Volumetric Clouds

Is it possible to implement volumetric clouds to WoFf.
After playing IL2 for years and now CloD, BoS and RoF, I have got used to clouds with volume and mass.

One of the things that has always bugged me with OFF and WOFF is the 2D clouds. They look great above you and in the distance but when you are at cloud level and having to fly beside them, the effect is pretty poor.

If there is no way the clouds can be updated is there a mod that puts them out of reach, like 12,000 feet out of reach.

+1

I fly through volumetric clouds all the time in WOFF, so they are already there.

No they are not, I wish.
2 x 2d images at 90 degrees of each other and a fog effect don't convince me.

It's a real immersion breaker and a sign of the age of the CFS3 engine.
All the good stuff that has been done to bring this sim to life and we are stuck with 1990's clouds.

Hence me asking if there is a mod to lift them out of reach (breaking the real time weather) or the possibility to implement volumetric cloud modelling

I don't know volumentric from a propeller so take this with a grain.

I do know that 40LM added a cloud mod that, I believe, raised the resolution? When I implemented it, with full cloud fog on, my eyes liked it much better

Steve_F:
If you are not happy with the current WOFF clouds, then it sounds like you are going to learn how to mod them to be happy.

Steve_F, you might reach out to 40LM to see if he has any ideas.

For volumetric clouds you need completely rewritten/new code in CFS3.
Just my $0.02.

Jaro, you are right of course but a guy can wish.

Of course, I have never stopped dreaming .

Fella asks a simple question, gets a smart arse reply. Welcome to WOFF.

Now back on topic.

Were there any plans to introduce volumetric clouds. I know it wont be a simple modding process of editing some images. This would require access to the code and a bit of a rewrite (understatement)

Or failing that a mod that can lift the clouds out of the area of combat during missions.

Banjo, JJJ65 thanks for the sensible responses. 40LM may have a solution or at least point name in the right direction. I can live with 2d clouds as long as they are above me

I never looked into CFS3/WOFF weather system, maybe it is possible to "construct" a cloud consisting of a hundred of smaller sprites that will look less flat when you fly near, but most likely it will be ugly and slow.

So you are right - completely new code is needed to support them. I did some research regarding volumetric clouds in my shaders and I think it is doable, but really a lot work.

ADDED
By the way, it is an interesting idea to keep current clouds in the distance but add some volume to them when you get close. I thought about it already, it is far from perfect, but probably easier to implement than full replacement.
The main problem is how to match 3D cloud to existing 2D texture.

To answer your simple question, the Dev's said a while back that they have zero plans on introducing any new "volumetric" clouds due to a number of problems that they had no interest in pursuing.

This is why I said that if you did not like them you were free to work on a mod to change them just like the rest of us who have modded lots things we did not like in WOFF to suit what we wanted.

Welcome, indeed.

I believe it's been brought up before and the Devs stated it wouldn't be done. At the time, I seem to recall their citing that they felt the coulds in this sim were actually better than the volumetric types, though I don't want to misrepresent what was actually said.

I believe that, for the exact reason JJJ gives above, that it's unlikely they (OBD) are able to do it.

Like others (and most, I suspect) I would also like to see volumetric clouds as well. Provided it won't cause other issues, of course. But I took the response from OBD back at that time as a fairly firm indication it wouldn't be happening - which is too bad.

That sound like a real resource hog that 3dMark might buy off you to stress test graphics cards


I had already come to that conclusion, the engine would need a hell of a lot of recoding and cfs3.exe recompling. Not sure what sort of deal OBD have with MS, but my guess is it doesn't go as deep as rewriting the code.

I can see that would be problematic as well , the jump from 2d to 3d will be hard to match without the clouds popping in front of you.

I think my best bet would be to see if I can find a way to lift the cloud height in each mission or play the prima dona and only fly in ideal conditions. High clouds, good visibilty and blue sky.

Steve_F:
Now that you can mod that very easily. All you have to do is change the weather patterns in the historical weather files to all clear or high altitude clouds and there goes all your cloud problems.

Steve_F, Welcome to WOFF Modding (I hope that's your intention)

There are a couple of ways to do it, but I'm guessing this will work.

