Optional Cloud Mod (with Historical Weather files)

Hello, all!

After several months work, I have created a weather mod to replace the existing WOFF Historical Weather files for the period 1915 - 1918. While the developers' legendary devotion to historical accuracy is well-known--and deservedly so, the existing files have a few problems, which this mod is designed to correct. The mod currently consists of several simple text files for each year from 1915 through 1918, which control the type of weather (clouds, precipitation, etc.) that you may encounter in the game. While these do replace the original WOFF weather files, they are meant to maintain the current fidelity to historical accuracy which is a trademark of the OBD team.

Some of the corrections are purely technical. For example, one or two dates are either missing or duplicated in some of the existing files. There is also a database error (which probably doesn't effect game-play, but you never know). However, there are also a few long strings of "repeat weather" (the same cloud type for days upon end or consecutive days either with or without precipitation) that I would like to reduce. Overall, what I am trying to do is simulate the passing of weather fronts in a more realistic fashion, with clouds building up, followed by precipitation, then clearing, and so on and so forth, while still maintaining historical accuracy along with some degree of unpredictability. I have also reworked the snow cover in the game from January through March, to more realistically reflect the buildup and loss of snow cover over time. There are a lot of other changes, as well, but generally speaking, the weather you will see in the mod will be very similar, if not identical in every respect, to the weather as it appears now.

The mod will be released in two parts. The first one simply consists of replacements to the WOFFHistoricalWeather19xx.txt files, located in the campaigns\campaignData\weather folder. Part two of the mod will include some optional additional cloud types that I am working on, with the assistance of Panama Red (thank you, PR for graciously allowing me to use your additional cloud types mod as a template) as well as a few others.

The mod is JSGME compatible, just unzip the contents into your MODS folder. Of course, the mod is not an official product of OBD, and any use of the mod is at your own risk. As always, if you have any problems with WOFF, uninstall ALL mods before contacting OBD support.

If you have any comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to let me know. Finally, thanks again to OBD, without whom none of this would, of course, be possible.

Link to latest version of Optional Clouds Mod: WOFF Optional Cloud Mod 5.0 Pack Updated 30 September, 2022

Link to latest version of historical weather mod: WOFF Historical Weather Mod versions 2.1 and 1.5 Updated 12 June, 2022

Great mod, BuckeyeBob!

I hope so! Cross your fingers!

Thx Sir!

I will look forward to seeing this in the game. Sounds great all around!

You're welcome. I hope you like it. Hopefully, the differences will be more subtle than obvious, with more snow in some cases and less in others.

BuckeyeBob,

I highly applaud this mod! Thank you!

I too noticed that weather wasn't quite as historical as it could be, and I was toying with suggesting a few changes. (Unfortunately, unlike you, I do not have the skills to actively change these kinds of things.)

I'd like to offer two links which you probably already know of, but just in case let me lead you to them. I used these sites when I was making missions for Rise of Flight. I wanted to have absolutely accurate weather.

1. Great War Weather

2. Weerstation Losser

That second site is a Dutch site, but it's the only site I've ever found that has records of the weather from the war years. It contains wind speed (in the Beaufort Scale), atmospheric pressure, temperature and much more. It's really quite a find. (It's in Dutch, of course, but you can easily translate it using online tools.)

I hope these can be of some use to you and your mod.

Wow, thanks, 3rd! That is exactly the information I am looking for. This will help tremendously.

Careful about adding more wind to WOFF weather, it severely disrupts the formation flying, that is why it is limited in the game now.

Great! I'm really glad that I could help you even if it is a small thing.

I look forward to your completed mod.

WOFF's weather is also dynamic and changes as you fly over different areas. The weather you are altering is possbily just the base weather. Historical weather may not have been available for some regions.

Uploaded to the user mods page:

http://www.sandbagger.uk.com/indexWOFF.html

An updated version of my weather mod is now available at the bottom of the first post in this thread. I hope that more than a few people have actually tried this mod, since the stock WOFF UE version is actually a lot more random than many of you think it is, particularly for the years 1915 and 1916. For example, in WOFF, the entire year 1915 is composed almost entirely of "heavy" weather clouds. The only variation in the cloud patterns and precipitation for 1915 is solely determined by the CFS3 engine.

In general, the mod attempts to simulate somewhat more realistic transitions from weather front to weather front. I also reduced the snow cover in early 1915 somewhat so you see some more variation in snow cover, instead of the present continuous snow on the ground from 1 January until the end of March that currently exists. 1916 was also made just slightly less wet than stock, with 1917 a bit wetter. Long stretches of "no-fly" weather are also broken up just a bit in some cases, while the overall number of "no-fly" days is increased just a bit, in order to simulate the lack of flying during periods of really bad weather.

Overall, I aimed to make the weather feel more "real" while still maintaining fidelity to the overall historical weather patterns already found in WOFF; so this mod should not be considered to be a "fantasy" weather pattern in any respect. The mod should work even better after I have included an optional "additional cloud type mod" that will add approximately 28 new cloud types and variations to several of the existing cloud types that currently exist in WOFF. The new clouds will be designed to fit better within the six currently existing weather categories in WOFF: Good, Light, Medium, Variable, Heavy, and Winter and Spring precipitation. Generally speaking, you should see a greater variety of fair weather clouds, including more cirrus clouds, along with a few "heavier" foul weather cloud types. The optional cloud type mod is currently in final beta testing and should be available within a few days two weeks! or so.

Bb

Glad to see new modders active in the WOFF sim.
In particular I personally love to use mods that enhance the historical perspectives.

I look forward to your mods.

Best Regards.

Sounds great. Downloading now.

Bb -

Looking forward to d/l your latest iteration tonight.

Weather adds a lot to the immersive and graphic aspects of WOFF IMHO.

Thanks, guys. I hope you enjoy the mod.

I have a question. As many of you know, the cloud files also contain a setting for wind speed. Through testing, I have determined that the wind speed value is in meters per second, which translates into 1 m/sec = 2.24 mph. Unmodded, values for windspeed varies in the game from 0 to 5 m/sec, or 0 to 11.2 mph. Relatively mild winds, as has been noted elsewhere on the forum.

Also through testing, I have determined that prevailing wind in the game does have an impact on air speed. Flying directly into a headwind will slow your groundspeed roughly by the speed of the wind, with the opposite effect if you have a tailwind. So far so good. Unfortunately, in addition to pushing your aeroplane in a direction opposite the direction of the wind, the wind also causes severe buffeting of the aircraft, particularly affecting pitch and especially on lighter aircraft. Turns also become much more difficult. Never having flown a real-life aircraft myself, I'm not sure how realistic the buffeting really is. We also know that the AI seems to have particular problems dealing with higher wind speeds.

So, finally my question. In my mod, do you want me to adjust the wind speed in each of these files or leave them alone? As I see it, there are a couple of options. In one, I can make two versions of the clouds: one with lower wind speeds, for early war aeroplanes, and another for later war aeroplanes. Another alternative is asking if Oldhat can adapt his high wind mod to my new clouds. Lastly, since the cloud files are .xml files, maybe JJJ or some other intrepid coder could write a program that could read and randomize the wind speed setting for each cloud file -- say a random number between 0 to 16 m/sec -- that would change each time you loaded the program? The last option would be the best one, of course, since it would vary the wind speed each time you ran the program.

Thoughts?

I don't mind, however there are a few points to consider.

Changing the individual cloud wind value does not show up inside the dynamic xml file during the mission. So, I assume that it takes those numbers from the code.

The only wind speed values that work well were between 6-8. I found it to be perfect for all aircraft weights. From my limited tests, I've noticed that it does not affect AI takeoff, formation flying (as much), or landing. While still adding a nice feeling of flight.

I use the custom Weather txt File from Bletchley's MOD for OFF over at combatace.com for 1915. I had made my own 1916 and 1917 ones a while back and I use those as well. It seems to be very well researched.

Wind speed in the cloud file or wind speed in the dynamic weather file?

I found changing the speed in the cloud file showed up inside the game, at least when I chose auto weather. Perhaps it works differently in the default campaign.

I too, based my weather mod for 1915 primarily on Bletcheley's work. Like you, I also tweaked 1916 and 1917, as well. I made the fewest changes in 1918, mainly because the WOFF files for that year are pretty well detailed.

Hi Buckeye and OldHat,

I love this mod, Buckeye! The more I fly, the more I appreciate the variation and consistency it creates. For instance, I'm seeing a lot more broken snow covered fields and trends in the winter weather, etc. Very well done!

As you work on wind speed and variation for a better feeling of flight, Google "Max Demonstrated Crosswind Performance" on a couple of planes like the Cessna 150 (about 1000 lbs) and a Cessna 172 (about 1500 lbs). At ground level 16 m/s (36 mph) would probably be too fast for WWI planes in this weight class, in particular for landings.

Probably more like 15 mph to 20 mph max. In real life, I doubt they were rolling with crosswinds above 20 -25 mph knowing they would likely have to land in the same. Although we've all read stories of flying in much worse weather, I'm guessing a max cap of 25 mph would be pretty aggressive for WWI (maybe more like 20 mph).

Just thought I would toss in some real world comparables.

And I'm curious, have you determined if wind is present during take offs and landings, or is it just low wind speeds in place at ground level? If wind at ground level, do we always get a headwind for take offs, or is the direction variable. I would love to see you guys put wind into play during take offs and landings.

Does wind vary by altitude, or location. I know there is variation in wind within a single mission, but I was never sure if it was because I was changing altitude or moving into the next weather region.

Good luck with this!

Great work, guys. Would you, BuckeyeBob and OldHat, join your effort and negotiate on some final formulas/conditions, then I would be very glad to code some simple app for randomizing and implementing it into the campaign dynamic weather file.

I've already tested wind speeds in campaign mode.

9 or 10 are near gale force winds
7 or 8 are strong winds
6 or 7 are light wind
5 and below are barely noticeable

I can suggest you randomize based on the "OFFHistoricalWeather19XX.txt" located inside the campaigndata\weather folder.

3
1
1917
3
1
1917
4 <--- Look at this value
Still very poor, dud in places
1
None
None
EOR

It ranges from 1 to 6, so if the number is:
5 or 6 = 7 or 8
3 or 4 = 5 to 7
1 or 2= 4 and below
If description says "very strong winds" or "gale" then use 9 or 10

Then you can change the background weather speed as well as all the other wind speed values. If you can also change the wind direction, that would be great.

JJ65;

That sounds promising! Can you explain in general how you expect the integration to work? I am very interested. I expect you are thinking of JAR as the mechanism to interface with the WOFF core code but this is just my personal thought. I love absorbing the details and find it informative.

Best Regards

The wildcard is the DynamicWeather file. I no longer have CFS3 on my computer. Is the DynamicWeather file a program created by OBD?

In any event, when using the Auto Weather dropdown box, the wind speed and wind direction come directly from the cloud type .xml file. What happens under the hood with the DynamicWeather file after that I am less sure about.

