Hi Pirata, they do look good indeed but TBH they don't look like the default!

Are those not from one of the the HD cloud packages up on the Org (I have some very similar)?

 

Indeed deetee, these are the freeware HD clouds, my point was that XP renders clouds nicely as the OP states.

Hi Pirata, they do look good indeed but TBH they don't look like the default!

Are those not from one of the the HD cloud packages up on the Org (I have some very similar)?

 

Do the HD cloud textures really make that much of a difference? That screenshot above looks very much like what I see when running with default textures.

 

And speaking of seasonal textures, there was a thread recently discussing a third-party developer who was planning to offer them, so there's the solution for those who really, really care about that sort of thing.

My point still stands and always will, yes they do "look" nice, but the weather systems are modelled poorly, and visibility limits and rendering limits are all wrong. So, it doesn't matter how "pretty" they are, they still look bad, their wrong. I / we want a "real" simulator, not something that just looks / is "plausible".

 

Glen

 

There, I said something nice....and pointed out Xplanes glaring flaws in regards to clouds / weather all in one paragraph.

 

"We" really, really care about things that are important to a flight simulator. "You" don't mind a reasonable approximation, I want the "advertised" best / real simulator, still waiting.

 

It's funny, why don't you guys ever take a screen shot more than 1-2 thousand feet above the cloud layer, trying to hide something? You can't, we all know what it looks like.....bad (c'mon, show me that mushroom of cloud around the aircraft and tell me it looks nice, didn't think so). And why don't you ever post a screen shot below the cloud layer, say from the ground, why, it still looks bad. You can show all the screen shots you like, it still is flawed, and when something is flawed or wrong it doesn't matter how hard you try to pretty it up, it's still ugly. Your trying to add makeup to something that's ugly, admit that it's ugly and hope that it gets better. A little honesty can go a long way to improving situations, hiding behind facts does nothing to improve a situation.

 

Everyone is well aware of Xplanes flaws, and there are many. For every "praise" of the program, it's not hard to find 3x the number of flaws. Some sing the praises, in some cases there warranted, in many there not. There's a easy way to "fix" the problem, "fix" the flaws and then we all will be happy. Some 13+ months into this release and we are all still waiting. It sometimes feels like things will never get fixed because "the developer" doesn't see these issues as problems. Well they are, and they need to be fixed, and I won't shut up until they are.

 

If he's waiting to implement the fixes or release them in a "new" version, say, Xplane 11, I can assure you he won't be getting $70 here. I refuse to play that game. I rather spend $50 for something, and buy worthy addons, than spend $70 and be continually disappointed, release after release after release. Do I spend more money in the long run, sure, but at least I'm getting what I want, and paid for.

 

I would gladly spend $50 more for good ATC, $50 for good ai Traffic, $50 for a good weather program, there's probably more. Are they in the works, not that I know of, and I highly doubt it if past precedence is any indicator. If I could sit and have a coffee with Austin I would ask that he stop trying to develop the program in areas that he doesn't excel at, refine the 64 bit base, and leave it alone so people that make worthy addons for flight simulators can bring your program to the level it deserves. To continually just plug away at it year after year is not going to cut it, let the addon experts in, and bring this program to the top, where it belongs.

 

Until it offers all those things in a worthy usable fashion, it won't be at the top, but I'm preaching to the choir here, we all know this already, don't we?

:rolleyes:

Everyone is well aware of Xplanes flaws, and there are many. For every "praise" of the program, it's not hard to find 3x the number of flaws. Some sing the praises, in some cases there warranted, in many there not. There's a easy way to "fix" the problem, "fix" the flaws and then we all will be happy. Some 13+ months into this release and we are all still waiting. It sometimes feels like things will never get fixed because "the developer" doesn't see these issues as problems. Well they are, and they need to be fixed, and I won't shut up until they are.

 

Let me remind you that the "other sim" is well into 6 years and still has flaws when it comes to rendering default clouds. If it wasn't for Rex, opus etc, some of you "other sim" lovers will be complaining about it.

 

I'll say it again, XP is still in BETA state. Give it a chance and I'm sure eventually these flaws will be addressed.

 

Do the HD cloud textures really make that much of a difference? That screenshot above looks very much like what I see when running with default textures.

 

I do like the default textures, but since these where available to try out for free I decided to try them out. I do like them and can see some difference, but like everything else, it all comes down to personal taste.

the weather systems are modelled poorly, and visibility limits and rendering limits are all wrong

 

Sounds like you have vast experience in weather simulation and quite knowledgeable in software development. If that is the case I will accept these bold statements.

