Fab10

Sorry for the delay in replying. My bad, all of it. Having previously temporarily rolled back to SMP V4, with hindsight, I will agree with your statement that there is no difference between versions (2D; like for like). Perception and memory coupled to heightened anticipation are strong and influential players. From a subjective standpoint, the loss of some primary 2D features under volumetric settings significantly reduces the appeal of this latest version despite its impressive capability. I will close by saying that my stalwart use of SMP products recently brought X-Aviation an additional sale, and this particular user is delighted with his purchase - and rightly so. Thanks.

Hi, It may be a genuinely mistaken perception of mine that I often feel SMP V5 has brought me full circle back to those first iterations of SMP when clouds were presented in a most distinctive circle around the users aeroplane. RWC was, I believe, meant to place clouds in a their rightful place within weather systems and fronts, and yet I am not feeling this these days. I feel that my settings are modest, insofar as I'd like to crank them right up, especially the cloud cover, but then my FPS will be adversely affected. I don't even use volumetric as then I lose other facets of SMP that I cherish. Long ago, despite being an ASXP user, I even purchased the 64-bit version of FSGRW in order to maximise the well documented inter-connected features of SMP/RWC and FSGRW. Whilst I could trade off some XP11 graphical settings and preferences to gain definition elsewhere, must I now upgrade my GPU in order to regain my SMP-led atmospherics (even though GPU's are in short supply)? I'm just curious, that's all, as I'm just not getting the same "feel" for things as once I did. Thanks, Fabio

Thank you, I appreciate your help. BTW, please don’t think that because I’m looking at non volumetric features, it means that I don’t like what I see; far from it, SMP is still my go-to cloud product.

Thank you, I appreciate your help. I have installed SMP V5.0.5 but I haven’t had a chance to try it out, but I remembered to disable “Never change visible weather” in RWC. Am I correct in my understanding that for users to revert exactly back to standard SMP V4, all users must do is switch off volumetric? I’d miss landing lights during night ops, so to me it’s an important feature of SMP. Thanks, Fabio

Thank you, seeing weather layers change like that makes sense as I have “Never change visible weather” enabled at the moment. Please forgive my well intended questions; I mean these to be respectful, objective, and ultimately constructive. Equally, my understanding of the technical aspects of volumetric clouds is less than basic and somewhat confused, so I’m really seeking clarity. When you responded to FlyAgi’s post, I believe that you hinted about the possibility of removing the 500m lower AGL cloud limit, which is something I’d look forward to. I get the technical necessity for changing the reported cloud base (volumetric clouds vs. terrain blending), but I’m unsure how I feel about adjusting weather conditions. Much of my flying is intentionally aimed at challenging situations, and I’ll often seek out weather to match (for instance my arrival / departure at NZWN was with low cloud and blustery winds set in-sim as historic weather). Obviously, I’d not enjoy breaking through cloud at an airport where purposely I’d selected conditions to match official minima, only to find an artificially set inaccurate cloud base. Thinking off the cuff, given a weather situation whereby the base is overcast, then if this is set to legacy SMP, will the 500m limit be enabled if a cumulus layer above is set to volumetric? What options are there with respect to this, for instance: 1. A user selectable opt in/out cloud base limit check box. 2. An automatically invoked cloud limiter with optional visual indicator flag (eg. user removable warning dialogue box “SMP cloud base set to 500m AGL”). Back to the implementation of SMP V4 features within SMP V5; are there any known limitations, disabled features, or performance issues (eg. do landing lights still illuminate clouds)? Might it be possible to create a product feature grid showing what is or isn’t available or limited in the different operating modes of SMP V5? As always, thank you, Fabio

Hi, First of all, thank you for your continued efforts in stabilising SMP V5 for us. Perhaps I have misunderstood, but my understanding of SMP V5 is that all of the basic features of SMP V4 remain present within V5. When my SMP V5.0.4 FPS lowered unacceptably just now on ascent out of a cloudy NZWN, I switched from volumetric to standard, but immediately I lost one (or more) layers of cloud. When I tried switching overcast to non-volumetric, XP11.51 crashed. I read in one of Sundog’s posts that volumetric clouds cannot easily blend with terrain, and so an automatic lower cloud limit of 500m was implemented, which is something I hadn’t expected. If possible, please could you clarify how this system operates, specifically whether reported weather cloud bases are accurately represented as per weather engine METAR reports? How should SMP V5 users who wish to momentarily regress back to SMP V4 standards go about achieving this, such that all features and functions of SMP V4 are again available? With thanks, Fabio

Whilst I’ve yet to test V5.0.1, I would like to express my gratitude to Cameron and Sundog for going above and beyond. The easy approach would have been to wait for XPR to issue a fix, instead, recognising the excitement and expectations set by a new ground breaking product, you opted for an interim SMP V5 patch to get your customers going. Respect. Great customer service will always be rewarded by loyal customers.