I need to do more testing later today before I can comment on what effect the variables in the historicalweather file have on wind speed and direction, although I'm sure they do interact with the DynamicWeather file program.

Sorry for the cross post.

Honestly, as already suggested by OldHat in his PM, I plan to implement this option as a new feature to Mission Editor. Also, I do not have any clue how to seamlessly attach it to WOFF, since WOFF is written in Visual Basic and I do not have access to its source code .

>>If you can also change the wind direction, that would be great.<<

As posted above..

I have been doing a bit of trial and error on the very simple and short "weather.xml" file in the "C:\OBDSoftware\WOFF\OBDWW1 Over Flanders Fields" folder.

There are lines that indicate 'wind speed and wind direction' with default values of 0'. I believe it is back ground weather. I assumed that it was in meters for speed, but I don't know. The direction line is probably compass point degrees.

I changed the vales from 0 to 5, then 15, and even 25; to see if there was a noticeable effect in flight.

I couldn't say that there a dramatic effect in wind speed, but I believe I noticed changes. Same for direction.

But then it could be the "placebo effect". It seemed very much more obvious in the cockpit view.

Perhaps those that are much more familiar with the weather files (I was just fooling around on my own, spurred on by this thread and others) know more about this xml file's use.

I have AI Weather Mode on in the workshop.

Nice work BuckeyeBob.
I didn't think it was possible for WOFF to be more awesome (or at least some awesome variety) but I guess I was wrong.
Always said modders are the key to any sims longevity and I am glad to see it happening here.
S!

Sorry for being AWOL for a few days. Had to deal with some family matters.

Bucksnort and DukeIronHand, thank you very much! I'm glad you are enjoying the weather mod. I am working with PanamaRed to release some new cloud types in a week or so, which will hopefully add even more realistic type weather into the game.

Be careful playing around with the historical weather file. The number 4 noted above controls which weather type is loaded into the game, with 1= Good 2 = Light 3 = Medium 4 = Variable 5 = Heavy and 6 = Precipitation. As Oldhat points out, the higher numbers result in higher wind speeds being loaded by the DynamicWeather file. However, the number (1 - 6) also determines what cloud type will be loaded. But, not all cloud types are in each weather pattern. Furthermore, each cloud type has a setting for both wind direction and wind speed. However, it also appears the DynamicWeather file overrides the wind speed settings found in the various cloud type files. As far as I can tell, the wind speeds loaded by the DynamicWeather file only come in three flavors: 3, 6, and 8 mph.

Interestingly, I noticed if you load a specific cloud type using the Auto Weather button in the Briefing screen, you will get exactly the wind direction and wind speed set in that cloud file. So, for example, I was able to create a 40 mph wind by altering the wind speed setting in the cloud file. As I said, however, the DynamicWeather file overrides this if you don't use the Auto Weather button.

Thanks Buckeye Bob,im using your mod along with Triple J,s editor which incorporates OldHats wind mod..they work perfect

Thanks, Adger. Great to hear.

I expect that the cloud mod that I and Panama Red have been working on will be out in a few days.

Version 1.25 of the Weather mod is now available by clicking on the link in the first post in this thread.

Changes include:
1) Changing the name of the mod from "WOFFUE Weather Mod" to WOFF UE Historical Weather Mod."
2) Fixing a small error to the OFFHistoricalWeather1917.txt file. Weather from July to 31 December 1917 is now working as designed. Thanks, JJJ65 for catching this error!
3) Adding a short readme file to the zip file.

The mod is JSGME ready. Just unzip into your WOFF\Over Flanders Fields\Mods folder. Enjoy!

WOFF UE Optional Clouds Mod Now Available!

After much work and with the advice and assistance of Panama Red, the WOFF UE Optional Clouds Mod is now available. This mod is designed to be used either as a separate mod or as a compliment to my WOFF UE Historical Weather mod, which has just been updated to version 1.25.

From the readme file:
The WOFF UE Optional Clouds mod adds 44 cloud types (more than doubling the number of cloud types found in the original game). Eighteen of these additional clouds are from Panama Red's Weather Additional Types 1.1 mod, eighteen are from my new mod, and eight are original files from PR's mod that I modified slightly to include new, improved fog and mist effects -- thank you, Panama Red, for kindly granting me the permission to use these clouds from your earlier mod.

Although the current mod is specifically designed to be used together with my WOFF UE Historical Weather Mod, it can just as easily be used separately as a standalone mod with the stock WOFF UE game. When used with the WOFF UE Historical Weather mod, the additional clouds contained in this mod should more realistically depict the build-up and passing of weather fronts in the game. Clear or fair weather clouds should gradually give way to increasing clouds and eventual precipitation, with clouds then generally decreasing after the passing of each front.* Overall, the user should notice that fair weather periods have a greater variety of fair weather clouds, while heavy or wet weather will have a greater variety of thicker and more threatening clouds.

*Note: Due to the design of the CFS3 game engine, it is impossible to have total control over the weather patterns in the game. Actually, this is a good thing, because it introduces a degree of randomness to the weather you will see on any particular day as you play different pilot careers.

Features:

Clouds: 44 additional cloud types, including 1 clear, 2 cirrus, 6 cirrocumulus, 2 altocumulus, 3 light cumulus, 11 medium and medium-heavy cumulus, 6 heavy or overcast, 5 rain, and 2 mixed cloud types, along with new fog effects.

The original WOFF UE contains approximately 30 different cloud types. However, a majority of these types are variations on different cumulus cloud formations, particularly light cumulus clouds. Therefore, this mod significantly increases the variety of different cloud types you will encounter in each of your pilot careers.

Wind: Although wind speed values largely conform to those from the original game, they should now be somewhat more variable. Wind direction is also slightly more variable, so that winds from a westerly direction (SW, W, and NW) now occur approximately 74% of the time instead of 82%.

Miscellaneous: While this mod is compatible with OldHat's Strong Wind mod and Panama Red's Thunder and Lightening mod, it is not currently compatible with PanamaRed's Weather Additional Types mod. Activating this mod will overwrite several settings in the Additional Types mod, so it is recommended that you deactivate that mod before you use the WOFF UE Optional Clouds mod.


A link to the mod can be found below and at the end of the first post in this thread. Finally, thanks again to Panama Red, who was the original source of inspiration for this mod, and who very kindly lent me both his advice and assistance, as well as his permission to use several clouds from his original mod. A tip of the bowler to Panama Red!

WOFF UE Optional Clouds Mod 1.0

BB
Will your cloud mod work with 4L0M's latest Cloud Mod or SkyBox Mod?

It should, since 4LOM's mod only changes the .dds files.

Thanks BuckeyeBob for this,il try it out later when I get in from work.
I've already downloaded and enabled with JSGME and it doesn't overwrite any of 4LOMS work so I'm also assuming it works fine.
Thanks again pal.

Buckeye thanks. Looks like a great mod addition to WOFF UE

Just a quick heads up BB,1st of all thank you for this mod some of the settings in game look great. I am having a slight issue however mate.

I get a flickering horizontal line when ANY fog is selected in the weather option in QC mode mate..The mist options and all the others are fine but the fog ones give me this issue.

Ive tried Trackir on/off disabled 4LOMS clouds,tried different times of the day in game,Sweetfx on/off and i still get this just with fog,im wondering if this issue replicates itself at your end?
Best Regards
Adger

Hi, Adger. Always great to get feedback, even if reporting a problem.

Can you describe the problem in more detail? When do you notice the line? Are you increasing/decreasing altitude, what altitude are you at, etc? I've noticed this "line" sometimes in other cases, particularly when flying through a thin layer of clouds, so I'm wondering if this is when you are seeing it, too? Also, is it a white line or a gray line?

There are several files that use the fog effect, including four types of "plain" fog and two cloud and fog files. Do you see the problem in all six files? Thanks.

Hi BB..the line is noticable even during takeoff mate. I also have noticed the line when flying through clouds etc.

Id say its more of a white line,and its like 2 different colored textures of the game below and above the line,and it seems to me at least to be occuring with all 6 "Fog" files..the 4 fog ones and the 2 that incorporate the clouds.

Its a strange one because every other type is fine including the mist files,im just wondering if anybody else who uses your mod is seeing the same issue Pal.

Thanks again BuckeyeBob

There are a few WOFF cloud texture files that cause this "banding" effect. Unfortunately, two of those appear in several of the fog files in my mod. I think I can delete one of these cloud textures, but the other one is what creates the foggy look down low. However, I think I can lower the line so that you shouldn't see it once you climb over 750 feet or so (down from roughly 2000 feet as it is now).

If you still can't stand seeing the line down low, I can revise the mod to give you the option to use the older fog effect created originally by PanamaRed. His fog is still very good, just without as much thick fog down low.

Keep in mind that fog will occur less than 10% of the time in the campaign, so you shouldn't run across it very much.

Thanks for the reply BB,its a great mod if you could possibly lower the "ceiling" to 750ft i think that,d make a massive difference.
Id only see it very rarely (just on take off) then,as it does,nt take long to get to 750ft.

Thanks again pal

An updated link to version 1.05 of my WOFF UE Optional Clouds mod is now available at the bottom of the first page of this thread. Highlights of this update include:

1) Revised fog effects to eliminate/decrease "banding" problem. This should address Adger's observation about the line or band that appears in the fog files. The line should disappear, or at least not be as noticeable, after you have climbed to around 1000 feet. You may still notice some shimmering or popping of the fog clouds down low, but that problem is beyond my capabilities, I'm afraid.

2) Added two optional files:
WOFF UE Optional Clouds 1.05 - Panama Red Fog Option
WOFF UE Optional Clouds 1.05 - No Fog Option

These files are meant for those who do not like the new fog effect or who can't stand the shimmering of the fog clouds down low. The first file uses Panama Red's fog files, which do not include the fog effect that sometimes causes the shimmering clouds problem. The second file does not include any fog effects at all. Either one of these optional files can be used in the main campaign.

Installation and use of the revised mod can be found in the readme file included in the zip file. I am also happy, of course, to answer any questions you may have about the mod. Enjoy!

Reminder: although the Historical Weather mod and the Optional Cloud mod were designed to work together, they also work perfectly fine as separate mods, so you can use either one by itself with a standard WOFF installation.

Both mods should also work in all previous versions of WOFF, from WOFF 1 to WOFF UE.

Good MOD, it changes the game for the better, I think.
I use the Weather mod+ Panama Red fog option.

Been flying a few missions now as an Re8 pilot in March 1917.
Orders are good, but when you take off you might find that the weather gets in the way...i.e. "bloody clouds, bloody mist, can't see a thing down there!"
Weather now makes spotting or being spotted much harder too. Navigation is almost impossible at times.
Sounds like a book I read.

The only down side I can see, is FPS drop when using time compression ( for me). I guess alllll that cloud appearing slows thigs down a bit.
Other than that I can see this mod combo as being one of those that I cant live without.

danke

I am very glad to hear that you are enjoying the mod.

