What turned the corner....

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I was in the mood for FS9 after work last night, and something in the screenshot link I've added at the bottom of this post made me remember what I think was the most groundbreaking new feature added to the MSFS franchise--terrain shadows.Whether a screenshot from FS9, FSX or even FS2002, I am still awestruck every time I see the terrain shadows around dawn and dusk, and the dance of shadow and light they create in the sim. They are really outstanding in the level of depth they offer to MSFS. If you want a treat, just plan a flight from Reno to Palm Springs, don't plan on flying any higher than ten thousand feet or so, and set the time an hour or two before dusk. MSFS will unfold before you like the Grand Canyon at sunset, and almost every moment will be different from the next.We may challenge each other about which sim is best, but there's some moments that don't require having an opinion--only being a passive observer at the art that flight simulation can unfold before us.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=246786&page=-John

[Guest lemonadedrinker]

Hi,Yes indeed- sometimes the colours are spectacular, and usually it's a surprise as well !Andy.

[flyinpilot212121 724]

Im a little curious Did you tweak ur clouds in order to keep good frames because i have twice ur system(still not good) and cant get clouds like that and keep good frames ?

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I did tweak the clouds a bit, but only a bit. I resized the cumulus01.bmp to 128x128, and it's saved as 32 bit (888-8) format. My other cumulus bitmaps are 256x256, but it's been so long since I've tweaked them, I can't recall if I resized them or if 256x256 was their native format.-JohnEdit: I should add that given the limitations of my system, the cloud draw distance is set to 30 miles, but I do have 100 pct. 3-d in use and full cloud coverage. One secret to nice performance with the 3-d clouds is to limit the layers and thickness. I set up my weather manually and will normally use two layers, max and try to keep the cloud thickness at 3500 ft. or less.