Oh, thanks, I will double check and report back, but it's one of my favourite things. Thanks for letting me know.

For the moment, I have reverted to SMP V4 as we are flying online, but I will test a default aircraft and report back. Fabio

Same for me, external frames 60-70, but within the VC they fall rapidly to 6-7, XP may then crashes. Without ASXP or FSGRW running, and few clouds, with either volumetric ON or OFF, the same applies, in VC FPS drop to under 10. Log.txt

Wow, thank you, I am poised credit card in hand for release day, bring it on! Fabio

Thank you, I appreciate your reply. I have a GTX 1080, so hopefully it will be able to render these wonderful new clouds. SMP/RWC has always been my personal benchmark and go-to cloud package. Presumably, it will still dovetail nicely into FSGRW? Anyway, this is all superb news and a great tonic for a dim time, and it has already brightened up 2021 - it is, after all, a Happy New Year!

Excellent news, thank you for the update. I too had a feeling that something was brewing in the good old Maxx laboratory - atmospheric alchemy! I have been looking at the previews with eager anticipation, and they seem to be very impressive, especially the improved draw distance. Will different cloud types be included in the initial release, for instance cirrus, tcb’s (anvil types), and stratiform types? Is there any news on the anticipated technical specifications regarding GPU requirements? Santa might have been generous in many ways, but sadly not in the GPU department! Thanks, Fabio

Thank you, I will do this.

Thanks, I will look forward to your input, I’m sure it’s fine, but just wanted to check. Fabio

I am so not trying to be difficult. My present weather add-on combination, specifically SMP with RWC and FSGRW, is by far my favourite. Instead, please see this as a genuine enquiry as I am concerned that my SMP is not behaving or displaying correctly. I'm just looking for reassurance that it is working and rendering as expected. The written word can be a poor conveyer of thoughts and feelings, and probably my posts have not been read as intended. Thank you, Fabio

OK, I appreciate the reply. it looked like a half moon, but fine, the point I get. Just to see first hand the effect that these factors have on cloud brightness and contrast, may I ask where and when I might find SMP/RWC at its darkest?

Let me rephrase. I'm not trying to pin anyone down to a hard and fast answer or explanation, I'm literally just looking for an opinion. I've not been in an airliner at nightime when the clouds looked quite so bright or defined. It's a half-moon sort of night. :-)

I get that it is a multifactorial issue. So you believe that the cloud brightness look as expected for a SMP/RWC & XP11 installation as detailed?

OK, good point. The flight is set January 7th 2018 using historic weather, and we are over the Canary Islands. Would you say that the screen shot looks as expected, or are the clouds too bright? I'd be happy if you said that this these settings produced this look, I just wanted to know as I don't recall SMP clouds being quite so light in colouration/tone. Thanks, Fabio

Hi, May I please ask whether the following screenshot is representative of how SMP/RWC and XP11.41 should appear at nightime? I don't recall seeing my SMP clouds as being quite so bright or even visible during the hours of darkness (soft cumulus, soft HD overcast, cirrus set to ridges). I have an enhanced lighting package but removing this makes no difference. Thanks, Fabio

Hi, Thank you, I will make the changes in the settings, appreciate the feedback. Fabio

Hi, I am returning to SMP/RWC with ASXP or FSGRW (older x64 bit version) for my WX solution. These provide the most convincing representation of weather within XP, IMO. I’m experimenting with settings as I’m still finding my personal ideal. I am looking for correct cloud placement as well as the best possible cloud cover in terms of cloud density and overcast. Should I use ASXP’s “Global” mode when RWC is enabled? What would I expect me to see with Global enabled or disabled and RWC omitted? With the older version of FSGRW (XP10 x64 bit) operating, will SMP 4.7.3 show different cloud sets or can this only be correctly achieved with the up to date version FSGRW? Thanks, Fabio

That’s so weird, I was certain that it had the facility to show the route on the ND with EFIS zoom in/out. At least I’m not dreaming that it is and always has been a superb machine! Thanks, Fabio

Hi, Such an impressive machine, and a joy to fly. I had a straightforward FP set in the GPS that the aircraft was following dutifully. The route was shown clearly on the GPS map. The ND was changed from compass rose to a low zoom level map display to show course, but the display was empty and without route. Has something changed, or have I forgotten some SAAB essentials as it has been a while since my last flight? XP 11.20 and SAAB V1.5. Thankd as always, Fabio