Best Prepar3D Settings

LET’S BEGIN
What are the best settings for Prepar3D? Just another question that we regularly see.
Perhaps it is at the same time a question that always stirs up a lot of dust. Because what
is perfect for one person may not be sufficient for the other. Nevertheless, we would like
to give a head start in this area. In this How-To, we discuss the settings that you can use
as the basis. Afterward, you can adjust a few things to your liking.
Just a note in advance; Many of us started with FSX or FSX Steam Edition and finally
ended up with Prepar3D. The many visual extras that Prepar3D has to offer, plus in
addition the optimal use of contemporary hardware, makes this step attractive.
However, a mistake made by many is to copy FSX settings one-on-one into Prepar3D.
Although the settings menu is similar to that of FSX, there is a big difference. Take the
"Autogen Vegetation Density Slider" for example. Suppose you set this slider in
Prepar3D to Normal, then this is comparable to Extremely Dense in FSX. A world of
difference.
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Table of Contents
Clean start .................................................................................................................. 6
Clean config file ................................................................................................................................... 6
Clean shaders ...................................................................................................................................... 7
1. Prepar3D install + updating............................................................................ 8

1.1 Install location ............................................................................................................................... 8
1.2 Run as admin ................................................................................................................................. 8
1.3 Updating........................................................................................................................................ 9
1.4 Reinstalling .................................................................................................................................... 9
2. Windows .............................................................................................................. 10
2.1 Power plan .................................................................................................................................. 10
2.1.1 Hard disk .............................................................................................................................. 10
2.1.2 Processor power management ............................................................................................ 11
2.2 Defender ..................................................................................................................................... 11
2.3 Other anti-virus programs........................................................................................................... 12
2.4 Windows game mode ................................................................................................................. 12
2.5 Hyper-threading .......................................................................................................................... 12
3. Nvidia .................................................................................................................... 13
3.1 Nvidia control panel .................................................................................................................... 13
3.2 Nvidia driver version ................................................................................................................... 13
3.3 Power management mode ......................................................................................................... 14
3.4 Shader cache ............................................................................................................................... 14
3.5 FPS limiter ................................................................................................................................... 14
3.6 VSync ........................................................................................................................................... 14
3.7 Updating Nvidia drivers............................................................................................................... 15
3.8 SLI ................................................................................................................................................ 15
3.8.1 Configure SLI ........................................................................................................................ 15
3.8.2 SLI Rendering mode ............................................................................................................. 15
4. Prepar3D settings ............................................................................................. 16

4.1 General ........................................................................................................................................ 16
4.1.1 Application ........................................................................................................................... 16
4.1.1.1 Pause on task switch .................................................................................................... 16
4.1.1.2 Show scenario startup screen ...................................................................................... 16
4.1.1.3 Screenshot format ........................................................................................................ 16
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4.1.1.4 Unit of measure ............................................................................................................ 17
4.1.2 Information .......................................................................................................................... 17
4.1.3 Traffic ................................................................................................................................... 17
4.1.3.1 Aviation traffic .............................................................................................................. 17
4.1.3.2 Land and sea traffic ...................................................................................................... 17
4.1.4 Realism ................................................................................................................................. 18
4.1.4.1 Flight model .................................................................................................................. 18
4.2 Graphics ...................................................................................................................................... 18
4.2.1 Display .................................................................................................................................. 18
4.2.1.1 FXAA ............................................................................................................................. 18
4.2.1.2 AA ................................................................................................................................. 19
4.2.1.3 Texture filtering ............................................................................................................ 19
4.2.1.4 Texture resolution ........................................................................................................ 19
4.2.1.5 VSync ............................................................................................................................ 19
4.2.1.6 Wide-view aspect ratio................................................................................................. 20
4.2.2 World ................................................................................................................................... 20
4.2.2.1 Level of detail radius .................................................................................................... 20
4.2.2.2 Tessellation factor ........................................................................................................ 20
4.2.2.3 Mesh resolution ........................................................................................................... 20
4.2.2.4 Texture resolution ........................................................................................................ 21
4.2.2.5 Use high-resolution terrain textures ............................................................................ 21
4.2.2.6 Scenery complexity ...................................................................................................... 21
4.2.2.7 Autogen draw distance ................................................................................................ 21
4.2.2.8 Autogen vegetation density ......................................................................................... 22
4.2.2.9 Autogen building density ............................................................................................. 22
4.2.2.10 Dynamic 3D autogen vegetation ................................................................................ 22
4.2.2.11 Water detail................................................................................................................ 23
4.2.2.12 Special effects............................................................................................................. 23
4.2.3 Lighting................................................................................................................................. 23
4.2.3.1 HDR ............................................................................................................................... 23
4.2.3.2 Dynamic reflections ...................................................................................................... 24
4.2.3.3 Shadows ....................................................................................................................... 24
4.2.3.4 PBR ............................................................................................................................... 25
4.2.4 Weather ............................................................................................................................... 25
4.2.4.1 Cloud settings ............................................................................................................... 25
4.2.4.2 Simulation settings ....................................................................................................... 25
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5. Config file ............................................................................................................. 26
5.1 How to add tweaks to your CFG file............................................................................................ 26
5.2 Tweaks to increase performance ................................................................................................ 27
5.2.1 Affinity mask ........................................................................................................................ 27
5.2.2 Global terrain view............................................................................................................... 28
5.2.3 Fiber frame time .................................................................................................................. 28
5.3 Tweaks to increase visuals .......................................................................................................... 28
5.3.1 Max regions per frame......................................................................................................... 29
5.3.2 Texture bandwidth............................................................................................................... 29
5.3.3 LOD radius ............................................................................................................................ 29
5.3.4 Texture size .......................................................................................................................... 29
5.3.5 Shadows ............................................................................................................................... 30
5.3.6 Info text ................................................................................................................................ 30
6. Weather engine ................................................................................................. 31

6.1 HIFI Active Sky ............................................................................................................................. 31
6.1.1 General options ................................................................................................................... 31
6.1.1.1 Download interval ........................................................................................................ 31
6.1.2 Cloud options ....................................................................................................................... 32
6.1.2.1 Maximum cloud layers ................................................................................................. 32
6.1.2.2 Minimum cloud draw distance..................................................................................... 32
6.1.2.3 Maximum cloud draw distance ................................................................................... 32
6.1.3 Wind options........................................................................................................................ 33
6.1.3.1 Enhanced turbulence ................................................................................................... 33
6.2 REX Sky Force .............................................................................................................................. 33
6.2.1 3D cloud model structures................................................................................................... 33
6.2.1.1 Overcast density ........................................................................................................... 33
6.2.2 Visibility ................................................................................................................................ 33
6.2.2.1 Enable realistic haze rendering .................................................................................... 33
6.2.2.2 Enable use of stratus clouds for ground fog rendering ................................................ 34
6.2.2.3 Enable Prepar3D volumetric fog rendering.................................................................. 34
6.2.3 Resolution ............................................................................................................................ 34
6.2.3.1 Enable auto-tune optimization .................................................................................... 34
6.3 Other weather engines ............................................................................................................... 34
6.3.1 Cloud draw distance ............................................................................................................ 34
6.3.2 Maximum cloud layers ......................................................................................................... 35
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7. Simulator looks ................................................................................................. 36
7.1 Sky textures ................................................................................................................................. 36
7.2 HDR ............................................................................................................................................. 36
7.3 PTA .............................................................................................................................................. 37
7.4 Tomato shade ............................................................................................................................. 37
8. Let’s fly.................................................................................................................. 38
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CLEAN START
Before we start our guide. We recommend you start off with a clean simulator, this
doesn’t mean you can’t have any add-ons installed in your simulator. This means all
some of the important files that your simulator uses to run are ‘reset’ to the default
setting. We recommend you follow the steps below before continuing with the guide to
set-up your simulator.
CLEAN CONFIG FILE

