What I mean is that, once above the clouds, you can clearly detect a 'grid' like an invisible chessboard on which the clouds are drawn similar to the repetitive ground textures in FSX. So you could actually deduce in which direction you are heading as well. Has this always been there or has something been compromised along the way during an update?

In the early days of MSFS 2020 I was really excited about the wheather but it did not take long before i noticed a substantial absence of clouds above, say FL250. Perhaps this grid has always been there but i doubt it.

Today, I am still looking at mainly cumulus type clouds at most levels and looking at the MSFS2024 promo i do not feel like there is going to be a serious change to that either.

 

 

Edited August 25, 20232 yr by avhpilot

6 hours ago, avhpilot said:

Perhaps this grid has always been there but i doubt it.

The grid you refer to is a function of the resolution of 'voxels' employed:  voxels are 3D pixels.  My sense is the resolution went down slightly with SU5 or SU7, and it's always been there, though perhaps more apparent now that resolution went down slightly.  There may be some graphical settings that help make the grid less noticeable.  For me, it's only certain angles and lighting that bring it out.  Far worse IMO is just the low resolution involved in cloud depiction.

I'm anticipating, or at least hoping, there will be a substantial increase in voxel resolution and I base this ontwo facts:

1. Clouds in general in MSFS do not impact the GPU all that much.  I have a 3y/o GPU that barely hits over 50% and I'm at Ultra on all settings at 3440 x 1440....but I also am not stuck on maximum FPS--instead, it's all about ultra low frame time variance which does not require ultra high frame rates to deliver amply smooth/fluid animation.  When one aims for maximum frame rate the GPU gets hammered, and it's simply a waste of power and heat.
2. Asobo says to expect a MAJOR increase in performance secondary to much improved multithreading.  This gives them headroom to improve voxel resolution.  When it comes to creating various cloud morphologies to the point they are easily recognizable resolution I believe is a necessary condition for this.  Right now resolution is so low it reminds me of this portrait which will never show detail as the resolution isn't there, even on a 8K display.   Voxels are vastly hardly to process than 2D pixels and so major headroom is needed before Asobo can do much more with cloud depiction.

If clouds in MSFS were a human face, they would look like this, only worse!

 

Edited August 25, 20232 yr by Noel

i think she looks mighty fine !

21 hours ago, sonny147 said:

i think she looks mighty fine !

Ha, you must get out more.

oh today she looks a little blurry , last night i may have had a few beers ! lol