FSW now includes True Sky, the best clouds ever !

[Daube]

Hi all,

I copying here the information about my experience and comments about the latest FSW update, which brings the True Sky technology, for real 3D clouds.
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As some of you may know, the newest update for FSW brings in a new technology for drawing the clouds in the sim: True Sky.
I have tested this a few minutes ago and I have to say this: I don't like FSW. But True SKy is the best thing I've ever seen when it comes to clouds in a sim. It puts ALL of the current products (REX etc...) to shame. Simple as that.
And I didnt't think I would ever say anything like that about FSW..

Here is a summary of what happened.
I updated the sim via Steam then launched it. The initial loading took forever, the loading of the small popup about "...shaders..." was not going forward... but finally it came to an end.
I set a flight by daytime in fair weather and took off.
The clouds were strange, kind of ugly. I don't know if it was because of my hardware, or settings, or because it was the first launch, no idea. The clouds looked blurry and moving like the smoke of the liquid nitrogen...
From the top, it looked like that. Don't be afraid and read the rest.



So, cloud is blurry, shape is strange, colors have banding... but then again... that shape ! Can you see how complex it is ? The clouds are FINALLY real 3D shapes, not a pile of 2D faces turning around you!

Then, I restarted the sim. That restart was fast, unlike the first one. This time, I selected the theme "major thunderstorm" at dusk, then when I got in the cockpit I trigger the slew mode and jumped directly to 10.000 feet. And boy what I saw there was simply amazing. Clouds finally lookeds like clouds. Shapes were so complex, sometimes very smooth. The lighting was just perfect. Look at that:

[Daube]

The important things to notice is that the clouds now cast shadows on themselves. So a big isolated cumulonimbus is going to cast a big shadow on the nearby lower clouds. I don't know how "complex" this shadows are but the global rendering of an overcast sky seen from above has nothing in common with what we can currently see in FSX, P3D or XPlane.
Also the rendering of the light around the clouds is beautiful, for example when a cloud is hidding the sun...

I'm not really a big fan of FSW, not enough planes, performance is so-so etc... but I really want that True Sky technology to be ported to P3Dv4 as soon as possible !!

[Daube]

Two additional screens to show how it looks like after you get above the clouds with the theme "Fogged in"
You've got to love ILS

[Flying Trucker]

Thanks for the commentary and pictures Stephane...much appreciated...

[tjitah]

Hi Daube, I've also given all the various updates of FSW a try but unlike you, I'm not impressed with TrueSky.

I have to immediately say that I haven't gone above the clouds, only looked at them from the side and to me it looks like something with a holographic image inside - very unnatural.

Even worse, have you tried to fly inside a cloud and looked at the landscape below. It looks like a black-and-white FLIR image, not a more faded version of the natural colours as you would find in real life and other flight sims. That to me is the worst part of TrueSky and I cannot stand flying into those clouds. It is just UGLY.

Also, I chose the clear skies option and instead got low-lying clouds all over the runway I wanted to take off from !? That is actually where I saw those ugly FLIR-like landscape images, because I had to go through them.

I hope they get those aspects right, otherwise I'm not sold. I actually enjoyed FSW more before the latest TrueSky update and am only one achievement away from 100% (Yes I know, some of us OCD types like to chase Steam achievements and FSW have given us quite a few to do).

[Daube]

I have also seen these problems.
But we have to keep in mind that FSW is still at alpha stage (work in progress), and this is the very first implementation of TrueSKY in the sim.
A lot of tweaking still has to occur before the final version, the developpers are working on it, to adjust, fine-thune the shaders settings to make these clouds look right.
Clouds are not the only problematic effect. Ambiant occlusion is also impacted by incorrect settings that make it look weird.

For now, I'm just focusing on the feature itself, on what is it, what it means, what it brings.
And already now, these clouds mean the old 2D clouds are a thing from the past. 3D clouds are the present or immediate future. Once the shaders are adjusted, these clouds are just going to look spectacular in any conditions.

[tjitah]

Yes, I guess you have the right attitude. It is an alpha and will improve. I have to say, that I actually enjoy FSW, the aircraft models are beautiful, the scenery is not too bad and my frame rates are super-smooth. I enjoyed the missions and the achievements, but after that, I'm not sure FSW has enough to bring me back. They will have to pull a serious rabbit from the hat to compete with the rest. One of the things which will bring me back is if I can EASILY install all my old FSX aircraft and airports. I know it can be done at the moment but it is hit and miss and very convoluted, I haven't even tried yet. They need to make that an effortless process otherwise FSW will be just a pretty but sterile environment. And they have to do something about that dreadful ATC, OMG!

[papituwall]

Thanks Daube for your FSW comments and information. I think this is the right way of evaluating this sim.

tjitah, I see very difficult that you can use your FSX planes. I have claimed this in FSW forum with no success, and what is worse I think Dovetail has no interest in that.

Two examples:

A- The Flightsimschool Piper Supercub, is not working in FSW. The FSC version has modern gauges in VC.

B- Some FSX aircraft can be ported and work with some problems:
1. Gauges: The VC is not clickable
2. VC texture is greyish and only has the real color under certain position of the plane with respect to the sun.
3. Just yesterday I ported some jets, I tested: Restauravia Vautour and Fouga Magister, Rob Richardson Meteor, and just after taking off, those planes start buffeting, tested the FSX default Learjet and 737 and same problem, so I discarded a fluttering problem thah had X-plane 10 with small aircraft. Then I ported a Spitfire and at about 150-160 mph the phenomenon is the same. FSW planes that can reach this speed have no problem.
It seems Dovetail has done something with Accusim for non FSW aircraft because disabling the Accusim all is OK.

[victorpatrick]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your experience and comments about the latest update for FSW and the True Sky technology. It's great to hear about your excitement and positive impressions of the new cloud rendering system.

True Sky is indeed a significant advancement in simulating realistic 3D clouds, and it seems like you were impressed with the complex shapes and improved lighting effects it brings to the simulator. The comparison with other cloud products like REX is interesting, and it's nice to see developers pushing the boundaries to deliver more immersive and visually stunning experiences. pge outage map

[tjitah]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your experience and comments about the latest update for FSW and the True Sky technology. It's great to hear about your excitement and positive impressions of the new cloud rendering system.

True Sky is indeed a significant advancement in simulating realistic 3D clouds, and it seems like you were impressed with the complex shapes and improved lighting effects it brings to the simulator. The comparison with other cloud products like REX is interesting, and it's nice to see developers pushing the boundaries to deliver more immersive and visually stunning experiences. pge outage map

It is now 6 years later and FSW does not exist anymore. Think it got discontinued four years ago. Dovetail made some questionable decisions and combined with a lack of compelling features, it never really competed well with other sims available at the time. There were a few nice things about it, but ultimately it never lived up to being the next "evolution" in flight sims, which MSFS 2020 turned out to be.