The Prepar3D config file is the file where all of your simulator settings and tweaks are
stored. To start off with the default settings and no tweaks in your config file you have
to delete this file and let the simulator generate a new config file by starting the
simulator after you deleted the config file, we do recommend you back-up your config
file before you delete it so you wouldn’t lose any of your settings.
How to find the Prepar3D config file:

► Open file explorer
► In the address bar type: ‘%appdata%’
► Double click on the folder called ‘Lockheed Martin’
► Double click on the folder called ‘Prepar3D v4’
► Locate the CFG file called ‘Prepar3D.cfg’
► Open this file with notepad (or any other text editor)
Summary: Local Disk (C:) ► Users ► You (Your user name) ► AppData ► Roaming ►
Lockheed Martin ► Prepar3D v4
When you have found the Prepar3D config file, you can now back-up the file and then
delete it from your Prepar3D AppData folder. When deleted, you have to start-up your
Prepar3D and wait for the flight set-up screen (no need to load a flight) when done, you
can shut-off the simulator again.
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CLEAN SHADERS
Cleaning your Prepar3D shaders once in a while is good for your simulator. It deletes all
the shader files generated in the past and when you start flying again it will generate the
new required shader files as you go along. This means that by deleting your shader
folder you get rid of any shaders you don’t need anymore.
How to find the Prepar3D Shaders:

► Double click on ‘AppData’ in the address bar
► Double click on the folder called ‘Local’
Summary: Local Disk (C:) ► Users ► You (Your user name) ► AppData ► local ► Lockheed
Martin ► Prepar3D v4 ► Shaders
When you have found the folder called ‘shaders’ you can now delete it. When you have
deleted the folder and it is no longer visible in the Prepar3D folder you are done. There
is no need to start your Prepar3D as you have to after deleting your Prepar3D config
file.
PC SPECS
Before we start with everything related to your Prepar3D we want to make clear what
we mean when we talk about a low-end, Medium-end or High-end PC. We will list some
baseline PC specifications here so you can compare your PC specifications with the
baselines below and determine where you PC fits in.
LOW-END MED-END HIGH-END ULTRA
CPU I3 4000 Serie I5 8000 Serie I7 7000 Serie I9 9000 Serie
GPU GTX 1050 GTX 1060 GTX 1080(TI) RTX 2080 TI
RAM 4GB 8GB 16GB 16 GB +
Drive Slow HDD Fast HDD / Fast SSD Fast SSD

Slower SSD
Keep in mind that your PC may fall in the middle of 1 of these classes. In that case, you
can try some different settings from the 2 classes your PC is in the middle of to see what
works the best for you!
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1. PREPAR3D INSTALL + UPDATING
The process of installing and updating Prepar3D is quite simple but there are some
things you can do to improve the way your simulator runs on your PC with the tricks we
will discuss in this chapter. These things are things that everybody should know when
using Prepar3D.
1.1 INSTALL LOCATION

The default install location for Prepar3D is in the program files (x86) folder. This
location isn’t bad but we recommend you install prepar3D somewhere else than the
program files (x86). Our Prepar3D is installed in the regular program files folder. The
regular program files folder has different permissions and settings in windows and this
makes it a better location for Prepar3D to operate out of. There is no need to reinstall
Prepar3D if your current install is located in the program files (x86) folder but the next
time you install Prepar3D we recommend you change the default install location.
1.2 RUN AS ADMIN

It’s important that you always run Prepar3D as admin. This will give the simulator the
necessary permissions in windows to do what it has to do and use the files it has to use
without being held back by windows because it’s not running as admin. There is an easy
way to set run as admin as default for Prepar3D, Follow the steps below.
► Find you Prepar3D.Exe
► Right click on the Prepar3D.exe
► Click on Properties
► Now click on Compatibility
► On the bottom of this window, you will find the setting Run this program as an
administrator
► Make sure the box in front of Run this program as an administrator is ticked
► Now click Apply
► And now click OK
Now every time you launch your simulator it will by default run as admin and it will
always have the necessary permission it needs without you having to think about
launching as an admin every time you want to start a flight.
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1.3 UPDATING
Updating Prepar3D is something a lot of people have a lot of questions about. But the
reality is that it’s very easy and we will explain how it works here.
For all the hotfix updates (V4.1 –> V4.2) there is no need to reinstall your simulator and
all the add-ons you have installed in your Prepar3D. When it comes to these updates
you only have to update the ‘Client’ part of the simulator. On the Prepar3D site, you can
download the install_client.msi instead of the whole package. Now you only have to de-
install the client part of Prepar3D and run the install_client.msi to install the new client
and as soon as that’s done you have updated your Prepar3D.
How to uninstall your Prepar3D client before installing the new client?
► Open search
► Search for Add or remove programs
► Look for and click on Prepar3D Academic (Or what version you have) Client
► Click on uninstall
Now you can install the new client you downloaded from the Prepar3D website
(Install_client.msi).
1.4 REINSTALLING
Sometimes you feel the need to reinstall your Prepar3D or when there is a big new
update (V4->V5) and you have to install. We all know how to de-install programs from
windows and via the prepar3d installer. But when the usual de-install process is done
most people don’t know that a lot of folders and documents are left on your PC and
aren’t deleted via the default de-install method. We will list some folders you have to
delete after de-installing Prepar3D and before reinstalling it again so you really get a
new and clean simulator after the reinstall.
Make sure you manually delete the follow folders:

► C:\Users\YOU\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4
► C:\Users\YOU\AppData\Local\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4
► C:\Program Files\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4
► C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4
When you have deleted all of the folder listed above you are now ready to install
Prepar3D again and you will have a fresh and clean Prepar3D install to start off with.
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2. WINDOWS
Windows settings can also play a huge part in the performance of your simulator.
Because everything you do runs on windows you have to make sure that your windows
settings are optimal for your use, in this case running Prepar3D with the best
performance possible. In this chapter, we will make sure that all the settings in your
windows are the optimal ones for Prepar3D and make sure Windows will not hold your
simulator back from giving you the best possible experience.
2.1 POWER PLAN

Setting the right Power plan in for your operating system can help improve
performance in your simulator by making sure the components in your PC get the
maximum amount of power so they can provide the best possible performance. By
default, your operating system will try to turn down the power supply when it thinks
it’s not needed. But in our case we never want windows to turn down the power and as
an effect turn down the performance in Prepar3D. to prevent this from happening we
will switch to a different power plan in windows. Follow the steps below.
► Open search
► Search for Choose a Power Plan
► Choose the Power plan called: High Performance
After selecting High Performance as your new power plan we can edit this plan in detail
to optimize it even more for Prepar3D. Follow the steps below
► Click on change plan settings

