Are clouds the best ever now? I'm impressed.

[Keto Ketchup 240]

^ which is which?

[mrueedi 702]

2 hours ago, SubtotalGuide said:

which of these would you judge as more photorealistic?

Both are excellent to the same degree. They just show different weather. So your issue appears to be "the same preset does not result in the same weather anymore".

[MrBitstFlyer 3,831]

2 hours ago, mrueedi said:

Both are excellent to the same degree. They just show different weather. So your issue appears to be "the same preset does not result in the same weather anymore".

Really?  One looks great and the other a mess, both in cloud depiction and lighting.

[Noel 4,486]

4 hours ago, SubtotalGuide said:

If only someone with direct access to the source code could explain the changes made that led to all the differences since SU5 and if restoring the quality is possible...

Can you imagine any scenario where restoring quality is no longer technically possible?  I can't--after all, they created the initial implementation.  Perhaps when DX12 is optimized whenever that might be they will revisit cloud depiction and add user control to implement higher resolution clouds.   Tell me-if some with access to source code told you there is no way it will ever be returned or surpass its former quality, what would you do?

[Tom_L 522]

  

  

4 hours ago, SubtotalGuide said:

if restoring the quality is possible...

In one developer Q&A Seb made very clear that cloud rendering (and I can only guess that the same goes for the lighting) has a huge impact on performance, so I highly doubt it.

4 hours ago, Keto Ketchup said:

which is which?

Pretty obvious: the first one is SU10, the second is release version.

1 hour ago, mrueedi said:

They just show different weather.

SU5 introduced a whole different rendering of the clouds and the lighting, that's where a good part of the performance gain stems from. It is most obvious in the colorscape and the harsh contrasts and doesn't end with the sun bleeding through solid cloud coverage. You may argue that it is a matter of personal preference if one likes it or not, which it surely is. But the changes are not deniable.

[SubtotalGuide 133]

2 hours ago, mrueedi said:

Both are excellent to the same degree.

Not in my opinion. The initial clouds and lighting gave a sense of flight and realism. Ever since SU5 it's more of a cartoony caricature.

I still don't get why they have to limit max quality and performance to what mid-range hardware can handle.

 

[Noel 4,486]

6 minutes ago, Tom_L said:

In one developer Q&A Seb made very clear that cloud rendering (and I can only guess that the same goes for the lighting) has a huge impact on performance, so I highly doubt it.

Prior to installing a 3080Ti, I was using a 2070 Super.  I had no trouble rendering clouds at Ultra except with very low density fog-like cloud density I would need to drop down to High.  Hardware only improves steadily over time and that includes Xbox, so it is highly likely we will see progressively better cloud depiction over time and I predict not that far out, and by that I mean within the year.  

[Noel 4,486]

4 minutes ago, SubtotalGuide said:

Not in my opinion. The initial clouds and lighting gave a sense of flight and realism. Ever since SU5 it's more of a cartoony caricature.

I still don't get why they have to limit max quality and performance to what mid-range hardware can handle.

 

I don't think they have to--but they need to consider the very big picture and decide when it's time to go there.  There is so much dissatisfaction w/ current cloud depiction and they are hyperaware of this, of course.

[Alvega 2,119]

14 minutes ago, SubtotalGuide said:

Not in my opinion. The initial clouds and lighting gave a sense of flight and realism. Ever since SU5 it's more of a cartoony caricature.

I still don't get why they have to limit max quality and performance to what mid-range hardware can handle.

 

I also think both are good. Probably different time of day. You didn't say which one is the SU10 beta, the first or second?

[Tom_L 522]

7 minutes ago, Noel said:

I was using a 2070 Super.  I had no trouble rendering clouds at Ultra

Same here with a 2080, that's why I was optimistic at first when they mentioned "additional headroom" for PC users. But looking at their botched attempts to get Live weather back to a reasonable state I struggle to be as optimistic as you are, especially when it comes to the timeframe. Let's hope you are right...

[SubtotalGuide 133]

I started with a 1060 and had no trouble running the sim. Sure I had to drop down other settings but clouds stayed on Ultra. As long as the sky looked real the sim was amazing.

Now we have ultra realistic looking airliners flying in cartoony skies. We lost too much in the process.

 

13 minutes ago, Alvega said:

I also think both are good. Probably different time of day. You didn't say which one is the SU10 beta, the first or second?

Same time, SU10 beta is first.

[Noel 4,486]

2 minutes ago, Tom_L said:

Same here with a 2080, that's why I was optimistic at first when they mentioned "additional headroom" for PC users. But looking at their botched attempts to get Live weather back to a reasonable state I struggle to be as optimistic as you are, especially when it comes to the timeframe. Let's hope you are right...

Hang in there Tom--10yr project, now 1.9y out.  

Microsoft's new flagship Xbox Series X Elite console teased in new renders, and man it looks so good -- new console drops in 2023.  Some hints that the developer kit for it supports up to 40Gb of RAM.

[SubtotalGuide 133]

Why do we have to wait for a new console?

[Noel 4,486]

4 minutes ago, SubtotalGuide said:

Why do we have to wait for a new console?

Patience, grasshopper.  How did you twist that, into 'having to wait for a new console'?  I provided that information to illustrate there is no justification for the belief we're stuck w/ the current iteration of cloud depiction secondary to the hardware limitations of Xbox and low end PCs.

Edited July 10, 2022 by Noel

[SubtotalGuide 133]

Is it because they have to honor this?

Quote

Are there any differences between the PC version and Xbox version?

• The experience of Microsoft Flight Simulator is the same.