Future of p3d ?

[Afterburner 374]

I understand that EA is tied to HDR, but I am wondering what is so bad about HDR?  I have been using it for years since P3Dv3 (it was badly implemented in v2), and it allows you to adjust brightness, bloom and saturation. One may not need it, but how does it make the simulator graphics look worse?

[Ray Proudfoot 9,041]

47 minutes ago, Afterburner said:

I understand that EA is tied to HDR, but I am wondering what is so bad about HDR?  I have been using it for years since P3Dv3 (it was badly implemented in v2), and it allows you to adjust brightness, bloom and saturation. One may not need it, but how does it make the simulator graphics look worse?

If it had one adjustment for the cockpit and another for outside I could adjust it for both. But it has just one set of controls and I found it impossible to get a decent compromise. Bloom was ridiculous. Did nothing for 2/3 of travel and then whited out very quickly.

[Kalnon 160]

1 minute ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

If it had one adjustment for the cockpit and another for outside I could adjust it for both. But it has just one set of controls and I found it impossible to get a decent compromise. Bloom was ridiculous. Did nothing for 2/3 of travel and then whited out very quickly.

You should try RDShade.  I use a preset profile that I downloaded to make P3Dv5 look better and I'm still learning how to tinker with all the settings.  It offers settings for every possible visual adjustment in P3D and I believe there is a way to adjust the way cockpit looks to some degree separately from the outside world.

simMarket: RDSHADE - THE ULTIMATE SHADERS P3D4-5

[Ray Proudfoot 9,041]

22 minutes ago, Kalnon said:

You should try RDShade.

I tried one these shader programs a few years ago and couldn’t get to grips with it. How much is down to the skill of the person using it? Sounds like a tweaker’s paradise.

Given I’m happy with EA off I don’t anticipate buying anything to change atmospherics especially with v6 not far away.

[PavlinS 179]

34 minutes ago, Kalnon said:

You should try RDShade

I used that, honestly, not my favorite. I am still on Tomato Shade. Tomato Shade is a milestone for me. 

[Kalnon 160]

11 minutes ago, PavlinS said:

I used that, honestly, not my favorite. I am still on Tomato Shade. Tomato Shade is a milestone for me. 

I never heard of Tomato Shade before.  I'm curious, what about it is better than RDShade?  Also can you please provide a link to it so I can check it out?

What I really like about RDShade is their website for uploading and downloading other people's presets so I don't have to spend hours and hours tinkering around with it to get P3D to fantastic.  I just download a good looking preset file, apply it and boom, P3D looks amazing.  I am slowly learning what each adjustment does, I do want to learn to make P3D exactly they way I want it to look but in the meantime the presets are awesome.

[PavlinS 179]

25 minutes ago, Kalnon said:

I never heard of Tomato Shade before.  I'm curious, what about it is better than RDShade?  Also can you please provide a link to it so I can check it out?

Tomato Shade is freeware program, that is capable to use with only Prepar3D v4. I can give you a link to my presets, but you can just google it and you'll find it. 

[Kalnon 160]

7 minutes ago, PavlinS said:

Tomato Shade is freeware program, that is capable to use with only Prepar3D v4. I can give you a link to my presets, but you can just google it and you'll find it. 

Okay thank you.  I only have P3Dv5 though so it wouldn't work for me then.  I guess RDShade it is 😃

[okupton 318]

4 minutes ago, Kalnon said:

Okay thank you.  I only have P3Dv5 though so it wouldn't work for me then.  I guess RDShade it is 😃

Another option is Envplus.  I have rdshade and Envplus, and they are both good.  RDshade does have presets available for download on their website, which Envplus doesn’t have.  
 

one thing to note is development is done for rdshade while Envplus is still in development, but who knows when an update will be published.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by okupton

[Kalnon 160]

9 minutes ago, okupton said:

Another option is Envplus.  I have rdshade and Envplus, and they are both good.  RDshade does have presets available for download on their website, which Envplus doesn’t have.  
 

one thing to note is development is done for rdshade while Envplus is still in development, but who knows when an update will be published.

 

 

I have heard of Envplus and the older Envshade which seems like just a simple reshade tool with only a few settings to adjust.  I may try Envplus in the future just tp see, at least once I figure out how to do the adjusting myself if Envplus does not come with presets.

[okupton 318]

I honestly don’t think you can go wrong with either, but maybe others can offer better advice.  Both are on sale on sim market currently 

[Afterburner 374]

2 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

If it had one adjustment for the cockpit and another for outside I could adjust it for both. But it has just one set of controls and I found it impossible to get a decent compromise. Bloom was ridiculous. Did nothing for 2/3 of travel and then whited out very quickly.

When you used HDR, did you uncheck the box "Autoexposure"?  This is the one that is responsible for the whitening out that you describe. If bloom is too high, the respective slider can be reduced. You can use the "Live Graphics" option to make adjustments while seeing the results in real time.

That way, it's not difficult to get a decent compromise. I find the overall brightness with HDR off a little bit low, and activating it can correct that.

[Ray Proudfoot 9,041]

27 minutes ago, Afterburner said:

When you used HDR, did you uncheck the box "Autoexposure"?

Yes, tried all the obvious options. I’m happy with what I have… honest!

[pgde 571]

I would go with ENVPLUS and ENVSHADE. RDSHADEdevelopment has ceased and other than bug fixes no further work on it 😞

[brucewtb 250]

I use EA on (with 2D clouds) for the simple reason the bluish haze effect masks the deficiencies of landclass scenery making the view out the cockpit much the same as you get with MSFS2020 particularly ar airliner flight levels.

Bruce