Requesting a few minor, weather-related improvements

[davidtsw]

I've got to say that even though we all know DCS needs a proper weather system with realistic cloud types and patterns, etc., it can look stunning even now. I've been flying in and just above a layer of morning fog and it's stunning, especially in the mountains. However, I've found a few fairly small (I believe) things that bug me:

 

1. How fog looks from above. So when you're in the fog or just above it, especially with terrain peaking out here and there, it's all fine cause you have a reference point to judge the vertical distance to the top of the fog layer. But when it's lowlands you're flying above or the sea, what happens is that a uniform flat texture covers the entire area leaving you clueless as to your altitude. The easy fix for this would be to make fog appear from above just like the current 9/10 and 10/10 clouds look. Although not great, the top of the cloud layer does have some patterns to it making it much easier to gauge how high above it you are. It doesn't even have to actually be non-flat. It just needs to look like this with some minor color differences here and there. Doable ?

 

2. Lighting under overcast skies. Again, when flying on top of it, it looks pretty damn good I've got to say. I've got a feature called "dynamic contrast" on my otherwise mediocre screen and it makes everything look even more realistic. The top of the cloud blanket looks very bright, almost to the point where you want to squint. But as soon as I find myself under the layer of clouds or at ground level, it's all too dark. I know that overcast days can be pretty dark but not in the middle of the summer in Georgia! It should still be bright, just less colorful. Any chance this could be improved to make the otherwise good lighting system even better ?

 

3. Reflections. Same conditions as above. When underneath a layer of clouds there seem to be lots of reflections on the canopy making it very difficult to see anything clearly. Why would there be so many reflections in such conditions ? Unrealistic and it makes spotting even harder.

 

4. How clouds other than fog interact with terrain. Fog in the mountains looks beautiful, but other clouds don't have that soft feeling to them when they touch the ground. If you can make it look so good with fog, I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to apply this effect to other clouds, would it ?

 

5. You know that look of the top of a 9/10 or 10/10 cloud layer I was talking about ? How about you add something like this to the bottom of the cloud layer, too as currently it looks pretty bad looking up from ground level on overcast days.

 

 

Having these issues fixed would make waiting for the new weather system much more bearable for me. I'm a little bored of flying with the same weather again and again. Clear skies look good but get old fast. 8/10 cumulus clouds are fine, too. But anything else and at least one of the mentioned issues comes into play and affects the gameplay and/or graphics negatively. I'm not even asking for dynamic weather, etc. All I want is these minor improvements that would make the game more playable and aesthetically pleasing. ED?

 

Do you guys also notice the same issues? Are there any mods / tweaks I may not be aware of?

Edited March 23, 2019 by davidtsw

[sirrah]

Proper dcs weather system has been discussed countless times on the wish list section (e.g. here, 5 threads below this one)

 

So no, you're not alone on this. And yes, I believe I've read that ED is working on it (no clue about status though)

[Northstar98]

Yeah weather is really in need of a very big overhaul.

 

A very big overhaul...

[davidtsw]

Sure guys, but as I said, these are minor adjustments / fixes and not a whole new weather system. I believe most if not all of these issues could be fixed fairly easily which is why I would expect someone from ED to at least have a look at it.

 

This isn´t another thread on the new weather system.