Simviation Forums

Welcome to Stu

Clipper could you sort the link to the welcome center out for me

Great article Stuart, I'm sure many will benefit. Better do my "homework", teachers are always pestering me for it...  ;D

Nice job Stu, seems obvious to me now, but I didn't realise what I could do with 'user defined weather' and the visibility layer for ages....

These days I rarely push visibility over 30km, I understand it isn't realistic anyway to be able to see forever... and to that straight, blocky horizon... lower visibility makes things softer, lets the comp work on rendering details closer to you so speeds up frames (so I've heard), and if you really lower it and combine with sunrise/sunset you can get some really wierd colours  ;D

Also, if you have F1 or W+F then zooming very close in on clouds (and zooming out constantly from the aircraft) can give some great cloud effects too...

OK, here's an example from me:

Here we see an easyJet 737 on final for EGGD on a summer's evening.



And, by reducing the visibility to 20 miles, adding a layer of Stratus clouds (5/8, about 4000ft to 8000ft) and a layer of Cumulus clouds (7/8, 8000ft to 16,000ft) and moderate rain, this is the result:



As you can see clouds add action. Instead of creating a peaceful atmosphere, a slightly cautious one is created - also on the approach I was banked slightly left giving the indication of moderate winds (there weren't any but the same effect would be found with crosswinds). Also rain helps to create drama by implying speed into an image.  :)

Great example the Charlie, that second shot has a great sense of action

Come on people where are the other contenders, take a look at Charlies shot and see how much weather can improve your shots

Here's an example or two on how I use weather.

The first pic is one of my favourite weather themes to work with...clouds. In my opinion, contrast is everything when trying to create realistic and dramatic clouds. A little FSSkyworld and a just the right time of day does the trick here:




In this second pic, I'm trying to use rain and lightning to dramatize the scene. I find rain extremely difficult to work with as it has a tendancy to draw long vertical lines, rendering the pics unrealistic. Rain can help create a unique and warm mood to most pics though.

Very nice clipper, i remember it was you who tought me how to use the advanced weather feature, thank you once again, it really helps to create a great shot.

I agree with you on the rain, i have not as yet been able to make it work to my liking

Great article Stuart .

I agree that weather is absolutely crucial to a screenshot.

Another great example of using weather there, love everything about the last one Kevin, gives a great sense of danger IMHO