► Click on Change advanced power settings
2.1.1 HARD DISK

To prevent windows from turning down your hard disk make sure the setting is as
followed:
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2.1.2 PROCESSOR POWER MANAGEMENT
To make sure your CPU is running on 100% and not be turned down by windows so it
can to provide the best performance in your sim match the following settings:
2.2 DEFENDER
To people who use Windows Defender as an Anti-Virus program, we recommend
adding an exception for Prepar3D.exe and other folders related to Prepar3D V4. The
defender can cause your simulator to stutter when Defender is scanning for viruses in
your simulator folders. Follow the steps below to add exceptions to Defender for
Prepar3D. We recommend the following folders/programs you exclude from the
defender.
► Prepar3D.exe (File)
► Prepar3D Install the main folder
► Prepar3D AppData folders
How to add an exception to Windows Defender:

► Open search
► Search for Windows Defender Settings
► Click on Virus & Threat protection
► Click on Virus & Threat protection settings
► Scroll down to Exclusions and click on Add or remove exclusions
► Click on Add an exclusion and select the type of thing you want to exclude (File,
Folder, Process)
► Now locate one of the 3 things above that we recommend you exclude
► When found click on the folder or file to mark it blue as ‘selected’
► Then click open in the right lower corner.
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2.3 OTHER ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS
To people who use other Anti-Virus programs to protect their PC. We recommend you
too to exclude Prepar3D and the following folder from your anti-virus program.
► Prepar3D.exe (File)
► Prepar3D Install main folder
► Prepar3D AppData folders
This because of the same reasons mentioned above, preventing your simulator to
stutter while flying because your anti-virus program is scanning the files in your
Prepar3D folder.
2.4 WINDOWS GAME MODE

We at RD-Presets get a lot of questions regarding Windows Game Mode, people ask if
they should use it with Prepar3D to boost performance in their simulator. We don’t
recommend the use of game mode with Prepar3D because we think game mode isn’t
really optimized for use with a program like Prepar3D and you are better off not using
game mode and running the settings for windows that can be found in this guide.
2.5 HYPER-THREADING
The myths about this feature we will explain what it does and if you should use hyper-threading with
Prepar3D V4 or not. Processors that have the hyper-threading feature will use processor resources
more efficiently and will enable multiple threads to be run on a single core. This will result in
improved performance. In the 32-bit period of Prepar3D, there were some people suggesting that
running without hyper-threading would improve performance in Prepar3D. Although this may have
been the case for a few in the 32-bit days. With Prepar3D V4 being 64-bit there is no reason not to
use hyper-threading. We recommend running hyper-threading if your processor is equipped with
this feature.
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3. NVIDIA
NVIDIA drivers and settings can play a big role in the performance of your simulator
although in the last year with the new updates of Prepar3D the Nvidia drivers have
become less important but there are still some tricks/settings to get the most out of
your GPU drivers. At RD presets we only have experience with NVIDIA and not with
AMD and that is why we only discuss the Nvidia drivers and not AMD drivers.
3.1 NVIDIA CONTROL PANEL

How to open the Nvidia control panel:
► Right‐click the Windows desktop

► click NVIDIA Control Panel from the menu
► Manage 3D settings
► Select program: Prepar3D.exe
3.2 NVIDIA DRIVER VERSION

We recommend the use of the latest version of the Nvidia drivers available.
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3.3 POWER MANAGEMENT MODE
This is the most important tweak in the Nvidia Control panel. This will make sure that
the GPU will use all the power available for the maximum performance in your
simulator.
3.4 SHADER CACHE

In the older version of Prepar3D (32-bit versions), there was a benefit in turning shader
cache off because it reduced VAS and decreased the risk of OOM. Because Prepar3D V4
is now 64 bit, turning shader cache off has no real benefit for PCs with enough RAM.
Only people that have 4 GB ram or less can try turning shader cache off.
3.5 FPS LIMITER

We don’t recommend using an FPS limiter in Prepar3D V4. We have found no benefit in
using a limiter and we think it only ‘limits’ your performance in your simulator. Only
when using a 30-hertz display for your simulator we recommend limiting your fps to 30
fps in the Nvidia control panel to have to best possible sync between your monitor and
the frames from the simulator.
3.6 VSYNC
People that use a 60 Hz monitor can try using VSync’s ½ refresh rate setting and triple
buffering in Nvidia inspector. When using these settings combined with an FPS limiter
set to 30 fps can result in a smooth and stutter-free simulator. We think this is worth a
try for people that use a 60 Hz monitor (not for 120 Hz and 144 Hz users). If you choose
to not use the 30 Hz trick in Prepar3D we don’t recommend using Vsync but to leave
Vsync off like the FPS limiter. Use both or don’t use either (Our recommendation).
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3.7 UPDATING NVIDIA DRIVERS
When updating your Nvidia drivers we recommend you use the DDU tool, short for
Display Driver Uninstaller. This tool will make sure everything to do with the driver is
removed before you install the new driver. This will give you the best possible install
and will prevent any corruptions or issues you might otherwise have. Which can result
in weird performance drops in your Prepar3D. You can download this freeware tool on
the Guru3D site when you search for DDU tool on Google. When you have downloaded
the DDU tool, we recommend you use the ‘Clean and restart’ setting. To get the best
possible result. 1 last tip, make sure you download the new Nvidia driver before you
uninstall your old driver, without any drivers installed after the uninstall it can be very
difficult to navigate on the internet and download the driver.
3.8 SLI
For people running more than one GPU (using SLI) in their system, it’s key to get the
most out of both GPU’s so you get the best possible performance in your Prepar3D.
There are a few key settings and features in the Nvidia control panel that will help you
achieve this and get the most out of your SLI setup
3.8.1 CONFIGURE SLI

In the Nvidia control panel under the Configure SLI, Surround, PhysX tab, you will find
some very important setting regarding SLI. Make sure that the SLI configuration is set to
Maximize 3D performance. Otherwise, your simulator will not get the most out of your
SLI setup. And for PhysX settings, we recommend you set it to auto-select as this is the
recommended setting and works well
Recommended setting:
[SLI configuration]: Maximize 3D performance
[PhysX settings]: Auto-select (recommended)
3.8.2 SLI RENDERING MODE

Another setting that is important for you as SLI user is to make sure that the SLI rending
mode is set to Nvidia recommended. You will find this setting in the Nvidia control
panel when you go to Manage 3D settings and in the global settings list.
[SLI Rendering mode]: Nvidia recommended
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4. PREPAR3D SETTINGS
In this chapter of our guide, we will address the in-sim settings of Prepar3D. We will
discuss every setting individually, to give you an understanding of what the setting does
and we will give you a recommendation what setting to use.
Because the in-sim settings very much depend on your PC specs we will recommend
settings on 3 different levels: [LOW-END], [MED-END], [HIGH-END]. We expect you to
know your PC specs well enough to determine in what category your PC belongs.
4.1 GENERAL
The settings in the general sections of Prepar3D are mostly personal preference
settings. We will only go over the settings that have an impact on the way your
simulator looks or performs. All the other settings are up to you.
4.1.1 APPLICATION
4.1.1.1 PAUSE ON TASK SWITCH
This setting can be very annoying while flying. As soon as you focus on a different
program in windows your simulator will pause and wait until you un-pause the
simulator. To prevent this from happening, make sure this setting is turned OFF. This
way your plane will continue flying while you are looking at charts planning the
approach.
4.1.1.2 SHOW SCENARIO STARTUP SCREEN

The best way to load up your Prepar3D for a flight is via this Scenario start-up screen.
With this setting OFF Prepar3D will load you into a flight right away and when done
loading you can set-up the scenario you want. To prevent turn this setting ON and load
all of your scenario settings into the startup screen and click on OK when done to load
the simulator.
4.1.1.3 SCREENSHOT FORMAT