Let me remind you that the "other sim" is well into 6 years and still has flaws when it comes to rendering default clouds. If it wasn't for Rex, opus etc, some of you "other sim" lovers will be complaining about it.

 

...and this introduces the pros and cons of the continual development cycle. While there's no denying whatsoever that there are a lot of flaws and omissions in the FSX world, at least the FSX community knows (*almost from day one of release!) that Microsoft wasn't going to go further with it until the next version three or four years down the road. This opens the door to 3rd parties to jump in and fill those gaps, which they do with reckless abandon. With X-Plane, it's more difficult for a 3rd party developer to determine what features will be finished by Laminar Research, and what features will not. It is refreshing to have a product like X-Plane under continual development, but such a process is not without short and long term drawbacks.

I'll say it again, XP is still in BETA state. Give it a chance and I'm sure eventually these flaws will be addressed.

Whether you consider "beta" to refer only to the test releases between stable versions, or the whole cradle-to-grave process of an X-Plane version lifecycle - There's no denying that X-Plane 10 is in a continual state of change from its birth until the day Laminar decides to move on to X-Plane 11. Who knows how long that will be or what will be addressed in that timeline.

 

It is what it is - and for this user, it's one of the more challenging cultural differences to wrap my pea brain around.

Now, I didn't say anything about comparing to another program did I, see, here we go again. Man you people are pathetically defensive, and I don't say that kindly. I was speaking of Xplane on it's own merit, and nothing else.

 

Mountain Man, not surprised with the response, to bad. :rolleyes: When you have something that "I" may find interesting to add, speak up, otherwise I don't see the point of posting. Your response serves no purpose, other than to show you have nothing meaningful to add.

 

My only experience is with my wallet, and with the other simulators available in the market place today I get very accurate weather with addons. Can't say the same here, is that so hard for some of you to comprehend, shouldn't be, it's pretty obvious to see.

 

Glen

Well, I decidet to order it today. I do this with a strong running FSX in mind, so what can I loose? It's less than a dinner with family. Still hoping for seasons. Not those texture replacements, but an inbuild feature that changes seasonal textures as you travel. Until the parcel arrives I will redownload my payware from XP9 and hope most will work. And I need an RXP GPS for XP, can't stand the default ones.

pathetically defensive,

 

Amen to that!

 

You did not respond to my previous post, so I assume you don't posses any vast knowledge in weather simulation and/or software development. Making comments like "weather systems are modelled poorly, and visibility limits and rendering limits are all wrong" with out good knowledge of it is plain and simply "Pathetic"

Ralf, good for you. Hope you enjoy it, as we do. The more people we can get in here to help push for some meaningful change....the better for all, even you Mountain Man. B)

 

Glen

 

Pirata, very mature....I did respond, just not the way you wanted.

 

Were not supposed to make comparisons here, and I wasn't in my last post. Seeing as the flood gates have been opened again (by the same people all the time I might add) the weather in XPX is poor when compared to addons that I can purchase for FSX, there, are you happier now, that's my measuring stick for weather comparison. There's a multitude of good weather addons for FSX, how many are there for Xplane, none, and it needs it. I really don't care where I get good weather, if I have to pay extra so be it. I don't have that choice in XPX yet, another situation that shouldn't be hard for some of you to understand, but seems to be. I don't know how I can make things any easier for some of you to understand, I will try though, as challenging as it is.

 

Glen

Mountain Man, not surprised with the response, to bad. When you have something that "I" may find interesting to add, speak up, otherwise I don't see the point of posting. Your response serves no purpose, other than to show you have nothing meaningful to add.

 

And I suppose the provocative and confrontational tone of your post was just you trying to be "interesting" and "meaningful", is that right?

Not at all, I meant every word I said, not trying to be cute or interesting at all. I treat our conversations here no different that if we were sitting at a table face to face having a discussion.

 

Was your "emoticon" not being confrontational? I didn't start it, you did. If you don't like my reasoning or what I have to say, fine, and the fact that you may not "like" what I have to say is really, really, irrelevant. I'm not here to keep the peace, or follow along like a sheep. I'm a paying user that wants change, and I "WILL" voice an opinion. I could care less whether you like it or not. Offer something constructive to the discussion, it would be welcomed.

 

Glen

I think Glen is being honest-not confrontational-something that often seems to be hard to accept in the xplane culture.

I meant every word I said

 

As my daddy always says, it's not what you say, it's how you say it.