SkyMaxx Pro v4.9.6 Update Released!

[paul_smith_gw]

1 minute ago, paul_smith_gw said:

 

This is the result everytime I start XP11 after installing RWC and SMP. Using Vulkan\Intel\Nvidia Hardware. I've attached my log file as well.

Log.txt 18.05 kB · 0 downloads

I also have the newest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable installed which supersedes the one bundled in the installer for RWC.

[rawdmon]

1 hour ago, paul_smith_gw said:

 

This is the result everytime I start XP11 after installing RWC and SMP. Using Vulkan\Intel\Nvidia Hardware. I've attached my log file as well.

Log.txt 18.05 kB · 3 downloads

Generally that type of error indicates some other program or driver that is conflicting in some way.  Step one would be to upgrade your video card driver to the latest version if it's not at the latest.  If that doesn't fix it then you'd have to go through a debugging process to figure out what's causing it.  One such debugging process link is referenced here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/flash-player/microsoft-visual-c-runtime-library-assertion-failed-error-after-adobe-update/td-p/4246904?page=1

Another option would be trying to roll back to a previous restore point if you have one and see if that solves the problem or not.  I've been using the latest versions of both RWC and SMP with Xplane 11.50 for a month now without issue (also on Vulkan\Intel\Nvidia hardware).

You may want to try removing and then reinstalling RWC and SkyMaxx as well to see if it makes any difference.  If you installed Xplane via steam, maybe try running a check on the files as well through steam to make sure nothing is corrupted.

Edited October 21, 2020 by rawdmon

[rawdmon]

@sundog Hey Frank, is there any way at all to just re-enable the default X-Plane ground shadows while SkyMaxx is active?  I honestly don't really care if the shadows line up exactly with the SkyMaxx clouds, just having them there gives so much more depth to the scenery and makes the lighting look way more realistic in VR.  Right now in VR I'm basically stuck with either great looking ground shadows and lighting with ugly clouds or ugly ground lighting with nice SMP clouds.  It's kind of driving me nuts lol.

Edited October 22, 2020 by rawdmon

[sundog]

I'm afraid not. X-plane doesn't know about our clouds internally, and can't generate shadows for them on its own. Because we have to completely disable X-Plane's built in clouds to draw our own, X-Plane can't generate shadows for its own clouds in that case either.

Remember you can adjust the shadow intensity in the SMP settings. Perhaps just turning it down would make things look OK for you.

Edited October 22, 2020 by sundog

[rawdmon]

7 hours ago, sundog said:

I'm afraid not. X-plane doesn't know about our clouds internally, and can't generate shadows for them on its own. Because we have to completely disable X-Plane's built in clouds to draw our own, X-Plane can't generate shadows for its own clouds in that case either.

Remember you can adjust the shadow intensity in the SMP settings. Perhaps just turning it down would make things look OK for you.

@sundog Unfortunately adjusting the SkyMaxx shadows isn't an option for me.  I fly in VR and the cloud shadows are disabled when in the cockpit view in VR (you had explained to me this was done because it was making the cockpit too dark) and also, if I go outside the aircraft to view them they shift left to right when I move my head.  Both issues would need to be fixed then I'd be all set.  Since I can't get ground shadows at all with SkyMaxx in VR right now I'm weighing my options and considering moving back to the stock cloud system with a different add-on.

Edited October 22, 2020 by rawdmon

[sundog]

@rawdmon I did some more testing in VR for our upcoming release, and I think the cloud shadows are still a frame or two behind the motion of the camera. There may be some buffering going on under the hood and I'm not sure it's something we can work around. Just want to set expectations; cloud shadows will work in VR, but their motion may be slightly off when quickly moving your head.

[rawdmon]

So then basically what needs to happen at some point is figuring out why those cloud shadows have that draw delay of several frames and also make it so the cloud shadows don't black out the cockpit, or just make it so that it's not able to draw cloud shadows directly below the plane or something along those lines.  I enabled god rays to try them in VR the other day and they make a huge difference (make it feel even more realistic).  Really just missing the ground shadows from the clouds to make the experience perfect at this point.  Hopefully these are things that you will eventually be able to figure out, though I understand that this probably won't happen in the short term at this point.

[Cameron]

2 minutes ago, rawdmon said:

So then basically what needs to happen at some point is figuring out why those cloud shadows have that draw delay of several frames and also make it so the cloud shadows don't black out the cockpit, or just make it so that it's not able to draw cloud shadows directly below the plane or something along those lines.

@sundog addressed that: There may be some buffering going on under the hood and I'm not sure it's something we can work around.

Hopefully one day Laminar opens more up, but if we're being honest that's not likely with the shift to Vulkan and Metal. Things will actually tighten up.

[rawdmon]

1 hour ago, Cameron said:

@sundog addressed that: There may be some buffering going on under the hood and I'm not sure it's something we can work around.

Hopefully one day Laminar opens more up, but if we're being honest that's not likely with the shift to Vulkan and Metal. Things will actually tighten up.

Right, it just seemed that he was hypothesizing there.  It may end up being something that can be worked around.  Anyways, something to look in to more for the future if possible.  If it ends up definitely being a dead end then so be it.

[sundog]

13 hours ago, rawdmon said:

Right, it just seemed that he was hypothesizing there.  It may end up being something that can be worked around.  Anyways, something to look in to more for the future if possible.  If it ends up definitely being a dead end then so be it.