One question: do you feel at all that it may be too cloudy at times? I wanted to make it cloudier than the original game, but I also want it to remain playable and enjoyable. Have I struck the right balance?

Buckeye;

Please read your PM from me.

The last two missions for me have been very cloudy, but it's too early to tell if that was just a fluke or how the sim works now. I'll keep a tally and let you know.

Sometimes weather is like that!


+1 Thanks

err no..tooo much, the mod is crap.

no seriously, its very good, I'm not an expert about weather, but it seems fine to me.

Thanks, lederhosen.

I have removed the link to the WOFF UE Historical Weather mod 1.25 since the mod is now part of the 4.14 patch. Future updates are planned to be included in the latest OBD patch.

The link to the Optional Cloud mod is still available at the end of the first post of this thread.

After years of flying this Sim I must say that the mission today was absolutely horrible.

Line Patrol at 2900m with my F2b with TrackIR.
The weather was so bad you would of thought that all flights would have been cancelled! Heavy cloud with snow at 2000m,
and 7 of us are supposed to find the enemy. Bahhh I doubt the Kaiser lets his pilots fly in such conditions.
We had to constantly drop out of the cloud just to know where we were. We lost the “A” flight group over the lines and then I missed one of my lads buzzing off with a dud engine (they became bacon trying to land).
Visibility was very poor indeed. To get home we had to fly under 800m just to navigate.

And what’s worse… My Observer copped it on landing.
Must have been the weather and not my flying I suppose. Poor man.

That was a very challenging flight today. No action but boy I could almost feel the cold up there! Well done Modders.

You can't let a few clouds get in the way of the war now, can ya?

On the bright side, if you can't see the enemy, he can't see you either!

Hello everyone...I am just now loading mods into the JSGME mod enabler, and I notice two different cloud mods at sandbaggers website (thanks everyone for the awesome looking mods and thanks sandbagger for hosting them!)....I see clouds 1.0 and 2.0 *and* clouds 1.05. When I downloaded these mods, they look rather different, and now upon reading this thread (I'm looking to make things a bit more challenging and in particular more wind), I do believe that the "clouds 1.05" has the author incorrect and also perhaps the description...is this correct? WHen I first downloaded these two days ago I thought they were all basically the same mod and was rather confused, but now if I read things correctly, I could use both clouds 2.0 *and* clouds 1.05 as they are completely different mods, correct?

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

stljeffbb

I'm not sure regarding your specific question, so I won't comment and leave for others more familiar with the Clouds Mod.

However, I am a "wind guy" (let's keep the jokes to a minimum ) and really enjoy the challenge of the added wind mods.

There is Ankor's Head Shake mod that I believe simulates the wind movement in Cockpit view. Which on it's own is a terrific mod.

But when wind is enabled in the WOFF Workshop AND using JJJ's fabulous Mission Editor (which allows you to additionally mod the wind speed and direction), both together will have you a bit queezy after a few minutes flying; which I imagine would be the case during strong wind conditions.

JJJ's recommendation is to dis-able wind tick box in the WOFF Workshop when using this function in his Mission Editor.

I go back and forth, depending on how I feel I would like to fly a particular mission.

Jeff,

The three mods listed by you do different things with the clouds. Cloud mods 1.0 and 2.0 (created by 4L0M) are texture mods that modify .dds files for clouds that are already in WOFF. The Optional Cloud mod 1.06 (created by BB) modifies .xml files and adds a number of new cloud types to the game.

Basically, different cloud types (.xml files) are created by mixing different cloud textures (.dds files) together. Optional Cloud mod 1.06 therefore works with either the stock .dds textures or with 4L0M's .dds files.

Capiche?

And that my friend, should be in a help file somewhere for all to see!

My pleasure, Robert.

Before I started my cloud mod, I was confused by the same thing! In fact, I was putting the final touches on my mod when 4L0M announced the release of his cloud mod 1.0. At first, I thought he had beaten me to the punch, until I figured out he was working on improving the textures that are used to "paint" clouds, instead of creating new cloud types. Phew!

Thanks much BuckeyeBob for spelling this out!

When one goes to sandbagger's mod website as of 7:45am CDT, here is the scene:



I do believe that the upper mod in the photo has the incorrect author (should be BuckeyeBob and not 4L0M, correct?)...also, the names of the mod and pics are exactly the same... that also confused me a bit.

Thanks much for these mods...they add a lot to the overall experience!

Regards,

Jeff

P.S.: To echo what has been said previously in this thread regarding the compatibility of these two separate mods, I started testing BB's 1.05 mod (using PanamaRed's fog option) and 4L0M's 2.0 mod and there seem to be no issues at all...

Glad to be of help, Jeff.

The author's names on Sandbagger's page are correct. If you scroll down to the bottom of Sandbagger's page, you should find my "Optional Cloud Mod 1.05."

I believe that 4L0M's cloud mod 1.05 is simply a minor update to his cloud mod 1.0, and has nothing to do with my mod.

Maybe I should rename my mod to BB Optional Cloud Mod?

Or name it Weather Mod 1.05 since it involves more than just clouds !!!!

Thanks BuckeyeBob!

OK, I just (9:23am CDT) clicked on the upper mod of the two pictured, downloaded what is there, and the the first picture shows what was in my download folder. The second picture shows the contents of that compressed file. It seems to me that BuckeyeBob's "Optional clouds 1.05" has been put in the "Clouds 1.05" spot (showing 4L0M as the author).





Regards,

Jeff

Good catch, Jeff. There is definitely a mixup on Sandbagger's​ page. No wonder you were confused.

That's what I get for speaking without looking first.

Oh no worries BuckeyeBob...it is fantastic that you are making mods for WOFF!

Regards,

Jeff

Hi Guys,
Ooops - Corrected now.
Buckeye's Optional cloud mod 1.05 is now at the top of the tabulated downloads (further down the page).
The 'bogus' download has been deleted.

Thanks, Sandbagger.

I may have a very small update tomorrow. I'll also include a pic to put on your download page.

I have just uploaded a small update to my WOFF UE Optional Cloud Mod. The new version is 1.06. A link to the update can be found at the bottom of the first post on this thread.

Changes include:
1) renamed the main installation folder to "Full Installation" folder.
2) removed one heavy cloud type from the OBDWW1 Over Flanders Fields/campaigns/CampaignData/weather/Medium.txt file (the cloud type was too heavy and thick for this type of weather).

I also provided Sandbagger with a new screenshot to help distinguish my mod from 4L0M's mod.

The mod is JSGME ready. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions on improving the mod.

Enjoy!

Version 1.06 uploaded to the User Mods Page.

Is this mod not included in the 14.5 update?

Hi, Dutch.

No, the Optional Cloud mod is separate from the Historical Weather mod. Only the Historical Weather mod has been incorporated into the WOFF patches.

I have revised the title of this thread to hopefully make that a little more clear.

I am currently working on a small update to the Optional Cloud mod. So far, I have added a few more light cloud types. Does anyone have any suggestions for any other type of cloud they would like to see?

No suggestions? Ha ha, I guess most people are more concerned about not getting shot down than they are about the clouds they are flying through! At any rate, maybe I can whet your appetite with a few sample pics:

New Fluffy White Clouds


New Mares Tails and Haze


New Feather Clouds


New High Overcast Clouds

Buckeye...I love the high feather clouds. They definitely make the spring and summer campaigns enjoyable.

I've been staring out the window these last few days so I'll start taking pictures and posting them to see if they're in game or not.

Those clouds look great BuckeyeBob, and will be a great addition!

Regards,

Jeff

Buck that cloud mod is a must. One can easily imagine why in some months it was hard to find the enemy if at all !!

They look fantastic BuckeyeBob,great work pal

Thanks​, guys. I've found that people either love the clouds or hate them. Personally, I love flying (and hiding) in them.

I don't know how people could hate it. The more types of clouds to fill the sky the better.

I will soon give them a check and let you know, thanks for the effort BuckeyeBob, they look superb.

Here's another sky type I have been working on:

Heavy Dark Rain Clouds

I don't think the recce/obs types will like this one very much! Fortunately, you will only see this cloud type on rainy days.

I think I am almost finished tinkering with the new types. When I am finished, it looks like I will be adding approximately 10 new skies, which will provide an even greater variety of cloud conditions to fly in. The update will also have a few minor revisions to a few of the existing cloud types in the current mod. I also recently discovered a setting which controls some of the fog or haze on the horizon, and I will be interested in tinkering around with that setting, as well.

Edit: Can anyone tell me why my picture appears so large and doesn't show an attachment at the bottom of the post? I copied the link to the pic from Photobucket, but obviously I am not doing it right.

That looks perfect for low altitude flights. Can't wait to test these out.

Looking good BuckeyeBob,looking forward to these pal

Buckeye;

I have a question for you. Any chance of creating ground fog of varying density and depth?

He has already done that with my fogs that he incorporated. There is Heavy, Medium, Light and Patchy.

BuckeyeBob, you are doing it right. When you copy from a photo hosting site you don't have the attachment at the bottom because it's not necessary.

Thanks, everyone. Feedback is one of the main things that keeps us modders going (although I hesitate to call myself a modder, at least compared to the work of many of the real artists on this forum).

You gain a real appreciation for the many more countless hours and years of work that the OBD team has already put into WOFF when you start putting together even a relatively small mod such as this--not to mention the tens of thousands of lines of code that had to be written by Rex Hannover and others on the OBD team.

As a modder, sometimes I feel like the chauffeur who drives a Ferrari or a Bentley. I didn't design or build the car, but occasionally I can polish it up a bit!

Buckeye, is it possible to have solid overcast? I don't think I've seen that

Hi, Robert. As Panama said, I already have fog in the Cloud mod. However, I am not entirely happy with the result. I can produce "fog" at low levels, but at the cost of such graphic anomolies as cloud "popping" and "banding," so some people don't like the result. A cure would probably require someone with .dds file expertise to actually "build" some new cloud types from the ground up. Do you wish to volunteer?

It is possible, Ace, but once again, doing so leads to some really bad cloud banding and popping, so the Heavy Dark Clouds shown above are probably the best I can do at this time.

Buckeye, I'll take it. You've done great work. I owe you a beer.

BTW, I think the cloud popping problem is similar to the graphics anomoly you often see in some older first person shooter games where you sometimes see a characters arm or leg sticking though a wall or a door. I bet my bottom dollar that the cloud popping problem is a holdover from the old version of DirectX used in CFS3.

I was thinking of taking a trip up to Rhinebeck, NY sometime. Maybe I should include a trip to Niagra Falls as well, so I can take you up on your offer. I'll go to almost any lengths for free beer!

The cloud popping is caused by two cloud texture edges intersecting each other. This can be mitigated somewhat by making the cloud image itself not completely reach the edge of the texture file.

What you describe above buckeye bob with fps games is geometry clipping where a models collision mesh is not a perfect fit to the model itself.

