FORUM ALERT X-Plane 10: Clouds & Datarefs - Questions

[Murmur 3,941]

Wow just looking at those pictures is amazing. Sadly I've never seen weather this good in Xplane. Is it possible for you to share what you've done, or at least write a small tutorial on how to achieve such great feat?

 

The screenshots have been made experimenting (some of them some time ago) so I don't remember all the exact tweaks used. However, you can try this:

 

.) rename the "resources/bitmaps/clouds" folder, and replace it with this one (warning: on update, X-Plane will rewrite the original cloud texture files without asking, so you will have to delete the original files again after updating X-Plane):

 

http://www.filedropper.com/clouds_1

 

.) replace this bitmap in "resources/bitmaps/skycolors":

 

http://www.filedropper.com/skycolorsmount

 

.) use this lua script (of course you need FlyWithLua installed):

 

http://www.filedropper.com/clouds_2

[Denco 48]

The screenshots have been made experimenting (some of them some time ago) so I don't remember all the exact tweaks used. However, you can try this:

 

.) rename the "resources/bitmaps/clouds" folder, and replace it with this one (warning: on update, X-Plane will rewrite the original cloud texture files without asking, so you will have to delete the original files again after updating X-Plane):

 

http://www.filedropper.com/clouds_1

 

.) replace this bitmap in "resources/bitmaps/skycolors":

 

http://www.filedropper.com/skycolorsmount

 

.) use this lua script (of course you need FlyWithLua installed):

 

http://www.filedropper.com/clouds_2

Thx I'll give this a try. From the pictures above they look amazing

[CFIJose 5,485]

The screenshots have been made experimenting (some of them some time ago) so I don't remember all the exact tweaks used. However, you can try this:

 

.) rename the "resources/bitmaps/clouds" folder, and replace it with this one (warning: on update, X-Plane will rewrite the original cloud texture files without asking, so you will have to delete the original files again after updating X-Plane):

 

http://www.filedropper.com/clouds_1

 

.) replace this bitmap in "resources/bitmaps/skycolors":

 

http://www.filedropper.com/skycolorsmount

 

.) use this lua script (of course you need FlyWithLua installed):

 

http://www.filedropper.com/clouds_2

Thanks.

 

Do I disable SMP v3?

[Murmur 3,941]

Thanks.

 

Do I disable SMP v3?

 

Yes, otherwise it will disable the default cloud engine.

[CFIJose 5,485]

Yes, otherwise it will disable the default cloud engine.

Thank you.

 

I will test in 10.50 b7.

[Murmur 3,941]

Thx I'll give this a try. From the pictures above they look amazing

 

Thanks.

 

Do I disable SMP v3?

 

Forgot to say that you must set your "cloud detail" slider in the rendering settings at minimum (10%), otherwise your FPS will suffer and the cloud textures could look too cramped. With the slider at minimum instead, you should see an improvement in FPS compared to default clouds.

[CFIJose 5,485]

Forgot to say that you must set your "cloud detail" slider in the rendering settings at minimum (10%), otherwise your FPS will suffer and the cloud textures could look too cramped. With the slider at minimum instead, you should see an improvement in FPS compared to default clouds.

I just completed a flight from KEYW to KMIA and the clouds look great. I have several pics, but I'm unable to post because OZx is not allowing me to upload the pics.

 

This is going to make a lot of XP simmers very happy. Thank YOU!!!!

 

Edit. Here's some pics:

http://imgur.com/a/JQe2u

[Murmur 3,941]

I just completed a flight from KEYW to KMIA and the clouds look great. I have several pics, but I'm unable to post because OZx is not allowing me to upload the pics.

 

This is going to make a lot of XP simmers very happy. Thank YOU!!!!

 

Edit. Here's some pics:

http://imgur.com/a/JQe2u

http://imgur.com/a/JQe2u

http://imgur.com/a/JQe2u

http://imgur.com/a/JQe2u

http://imgur.com/a/JQe2u

http://imgur.com/a/JQe2u

 

Uhm... Something does not look right to me.

 

Apart from the sky colors (that I think are from SMP), the clouds too seem different. Did you completely disable SMP? Did you renamed the "cloud" folder and substituted it with mine? Are you using the LUA script?

 

Here's what I get with just the above tweaks. What weather conditions are you using in the screenshots?

 

 

 

[CFIJose 5,485]

Uhm... Something does not look right to me.

 

Apart from the sky colors (that I think are from SMP), the clouds too seem different. Did you completely disable SMP? Did you renamed the "cloud" folder and substituted it with mine? Are you using the LUA script?

 

Here's what I get with just the above tweaks. What weather conditions are you using in the screenshots?

 

 

 

Those clouds do look different.

 

I did everything you asked me to do (disable smp v3 & rwc) except for the "set "cloud detail" slider in the rendering settings at minimum (10%)" because I did the flight, then noticed your post. I think that the setting was more like 50%. I have to verify the number. I used dynamic weather provided by FSGRW from KEYW - KMIA. The sky textures are freeware.

 

I did like the clouds, but yours seem even softer.

 

I will try your 10% setting and use default weather generator and re-test. Thanks.