The new rendering pipeline in X-Plane that's used for VR and for Vulkan is also the cause of cloud shadows affecting the cockpit. All I can suggest for now is to reduce the intensity of the cloud shadows in the SMP configuration so their imperfections are less noticeable, while still getting a hint of them on the terrain.

[Pilotpete123]

Wow Rawdmon, I have been looking at this conversation and I too have had pretty much exactly the same issues.  It's true, SMP has the best cloud rendering in the market place, and in VR it looks just beautiful, I have tried them all, however unfortunately with my 32g ram and 1080 GPU my VR experience has been hit heavily with FPS drops especially in areas I want to fly such as ORBX True Earth UK.  I have uninstalled SMP for now, hoping that soon this will all be sorted out as I truly love the colours and the feel with SMP as I just cannot get the settings right for a smooth flight when there is quite a lot of cloud, perhaps thats a settings issue?  I have however rolled onto the ASXP clouds which are very good, but not a patch on SMP but I will say doesnt have any issue with FPS at all.  I wish there was a way to just use the cloud options and the shaders as they work so well in VR :-)  Do you know if there is a way in the programme to scale down the settings as much as possible but still keeping that all amazing look?

VR is a very good option, however all we need are scaled down clouds with SMP and a very FPS friendly option.  The other issues like shadows dont really bother me personally as shadows normally cause FPS drops in any case.  I have looked at your early entry and am saving that as some of those settings could work well for me.  In the meantime however I am waiting on SMP to make good some of these issues.  Are we expecting an updated patch out soon?  

I have also suffered CTD (crash to desktop) problems with SMP and also SAM Suite, not sure if you have used that plugin, but that is not weather related.....  Anyway nice to see this stream here and I would be happy to discuss these options in further detail.  Well done for starting this thread, I have been looking for this type of thread online for ages.... I wish there was more in depth technical assistance.  

 

Best Pilotpete

[rawdmon]

On 11/13/2020 at 1:41 AM, Pilotpete123 said:

Wow Rawdmon, I have been looking at this conversation and I too have had pretty much exactly the same issues.  It's true, SMP has the best cloud rendering in the market place, and in VR it looks just beautiful, I have tried them all, however unfortunately with my 32g ram and 1080 GPU my VR experience has been hit heavily with FPS drops especially in areas I want to fly such as ORBX True Earth UK.  I have uninstalled SMP for now, hoping that soon this will all be sorted out as I truly love the colours and the feel with SMP as I just cannot get the settings right for a smooth flight when there is quite a lot of cloud, perhaps thats a settings issue?  I have however rolled onto the ASXP clouds which are very good, but not a patch on SMP but I will say doesnt have any issue with FPS at all.  I wish there was a way to just use the cloud options and the shaders as they work so well in VR :-)  Do you know if there is a way in the programme to scale down the settings as much as possible but still keeping that all amazing look?

VR is a very good option, however all we need are scaled down clouds with SMP and a very FPS friendly option.  The other issues like shadows dont really bother me personally as shadows normally cause FPS drops in any case.  I have looked at your early entry and am saving that as some of those settings could work well for me.  In the meantime however I am waiting on SMP to make good some of these issues.  Are we expecting an updated patch out soon?  

I have also suffered CTD (crash to desktop) problems with SMP and also SAM Suite, not sure if you have used that plugin, but that is not weather related.....  Anyway nice to see this stream here and I would be happy to discuss these options in further detail.  Well done for starting this thread, I have been looking for this type of thread online for ages.... I wish there was more in depth technical assistance.  

 

Best Pilotpete

I would suggest that you take a look at the VMI Twick script for the FlyWithLuaNG plugin. It allows you to manually adjust what distance objects are drawn at and also to modify a bunch of other settings on the fly while you're flying in VR to improve performance or improve the look of things in VR.  You may also want to look at the Advanced Rendering Options payware plugin which comes with a tool that makes it simple to tune the number of buildings and trees separately. It helps a lot with tweaking them to get it just right for performance. I personally like a lot of trees but I can do with less buildings, so I use that to accomplish it. In terms of SkyMaxx in VR, I recommend just using the default settings. Those work best for me, though I have an i9-9900k with a 2080ti.  I fly with Orbx TrueEarth for the entire western U.S coast, mostly around Washington in the Seattle region. 

Edited November 21, 2020 by rawdmon

[Pilotpete123]

On 11/21/2020 at 6:53 AM, rawdmon said:

I would suggest that you take a look at the VMI Twick script for the FlyWithLuaNG plugin. It allows you to manually adjust what distance objects are drawn at and also to modify a bunch of other settings on the fly while you're flying in VR to improve performance or improve the look of things in VR.  You may also want to look at the Advanced Rendering Options payware plugin which comes with a tool that makes it simple to tune the number of buildings and trees separately. It helps a lot with tweaking them to get it just right for performance. I personally like a lot of trees but I can do with less buildings, so I use that to accomplish it. In terms of SkyMaxx in VR, I recommend just using the default settings. Those work best for me, though I have an i9-9900k with a 2080ti.  I fly with Orbx TrueEarth for the entire western U.S coast, mostly around Washington in the Seattle region. 

This looks like it could be the answer to much better VR clouds :-)