Perfect geometry meshes for 3d models take a ton of cpu cycles to calculate, so most games use a simplified mesh on an object, this is what occasionally causes your examples above, like a gun sticking through a door etc.

Neither make any odds on dx version.

Edit : Actually, the dx version could make a difference, in regard to DX11.1 adding new dds file compression methods, this may eliminate the problem completely (although equally it may not make a blind bit of difference). Obviously the game would have to be ported to DX11.1 and I'm pretty sure that's never going to happen.

. The special edition of Skyrim and Fallout 4 use these new dds types, that's why 99% of original skyrim texture mods work in the new Special edition no problem, but the one's saved in the one of the older dds compression types will crash the game.

DX11.1 is only found on Windows 8 and above, that's why it always makes me laugh when people have convinced themselves that staying on Windows 7 is the best for gaming.

Just let me know! I could use any excuse FOR a beer!

Ah, thanks for the explanation. It helps to have someone who knows what they are talking about!

I now see why the overcast cloud files are the most likely to cause the cloud popping. They are the files where the cloud image is most likely to extend to the edge of the texture file. Unfortunately, pulling the cloud image back from the edge of the texture file likely produces a "bowl" or a hat-like cloud effect, with clouds sitting directly above you but not extending to the edge of the screen. Neither situation is ideal.

You will see the effect more in cloudy conditions obviously because you are rendering more clouds. As for reducing the cloud image inside the dds file, so you have more transparency on the edges of the texture wouldn't actually make much difference visually, in fact unless you had told someone it had been done, I doubt anyone would notice. The clouds would still look like they do now pretty much.

It's just not really worth the hassle making all the cloud textures a uniform smaller image, as it may not even fix the problem, and is a lot of work for something that's a very minor annoyance in game.

I'm basing my cloud intersection theory on the fact that the same thing happens occasionally in FSX, but seems to be eradicated in P3D DX11.1 (and I have actually witnessed the intersecting clouds mess up in Woff when flying,so there's that too, lol.)

It's good to hear from you again, 4L0M.

Any E.T.A on the updated cloud mod Buckeye?
Or are we looking at

Only joking mate,I'm looking forward to seeing your extra cloud types
Cheers for the mod,it really is a great piece of work

I may have jumped the gun a little when I said I only had a few more tweaks. Also, real life has interfered a bit, with my 80 year old father in the hospital with pneumonia and work being crazy for the last week or two. Hopefully, not more than though

Thanks for your interest!

Sorry to hear about your dad mate,hope he feels better soon.
Yep I can relate to the work situation aswell.
Take as long as it needs Buck,il be ready to test as soon as your ready to release.
All the best pal
Adger

Aye, good to hear from you again 4L0M! Cloud popping is one of a very few remaining technical issues that (for me) will pull me out of immersion. It would be great if it could be resolved, but I totally understand there are limits to the technology. Maybe in WOFF Ultimate Edition 2.0. LOL

I feel a change in the weather is coming....

Can't wait!

Version 2.0 of the Optional Cloud mod is here!!

Here is a partial list of some of the changes in this major update:

1) Thirteen additional "skies" including:
Broken Overcast and High Clouds
Cirrus Clouds with Haze
Fluffy White Clouds
Heavy Dark Clouds
Heavy Dark Rain Clouds
Mares Tails
Mostly Cloudy with Rain
Overcast and High Clouds
etc.

2) Improved horizon fog
3) Updates to many older cloud files from OCM 1.06
4) Adjusted fog effect in cloud files to reduce cloud "popping" and "banding" from fog
5) Adjusted several other cloud files to further reduce cloud "popping" and "banding"
6) Revised file structure for simpler activation of mod via JSGME (see readme file)
7) Many other miscellaneous tweaks

With the assistance of Robert Wiggins, OCM 2.0 will also now be available in either a standard zipfile format or in a self-extracting .exe file. The zipfile can be found at the bottom of the first post of this thread, while the self-extracting .exe file will be available later tonight or tomorrow. Both formats are designed to be placed in the JSGME Mods folder of your WOFF UE installation.

Please note that activation of the mod via JSGME has changed slightly. Full details may be found in the accompanying readme file.

OCM 2.0 represents a substantial upgrade and improvement to the original mod, so I urge everyone who has tried the earlier version of the mod to try it again (especially if they didn't like the cloud popping and banding in v1.06). While I have not been able to totally eliminate all cloud popping, you should find it reduced considerably in the new version.

As always, comments are both suggested and welcomed! I hope everyone enjoys the mod -- and happy flying!

Note: Slower systems may see some loss of frame rates, particularly with some of the heavier cloud types.

Bob, many thanks for your constant efforts. Looking forward to testing this new mod. I just can't seem to locate it. You mentioned bottom of first post, but it's showing v1.06. Still to come?

Oops! Link should be working now.

Got it!

The JSGME self installable version should be up on Sandbagger's site soon.

Now on the User Mods Page here:

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html

Thanks Robert and Sandbagger!

Looking forward to giving it a try. Off to download now.

After a few missions I have not encountered any issues, apart form the well known low-level flat cloud flickering while flying through it to a higher altitude (flying with no-fog option). Also, I've noticed that there are now more frequent skies with just a few (2-3) individual small clouds in the entire sky usually grouped in one area. I don't remember seeing this type before, so if that is part of the mod, then well done! If I'm dreaming and this isn't something new, then you must excuse me. My head is currently in the clouds after all.

Glad you like it, even if it comes from someone with their head in the clouds!

There are actually at least two issues with the cloud popping. Some flickering, while flying through clouds either horizontaly or vertically, is mostly unavoidable. What I really worked on in this update, is the white or grey "bedsheet" effect, which appears as a distinct horizontal line in the sky with clouds that seem to flash on and off - very annoying. Hellshade has a brief video showing that in another thread somewhere on the main forum. Hopefully, I managed to get rid of most of that.

I am glad to hear you are getting some more light clouds mixed with blue sky. I did add a few light cloud types to go with the heavier ones, so maybe that is what you are seeing.

No issues on my end. the added cloud types are a beautiful and welcome sight. Well done, Bob.

Great job on the cloud mod!

Jeff

Thanks, everyone!

No thank you Buckeye,it's a great piece of work pal

I am enjoying the new mod. I love the added variety and the work is just incredible. I highly recommend folks give it a try!

Great Mod ! I made my peace with leaving out the fog option, cause i assume, they wouldn't have flown in that bad conditions anyway...

Well they might start out in good weather and then encounter the fog. It's really too bad that it can't be rendered properly. It would have really added a new weather capability. IMHO

Bump, and to let people to know I will likely be adding a few more "snow" clouds in the near future. I'm also exploring the possibility of getting it to snow (at least snow in the air) during the month of December.

Thanks BuckeyeBob your cloud mod is fantastic,the added snow would be fantastic

Hi Folks

This is a new mod update:

WOFF UE Consolidated Custom Airfields Mods Repository Folder zip available on Sandbaggers mods page.

This update contains RAF_Louvert's "Thetford" and "Catterick" training facilities as well as the winter tiles for Havrincourt Wood.

Here is an extract from the contained "Reame" file:

Created: 11 June 2017
Author: Robert Wiggins at SIMHQ forum
Version 2.1

Changelog 2.1

 This release contains the additions of Winter tiles for Havrincourt wood, as well as the Catterick and Thetford training fields all of which were created by RAF_Louvert. These additions require that you apply all the mods contained in this release in order for things to work properly.

Best Regards

The latest update to my cloud mod has taken longer than I expected, but is slowly coming along. I feel I have a better understanding now of how precipitation works in the game, so most of the update will be concerned with that.

I also have hopes of eventually working with JJJ in order to produce even more customized cloud and sky conditions, but that will have to wait until at least the end of the month when he gets back from his mountain holiday! (Currently, each of the five weather types have one or two generic skyboxes which are used for all cloud conditions in that weather type. Hopefully, with JJJ's help I will be able to create customized skyboxes for each of the different cloud types that are now in the cloud mod)!

Buck, I look forward to your work. Can you explain briefly what changes to the sky box will achieve as an example. It is rather vague to me.

Skyboxes are nothing more than the far Horizon background .dds. and currently each individual type Weather is assigned a Skybox in it's file.

I've spent a lot of time on making custom skyboxes, and they can be tricky to get right because you're mapping a sphere onto six flat faces.

That's a little over my head Major! Can you recommend a 101 type article that would give me an in depth orientation of what they are and how they are applied?

Whew, where to start? It is a bit complicated. PR and MajorMagee are both correct, of course. The extra difficulty is the OFFDynamicMissionWeather.xml file. A little background:

1. Each cloud type has a Background weather section, like this:
in addition to different cloud layers.

2. Each weather type (Good, Light, Medium, Heavy, Variable, SPrecip, and WPrecip) has 1-3 Skyboxes associated with each type. Each skybox also has its own Background weather section, which is identical to the Background weather section for each cloud type, except that the values are different. Here is an example from the OFFDynamicMissionWeather.xml file, which is created at the start of each mission:

Currently, when a mission is generated, the Background weather section at the start of the OFFDynamicMissionWeather file is created from one of the skyboxes associated with one of the 7 weather types and not from the background weather section of the specific cloud type. In effect, this creates a "one size fits all" for each cloud type assigned to a particular weather pattern. My aim is to create customized background skies (as well as wind directions and wind speeds) that come from the background weather section of each cloud type instead of from the weather type.

The rest of the OFFDynamicMissionWeather file creates variable sky conditions based on other cloud types found in the same weather type as the selected cloud type, but always based on the same background sky as found at the start of the OFFDynamicMissionWeather file. I am not proposing to mess with this part of the OFFDynamicMissionWeather file.

Robert, I'm afraid that is more of a 300 or 400 level course than a 101 course!

Here are two pics to illustrate what I mean. Both use the same cloud type I created in my cloud mod: OFF_BB Mist and Clouds. The first pic is with an unaltered WOFFDynamicMissionWeather.xml file. The background sky color is: 4284111450

WOFF Mist and Clouds


The second uses an altered WOFFDynamicMissionWeather.xml file that uses the BackgroundWeather data from the beginning of my OFF_BB Mist and Clouds file instead of the Background weather data from one of the skyboxes associated with the SPrecip weather type. Notice the background sky color is now: 4293784308

BuckeyeBob Mist and Clouds


Obviously, you would not want the same background sky color you see in the second picture for all cloud types! However, with my suggested alteration (if possible), you would have much greater flexibility in creating different background cloud conditions customized for each cloud type instead of each weather type.

The main problem with this approach is whether (no pun intended) the background sky color for each specific cloud type would look good with the other clouds generated for the mission by the OFFDynamicMissionWeather file. That will take some further testing.

Thanks for the explanation Buckeye. I feel I have a much better understanding than before and what really stands out here is how complex the whole issue is. I also understand that proper testing for all scenarios will take considerable time. Cudos to you for undertaking this mod. It is already very good and what you are proposing will make it considerably better.

I look forward to each stage of your release!

My pleasure, Robert.

