My MSFS 2020 looks horrible.. Any good CFG?

[SUNDR1V3R 72]

The first time I used the simulator I thought it was amazing but as time went by I think that instead of getting better it got worse...

I am not too worried because I have seen pictures of other simmers and it looks spectacular so it is a problem of configuration in my simulator.... 

One of the things that irritate me the most is the lack of contrast and more vivid colors in the simulator..... Especially that "White" layer that sometimes turns the whole panel black.... 

The following picture is a clear example of what I mean....

 

Do any of you have a good tutorial to modify the cfg?

 

[Bdub22 1,612]

The top image. I believe they're simulating what happens in real life with exposure. When you look down at a panel, it's much darker than outside and your eyes need to adjust for it, by opening up the "aperture" (retina). When that happens, the outside blows out of range and it's "over exposed".  

I'm not here to say if that should be implemented in the sim, but I thats how it is in real life. 

[PWJT8D 446]

We can't help you without knowing your computer specifications and screenshots of your MSFS settings. The white layer I think you are referring to is a setting called Bloom. Turn that off. 

[salasnet 95]

In regards to the outside looking very washed out and "white" while you are looking at the panel, I also believe this effect is overdone in the sim. There have been times in the afternoon when the sun is low that I look to the horizon inside the plane and it looks like Skynet has started their takeover and there has been a massive nuclear explosion where the sun is.

I wish they would fix that... it is just not realistic looking on a computer monitor. In real life, our eyes adjust in different ways to the difference between light and dark, and while I commend Asobo in trying to replicate that in the sim, most of the times, it just makes things look bad, I think.

I live in South FL where it is perfectly flat, and I see the horizon and the sun going down all of the time from my car... it never looks like global thermonuclear war is starting.

[Mace 1,927]

What is your monitor's native resolution?  And what resolution are you running?  Also what render scaling are you using?

[lupedelupe 315]

Clamber into an actual aircraft on a bright sunny day. Stare at the landscape beyond your panel for 5 minutes. 

 

 

 

Then look down at your instruments. They are dark. At least they will be until your eyes adjust to the now new lighting. The older you get, the longer this takes. Next spend a good few minutes looking closely at all the instruments. Take in all the detail you can. Then abruptly sit up and look outside agin. Bright, isn't it? 

So what Asobo has done is actually fantastically realistic in this regard. 

 

[SubtotalGuide 133]

10 hours ago, SUNDR1V3R said:

Do any of you have a good tutorial to modify the cfg?

Things like blurry ground textures and bad clouds are hard coded. You would need to decompile and change the rendering engine, or go vote for adding settings and sliders to increase the detail.

Both options have a similar chance of success.

[Holdit 551]

8 hours ago, Bdub22 said:

The top image. I believe they're simulating what happens in real life with exposure. When you look down at a panel, it's much darker than outside and your eyes need to adjust for it, by opening up the "aperture" (retina). When that happens, the outside blows out of range and it's "over exposed".  

I'm not here to say if that should be implemented in the sim, but I thats how it is in real life. 

I've looked in vain for a setting turn that effect off. That's how it is in real life if you're looking through a camera, but our eyes have a much higher dynamic range. Granted it's a cool effect but find it very annoying.

[Keith S 12]

1 hour ago, lupedelupe said:

Clamber into an actual aircraft on a bright sunny day. Stare at the landscape beyond your panel for 5 minutes. 

 

 

 

Then look down at your instruments. They are dark. At least they will be until your eyes adjust to the now new lighting. The older you get, the longer this takes. Next spend a good few minutes looking closely at all the instruments. Take in all the detail you can. Then abruptly sit up and look outside agin. Bright, isn't it? 

So what Asobo has done is actually fantastically realistic in this regard. 

 

No, Asobo has not done "fantastically" at all. In real life when staring at a screen whose top half is bright and bottom half is dark, one's eyes do not adjust as you move your eyes up and down. Yes it works in real life but not so in real screen life :). Why, because the screen is not big enough to achieve selective focusing / exposure compensation. I use a 32" 4K monitor and despite the screen real estate I am unable to focus on the instruments when the windscreen is bright and over exposed.

[crimplene 634]

11 minutes ago, Keith S said:

No, Asobo has not done "fantastically" at all. In real life when staring at a screen whose top half is bright and bottom half is dark, one's eyes do not adjust as you move your eyes up and down. Yes it works in real life but not so in real screen life :). Why, because the screen is not big enough to achieve selective focusing / exposure compensation. I use a 32" 4K monitor and despite the screen real estate I am unable to focus on the instruments when the windscreen is bright and over exposed.

So you want a screen simulation, not a world simulation? I think this effect adds much to immersion.

[cianpars 1,165]

Change your graphics card settings and msfs to default and work up from there.  If you use Nvidia Experience, that will provide a good starting point then work up from there until you run into stability issues, then dial back a little.

I recently changed my old 1080 monitor to a 1440 monitor and couldn't figure out why my performance was so awful.  It turned out that All the high settings I was using (particularly anti-aliasing) was just not needed at a higher resolution and the above process identified this.

Remember too that most of the fancy videos are made with really top end equipment which you will never manage to achieve on your average or even fairly good system.

Edited January 31, 2022 by cianpars

[mrueedi 702]

12 minutes ago, Keith S said:

Yes it works in real life but not so in real screen life 🙂

But -  should a flight simulator not simulate real life rather than screen life?

[bobcat999 8,484]

55 minutes ago, Holdit said:

I've looked in vain for a setting turn that effect off. That's how it is in real life if you're looking through a camera, but our eyes have a much higher dynamic range. Granted it's a cool effect but find it very annoying.

Find a file called UserConfig.opt.  Make a backup.  

In the original file, scroll down until you find a line that says 'Eye Adaptation' and set it to zero.

Note that there are two sets of identical settings in the file - the bottom half is for VR, so adjust that also if you use it.

A couple more settings while you are in there...

If you have a high res screen, you can experiment with Sharpening = 0. 
If you run at high res and 100% scaling, this could make it look less 'over sharpened'.  Low res setting may not look so good.

Also, you could set shadows to 4096 instead of the standard highest of 2048.  Much better - shadows have nice sharp edges. 
I have mine at 8192, but I have a 3080Ti so it can handle it.  Older cards may struggle.

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by bobcat999

[Dominique_K 10,149]

Like Bobcat said. I add that eyeadaptation=0 doesn't work for everybody.It doesn't for me, certainly to punish me of my sins, because I hate this gimmick.

[bobcat999 8,484]

2 minutes ago, Dominique_K said:

Like Bobcat said. I add that eyeadaptation=0 doesn't work for everybody. It doesn't for me, certainly to punish me of my sins, because I hate this gimmick.

Yes, I am beginning to think it is also linked to another setting somehow. 
Last time I adjusted it, it seemed to take two MSFS restarts to get it to stick, but I also adjusted a few other things in between.
Another MSFS mystery!