sundog

"Soft" is in the middle as far as texture resolution goes. All 3 approaches are volumetric in nature.

The textures are really the only difference between those settings to begin with! "Fast" just uses a much smaller resolution texture that can get pushed around more quickly on your GPU.

Yes, I'm 99% sure this is an X-Plane issue. SkyMaxx Pro doesn't light or fog the terrain.

I'm not sure what else it could be; if it were a software issue, every user with your hardware configuration would be reporting similar problems. But as far as I know, you're one of maybe 3 people who have reported something like this. I wish I could help!

I doubt it. If I'm right, the issue is your video card, which on a Mac can't be replaced as far as I know. One shred of hope would be an installation issue. Did you try completely uninstalling and removing SMP 4.01 before installing 4.5?

Yes, unfortunately I am leaning toward a hardware issue at this point. SMP 4.5 has some very aggressive protection against OpenGL state changes that might cause this sort of thing from a software standpoint. Not much we can do other than trying to reduce the load on your system.

Let's let this go to a ticket, but some parting thoughts: You've got a fair amount of third-party plugins and scenery installed - I think I see signs of HD Mesh, which may be consuming your available memory. If you haven't already tried it, see if temporarily removing your add-ons and custom scenery brings your clouds back. You're also flying in a very stormy area, which further strains your system's resources. If you manually set up partly cloudy conditions, do the clouds return? I know you've got a decent system, but it's still possible to overload it with too many add-ons.

bstratmann, can we see your entire log.txt file? I'm starting to think there is something unusual about your setup. Probably best to open a support ticket with X-Aviation at this point honestly, as they'll have to get into the weeds of the details and it'll be easy to lose track of things in this giant thread.

Guys, I make no guarantees about fluid performance on every system with any combination of add-ons if you turn up the "cloud area covered" setting all the way! You do need to experiment with this slider to find a good tradeoff between draw distance and performance for your individual system and configuration. I can get away with it on mine, but YMMV.

I don't see any indication of a SkyMaxx Pro license in your log. Cam will have to look into this when he gets onine. "Gizmo" is X-Aviation's plugin that we use for license management. If SkyMaxx Pro does not detect a valid license, then it will not render clouds.

They do still work, but in hazy conditions they will disappear. Cloud shadows don't look good on top of haze, and so we fade them out as visibility reduces. I think that's probably what you're seeing. Try turning up the visibility and fly above the clouds, and I think you'll see them return.

There is a cirrus layer, but it may be hazed out. You'll probably see it as you gain altitude. As for performance, most people are reporting FPS increases. I can't really explain why your system seems to be struggling with it. I'd have to see your log to get more info on your configuration and what other add-ons and scenery you have installed to comment. For a fair test you might try temporarily removing your other add-ons and scenery.

Also, don't miss redpiper1's fantastic promo video for SMP 4.5:

Captains: I put together a short video highlighting some of the new features in SkyMaxx Pro 4.5, and how to get the most out of this big update: Thank you! -Frank

SkyMaxx Pro is actually built against Visual C 2010 and statically links in its runtime dependencies, so it shouldn't matter from our standpoint. I don't know if it matters to Gizmo, though, which is what manages X-Aviations licenses among other things. I'll have to defer to those guys on that question.

I don't think that's us; SkyMaxx Pro has nothing to do with how the terrain is hazed or rendered. But I'll look into it.

It's only 6:30 PM in X-Aviation's time zone... all good things to those who wait!

We're just waiting for some updates to Gizmo before it can be released. Stay tuned; shouldn't be much longer. It will be compatible with both XP10 and XP11. Meanwhile, a couple of shots I took from around 35,000 feet:

This is addressed in 4.5.

The scene will wash out like that if a ray intersects your viewpoint. You can just turn down the setting for crepuscular rays until you find a level that you like.

Yes. The fact that your fan is running higher suggests you may be pushing your video card harder than it can go, exposing a hardware issue. Drawing all those clouds can be demanding. I would wait until SkyMaxx Pro 4.5 is released, and then try it again. If it is in fact a software problem that should clear it up.

What other add-ons do you have installed? It may be a conflict with some other plugin that is interfering with the OpenGL state behind our back. SMP 4.5, which should be out soon, has some extra protection built into it for this sort of thing - so that may clear it up. This is also a symptom of a known hardware issue on some iMac models; it may only occur when your system is being pushed hard.

"Broken" is defined in the METAR spec as more than 50% sky coverage - so that can still leave a lot of blue sky visible. With cumulus clouds like this, SkyMaxx Pro pays attention to the base altitudes primarily. Individual clouds are grown procedurally, and some will be larger than others - there is no fixed ceiling with these types of clouds in nature. I think you'd get results closer to what you want by selecting overcast cumulus or stratus. For those cloud types, we do simulate a more rigid ceiling height.

According to your log, RWC is not installed at all, and your license for SkyMaxx Pro also isn't valid or can't be validated for some reason. Your antivirus and firewall could indeed be to blame; I don't know what you're using, but sounds like you might consider switching to something simpler and more reliable like Microsoft's free Windows Defender. Failing that, you'll have to open up a ticket with X-Aviation - as an author, I have no access to their registration databases or installer setup.

Seems like some sort of transient Internet connectivity issue. I'd just try again later, and also make sure you're not running out of hard drive space. If problems persist, please open a support ticket with X-Aviation. As the author of the software, I don't have any insight into the installer that X-Aviation uses to distribute it.