sundog Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 (edited) They said it couldn't be done! Today, beta testers received Skymaxx Pro 2.0b7, and with this release we've cracked the nut on rendering shadows from SkyMaxx's 3D clouds! Actually, I said it couldn't be done too. But, we came up with a new shadowing technique never before seen in X-Plane that allows us to draw shadows using the existing X-Plane SDK. Clouds will shadow anything below the clouds, including your own plane, and with little to no measurable framerate hit. Cloud shadows in SMP2 will also move as the wind blows the clouds in the scene. You might also notice the new high-resolution cloud option in SMP2 in this screenshot. SMP2 also includes a new lens flare feature, new towering cumulus clouds in stormy conditions, and many improvements to the lighting and visual quality of the clouds. We will probably be casting a wider net for beta testers soon, so please monitor this forum if you're interested in early access. Stay tuned for more information as we grow closer to a release. Edited July 8, 2014 by sundog 15 Quote
alexcolka Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 This is really looking amazing! This is the only way for clouds. Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk Quote
Jose Almeida Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 I will jump to beta test if I'm given the oportunity José Quote
strider Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 (edited) Fantastic ! Looking forward to it ! Edited July 8, 2014 by strider Quote
deetee Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 Looks fantastic, will the new SMP2 clouds go further out to the horizon?Would it be possible to use lower poly clouds to do that so as to minimise fps hit?As I do mostly airliner flights this helps with immersion. Glad to help out with testing if you need a few extra people. Dave Quote
Hangar Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 Been beta testing Pilot2ATC alot lately....wouldn't mind helping out with this one as well. Quote
sundog Posted July 8, 2014 Author Report Posted July 8, 2014 Looks fantastic, will the new SMP2 clouds go further out to the horizon? In the current SMP, the clouds extend to a distance that is a function of the "draw distance" slider in the SMP configuration and the current visibility. Right now the cloud layer can be as large as 150km across if visibility permits, and you've cranked up the draw distance all the way. I can bump that up further if needed, but first make sure you've increased the draw distance slider and your visibility is high in the weather settings to get the most clouds. Quote
cabnz1 Posted July 8, 2014 Report Posted July 8, 2014 Very nice. Looking forward to this release Quote
scotchegg Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 Clouds will shadow anything below the clouds, including your own plane, and with little to no measurable framerate hit. Just to clarify, you've managed to stop the clouds casting shadows on the plane if it's ABOVE the clouds as well? That's great if you have because in my latest 10.3b5 shadows are still being cast above the clouds. Quote
AeroPictor Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 If you are looking for a beta tester on the Mac, I am your man Quote
sundog Posted July 9, 2014 Author Report Posted July 9, 2014 Just to clarify, you've managed to stop the clouds casting shadows on the plane if it's ABOVE the clouds as well? That's great if you have because in my latest 10.3b5 shadows are still being cast above the clouds. Correct; shadows will not be cast on the plane if it is above the cloud layer. 1 Quote
scotchegg Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 Correct; shadows will not be cast on the plane if it is above the cloud layer. Well done!!! Quote
Douglas.Matos Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 When? When? When? My god perfect!!!! Quote
TurbineSeaplane Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 Anyone heard if this is something aiming to be released when 10.3 gets officially released? (out of beta I mean) Quote
sundog Posted July 9, 2014 Author Report Posted July 9, 2014 It's not tied to the 10.30 release, although it does take advantage of a few 10.30 features if they are present. We'll release SMP2 to X-Aviation as soon as we're confident the bugs have been identified and resolved. 1 Quote
Douglas.Matos Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 You will kill me heart '*-*I want Skymaxx Pro 2 hahahaha!!!! 1 Quote
twgin Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 As a customer I am very impressed with the continuing development of the product. Every release cycle I feel better about purchasing SkyMaxx Pro. Regards the "eye candy" aspects of flying through beautiful cloudy skies, SkyMaxx is state of the art. Very much looking forward to the towering cumulous ! If I understand correctly Ben/Laminar are currently working "bugs" that cause X-Plane to incorrectly render cloud bases (and tops ?) regarding altitude. If KXXX airport is reporting a ceiling of 800 agl, X-Plane draws the ceiling at 500 agl and so on. Do these issues affect SkyMaxx at all, or rather does SkyMaxx have any influence on these issues ? Or are you, like the rest of us, hoping all these are sorted out in the 10.30 beta run ? Regards IFR flying, two very common scenarios. The first of course is "breaking out" or descending through a solid cloud layer to an MDA or DA while on an instrument approach (breaking out is always associated with a sudden reduction in "pucker factor"). There have been some discussions about the difficulty of simulating a solid layer of opaque clouds with a definite base (to break out of); any work on this in this latest iteration of SkyMaxx ? The second scenario is simply climbing through thick layer(s) on your way up to the flight levels or descending through layer(s) on the way down to the destination airport. These can be a real icing hazard and offer real challenges to pilots depending on how much anti-ice gear the plane has. Still dealing with the ability to render a solid layer with some ceiling altitude and some top altitude. How will SMP2 do in "hard IFR" flying ? Thanks for a great product, Terry Quote
TurbineSeaplane Posted July 9, 2014 Report Posted July 9, 2014 As a customer I am very impressed with the continuing development of the product. Every release cycle I feel better about purchasing SkyMaxx Pro. Regards the "eye candy" aspects of flying through beautiful cloudy skies, SkyMaxx is state of the art. Very much looking forward to the towering cumulous ! If I understand correctly Ben/Laminar are currently working "bugs" that cause X-Plane to incorrectly render cloud bases (and tops ?) regarding altitude. If KXXX airport is reporting a ceiling of 800 agl, X-Plane draws the ceiling at 500 agl and so on. Do these issues affect SkyMaxx at all, or rather does SkyMaxx have any influence on these issues ? Or are you, like the rest of us, hoping all these are sorted out in the 10.30 beta run ? Regards IFR flying, two very common scenarios. The first of course is "breaking out" or descending through a solid cloud layer to an MDA or DA while on an instrument approach (breaking out is always associated with a sudden reduction in "pucker factor"). There have been some discussions about the difficulty of simulating a solid layer of opaque clouds with a definite base (to break out of); any work on this in this latest iteration of SkyMaxx ? The second scenario is simply climbing through thick layer(s) on your way up to the flight levels or descending through layer(s) on the way down to the destination airport. These can be a real icing hazard and offer real challenges to pilots depending on how much anti-ice gear the plane has. Still dealing with the ability to render a solid layer with some ceiling altitude and some top altitude. How will SMP2 do in "hard IFR" flying ? Thanks for a great product, Terry Superb questions Terry.This is all stuff I hope the Xplane guys can get right. It sounds like for you, and me, the sims are a true training tool and attention to these sorts of real world details are absolutely critical to be of actual training use. Quote
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