1.14 development

[AtariX]

Judging by the screenshots, I can say one thing, XEnviro looks much better than the TrueSky in P3Dv5.

[Lat3gr]

Any news on the progress over the last couple of weeks? 

[Pageois]

But if the screenshots are not “representative of the final product”....what’s the point of them.  It’s like advertising a car for sale with a photo of a different car.  

[Bakr]

We look forward to have x-enviro be able to exhibit this level of realism.

Preview Here...

Edited May 11, 2020 by Bakr

[ashmanmedia]

My psychiatrist asked if you could give me any fix?

[Kittster]

Hello everyone.  I'm a newbie to this forum and just read the whole thing before I started this message.  I'm writing because I'm sitting on the fence trying to decide about purchasing XE now or waiting until it has been patched to properly work with Vulkan.  I looked at XE about 1½ years ago and thought the comments regarding the hit in performance FPS was a bit larger than I was willing to take on.  Since then things have changed.  I have beefed up my CPU and Video card.  While not the fastest gaming PC around, it is way above average in my opinion.  With X-Plane 11.50 b6 I can fly with all the graphics settings maxed out.

I am somewhat disappointed in SkyMaxPro though.  While it works pretty good most of the times, it has its issues which is why I'm rethinking XE again.  I have recreated Amelia Earhart's flight around the world with SkyMaxPro, but its realweather did not always update.  Right now I am recreating Earnest Shackleton's Trip down to the northern tier of Antarctica and I'm currently heading towards Elephant Island.  SkyMaxPro is not giving me what I believe to be the correct real weather.  On weather apps on my phone, I should be flying in pretty much a whiteout snowstorm, but instead I'm getting a virtually cloud free sky. Just looking at waves on the water for hours on end is kind of - lets say - boring.

Looking at what XE can do, I'm inclined to consider purchasing it and giving it a whirl.  I turned off  Vulkan while giving it another try. I'm getting 70fps in chase 5view with 43 fps inside the cockpit.  I just lowered my altitude from 20,000 ft to 2,000 ft and picked up rain on my windshield while still having a cloudless sky.  The raindrops are not moving at all on the windshield while flying 240 Kts (this does not seem very real to me).  I also just updated my SkymaxPro to ver 4.9.3 which was just recently released.

So, I don't really have a question, just some comments and thoughts while I think out loud.  I feel if I purchase XE, I will lose some fps but perhaps not as many as I would have with the old PC 1½ years ago.  I would gain some incredible looking clouds and hopefully its real time weather would be able to update even down just above the Antarctica.  I'm thinking I have more to gain than lose.  I looked at the version history and see periodic updates being released in what I would consider a timely manner So when Captain Kitten says eventually they will get around to Vulkanizing it, I believe the captain.  I think the developments approach to making XE better and improve performance before chasing after Vulkan makes sense to me too.  Probably trying to do both performance and address Vulkan on the same release would be difficult to troubleshoot issues that would arise (as surely they will).  Being a former developer in my working days, my team always liked to address one set of issues at a time for the same reasons.

To buy or not to buy that is my dilemma going to bed tonight  I did see another persons comments that it is too expensive, but not really I paid just about the same thing for SkymaxPro and the Realweather connector.  Actually removing those would give me back about 2½ fps so that;s kind of a plus and minimizes fps loss that I would anticipate from XE 1.13

I do like the videos I'm seeing where there is fog, moving raindrops on the windshield, multi-layer clouds, snow effects on the ground etc.  It seems I have more to gain than I have to lose.  Am I missing something?  I'm inclined to purchase this product this week as I continue to do some more research.  The more I like what I'm seeing and then get even more exciting about the future upgrades.

Any comments from anyone are welcome - Kittster

[rollers263]

Hi Kittster.  I was in a similar position and made the purchase.   My graphics card wasn't that great, very mid range and really struggled with xEnviro working, however I could see the potential there so updated my graphics card to a 2060 super, and wow did that make a difference.   I love it now, runs really smooth and so much better than anything else I have tried.  There are a few things that need work still though, not perfect yet, but hopefully the next update will improve on those.   Its a great add on to have, but it does need a beefy GPU. 

[trq46]

yes if u like it, just buy it, is true that what you see is what you get in xenviro. and same to i do think what people say but then ok just buy i am satified no othe plugin or enchancement in x-plane 11 you can get like this, except performance i am running on gtx 1050ti n sacrifice my resolution down to 1707x720 to not drop below 20fps.

[domae001]

I purchased XE maybe two (or three) years ago and do regret it a bit. I am excited by its potential, which is far greater than that of any other XP weather/environment addon. But the development is so slow that every time a new version finally comes out it is already outdated because of XP updates or riddled with some kind of new problems that will only be solved months down the dev road. Look at how long 1.14 has been in the making for instance. I have been very patient hoping that some day XE will shine in all its potential on my machine, but now I've given up.

