SkyMaxx Pro v3.2 - Clouds changing heights very often

[Tom Stian]

Hello

Just upgraded to SkyMaxx Pro v3.2 with RWC.

I now have a issue that clouds are changing hights very often.

Using FSGRW and have set the RWC to never change visible weather

 

Edited June 4, 2016 by Tom Stian

[brucie1dog]

My clouds are doing that also. The other thing I am noticing is the clouds sort of flash very quickly like a flash bulb. I am on a MAC,. Sometimes it almost seems like the sky is jumping when this happens.

[sundog]

I think you are crossing 1-degree tile boundaries in X-Plane. When this happens, X-Plane changes its internal coordinate system, which invalidates the placement of our clouds.

In SMP 3.1.x + RWC, we simply made the old clouds disappear entirely and faded in new, repositioned ones when this happened. In 3.2, instead we do our best to reposition the existing clouds we have into the new coordinate system. But sometimes, there are changes in altitude that result, and I think that's what you're seeing.

It's the lesser of two evils, however. Clouds disappearing and reappearing entirely was even more distracting, and had a much larger performance and memory impact when it happened.

What you're seeing in your video seems a lot more extreme than what I saw in my own testing, however. Can you tell me what location you are at?

 

[brucie1dog]

I just completed a New Orleans to  Detroit flight. I really noticed it for the last 50 miles or so from Toledo to Detroit. I had changed the time of the flight to mid afternoon so I could see the clouds. When I approached Detroit it was raining.  As I was landing in Detroit the weather was moderate rain and the screen almost seemed to stop the flight and start again. The computer is now quite 2 years old. Was hoping to get another year out of it. Hopefully this information helps.

Thanks!

Andy

Log.txt

[sundog]

Your log confirms it's associated with crossing tile boundaries, combined with impossible cloud layer altitudes in the METAR data that RWC struggled to compensate for. You must have been flying across the corners of adjacent tiles for it to happen that often. Thanks for the data; it gives me something to work with.

Cute dog.

Edited June 5, 2016 by sundog

[brucie1dog]

Are there any adjustments that you would recommend on my end? Nice comments about my Springer Spanil child are always appreciated. 

[sundog]

I think it's probably specific to where you were flying and the weather conditions there at the time, so there's a good chance it will just clear itself up. But switching to one of the older cirrus textures (4-6) and setting the overcast representation to "dense particles" will probably work around most of what was going on there for now.

[Tom Stian]

9 hours ago, sundog said:

What you're seeing in your video seems a lot more extreme than what I saw in my own testing, however. Can you tell me what location you are at?

This was from my flight to LEPA. Between VAMTU and KOLON. I think this happend all the flight, but will do a new flight now and report back how often the changes are.

 

[Tom Stian]

Did a new flight

And have the same issue. This is between ARBEK and USKAR

[sundog]

Thanks. I'll take a flight in your region and see if I can get it to happen and see what's going on.

EDIT: Yup, I see it here as well - the cirrus cloud keeps changing altitude. Looking into it.

Edited June 5, 2016 by sundog

[brucie1dog]

I tend to select my flights as I did yesterday looking for bad weather. 

Andy

[Tom Stian]

11 minutes ago, sundog said:

Thanks. I'll take a flight in your region and see if I can get it to happen and see what's going on.

EDIT: Yup, I see it here as well - the cirrus cloud keeps changing altitude. Looking into it.

Nice.. :=)

[jfim88]

Did a new flight

And have the same issue. This is between ARBEK and USKAR

Sorry for the offtopic, but what scenery do you use for LEPA?

Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk

[sundog]

18 minutes ago, Tom Stian said:

Nice.. :=)

OK, I see what's going on here.

METAR cloud heights are specified as AGL (above ground level,) but in X-Plane we need to draw them in MSL (above mean sea level.) To convert between the two, SMP 3.2 tests the height of the terrain underneath you to figure out where "ground level" is.

Problem is, if you're flying over mountainous terrain or over islands, ground level changes frequently, and that's what's leading to the cirrus cloud moving like it does.

Coding up a fix now.

[brucie1dog]

Tom,

I have a question as my flight between New Orleans and Detroit where the terrain is pretty flat and low. Once you get out of the Gulf Coast there really is no water till you get to the Detroit area. Any idea why I had my issues?

Andy

[sundog]

Andy, I think your issue is different from Tom's.

I did try flying around Detroit this morning and things looked OK to me, so whatever was happening to you may have been specific to the METAR conditions in place last night.

If it happens again, please post your log.txt and your metar.rwx files and we can investigate more deeply. I have a hunch that another fix I just made based on another report may help, though.

 

[Tom Stian]

1 hour ago, jfim88 said:

Sorry for the offtopic, but what scenery do you use for LEPA?

Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk

Hello

Using this one

http://www.helgo11335.de/index.html

http://www.helgo11335.de/Downloads/Mallorca_9.1.zip

[jfim88]

Hello

Using this one

http://www.helgo11335.de/index.html

http://www.helgo11335.de/Downloads/Mallorca_9.1.zip

Thanks!

Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk

[brucie1dog]

I am trying to complete another flight from New Orleans to Detroit with a similar routing as I did yesterday. I have changed the settings slightly in the configuration. As I approached waypoint WEEDA (Western Lake Erie near Detroit) the plane has practically come to a standstill. I am enclosing my log txt as well as the RWC configuration. Hopefully this helps your figure out the issue.

Thanks,

Andy

Log.txt

METAR05JUN1625.txt

[brucie1dog]

The whole flight practically came to a stand still after I sent the above post. I went back to configuration and change the cloud coverage from 12000 to about 10600. It started to move better then. Not sure if that was just a coincidence or what. Enclosing the new files from the last bit of the flight. The strange part the simulator almost came to a halt when the weather seemed to be fairly decent.

METAR05JUN1705.txt

Log.txt

[sundog]

According to the SMP config screen you posted, you're almost out of system memory despite the fact that your system has 16GB. Do you have some particularly demanding custom scenery installed or something?

If memory is swapping, it would definitely explain what you're describing.

[brucie1dog]

Here

[brucie1dog]

Not sure what its going on here. I am now completing a flight from Detroit to Boston. About 100 miles west of Boston and there is some heavy weather and it's starting do the same thing it was when i was arriving in Detroit. It was fine when the weather was calmer. The only thing I just noticed is somehow it seems like X-Plane is in a funny position on the desktop. Before I upgraded it seemed like the X-Plane folder was listed under the desktop. Now I am like there are 2 folders for X-Plane.

Edited June 6, 2016 by brucie1dog
typo

[sundog]

I don't see anything obviously wrong with your file structure there.

It's RAM you're running out of, not hard drive space. Try flying with a default plane in that same area; do you still have problems? If you have custom scenery installed for the area you are flying in, does temporarily removing it help?

Are there other applications running in the background that you can quit? Looks like you've got a few things running there.

[brucie1dog]

Hi Frank,

II always have Excel,Mail and Safari open and haven't had a problem before. I just spoke with a senior tech person at Apple. He uses Simulations himself so he was familiar with X-plane. I explained to him how all this happened after I upgraded to 3.2. It does seem that when yet slows down if you reduce the cloud coverage area it help but doesn't totally fix it.

He thinks it has something to do with 3.2 because when we look at the activity monitor it seems like there is plenty.

Thoughts?

Andy

Edited June 6, 2016 by brucie1dog