To make sure you can make the best possible screenshots in Prepar3D after you are
done with our guide you should choose PNG or JPEG as you screenshot format. This way
you can impress everybody with the way your simulator looks.
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4.1.1.4 UNIT OF MEASURE
To make sure you don’t encounter any issues with the units of measure in your
simulator we recommend you take a look at these settings before you start flying and
pick the one that you like the most. At RDPresets we are running the Hybrid option
(Feet, Millibars)
4.1.2 INFORMATION
To make your simulator look the most realistic we recommend having all of the settings
in the Information tab OFF. All the texts that layover your simulator can really kill the
immersion. If you want to check your performance with an FPS counter, we recommend
you use the FPS counter from NVIDIA experience and not the in-sim counter.
4.1.3 TRAFFIC
Traffic can have a huge impact on the performance in your Prepar3D. We recommend
you minimize the amount of traffic in you set to run.
4.1.3.1 AVIATION TRAFFIC
If you are using a 3rd party traffic add-on you can play around with this setting and see
what the performance impact is with different settings. We do recommend you don’t go
too high with this setting just because it causes a lot of extra load on your sim with all
the extra AI-planes flying around.
► [LOW-END]: 0%
► [MED-END]: Max. 20% (Set via 3rd party traffic add-on)
► [HIGH-END]: Max. 50% (Set via 3rd party traffic add-on)
► [ULTRA]: Max. 50% (Set via 3rd party traffic add-on)
4.1.3.2 LAND AND SEA TRAFFIC

We suggest to not run any land or sea traffic. It has a lot of impact on performance and
we don’t think it’s worth it.
► [LOW-END]: OFF
► [MED-END]: OFF
► [HIGH-END]: OFF
► [ULTRA]: OFF
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4.1.4 REALISM
There is not much to the realism settings in Prepar3D except you have to make sure the
flight model settings are set like shown below. These settings work best in-sim and
especially with 3rd party add-on planes
4.1.4.1 FLIGHT MODEL
4.2 GRAPHICS
4.2.1 DISPLAY
4.2.1.1 FXAA
If you do not use SGSS you can suffer from instruments and/or texts that are difficult to
read in your virtual cockpit. You can remedy this by turning on FXAA in the menu.
However, our advice is not to use FXAA. It somewhat removes the shimmering of your
instruments, but at the same time, it makes your image very blurry. In addition, FXAA
also has a negative impact on performance, you hand in a number of FPS when using
FXAA.
► [LOW-END]: ON
► [MED-END]: OFF
► [HIGH-END]: OFF
► [ULTRA]: OFF
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4.2.1.2 AA
Aliasing in images can be described as stair-stepping lines or jagged edges that are often
found in lower-resolution displays. The jagged edges are visible because the monitor or
other output device isn't using a high enough resolution to show the smooth line. Anti-
aliasing, then, is a technology that attempts to resolve the aliasing found in the image.
► [LOW-END]: 4xMSAA
► [MED-END]: 8xMSAA
► [HIGH-END] - [ULTRA]: 8xMSAA - 4xSSAA
4.2.1.3 TEXTURE FILTERING

With the Texture filtering option, you indicate how sharp your land and water textures
should be. The higher the value, the better the filtering. This Filtering ensures that all
textures in the distance are also clearly displayed. The method behind this works as
follows, if a texture in the distance is not sharp enough, then Anisotropic Filtering
ensures that the values of the texture are changed. The surface stretches like this, but
because your field of vision also extends in the distance, the texture is sharper.
► [LOW-END]: Anisotropic 8x
► [MED-END]: Anisotropic 8x
► [HIGH-END] - [ULTRA]: Anisotropic 16x
4.2.1.4 TEXTURE RESOLUTION

The texture resolution, the name says it all, determines the resolution of the textures.
This is very dependent on your own wishes. If you have a 4K monitor, you naturally
want the highest resolution textures in 4K.
► [LOW-END]: Medium 1024x1024
► [MED-END]: High 2048x2048
► [HIGH-END] - [ULTRA]: High 2048x2048
► [4K-Monitor users]: Ultra 4096x4096
4.2.1.5 VSYNC
We don’t recommend using Vsync in Prepar3D itself. If you decide to use Vsync with
Prepar3D we recommend you use the Vsync setting in Nvidia inspector or from the
Nvidia control panel. We discuss Vsync in greater detail in chapter 2.5
► [LOW-END]: OFF
► [MED-END]: OFF
► [HIGH-END]: OFF
► [ULTRA]: OFF
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4.2.1.6 WIDE-VIEW ASPECT RATIO
This setting is very simple, we recommend you use Wide-view aspect ratio only when
you have a widescreen monitor.
► [Non-Wide monitor users]: OFF
► [Wide monitor users]: ON
4.2.2 WORLD
4.2.2.1 LEVEL OF DETAIL RADIUS
This setting, like the name would suggest, detriments the level of detail radius, the
higher this setting the further the autogen detail is rendered. As you can imagine this
setting has a huge impact on performance in your simulator.
► [LOW-END]: Medium
► [MED-END]: High
► [HIGH-END]: Ultra
► [ULTRA]: Ultra
4.2.2.2 TESSELLATION FACTOR

Prepar3D would like to know to what extent we want to tax the GPU. Do you have a
powerful GPU? Then definitely choose Ultra, this way you relieve the CPU and move as
much work as possible to the GPU. This provides a lot of benefits compared to the
performance.
► [LOW-END]: Ultra
► [MED-END]: Ultra
► [HIGH-END]: Ultra
► [ULTRA]: Ultra
4.2.2.3 MESH RESOLUTION

This setting determines the detail of the terrain mesh in the simulator. This setting
doesn’t have too much of an impact on your simulator performance but you would see
too much difference between the settings either. We recommend to not spend too much
time with this setting.
► [LOW-END]: 10m
► [MED-END]: 10m
► [HIGH-END]: 5m
► [ULTRA]: 5m
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4.2.2.4 TEXTURE RESOLUTION
This setting is important if you are using any of the ORBX products or any other
photorealistic scenery. Because this setting will determine the texture resolution of the
ground textures in your simulator world. The higher the setting the more effort it
requires from your PC to load all of the detailed ground textures. But we do recommend
you to run a higher setting when you have a high-end PC because this will make the
view out of your cockpit window a lot better.
► [LOW-END]: 60cm
► [MED-END]: 30cm
► [HIGH-END]- [ULTRA]: 15cm
4.2.2.5 USE HIGH-RESOLUTION TERRAIN TEXTURES

This setting improves the overall quality of the ground textures in your simulator. We
recommend this setting ON for every PC because the performance impact is minimal but
worth it when using ORBX products.
► [LOW-END] - [MED-END] - [HIGH-END]: ON
4.2.2.6 SCENERY COMPLEXITY

This setting controls the number of different and custom buildings and other scenery
objects present in your autogen. This setting has a medium effect on performance and
we like running this setting on the higher end because it adds variance to all the autogen
that can look a bit dull from time to time.
► [LOW-END]: Normal
► [MED-END]: Very Dense
► [HIGH-END] Very Dense - Extremely Dense
► [ULTRA]: Extremely Dense
4.2.2.7 AUTOGEN DRAW DISTANCE

