Fix for Grainy Clouds...

[jcomm 5,939]

[MSFS] HOW TO FIX GRAINY CLOUDS IN MSFS | Tutorial - YouTube

 

[Claudius_ 326]

I could be wrong, but I don't have any grainy clouds since 2 years at least.

[Daube 354]

The CFG edit is now since the release of MSFS.

His other tweak, using the NVidia tool, is more specific, but he says in his video that "it just makes it a bit better". So the video is mostly a clickbait, not fixing anything (excepted for the MSFS users who still didn't know about the CFG adjustments).

[MarcG 3,013]

Grainy clouds were introduced with the SU5 Great Graphical Downgrade, they got marginally better in an update thereafter but nowhere near the levels they were before that god forsaken update.

I found some early pics of early MSFS on my old pc before SU5 the other day, I shed a tear at how good looking the clouds were 😥

[Christopher Low 5,359]

My clouds do not appear grainy, although I have only used the "Few Clouds" and "Scattered Clouds" options to date.

Edited February 15 by Christopher Low

[St Mawgan 1,385]

Grain free here. (I always use Live Weather but not VR)

Edited February 15 by St Mawgan

[MarcG 3,013]

1 hour ago, Christopher Low said:

My clouds do not appear grainy, although I have only used the "Few Clouds" and "Scattered Clouds" options to date.

It's seemingly a Live Weather thing and more apparent in VR.

[Noel 4,507]

Low resolution voxel grid = grainy.  No way around that currently and I hope 2024 improves this lord knows the horsepower is there in spades now for those so endowed.  

[Daube 354]

4 hours ago, Noel said:

Low resolution voxel grid = grainy.  No way around that currently

That's right.

On the other hand, there's a part of me that can't help comparing the clouds we have now with the ones we had back in the P3D (<=4) / FSX days. I'm still using the same computer. Today I can get in MSFS some very nice looking clouds up to the horizon. This was not an option in FSX or P3D, where I had to cap the cloud distance down to a certain distance, else my FPS would crawl down. Oh, and these were 2D clouds rotating everywhere...

The other day I made a flight in a liner and I just realized how unbelievably GOOD the sky and cloud cover looked like, far, far away to the horizon. Yes, MSFS clouds don't look very good up close, but they look good everywhere else !

[Christopher Low 5,359]

I am being perfectly honest here when I say that the clouds do look good close up on my PC. Cloud surfing looks so realistic, with wispy tendrils floating past my window. Some of the clouds are partially transparent, but lots of them are totally opaque, and I can see nothing when I pass through these until I emerge on the other side. The experience can be quite breathtaking at times.

Edited February 15 by Christopher Low

[Noel 4,507]

1 hour ago, Daube said:

The other day I made a flight in a liner and I just realized how unbelievably GOOD the sky and cloud cover looked like, far, far away to the horizon. Yes, MSFS clouds don't look very good up close, but they look good everywhere else !

I don't understand the technology enough to know how possible this might be, but I have to think the answer is....very possible.  I'm hoping for MSFS 2024 Asobo uses an algorithm or what have you that at a minimum evaluates how far the user is from clouds, and cloud density and whatever else comes into play, and dynamically adjusts voxel resolution, like DynamicLOD is doing for texture and object terrain.   As you say out in the distance things look quite decent so no need to amp up resolution there but up close it would be wonderful to see some more distinct basic cloud types and less of that really blurry stuff you can see now even using Ultra for clouds.  If we think about how much more processing power is available now versus MSFS launch seems no question many can now cope with more rendering demands from clouds, so yes add in the DynamicCloudLOD and let the users adjust w/ a slider or two.     

[Noel 4,507]

3 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

I am being perfectly honest here when I say that the clouds do look good close up on my PC. Cloud surfing looks so realistic, with wispy tendrils floating past my window. Some of the clouds are partially transparent, but lots of them are totally opaque, and I can see nothing when I pass through these until I emerge on the other side. The experience can be quite breathtaking at times.

If what you see now is quite breathtaking, how would you describe this, and actually being able to fly thru it.  At the moment we are a long ways from this, but it's worth developing towards this end and at some point it will happen....even if it take a Quantum Computer to produce it!  Below this is a recent screenshot out of the sim showing the low budget resolution effects with close up clouds

In a word, blurry by comparison:

 

[cowpatz 243]

2 hours ago, Noel said:

 

In a word, blurry by comparison:

 

Doh! ……..Dat be 3 words……

🙂 

[MrBitstFlyer 3,877]

On 2/15/2024 at 6:24 PM, Daube said:

That's right.

On the other hand, there's a part of me that can't help comparing the clouds we have now with the ones we had back in the P3D (<=4) / FSX days. I'm still using the same computer. Today I can get in MSFS some very nice looking clouds up to the horizon. This was not an option in FSX or P3D, where I had to cap the cloud distance down to a certain distance, else my FPS would crawl down. Oh, and these were 2D clouds rotating everywhere...

The other day I made a flight in a liner and I just realized how unbelievably GOOD the sky and cloud cover looked like, far, far away to the horizon. Yes, MSFS clouds don't look very good up close, but they look good everywhere else !

They looked so much better in the first year after release - can't stop seeing them longingly when I see the latest.

[Bobsk8 12,753]

No grainy clouds, what am I doing wrong?  😉