over Manhattan with Manhattan X installed, using DX10 preview, and 7-9 FPS and less attractive water graphics with DX9, the decision which one to use is a no-brainer.

Keep in mind, despite all the so-called tweaks published over the years for "getting the most out of FSX/DX10", I've never tried any of them. My PC is virginal. It's untweaked, if that's a word. All I've ever done is check the DX10 preview box. Steve's Scenery fix has done nothing to improve or slow my framerates.

I leave it to you tech experts to figure out why this happens.

Good added details of the free patches versus paid fixer, I think you are twice lucky not just in getting the great framerate from DX10 but in the fact that things like the flickering runways not bothering you all this time

Wasn't the dx10 fix free?

Yeah there was a free version which required some manual tweaking of the configs and now by the same author there is an official "Fixer" which has additional fixes and does the config changes for you.

To expand on Kludgers points above, I believe these fixes were actually spread across multiple downloads and read-mes.

This product rolls all that up into an application that applies all of them in a neat, tidy manor. It's value lies in saving you quite a lot of time and headaches versus doing all of this on your own.

And I wouldn't be quick to discount that value, as any FSX power-user knows, it can quickly become a black-hole of your free time just to get it running right.

The sad part is, if what's being posted about P3D v2.0 is true, this DX10 fixer will become even more niche (or nearly obsolete) than it already is in a few months.

Why spend $35 to get DX10 partly implemented in FSX when I can spend $50 to get FS11 (or FS10.5 or whatever you want to call it) with DX11 + a whole bunch of other improvements? The only reason I can think of would be those that have addons that aren't compatible with P3D. I guess maybe that's a lot of people. Luckily, I ain't one of 'em.

Yeah I think if he had priced it a bit lower it wouldn't be such a decision on whether it's worth to try it or not (maybe more like Shade price point)...

I'm still hoping it will show up on Flight1 with their 30day moneyback guarantee, but I agree if P3Dv2 delivers the improvements and is widely available, DX9 versus DX10 FSX becomes a non-issue for most of us.

The payware DX10 utility also fixes issues with legacy aircraft: e.g. models imported from FS9 and older AI aircraft will no longer show up with blank textures. For me this was the biggest selling point, as I don't use any payware scenery.

I am curious about P3D, but if the past of the MSFS series is anything to go by, it can take a few more years before the majority of users and addon producers are ready to make the move.