This setting is a big performance killer, especially while flying in the radius of big cities
where there is a lot of autogen around, we therefore never recommend running this on
the maximum setting. To make sure your simulator runs smoothly and you are able to
fly to any city you want no matter the size we recommend to always set this setting a
little lower than you maybe expect.
► [MED-END]: Medium-High
► [HIGH-END] Medium-High
► [ULTRA]: High – Very High
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4.2.2.8 AUTOGEN VEGETATION DENSITY
The performance impact is low with this setting. It’s therefore easy to run this setting in
the higher end with every PC. People with high-end machines can even try out maxing
out this setting. but if you do, we do recommend using an add-on for your trees like
ORBX trees HD. The trees that ORBX put in are even more friendly to your FPS than the
default trees and look even better.
► [LOW-END]: Dense
► [MED-END]: Very Dense
► [HIGH-END]: Very Dense
► [ULTRA]: Very Dense or high
4.2.2.9 AUTOGEN BUILDING DENSITY

This is one of those settings that has a big impact on your in-sim performance and that’s
why we recommend you to run it on the lower end. It will make sure your sim runs
smoothly and doesn’t stutter when loading in lots of autogen when a new area is in-
sight. You can play around a bit with this setting and see what the impact is on your PC.
► [LOW-END]: Sparse
► [MED-END]: Normal
► [HIGH-END]: Dense
► [ULTRA]: Dense or higher
4.2.2.10 DYNAMIC 3D AUTOGEN VEGETATION

With the release of Prepar3D V4, this setting was added to the simulator. It enables the
simulator to replace all the trees with 3D dynamic trees. We think that these trees look
very unnatural and we recommend to not use them. Also, these 3D trees have a big
impact on your performance and we think it’s just not worth it at all.
► [LOW-END]: Off
► [MED-END]: Off
► [HIGH-END]: Off
► [ULTRA]: Off
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4.2.2.11 WATER DETAIL
VFR pilots may want to set these settings a little higher than our recommendation but
water detail and reflections have a medium to high impact on the performance and as
an IFR pilot your simulator doesn’t benefit from running high settings in this
department and that’s why for IFR pilots it’s not worth the performance impact these
settings have when running the high setting.
Recommended setting (Water Detail):
► [LOW-END]: Low
► [MED-END]: Medium
► [HIGH-END]: Medium
► [ULTRA]: Medium-High (Only use high when flying VFR)
Recommended setting (Reflections):

► [LOW-END]: All off
► [MED-END]: All off
► [HIGH-END] - [ULTRA]: All off (You can try: only clouds ON)
4.2.2.12 SPECIAL EFFECTS

This setting doesn’t have any impact performance but is required for some add-on
sceneries to see all the details provided with the scenery. This is why we recommend
having the detail setting on high on every PC type. For the special effect distance, we
recommend most people to have this on high as well except the low-end PCs. Having the
special effect distance on medium on low-end PC's can help a little on big add-on
airports
► [LOW-END]: High & Medium
► [MED-END]: High & High
► [HIGH-END] - [ULTRA]: High & High
4.2.3 LIGHTING
4.2.3.1 HDR
At RD Presets we work with HDR settings on a daily basis and we haven’t noticed any
performance difference between running HDR or not. But we think our PTA/Tomato
preset looks a lot better (and is design for) together with HDR in Prepar3D. Or if you are
not using any shader program for your simulator HDR improves the look of Prepar3D.
Recommended setting (Together with RD Presets):
► [Brightness]: 1.05
► [Bloom]: 0.05
► [Saturation]: 1.15
We do encourage you to play around with these HDR settings to find a setting that you
think looks the best / the most realistic to you.
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4.2.3.2 DYNAMIC REFLECTIONS
Dynamic reflections in Prepar3D is a setting that many people don’t understand. But it
is actually not that difficult. If you are using Tomato shade with reflection profiles or
running add-ons that have PBR. you should run this setting on Medium-High. If you are
not using reflection profiles for your aircraft via tomato shade or any add-ons with PBR.
you should have Dynamic Reflections OFF
► [Tomato Shade Aircraft / PBR Reflections ON]: Medium-High
► [Tomato Shade Aircraft / PBR Reflections OFF]: OFF
4.2.3.3 SHADOWS
Shadow settings can play a big role in the way your Prepar3D performs. We have tried a
lot of different settings in this department. We recommend you trying out different
shadow settings to see what works best for you because these setting can really
make/break the performance of your simulator.
Shadow Quality:
► [MED-END]: High
► [HIGH-END]- [ULTRA]: Ultra
Shadow Draw Distance:
► [HIGH-END]- [ULTRA]: High-Ultra
Casting and receiving:
► [LOW-END]: RED
► [MED-END]: RED+ BLUE
► [HIGH-END]- [ULTRA]: RED + BLUE +YELLOW
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4.2.3.4 PBR
One of the newest features added by Lockheed Martin into Prepar3D is PBR (Physically
based rendering). This new feature makes reflections on everything in your simulator
possible, a lot of aircraft developers and scenery developers are currently working on
making their products compatible with PBR. So keep in mind that developers have to
update their products before you will see any PBR reflections and lighting on their
product. PBR is a great addition to your flight sim and will have in some ways the same
effect as tomato shade reflections had on your simulator before PBR came around. We
highly recommend you run your simulator and add-ons with PBR on because it makes a
huge difference in how realistic your Prepar3D looks. But, PBR is a feature that does
come with some performance loss so we recommend you base this setting heavily on
your PC specs.
Dynamic reflections / PBR:
► [LOW-END]: Off-Low
► [HIGH-END]: High-Ultra
► [ULTRA]: High-Ultra
4.2.4 WEATHER
4.2.4.1 CLOUD SETTINGS
Cloud draw distance setting is not important for people using Active Sky or Sky Force
because this setting is controlled via your respective weather engine. For the cloud
coverage density setting, we recommend setting Maximum. Most weather engines
perform the best this way.
► [Cloud draw distance]: (Weather engine controlled)
► [Cloud coverage density]: Maximum
Another important setting to have ON is volumetric fog. At RD we have tested this

setting and concluded that when using Prepar3D with a 3rd party weather engine you
want to have the volumetric fog ON to have your simulator perform smoothly (Running
without volumetric fog we experienced stuttering in-sim).
► [Volumetric Fog]: ON
4.2.4.2 SIMULATION SETTINGS

In this tab, you have to make sure to have the settings ‘Enable turbulence and thermal
effects on vehicle’ ON.
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5. CONFIG FILE
Using tweaks for in the config file of Prepar3D V4 is a difficult topic in the community.
Some tweaks may improve performance in one person’s simulator but decrease
performance in someone else’s. That’s why we recommend you do some testing yourself
with tweaks on the config file of your Prepar3D and see what works on your system.
The best way to test this is to pick 1 aircraft you use a lot and the airport that is your
home base. Then try every tweak one by one in the config and write down the FPS. That
way you can easily check if tweaks have an effect or not. We recommend you only do
this with the tweaks to increase performance (1.2). You can only expect a decrease in
performance if you decide to add tweaks to increase visuals (1.3) into your Prepar3D
config file.
5.1 HOW TO ADD TWEAKS TO YOUR CFG FILE

Adding tweaks/lines to your Prepar3D config file is an easy process and you can read
how it works below, first, you have to open your Prepar3D config file. You will find your
config file in the same location you deleted it from in the previous step.
► Locate the CFG file called ‘Prepar3D.cfg’
► Open this file with notepad (or any other text editor)
Now you have found the config file we can start editing it. Some of the tweaks that we
discuss in this guide are already in the config file but have a different value. If we look at
UseGlobalTerrainView (1.2.2) for example. If we search for this entry in the config file
you will find this:
[TERRAIN]
UseGlobalTerrainView=False
In this case, we only have to change the ‘False’ part of this entry to ‘True’ (see 1.2.2).
This will result in an entry that looks like this:
[TERRAIN]
UseGlobalTerrainView=True
If the entry is already in the config file, there is a [Value change] marking next to the
tweak. In other cases, the entry is not in the config file and you have to add it yourself, in
that case, there will be a [Manual entry] marking next to the tweak. In that case, you
have to copy the line below the subject next to the tweak, as an example: 1.2.3
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[MAIN]
FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.33
The line is FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.33 and it has to be copied and pasted

below the [MAIN] part of the Prepar3D config file ([MAIN] is already in the config file by
default).
5.2 TWEAKS TO INCREASE PERFORMANCE.

