confused over different weather with same metar

[mazelda 124]

Hi I'm new to opus and have already asked about weather differences as seen in fsx and real world but i'm getting more  confused as I've been playing around trying to get as close to how it looks outside  to what i'm seeing in fsx

I already have REX which I use  for the textures both ground and sky/clouds and with todays weather in Edinburgh thought I would have a play but I'm getting very different pictures

Rex is the first one and shows the weather pretty much how it looks at the moment at EGPH but Opus the second picture shows it far to clear with patches of blue sky visible

the metar for both was as follows EGPH 291620Z 22010KT 9000 SHRA SCTO20CB 16/15Q1005

why so different? I'm guessing it might have something to do with the cirrus clouds as you can adjust them more in REX but other than that everything else is exactly the same

I'm currently using 3.19.4 beta of opus.

Any ideas/help to get Opus looking better  I've set Opus up as per recommendations in the manuals

 

Thanks

[Opus Software 84]

Untick the Thunderstorms need TS Condition otherwise the CBs will be converted into Towering Cumulus.

 

You have 9000m vis indicated in the Opus very well along with the scattered cloud cover at 2000 feet. Scattered cloud should be only 3 to 4 eights cloud cover ... That is between 37.5 to 50 percent cloud cover .. That means either MORE or EQUAL amounts of blue sky. I DON'T see that in the REX picture, the sky is far too covered in cloud and does NOT represent the METAR. As I've said the METAR is gospel and yours says Scattered cloud NOT broken or overcast !

 

So just untick the above to get CBs if you want CB cloud types which also gives lightning in FSX (all CBs are active in FSX).

 

The METAR is also time stamped for 16:20 Zulu, that is 20 minutes past five your local time, or over an hour ago. This was the reported 'actual' weather in EGPH at that time.

 

But once again you should see reduced visibility of 9000 metres and a maximum of 50 percent cloud cover, or at least 50 percent blue sky. Both are represented perfectly in Opus and not at all in the other program.

 

Stephen

[mazelda 124]

Thanks Stephen

I think Rex must do something to the colours also as REX seems much darker also

[Opus Software 84]

They have added cloud that has not been reported in the METAR to produce a dark overcast sky, not what was reported! Definitely NOT scattered, which means there should be at least 50 percent blue sky poking through. You cannot change the colours of the sky, so they have added non existent cloud layers.

 

Stephen

[Opus Software 84]

To give you some idea what you can do with sky and cloud textures, here are a couple of examples importing your above METAR,

 

GLOB 250850Z 22007KT 9000 SHRA SCT020CB 16/15 Q1005

 

The first screen shot uses FEX Soft and Natural clouds with Natural Haze Sky.

The second screen shot uses FEX Dark Storms clouds again with Natural Haze Sky.

 

Others use HDEv2 and I believe there are some excellent dark and natural FEX cloud sets some use. To me either screen shot is acceptable, the first looks like the sky we had here with exact same SCT020CB report. The second shot fills in more with darker cloud cells. Both are very natural looking and in both Opus has rendered the surface visibility correctly.

 

Stephen