All other files you should forget about.

 

That's simply not true, IMHO the HDE V2 sky textures are the best out there and all they need is a 10 second conversion to 32 bit. I guess it's a matter of preference on the cirrus but I'm using them to and see no problems with them. I wouldn't use the cumulous01.bmp as is at DXT3 though, that one's supposed to be DXT5.

If looking for a free alternative, you may try my cloud-set for P3D. 512x512 DXT5. I made them with performance in mind and also for a more volumetric approach. I think they blend well with the recently added volumetric-particles. There are other cloud-types as well, even sky-textures.  Just pick the cumulus01.bmp.

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10220226/cloudsandskys_P3D.zip

 

Very much a matter of taste, but it cant hurt to have a choise more... ^_^

Cheers, Marcel

That's simply not true, IMHO the HDE V2 sky textures are the best out there and all they need is a 10 second conversion to 32 bit. I guess it's a matter of preference on the cirrus but I'm using them to and see no problems with them. I wouldn't use the cumulous01.bmp as is at DXT3 though, that one's supposed to be DXT5.

 

I stand partially corrected.  ^_^ I always heard those other files wouldn't work and in fact they don't unless, as you say, you convert them. Which might well be a 10 second job for you but not for someone who doesn't have a clue how to convert those files.  ^_^ If you could tell us how to convert those files and which ones exactly (all of them?) I'd like to give them a try too!

 

The cirrus was a mixed bag imho because there was one particular cirrus cloud that showed up all over the sky and was very recognizable and hence repetitive and it also looked very sharp as if it had bad AA, even in the far away distance. Didn't like that at all. But yes, it's a matter of preference. 

 

And I also wondered about DXT3 but since the clouds don't have any problems on my PC I figured it was okay...?

 

 

 

If looking for a free alternative, you may try my cloud-set for P3D. 512x512 DXT5. I made them with performance in mind and also for a more volumetric approach. I think they blend well with the recently added volumetric-particles. There are other cloud-types as well, even sky-textures.  Just pick the cumulus01.bmp.

 

I gave those a try, thanks for sharing those! Much appreciated! However, the clouds shows up very light and very transparent too (with the same weather that gave me 'full' clouds with HDE) so I decided to stick with HDE. 

*cough* REX4

*cough* REX4

 

*cough* HDE v2 is sufficient for my needs and free  ^_^ And btw I've read various posts about problems with REX4 (clouds having a great impact on performance, odd looking water) so I rather stick with what I have for now: looks great and saves me money and frustration. I'll keep a close eye on REX4 though.

HDEv2 sky textures are grey. I couldn't stand it.

I, too, would be interested in knowing how to convert HDEv2 textures into 32 bits ones.

 

Thanks,

Hans

 

 

That's simply not true, IMHO the HDE V2 sky textures are the best out there

 

+1 good FPS and very realistic. 

 

I want my weather to look like real weather not like something out of The Hobbit 

 

 

so does REX not have a 256px option?

 

I believe 512 is it.

 

I used the 256 option in Flight Environment years ago in FSX. Totally eclipsed REX. Might see if I can get those clouds into P3D.

To convert the HDE sky textures you need a copy of Imagetool which can be found here:

 

http://www.cat-tamer.com/flightsim/downloads/imagetool.zip

 

It's just a small executable from the SDK, extract the HDE v2 package to a temporary folder, drop Imagetool.exe into the resulting "SKY COLOR" folder. With no files selected right click the white space in the folder while holding the shift key down and choose "Open a command window here". Select & copy the command below:

 

imagetool -brief -nobeep -nomip -32 -e bmp *.bmp

 

In the DOS window right click and choose "Paste", press "Enter". They are now ready for use in FSX/P3D.

 

Backup your existing sky textures first:

Open your Prepar3D v2\texture folder and sort by name. Press "s-k" in rapid succession which should scroll you down to "sky_afternoon_0.bmp". select it and the 139 remaining sky textures ending with "sky_sunset_9.bmp" (textures beginning with "sky_tb_black1_2.dds" are skyscraper building textures, you don't need to back them up). Copy the 140 selected sky textures to a backup folder somewhere, in case you don't like the HDE sky textures you can just move them back into Prepar3D v2\texture.

 

Move/copy the 140 converted sky textures from HDEv2\SKY COLOR into your Prepar3D v2\texture folder allowing them to overwrite the defaults.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

To convert the cumulus01.bmp to DXT5:

 

For 512px clouds (I use these with a GTX770, ASN, and GetScreenQuadPositions( quad, width*0.6, height*0.6 ) without problems in most cases):

Move Imagetool.exe into the "HDEv2\CUMULUS\3-Cumulus- NORMAL (512x512)32bit" folder (assuming you extracted the HDE v2 package to a temp folder in the step above).