[Iiari]

Hi Kittster.  I see the issue this way: XEnviro is the only really transformative add on for XP.  The lighting, the look, nothing else is like it.  All other add ons are just nibbling on the edges of the look by comparison.  Regardless of GPU strength, though, you're probably going to need to dial down some settings to make it work at acceptable FPS, be it shadows, AA level, etc, especially in comparison to other add-ons like SMP.  I have a 1080Ti and no doubt I could up my settings in any other add-on vs XE.  There also is a slight stuttering to using XE that's there at any FPS no matter how good (that we're all hoping will be a thing of the past in the upcoming 1.14 release).  While I'm relatively new to XE, history does seem to show that development pacing in on the slower side compared to some other add-ons, but I've observed that, in general, development pace in flight simming is pretty slow compared to some other areas, so it is what it is.

All that said, I absolutely at this point wouldn't fly without XE.  It just completely changes the look and realism.  It's almost impossible for me to go back to 2D clouds and the little halo of weather that follows your plane in almost every other add-on.  We're going to start seeing some more claims of volumetric changes from other upcoming plug-in updates (UWXP, XAmbiance, and even I think SMP) but for now, as far as I'm concerned, XE is the only appearance/weather add on I'd use.  I tried the Vulkan update, and it's great getting 50 FPS in Manhattan with high settings, but it isn't worth it if it doesn't look and feel like XE.  Worth the money, get it.

[trq46]

yes stop read people commenting, if u like it, buy it, its good addon, and for the stutter turn off microsoft security exploit feature will help, try , at least feel smooth now on gtx 1050Ti n i5 2500K, so does on your system that have more power.

[trq46]

we same @liari , id ont want to use 2d cloud, even on lower version of xenviro that still better compare i use other plugin but still, i use 1.13 .

[Iiari]

1 hour ago, trq46 said:

for the stutter turn off microsoft security exploit feature will help, try , at least feel smooth now on gtx 1050Ti n i5 2500K, so does on your system that have more power.

Ouch, not sure I like the idea of turning that off, or why that should uniquely matter to XE vs anything else.  Is there a way to tell the Exploit Feature to just except the XP or XE process without throwing the gate wide open?

Edited May 13, 2020 by Iiari

[Kittster]

Thank you so much for all of your comments, I had no idea there would be this many so quickly.  I am helping my wife watch her 96 year old mother who has been confined to a hospital bed in our home for over a year.  Flying - even late at night at least gives me a break from some heavy duty chores. I am going to include the specs on my system to see if this helps to swing the pendulum one way or the other.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 graphics card with 6 GB of Ram, i7-9700K CPU @ 3.60 GHz with 32GB of Ram on Win 10 64 bit.

I'm pretty well convinced to go ahead and purchase it as I would rather fly in something more aesthetically overall pleasing than higher frame rates.  Any additional comments are welcome.  To some degree its kind of like operating on faith that XE will eventually working using the VULKAN API and then what a glorious day that will be for everyone.

 

[Janis321]

dont go for it now... wait for 1.14 and then check the community reviews. at the moment it feels like an unfinished product but you pay the full price.

[clecorouge]

4 hours ago, Kittster said:

Thank you so much for all of your comments, I had no idea there would be this many so quickly.  I am helping my wife watch her 96 year old mother who has been confined to a hospital bed in our home for over a year.  Flying - even late at night at least gives me a break from some heavy duty chores. I am going to include the specs on my system to see if this helps to swing the pendulum one way or the other.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 graphics card with 6 GB of Ram, i7-9700K CPU @ 3.60 GHz with 32GB of Ram on Win 10 64 bit.

I'm pretty well convinced to go ahead and purchase it as I would rather fly in something more aesthetically overall pleasing than higher frame rates.  Any additional comments are welcome.  To some degree its kind of like operating on faith that XE will eventually working using the VULKAN API and then what a glorious day that will be for everyone.

 

Hi,

Go for it, no brainer:

I own ALL the XP weather plug-ins and as far as I am concerned Xenviro is the best:

SkymaxxPro + RealWeather, FSGRW, UWP, ActiveSky XP, xVision, Xambience and Xenviro

I am playing 4K, full ortho with Xpilot HD Scenery v4 and XEurope v4.

I have between 20 and 25 fps on rainy days over Paris FR with the TBM 950 from HotStart and 30 to 35 fps elsewere.

See attached Xplane Graphic prefs.

My conf: Asus Z370 E-GAMING, IE5 8600K overclocked to the max, 32go GSKILL 3000, 2,5to SSD incl. 1,5to WD 750 M.2 Nvme, Gigabyte RTX 2070 6go

Cheers,

C

Notes :

I have antialiasing but via the Nvidia prefs panel: FXAA 2x

Shadows : 8192

Screencap : Digital Replica RV10

Edited May 13, 2020 by clecorouge

[Kittster]

Wow, I really like the last two comments.  I think my PC is beefy enough to handle this and enjoy the enhanced weather, but I also like the other comment to wait for ver 1.14 and check the comments.  Both are good suggestions.  The jury is still out on my end.  I've had one heart attack 5 years ago.  Should I wait and give up some precious time living life to the fullest or go for it and hope the development team is faithful to deliver going down the road?  Its always something isn't it.

