FS2002 EXPERTS help needed please!!!

[MANOMAN]

HI!!!

TO ALL THOSE MS FLIGHT SIMULATOR EXPERTS!!!!

I have a PC with:

Windows Millennium Edition
1200MHz AMD Athlon processor with 200MHz bus
512MB SDRAM
Twin 40GB hard disks
32MB nVidia TNT 2 graphics system

However I am not sure if this will be enough to run max. performance of all the features for the standard version of MS2002? I have read many reviews which, says that a good PC is recommended in order to experience ALL the features at there best!

I am always reading about 'frame rates', can someone please tell me what they mean (performance wise for MS2002).

All advise and help is welcomed and appreciated.

THANKS,

MANOMAN! <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

[Andrew Cant]

You are well within the spec for FS2002. Minimum requirements are as follows:
Windows 98/Me(64Mb RAM) / Windows 2000/XP(128Mb RAM). 300MHz processor, 750Mb hard drive space, 8Mb graphics card.
Refresh rate relates to the speed at which your monitor refreshes the picture and is measured in Hz. A Riva TNT2 will be fine.

Enjoy the sim.

[MikeSamuel]

Yup, you should have little or no trouble running all of the best bits of Flight Sim 2002 efficiently.
Frame rate is basically how quickly your computer can update the image on your screen. For example, at the cinema, the frame rate is in the region of 24fps (frames per second). If you run a high performance game like FS2002 on an old PC, you may get frame rates of 10fps or less, meaning that the CPU struggles to keep up, resulting in a jerky image, and poor gameplay. In MSFS, you can keep an eye on the frame rate as you play by pressing Shift+Z. It should produce a readout at the top of your screen (although I am unsure whether this feature is in the 2002 version)
As long as the value is roughly 20 or above, you won't notice any adverse effects.

Regards

Mike

[Dick Fisher]

FS2002 Pro is a vast improvement on the previous incarnation. I agree that the flight models are not perfect, but the ATC system is pretty good, apart from a tendency to initiate descent too late. Incidentally, the frame rate can be set up through the interface for the graphic display. It allows the user to set up a target frame rate. The programme then adjusts the display properties to help achieve the rate selected.

[kopbhoy2]

I'm running it on an old P3 500 Mhz machine, 128mb Ram & a 32 Mb graphics card on Win98. It runs better than FS2K ever did - although i'm not going for the full scenery options.

The ATC feature is great, makes it worthwhile IMO.

[Nearly Man]

Manoman

You'll blast FS2002 with that setup, same as mine...take off anti-aliasing (won't notice it) and shadows...you'll get 20-30% framerate increase without those....the only thing that'll slow it down some is Dreamfleet's 737-400, but you'll not be looking at the scenery flying that!

Look at AVSIM and there's a tutorial there somewhere on how to optimise FS2002

Hope it helps

[ 13 January 2002: Message edited by: Nearly Man ]</p>