Yes, clouds are better than ever as is the haze. I prefer to leave Rex Atmos off now - it looks better without it. 

8 hours ago, scotchegg said:

Opposite for me. I’ve had two great overcasts and overall good cloud placements. Also haze is in again now which makes overall scenes look much better, and even have god rays again. Not as good as pre-SU5 2020 yet, still too many infuriating steam puffs, but in no way a regression on SU4. Quite the opposite. 

Same here, as SU5 really has brought to me what I would call a "game changer" in terms of performance and "looks" and above all, effects!

Not only does cloud coverage overall look better, but it's physical effects on the aircraft are surely much more noticeable now, although I still make good use of RealTurb...

Visibility, even though ASOBO stepped forward from other sim platforms and chose to go the more theoretical / scvientific way and use "aerossol-based" calculations for visibility and other weather parameters, is now a lot more accurate, and honestly comparing it to my other general purpose flightsim, X-plane 12, I now find it even more precise and better modelled.

I've not noticed the clouds any worse (still nowhere near the detailed levels of pre-su5 for 2020) but no worse for me than before this update. 

I do see more pixelation in trees up close, but that could be server related as it's the weekend.... maybe...

I've found that how clouds look from the cockpit also depends on the aircraft, and specifically curvature in the windscreen or canopy and how the glass material has been used.  Some aircraft show apparantly pixelated clouds but when I go outside (which I rarely do normally), I can see that the pixelation isn't there.

May not be the issue here but it's something I've noticed.

With the recent exception of in cloud updrafts/turbulence, there have been *zero* changes to the clouds, cloud structure or anything to do with clouds. Unless Asobo announced something that I missed? (somewhat likely). But other than updates to enhance/fix lightning about 1 year ago, I've not heard of any changes to weather. Placebo effect here?

12 hours ago, aniiran said:

This is what im seeing. 

Ignore the stupid lines.  But I think the clouds look the best they ever have.  This today near Toledo OH.

Yes, I'd agree with this view. Cloudscapes seem to be both realistic looking and convincingly thick and dangerous now in bad weather. Not saying it's perfect yet, but it's defintiely coming on.

Finding the sweet spot in MSFS 2024 can be challenging, but it is always good to consider what it is about our system and set up that could be contributing when stuff doesn't work properly. In mu experience it has always proven to be at least partly me. If it's a genuine bug you'll get to know about it pretty quickly on this or other forums.

The problem seems to be only impacting certain people.  I bet more people have it than realize though.  The problem isn't whether they are realistic or not, they are real for certain conditions, that thin haze with no definition.  That's real, for those conditions.  My problem is that you never see clouds having any thickness.  Fly in a tropical area in hot weather, you'd expect to see thick, "puffy" clouds.  

Again, obviously this is only impacting certain people (and not that many) since SU5.  Stop trying to prove people wrong on what they are seeing.  If you don't see the issue, great.  Consider yourself lucky.  After a reinstall, my clouds are back to looking great again.  

I had to reinstall a clean install of MS2024 after SU5 to get back volumetric clouds

Another video (not watched it), comments section pointing to a fresh install can help, think I'll do that anyway as these kind of sims need a freshen up every now and then.

 

I love how he just went to his settings, set the cloud from high to ultra, then hit CANCEL instead of save, and then commented that his clouds didn't look any better.... The videos from this kind of expert users are out of my reach...

3 hours ago, MarcG said:

Another video (not watched it), comments section pointing to a fresh install can help, think I'll do that anyway as these kind of sims need a freshen up every now and then.

The video titled "What have they done to my beautiful sim weather?"

NOTHING. More people are just noticing how the weather in MSFS is really starting to show it's "age". All Asobo needs to do is bring out the weather code from before MSFS2020 SU5 (and keep the current accuracy of rain/thunderstorm locations, up/down draft modifications, improved lightning), and that should do it. MSFS2020 live weather pre SU5 used to have it all, towering cumulus, super cell, high clouds, fronts, organic weather worldwide (no cloud shifts / clouds disappearing or reappearing out of nowhere). I wished I would have kept my screenshots and videos I made!

They even used to have "dynamic" windshield rain drop / wind effects that were physics driven, not the current word not allowed it is now (like some baked in GIF or something, just repeats over and over).

This is the problem with issues that only impact certain people.  Huddison's video isn't showing the problem I think some of us have had with clouds.  It is way, way more noticeable than that.  Plus the issue with clouds has nothing to do with the weather engine.  I saw the same cloud issue with ActiveSky.  

I've done a fresh install, cleared caches etc etc and I can't see the clouds being any worse than they were previously. I still see very bad "minecraft" moments where the pixelation is god awful but then it blends back to being pretty decent. Again still nowhere near pre-SU5 2020 levels but we're never getting that back with this lot, as per usual flying in VR you get a closer sense of issues than those on a flat screen so I tend to see more problems that once seen cannot be unseen.

On 5/8/2026 at 8:58 PM, aniiran said:

Make sure your settings aren't Auto for DLSS.  Only use Quality.  

DLAA is better than Quality.

On 5/10/2026 at 9:21 AM, Daube said:

I love how he just went to his settings, set the cloud from high to ultra, then hit CANCEL

The setting was already set to Ultra when he opened the menu, he didn't change any settings.

  

On 5/10/2026 at 12:10 PM, KERNEL32 said:

They even used to have "dynamic" windshield rain drop / wind effects that were physics driven

Windshield rain looks the same as it always has, even back when 2020 launched. It hasn't gotten worse or improved.

Edited May 11May 11 by Tuskin38