FS Elemental

[Aristoteles 471]

I batch converted FSElements clouds to DXT3 format and reduced their size from 5.33Mb each to 1Mb, and the quality difference is hard to spot if you ask me.

[red1 0]

I batch converted FSElements clouds to DXT3 format and reduced their size from 5.33Mb each to 1Mb, and the quality difference is hard to spot if you ask me.

Which plane is that? How come the plane textures look so much better than mine : /

[Aristoteles 471]

http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=52840Here you are.

[jlohrenz 133]

IS there a tutorial on how to batch convert images to DXT3 format? I'm very interested in doing this but am unsure how.

[Aristoteles 471]

Download this:http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=105908

[red1 0]

Aristoteles, have to noticed what I mentioned when converting to DXT3 textures? Or is it only a problem with the FE Pro conversion of their clouds?

[docbrown 0]

FS Elemental looks great, but it is a resource hog on slower systems. My graphics card is horrible (integrated), which gives me about 25-30fps. After FS Elemental, I got 15-17fps! - no wonder though, the FSE texture folder is 157MB, while the old textures are only about 38MB.Does anybody know how to make the files smaller? I converted the clouds to DXT3, but what about the others, specifically the nice water textures? The water texture files are 512x512, while the old ones are 128x128. Is there a way to change the FSE water textures to that same format?

[Aristoteles 471]

1.Search for the X:Program Files/Elemental Software Solutions\FS Elemental\NaturalPack\source folder, 2.Copy the cloud, water,....textures you want to convert to a container folder ("DXT3 textures" for example ). Keep the folder names in mind so you will later know where to paste them.3.Download the Batch Converter from Meatwater http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=105908and unzip its contents to the folder you just created (in my example "DXT3 textures")4. Double click on the file bmp2dxt3.bat. This will start the conversion process.5. After it finishes, click the DONE button and move the converted textures to your sim, replacing the much bigger ones already present. You can always revert to the previous state by double clicking of FsElemental INSTALL button anyway.

[ravilamir 0]

Hi Inigo!Thanks for your advice! I converted the clouds to DXT3 and they still look amazing and the hit on FPS is very much tolerable!Thank you! :( Soft Landings! :(

[Aristoteles 471]

You are welcome, you can even leave the cumulus bitmap untouched and enjoy its spectacular beauty, it

[ravilamir 0]

Aye, will try that one!Thanks!Soft Landings! :(

[psolk 3,041]

Aye, will try that one!Thanks!Soft Landings! :(

Can it be installed on a Wide-FS networked machine? I couldn't find a manual or a FAQ but then again I might not have looked hard enough ;)Thanks in advance,-Paul

[Jure 36]

Can it be installed on a Wide-FS networked machine? I couldn't find a manual or a FAQ but then again I might not have looked hard enough ;)Thanks in advance,-Paul

Hi Paul,it's been a while... how's life? :(I looked hard but couldn't find anything either. I simply installed the whole thing in my FSScenery folder on the main FS machine. What you get is a "Backup" and a "Source" folder if my memory serves me. GUI that comes with FSE is there to simply copy all the files from "Source" and it's sub-folders into the FS folders, so you could easily create a batch file which would copy the files over the network. With the GUI you get an all-or-nothing approach, so I am thinking of creating a few simple batch files to copy different parts of FS E (clouds, water, skies, etc...) But... for clouds, sky and water I am going back to FE inspite the inferior resolution. Somehow, while in certain situation the FS E clouds look extremely nice, the feel is ... just.... not right. Just my personal opinion, FS E is very well done indeed and would recommend it to anyone with a powerful enough machine to run it's big textures.Regards,Jure

[FlightLevel180 0]

Okay I finally feel like I can step in and add a cent or two about this product. To give some perspective here I would like to advise that I have never purchased any weather/sky enhancement other than Active Sky 6 for FS9. I have also been using for quite a while now Real Environment Pro and I love the water, runway, and sky enhancements that it offers. When I saw the screenshots of the FS Elemental site my jaw dropped and since it's very affordable I decided to go for it. First off, the website has been unavailable for days now and that is extremely aggravating to me- I was only able to purchase this thing due to having found it listed at a website's pilot shop for sale. After installing I found that I really have been missing out on cloud textures! I love the ones that are from this package but I have not quite got it looking like they do on the screenshots, but in time I guess I will. I liked some aspects of the new runway lights, but I didnt like the tarmac/runway replacement textures at all (compared to the Real Environment Pro) and the new Taxi/Landing Lights are atrociously BRIGHT for my taste. I prefer the replacement file found here that is much dimmer/transparent and realistic.What I DID really like other than the new cloud files was the generic airport grass textures. It has made it much harder to 'spot' my unimproved airports (read default) due to a big block of unblended surround vegetation. It seems the new grass makes it blend much more realistically.I have been on the fence for a long time and now that I know I could purchase the Flight Environment X package and run the clouds in FS9, it's very tempting. However, as some others pointed out, I belive that the package Ive had my eyes on for quite a while now will be used once it's released (REX for FS9) will be used to set this package aside other than maybe the grass texture.Ive noticed no performance hit with the package- Im running-AMDx2 64 3.2Ghz4 Gigs RAM9800 512mb RAM cardWindows XP SP2 HomeAND all of this is in a full size home cockpit with 4 PCs total running.

[Six7th 0]

Is it me..or does the water look a bit too blue?