Ultra weather xp 2.6 opinions ?

[MindYerBeak 73]

I'm running the latest xp  beta and asxp and was wondering if ultraweather was worth getting.Are the uw2.6 clouds better than the ones you can install from within asxp ?

All opinions appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Colonel X 1,430]

UWX has historically been a very hobbyist and really really really bad looking sky/cloud replacement for X-Plane. I'd stay away.

[bbking 80]

You can also look @FB Ultra Weather XP and see for yourself

 

Regards,

 

Bouwe

[mSparks 2,086]

Thankfully we have new, free opensource and cross platform incoming

Still early days, but the latest screenshot (his discord linked in that video) is looking really exciting

[Ianrivaldosmith 5,317]

6 hours ago, Colonel X said:

UWX has historically been a very hobbyist and really really really bad looking sky/cloud replacement for X-Plane. I'd stay away.

What else would you recommend? 

[mSparks 2,086]

59 minutes ago, Ianrivaldosmith said:

What else would you recommend? 

If you are on windows, there is, basically

• xEnviro
• Skymax Pro

That use alternative rendering engine from X-Planes ######## default clouds.

Skymax would seem to be the better value, neither support Linux and MacOS/Metal doesn't support the "openGL bridge" needed for alternative rendering to work.

Prior to 11.50 beta I always flew clear visibility because the slightest hint of clouds tanked the framerate so badly the flight model broke. At least in 11.50 on vulkan default clouds are finally usable, even if they are ########. 

 

[soaring_penguin 428]

 neither support Linux and MacOS/Metal doesn't support the "openGL bridge" needed for alternative rendering to work
 

that statement is false for Linux. Windows and Linux share the same vulkan code. But as you said neither xEnviro and Skymax support Linux or Mac.

i think you should reconsider UWXP but that is only my opinion, if not only because they do support the three platforms.  Yes it is a small team but who cares?

[MindYerBeak 73]

Thanks !

[mSparks 2,086]

5 hours ago, soaring_penguin said:

 neither support Linux and MacOS/Metal doesn't support the "openGL bridge" needed for alternative rendering to work
 

that statement is false for Linux. Windows and Linux share the same vulkan code. But as you said neither xEnviro and Skymax support Linux or Mac.

i think you should reconsider UWXP but that is only my opinion, if not only because they do support the three platforms.  Yes it is a small team but who cares?

Neither xEnviro or Skymaxx pro support Linux. They could, they choose not to.

and

MacOS/Metal doesn't support the "openGL bridge" needed for alternative rendering to work

So even though Skymaxx Pro has a Mac version, it will not work on Metal, unless/until Apple provides driver support.

The cloud engine I linked above is open source linux/windows vulkan, would/will also support macOS if/when Apple provides driver support.

Edited June 16, 2020 by mSparks

[darem 84]

I am using ASXP and SkymaxxPro in 10.50b10 on Windows 10 and it is a very nice combo, IMHO. Of course it isn't able to provide the sophisticated weather depiction AS is giving in P3D, but this is due to limitations of XP. Nevertheless, the combo mentioned above brings very nice results in XP, and at least on my system the framerate isn't affected too much until I use very high AA settings (even with the 2080 Ti this makes a big difference in overcast conditions)

[Colonel X 1,430]

There is no satisfying solution to improve weather (visually) for 11.50 - yet.

X-Enviro - Not compatible, no news or timeframe.
SkyMaxx - Compatible, but don't expect it to look better than default. 
X-Vision - Only basic functions compatible, improves a tiny bit, but not worth the money.

I have a bad feeling, if this situation doesn't improve soon, and it doesn't look like that, XP11 will be abandoned by flocks of users once FS2020 is out.

[mSparks 2,086]

2 hours ago, Colonel X said:

I have a bad feeling, if this situation doesn't improve soon, and it doesn't look like that, XP11 will be abandoned by flocks of users once FS2020 is out.

I wouldn't go that far.

Thing is, clouds have two components - what they look like - and how they behave.

XP11.41 and earlier clouds dont actually look bad - you just can't use them because the CPU impact was so high you couldn't turn them on

XP11.50 clouds look the same as 11.41 (actually they have had some polish - a new shiny cloud_puff), and are even usable now.

IMHO they dont "look" terrible - in fact can often be very pleasant at FL350 and 50fps

It is how they behave that is completely #######

I don't see the point of getting nicer shades of white - that isn't the problem.

The problem is the lack of realistic weather simulation driving what they look like - what I've seen of Flight v 2.0.2.0 doesn't look any better.

Ace combat 7 - and now P3Dv5 - has truesky.

Ace combat 7 clouds are absolutely breathtaking, AC7 in VR on a PS4 blasting round in an acceptable representation of an F22 raptor blowing up tanks is without doubt the best flight sim game visuals I have so far experienced. AC7 just has some other minor problems like no landing in free flight, and a tiny amount of content.

As I see it, the difference between a 2 minute "huh that's pretty" and hours of total immersion, is being able to watch that thunderstorm in the TAF form and roll by - it is the later I seek, I have zero interest in the former.

Edited June 16, 2020 by mSparks

[jspahn 268]

6 hours ago, darem said:

I am using ASXP and SkymaxxPro in 10.50b10 on Windows 10 and it is a very nice combo, IMHO. Of course it isn't able to provide the sophisticated weather depiction AS is giving in P3D, but this is due to limitations of XP. Nevertheless, the combo mentioned above brings very nice results in XP, and at least on my system the framerate isn't affected too much until I use very high AA settings (even with the 2080 Ti this makes a big difference in overcast conditions)

Just a heads up we’ve collaborated with HiFi and the latest asxp beta integration removes the 3 layer limit and presents more cloud types that are imbedded in SkyMaxx....

[Sethos 4,335]

4 hours ago, Colonel X said:

There is no satisfying solution to improve weather (visually) for 11.50 - yet.

X-Enviro - Not compatible, no news or timeframe.
SkyMaxx - Compatible, but don't expect it to look better than default. 
X-Vision - Only basic functions compatible, improves a tiny bit, but not worth the money.

I have a bad feeling, if this situation doesn't improve soon, and it doesn't look like that, XP11 will be abandoned by flocks of users once FS2020 is out.

It's a shame weather is such a struggle for X-Plane, given how great it is in almost every other area. 

[mSparks 2,086]

 

2 hours ago, Sethos said:

It's a shame weather is such a struggle for X-Plane

TBH, i think the weather is done really really well.

Its just that there is no particular connection between the weather it is simulating and the weather it is drawing.

Leading to many a take off when everything looks calm and peaceful, but you have "real weather" turned on and it just updated to 35knot winds hitting your airframe - that goes well beyond just the clouds, but at least moving clouds compatible with the weather generating them would give some visual indication of the weather being simulated.