The tweaks that we will talk about in 5.2 are only meant to increase performance in
your Prepar3D. That means that some of these tweaks will have an impact on the
visuals in your simulator. We recommend people with a lower end PC’s to try these
tweaks out and see if they work for your system.
5.2.1 AFFINITY MASK

[JOBSCHEDULER] AFFINITYMASK= … [Manual entry]
An affinity mask is a bit mask indicating which CPU Core a process should be run on by
the scheduler of an operating system. Setting the affinity mask for Prepar3D declassifies
its default use of CPU cores, which can lead to better application performance.
The number that you have to use varies with every CPU.
Affinity mask number:

CPU type Hyper-Threading OFF Hyper-Threading ON
2 core 2 4
4 core 14 84/85
6 core 62 1364
8 core 254 21844
10 core 1022 349524
In Prepar3D V4 Affinity Mask will not always improve performance. That’s why we
recommend you compare them for you calculated affinity mask setting with having no
affinity mask tweak in you Prepar3D config at all to see what works best for you.
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5.2.2 GLOBAL TERRAIN VIEW
[TERRAIN] UseGlobalTerrainView=True [Value change]
By default, every camera has its own terrain view which requests texture and dem tiles
near the camera to ensure that all cameras get a quality view of the terrain. When
tessellation is enabled, it is possible for cameras to share data and avoid the extra work
required to manage multiple terrain views. For multi-view scenarios in which all views
are near each other, it may be desirable to have viewed simply render the terrain tiles
loaded by the default view. Setting this option to True will prevent all camera from
creating a terrain view except for the default 3d view. This can help avoid texture
flashing and terrain spikes that occur on some systems with multiple views and/or
multiple video cards. This value can be overridden by the UseGlobalTerrainView entry
in a given CameraDefinition allowing each camera to determine whether or not to
create a terrain view. This setting will be engorged if Tessellation is not enabled.
5.2.3 FIBER FRAME TIME

[MAIN] FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=… [Manual entry]
FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION determines the maximum amount of time per frame

that we will run fiber jobs on the primary thread. We measure how long it took to
simulate and render and then multiply that time by FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION to
determine how long to run the fibers. The FFTF tweak is basically used to scale
performance loss as you limit framerates to keep the same performance ceiling you'd
normally see with unlimited frames. Where FFTF is useful is if you lock at 30FPS and
don't want to see the drop off in frames compared to Unlimited on the high end. But the
downside is that just like with unlimited, you can see blurries with FFTF set too low.
Lower values= higher FPS but increase lower textures (blurries)
► [FPS limiter ON] = [LOW-END] - [MED-END] - [HIGH-END] - [ULTRA]: Range from 0,01 to 0,30
► [FPS limiter OFF] = [LOW-END] - [MED-END] - [HIGH-END] - [ULTRA]: Do not use this tweak.
If you have any issues with blurries in your simulator you have a value that is too low. In
that case, you can use a higher value with this tweak or not use this tweak at all. This
tweak can be very useful for some but can really break someone else’s simulator. Be
careful with this one.
5.3 TWEAKS TO INCREASE VISUALS.

The tweaks that we will talk about in 5.3 are only meant to increase visuals in your
Prepar3D. That means that most of the tweaks will have an impact on the performance
in your simulator. We recommend people with a higher end PC’s to try these tweaks out
and see what the impact on performance is on your system and if you think the visuals
are worth the tradeoff in performance.
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5.3.1 MAX REGIONS PER FRAME
[SCENERY] MAXRegionsPurgePerFrame=1 [Value change]
The default value is 16. This is to help save up VAS in the 32-bit version of Prepar3D. In
Prepar3D V4 64-bit VAS is no longer an issue and there is no risk of the simulator
running out of memory at 4 GB. This means we can change this value to 1 improve the
data loading process in Prepar3D.
5.3.2 TEXTURE BANDWIDTH

[DISPLAY] TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT= … [Value change]
The texture bandwidth mult value is used but only takes effect when framerate limiter
is enabled. It is set up to define the underlying framerate used to calculate texture load
and allocation limits. If you lock to a lower framerate than the value of the texture
bandwidth mult, then the texture load allowance will be increased to accommodate for
the longer than necessary GPU frames.
► [LOW-END]: Range from 40 - 60
► [MED-END]: Range from 70 - 90
► [HIGH-END]: Range from 110 - 160
► [ULTRA]: Range from 110 - 160
5.3.3 LOD RADIUS

[TERRAIN] LOD_RADIUS= 5.5/6.5 [Value change]
This setting will increase the level of detail the ground textures have in the distance. The
default setting is 4.5 and you can increase this to either 5.5 or 6.5 (depending on your
PC specs
► [LOW-END]: Do not use this tweak
► [MED-END]: Do not use this tweak
► [HIGH-END]: If you want to use this tweak use a value of 5.5
► [ULTRA]: If you want to use this tweak use a value of 6.5
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5.3.4 TEXTURE SIZE
[TERRAIN] TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP= 9/10 [Manual entry]
‘TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP’ Is short for ‘texture size exponent’. This is the resolution of the
per-tile texture. By default, this was 8 with previous versions of Prepar3D but now this
can be changed in the config file, 8 being each terrain tile at 256×256 texture. (2^8 =
256). 8 can be replaced by 9 (512 sized textures) or 10 (1024 sized textures) depending
on your PC specs: 9 requires a minimum of 6 GB ram and 10 requires a minimum of 8
GB ram.
► [LOW-END]: Do not use this tweak
► [MED-END]: Do not use this tweak
► [HIGH-END]: If you want to use this tweak use a value of 9
► [ULTRA]: If you want to use this tweak use a value of 9 or 10 (Depending on how much
performance loss you can handle)
5.3.5 SHADOWS
Shadows can really take your simulator to the next level but it can also ruin the
performance of your simulator. This is why low / medium-end and even some high-end
PCs should stay away from these tweaks. And people that have higher and ultra-end PCs
should be very careful. We never recommend running 8k shadows (8192). We
recommend for people that want to use this tweak to use 2048 because this already has
a big impact on the performance and it looks as good as all the other settings (4k and
8k).
[GRAPHICS]
OPAQUE_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE= 2048-4096-8192 [Value change]
With this tweak, you are able to change the resolution of the shadows visible in the
cockpit all the way up to 8K.
[GRAPHICS]
TRANSLUCENT_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE= 2048-4096-8192 [Value change]
With this tweak, you are able to change the resolution of the shadows visible on the
ground all the way up to 8K. this tweak has a big impact on performance when
combined with cloud shadows enabled
5.3.6 INFO TEXT

