xp 11 clouds

[Spam3d 54]

I'm using the clouds from this video, instructions are in the bottom, and totally free!

 

[pkofman 4]

Ok so the truth is that i have been a long long time p3d and fsx user. I tried to change to xplane many times but gave up and i did not really like the look and feel. But i tried x plane 11 and the interface is great and i was hoping to make a switch. I think it has fantastic capabilities. I know v11 has some glitches but we have all been at this for years so i consider it a w.i.p

 

But....

 

I am intrigued by the answers in this thread  re clouds. As we all know the other sims ( and 3rd party companies)  have gone to great lengths to really enhance the cloud and the real time / real feel weather experience. I was sort of surprised by the answers here that indicate that clouds have not really been addressed ( or that there are issues with them ). I will check out xenviro and the other stuff because after all it is a flight sim( tryning to emulate the real world ) and clouds are a big part of a realistic flying experience.

 

Peter

[deetee 164]

Try their FB page, there's plenty of cool screenshots :

https://www.facebook.com/groups/xenviro/

[Jimm 437]

Ok so the truth is that i have been a long long time p3d and fsx user. I tried to change to xplane many times but gave up and i did not really like the look and feel. But i tried x plane 11 and the interface is great and i was hoping to make a switch. I think it has fantastic capabilities. I know v11 has some glitches but we have all been at this for years so i consider it a w.i.p

 

But....

 

I am intrigued by the answers in this thread  re clouds. As we all know the other sims ( and 3rd party companies)  have gone to great lengths to really enhance the cloud and the real time / real feel weather experience. I was sort of surprised by the answers here that indicate that clouds have not really been addressed ( or that there are issues with them ). I will check out xenviro and the other stuff because after all it is a flight sim( tryning to emulate the real world ) and clouds are a big part of a realistic flying experience.

 

Peter

Ever since I started using X-Plane (religiously), I have been a big proponent of freeware or even donationware, from the wonderful group of devs and artists who contribute to XP.  That being said, if you feel you are on the fence about a particular add-on, especially a paid one, why not try free solutions first?  You have nothing to lose, to try something for free (even donationware initially), and see how it works on your system and if it suits your needs.  If after a period of testing, you feel you need something better, then check out the paid add-ons.  I just hate to see someone plunk down a load of cash for an add-on, only to be disappointed with the results.  The marketing on both fronts for weather add-ons is pretty strong, just like the opinions for and against those add-ons.  If you aren't too particular on what you have as long as it looks and behaves realistically, you may find the freeware or donationware will suffice.

 

Also consider, at this point in time, that XP11 is still Beta and we could expect a drastic improvement along the way.

[airlinejets 709]

Anybody who complains about XP clouds, needs to look at the above video.

[anden145 2,273]

I'm using the clouds from this video, instructions are in the bottom, and totally free!

 

 

Looks very nice, I admit...

What weather addon was used here? Could anybody suggest a weather addon - freeware would be preferable...

Currently, I refuse to pay for xEnviro. It's just too expensive, IMO!

[pkofman 4]

Looks very nice, I admit...

What weather addon was used here? Could anybody suggest a weather addon - freeware would be preferable...

Currently, I refuse to pay for xEnviro. It's just too expensive, IMO!

 

Looks very nice, I admit...

What weather addon was used here? Could anybody suggest a weather addon - freeware would be preferable...

Currently, I refuse to pay for xEnviro. It's just too expensive, IMO!

where are the instructions for this. I will try it in xp11

[Charles575943 7]

Here you go!

 

These XP plugins will not cost you a penny. You can tweak the clouds/colour with this nice plugin 3jclouds2 

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/35574-3jclouds2-pimp-your-default-clouds/

 

There is also a plugin called Ventura Sky2

http://venturasky.com/

 

You will need Fly With LUA, just drop these small scripts into your Fly With LUA scripts folder.

I like my XP11 clouds now, I am a pilot and sometimes the clouds look very real especially with the micro puffs within cloud layers!

 

Chas.

[Paraffin 2,197]

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.

 

To expand on that a little (aimed at newcomers, since XP old hands know this)...

 

X-Plane's weather model is based on a stack of horizontal layers surrounding the plane at the center. It's not a full 3D weather engine that can model discrete weather systems like an anvil-head thunderstorm ahead of the plane with vertical convection flowing up and down within the storm system. The only vertical winds in X-Plane are the lift you get over mountain ridges that makes glider flying possible. Everything else is horizontal. Thunderstorms are essentially faked with heavy clouds and severe turbulence, but not vertical convection.

 

Weather add-ons like XEnviro and SkyMaxx use various methods to fake the appearance of discrete 3D weather systems so at least it looks somewhat realistic. Skymaxx can also dynamically morph cloud shapes, which looks better than static bitmaps. But the underlying X-Plane weather engine just isn't capable of the 3D modeling that can represent a chain of separate thunderstorm heads your plane is approaching, each with their own vertical flow.

