HiI am having problems with FSX weather. I am trying to create IMC conditions for practicing approaches, but have not been able to create a solid overcast layer. The ceiling is nowhere close to the altitude I am setting in the user defined settings window. When setting the overcast layer starting at 1,500 ft to 8,000 ft, I can see the ground all the way up to 4,000 and can see the tops at the same time. I have tried re-installing, cumulus vs. stratus, and different cloud base/tops settings all with the same result. I have attached screen shots of the settings window below along with a below view and above view at 2,200 ft. Is anyone else having this problem? Any help on this problem would be greatly appreciated!Screen Shots:

This is a very old and much discussed complaint about FS which you can trace throughout its otherwise illustrious history. You can go out and buy a copy of Active Sky X which will do wonders, but even then you will probably not be completely happy with their attempt to create a decent cloud cover.Mike.

I usually split the overcast into two layers... say if I want overcast from 500 feet to 4000 I have one overcast from 500 to 2000 and another from 2000 to 4000. Then I put a reduced visibilty layer in from the surface up to the top of the overcast. This usually works for me, even in multiplayer people say it's realistic IFR.I don't have ASX, but I do have Flight environment. This increases the reality of IFR. When I am sharing an aircraft with someone who does not have FEX, they always see the runway way before I do.Of course, my computer and all of my settings including those in Flight Environment have been optimised by www.fs-gs.com .Best Regards, Donald T. :-wave

What if you use the "visibility" tab in combination with "clouds"? I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to achieve: but using these two in combination I have no trouble in getting IMC down to ground level. It may not be perfectly realistic - you get fewer glimpses of the ground - but perhaps it is good for the simulator to give you "worse than real world" conditions.Tim

Use the Visibility tab. You can set a visibility "layer" just like with the clouds tab. Set the top of the visibility layer to the bottom level of your overcast layer, and the "floor" (bottom) of the visibility layer to whatever you want (like the MDA...Minimum Descent Altitude...of the approach). Just remember the "floor" altitude needs to be an AGL...Above Ground Level...altitude based on the airport altitude (airport altitude plus the "floor" height of your visibility layer is the MSL altitude for the bottom of the visibility layer setting).