Better variety of clouds and weather..

So..I do love the new cloud textures..however I must say there's a few things that I do think would look better.

With the "cloud density" setting..you either get these cotton ball poof clouds, or once you hit density 8, a thick layer.

I kind of wish the cotton ball clouds would stop at density 4 or so and 5-6-7 would be variations like this...

Cumulonimbus Clouds...and similar. Mixed formations, a mix of stratus and such..

From what a few people have said, the current (new) stuff in 2.5 is just a stop gap and ED are actually making a new cloud system to replace it.

I suggest the visibility distance slider. Or, this can be done by upgrading the fog parameter. Now, there is a fog with max vis. distance 6000 m and altitude 2000 m (if I remember well). Pump it up to 50 km visibility and altitude 3 km.

IMO what I'd like to see is the ability to determine cloud types, layers and densities, obviously certain types of clouds should only appear at certain altitudes.

With regards to the weather system as a whole, there should be higher levels of control for precipitation (rain, snow, hail and severity (say 1-5 or 1-10)), there should be control over the severity of thunderstorms and obviously thunderstorms should only happen when/where there are cumulonimbus clouds.

1 thing I'd like to see is the ability to place different weather in different sections of the map, perhaps done by the geographic grid/MGRS grid or even user drawn. Ideally there should be a copy/paste feature and 'apply to all' if only clean cut weather (like we have now) is desired.

From what a few people have said, the current (new) stuff in 2.5 is just a stop gap and ED are actually making a new cloud system to replace it.

I certainly hope that's true

Clouds are certainly disappointing in the DCS version 2s. The clouds are the cotton wool ball types and seem to be a set piece. Certainly in NTTR, if you want scattered cloud, it does not matter what you set the base as; nor the tops. You get 9500ft bases and 18,000ft tops.

The generated clouds in the distance just rise with you, then when you get above them, they just stop generating. I have yet to see a partially obscured target.

I can appreciate the difficulty in creating clouds, generate them throughout the arena and take a big performance hit.

Generate them within a certain distance of the aircraft and have everyone see them pop into existence, and have a moan about that.

So, as a thought. Let's combine them all. Have clouds generated fairly locally to help performance, but keep generating them within say 3 minutes of flight time, by having them pop into existence in full view, but behind other graphics layers, such as nearer clouds and behind the control panel. They could then gently rise to the correct height as specified by the user as the AC approaches over a few minutes.

No clouds suddenly appearing, clouds being generated constantly within user defined paremeters, so user can fly substantally higher than them and no performance hit by generating clouds theatre wide.

We will see them in our SIM someday. Two more weeks, be sure.

Of course, that would be fantastic. But, I'd take better FPS and simplified clouds any day over realism, variety, and 19 FPS.

Of course, that would be fantastic. But, I'd take better FPS and simplified clouds any day over realism, variety, and 19 FPS.

Just my thought too.

Another thing is clouds in multiplayer appear to be different for every client, worst case scenario, when a client enters the server at a different time than other.

Could have an option in the settings too switch between the low and high res clouds that could be a good solution to those who want better fps.

Of course, that would be fantastic. But, I'd take better FPS and simplified clouds any day over realism, variety, and 19 FPS.

I feel like a better weather system would enhance the simulation. Turbulence, cloud cover which affects the tactical situation should all be modeled.

Just came across this post as I was about to start a new thread regarding cloud formations. On a flight this week, I couldn't help thinking about this subject in dcs. The formations as we climbed to our cruising height was awesome. So many layers and builds of clouds.

I hope that we do get the opportunity to see this in dcs and also the option for lower versions for those who can't get the fps.

This will certainly make the immersion considerably more intense.

Cheers

Just my thought too.

 

 

Another thing is clouds in multiplayer appear to be different for every client, worst case scenario, when a client enters the server at a different time than other.

Whilst this is currently true, I would hope that their new cloud system removes this issue. But who the :censored: knows :dunno:

The basic fog/visibility modeling is flawed: With the fog visibility set to near zero, you still see the runway lights all the way to the end of the runway, and you can see the buildings adjacent.

In reality, if the visibility is 150 feet, then all you should be able to see is up to 150 feet around you. So that would be the runway itself, and any runway light or object within that distance. The rest of the image should be gray, and at night black. Increasing the brightness of runway lights increases their range in fog, but very marginally.

They should be modeling fog like any other cloud: That's because fog is a cloud that's reached the ground.

It is also not possible to have low ceilings. It should be possible to have the cloud base as low as one wants, and not at 1000 feet.

In the real world, weather is an important factor in combat flight operations. The weather isn't always clear, and the side that can operate in periods of low visibility without crashing has a definite advantage.