Afterburner

I can't remember that the dark lighting was a problem in all previous versions of P3D until v5... If lighting was OK in older versions, what obstacles is LM facing now that they can't fix this problem?

Let's see if Asobo's statement that MSFS2020 will be a work in progress for 10 years will bear as much truth as Microsoft's statement in 2015 that Windows 10 will be the last Windows version... 😆

Are you currently using any AM settings? If you experience slow autogen loading in dense areas, I would turn off AM completely and also activate hyperthreading. Playing around with AM may initially give you some FPS boost, but it comes at a cost that is not instantly visible.

I would gladly come to visit you even if you didn't own the Fulcrum, just to help you fly Concorde-X as a first officer 😉 I was asking about the pitch distance because this is one of the most important aspects when it comes to precise landings. Some other yokes may offer 180 degrees steering, but they leave a lot to be desired when it comes to the travel distance. Add the exchangeable yoke shapes of the Fulcrum, which makes the choice clear to me.

I also find this haze very realistic. I think that older simulators (up to FSX) gave "unlimited" visibility in the default weather configuration, and many users apparently have gotten so used to it that they have become blind to the fact that there is always some haze in the real world. Just take a look at some real-life pictures.

Guys, on my end, uninstalling the update KB5003173 solved the problem. Of course, you need to pause updates to prevent it from reinstalling. You may give it a try if you want

You don't want to test everyone else's "Beat" headphones? 😁

I don't have P3D 5.2 to test whether it's a bug or a feature, but other users can hopefully chime in to confirm.

And what is the problem with your taskbar and menu? Looks OK to me...

I thought that Windows 10 was supposed to be the the last Microsoft OS ever...

They don't state the pitch travel distance of the yoke. If it's any shorter than Fulcrum's, I am not going to buy it.

My P3D v4.5 also looks good. Realistic cockpit brightness, no waffle clouds, no yellowish sunsets every day, stable, no bugged aircraft reflections at night, no menu issues with GSX, no more need to update and worry about anything breaking compatibility with existing add-ons... It may not "perform" as well as v5.2, but I rather take the above said things.

I wonder which KB update caused the problem. Anyone have an idea?

I am having this problem with v4.5. Switching from "Do Nothing" to any other setting and then back only helps in a running Windows session. After restarting Windows, this needs to be done again before running P3D, which is tiresome. I didn't have this problem a few months ago, so it must be a Win update issue. But which update is it exactly? And how do we solve this issue?

Hasn't P3D always utilized core0 to nearly 100% in most cases? As far as I can remember, it goes back to P3Dv3 or even earlier. If the GPU is underutilized, it means that the CPU is the limiting factor and the GPU doesn't need to work so hard to process the frames per second.

@coastaldriver Thank you for providing the comparison screenshots! They show that having realistic weather in the simulator depends on a lot of things, over which 3rd party software don't often have control. It starts with the correct compilation of METARs or with the translation of real-world weather into the text code. At big international airports like UUEE, the METARs tend to be more correct than at places unknown to the world. Then you have the challenge of translating the METARs into correct cloud classifications, visibility and boundaries by the 3rd party weather program. And then you need to have the simulator correctly depicting the visual part of the weather transmitted by the 3rd party software to the simulator. If the METAR reports incorrect data, a program like Active Sky can only transmit to the simulator what it gets (unless you use some sort of combined sources).

Ray, just to clarify: When you mention CPU 1, are you referring to core 0 or 1? I am asking because the first core is usually labeled as core 0 (so I am not sure if that is CPU1).

