REX Sky Force - Cloud Model Sync Explanation

[Guest]

2 hours ago, geolpilot said:

There should be 1161 .cld files if Skyforce has installed its cloud models

I checked and the folder contains 1819 files...! Two xml ones and the rest are .cld. The CloudArtFiles.xml was created by REX!

To check what files were in that folder I installed the SF cloud models once more and ended up with exactly 1160 SF cloud models (not 1161), dated today. (Makes you wonder what's up with the rest of the 1509 models will install?!?!?)

Then I saw there also were 308 ASCA cld files! (Not 307.) They all were dated yesterday.

And then there were 349 more cld files, all dated on May 25, 2017. 293 of them started with an underscore, the other 56 didn't. I suppose these are the default P3D cld files.

So... could it be the ASCA files are causing the trouble? That the Active Sky engine sees those ASCA files and uses them, prioritizing them over the SF files?

I will see what happens if I delete those ASCA files and run my test flight. But I doubt what to do with those other default files...

2 hours ago, geolpilot said:

At the date and time you last installed a texture set for clouds from Skyforce, there should be a few (only a few!) updated .bmp files. 2 of these are cumulus01.bmp and cumulus02.bmp.

Here is gets even more worrying... After installing both clouds sets (1) in SkyForce there were NO cumulus files being updated at all! Heck, there weren't even any OTHER fiules being updated! The only recently updated files were 5 files from yesterday, all starting with rex_ and then rainbow, glow, flare, corona and blob.bmp.There defenitely is something wrong here.

However, REX said my STRUCTURES weren't from REX, nothing was said about the textures. But the structures are there so... I am completely lost right now.

For starters I will do a COMPLETE reinstall of REX SkyForce 3D.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, David Roch said:

Oh boy... Life was easier with FS98!

Haha, yes, it sure was!

[vgbaron 3,714]

41 minutes ago, J van E said:

I use the ENVTEX skies through ASCA so they are injected on the fly depending on the weather. So I do need ASCA for this and so I have to untick the clouds and so ASCA will reset that file back to default all the time... This means you can not use ASCA at ALL, so it seems...

Does anyone here who also uses ASCA for ENVTEX sky really have those SF clouds, I seriously wonder...?

Well, if that were true then all those claiming how great SF clouds are were really talking about ASCA.

NOT -  the problem is thinking that ASCA resets to defaults if you do not use any of it's options. Incorrect - just like all the other clouds programs, whatever was LOADED LAST is what is used. You can manually cause ASCA to restore defaults or uninstall it but just unchecking a selection does not restore it to defaults, ASCA just ignores the clouds and the weather program uses whatever is currently at hand.

 

Vic

 

[Guest]

Just now, vgbaron said:

Incorrect - just like all the other clouds programs, whatever was LOADED LAST is what is used. You can manually cause ASCA to restore defaults or uninstall it but just unchecking a selection does not restore it to defaults, ASCA just ignores the clouds and the weather program uses whatever is currently at hand.

Good to hear.

[kurtb 123]

 

 

flew past thunderstorms at FAOR, are these rain walls ore rain tunnels, storm cells appeared on radar- just asking

[geolpilot 88]

Quoting REX

32 minutes ago, Nyxx said:

these are all brand new model structures, developed close to the real formations, doubled the texture mapping for them which require the new SF cloud textures

 

Yes indeed. There are over a thousand new .cld models supplied by SF, some small, but a few are over 200kb in size (max ASCA .cld models around 70kb). So those 200kb .cld files must be pretty detailed cloud models (many sprite planes defining some pretty complex cloud structures). Many new names amongst those, so definitely new cloud structures (like incus). The overcast models are also new for sure as its really solid as far as the eye can see - never seen this before in all my years of simming.

The more limited number of models in ASCA also caused an annoying repeat of cloud models when it was trying to model a sky full of clouds. Some were subtly rotated to try to hide this but you could certainly see it was the same cloud model. REX SF has so many models, I have yet to detect a repeat in the cloudiest sky.

And looking at the texture files,  they have a far better quality with fine artistic details.Put those onto the cloud models has to equal a drastic improvement in cloud depiction (which I am certainly seeing).

