When the water effects slider is set to "MAX 2.X" the bright specular reflections on the water (such as near sunset) appear to be be non-functioning in the FSX demo because:THE MOON HAS THEM. Check these screenshots, then try it and see. Where ever the moon is in the sky, even during the day, the bright specular and diffuse reflections FOLLOW IT, not the sun. Though a full moon night is now filled with reflected light from the moon on the water which is great, even a new moon outshines the sun when nearby. If this is an oversight on the design teams part I'm sure it will be fixed in the final release.SO THE FIX IN THE MEANTIME IS: You can trick the demo into dispaying the proper sun/water reflection by setting your flight date to the time of the NEW MOON. The close proximity of the moon in azimuth will then display seeming SUN reflections. (See the moon calendar below) Viola! http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/154095.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/154096.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/154097.jpgI hope the keep the moon reflection...if possible, at a brightness which varies with moon phase brighness. That would be gloriously realistic...My Rig:Dell XPSWindows XP/SP2Raid0 Array 125 GB HD (x2) for 250GB totalP4 3.0 Gig CPU2GB RAMATI Radeon 9800XT Video Card

Interesting. Perhaps another forgotten texture file? Can the file that creates this effect for the moon be modified so it works for the sun?Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)

Hm yes that is an interesting workaround. I would think that the sun reflection will be fixed/adjusted in the final product.Rhett

Again it looks to be another amazing find! Looks great and thanks for the help on this one!

It's obviously just a demo problem that will be fixed, yes.And THAT conjures up a couple of interesting but nagging questions perhaps the development team could answer here: the demo moon reflection is so bright it's tempting to think that the sun effects were inadvertantly assigned to the moon in the demo release...if that's the case then, what is the planned intention for the moon's specular reflection in FSX? Any at all? The FS9 ENV_xxxmoom.bmp's lack moon reflections, though they're easily added and work fine. If the moon IS to have a specular reflection, is it TOO LATE for any of the below suggestions to be coded in before release?1. Can the moon's reflection be implemented in the sim so as only to operate between dusk and dawn? Daytime moons, though visble, don't reflect enough light for a water reflection and would compete with the sun unrealistically.2. If so, can it be made to realistically widen and/or brighten as it approaches full and conversely wane in magnitude and/or width as the moon wanes? A full moon reflection for a crescent moon would be too bright and the problem of "When does it 'kick in' after the sun sets... i.e. poof, it's there suddenly..." would have to be addressed.If niether can happen in this release, darn, so close...but no cigar then. Bummer, because all of the required effects elements to make it work right finally exist in the new version, and it would make night flying over water environments immersive, atmospheric, and downright gorgeous. A Full Moon Night....http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/154470.jpg

A somewhat related question: That cloud-looking formation in the sky (top left of your shot), is that the milky way?! I've noticed the same in the demo when I tried out some night flying but couldn't understand what it was since I had set the weather to clear skies. If they are cirrus/alto stratus clouds they don't look like they normally do during the day and if it's the milkyway they're very ugly!

Yes, that is the Milky Way. And yes, I agree, IMO, it's a little bit "overdone" in the demo, even if you're used to seeing the milky way from a rural area. Hopefully it will be toned down a little in the final release.Rhett