If JJJ and I can pull this off, not only will we get customized fogcolors tailored for each specific cloud type, but also customized wind speeds and directions. Right now, unless you use JJJ's mission editor, there are only approximately 12 or 13 Background wind conditions in the game. It should be possible to create any number of different wind conditions by altering the beginning of the OFFDynamicMissionWeather file. In fact, JJJ's mission editor already does this, but only with wind speeds.

If you are drawing new images for the skybox each patch is drawn as Front, Left, Back, Right, Front to make the joins seamless.
Front is displayed looking South
Left is displayed looking West
Back is displayed looking North
Right is displayed looking East

Within the weather xml files there is a parameter called fogcolor that uses a 10 number sequence to define it's color. This is a decimal that converts to hexidecimal as FF followed by the Red, Green and Blue color values as numbers from 00 (darkest) to FF (lightest). A pure gray would have R = G = B. For example scatteredclouds4low.xml has the BackgroundWeather fogcolor as 4288789972 which converts to FF A1 BD D4 which is a light blue grey R=161, G = 189, B = 212. The choice of this shade will have a significant impact on how well the fog will blend into the skybox background colors. AnKors latest shaders address the grey band that frequently was seen along the horizon, but they cannot completely make up for poorly matched fog/skybox colors.

The method used for the tuning of the fog color was to check the color at about the middle of the skybox texture using PhotoShop, and then to turn down the brightness by 12% in the color checker. The Hexadecimal RGB values were then put in a calculator with FF added at the beginning, and converted to the decimal equivalent. This is the value that went into the fogcolor. A quick check in the game was then used to refine the brightness value up or done slightly in PhotoShop, and a new hex and decimal value was tried until the match was optimized for most conditions.

Just for a little more complication AnKor's shaders use the suneffect.xml to change the environmental lighting effects based on the time of day and direction you're looking, so a skybox fogcolor combination that works at one time of day and direction, may not be a perfect match at another combination.

Major, many thanks for your discertation. I see the process as a very tedious trial and error undertaking.

UPDATE: I am now in the final stages of testing version 2.1 of the OCM. In addition to adding a few more cloud types, I also made a few tweaks to a couple of existing clouds to further reduce "banding" and "popping." Users of the BB Fog Option should particularly notice improvements to several of the fog sky types.

I also found and corrected a relatively minor bug in previous versions that may have resulted in some weather anomalies (although I haven't actually seen any evidence of this in the actual game).

The mod should be ready in a few days and certainly no later than

Thank you sir.
Looking forward to it.

Eleven days is shorter than two weeks, isn't it?

Version 2.2 of the WOFF UE Optional Cloud Mod is now available at the end of the first post in this thread! Here is a list of the major changes to the mod:
• Fixed bug where some larger cloud files can result in a truncated OFFDynamicMissionWeather file, possibly leading to some weather anomalies
• Added 3 additional snow cloud types for winter precipitation and 2 additional heavy cloud types
• Adjusted balance of rainy and snowy cloud types in SPrecip and WPrecip folders
• Tweaked cloud types in Medium, Variable, and Heavy folders so clouds have a better chance of matching the weather "forecast" for that particular day
• Tweaked appearance of high clouds in several "heavy" cloud types
• Reworked fog effect (again) in BB Fog Option folder to further reduce cloud popping and banding
• Miscellaneous changes and tweaks

BONUS: I have also updated the OFFHistoricalWeather files to version 1.42. Please see the link at the end of the first post on this thread. Changes to the historical weather files are mainly cosmetic, with several spelling errors corrected and some modifications to the daily weather "forecast." I also made a few alterations to the seven weather types so they will work better with OCM 2.2. Users may notice a very slight improvement to the overall weather, with not quite so many "heavy" weather days.

Please share your experiences with the two mods and any areas you may have for improvement. Enjoy!

BuckeyeBob;

I have just sent JSGME self installable versions of both your mods of to Sandbagger for inclusion on his mods page.

Bueno!

Version 2.2 (latest) now on the User Mods Page here:

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html

Thank you for your continued work on the weather mod Buckeye

Off to download now cheers pal

Thanks Sandbagger.

Thanks Adger.

Edit: Links at end of first post updated to include link to Sandbagger's website.

Update to the cloud mod coming soon!

Just wanted people to know that a small update to the cloud mod is in the works. Most of the changes are minor and are mainly designed to make the mod "play better" with the WOFF weather files, but in particular, with JJJ65's absolutely fantastic and stupendous mission editor. The mission editor adds so much functionality to the game that I encourage anyone with a serious interest in the game to get it if they don't have it already.

The biggest change that the ME will allow me to do is to match the horizon "fog color" with my custom made cloud types. Up to this point, WOFF has used a few stock fog color values that apply to all clouds in a particular weather pattern. With the cloud mod and JJJ's editor, each cloud type can now have its own personal fog color. Overall, this should lead to a greater variety of lighting conditions with different cloud types, particularly the "heavier" clouds. Later, I may also be able to experiment with occasionally causing rain on a day that is forecast to be dry, but that will not be included as part of this update.

Please make sure to thank JJJ for creating and continuing to improve his ME, without which this update would not be possible. Thanks, JJJ65!

Finally, as always, I am open to any suggestions people may have about the mod. Cheers!

Putting the finishing touches on the cloud mod update now. In addition to updating the clouds already in the mod, for the first time, I will be including a few small changes to some of the original WOFF clouds as well. The main difference that you are likely to notice is that I have toned down the thick, white band of fog you see on the horizon with some of the WOFF clouds.

The main change that applies to many of the other clouds in the mod is that I have found a way (with the able assistance of JJJ65 and his mission editor) to give a single cloud type the ability to have two fog color settings instead of just one. This will allow for an even greater variety of clouds and lighting conditions to exist in the game. Finally, and again due to the mission editor, the player will now be able to experience different wind directions from all over the compass dial (over 50 in all but still predominately from a W or SW direction), instead of the 12 stock background wind directions found in WOFF.

While the mod will work without JJJ's mission editor, the player won't be able to experience these new features without the ME, so again I recommend that you install it if you haven't already. The ME is easy to use and adds a tremendous number of features to an already excellent game.

Hopefully, the update will become available before the end of the day tomorrow.

Here it is: the latest update to the Optional Cloud Mod. The new version is 2.5

From the readme file:

10 September 2017
• New: Mod is now designed to work specifically with JJJ65's Mission Editor to allow for a greater variety of horizon fog effects, wind directions, and wind speeds (Thank you, JJJ65)!
• New: For the first time, OCM 2.5 now includes changes (optional) to several original WOFF cloud types (see revised installation instructions)
• New: When used with JJJ65's Mission Editor, some clouds now can have more than one background sky color, leading to an even greater variety of skies and lighting conditions
• Increased number of possible background sky colors from 7 to 14
• Reduced white fog band near horizon affecting some WOFF clouds
• Adjusted horizon fog color of several additional clouds
• Additional small changes and tweaks

Installation and use of the mod has changed slightly. In addition to the main BB and PR cloud folder, there is now an optional WOFF cloud folder that can also be enabled, which contains several changes to already existing WOFF clouds. The user does not have to enable this option if they prefer to stick to the original WOFF clouds.

My favorite changes are the changes to the background sky colors and the addition of wind directions from all over the compass. Both of these additions would not have been possible without the assistance of JJJ65 and his mission editor, so be sure to thank him if you like these new mod features.

Finally, I have also included an update to my historical weather mod. Following is a summary of the changes to version 1.43:

1.43
10 September 2017
• Inserted an occasional "nice" day to break up a few extremely long stretches (20 days or more) of rainy or overcast days
• Adjusted snow cover somewhat
• Reduced number of "wet" days in early 1917 by a few days
• Minor text changes

Both updates are available through the links at the bottom of the first post in this thread. Please address any questions about the use or features of the mod to me on this forum. As always, thanks goes out to OBD and all others who have contributed in some way to WOFF UE. Enjoy!

Sounds fantastic BuckeyeBob Thank you for this il try it out later this evening

Thanks for your effort, Bob .

Sounds very nice indeed.
Thank you!

BuckeyeBob, thank you for making such an impressive mod (with Triple-J's help). I took it for a spin and after two missions my impressions are as follows:
- the sky is much more busy with many, many more clouds (or it's simply the period I'm flying in - May)
- some of the clouds seem more "fluffy"
- some clouds seem to be more transparent
- some clouds seem to be "dirty" - I guess it's the interlacing of the two colours of clouds? Not sure. Very nice effect. See the pic below.



Thank-yous go to both of you for the collaborative effort. Hope to see more of your genius. My hat is off to you.

Now for a wish: I wish the clouds could move, float with the wind...

Thank you for your comments, Fullofit. I appreciate the feedback. Not sure I can take credit for the "dirtier" look, however. I did add some cloud textures to some cloud files, so that may account for the busier sky.

As far as getting the clouds to move about and float on the wind, I'll get right on that!

Version 2.5 now uploaded to the User Mods Page:

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html

Thank you, Sandbagger!

By now, most of you are probably familiar with my never ending quest to do something about the weather--at least the weather that exists in WOFF. In addition to my own efforts, JJJ65's ME has opened up all sorts of new opportunities in this regard. With that in mind, here are a couple of pics to illustrate what I am working on in order to improve the fog in the cloud mod.

BB Fog OCM 2.5


New Fog


BB Fog OCM 2.5


New Fog


I have made similar changes to the two mist files. In fact, you can now experience low level rain and mist even on supposedly dry days! Depending on how people like this new feature, I may consider extending it to other cloud types, such as shower clouds, for example.

Thanks again to JJJ65 for agreeing to continually update his ME in order to accommodate my peculiar weather obsession!

BuckeyeBob, interesting changes. Will this also have an impact on ground fog? Can you demo that?

My ancient video card doesn't have video capture (I'm hoping for something in my stocking for Christmas), but I can take some still pictures that shows the fog at ground level. However, most of the update will only affect the fog at higher levels, as seen in the above pics. It's still a noticeable difference, but not as noticeable lower to the ground, I'm afraid.

Hi, Robert.

The following is a view at 2000 ft. of OFF_BB Fog.xml using OCM 2.5:


This is the same view using the update that I am working on:


Below a certain height, the fog effect is diminished, so that is why I took the picture at 2000 ft. You can see that the main difference is the cloud cover. There may also be some small differences at ground level, but they are subtle.

Another advantage of the update (that I can't show with a still picture), is the elimination of the "flashing" blue sky you frequently see at ground level and low altitude when you scan the sky with older versions of the mod that use fog and some of the original WOFF clouds. Once you attain a certain altitude the problem goes away, but it is noticeable when you are taking off or are otherwise low to the ground. This should be gone in the new update involving the BB fog and mist files. For now, I plan to leave the PR fog files as they are.

I hope this helps!

Looks great!

BuckeyeBob

That my friend is a MAJOR improvement. Can't wait to try it out.
I am constantly being surprised with all the great mod improvements to WOFF.

