In FS2004, whenever I go through a cloud or just make the camera look at a mass of clouds, the framerate will drop to 10 fps or skip every 4 or 5 seconds, or both. This also happens when it is raining. It is worse when I'm in virtual cockpit and spot plane views. Also, when I don't have the window maximized, the framerate will increase, but it will still be below average.
I'm running Windows XP with an NVidia GeForce FX 5200 video card. I normally get a solid 20-30 fps without any rain or many clouds. Snow is fine. I have tried messing with the weather settings and decreasing air traffic, but the framerate still drops. How can I fix this?
Any change in the intensity of the graphics will change the FPS. Just flying over a city will be completely different (frame wise) than flying over the vast emptiness of Alaska.
The only way out of this would be to get the best video card available and even then you're going to see fluctuations in your FPS.
Sometimes the "jerkiness" of the aircraft can be attributed to the unfragged H/D or the overloaded H/D. But even then H/D's for the most part are crap. None of the big manufacturers put a decent drive in their machines.
You could also try the FS2004 Frame Rate Patch:
https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/766/fs2004-frame-rate-fix/ 😉
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