 

For 256px clouds (matches default P3D v2.3 size & format):

Move Imagetool.exe into the "HDEv2\CUMULUS\5-Cumulus-LOW (256x256)" folder (assuming you extracted the HDE v2 package to a temp folder in the step above).

 

Shift/right click the chosen folder, choose "open a command window here" and this time paste the command below:

 

imagetool -brief -nobeep -dxt5 -e bmp cumulus01.bmp

 

Move/copy cumulus01.bmp into your Prepar3D v2\texture folder after backing up your existing one.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I personally like the 512px clouds better than the 256px clouds. Actually clouds in the distance look fine at 256px, in fact being somewhat muted makes them look more "vapor-ish" to me, but sometimes when you're flying right through them at very close range the 256px versions can look pretty pixellated.

 

BTW I've also used the HDE V1 sky textures and they are also nice, they have a dirtier and less saturated look to them, I actually prefer those for late afternoon/early evening flights. mike2060 above says HDE sky textures are gray, yes they are somewhat, they are much less saturated than default, but the default sky textures look purple to me and that's not what I see when I step outside and look around.

 

Disclaimer: Use the above procedures at your own risk. It's pretty simple though so I doubt anyone that's made it to page 27 in this thread will have any problem :smile: . Installing any REX theme will likely overwrite these converted sky and cloud textures BTW. I don't know because my copy of REX4 is still sitting on an Australian server since January, I need to order up the DVD media option and have it delivered through the mail I guess, lol.

 

Jim

Thanks for that tutorial, Jim! Very much appreciated!!!

 

I will convert the 32 bit Cumulus1.bmp to DXT5 and use that one instead of the DXT3 one that comes with HDE v2. I personally like the default P3D sky but if you say the HDE skies are more realistic, I will convert those textures too and give them a try.

Thanks a lot, Jim !

 

Best,

Hans

You're welcome. It's a matter of preference of course, you guys might completely hate 'em! :smile:

 

 

The default cumulus01.bmp is 256px so does REX not have a 256px option?

 

And that is why the REX clouds could cause a performance drop even at 512 and especially at 1024. To be honest, I don't see a significant performance drop when using the REX textures at 512.

You're welcome. It's a matter of preference of course, you guys might completely hate 'em! :smile:

 

Jim, you made my day!!! :smile: Without maybe knowing it, you solved another little problem I had with P3D!

 

I just converted the files as you explained and everything seemed to work well (didn't get an error and the textures loaded fine in P3D). BTW On a sidenote (before I tell you why you made my day) to make testing easier I usually make a copy of P3D's 'texture' folder into the same location and rename it to 'texture original'. After doing so I simply throw all edited textures in the original 'texture' folder. This way if I want to compare textures, I only have to rename 'texture' to 'texture edited' and then 'texture original' to 'texture'. And vice versa. Saves a lot of trouble selecting and copying multiple files all the time.

 

Anyway, the reason that I'm so happy is not just that the sky (which I only tested during daytime so far) indeed looks realistic (after comparing the two I suddenly understood why you called the default sky purple!) but as I said it also solved something that annoyed me quite a bit: the white band of fog (don't what how else to call it) on the horizon (which becomes bigger or smaller depending on the viewing distance that's set by the weather theme or engine)!

Now quite often you won't notice that band but when there aren't much clouds, the difference between the default blue sky and that band of fog is very obvious. And even though that band is soft and blurred, I couldn't help but seeing an actual band all around me all the time. As I said, this annoyed me. And btw even with clouds that band spoiled the immersion a little because because of the contrast between the blue sky above the cloud and all the white beneath them. Anyway, somehow I never had the idea I was looking into a fading distance but I always saw a white band blocking my view. If you know what I mean.

 

However... the colors of the HDE sky turn out to completely fade into the band of fog, simply because the blue towards the horizon is a LOT less blue than with the default sky, more similar, of not completely similar, to that band of fog. And so... that annoying band now has completely disappeared!!! JOY!

 

So thanks for the conversion tutorial once more and for solving my problem at the same time.

 

Here is a screenshot with no clouds at all, clear sky theme loaded and visibility set to 50. (I suppose some people won't even see what I am talking about but to me that band is very obsious!)

 

 

And here is that very same sky with the HDE v2 textures. No band at all! The sky not only looks more realistic but it simply fades into the distance just as the landscape does! There is no band at all anymore! This also really helps to make the clouds in the distance fade into the sky instead of sticking out so you can clearly see where they end (which can also be an immersion killer).

 

 

So... thanks for the tip, Jim. ^_^

 

EDIT

When looking at the screenshots I now see the HDE skies make everything a bit lighter too: look at the VC that's quite a bit darker with the default sky. Don't yet know if this is a nice side effect or not: I liked the darkening of the HDR.