Thanks, FalkeEins and Robert!

I think the effect looks even better when moving, but I could be a bit biased!

Please keep in mind that all of the changes since OCM 2.4 would not be possible without JJJ's Mission Editor, so he deserves a hand as well.

Oh how could we forget JJJ?? His ME is indispensible!

Without a doubt. While I was a bit intimidated at first, the ME is pretty friendly.

Hopefully somewhere over the rainbow OBD will roll it in to the client.

Thx guys but my part on weather modding was minimal - all is BuckeyeBob's "obsession"

I get a lot of pop-in/flickering on the low level fog - is there anything I can do on my end to prevent some of the pop-in?

Shouldn't be an issue with specs... 6700K @ 4.7GHz and a GTX1080 with the latest driver.

This issue has been discussed many times and it seems there is little that can be done about it. So far nobody has been able to address it. I keep hearing it is the limitations of the CFS3 engine and the fact that it doesn't support volumetric clouds.

FalkeEins, for more discussion on cloud popping, check out page 10 in this thread.

Fair enough.

It certainly doesn't ruin things but it can be a little distracting depending on the weather patterns for a given day.

The flickering tends to be worse for certain cloud types, especially the overcast and cloudy cloud types. Generally speaking, the more clouds there are, the greater the chances of flickering. Decreasing the number and type of clouds results in less flickering, but less realistic heavy clouds. So, there is a trade-off.

Cloud banding is another issue that occurs with some clouds, particularly clouds with heavy haze, such as the fog and mist cloud types. I will again attempt to revisit this particular issue with the update to my cloud mod, which I am currently working on, with the assistance of JJJ65. Although I have been able to reduce the banding somewhat, it is extremely difficult to eliminate.

You and JJJ65 have done amazing things so far but we all realize there is a limit to what D9 will allow.

Cudos for your effort

Thanks, Robert.

JJJ65 and I are in the final stages of testing the update to the fog and mist files and the ME that enables these changes to be seen in the campaign. Hopefully, I will have something ready sometime this weekend. If this works the way I hope it will, I may be able to apply the same treatment to other clouds. We'll see.

Woooo!

BTW, you don't have to have the latest version of JJJ's mission editor--or use the mission editor at all for that matter--to enjoy the sixty or so additional clouds contained in the cloud mod. There is somewhat less variety in lighting conditions for some of the new clouds, the wind settings remain unchanged from the default WOFF settings, and you miss out on some cloud optimizations that are only possible with the ME, but other than that, the cloud mod is perfectly usable as a stand-alone product.

Trick or Treat!

Optional Cloud Mod version 2.6 is now available!

Here is a list of the major additions:

25 October 2017
• BB Fog Option only: Improved fog and mist effects with less cloud popping and banding (when BB Fog Option is used with version 1.3.7 or above of JJJ65's Mission Editor).
• Light misty conditions may now occur on an otherwise dry day.
• Added two new clouds: Cirrus Clouds with Thick Haze and High Overcast with Scattered Clouds.
• Miscellaneous changes and tweaks to several existing cloud types.

Installation remains the same as before. Don't forget to deactivate the previous version (2.5) first!
Extract the entire package (5 folders plus readme file) to your OBD Software\WOFF\Mods folder. In order to use the mod, start JSGME and utilize the following procedure: Step One: activate the 1 BB and PR Clouds folder (required) and the 1 WOFF UE Clouds folder (optional), if desried. Step Two: activate only ONE of the following fog options: 2 BB Fog Option (fog and ground mist), 2 Panama Red Fog Option (fog but no ground mist), or 2 No Fog Option (no fog or ground mist effects). Important Note: You MUST activate one of the three fog options or NONE of the new cloud types will appear in the game!

With the exception of several miscellaneous changes and tweaks, most of the above changes require use of version 1.3.7 or above of JJJ65's Mission Editor. Although the mod will work without JJJ65's mission editor, you will not be able to enjoy all of the neat new features contained in version 2.6!

I am particularly proud of the improvements I have been able to make to the fog and mist files, so please let me know what you think about these clouds in 2.6. Please note that I have only changed the fog and mist files in the 2 BB Fog Option folder. Users who use either the 2 Panama Red Fog Option or the 2 No Fog Option will not notice any changes.

The link to OCM 2.6 is available at the bottom of the first post in this thread. Enjoy!

Note: Robert Wiggins will prepare a self-extracting version of the mod when he gets back next week from holiday in the Caribbean--lucky sod!

Thx for your effort, BuckeyeBob. I hope we will have a chance to enjoy yet more of your weather miracles .

Thanks also Buckeye..RL has gotton in the way of too much flying,but il try and make time to test your latest edition.
Thanks again pal for your continued work on your Cloud mod project

Thanks, guys. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was interested anymore!

In the weather manager of the ME before flying the mission, look for the following cloud types:
"Fog"
"Fog Heavy"
"Fog and Clouds"
"Fog and Clouds Low"
"Mist"
"Mist and Clouds"

These clouds should look significantly different in OCM 2.6 than they did in 2.5. I think you will like the changes (or at least I hope that you do)!

BuckeyeBob, thanks for the latest update. I’ll try it out once back home. Any chance for some nice weather, you know, so that we can actually fly?

Yes, just edit the OFFHistoricalWeather19xx.txt file. Sunny days out the wazoo!

Yes, still very interested!

I'll D/L and try it out ASAP.

Thanks BB!

Links on first post updated to include link to Sandbagger's web page.

Version 2.6 now uploaded to the User Mods Page:

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html

Thanks, S!

Well done, BuckeyeBob. I finally installed the cloud mod and am really enjoying it, particularly the wide variety of clouds and the low-level fog.

Woo-hooo! thank you, hoongadoonga! We modders really appreciate feedback, especially the positive kind! I'm glad that you are enjoying the mod.

I assume you are also using JJJ65's Mission Editor? Some of the features in the cloud mod only appear if you also use the Mission Editor.

Speaking of the mission editor, and I hope I am not speaking out of turn, but I believe that JJJ is currently working on an update to the ME that will include several new features, including a small weather map overlay, complete with icons representing cloud and weather conditions over the front! I also plan to release another small update to the cloud mod that will hopefully coincide with the release of JJJ's updated mission editor.

Yes, I use the ME. I consider it to be essential now.

I do have a question about the cloud mod. There's a required "BB & PR clouds" folder and an optional "revised WOFF UE clouds" folder. I think of your mod as being a substitute for or a replacement of stock WOFF clouds. If I activate both of these folders at the same time am I doubling up on the clouds that I otherwise would have? I haven't done much testing but so far I like it better with the optional WOFF clouds folder disabled.

One more demo vid of the BB cloud and fog low: (be sure to set vid to 720 HD for best viewing)

Hoongadoonga,

Activating the optional "revised WOFF UE Clouds" folder replaces some of the original WOFF clouds with my own revised versions, but only those with identical file names. Most of the original WOFF clouds are still used, even if the option is enabled. The optional clouds are meant to be used in combination with the required BB and PR clouds, if the user so chooses.


I'm curious, what don't you care for in the revised WOFF UE optional clouds? Most of my revisions are small changes, such as wind speed or horizon fog color. Overall, some of the revised clouds may also be slightly "thicker" than some of the stock clouds, but not a whole lot different.

Well, so far I've actually flown only a couple of flights with it disabled so it's probably just the particular circumstances for those two flights. My assertion that "I haven't done much testing" was clearly a major understatement. I am really enjoying your mod.

.

This really is an outstanding "must have" mod. Well done BB!

.

I must concur. Very well done, indeed BB! Thank you!

Thank you, gentlemen. Your comments and encouragement help keep me going. Lou, I have to say I am extremely impressed by your work on the forts. Keep up the good work!

I think I may have one more update left in me. The new update, in addition to continuing to take advantage of some of the latest features of Jara's Mission Editor, will also add a few "lighter" heavy clouds, for more variety, to the "Heavy" and "SPrecip" weather types. I also plan to revisit the issue of cloud banding, at least in some of the worst offending clouds in the mod.

I hope you will be pleased with the results.

Foggy Early Morning Patrol OCM 2.7

Version 2.7 of the Optional Cloud Mod is now available. Please see the bottom of the first post of this thread for a link to the JSGME compatible version of the mod.

Here is a list of the major changes:

Version 2.7
24 November 2017
• New: Added new cloud: Overcast with Light Saturated Clouds. Best when used with version 1.4.1 or above of JJJ65's Mission Editor.
• Adjusted balance of heavy and light cloud types in "Heavy" and "SPrecip" weather folders.
• Reduced horizontal cloud "banding" issue in several "heavy" cloud types.
• Revised mist and mist with clouds for better mist effect.
• Modified description of several cloud types to more closely match cloud type filenames in order to reduce confusion caused by a mismatch between cloud type description and cloud type filename in the Mission Editor weather manager.
• Headwind, tailwind, and crosswind effects now more noticeable.

Also, although the following is not new to version 2.7, I wanted to highlight changes to the way wind works in the cloud mod. From the readme file:

Again, although the cloud mod works as a standalone mod, some of the best features are only available if you also use JJJ65's fantastic Mission Editor. Even if you don't plan to use the cloud mod, I strongly urge you to get the Mission Editor. It's that good!

I believe I have finally reached a limit to what I can do with the clouds, so hopefully, this will be the last update to the mod. Enjoy and happy hunting!

Note: the above picture was taken with my extremely old 1 Gb video ram video card on low settings, so the picture most likely doesn't do justice to how the cloud mod looks on a better video card.

Note 2: The link to the self-extracting version of the cloud mod on Sandbagger's web site is still version 2.6. Sandbagger is on vacation and won't be able to update the link until he gets back, sometime early next month. I will update this post when the self-extracting version of 2.7 becomes available.

BuckyeBob, Congrats on the latest release. Your work is greatly appreciated. My head has never been so much in the clouds as it is now.

Thanks for the support, F.

Now, get your head out of the clouds and write us some more stories!

BuckeyeBob, I think I can accommodate that request, although nothing interesting has happened lately.

War is like that, I'm afraid. Hours upon hours of unrelenting boredom, followed by moments of sheer terror. Unfortunately, terror is much more entertaining to write about!

At least we have the pretty and diverse clouds to look at during the boring bits, thanks to you and Triple-J.

Cool morning sky. That sure looks like rain over to the right. I've never seen that before. Well done.

Thanks! I believe that is cloud type BB Thunderheads.xml

One of PanamaRed's cloud types also has the same effect, as does at least one of the WOFF clouds.

Yes Hoongadoonga I haven't yet see those rain clouds myself. Looks really cool.

Just a reminder if you are using this mod, to be sure to download version 1.4.4 of JJJ's Mission Editor. JJJ has fixed a bug that may have prevented a couple of my clouds from displaying properly. The new version fixes that.

BuckeyeBob, you've outdone yourself!



I am all misty-eyed.

Ain't it great!!!

Aw, shucks. Thanks guys.