1. Enable ME in workshop
2. Start your mission
3. Alt-tab out of WOFF
4. Go to \OBDSoftware\WOFF\OBDWW1 Over Flanders Fields\weather
5. Open OFFDynamicMissionWeather.xml with a text editor
6. Tedious part -> adjust all MinAltitude= MaxAltitude= values to 3000 or above

This should retain the variable weather inside the game, but keep those clouds up high.

Ankor, if you could work your magic on the clouds I would definitely buy you some tacos next time you are in Guatemala.

Excellent Oldhat, thank you very much, that is what I'm looking for

I'd donate to the 3D clouds fund. WOFF UEs 2D clouds look awesome (especially with 40LMs high res mod) when viewed from afar. The clipping when flying through them is immersion breaking.

Then again, 3D clouds tend to look very 'generic' from far away, but are more exciting to fly through. Kind of a mixed bag either way, IMHO.

The easiest solution is to select custom weather at the campaign briefing screen before you click “Go to Field.” From the drop down menu, select either one of the three “Clear Sky” clouds or “Few Wispy Clouds High.” Done!

I'd still like some variation in weather etc, just not with clouds that lower than 2500-3000m

...flying RoF and Il-2 CUP, i never missed the volumetric clouds in WoFF ,on the contrary ,i like the dramatic skies in woff being displayed with no performance loss when running 4 x SSAA, (but of course i'm limited by a 770 gtx). If you intend to fly in mostly clear weather, here's a little tweak you might try. Since WoFF 1 iirc, OBD decided to not use the old weather precip states of cfs3 any longer, but in fact, they still can be activated to some degree....I've been using them ever since ...so here's my suggestion: 1. Go to your OBD/Wings over Flanders Fields_UE/OBDWW1 Over Flanders Fields/weather folder and make a backup of 'weather' folder (!) then 2. Open ' weather ' folder , go to ' Off_Clear Sky.xml' change: precipType ="HeavyRain" into :
precipType="NoRain", do likewise with ' Off_Clear Sky2.xml ' . 3. Open ' Off_Clear Sky3.xml ',change precipType to precipType="LightRain".
Obviously , you can go on with other fair weather xml files, 'Off_Few Fluffy Clouds.xml' , 'Few Wispy Clouds' etc. (but i don't think it makes sense to change any 'bad weather' states; these are linked with 'Off_ThickClouds-box.xml ). In general ,i think WoFF stock weather is best it in 80 percent of the time.It's a matter of taste in the end. 4. Enable 'Persistent Weather Stats ' in WoFF Workshop and 5. enable Custom Weather according to weather report. That's it. You'll now have expanded far horizon view that matches RoF ( LightRain) view distances or even supercedes them (NoRain). However, since these states are unoptimised heritage of cfs3 ,there are some issues, on my rig, i experienced flickering on the sea tiles and some rough terrain rendering in mountainous territory ,mainly Verdun et alsace lorraine .Again , it's a matter of taste. Best regards.

Thanks Sowercrowd. I hate the fog on the horizon. Just got rid off it with your tip. Time to test ...

^ This.

I have never seen volumetric clouds that come close to the photographic realism "at distance" of jpg clouds. And if given an "either/or" choice, I would choose jpg clouds in WOFF because I don't live in the clouds in WOFF, I spend more time looking at the clouds.

In a civilian flight sim I prefer volumetric clouds where my entire flight might be under IFR conditions.

But I find the volumetric "cotton balls" at distance to be just as much an immersion issue as being close to a jpg cloud. And the volumetric clouds are getting better. But to me they still look like cotton balls stretched in different directions when you aren't flying inside them or right next to them.

I think the volumetric/jpg cloud question cuts equally in both directions. One day maybe we can have the best of both worlds!

If we could just virtually 3D print the WOFF UE jpg clouds inside the sim in real time, everything would be fine.

I don't think RoF does a bad job with it's clouds. But I do agree the cotton ball puff clouds that used to be in IL2 are not ideal.

I too like the look of the WOFF JPG clouds, just not up close