Improving EA : v5.1 HF1

[GSalden 4,656]

After my improved VolumetricClouds.cfg for V5.1, which LM used as default in v5.1 HF1, I have worked on further improving the look of TrueSky within the limitations that we have.

Sometimes this default VolumetricClouds.cfg file caused an issue by not rendering into the far distance.

ASP3D at 34.000 ff

 

For testing I used a custom preset (so no weather program) as then the grid look can be seen best for finding a fixes.

Here my 5.1 version in 5.1 HF1 with a few changes to get the clouds rendering into the far distance back :

Then one I made from scratch for 5.1 HF 1 :

 

And a mix of the 5.1 and 5.1 HF1 version :

 

As you can see the first one makes the clouds look more flat to mask the grid issue.

The second one shows more grid but will also show more detail on the clouds (bumps on cumulus and cumulonimbus).

The third one is a mix of both and probably the best of both worlds.

I also used ASP3D to compare and then the differences are less to see. With cumulus and cumulonimbus you can see small differences.

A weather program will improve the overal look and therefore also help with making the grid look less visible.

Here a download link package with all 3 VolumetricClouds.cfg files in seperate folders : http://members.casema.nl/gsalden/Volumetric Clouds.rar

I also included settings to try in your P3D.cfg file to improve the Exposure lighting. 
As always save a copy of your VolumetricClouds.cfg and P3D.cfg before trying.

ASP3D at 41000 ft

 

Regards, Gerard

[pgde 571]

Hey Gerald -- in AS do you have the Disable Vol...cfg option ticked or unticked?

Happy Holidays and thanks for all your contributions!

[micstatic 4,316]

Gerard.  Looks great.  Also want to thank you.  Question.  Have you figured out a way to modify the "dark side" of the airplane when viewing from outside.  I've found the side of the airplane getting hit by the sun looks great.  But the dark side of the plane away from the sun looks very unnatural and dark.  Not a huge deal as I spend 95% of my time in the VC.  But still somewhat of a bother. 

[GSalden 4,656]

AS controls VolumetricClouds

My Mods : no AS VolumetricClouds control

 

[GSalden 4,656]

44 minutes ago, micstatic said:

Gerard.  Looks great.  Also want to thank you.  Question.  Have you figured out a way to modify the "dark side" of the airplane when viewing from outside.  I've found the side of the airplane getting hit by the sun looks great.  But the dark side of the plane away from the sun looks very unnatural and dark.  Not a huge deal as I spend 95% of my time in the VC.  But still somewhat of a bother. 

That I did not test as I have a home cockpit and only see the scenery 

Later in the flight with a different cloud look : 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by GSalden

[jcorstjens 63]

Hallo Gerard,

Can I also use your modifications with REX Skyforce 3D??

 

Best regards from another flying Dutchman!

 

[GSalden 4,656]

43 minutes ago, jcorstjens said:

Hallo Gerard,

Can I also use your modifications with REX Skyforce 3D??

 

Best regards from another flying Dutchman!

 

Natuurlijk 🤗

My mods are outside the weather programs.

 

[threexgreen 3,135]

Thanks for your work. I know you said you haven't looked at the cockpit because you don't see it, but do you know of a way to lighten up the cockpits or could you perhaps look into it? They are way too dark with EA on and because Envshade doesn't work in VR single pass mode I'm even contemplating going back to 5.0 HF1...

[MichaelLowl 63]

@Gerard Salden: tested your configs and it's a great improvement. But I had to switch back because Vram is exaggerating 😉

 

Regards

 

Michael

[dave2013 1,123]

Thanks for your work on this issue.

However, we shouldn't need all these tweaks and messing about with config files to get the sim looking right, which is why I'm sticking with P3Dv4.5 until LM gets this sorted out.

Dave

[GSalden 4,656]

28 minutes ago, MichaelLowl said:

@Gerard Salden: tested your configs and it's a great improvement. But I had to switch back because Vram is exaggerating 😉

 

Regards

 

Michael

Hi Michael,

It should be about the same VRAM as the default VolumetricClouds.cfg file. 
The are several cloud texture sizes to choose from in the P3D EA menu

On my server (2x 4K) VRAM never exceeds 8 Gb with almost everything maxed out incl shadows.

Also in the VolumetricClouds.cfg file you can edit the cloud texture size. Instead of 256-512-768-1024 you could try 256-512-512-768.

Good luck !

[GSalden 4,656]

16 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

Thanks for your work on this issue.

However, we shouldn't need all these tweaks and messing about with config files to get the sim looking right, which is why I'm sticking with P3Dv4.5 until LM gets this sorted out.

Dave

Hi Dave,

The current  default v5.1HF1  VolumetricClouds.cfg is the one I made for v5.1. LM gave us TrueSky with cfg files to make changes to our personal liking.

But you don’t have to mess around with tweaks : LM has implemented TrueSky with general settings.
If you want to make it look better you can do that with ASP3D as that controls the VolumetricClouds.cfg automatically with their improvements.
You can see on the vids above how realistic ASP3D is making EA. So no need to edit lines yourself. 

For enthousiasts like me that feature can be turned off so I can use my custom version.

Like I did with v4 by making PTA presets to improve the overal look I wanted to do the same with v5. In this case my custom Shaders (EnvShade +custom tweaks) and EA.

regards, Gerard

 

[LarsA 90]

Hi Gerard, I tried the "mixed version" without the p3d.cfg tweaks and no AS-control of the volumetricclouds. cfg - and it looks much better than before! Thanks for your efforts!! 

[MichaelLowl 63]

10 hours ago, GSalden said:

Hi Michael,

It should be about the same VRAM as the default VolumetricClouds.cfg file. 
The are several cloud texture sizes to choose from in the P3D EA menu

On my server (2x 4K) VRAM never exceeds 8 Gb with almost everything maxed out incl shadows.

Also in the VolumetricClouds.cfg file you can edit the cloud texture size. Instead of 256-512-768-1024 you could try 256-512-512-768.

Good luck !

Thx for the hint. Will give it another shot.

Michael

[Alti 63]

Hi Gerard!

Do you also use a viewgroup with your Monitors in the Cockpit?

We have this issue with EA enabled with three monitors:

http://www.prepar3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6312&t=140641

http://www.prepar3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6312&t=140640