Can you explain in detail how the visibility works?

[Guest Ruahrc]

Just upgraded from the b132 patch to the new b140- and am happy to report that the direct wind control wind jumping has gone away! So far I do not see any wind jumps at all, but sometimes I forget to closely monitor the wind gauge...Anyways my question had to do with the visibility smoothing function. Previously, I disabled all vis smoothing in AS2004 and had it all set in FSUIPC. starting from 10,000-15000ft it would gradually change from the set vis to 60miles max. So whilst cruising at FL350, etc. the vis was 60 miles.When I installed the b140 patch I disabled all the visibility smoothing in FSUIPC and set it all via AS2004. Had Vis smoothing enabled plus enforce vis limits checked as well. Visibility cap was again set at 60miles. Also note that I had the FS9 haze depiction enabled.Making a flight from KJFK to KMSP the weather in KJFK was vis 1mi in rain. It looked fine with 1mi visibility but then while climbing I lifted out of the fog layer. I did not get a clear view of the horizon while it changed (nose was pointed up in a climb) but it appeared that the vis changed instantly from 1mi to "unlimited" (unlimited being what it would look like using stock FS and setting the vis to unlimited). I don't remember the exact altitude but this happened probably between 6000 and 8000 ft?So my question is can you explain what exactly is supposed to happen with regards to the smooth visibility options? i.e. take my described weather situation and say like when you cross xxxx ft (top of the vis layer) it should gradually transition from 1mi to xx mi in xx seconds or xxxx feet of altitude, etc. so that I can tell if it is working right or if I have a setting wrong.Secondly- what I described appears wrong and does not match up to what I had earlier. What is happening differently? Was it maybe the fs9 haze depiction? I can turn that off and see what it does. Also note that when I noticed this I disabled all the AS2004 visibility control and re-set it in FSUIPC (again 15000ft cap and 60miles max) and at 30,000ft I had the correct 60miles vis as before. I however did not restart AS or FS while making these changes, do messing with these settings require restarts? I did not recieve a notice to do so and therefore thought it was ok.Thanks- great work on the patch so far! You have added many great features and improved the FS environment a great deal!Ruahrc

[Guest Ruahrc]

Update- I figured out what is causing the behavior. First I think I was flying through a bank of clouds once I rose above the vis layer so it started dissapating while I was in the clouds and could not tell- second I think I was just seeing the vis rise above 9 miles which has that big jump in visibility.Lastly I figured out that if you have FS9 haze depiction enabled the max vis cap will not work because in order for FS9 to draw the haze layer below you with that white sheet thing, your aircraft must be above all visibility layers i.e. in the "unlimited" visibility zone?I turned off FS9 haze depiction and got my limited vis at cruise atitudes back. And I figured out the sudden vis shifts by taking off several times at KJFK with the weather loaded. :)So it looks like so far the latest beta has fixed everything to me. (Wind shifts still seem smooth now, and no wind jumping when in VC or spot mode!) I will still need to test it in some more flights but so far so good!Ruahrc

[JSkorna 137]

You got it! Thanks for the reports!Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

[Guest Robscho]

The "Depict visibility layer" option does not seem to create the visibility layer that would appear under FS control in release 1.31.Reason:When you go into "customize weather" in releases 132 and beyond, all the options are greyed out and visibility is reported as unlimited, even if FS is displaying lower visibility. (I went to LIML to test - always poor viz - FS was reporting unlimited, but displaying 3 miles, as reported in the METAR by AS2004)However, in 140, unlike 132, there is actually a ceiling on the visibility layer (at 15,000 feet as reported by FS), which should ensure that a haze layer is depicted at15,000, once you are above 15,000 feet...... but it seems the haze layer is not depicted, even if enabled in AS2004, as the visibility reported in FS weather is unlimited. Haze layer is only introduced by FS2004 when the visibility in the surface layer is less than unlimited.Is this what is supposed to happen?Rob Schofield

[Guest Robscho]

Apologies - the version numbers are wroing in my previous post - reference to post 131, 132 should be 115. The internal AS2004 visibility smoothing which caused the "problem" with the Haze Layer was implemented between 115 and 131.