Hello, In another thread (about P3D 5.2 and rounded clouds horizon and weird haze), I posted pictures of the current weather that I took in real world 10km southeast from airport UUEE and compared that with how the live weather looks in P3Dv4.5 and MSFS. For P3D, I use ASP3D, Envshade, ASCA for clouds and Envtex for skies. In the said post, I took pictures during dusk. In this new, separate thread, I want to post pictures that I took just recently at 14:00 local time. In the simulators, I placed the airplane on runway 24R at airport UUEE and directed the camera to the northwest (what I also did from the window). Here are the pictures: Reality: P3Dv4.5: MSFS: I would be grateful if someone could post a screenshot from the same spot at the same time in P3D 5.2 (preferably using ASP3D historical weather) with EA enabled to compare the looks of the clouds and sky against reality. My personal opinion is that while none of the simulators depict the real weather at 100% accuracy (which is to be expected), the clouds in MSFS may have a decent variety, but they look bad, unnatural (as I mentioned in another thread, like white volcanic ashes) and overdramatic in their dark/bright gradient in the given situation (this is on "high" settings). In P3D, the clouds chunks are bigger than in reality, but they have a more natural edge and overall definition than in MSFS. The way I see it is that if the clouds are 2D sprites, they can look better than true 3D clouds. The clouds in MSFS are praised highly by some for their "fantastic" looks, but they can be way off from nature, and they are overrated IMO. As I said, I would welcome if someone could post a screenshot from v5.2. Also feel free to put your comparisons of weather between reality and different simulators.

I am glad to hear that stability has been improved in 5.2, but I remember having had stability in v3.4 and now 4.5, so this is not something that should be branded as "the absolute best advancement". But I am happy that the OP is happy about 5.2.

Just out of curiosity, I am currently 10km southeast of UUEE. I took a picture from my window, which is directed to the north. Then I fired up P3Dv4 (with ASP3D, ASCA, Envtex), MSFS using live weather, and placed my airplane at runway 24R and directed the camera to the northwest. Here are the screenshots taken at 21:23 local time: Reality: https://imgur.com/7DWoSix P3Dv4: https://imgur.com/cjbYjjS MSFS: https://imgur.com/znCp6cY Could anyone using P3D 5.2 take a screenshot from the same spot at the above indicated time with EA enabled (preferably using ASP3D historical weather)? I would like to provide a basis to compare sunset colors and coulds.

Benbo, why don't you go ahead and experiment with the settings yourself, now that you have upgraded your PC? There is no best settings that someone can provide because only you know what your graphics preferences are. In other words, do you prefer better quality and lower frame rate, or the other way around? Or something in the middle? Only you know it. Also, what sceneries do you use? Default or 3rd party? There are many variables, on which "best" settings will depend. Your GPU can handle P3Dv4, and I suggest that you don't hesitate to play around with the sliders and find the sweet spot for yourself. Again, if I or someone else gave you a settings recommendation, how do we know what constitutes "best" for you?

And this is how a natural visibility layer should look like - without the sharp line! (This is P3Dv4 with the above mentioned add-ons):

After having read through this thread and seen some screenshots, I am still not sold on EA because you still encounter white waffles in some situations, and the sunsets are always of the same color (even though they have eliminated the Mars look, for which they deserve appreciation). The only thing that looks good is atmospheric haze during daytime. The combination of Active Sky, Envtex sky textures, Envshade and ASCA clouds still gives me the most natural atmosphere with a good variety of dawn/dusk colors - and this goes back to P3Dv3. Although the clouds are 2D sprites, they look realistic to me from a distance, and it's barely noticeable that they are 2D. In MSFS, the clouds often look like white volcanic ashes and sometimes overdramatic. I have read much less complaints about the weather depiction in older versions of P3D (v3 and v4). Popcorn clouds were the biggest problem, but no more at some point. With EA, the complaints seem to outweigh the benefits. It's somewhat disappointing to see that one year after the initial release of P3Dv5, the weather with EA still has the documented bugs.

Hello Ray, Have you tried to activate the check box "Use System Time for Default Scenario" in the settings?

Didn't some people complain in the past that core 0 was running at 100% while the rest was almost idle when flying in P3D? Now we have a complaint that all cores are running evenly and heavily... I would not worry. If you have an intense load on all cores during cruise flight, it is a good sign, and it means that the sim loads a lot of objects. You will notice that this load is not permanent, but mostly present if you use intensive sceneries.