[Murmur 3,941]

Those clouds do look different.

 

I did everything you asked me to do (disable smp v3 & rwc) except for the "set "cloud detail" slider in the rendering settings at minimum (10%)" because I did the flight, then noticed your post. I think that the setting was more like 50%. I have to verify the number. I used dynamic weather provided by FSGRW from KEYW - KMIA. The sky textures are freeware.

 

I did like the clouds, but yours seem even softer.

 

I will try your 10% setting and use default weather generator and re-test. Thanks.

 

Now I notice you're running RTH. Maybe it interferes with cloud settings, you could try disabling it and see if something changes.

[CFIJose 5,485]

I'll do some more testing. Tks

[mtaxp 666]

Default clouds have so much potenial, they can create awesome formations.

2 problems which I think are basicly related to each other:

 

1) only 3 layers

2) no towered clouds

 

Maybe V11 will fix those limitations, I sent to Austin an email a while ago and he said it's actually on the to do list IIRC.

[Jimmy RFR 406]

 

 

use this lua script (of course you need FlyWithLua installed):

http://www.filedropper.com/clouds_2

 

Questions, if you don't mind! :wink:

 

- What does 'cloud/fade_far_end' do? I had tried messing with those, but couldn't quite tell what effect, if any, I was having.

 

- Also, do you know what the relationship is between 'clouds/diffuse_gain', 'clouds/spec_gain', and 'clouds/ambient_gain'? I had good luck with tweaking ambient gain, but perhaps I should look closer at the other two?

[Colonel X 1,430]

 

 

But your screenshots all show my primary issue with SMP: In situations with few/broken/scattered cloud cover present, It always feels like you're flying in the middle of a 'circle' of clouds, especially at low altitudes where I usually fly.
 
My primary reason for tweaking the default clouds was to see if I could get around that for low altitude flying in conditions with really good visibility, and I think I've been successful, being able to set it up so that I have the impression that the clouds are stretching out farther than I can see. I know some of it is trickery, since there actually aren't any clouds farther than the visibility set in the sim, but the tweaked default clouds blend so nicely with the scattering at the visibility limit, at least at lower altitudes. I have no idea how it looks up high, since I rarely fly anything up there in my sim.

 

Hmm, actually that "circle" of clouds thing is something I associate with X-Plane's default clouds (especially at higher altitudes). Using RWC with the very moderate setting of 10.000km radius, I believe the results are much better. I wonder why that's a deal at all for you, as you say you fly low? When I find the time, I'll try to post some shots comparable to yours using SMP.

 

Oh and BTW did you know that SMP comes with a very well commented configuration file (I think it is called SilverLining.cfg) which enables you to customize SMP comprehensively? I am sure you'd be more effective editing this file compared to messing with X-Plane's datarefs for clouds, you should at least have a look at it!

[Murmur 3,941]

Questions, if you don't mind! :wink:

 

- What does 'cloud/fade_far_end' do? I had tried messing with those, but couldn't quite tell what effect, if any, I was having.

 

- Also, do you know what the relationship is between 'clouds/diffuse_gain', 'clouds/spec_gain', and 'clouds/ambient_gain'? I had good luck with tweaking ambient gain, but perhaps I should look closer at the other two?

 

- 'cloud/fade_far_end' seems to extend the drawing of cloud puffs at the border between one layer and the next (I mean the 6 horizontal layers, internally named 0-5). In practice, increasing the value should make the border between different layers stand out less.

 

- Those 3 datarefs control cloud lighting. It's very interesting how it works.

 

'clouds/spec_gain' controls the specular lighting. That is the bright reflected glare you see on the clouds when looking towards the sun. You can easily see it's effect if you change the value while the sun is more or less centered on the screen.

 

'clouds/ambient_gain' controls the ambient light. That corresponds to the bottom left square in the skycolors texture. Ambient light is light due to the sky, so it is uniform for every cloud puff and it should have a white/grey/bluish tint. It tends to give clouds a uniform, milky structure.

 

'clouds/diffuse_gain' controls the diffuse light. That corresponds to the bottom right square in the skycolors texture. Diffuse light is light coming from the sun, and reflected in every direction. It is NOT uniform for every cloud puff (some puffs will be more illuminated, others less). It should have a white tint during daytime, shifting to yellow/orange/reddish during sunset (and black after sunset).

 

BUT: it is influenced by a dateref called "cloud/sample_opacity". If you set opacity to 0, every cloud puff will have the same diffuse illumination, so in that case the diffuse light will behave exactly as ambient light (but using different colors in the skycolors texture). If you set the opacity to 1 instead, there will be a lot of color difference between different cloud puffs.

 

So, to sum it up: both ambient and diffuse light gains should be set at values between 0 and a little more than 1 (values much greater than 1 will produce overexposed and unrealistic bright clouds);

 

X-Plane is not very good at drawing solid structured clouds, but much better at drawing soft milky clouds, so probably it's better to use a very low opacity value (I use 0.02). Then you can play with the ambient gain (uniform greyish illumination) and the diffuse gain (varying white/reddish illumination) to improve the final results.