 

So it's partly a question of how realistic the clouds look, which weather add-ons can improve, and also how clouds should act, and we're a long way from what's needed in that area with certain systems like CBs, dynamic transitions between weather fronts, and so on. Improvements in this area will have to come from Laminar. And then we'll probably have to upgrade our weather-add ons when that happens, but such is life.  :smile:  

[Murmur 3,941]

 

 

On a completely unrelated note, do you know if xEnviro clouds move with wind?

[Paraffin 2,197]

On a completely unrelated note, do you know if xEnviro clouds move with wind?

 

Not at lower levels (don't know about the flight levels). I ran a test just now to be sure, with the plane sitting on the runway and letting it run over the course of a half-hour with two injected updates in the weather. The XEnviro weather showed about a 50% mix of low level cumulus and blue sky. It was the nearest GA airport to my home and the winds are blowing at around 10-15mph at ground level. The real clouds are definitely moving!

 

It was interesting. Over that half hour period, the XEnviro clouds never moved (like they do in SkyMaxx Pro). They looked like they were a painted billboard on the sky. But they did thicken up a little bit with each METAR update. 

 

So that's something that could be improved with XEnviro. Although it's mainly noticeable if you're just sitting for a while on the runway somewhere. Not so much in flight, where the plane's motion tends to mask the fact that the clouds aren't moving.

[Spam3d 54]

where are the instructions for this. I will try it in xp11

Look in the video description-

 

• Clouds: HD clouds and LUA script by Murmur (see post #87 + #88 on this page:

http://www.avsim.com/topic/492132-clo..., optional try this link: http://tinyurl.com/gwrcszm)

You may find the link to the files has expired, you should find the files here

 

https://drive.google...bVJiYmliT3NoN28

[738Captain 4]

To expand on that a little (aimed at newcomers, since XP old hands know this)...

 

X-Plane's weather model is based on a stack of horizontal layers surrounding the plane at the center. It's not a full 3D weather engine that can model discrete weather systems like an anvil-head thunderstorm ahead of the plane with vertical convection flowing up and down within the storm system. The only vertical winds in X-Plane are the lift you get over mountain ridges that makes glider flying possible. Everything else is horizontal. Thunderstorms are essentially faked with heavy clouds and severe turbulence, but not vertical convection.

 

Weather add-ons like XEnviro and SkyMaxx use various methods to fake the appearance of discrete 3D weather systems so at least it looks somewhat realistic. Skymaxx can also dynamically morph cloud shapes, which looks better than static bitmaps. But the underlying X-Plane weather engine just isn't capable of the 3D modeling that can represent a chain of separate thunderstorm heads your plane is approaching, each with their own vertical flow.

 

So it's partly a question of how realistic the clouds look, which weather add-ons can improve, and also how clouds should act, and we're a long way from what's needed in that area with certain systems like CBs, dynamic transitions between weather fronts, and so on. Improvements in this area will have to come from Laminar. And then we'll probably have to upgrade our weather-add ons when that happens, but such is life.  :smile:  

 

Can third party developers like HiFi(Active Sky) and REX remodel the weather engine? Or develop their own, and override the X-Plane weather engine?

[Paraffin 2,197]

Can third party developers like HiFi(Active Sky) and REX remodel the weather engine? Or develop their own, and override the X-Plane weather engine?

 

There is a degree of override possible by 3rd party devs. I think even back in XP10, SkyMaxx was adding additional horizontal layers. XEnviro manages to show weather out to the horizon, which isn't a feature of the default sim. Cloud textures can be easily replaced, sky color palette adjusted, haze added or reduced. 

 

However, I don't think the vertical convection effects in an anvil-head CB (including downblast/winshear at the surface), or similar effects with frontal walls are possible until Laminar moves to a full 3D weather model.

 

Austin has mentioned that a 3D model is needed to move forward, but there is no timeframe for it. This suggests to me that the hooks aren't there for 3rd party weather developers to completely replace the weather engine in X-Plane.

[738Captain 4]

There is a degree of override possible by 3rd party devs. I think even back in XP10, SkyMaxx was adding additional horizontal layers. XEnviro manages to show weather out to the horizon, which isn't a feature of the default sim. Cloud textures can be easily replaced, sky color palette adjusted, haze added or reduced. 

 

However, I don't think the vertical convection effects in an anvil-head CB (including downblast/winshear at the surface), or similar effects with frontal walls are possible until Laminar moves to a full 3D weather model.

 

Austin has mentioned that a 3D model is needed to move forward, but there is no timeframe for it. This suggests to me that the hooks aren't there for 3rd party weather developers to completely replace the weather engine in X-Plane.

 

That's disappointing. I was hoping third party developers would able to strengthen some of X-Plane's weaknesses, like they did with FSX based sims. I was planning to move to X-Plane once we come out of Beta, and PMDG move the NGX and 777 over. In my opinion, X-Plane has the greatest potential over any of the desktop sims (released and unreleased). But, LR need to at least put the foundation in place for a 3D weather model. So third party developers can build proper weather engines. And it should be done within a year after the official release of X-Plane 11.