Cameron

5.0.4 introduced a method to work around mountains showing through clouds, like seen here: In order to achieve this, a performance hit is unavoidable, though I am slightly puzzled why some see it harder than we did. It cost me about 3-4 fps.

Hello All, This will serve as a formal forum announcement that we have released the version 5.0.5 update for SkyMaxx Pro. All customers who have purchased SkyMaxx Pro v5 up till now have been sent an e-mail by X-Aviation with complete instructions on how to obtain your update. We have made this a very simple process! For those that purchase SkyMaxx Pro v5 from today forward, your purchased download will already be updated to version 5.0.5 for you. What if I didn't get the update e-mail? If you did not receive your update e-mail don't fret! X-Aviation has updated our system to allow all customers to update with ease, regardless of whether you received an e-mail for the update! Here's what to do: 1. Login to your X-Aviation account here: https://www.x-aviation.com/catalog/account_history.php 2. Find your original SkyMaxx Pro v5 download and re-download the file. It will download as the latest version! The following is a list of additions/fixes included: What's New / Changed: Removed 500 meter lower bound of volumetric cloud layer altitudes with Real Weather Connector Implemented soft cloud / terrain blending with volumetric clouds Fixed regression in how volumetric clouds are drawn on configurations where depth buffer reads are not supported (notably MacOS with MSAA enabled) As always, thanks for purchasing from X-Aviation!

Not really. Perhaps from a VR perspective if you need it super high. Otherwise, I seem to do just fine running ORBX HD NORCAL, objects to medium, ORBX airports mixed in, and something like the IXEG 737. 35-40 fps on my 5700xt is absolutely acceptable and reasonable to me. But, of course, I can't tell you you're opinion is wrong either. I can only counter with mine.

Essentially, yes. @sundog can further clarify that. Ya, you're in-between a rock and a hard place! That FPS requirement is probably not realistic on ray casting with a 1080.

Well, simply because your GPU is already working hard enough to process volumetric ray casting. Adding in another element to have that fill rate issue is just compounding on top of it. It's a balance. The GPU ray-casted clouds are the fastest processing clouds we've ever developed. But, they also will work your GPU hard. If you already have settings that are reasonable to you, mixed with numerous add-ons, it may suddenly become unreasonable with the ray casting. On the flip side, if you're more or less like myself who only had minimal add-ons (save for some orothos and maybe ORBX, plus reasonable GPU settings), then you can notice less an impact and the improvements discussed. Finding the balance can be difficult. And, as we get more feedback we'll try to work through that on our end too. We are somewhat at the cusp of GPU's really being able to handle this stuff too. For instance, we've had the ability to do this for years, but hardware just wasn't there. The 1x series of Nvidia cards are especially at the lower end of that spectrum, as is probably my 5700xt, but even I can get it to acceptable numbers.

@benjaprud, I can absolutely get on board with your constructive criticism, and I'm even happy to hear it. Being honest and providing the feedback is key and totally acceptable, so please do outline your issues as they come. We listen best we can! What I can't get on board with is the desire to argue, such as shown above by someone else. It's just not going to happen with me.

You may find our refund policy here: https://www.x-aviation.com/catalog/refund_policy.php I refuse to engage in a "he said, she said" argument with you. Therefore, I'm not responding to the rest (trust me, it's better that way).

Landing lights do not work on volumetric clouds. The 5.0.5 update should resolve your concerns on cloud bases.

I'm not going to argue with you. All I said was essentially, "we think so but don't know because we were never able to reproduce it."

@Jonnti46 I think this comes down to your own misunderstanding. No one here thought to talk about any cloud settings other than volumetric because they are what's new to speak of. All other options are simply SkyMaxx 4 billboards, and you shouldn't expect a change. Performance will vary by your GPU and rendering settings. The vague response you received was because I truly didn't know. Actual users ended up answering you in detail above.

For those that really want it, a new installer has been placed on the server with a proper windows plugin that says 5.0.4 when installed.

Call it grainy if you want, but my explanation still stands. What you see is not out of the ordinary. For now, this is just how it is with volumetric clouds. More detail = BIG performance his.

I was just about to ask if you were running the latest.

Are you using OpenGL? As the menu states, not available in Vulkan.

Doesn't look grainy. I see the lateral lines. This is a performance trade-off. But, these images make me think perhaps RWC 1.2 is not active. Using it causes much less of this. If you are doing manual weather with Automatic mode in RWC you can get more artifacts like this.

Good catch. But, the files are correct, so no worries! We'll fix that on our end, but the functionality of the plugin should be unchanged. @sundog

This has now been resolved in the released 5.0.4 update.

This has now been resolved in the released 5.0.4 update.

Hello All, This will serve as a formal forum announcement that we have released the version 5.0.4 update for SkyMaxx Pro. All customers who have purchased SkyMaxx Pro v5 up till now have been sent an e-mail by X-Aviation with complete instructions on how to obtain your update. We have made this a very simple process! For those that purchase SkyMaxx Pro v5 from today forward, your purchased download will already be updated to version 5.0.4 for you. What if I didn't get the update e-mail? If you did not receive your update e-mail don't fret! X-Aviation has updated our system to allow all customers to update with ease, regardless of whether you received an e-mail for the update! Here's what to do: 1. Login to your X-Aviation account here: https://www.x-aviation.com/catalog/account_history.php 2. Find your original SkyMaxx Pro v5 download and re-download the file. It will download as the latest version! The following is a list of additions/fixes included: What's New / Changed: Fix "ghost shadows" caused by window resolutions changing Fix cloud / terrain blending for non-volumetric clouds Fix draw order issues between terrain and volumetric clouds - like mountains being seen through clouds (on MacOS, this fix only works if MSAA is not active.) No longer remove or move volumetric cloud layers to avoid intersections As always, thanks for purchasing from X-Aviation!

Indeed, if you have the proper settings in Real Weather Connector enabled and real weather running in the sim or 3rd party source, the clouds will render better.

Going to the BlackMagic would be a downgrade in your scenario. You would be better off with something like a Razer Core X with a 6900XT. The 5700XT is otherwise the next best thing, and being directly connected to your motherboard, you have an edge.

We need a lot more info. Log files, screenshot of rendering options, and a screenshot of your fps bar in X-Plane.

That doesn't appear to be the same issues. He seems happy about the clouds. His issue is the shadows (which are optional).

No, volumetric does not use ANY textures.

You're killing me. Screenshots!