Prepar3D Tweak Assistant (PTA) - Screenshots & Presets

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Adam,

 

Does your 05 preset work with PTA_33 and P3Dv3.3.5?  I don't want to mess something up and have backed up my ShadersHLSL folder.  I'm not sure which version you're on.  Looks really good.

 

Thank you

 

Yes it will Jim

[Breeze 17]

Thanks Rich.  I'll give it a try.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Thanks Rich.  I'll give it a try.

 

Anytime Jim  :wink:

[Adamski_NZ 942]

Does your 05 preset work with PTA_33 and P3Dv3.3.5?  I don't want to mess something up and have backed up my ShadersHLSL folder.  I'm not sure which version you're on.  Looks really good.

 

I've updated my presets to work with v1.3 of PTA (for P3Dv3.3.5): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71722992/adamski_PTA_33_13_01.zip

 

... and here's the result:

 

 

One of my old shaders tweaks (LiftGammaGain) is now redundant, as the VC lighting now gets its own setting in PTA. I still use a little overall lightening with CURVES though.

 

Adam.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

I've updated my presets to work with v1.3 of PTA (for P3Dv3.3.5): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71722992/adamski_PTA_33_13_01.zip

 

Super thanks for heads up on tool adding VC brightness setting - great work Yuri   :wink:

[edpatino 1,960]

 

 

One of my old shaders tweaks (LiftGammaGain) is now redundant, as the VC lighting now gets its own setting in PTA. I still use a little overall lightening with CURVES though.

 

Could you please elaborate on the use of CURVES for lightening?.

Thanks, Ed

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Could you please elaborate on the use of CURVES for lightening?.

Thanks, Ed

 

Curves are not much more than turning up brightness as usual but curves is a bit more precise - wouldnt bother with it but just my 2 cents - adds more un-needed complexity 

[Adamski_NZ 942]

I use CURVES in a very minor way - and it dates back to why I'm messing with shaders at all: that, for some reason, many of my screenshots were unnaturally dark/too contrasty - and I wanted a way of correcting what was saved. I could tweak my video card and monitor output to compensate, but the saved V-key image wouldn't contain those corrections.

 

I think part of the problem also is that P3D over exaggerates the darkness in early morning or late afternoon - so if you want good side-lighting/shadow relief on terrain (for dramatic effect), the whole image can be just a fraction too dark.

 

PTA allows me to correct this to a large extent. I supplement the standard PTA shader tweaks with small custom shader (Reshade/SweetFX type) tweaks, using only the ones that don't introduce "clipping" - where shadow detail is lost or highlights burned out.

 

Both Curves and LiftGammaGain, if used carefully, can lighten up the whole image in a fairly controlled way - without loss of detail. I certainly wouldn't say "it adds un-needed complexity" :wink:

 

To answer Ed's original question, though: I don't really understand the curves "mode" or "formulas" (and couldn't really find any decent documentation + examples) so I just use the "contrast" setting with values for the other two parameters arrived at by trial and error.

 

Adam.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

1+ if used carefully

You would want to make very tiny changes or it will go nuts lol - just like curves in photoshop 

[Adamski_NZ 942]

Here's hopefully my final preset:

 

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71722992/adamski_PTA_33_13_02.zip

 

The pic was taken around 10am with a fairly full cloud set to give a wide range of lighting. The preset also seems to work well at mid-day in clear conditions.

 

I added a tiny bit of LiftGammaGain (but not on the VC) so we now have a combination of Curves and LiftGammaGain.

 

Adam.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Looks very nice - to bad you dont use hdr - to bland to me if I dont - luv hdr - downloading anyway   :wink:

[pcartier1960 9]

Very nice! are theses these default P3D clouds?

[edpatino 1,960]

Here's hopefully my final preset:

 

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71722992/adamski_PTA_33_13_02.zip

 

The pic was taken around 10am with a fairly full cloud set to give a wide range of lighting. The preset also seems to work well at mid-day in clear conditions.

 

I added a tiny bit of LiftGammaGain (but not on the VC) so we now have a combination of Curves and LiftGammaGain.

 

Adam.

 

Adam, thanks for the clarification and contribution. Downloaded and test tomorrow.

Cheers, Ed

 

 

Looks very nice - to bad you dont use hdr - to bland to me if I dont - luv hdr - downloading anyway   :wink:

 

Me too, I'll test with HDR ON and see what happens!.

Cheers, Ed

[Adamski_NZ 942]

Very nice! are these these default P3D clouds?

 

Absolutely not! You may need to read back a bit in the current thread: http://www.avsim.com/topic/490178-prepar3d-tweak-assistant-pta-screenshots-presets/#entry3437576

 

Me too, I'll test with HDR ON and see what happens!.

Cheers, Ed

 

As I've often said - I *hate* HDR and its unpredictable effects - but I'm interested (sort of!) to see whether my preset will work with it. I haven't even looked at it with HDR enabled (which speaks volumes!!!).

 

Adam.

[edpatino 1,960]

Absolutely not! You may need to read back a bit in the current thread: http://www.avsim.com/topic/490178-prepar3d-tweak-assistant-pta-screenshots-presets/#entry3437576

 

 

As I've often said - I *hate* HDR and its unpredictable effects - but I'm interested (sort of!) to see whether my preset will work with it. I haven't even looked at it with HDR enabled (which speaks volumes!!!).

 

Adam.

 

Well, I tried your preset, and it's just fine. Works well with HDR ON also (on my system, of course). I would only suggest to increase the lighting in the VC and reduce a bit the brightness of the clouds (too bright on a sunny day). The most critical issue for me was the VC way too dark (I was flying the Shrike from Carenado) and I have to admit that it comes already with a very dark VC.

Cheers, Ed