[MAIN]
HideInfoText=1 [Manual entry]
Gets rid of the text such as "brakes" and other announcements made
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6. WEATHER ENGINES
Weather engines are very important to how your simulator looks and performs and
because of that reason we couldn’t skip weather engines from our Prepar3D guide. We
will discuss the most important settings in 2 different weather engines you could be
used together with Prepar3D. And for the people that aren’t using either Active Sky or
Sky Force, we will give you some general things to look out for when configuring your
weather engine to make sure your clouds look good and it doesn’t have a huge impact
on performance when there is an overcast.
6.1 HIFI ACTIVE SKY

HIFI Active sky could well be the most used weather engine together with Prepar3D V4.
That’s why we will discuss the most important settings within Active Sky to make sure
you have the best possible weather simulation in your simulator without losing lots of
FPS when there are a few clouds around. Before we start with the different settings, you
have to make sure your active sky is set to realism mode this mode will give you the
best and most realistic settings overall. It impacts almost every setting in Active Sky and
it’s an easy way to improve the weather in your sim without changing any settings
yourself. But there are still things that can be better and that’s what we will discuss
right now.
6.1.1 GENERAL OPTIONS

6.1.1.1 DOWNLOAD INTERVAL
The default download interval in Active Sky is 15 minutes. We think this is too long and
recommend you change this setting to the minimum of 5 minutes in between weather
downloads to your sim. This way you always have the most current weather in your sim
and by updating as much as possible the difference between different weather
downloads will be minimized and this will prevent your plane from shaking around
when new weather data is downloaded and there has been a big wind change in the last
15 minutes.
► [Download interval]: 5
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6.1.2 CLOUD OPTIONS
6.1.2.1 MAXIMUM CLOUD LAYERS
The maximum cloud layer setting can significantly affect the performance in your
simulator. The default setting here is 5 cloud layers. We recommend you don’t go higher
than 5 and if you want to gain some performance in-sim we suggest you run 3 cloud
layers here. At RD we run 3 cloud layers just because it saves some performance and we
haven’t noticed a big difference in looks between 3 and 5 cloud layers.
► [LOW-END]: 3 Cloud layers
► [MED-END]: 3 Cloud layers
► [HIGH-END]: 3-5 Cloud Layers
► [ULTRA]: 3-5 Cloud Layers
6.1.2.2 MINIMUM CLOUD DRAW DISTANCE

The minimum cloud draw distance setting is misunderstood by a lot of people but it is
actually a very useful setting with regards to performance in your simulator. When you
set this to a lower value like 60. Active sky will use the minimum cloud draw distance
and the maximum cloud draw distance to determine what the optimum cloud draw
distance is for your situation in sim. If you are at the gate, there is no need to load a
cloud draw distance of 150. So active sky will trim this distance down to safe
performance. We recommend you set this setting as low as possible (60) to give Active
Sky the most possible room to set your cloud draw distance for the best result.
► [LOW-END]: 60
► [MED-END]: 60
► [HIGH-END]: 60
► [ULTRA]: 60
6.1.2.3 MAXIMUM CLOUD DRAW DISTANCE

Maximum cloud draw distance can also have a big impact on the performance in the sim
and this setting really depends on your pc specs. It costs a lot of PC power to run a high
value here. This is also a setting where we recommend you try some different settings
for yourself and see what you think works the best for you.
► [LOW-END]: 60-70
► [MED-END]: 85-90
► [HIGH-END]: 100-120
► [ULTRA]: 100-120
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6.1.3 WIND OPTIONS
6.1.3.1 ENHANCED TURBULENCE
This is a setting that most people miss when using active sky because the default setting
here is OFF. But this really enhances the turbulence experience in your simulator and
we recommend you turn it on and see for yourself.
► [ENHANCED TURBULENCE]: ON
6.2 REX SKY FORCE

REX Sky force is a widely used weather engine in the community together with active
sky. We will discuss some specific settings you will find in Sky force that we think are
important to understand and to have set right to have your simulator performing right
and the best it can while also looking good and realistic.
6.2.1 3D CLOUD MODEL STRUCTURES

6.2.1.1 OVERCAST DENSITY
Overcast density cloud well is the most important setting in REX Sky Force that has to
do with performance as well as the look of the simulator. Overcasts can really kill your
performance but also kill the immersion in-sim if it doesn’t look right. This setting
depends heavily on your PC specs and we will recommend people with lower end PC’s
to really turn this setting to the lower end to save some performance
Stratus:
► [LOW-END]: Less
► [MED-END]: Middle
► [HIGH-END]- [ULTRA]: More
Cumulus:
► [LOW-END]: Less-Medium
► [HIGH-END]: Medium-High
► [ULTRA]: High
6.2.2 VISIBILITY
6.2.2.1 ENABLE REALISTIC HAZE RENDERING
Realistic haze rendering is a great setting in Sky Force and we recommend you make
sure it’s ON to have the most realistic haze possible in Prepar3D. This setting has no
impact on performance.
► [Realistic Haze Rendering]: ON
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6.2.2.2 ENABLE USE OF STRATUS CLOUDS FOR GROUND FOG RENDERING
This setting is really meant for FSX / FSX steam edition users. And because this guide is
for people using Prepar3D we suggest to turn this setting OFF and to use the next
setting in the guide for fog rendering.
► [Enable use of stratus clouds for ground fog rendering]: OFF
6.2.2.3 ENABLE PREPAR3D VOLUMETRIC FOG RENDERING

With this setting ON Sky force will use the built-in volumetric fog engine in Prepar3D
for the fog rendering. This system works very well and we suggest you use this setting
for the best possible look fog.
► [Enable Prepar3D volumetric fog rendering]: ON
6.2.3 RESOLUTION
6.2.3.1 ENABLE AUTO-TUNE OPTIMIZATION
Sky force has this useful setting called auto-tune optimization. This will automatically
set the texture resolutions that sky force uses based on your system specifications and
this way you will always have the best performance and looks in your simulator.
► [Auto-tune optimization]: ON
6.3 OTHER WEATHER ENGINES

Apart from Active Sky and Sky Force, we know that there are still a lot of people out
there that are using other weather engines together with their Prepar3D. And because
we don’t want to skip all the other weather engines but can’t discuss everyone in detail
we will give the people that use other weather engines some quick tips on what settings
they have to look for and what to do with them to make sure they are still getting some
good performance out of their simulator with their weather engine in use.
6.3.1 CLOUD DRAW DISTANCE
The cloud draw distance is one of the most important settings in your weather engine
because it has a big impact on performance and looks in your simulator. This setting
really depends on your PC specs. We recommend you try out different settings yourself
and see what works. But we also have some recommendations for you.
► [LOW-END]: 60-70
► [MED-END]: 85-90
► [HIGH-END]: 100-120
► [ULTRA]: 100-120
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6.3.2 MAXIMUM CLOUD LAYERS
Not all but most weather engines will give you the option to choose what the maximum
number of cloud layers it will load into the simulator at once. This setting together with
the draw distance is the main and most important setting when it comes to clouds in-
sim. For cloud layers, we recommend to not go above 5 for the people with high-end
PC’s. And for all the other pc types or people that want some extra performance in their
sim we suggest 3.
► [LOW-END]: 3 Cloud layers
► [MED-END]: 3 Cloud layers
► [HIGH-END]: 3-5 Cloud Layers
► [ULTRA]: 3-5 Cloud Layers
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7. SIMULATOR LOOKS
Because at RD Presets we care a lot about the look of the simulator and we know what
you do too we want to give you some extra insight into how to make your simulator
look the best and the most realistic like our simulators. There are a lot of factors that
have an impact on how your simulator looks and we can never go over every little thing
in this guide but we can go over the most important things!
7.1 SKY TEXTURES

