Finally took the time and tested the v4. I am impressed :)

[Denco]

Doing more tests with SMP v4 I noticed that performance was improved compared to the v3. Setting the cloud distance to 20000 would not hit fps as much as it did in v3. For comparison with v4 and above cloud distance I was able to stay at around 30 fps in areas with heavy cloudy. Before in v3 that view distance was impossible to use because of the stuttering. Any setting above 10000 would induce too much stuttering which for the most part seem's to be fixed. The test's were done using XP11.

I can't wait for the next version because of some great features and more performance updates. The only feature not listed that I would like to see in the next version implemented is the cloud brightness setting. They still seem a bit too grey for my taste.

 

 

The new things I really liked:

-Particle rain and snow

-Performance 

-HD Puffs

-Probably more features I haven't yet noticed

 

Areas I'm hoping will get more improved over time:

- Better clouds coloring. I would really like to see top of the clouds to be more  illuminated then the bottom because of the sunlight, specially the storm clouds.

- Storm cells being displayed as storm cells http://pre07.deviantart.net/bb71/th/pre/i/2011/101/c/d/storm_cell_by_sunflowercyclist-d3dsg7m.jpg

- Anvils and in general more cloud variety. Right now they can still look very synchronized and flat. Picture of AS16 for inspiration

- Clouds redrawing is still happening. I'm pretty sure this problem can be completely eliminated by working with Laminar.

-The rest I'll leave at the imagination of the team

 

In general I think that SMP v4 is a step in the right direction and an overall great improvement compared to v3. Definitely worth a buy. Can't wait for the future

 

 

Edited May 24, 2017 by Denco