That all my weather presets looked great and clouds looked great until the patch.

It concerns me that they allow beta testers who might make up the "all is great" brigade, and then push out updates based on their opinions.

Clouds are not as good as i remember them at the moment.

First time I've been frustrated with the direction

might make up the "all is great"? That was an open beta 😄 

55 minutes ago, flightyjoe said:

That all my weather presets looked great and clouds looked great until the patch.

It concerns me that they allow beta testers who might make up the "all is great" brigade, and then push out updates based on their opinions.

Clouds are not as good as i remember them at the moment.

First time I've been frustrated with the direction

While I agree about the cloud quality, the beta wasn't about that and wasn't introduced as an item to be tested. 
The low level cloud was an issue, where it was disappearing into the ground, but not the actual appearance of cumulus etc. 
So please don't have a go at the beta testers, as you are having a go at the wrong people.

If it had been raised by the beta testers at this stage, it would have been rejected as outside of the scope of the beta.
You can say it should have been raised, but then so can maybe 200 other things, and then the wait for the update would have been a real long one!  

I don't even think Asobo see this as a problem at the moment, despite numerous threads on the official forum.
If people want to know where their SU5 performance gains came from - this is one significant factor - you can't get something for nothing!

Personally I think they need to look at it, as they run the risk of falling behind DCS, P3D, and even Xplane12 in this department, but Asobo know that improving cloud quality will knock performance again., and 1.  they need to protect the xbox crowd, and 2. it has ben proven that they don't always listen to beta testers depending on their current agenda , e.g. the xbox release.

For this beta, they asked, 'is this fixed or not', not 'what do you think of the cloud quality?'  So you are pointing the finger at the wrong group.
It is up to ALL MSFS users to raise the issue of cloud quality if they don't like it, not the just the beta testers.  That sad part is, some people think it is just fine!  

With this sim, whether we like it or not, it will be a case of one step at a time.  I hope the SU8 'mega-fix' will kill a lot of issues, but I don't think they are looking at cloud quality for that.

 

Edited January 19, 20224 yr by bobcat999

You sum it up nicely. As a beta tester, have you the feeling that this exercise had any use besides giving you a preview of the HF before the common folks ? 

Further comments not to be taken too seriously (or maybe they should I don't know 😇).

3 hours ago, bobcat999 said:

If people want to know where their SU5 performance gains came from - this is one significant factor - you can't get something for nothing!

You did ask for a SU5 ?  I sure didn’t 😄. And anyway the usual suspects  will tell you that everything is fiiiiine, specially the clouds. Even better than before.

3 hours ago, bobcat999 said:

With this sim, whether we like it or not, it will be a case of one step at a time.

In which direction ?

3 hours ago, bobcat999 said:

I hope the SU8 'mega-fix' will kill a lot of issues, but I don't think they are looking at cloud quality for that.

One hope and one certitude and hope it  is not what it used to be

Just had an hour or so just now and the clouds seemed good again, I changed the 'AMS' 'ASML' or whatever that setting says on the weather UI.

What is the difference for those, the difference visually is striking.

I must of changed it at some point.

To be clear i am not a wannabe pilot, so much of it is over my head, I'm a more "look there is my house!" or "wow that is the beach where i saw that hot girl" kinda guy.

4 hours ago, bobcat999 said:

I don't even think Asobo see this as a problem at the moment, despite numerous threads on the official forum.
If people want to know where their SU5 performance gains came from - this is one significant factor - you can't get something for nothing!

My best guess is they are hyperaware of this as a problem.  They created the changes quite plausibly as a means to improve performance plus as you say the numerous threads.  I went from 2070 Super to 3080Ti and it was certain types of clouds, oddly enough the thin diffuse ones, that tended to cause me to need to turn cloud quality from Ultra to High w/ the 2070 Super on occasion.  But this was a relatively infrequent occurance even w/ the 2070.  So my sense is that cloud performance impact really wasn't all that great w/ pre SU5 clouds so was as you say 'one factor'.  It's possible they will add more effect and range in the Volumetric Clouds slider as well to allow systems that can cope with it to set cloud resolution higher.   I'm not sure how much is residual rumor that is just plain false, but I still read there is more 'impressive' improvement to come in terms of weather and hopefully that means clouds too. 

15 minutes ago, flightyjoe said:

I changed the 'AMS' 'ASML' or whatever that setting says on the weather UI.

You lost me there!  What the heck are you referring to on this?  Is it a Live Weather setting?

5 hours ago, flightyjoe said:

It concerns me that they allow beta testers

For reference the last beta was open to everyone including the discussions for it. Recommend going to check them in the official out next time if you have concerns or want to be a part of the discussion! 🙂 

I don't want to be a beta tester though.

I heard loads of promising stuff in threads about how the beta was a game changer, then it drops and it isn't at all.

To be clear i was and am still extremely happy with MSFS its mind blowing, just i was happy the first time i loaded it up and each update seems to just mess stuff up, somewhere.

The AMS , AMSL is on the weather UI in flight from the weather drop down, you can toggle either and the change is striking.

I wondered what it was abbreviating?

Googled it

 AGL/ AMSL

Edited January 19, 20224 yr by flightyjoe
adding

OK after some digging and messing about with the clouds during a flight via the weather controller.

I can confirm that if you move the clouds slider up on some lower clouds, they come up out of the ground....

They are there and assume being rendered, but are under ground......odd.

8 minutes ago, flightyjoe said:

I heard loads of promising stuff in threads about how the beta was a game changer, then it drops and it isn't at all.

I have to agree and I was a beta tester.

14 minutes ago, flightyjoe said:

The AMS , AMSL is on the weather UI in flight from the weather drop down, you can toggle either and the change is striking.

Makes sense you don't have Live Weather activated apparently so these settings must have to do w/ pre-set weather.

Agree clouds are less interesting and less threatening since SU7. I am frustrated to an extent with the flimsy, poorly structured and samey- looking flat broken cumulus clouds. I would love stratus and more definite layering

Before this there were other issues, the overly threatening and black volcanic looking clouds that unrealistically created a lava lamp effect between two cloud layers. 

Now the weather is largely OK in some parts of the world at least, but the flimsy cumulus regardless of actual weather is a pain, Sometimes I try Rex Weather and at least on the ground it tends to get it right quite often, but in the air I still frequently revert to live weather. This is because it still represents oncoming weather systems failry well which Rex doesn't.

7 hours ago, flightyjoe said:

It concerns me that they allow beta testers who might make up the "all is great" brigade, and then push out updates based on their opinions.

They don't. The testers are good at testing. We report many issues. A lot of those issues are fixed. A lot of those issues are not fixed and/or are ignored. Don't blame the beta testers.

Tried live weather and they look pretty good, in fact i got them working better over all even presets.

Frozen lakes are an issue though now.