Check out the picture from the official FSX websitehttp://www.microsoft.com/games/pc/flightsimulatorx.aspx Look at the "Wet" concrete shot......Remeber that overwhelming SHINE ? Well it's gone !!! Now it looks really WET and realistic !!!! Great !

Theres no sun in that shot, there was in the other.

Gah..

>Check out the picture from the official FSX website>>http://www.microsoft.com/games/pc/flightsimulatorx.aspx >>Look at the "Wet" concrete shot......>>Remeber that overwhelming SHINE ? Well it's gone !!! Now it>looks really WET and realistic !!!! Great !As a previous poster pointed out... it's the same time of day and location as the other shot-- just turned away from the sun light source.

Oh ok !My mistake then...

Check out the tarmac detail in the first shot in the upper left hand corner. With that kind of detail, I think we will get a much better perspective of how fast we are going when on the ground.Very Nice!KUDOs FSX team!!RH

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Does anyone else think that the engine closest to us in that shot looks wet too? An over polished sheen. You can see clearly the contrast between the bottom (shadow) and the top of the engine gleaming to the light source as per wet conditions on any metal object.

Sorry, but that shot while looking better than FS9 doesn't look as realistic as most would like. Certainly, with no breaks in the clouds and rain falling you shouldn't be seeing that bright 'reflection' on the ground. Though I'm hoping that its only because it was late alpha/early betas, where they haven't worked on weather & cloud effects yet. Because the clouds really would be blocking that 'shine' from showing up. I wouldn't be surprised if in the version the screenshot was taken from still was showing a huge shadow for the 747 on a cloudy & rainy day. You wouldn't see it in that shot since you can see ground past the front of the wing.I'm hopeful, but not worried yet. If screenshots come October or so still look that, then I'm worry and be disappointed.

On the other hand, I think that in terms of object and environment lightning this shot shows a step ahead and in the right direction. All those guys that say: "I will be dissappointed" will be running to get the DVD (s) the same day FSX will hit the markets... so obvious...

>Sorry, but that shot while looking better than FS9 doesn't>look as realistic as most would like. Certainly, with no>breaks in the clouds and rain falling you shouldn't be seeing>that bright 'reflection' on the ground. Though I'm hoping that>its only because it was late alpha/early betas, where they>haven't worked on weather & cloud effects yet. Because the>clouds really would be blocking that 'shine' from showing up.>I wouldn't be surprised if in the version the screenshot was>taken from still was showing a huge shadow for the 747 on a>cloudy & rainy day. You wouldn't see it in that shot since you>can see ground past the front of the wing.>>I'm hopeful, but not worried yet. If screenshots come October>or so still look that, then I'm worry and be disappointed. >>Bob,I know that it's a bad idea to argue with customers, but I'm going to do a little of it anyway. :)Let me put up a bit of a disclaimer:You and every single other customer is entitled to your opinion on every aspect of what we do. You've got every right to like, love, and or hate the things we do in each version of Flight Simulator.I realize and recognize that you can't convince someone that they like something that they just plain don't like, and I aint gonna try.Anyway, allow me to respond. :)To set your expectations: What you've seen in the released screens as far as the "wet" surface effect is effectively what we're going to ship. You

FjorkoBig thanks for pointing out that shot. I saw the thumbnails and didn't bother looking, as i thought it was the 'same old' B747 shot.!That NEW pic really wets my appetite for the next version (pardon the pun) ;-)Excellent work by the MS TeamStevePS, I assume the aircraft will be reflected on the tarmac as well, and not just distant scenery.?

Like most things flight simulator wise there are always compromises to be considered. The real question I believe here is would most want the new edition of wet rwys or like we have in FS9? Of course we already know the answer to this question. The way I see it it's a starting point that needs to be in the next version, as time progresses so will the modelling technics used so please give us what you have so far Jason =P...............Randy J. Smith................A PROUD MEMBER OF THE PMDG BETA TEAM[h4]Evolution is a process that results in heritable changes in a population spread over many generations[/h4]

Jason, can you comment on how uniformly you reflect the surroundings on a wet surface?For example, if it's raining and pouring will every virtual inch of a runway uniformly reflect the sky, or do you use a "blotched" alpha texture (or some other method - I'm not a game developer :) ) to vary the amount of reflection on the surface and simulate the fact that water pools instead of "sticking" uniformly to the surface?Something like this quick'n dirty example:http://www.puonti.net/stuff/reflectiondemo.jpg

I remember an AVSIM article covering Microsft's presentation at the AVSIM conference last year. In that article there was a small movie showing off very nice specular and "sun glow" effects. One scene showed an asphalt runway with "puddles" of water on it. There was no such shot for icing conditions but, obviously, they've got the technique to do it. The movie also introduced a new kind of good looking sun reflections from bodies of water (creeks, rivers etc) in the terrain. As I fly in real life, seeing the sun "wander the watery surfaces" below is one thing I really enjoy as it contributes to the sensation of speed. The fact that none of these effects have been presented in the "official announcements" of January, makes me a bit worried they've decided to drop it for whatever reason (performance?).I looked around for the article in the AVSIM archive but I couldn't find it. Did anyone do a "save as..." ?