So much for the theory that some put forward that the sim is over saturated. The real world is even more colourful. The sim does a very good job during, what photographers call, the golden or magic hour though.  

Edited October 18, 20223 yr by cbcdesign

49 minutes ago, cbcdesign said:

So much for the theory that some put forward that the sim is over saturated. The real world is even more colourful. The sims does a very good job during, what photographers call, the golden or magic hour though.  

Yup overall MSFS's world and environment depiction, weather, lighting and especially the atmospherics and how the color/intensity/etc are calculated and based on real-world conditions, light scattering/bouncing off of surfaces, reflections, etc are just miles ahead of anything out there... I like how the the Seasons feature is now in the "Started" state (https://www.flightsimulator.com/feedback-snapshot/) :), once that releases the twin earth depiction goal of MSFS is going to be that much more complete.
 

Edited October 18, 20223 yr by lwt1971

I am waiting for someone to criticize  the clouds in the real scenes, saying they are not correct.  😉

15 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

I am waiting for someone to criticize  the clouds in the real scenes, saying they are not correct.  😉

I think MSFS clouds are the best clouds in a home market flight simulator at the moment. 2nd place is probably DCS World. Then there is the rest.

13 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

Then there is the rest.

There are others?

3 hours ago, cbcdesign said:

So much for the theory that some put forward that the sim is over saturated. The real world is even more colourful. The sim does a very good job during, what photographers call, the golden or magic hour though.  

Msfs is oversaturated for its dynamic range that is absolutely minsuscle compared to the real world dynamic range that can easily accommodate for the more colorfulness. 

After SU5, without HDR I find Microsoft colors to be a bitt too bland and dull.
But then again, I don't know what it looks like on an HDR monitor. 

No, no, no!!! Avsim has categorically proven that MSFS clouds are awful.

Awful!!

Cotton-balls hacked up by a cat would be better..... 🌪️🌩️☁️

Fortunately for Asobo, the vast majority of the rest of the world using the program probably quite enjoys them.

Referring to the video posted...pretty neat seeing the old DX10 FSX image render.  That one popped a few eyes back in the day.  Now today, that sort of rendered scene has just about come to pass in the actual sim.

2 hours ago, Baber20 said:

Msfs is oversaturated for its dynamic range that is absolutely minsuscle compared to the real world dynamic range that can easily accommodate for the more colorfulness. 

True but I don't think the dynamic range has a lot to do with the saturation of the ground textures. Its largely the processing of the textures that has given us the washed-out look. Some of the more recent photogrammetry textures have been a lot better and looks far more realistic and dynamic range has not changed, what has is the quality of the images. 

Edited October 18, 20223 yr by cbcdesign

It's the quality of the aerial imagery causing issues with the color of the textures in relation to the tone level and gamma, as the bad gamma in the source actually causes a loss of detail and can make things look blotchy and cartoony.

Technically, it is partly about the range, but much of the source aerial imagery is over-exposed at the default gamma of the game. This means you have clipping in the RGB levels of the source imagery from the sunlight, either from the source itself, or a combined effect from the gamma of your monitor-game and the source imagery (usually it's the 2nd reason - combined effect). Some of the clipping is inherent in the source of the aerial imagery due to the pilots that took the imagery not being careful enough with the sun angle to the camera. This will cause multiple shades of green to blend in as one blotchy color, which results in that overblown look. Also, the color itself changes, it becomes the wrong "green" like too lime green or something, which also reduces the fidelity. Even the sun in real-life causes clipping to our eyes (think about trying to make out details on the water when the sun is in your face), but the problem is we don't want to always simulate that in the game while flying.

Hence, sometimes the images can look better by having a higher gamma, use a high cloud layer to normalize the contrast, or adjust the gamma on your monitor. IF it still looks bad, then the area you are flying over just has source aerial that is too far gone (there are still a few places in MSFS like this). High cloud layer is the quick fix.

Edited October 18, 20223 yr by Alpine Scenery

5 hours ago, Bobsk8 said:

I am waiting for someone to criticize  the clouds in the real scenes, saying they are not correct.  😉

Aren't they supposed to look like marshmallows?????? 😁

Cheers, Pete

Clouds are great for a flightsim... but... cirrus? ASOBO? 😄

9 hours ago, Bobsk8 said:

I am waiting for someone to criticize  the clouds in the real scenes, saying they are not correct.  😉

The only factor I noted is that all of this was from ground level or very low altitude.  Would welcome a followup done at various altitudes.  That would make a statement.