[JSkorna 137]

Hi All,This visibility stuff has become very complex now! With B140 I can get a user to have any kind of haze they want. Between FS sight distance, FSUIPC settings, and the settings in AS, you can have no haze, some haze, or haze all the time. We tried to take the wishes of everyone and build a system from that.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

[MikeAdamo 51]

Hi Jim,I can get a user to have any kind of haze they want.This is where I'm having a hard time. Trying to find the "sweet spot". I find that the transitions from clear sky to low visibility is still rather abrupt but I'm SURE tweaking some settings will give me the perfect results. I've tried a few suggestions from the forum but with the new release and updated features, I think they're outdated.I'd be interested to see some of the AS2004 team members settings to use as a guide.Thanks for a great product. I'll post more on that once I get through the last of the tweaking :-)Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/ffpc.jpg

[Damian Clark 1,260]

Hi Mike,Most of us are using the straight defaults in AS2004 (normal defaults button) and minimal wx defaults in FSUIPC (all wx options off) for the best results. But it's all up to you. The only thing I recommend is to NOT use FSUIPC graduated visibility - this doesn't work too well in my opinion, and can amplify the transition harshness.Remember, FS9 always transitions the 9sm and 69sm visibility marks quite sifnificantly, and there's nothing that can be done about that. If you don't want transitions across these boundaries then you can always limit your visibilities to 10sm min and 69sm max. If you prefer the FS9 default way of things, with no smoothing whatsoever, with instant shifts into and out of the visibility layer, that is an option too (depict FS9 haze layer ON, visibility smoothing OFF). Alternatively you can choose to NOT depict the haze layer and turn visibility smoothing off so your vis at altitude is the same as it is on the ground. You also have several FSUIPC options (if registered) which can effect things. In conclusion, we've changed the vis handling more times than I'd like to remember.... User feedback has been very subjective here and we found that what works for several users DOES NOT work for others. Not many can agree on what the best way to do things is. So everything is optional now. I hope that with some experimenting, you're able to find some settings that work good for you... and if not, please do give us suggestions on how we can improve your experience.Hope that helps!

[MikeAdamo 51]

Hi DamianThanks for the insight. I have one question for you:you can always limit your visibilities to 10sm min and 69sm maxDoes the min and max vis settings in AS2004 over-ride those from the downloaded TAF info? For example if Calgary International (CYYC) is showing visibility of 3/4sm -RA is this what I would encounter or would the "hard" set 10sm setting take effect?Thanks again for the help and for this great product!!Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/ffpc.jpg

[JSkorna 137]

Hi Mike,In your example, the hard set 10sm would be in effect.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

[bobbyjoh 11]

Hi Jim and Damian,This last build of AS really does work well. However like others I have questions about the correct settings for the visibility. Yesterday I flew from KSFO to KORD, with the haze layer off but vis smoothing on. During the climb I got strange looking affects with the visibility, such as foggy conditions all the way up to FL330. On approach into the ORD the visibility changed very quickly on final. After parking I went into the AS options to look at my settings. I noticed that the tool tips under visibility setting says that this option can affect performance. Is this FPS hit or slower texture loads, what has been your experience with this?However overall B140 is really an improvementThanksBob

[MikeAdamo 51]

Hey Jim,Thanks!! That about answers my questions, back to tweaking :-lolMikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/ffpc.jpg

[Damian Clark 1,260]

Hi Bob,We have one other report of similar "fogged in at high altitude" issues. I have not been able to reproduce yet, and am hoping someone can provide me with a weather file (save as .dat) and flightplan.It should NOT be fogged in at this high altitude. Something is wrong, apparently depending on the area, weather, and flightplan.If you can reproduce with a certain wx file and flightplan please send to me! damianc@hifisim.com. Your as2004.ini would also be appreciated!Thanks!

[bobbyjoh 11]

Thanks for the reply Damian, but the other question that my have some affect on this issue, what PERFORMANCE implications are with the visibility smoothing.CheersBob

[Damian Clark 1,260]

Hi Bob,That performance warning is old and does not apply to the new AS versions. I will modify the tooltip accordingly. Thanks!