Environment Architect

[Pe11e 812]

http://www.rexsimulations.com/environment.html

 

They got me interested right away! Current;y in alpha testing.

 

 

Environment Architect gives the user complete control over key elements of their flight environment while the flight simulator is running... in real-time!

 

Cloud Coloring
Dynamically change the hues, brightness and contrast of the cloud tops and bases in real-time, while in flight! Alter the clouds for a more realistic appearance in regards to the weather situation. If the weather is stormier looking a user can change the colors of the tops and base of the clouds to make them more dark and menacing.

 

Cloud Transparency
Change the transparency of clouds in real-time while in flight! This helps give a more volumetric appearance. In addition to this feature, it can give certain effects to the sky, such as ground fog and hazy skies.

 

Cloud Swapping

Swap cloud textures in real-time while in flight! You will no longer be required to first select and load clouds before the simulator starts. This process is now automatic and you are able to select clouds within the simulator to match the weather conditions.

 

Cloud Structuring
Complete control of the size, volume and mass of cloud structures in real-time while in flight! If the weather conditions call for overcast, you are able to now change the structure of the clouds, causing the clouds to fill in the gaps. Change the structure of the thunderstorms to make them more ominous with no degradation of FPS or VAS usage.

 

Water Coloring
Adjust the coloring, lighting, reflection and many of the water environment variables in real-time while in flight!

 

Wave Height Modifications
Adjust wave heights and speed in real-time while in flight! If the weather scenario calls for stormy conditions, you can now adjust these parameters to give the feel of flying over stormy seas. 

 

Terrain Tuning
Change the hue and brightness/darkness of the terrain in real-time while in flight! For example: if the weather is overcast, a user can adjust the hue of the terrain properly to make it look dark so that it reflects the current conditions.

[gboz 157]

All very cool but what we really need is their Weather Direct which is supposed to change all these effects in response to current weather conditions.

But as someone pointed out they have been working on Weather Direct for about five years.

 

gb.

[PookyMacMan 4]

They state that the elements of Environment Architect will be included in Weather Direct.

 

By the way, Weather Direct has been in development 2 years, not 5.

[gboz 157]

They state that the elements of Environment Architect will be included in Weather Direct

Well that was my point really.

 

Thanks for the development time frame correction.

Still a long time though.

 

gb.

[pete_auau 1,152]

Still a long time though.

Maybe you should ask the devs at the rex forum why its taking that long, I can probably guess why

[ckyliu 1,749]

Can't imagine there's many people that will want to change all the settings/sliders mentioned by the OP whilst in flight; aren't we suppose to be busy flying aeroplanes?

 

If this software isn't entirely seamless and automatic once you've loaded in to the sim, I find it hard to see the point. I already generate a weather based REX4TD theme before each flight, alt-tabbing out of FSX mid-flight to tweak some sliders because the clouds don't look quite right for the conditions will reduce immersion/realism for me.

 

If automated versions of these features are integrated within Weather Direct then it's worth the development time, hopefully without requiring additional purchases (otherwise WD will start looking very expensive compared to FSXWX).

 

But with all due respect to REX, I think it may've been better focusing on getting Weather Direct released (which will obviously generate a better Return on Investment and more immediate cashflow) and then add these "Environment Force" products and features later to generate further sales.

[gboz 157]

Maybe you should ask the devs at the rex forum why its taking that long, I can probably guess why

 

What they are trying to do would be fantastic and it is not hard to imagine how difficult the process must be. My only grip is the time frame disconnect between development and marketing.

 

gb.

[ckyliu 1,749]

My only grip is the time frame disconnect between development and marketing.

I think that goes for almost all FSX developers! Endless previews, teasers and snippets that whip the community up in to a furore demanding to know release dates.

 

I wonder how it'd work out if developers just announced "we're developing X, it'll have X features, we'll not be discussing it further until near release"?

[Pe11e 812]

Can't imagine there's many people that will want to change all the settings/sliders mentioned by the OP whilst in flight; aren't we suppose to be busy flying aeroplanes?

 

If these software isn't entirely seamless and automatic once you've loaded in to the sim, I find it hard to see the point. I already generate a weather based REX4TD theme before each flight, alt-tabbing out of FSX mid-flight to tweak some sliders because the clouds don't look quite right for the conditions will reduce the immersion/realism for me.

 

If automated versions of these features are integrated within Weather Direct then it's worth the development time, hopefully without requiring additional purchases (otherwise WD will start looking very expensive compared to FSXWX!)

 

But with all due respect to Hi-Fi, I think it may've been better focusing on getting Weather Direct released (which will obviously generate a better Return on Investment) and then add these "Environment Force" products and features later to tempt in further customers.

 

So you are practically suggesting that is more practical to restart FSX 5 times to see change of 5 sets of textures, than to see the changes in flight? I believe that you also went through that painful procedure of finding a perfect textures after numerous restarts, in my case the number goes well over 100

[ckyliu 1,749]

Afraid not, I use FSX to fly!

 

Before each flight I generate and load an automatic weather based theme in REX4TD, that's it. FSXWX generates real weather itself, and I love that because it's simple.

 

I'm tired of years of constant tweaking just to get FSX looking acceptable, stable and fluid! I appreciate some people must adjust everything to the Nth degree so it's perfect to their eye, but I believe products should be set up with proper defaults out-of-the-box that are more than acceptable for 90% of users, and any changes should be done automatically if possible.

 

FSX seems to be the only game where people spend ages developing and messing around with this kind of stuff (e.g. you never hear of GTA5 players spending hours adjusting the default road and sky textures to exactly suit their tastes, they just want new content and functionality).

 

Perhaps I'm just not a true "hardcore" simmer?

[Pe11e 812]

Sadly I can't do that because of my SweetFX preset that makes the clouds very bright. So I must edit all cloud DXT textures and reduce the brightness. Environment Architect will do that for me in the sim. Sadly I can't fly without SweetFX, FSX looks unbearable and too dark without it.