EA or no EA? V5

[cooperwarner8 77]

Hi guys!

Just want to see some opinions on EA inside v5. 

So I have been using v5 for weeks now and have not been using EA. Literally have been using ActiveSky and default clouds. I think they look 10000 times better than v4.5 clouds 

I tried EA for about 5 mins with Active Sky and the clouds seemed quite pixelated even with high resolution. I also noticed the clouds don’t interact with the aircraft the same with EA on (e.g. wings disappearing in dense cloud). I do think EA is going to very impressive when it’s out of beta with ASP3D

So what’s everyone’s preference? On or off? Pros and cons of EA? 

Edited June 14, 2020 by cooperwarner8

[chapstick 2,769]

EA is bad right now, especially if you're using ActiveSky. There's a huge list of limitations with EA on that HiFi shared when they released ASP3D. And it sucks up VRAM. 

[cwburnett 1,809]

4 hours ago, cooperwarner8 said:

So what’s everyone’s preference? On or off? Pros and cons of EA? 

This is highly subjective. EA is full of new problems we never had before, while not using EA reminds us of all the problems with 2D cloud models and atmospheric lighting that have existed for years and years.  That said, I have opted to run with EA all the time either on Medium or High, depending on other VRAM demands. The swap between the two is quick and easy, so I almost always have it on high for cruise, but lower it to medium before approach to help mitigate the arrival VRAM spike.

Here's the reason I use EA despite all its problems; sunrise over Miami with Envtex + Envshade vs with just EA in v5, plus a real sunrise photo over the bay on approach to SFO for comparison:

Edited June 14, 2020 by cwburnett

[David Roch 2,019]

Yes.
Although in Alpha phase, EA brings a lot of realism and shaders are really superb.
I for one keep it enabled all the time.

[hjsmuc 393]

Same here. No v5 without EA.

 

[OzWhitey 3,353]

Yes. I am done with 2D sprites for ever, There’s a couple of issues with EA - particularly jagged edges when low clouds meet terrain - but I always, always fly with it. It’s a massive improvement over what we had before in terms of ambience.

[GSalden 4,726]

57 minutes ago, hjsmuc said:

Same here. No v5 without EA.

 

The moment the minisun has a normal size and we can have more than 2 cloudlayers + sharper clouds I will fly with EA only ..

Therefore I have adjusted some files to create a EA look ....😊

[flycln 435]

Despite the issues, I can’t imagine flying without EA anymore. 

[hjsmuc 393]

42 minutes ago, GSalden said:

Therefore I have adjusted some files to create a EA look ...

I tried your solution with Envtex. I probably didn't get it right. Thus, I went back to plain vanilla EA. The sun is horrible, but at least you don't look at it all the time. 

[mtr75 653]

For VFR flights I fly v4.5. For IFR flights in GA aircraft, v5 with EA is absolutely extraordinary. Yes, it uses effectively double the VRAM, but to me it doesn't matter, putting along in hard IMC for 45 minutes and flying an approach to minimums. 

Edited June 14, 2020 by mtr75