xp 11 clouds

[pkofman 4]

x-plane 11 clouds

It seems as though when i have a nice overcast layer in x - plane 11 my clouds are very "black" looking.

I can understand shades of grey but these are actually very very dark

Is this the way it is meant to be in x-plane 11 or is this a texture issue

Peter

[Arthur42417 193]

11 versions of this sim and they still can't get clouds right :Shame On You: 

[ricka47 611]

The default clouds in XP11 are not pretty.  I'm using xEnviro and SkyMaxx Pro is another option to fix that.

[Jimm 437]

x-plane 11 clouds

It seems as though when i have a nice overcast layer in x - plane 11 my clouds are very "black" looking.

I can understand shades of grey but these are actually very very dark

Is this the way it is meant to be in x-plane 11 or is this a texture issue

Peter

A cheaper alternative is to use FlyWithLua and generate your own script to change the art controls.  It is a temporary measure though, since it has been discussed and answered by Ben, over at the XP forums, that the art controls are available only during beta testing (and should not be toyed with, though many already have).  I have been using my own custom script (with free cloud textures at the XP.org downloads section), with the results being a whole lot better.  I can attest that it is safe to manipulate the values for now and won't hurt the sim.

[pkofman 4]

EEKS!

I was sort of hoping it was my computer or the beta. Not pretty and very unrealistic.

I do however really like the xplane 11 sim so far but this cloud texture apprearance situation  is a but weird. IMHO

Peter

[Guest]

Clouds are apparently on their to-do-list, but I wouldn't expect any changes in the near future. As has been pointed out, there are both freeware and payware solutions to solve this ugly problem.

[Murmur 3,941]

11 versions of this sim and they still can't get clouds right :Shame On You: 

 

13 version of MSFS (including its P3D successor) and they still can't get visuals and scenery depiction right (blurries, stutters, OOMs, baked in textures, extremely poor night lighting, etc.) :Shame On You:

 

Every flight sim has its strong and weak points...

[mwilk 1,106]

11 versions of this sim and they still can't get clouds right :Shame On You: 

If FSX or P3D had the clouds "right" there would have to be multiple applications with cloud textures for each. You can pick apart each sim all day long if that's your intention.

[deetee 164]

To Peter the OP, get xEnviro and never look back. I was flying P3D with AS2016 on Saturday and remember thinking that XP11 + xEnviro actually looked much better, even this early in its life. Then as I was beginning my approach the OOM alarm started dinging and I wondered why I even bothered starting up P3D (it was to fly the PMDG 777 but I pretty much expected the OOM anyway lol).

[pkofman 4]

Clouds are apparently on their to-do-list, but I wouldn't expect any changes in the near future. As has been pointed out, there are both freeware and payware solutions to solve this ugly problem.

Thank you...im good with that, just wanted to make sure it was not just me and that i was not doing something incorrect

Peter

[Jimm 437]

13 version of MSFS (including its P3D successor) and they still can't get visuals and scenery depiction right (blurries, stutters, OOMs, baked in textures, extremely poor night lighting, etc.) :Shame On You:

 

Every flight sim has its strong and weak points...

I will entertain a response with just one fact: MSFS and P3D are currently 32-bit simulators and are subject to VAS limits, hence these issues of the past and at present.

[Mountain Man 142]

To Peter the OP, get xEnviro and never look back.

 

xEnviro is almost unconscionably expensive.  I really don't consider it a viable solution unless the price is cut by at least 25%.

 

But what's the actual source of the problem with the clouds?  Is it in the rendering, meaning it has to be fixed in the engine itself?  Or can it be resolved with a simple texture swap?

[Arthur42417 193]

 

 

Every flight sim has its strong and weak points...

true but earlier fs versions plus fs9/fsx/p3d default skies/clouds look more realistic.  Even Flightgear and Aerofly default clouds are better than xp11.

[Jimm 437]

xEnviro is almost unconscionably expensive.  I really don't consider it a viable solution unless the price is cut by at least 25%.

 

But what's the actual source of the problem with the clouds?  Is it in the rendering, meaning it has to be fixed in the engine itself?  Or can it be resolved with a simple texture swap?

I believe the solution lies with the datarefs, due to the fact that I was successful in fixing the dark cloud issue buy changing the values of several datarefs contained within the art controls of XP.  The results are not 100% perfect, but they are a far cry from the default appearance.  It is my own personal hope that before XP11 goes to RTM (or whatever LR chooses to use as their final product code), they at least revisit the art controls and bake in the fixes to make the clouds worth looking at.

[Murmur 3,941]

But what's the actual source of the problem with the clouds?  Is it in the rendering, meaning it has to be fixed in the engine itself?  Or can it be resolved with a simple texture swap?

 

Both. Using tweaked art controls and better textures, the visuals (and also performance) could be improved. But there are other limitations (both visually and performance wise) that should be improved by the engine itself.