Something that a lot of people don’t realize when they try to get their Prepar3D to look
how they want it to is that Sky Textures play a huge role in how your simulator looks.
This is why PTA and Tomato preset creators recommend certain sky textures with their
presets because it makes a huge difference and will probably not look right when you
are using different sky textures than recommended with the preset. Or even when you
are not using any PTA or Tomato shade, when setting up your HDR settings sky textures
again play a huge difference in how some colors come out in your simulator. We
recommend you pick the sky textures you want to use before you do anything else and
go from there. So you will not be surprised afterward when you change your sky
textures and your simulator doesn’t look right.
7.2 HDR
Something that is very obvious but we still want to touch on in this guide is the HDR
that is in Prepar3D by default. We for sure recommend having this on because it gives
you simulator some great colors. But we recommend you tune your HDR settings to
match the PTA or Tomato preset that you are using (if you are using one). This will give
you the best effect. Most PTA/Tomato presets come with recommended/suggested HDR
settings. We suggest you try those out first and then start tuning them a little to your
liking while using the recommended settings as a baseline. Important to remember here
is that ‘Pretty looking’ is not always the most ’Realistic’ looking. So keep in mind that if
you are going for that realistic look that a full overcast with rain doesn’t look very
‘Pretty’ in the real world (most of the time) and it shouldn’t in your sim either. (when
going for the realistic look) If you are just going for the pretty look you can just pick an
HDR setting that you like.
36
7.3 PTA
Using PTA with Prepar3D can really set up the way your simulator looks. PTA modifies
the shader files of Prepar3D and makes them look like the PTA Preset creator designed
them. Some prettier than others and some more realistic than others. But the PTA
Preset creators edit a lot of other things apart from the shaders, like the darkness of the
shadows, or how bright or dark the clouds in your simulator are. This to make your
simulator look even more ‘natural’ and enjoyable for you. But it doesn’t matter what
PTA preset you use (The default preset that comes with PTA is very good too) or any
other PTA preset like the RDPresets PTA. it will for sure make your sim look a lot better
and will really add a lot of immersion!
7.4 TOMATO SHADE

Tomato shade is a tool you can closely compare with PTA. Tomato shade is a tool that
also modifies the shaders of Prepar3D and has some extra features that PTA doesn’t
have. This gives preset creators for tomato more options and possibilities to make the
simulator look even better and more realistic.
When tomato shade released it came with a reflection tool that would for the first time
allow real reflections to be displayed on aircraft in Prepar3D. This feature really adds
another level of immersion to your simulator. With the introduction of PBR to 3rd party
add-ons, this tool is no longer needed but for the aircraft that don’t have PBR from their
developers yet, this is still a very good tool to use.
For people suffering from a big performance impact when using Tomato Shade
reflections [LOW, MED-End PCs], you can open Tomato Shade and do the following:
► Go to advanced reflections
► Click on adjust terrain rendering
► Change the maximum texture LOD in reflections to 9
This will make the reflections a little less detail and easier on your PC so you can enjoy
reflections without too much performance loss.
7.5 RESHADE
Reshade is a post-processing injector that can change color and depth and much more in
your simulator. Reshade is in our opinion a very good addition to everyone's simulator
but it comes with some drawbacks. In our experience, reshade can sometimes make
your Prepar3D a little less stable and more exposed to crash to desktops. This is
however not always the case and we highly recommend you try out reshade you can
find on the RDPresets website and see if it works for you! It can really be the cherry on
the cake when it comes to how your Prepar3D looks.
37
8. LET’S FLY
You have come to the end of the RDPresets Prepar3D guide. We hope we have helped
you setting up your simulator the best way possible and you have learned a lot from our
guide! If everything went as it should you now have a Prepar3D you can be very happy
with and use with confidence. If you still have any questions or issues. You can always
contact us via the RDPresets.com website and we will be happy to assist you with any
questions or issues you have with your simulator.
We want to thank you very much for buying our product.

And now it is time to start flying! After all of this tweaking and working on your
simulator it’s time to enjoy and use it again.
Happy flying!
- Robin & Dean
- RDPresets
38

Best Prepar3D Settings

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Best Prepar3D Settings

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LET’S BEGIN

1. Prepar3D install + updating............................................................................ 8

4. Prepar3D settings ............................................................................................. 16

6. Weather engine ................................................................................................. 31

CLEAN CONFIG FILE

How to find the Prepar3D config file:

How to find the Prepar3D Shaders:

CPU I3 4000 Serie I5 8000 Serie I7 7000 Serie I9 9000 Serie

GPU GTX 1050 GTX 1060 GTX 1080(TI) RTX 2080 TI

RAM 4GB 8GB 16GB 16 GB +

Drive Slow HDD Fast HDD / Fast SSD Fast SSD

1.1 INSTALL LOCATION

1.2 RUN AS ADMIN

Make sure you manually delete the follow folders:

2.1 POWER PLAN

► Click on change plan settings

2.1.1 HARD DISK

How to add an exception to Windows Defender:

2.4 WINDOWS GAME MODE

3.1 NVIDIA CONTROL PANEL

► Right‐click the Windows desktop

3.2 NVIDIA DRIVER VERSION

3.4 SHADER CACHE

3.5 FPS LIMITER

3.8.1 CONFIGURE SLI

3.8.2 SLI RENDERING MODE

4.1.1.2 SHOW SCENARIO STARTUP SCREEN

4.1.1.3 SCREENSHOT FORMAT

4.1.3.2 LAND AND SEA TRAFFIC

4.2.1.3 TEXTURE FILTERING

4.2.1.4 TEXTURE RESOLUTION

4.2.2.2 TESSELLATION FACTOR

4.2.2.3 MESH RESOLUTION

4.2.2.5 USE HIGH-RESOLUTION TERRAIN TEXTURES

4.2.2.6 SCENERY COMPLEXITY

4.2.2.7 AUTOGEN DRAW DISTANCE

4.2.2.9 AUTOGEN BUILDING DENSITY

4.2.2.10 DYNAMIC 3D AUTOGEN VEGETATION

Recommended setting (Reflections):

4.2.2.12 SPECIAL EFFECTS

Another important setting to have ON is volumetric fog. At RD we have tested this

4.2.4.2 SIMULATION SETTINGS

5.1 HOW TO ADD TWEAKS TO YOUR CFG FILE

The line is FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.33 and it has to be copied and pasted

5.2 TWEAKS TO INCREASE PERFORMANCE.

5.2.1 AFFINITY MASK

Affinity mask number:

8 core 254 21844

10 core 1022 349524

5.2.3 FIBER FRAME TIME

FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION determines the maximum amount of time per frame

5.3 TWEAKS TO INCREASE VISUALS.

5.3.2 TEXTURE BANDWIDTH

5.3.3 LOD RADIUS

5.3.6 INFO TEXT

6.1 HIFI ACTIVE SKY

6.1.1 GENERAL OPTIONS

6.1.2.2 MINIMUM CLOUD DRAW DISTANCE

6.1.2.3 MAXIMUM CLOUD DRAW DISTANCE

6.2 REX SKY FORCE

6.2.1 3D CLOUD MODEL STRUCTURES

6.2.2.3 ENABLE PREPAR3D VOLUMETRIC FOG RENDERING