Also gone for me are those flickering edges of fog / mist planes intersecting topography. Just a nice, fine cloudy mist around mountains and in valleys, smoothly  fading against the topo.

[geolpilot 88]

48 minutes ago, kurtb said:

are these rain walls ore rain tunnels, storm cells appeared on radar- just asking

Top image looks like it has definite rain shafts. What weather engine were you using?

[Nyxx 6,994]

I have 1161 new files after install today.

[kurtb 123]

as16 envtex skyforce

 

[geolpilot 88]

2 minutes ago, kurtb said:

as16

mmm so maybe those rain shaft models will show up after all with AS. I have had no luck today hunting for them.

[Guest]

Just to keep you updated. I uninstalled SF completely and reinstalled it again. Before running it the first time I applied the hotfix. During the install (again, a brand new install of SF) I had the cloud and texture folders opened to see what would happen. First things I noticed:

1. SF installs all of its 1160 .cld files into the cloud folder right away, so without asking. It also immediately installs its own CloudArtFiles.xml. All the default files are also still in that folder.  It is also clear that there aren't 1509 models to install, there are 1160. (And btw when you uninstall SF none of the cloud files are being removed: they stay where they are forever. Only the xml is being replaced.)

2. SF also install 172 bmp's into the sim right away, again without asking! After the initial setup, when SF says it is installing core files, these files showed up in my texture folder: files for sun, sunglow, moon, flare, moonglow, skies, cirrus and cumulus, the whole lot... and that all without asking!

The big question is: did SF install its own set of DEFAULT textures or did it actually install NEW SF textures without telling me so? Luckily. for good testing purposes I made a manual backup of the entire 'cloud' and 'texture' folder... so I to compare default P3D with SF I think I can simply switch those folders. (Am I correct in thinking that?) Anyway, the new files that SF put in the texture folder are all a lot bigger so at least somehow different. Because the interface of SF tells me Set 1 is installed of everything I actually DO think that SF installs ALL textures without asking, overwriting everything you had installed.

So without changing any setting or installing any set it seems SF has installed itself already into the sim. Very odd. I don't think I like this. This is not how it should be done.

[B777ER 2,492]

1 hour ago, J van E said:

Here is gets even more worrying... After installing both clouds sets (1) in SkyForce there were NO cumulus files being updated at all! Heck, there weren't even any OTHER fiules being updated! The only recently updated files were 5 files from yesterday, all starting with rex_ and then rainbow, glow, flare, corona and blob.bmp.There defenitely is something wrong here.

However, REX said my STRUCTURES weren't from REX, nothing was said about the textures. But the structures are there so... I am completely lost right now.

For starters I will do a COMPLETE reinstall of REX SkyForce 3D.

Same with me. No cumulus files were updated. I had those other rex_rainbow, glow, flare, Corona and blob installed as well even though I never installed them manually. I am completely lost as to what I did wrong. 

[B777ER 2,492]

1 hour ago, vgbaron said:

Well, if that were true then all those claiming how great SF clouds are were really talking about ASCA.

NOT -  the problem is thinking that ASCA resets to defaults if you do not use any of it's options. Incorrect - just like all the other clouds programs, whatever was LOADED LAST is what is used. You can manually cause ASCA to restore defaults or uninstall it but just unchecking a selection does not restore it to defaults, ASCA just ignores the clouds and the weather program uses whatever is currently at hand.

 

Vic

 

I think what might be happening is because ASCA still has sky textures ticked on it is overwriting the xml file. If that happens REX doesn't have the correct scripts to show the cloud models. 

[vgbaron 3,714]

18 minutes ago, J van E said:

So without changing any setting or installing any set it seems SF has installed itself already into the sim. Very odd. I don't think I like this. This is not how it should be done.

I would suspect there's a backup methodology somewhere. When you uninstalled SF, did it replace all the files it installed? If it diid not, that could get messy.

Vic

[vgbaron 3,714]

1 minute ago, B777ER said:

I think what might be happening is because ASCA still has sky textures ticked on it is overwriting the xml file. If that happens REX doesn't have the correct scripts to show the cloud models. 

Nope, ASCA leaves everything alone except for what is checked. If you uncheck clouds AND install REX,FEX or whatever - THAT is what will be used - ASCA will not restore the prior set unless asked.

Vic