An exceptional job on this mod!

It was a labor of love. 💓

And I do mean labor. At least it felt that way, at times. But worth it in the end.

Thanks also goes to OBD and JJJ65.

Thanks Ace, but the clouds were already there. I just rearranged them a little bit!

It has come to my attention that a few cloud types are causing the Mission Editor to hang. If you use the Mission Editor with the cloud mod, please click on the following link to download a fix for this glitch. Extract the file to your mods folder and activate the fix, allowing it to overwrite the four files in the already activated cloud mod. After a few days I will update the cloud mod to include this fix, along with a few other very minor changes.

OCM 2.7 JJJ65 Mission Editor Fix

Thanks BB!

Version 2.7 now uploaded to the User Mods Page:

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html

Instead of using this fix I'd rather just wait for the updated complete mod. Sandbagger just announced that version 2.7 Is now on his mods' website. Is this the original 2.7 version (prior to the fix) or is it the new version that does include the fix?

Neither version of 2.7 listed on Sandbagger's web site or the one at the bottom of the first post of this thread contains the OCM 2.7 JJJ65 Mission Editor Fix, hoongadoonga.

However, if you haven't downloaded the Mission Editor fix, I would recommend that you wait for version 2.8. It will contain not only the JJJ65 Mission Editor fix, but also entirely new detailed weather descriptions. I have just sent it to JJJ for testing, so it should be ready for release in just a few days.

Thought I'd pitch in gents' with info. that the optional cloud mod, also several other mods, work beautifully in WOFFue served up through WineSkin on a Mac. Will hopefully post a list soon of a good order in which to install several mods, to avoid crashing in WineSkin. I also have to test Panama Red's old cockpit view mod (EnhancedCockpitView.20170127) to see if I can improve the frame rate slightly on Intel integrated cards by installing it on top of all the updates - since frame rates drop on average by 7fps when several of the cloud, seasonal texture, etc. mods are introduced into ver. 4.15 and 4.17 of WOFFue. No luck so far installing JJJ's mission editor in WineSkin since Wine doesn't play nicely with Java-based programs, but if I stumble onto something will let those flying WOFFue on Macs know.

Happy flying,
Von S

Thanks, VonS. Glad to hear that the mod works on the Mac. Too bad you can't use the Mission Editor, though. Some of the best features of the cloud mod are only visible when used with the mission editor.

BB Mist and Clouds over Alsace OCM 2.8

Yes, it's time for another update to the cloud mod! The new version doesn't add any new clouds, but does provide a fix for the problem that caused some clear cloud types to make the Mission Editor hang. Also, thanks to the Mission Editor, I was able to add a brief description of the cloud and wind conditions at the start of each campaign mission. This is in addition to the general weather forecast. Look for it in the weather manager window of the ME.

I also noticed that the some of the BB fog and mist clouds were not displaying properly so users were not getting the full "fog" or "mist" effect that you see in the above pic. This will be fixed in the next version of Jara's Mission Editor. Thanks, Jara!

Here is a summary of the changes in version 2.8. Please take note of the revised installation instructions:

As always, the new version can be found at the bottom of the first post in this thread. A self-extracting version of the mod should be available on Sandbagger's web page in the near future.

Happy flying!

Thanks BB, looking forward to those atrocious weather conditions.

At your service...

Just don't bring anymore snow!

Version 2.8 now uploaded to the User Mods Page:

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html

Thanks, Sandbagger!

Thanks as always BuckeyeBob..im finishing soon for the Christmas hols,i truly hope to get some flying time in to see what wonders you,ve conjured up this time

Sure thing, Adger!

Not a lot of new stuff this time around, just a few fixes and enhancements.

Thanks for the support!

.

Thanks again BB for a superb mod and for your ongoing improvements of it. As I just mentioned in Jara's ME thread, a "must have". Well done!

.

Thanks, Lou.

As far as improvements, Jara keeps coming up with new capabilities in the mission editor that I can't resist playing with!

I have to say, after activating this mod I will never go without it again.

Taking off on a cold, wet, miserable November dawn patrol and see rain in the distance, fog and the like everywhere added an immersion I never thought possible.

Amazing work, Buckeye. This has put the frosting on the cake.

Thank you, Ace.

Greetings, fellow WOFFers!

I noticed that this thread had fallen to the second page of the mods forum. As this simply will not do, I thought I should bump the thread.

While I'm here, perhaps I should also announce the latest update to my Historical Weather Mod! The new version is 1.44 and is available via dropbox at the end of the very first post in this thread.

Here are the highlights of the most significant changes:
Enjoy!

Thank you Bob for the above and beyond service! Will take it for a spin right away!

Seconded here!!

Always happy to oblige!

Thanks also to both of you, for your modding efforts. I am particularly impressed by anyone who dares to delve into the mysteries of Gmax modeling.

Bob, using Gmax is easy. It’s learning to use it, that’s hard.

Ha ha, ain't that the truth!

A long time ago, it got into my head that I might try something easy, like editing the damage boxes on one of the OFF aircraft. Shortly after looking at the 1000 lines of spaghetti that make up just one aircraft model, and staring at another 1000 tools and options that are contained in the Gmax interface, I gave up.

I applaud those of you who (apparently) have a lot more patience than I do.

Thanks BuckeyeBob.
Downloaded.

Thanks BuckeyeBob,much appreciated pal

Thanks again. I am glad that people are enjoying both weather mods, even if they sometimes make it a little more difficult to see through the clouds and the rain at times!

Speaking of the weather mods, would anyone be interested in a (small) update to the cloud mod? I have created two new cloud types (Large Majestic Clouds and Large Dark Majestic Clouds), in addition to making a couple of small changes to a few other existing cloud types. This would be version 2.9 of the cloud mod.

Sure, why not? It's great as is right now but if you provide an update I'll definitely install it. Thanks.

BuckyeBob, bring it on! I can handle it!
Also, is it possible to get some lightning during some of the worst, wettest and darkest weather?

Always look forward to what you can improve in your Mods Buckeye..bring them on pal

Thank you, Bob.
And anything new/improved will be really apreciated.

If you activate Panama Red's Thunder and Lightning mod, you should be able to get thunder, at least when there is any precipitation.

There should be a link to it somewhere on Sandbagger's web page.

After a bit more testing, version 2.9 of the cloud mod should be ready by the end of the weekend.

This update will only have a few, mostly minor changes, other than the addition of the two new large cloud types. However, as a bonus, I will throw in one more mostly clear weather type. I have also adjusted the "Good" weather category slightly in order to increase the chances of getting clear skies when the weather manager calls for it. Hopefully, this will result in a better balance between good and poor weather conditions.

Looking forward to your update Bob

Bob, I used to have that mod installed, but now it tells me there is a conflict between that mod and your OCM 2.8. Looking forward to OCM 2.9!

Hmm, I wasn't aware of that. Let me see if I can figure out what's going on.

Gentlemen

It's not really a problem. Both mods can work together. It's just that both mods use two of the same cloud types by having the same name for them.

Thanks Robert and Bob for looking into this. I didn’t want to overwrite one with the other, but it looks like it overwrites it with the same thing? So, no harm done? I suppose just to be safe I should run the thunder and lightning mod first, to make sure BuckeyeBob’s mod overwrites it with the latest clouds.

Here is the problem. If you run my mod first and overwrite it with PR's mod, you will get thunder and lightning but a few of the clouds will look slightly different--not a whole lot, but some. OTH, if you run PR's mod first and my mod second, you will get my clouds but no thunder and lightning.

For now, I would suggest using the first approach, unless I create a thunder and lightning mod specific to my cloud mod. PR's mod only affects two files in the cloud mod, so it shouldn't be that noticeable.

One more point. Remember that thunder and lightning can produce lag and stutters on some older systems--like mine!

BuckeyeBob, if I have to choose between clouds and lightning, then I pick clouds, in which I fly everyday. I have no business flying around in any weather that includes lightning anyway.

Making a mod to produce thunder and lightning for my cloud mod should be pretty easy. Give me a day or two and I will try to put something together.

BTW, anyone have a spare 2GB ram video card lying around that I can take off their hands? I'm still stuck with a 1 GB card and I can't afford to upgrade due to the crypto currency craze, which doesn't appear to be going away any time soon.

Bob;

Check your PM. I have a file on my dropbox for you re fix for thunder and lightening.

Will do. Thanks, Robert!

I will keep my eyes open for a vid card for you. I don't have anything right now but If I find something I will PM you.

A few more tweaks and maybe a thunder and lightning mod addition, and the new version of the cloud mod will be ready!*





* In two weeks!

Sorry to intrude, guys, and not at all to hijack the discussion, but BB: Depending on what kind of GPU/how strong you're interested in, I may have something reasonably inexpensive that you could consider. Can you tell me what you had in mind? (AMD or Nvidia, which exact GPU if you have a preference, etc...)

Thanks for the offer. I'll send you a PM.

In it is! Thanks Bob! Can you also throw in a rainbow?

No, but would you accept a pony instead?

(A rainbow would be cool, though!)

Only if it’s a unicorn.

No pony or unicorn, but I have a question for Fullofit or anyone else that might want to have thunder and lightning with the cloud mod: would you prefer that thunder and lightning be turned on by default or turned off? The player would either have to activate thunder and lightning during the spring and summer months, or deactivate it during the winter months (unless you enjoy thunder-snow)! Either one would involve overwriting some of the cloud files and result in JSGME displaying that annoying error message about overwriting existing files.

My personal preference would be to have it off by default Buckeye.
Will you be releasing a version that doesn't incorporate the Thunder/ Lightning at all pal? If it's not to much trouble.Cheers Buckeye

Adger, I can build the mod in two parts (actually two separate mods) so that you don't have to have thunder and lightning at all, if you don't want it. Others can activate the thunder and lightning according to their wishes.

There is also a chance that our resident (and Barmy) coding wizard, JJJ, can automate the whole process!

BuckeyeBob, I have a feeling most people don’t want thunder and lightning. Best would be to have it off by default. Anyone that would want it would just turn it on. Maybe have it as an option in ME? I’m looking at you, oh Barmy coding wizard.

I agree, F. I think off by default is the best way to go.

Cheers Buckeye,nice one pal..cmon Triple J wave that magic wand of yours

On standby, engine running and waiting for BB's files, Sirs.

Unfortunately, I hit a bit of a snag late last night. The short lesson is, don't open two versions of the same file at the same time, because you quickly become confused as to which is which! However, after much sorting and cursing, I think I now have things under control. On the negative side, this means that completion of the mod has been set back by a day or two. OTOH, I have sent a preliminary version of the mod to Jara for him to work with, so it shouldn't take him long to implement any small changes that I might make. Keep faith!

One thing I am working with Jara to possibly implement is to randomly produce different intensities of thunderstorms. For example, with Jara's help, I can easily change both the frequency of thunder and lightning strikes, as well as the distance from the pilot, etc. Granted, most Great war pilots would have been crazy to go up in the middle of a thunderstorm, but it might be interesting to try in a mod. Any thoughts?

