How often do you change your texture sets?

[cmpbellsjc 2,961]

I used to change my sky and clouid sets all the time looking for something that looked realistic for 99% of my flying. Then once I started using ENB I had to change sky sets again since they looked different with ENB enabled. I own FEX, REX and AS2012 and have tried combos from each package.

 

Finally I was turned on to ENBv2 from looking at Ed's (edetroit) screen shots and have since settled on the HDEv2 sunrise, day, and sunset textures since they look the most realistic as anything I have seen and represent what I see 90% of the time where I live.

 

I used one night time sky set from AS2012.

 

I get my Cumulus from FEX after taking a preset and then using the editor to modify it a bit, and use a Cirrus set from REX.

 

Now that I have finally found a set that works for the majority of situations, clouds that dont look over baked like some of the REX stuff, and a good looking sky set, I have no need to tweak or change any further. It took a while to experiment to find what I wanted but now there is no way I will change the combo again. I even backed up all the sky and cloud set textures just in case I do experiment again and forget the magic combo.

[Guest]

This doesn't mean that they are not loaded into FSX when you start it, but infact once loaded they stay installed. So de-selecting all options speeds up the texture loading each time you start FSX.

 

Almost right. ^_^ When you install textures using REX, those textures are installed into the FSX folder, overwriting the original or previous ones, and they indeed stay there 'forever', so until you install other textures again. However deselecting all options does NOT speed up texture loading in FSX: FSX does not load the textures 'through' REX but from its own folders in which the textures are copied and obviously FSX has no idea (and it doesn't care) what the settings in REX are. So FSX loads the textures just as fast with all options selected.

 

The ONE AND ONLY advantage of deselecting options in REX is when you want to install new textures into the FSX folders using REX. Let's say you only want new clouds: in that case you deselect all options apart from the clouds; you pick new clouds and then let REX install them; this time REX will ONLY install cloud textures into the FSX folders.

 

So setting the options only has an effect on the time it takes REX to install new textures, simply because you are limiting the amount of textures REX has to install: it has no effect at ALL on how fast FSX loads them.

 

So (just to be complete) if you do not use the REX weather engine, you can completely forget about REX after installing textures you like. There is NO need to run REX and install the textures every time because once installed into FSX, they stay installed. You could even uninstall REX completely and FSX would still be using the REX textures that are installed in the FSX folder!

 

It would be a great idea if the devs of those texture programs could find a way to make this more clear to their customers... ^_^ If I would I could type this somewhere everyday because 'all over the world' people are reloading the same old textures everytime they start up FSX... what a waste of time.

[Kosta 122]

A short answer: I'm changing often.

[Boeing or not going 578]

I load my route into AS2012 and install the textures for that wx. Lately I've been using Opus for weather but always have Active Sky install the textures based on current weather conditions for the area I'm flying in.

[CFIJose 5,485]

I change my textures depending on weather conditions, location, and time. There are so many options that I sometimes feel that I'm flying for real.

 

The great thing about REX is that you can save your textures and just load them when you want to use them.

 

If you're not using all the options that REX offers, you're missing out on some great features.

 

If you want to see how much REX textures make a difference, check out the screens at the ORBX forums. Some cloud and sky textures make the scenery look stunning!

[mosteen 111]

I am not using REXE as much as I should, I picked textures I liked and installed them, never started REX again, but I'll look into that :unsure:

[tttocs 301]

If you're not using all the options that REX offers, you're missing out on some great features.

 

I haven't tried with REXE+ yet, but I have to say that I never warmed up to letting REX load textures to match wx in REXE. It wasn't so much the time (as others have noted, if you disable stuff you don't need to reload like water, changing sky/cloud textures doesn't take that long) it was that I'd get some pretty wonky looking skies doing it. Of course, the old wx engine wasn't working right for me, so it might be worth fiddling with again. On the other hand, flopping back and forth between REX and Opus since the new release to do comparisons, my limited patience for fiddling is about at an end. :-) I'll always be more of a set it and forget it guy.

 

Scott

[Clutch Cargo 384]

I change mine once in a blue moon. Ooops, wait a minute. I'd better change that moon texture... it's too blue!

[Rations 102]

I change mine once in a blue moon. Ooops, wait a minute. I'd better change that moon texture... it's too blue!

 

Nice!

 

I never pay attention to the moon in FSX. The day textures are generally better in most parts of the world. I find that the night lighting of default FSX scenery tends to amplify the low resolution of the default textures.

[Rocky_53 1,579]

I'm with DJJose and Srdan, IMO it's important to change the theme to fit in with the correct weather. eg. if I'm flying in stormy weather then my water textures are darker, my clouds are CuNims and the sky texture is a washed colour and not a bright blue which I would use in fine weather. Also, I have winter textures, so although the clouds may remain the same I have bluer sunrises and dusk textures which in the summer are warmer. I don't see the point of only using REX or AS to give a single set of textures when there are naturally such marked differences.

[steve howlett 137]

Hi,

 

Recently updated from REX essential to REX essential overdrive, I don't tend to change the textures deliberately but do always load REX up with the real world weather and let it choose it's own textures when installing the weather into FSX.

 

Happy Flying and good question.

yep same here..i let REX do all the work.

 

steve-0

[TurboTomato 90]

I now use the 'Wx Textures' option in REX Ess+ every time I load FSX. Keeps it interesting and can come up with some stunning results, and is much faster at loading the textures than REX Ess was.

[Robccx 3]

I do about once a week. I use the "fly now" feature and put in the departing and arriving locations, let REX load the textures, then start ASE and let it provide the weather. So about everyday I change them.

[simmerhead 885]

Not as often as I did with Flight and Ground Environmrnt coupled to Active Sky in FS2004.