[Iiari]

59 minutes ago, clecorouge said:

My conf: Asus Z370 E-GAMING, IE5 8600K overclocked to the max, 32go GSKILL 3000, 2,5to SSD incl. 1,5to WD 750 M.2 Nvme, Gigabyte RTX 2070 6go

 

I'm pretty astonished you can do what you're doing with 4K and maxed reflections and objects with XE on a 2070.  I have a 1080Ti (in theory, a bit faster) and there's no way I could achieve that kind of result.  I bow to your customizing!  BTW: Is it better to do AA via the panel than via XP settings?

Edited May 13, 2020 by Iiari

[trq46]

7 hours ago, Iiari said:

Ouch, not sure I like the idea of turning that off, or why that should uniquely matter to XE vs anything else.  Is there a way to tell the Exploit Feature to just except the XP or XE process without throwing the gate wide open?

yes that's what i found, is it any other way you find ? 

[flightime56]

6 hours ago, Kittster said:

Thank you so much for all of your comments, I had no idea there would be this many so quickly.  I am helping my wife watch her 96 year old mother who has been confined to a hospital bed in our home for over a year.  Flying - even late at night at least gives me a break from some heavy duty chores. I am going to include the specs on my system to see if this helps to swing the pendulum one way or the other.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 graphics card with 6 GB of Ram, i7-9700K CPU @ 3.60 GHz with 32GB of Ram on Win 10 64 bit.

I'm pretty well convinced to go ahead and purchase it as I would rather fly in something more aesthetically overall pleasing than higher frame rates.  Any additional comments are welcome.  To some degree its kind of like operating on faith that XE will eventually working using the VULKAN API and then what a glorious day that will be for everyone.

 

No wait for the v1.14 update, xEnviro is good, but the current severe framerate crushes just make it unworkable in some situations...  I have dumped it (again) and gone back to v1.07. What xEnviro really needs is the Vulkan memory processing management, but that won't come for ages either?

[clecorouge]

13 hours ago, Iiari said:

I'm pretty astonished you can do what you're doing with 4K and maxed reflections and objects with XE on a 2070.  I have a 1080Ti (in theory, a bit faster) and there's no way I could achieve that kind of result.  I bow to your customizing!  BTW: Is it better to do AA via the panel than via XP settings?

Hi, well that's years of tweaking

I add that I am flying with Traffic Global and Pilote2ATC with ATC Chatter on top

Yes I found out that using the Nvidia Panel to set up some of the 3D prefs works better.

I attached a screenshot of my res so you see exactly what I mean with 4K, my Nvidia set up for Xplane 11.41 and my Xenviro settings.

Cheers,

C

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2020 by clecorouge

[Kittster]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I bit the bullet and purchased xEnviro tonight.  What the heck, if it gives me fits, I'll go back to SkyMaxxPro and Vulkan.  So, I'm still down south just north of Antartica and my weather on my smartphone shows a severe winter storm going on.  Inside xPlane, I'm experiencing the same thing - only with lighting this time.  Its like nothing I have ever seen before.  I have not tweaked any sliders yet so wanted to just run as is for a little while before tinkering with it.  Clecourouge, I wished your screenshots were in english so I could understand them better.  The last one maybe a goal for my xEnviro settings, but think I will watch some YouTube videos on how others do it.

Right now I would say I'm a very happy camper, glad I took the chance.  My FPS inside the plane are at 42 fps and outside in chase mode at 55 fps.  I did pull back on my AA and set it to 2xSSAA+FXAA.  I'm sure I will make many more tweaks in the future.  But right now, I think I can begin to feel what Sir Ernest Shackleton felt as he led his men from the Endurance out of that disastrous situation when his ship the Endurance got stuck in the pack ice.

All of your comments were well received, even the ones suggesting I should wait till 1.14.  But I've worked all my life, had a heart attack, open heart surgery, retired and I figured its just plane time to start living life again.  I'm glad I took the chance.  Shackleton did and he survived. He would be proud of me.

So - Captain Kitten, please don't let me or the other followers down on going forward with your performance upgrades and eventually getting to the Vulkan inclusion.  That will make it truly quite masterful down the road.

[clecorouge]

4 hours ago, Kittster said:

Clecourouge, I wished your screenshots were in english so I could understand them better.  The last one maybe a goal for my xEnviro settings, but think I will watch some YouTube videos on how others do it.

Hi, I just did a tentative translation

See above in my original post.

Cheers,

C

[Iiari]

29 minutes ago, clecorouge said:

Hi, I just did a tentative translation

See above in my original post.

Cheers,

C

Tremendous resource.  Thank you!

[Kittster]

Thanks Clecorouge,

I can see and understand the changes. I will make adjustments with NVIDIA control panel today and then tweak xEnviro to match your settings and then give it another whirl. Hopefully tonight.