VC shadows in the NGX

[WebMaximus 372]

Is there any way to have VC shadows in the NGX or is that 100% tied to the aircraft model?

[Mephic 129]

I have read a lot and it seems that only PMDG can do it

[WebMaximus 372]

OK, searched for this too so thanks for confirming.

 

Maybe I'll drop a post about it in PMDG's forum but guess it'll be fruitless...

[WebMaximus 372]

Someone already asked about this over in PMDG's forum and someone else replied shadows in the virtual cockpit is only possbile in default FSX a/c so now I'm wondering if that really is so?

 

Would be willing to pay to get proper v/c shadows in the NGX since I think this increases the immersion on the flight deck a lot!!

 

Just read in the documentation that came with DX10SF on page 66 that you can manually enable v/c shadows by using a tool called DX10Toolbox, anyone tried this with the NGX?

[Mephic 129]

I think md11 has working shadows. Honestly don't know what's the difference between the two. I'll be checking airbus today

[WebMaximus 372]

Someone over in the PMDG forum just told me he tried using DX10Toolbox with the 777 and it did work but he said the shadows were not "realistic" and also he ran into some CTD issues after forcing v/c shadows so understandably he decided to revert to the default 777 v/c without shadows.

[Mephic 129]

I would also not touch NGX. This is as complex product as 777 an I think they have a lot in common programming-wise.

 

I just hope it will work in Airbus X - to be honest it is such magnificent aircraft that I am sure I will divide my time 50/50

 

Anyway - vc shadows also eat FPS so actually with NGX I'm fine without them and at stable 30-35 )

[WebMaximus 372]

Personally I would be willing to invest a couple of FPS in v/c shadows because my FPS increased by some 10-15 FPS going to DX10 from DX9 so I could afford it :wink:

 

Yeah, I heard lots of good stuff about AXE!

[Mephic 129]

Axe works great with dx10 only some lightning issues which I mentioned in another topic but hope that Steve can help as usual

 

Anyway I'd recommend it but it is 100% different than Boeing and nothing is the same. I am in the middle of a very steep learning curve.

 

As for shadows the enhanced ones look amazing. But I don't think PMDG will do anything about it right now. Although I heard they are preparing for p3dv2 so maybe there is a chance to remodel it

[WebMaximus 372]

Maybe I pick up the AXE one day but for the time being I'm more than happy with the NGX :smile:

 

Speaking about v/c shadows in P3Dv2 I was under the impression all a/c will get v/c shadows or is it like in FSX where these v/c shadows need to be part of the a/c model?

[SteveFx 258]

In FSX DX9 any model built with the FSX SDK gets exterior shadowing. FSX draws the aircraft twice; once into a shadowmap and once for the screen. the first pass is quick because it doesn't access any textures.

 

In DX10 any aircraft built with the FSX SDK gets exterior shadows in and also gets interior shadows if there is a VC model and it has a bit flag set in the header. In this case the VC model is drawn twice once into the shadowmap

 

DX10Toolbox just sets this bit flag. The modeller doesn't need to do anything special.

However you should always check if the EULA of any payware aircraft prevents you from making changes to their model or ask for their permission.

 

Having said that the quality of the VC shadows is determined by decisions that the modeller made in creating the model. Gauges are not drawn and therefore its best to include a solid surface behind the panel.

 

VC walls in some models are drawn as "single sided" facing the inside of the VC. When drawn

in the shadowmap which is an exterior view - the GPU optimises these by discarding the surface which makes the cockpit very sunlit as its effectively treated as open when the shadow are calculated. To generate good shadows these surfaces need to be declared in the model as double sided.

 

You can check this by changing an external camera to be VC view or else raising you seat until you are outside the plane and can look down at the VC. I would guess that this is the cause of the lack of realism referred to.

 

I can disable this optimisation but I have to do this for all objects and it then costs FPS.

 

I would imagine that shadowing works in much the same way for P3Dv2 models.

[WebMaximus 372]

Thank you so much for this very detailed explanation!

 

I will definitely look into this, if I could manage to get v/c shadows in the NGX I would be more than happy

 

Will do some experimenting tomorrow and I guess first step will be to find out where to find the FSX interior model file :wink:

[SteveFx 258]

I don't think its possible because of their use of one sided materials see previous discussions

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/421981-vc-shadows-and-pmdg-777/?hl=%2Bngx+%2Bshadow#entry2808922

 

To repeat if you sit in the VC in any aircraft and hit shift return until you pass through the roof and shift backspace to move forward you can observe which VC surfaces are drawn when viewed from outside which is what is important for shadowing.

 

Since I would assume that P3DV2 may well use a similar approach I expect there is a chance that the material settings are changed in future.

[WebMaximus 372]

I still have to understand what the requirement is for the v/c shadows to work but this is what the NGX v/c looks like from the outside using the technique you suggested.

 

[WebMaximus 372]

Just read that other thread and I also posted a question about this over at PMDG.

 

Let's keep our fingers crossed they reply in a positive way!