Improve clouds

[Christopher Low 5,402]

The rather disappointing clouds in FU3 are almost certainly a result of EA forcing LGS to release the product before it was finished. You only have to look at one or two of the screenshots that are displayed during the install process to realise that LGS intended to include a greater variety of cloud types and shapes.

[Guest cornclose]

Can't say as I've payed that much attention to the installer Chris - usually I install stuff and go do other things....I'll have to install it again just to see those though :-)_______RegardsChris Ehttp://www.circle-software.co.uk/php/html/images/logo.gifVisit http://www.circle-software.co.ukHome of X-Plane Photographic Scenery : England & Wales

[Naji 5]

I wish we could get the cloud issue moving again. Reading this thread, it is a pity it hasn't been finished yet as it seems about 30% of the required work has been done. And the only clouds that really need improvement are the pure cumulus ones, the ones that form out of puffs and the ship-looking ones that are so maddeningly similar to each other. Maybe a group effort? Any takers?

[Hans_Petter 1]

Yes, it seems that most of the developers have moved on. There's one cloud related issue that annoys me more than the shape of clouds--once you attain a few thousand feet of altitude the cloud cover disappears. While I certainly don't expect the rain to keep hammering above the clouds and I do expect bright and sunny weather up there I would still expect to see clouds below. From a programming perspective it should be done in the form of haze rather than as 3D clouds--a layer of haze obstructing the view of the ground. I can certainly set more haze but even this seems to be dropped when the ground is being viewed from high altitudes.

[Naji 5]

Hi Hans.I think the disappearance of the cloud cover below is similar to the disappearance of a cloud when the plane gets away from it horizontally. It is governed by the distance of the cloud from the plane, whether horizontally or vertically.I believe this distance can be controlled by the "Cumuliform Distance" in the Options Weather settings. Plus if I remember correctly, there are some config settings that can affect the disppearance of a cloud or how it would look as the distance varies.You can try increasing the value of the "Cumuliform Distance", which is in the flt3.cfg file as "opt_cumuloform_population". I haven't experimented with it much but I keep it at 203.