Bob, it's quite reasonable to assume that a thunder storm front could move into a fair weather area unexpectedly.

^^^This is true.

Plus, if you can control the distance, then the thunderstorm could be happening somewhere far in the background. That could be very atmospheric!

Did you know that there already is a Thunder and Lightning mod out there?

Yup, but it doesn’t play nice with BuckeyeBob’s cloud mod.

True. I suppose if that did happen, the procedure would be to immediately scrub the mission and land as quickly as possible at the nearest friendly airfield. Maybe someone could add an addition to the DiD rules that for every minute aloft after the sighting of lightning, there is a 1% cumulative chance that you are struck by lightning and killed!??

Well, there's that chance I suppose. RTB in that situation seems as much common sense as it is an evolutionary prerogative.

**** procedure, sir! Let's get the hell outta here!

Although I am still tidying up a few things, OCM 2.9 is almost ready to launch!

Here is a list of the major changes and updates:
Comments: Jara is currently working on an update to the ME that will automatically enable thunder and lightning during the spring and summer and disable it over the winter. He will also provide an option to disable thunder and lightning for those who do not want it. For now, however, this feature is turned "on" by default, so some users may temporarily experience some lightning during the winter.

I have added a couple of cloud types and revised a few others. I also dropped one or two types that still had significant cloud popping and banding.

The reassignment of clouds in several weather folders should provide more consistency in weather conditions and also help to more clearly distinguish between good and poor weather types. In other words, you should now get more clear and sunny weather in "Good" and "Light" conditions. Overall, this will result in a slight increase of nice weather over the course of a year.

I still have a few items to work on, so now is the last time for comments and suggestions!

BuckeyeBob, that sounds peachy. Can’t wait! Next, we have to get some hail going. Lightning and thunder, fire and fury!
BTW, what’s wrong with flying in a wooden crate with lightning going off around? Wood doesn’t conduct electricity.

But the steel plate in my head does!

Then you’re protected. I mean shielded. Just extra curly hair on your head, that’s all ...

The older Thunder and Lightning mod really did a number on your FPS when the lightning would strike, have you resolved that or will that still be an issue?

I imagine this will have roughly the same impact, performance wise. However, I haven't really focused on that, so I may be able to at least provide options for those whose systems can't handle the lightning. I can't promise any miracles, however.

I'm 99% sure that the lightning is hardcoded into the game engine. There is a lightning texture that I have edited a hundred times and it makes 0 difference to its look in game. You can even delete the lightning texture, yet it still shows up in game. You can edit the ini file relating to the size of the lightning shown, but regardless of what crazy values you use, the look of the lightning never changes. I never noticed any performance hit using Panama red's mod personally. If you ever work out how to change the lightning texture, please let me know. I have spent hours looking at that bloody thing!

Hi 4L0M. Haven't seen you around much lately. Do you get any stick time?

I have to admit I haven’t noticed any performance drops with the lightning either. I do get a performance hit when near artillery barrages though. Anyone else gets that?

Good to hear from you again, 4L0M. I have noticed the same thing about the lightning, at least in regard to the lightning.xml file. I have not touched the texture file. Nevertheless, there are a few things in the lightning.xml file that can be altered, such as strike duration and strike frequency.

In my testing on my relatively slow rig, I have noticed a brief drop in framerates just before or after a strike. However, I'm not sure whether it is due to the lightning graphic, the thunder sound file, or something else.

I also get the same frame rate loss near an artillery barrage, Fullofit, so that may point towards the thunder sound file, or how sounds in general in the game are handled, as the culprit.

This is what the lightning looks like in game. I came across this screenshot earlier when looking for something else :



I would love to know how to change it, but I never had any success.

I wish I could help you out, but I haven't had any success, either.

I guess changing the lightning.dds file doesn't make any difference?

I agree that the Bolt Texture and Bolt Width seem to be hard coded in the part of the program that creates the random branching shape.

The code does include a routine that dims the lightning with distance, but the lightning does not seem to create any visual effect on the surrounding environment.

The timing, and duration of the lightning can be adjusted in the Lightning.xml, as well as switching the Flash Texture that is used on the top of the bolt at the base of the cloud.

The size of the flash in game is independent from the size of the texture being called for in the xml.

There does not appear to be anything in AnKor's Shaders or the Effects.xml related to lightning.

Thanks, Major. I can confirm everything you said. The only thing I have been able to control in version 2.9 of the cloud mod is the frequency and duration of the lightning flash.

Version 2.9 of the cloud mod is finally available, now with optional thunder and lightning!

I am particularly proud of this release, not because of any major changes, but because it resolves a few niggling problems and inconsistencies in previous versions.

Overall, there should be more consistency in cloud conditions during a single mission than before. This means there is less of a chance of running into cloud types that seem inconsistent with the current weather conditions. In other words, clear skies should stay mostly clear, partly cloudy skies should remain partly cloudy (for the most part), etc. I also added a few lighter medium to medium-heavy cloud types for a little more variety in "Heavy" weather conditions.

Finally, I have enabled thunder and lightning in this version without the user having to overwrite any files (you will have to overwrite a few files if you wish to disable thunder and lightning, at least until JJJ65 releases an update to the ME in a few days that will automate this process). I have included a folder in the .zip file named "WOFF UE OCM 2.9 No Thunder Option" that users can activate as a temporary measure if they prefer not to have this feature.

As always, it has been a pleasure to serve my fellow members of the WOFF flying community. If you have any questions or comments about this update, please feel free to ask.

Please find a link to version 2.9 of the OCM at the end of the first post of this thread. Happy flying, whatever the weather!

Bob, you are an example of excellence in service objectivity Sir. Something to be proud of and often sorely missing these days.

Great news BuckeyeBob! Thank you for all your work. Will have that baby installed right away, lightning and all. Wish I could reward you somehow for your efforts, but all I can do is post here with praise and my thanks. Oh and maybe squeeze another Aldi report in DiD in your name. Deal?

Thanks Buckeye..downloading now.

Thank you, everyone.

Robert, you are too kind. Yes, good service seems to be sorely lacking these days.

Fullofit, enjoy the thunderbolts and lightning! You will like it even more when Jara comes out with his next update. I will take another Aldi update at any time, new clouds or not! Plus, a dram of your favourite single-malt scotch whiskey, if you please!

Adger, as a long-time supporter of the cloud mod, thank you.

BuckeyeBob, you’ve got it! I’m partial to the smokiness of the Islay region offerings, so one dram coming up. Enjoy!

Excellent choice! My thirst is officially slaked!

( I've always wanted to say "slaked!")

Sounds like something one would say in 1917

Oh, sirs, wait on me, Islay is my favorite whisky region too .
Thx for your effort, Bob. Your weather mods are "a must have" .

Jara, we will have a dram waiting for you when you’re good and ready, Sir!

Don't wait too long, though. Fullofit is such a good host and fine story-teller that I am afraid the bottle will run dry before long!

Thx, guys, I am on the way. Do not worry, I took one bottle of Bowmore for any cases and as I know Fullofit's source of stories is bottomless.

Version 2.9.1 of the cloud mod is now available. This version fixes a small error that could cause WOFF to terminate unexpectedly. Thank you to Fullofit for bringing this bug to my attention.

Thank you Bob for such a quick turnaround, you must have worked through the night. Most appreciated!

Version 2.9.1 is now available on the User Mod Page (Sky page).

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html

Much appreciated, Sandbagger!

Sigh.

Robert has brought my attention to another small bug that may prevent you from shutting off thunder and lightning in QC flights or in the campaign if you don't use Jara's mission editor 1.5.9. Fortunately, the fix won't take long, so it should be ready sometime tomorrow. I apologise for any inconvenience.

Version 2.9.2 of the cloud mod is now available. This version fixes an error that would cause thunder and lightning to sometimes appear even if the user disabled thunder and lightning using the "No Thunder Option." Thank you to Robert Wiggins for bringing this problem to my attention.

I wanted to make a few points that some people may have missed about using JJJ65’s Mission Editor along with the cloud mod. While it is not required that you use the ME in order to enjoy the more than 70 additional clouds contained in my mod, by NOT using the ME, you are depriving yourself of many of the more “advanced” features of the cloud mod. The reason for this has to do with a few limitations of the OFFDynamicWeatherMission.xml file.

The main problem is that it has only a very small number of horizon sky colors, wind speeds, wind directions, precipitation states, background cloud cover, etc. which depend entirely on the weather type (Good, Light, Medium, Variable, Heavy, etc.) selected by WOFF before each mission. Every single cloud (even the new ones) contained within each of these weather types is limited to these pre-selected settings unless you first use the ME to copy my tailor-made OCM settings for each cloud type into the OFFDynamicWeatherMission.xml file before flying the mission. For example, if the BB_Mist.xml file has been selected by WOFF to be the cloud type for a particular campaign mission and you fly without using the ME, you get a clear blue sky above instead of the solid grey sky you see until you climb above a certain height (also determined by a setting in the BB_Mist.xml cloud file). This level of control is not possible using the cloud mod without JJJ’s mission editor.

I would also like to point out that it is not sufficient just to open the Mission Editor. In order to get the “full” OCM effects, you must click on the “Apply” button at the bottom of the Weather Manager window before each mission. Otherwise, changes are not made to the OFFDynamicWeatherMission.xml file and you will get the default WOFF settings.

Here is a list of just some of the variables in the OFFDynamicWeatherMission.xml file that remain unchanged unless the user clicks the “Apply” button in the ME Weather Manager: skyboxCloudType, MaxAltitude, MinAltitude, fogColor, windSpeed, windDir, cloudfile, CloudType, CloudCount, Lightning, MinAltitude, MaxAltitude, etc.

So, there you have it. Please let me know if there is anything else you would like to know about how the cloud mod works with the Mission Editor. Once again, thank you for using and enjoying the mod.

Don’t forget the extended visual range at horizon.

That, too!

Note: In a few days, Jara and Robert will be coming out with a revised readme file for the Mission Editor that will include a section on how to use my cloud mod along with the ME Weather Manager. I hope everyone will find it helpful.

As always thanks so much for your mod Buckeye

Reminder: version 1.44 of the Historical Weather mod is now available on Sandbagger's web page. This version is just slightly more sunny than the previous version (not so much in the winter months, however)!

BB, speaking of winter. Is there a way to keep the snow on the ground, even partial, during winter months? It seems to go to full winter, then back to green grass, then back to snow. Typically in Jan and Feb.

I've tried to simulate the transition from light to medium to heavy snow and then back to medium and light snow cover with this mod, at least more so than the stock files. I did lean toward the conservative side, however, so I can easily add more snow cover, if desired.

Note that there are only three snow textures in the game (four, if you count no snow cover). Part of the difficulty, IMHO, is that the texture for light snow is too light (more like frost or a dusting of snow on the ground), while the texture for medium snow cover is too "heavy," making it too similar to the heavy snow texture. This can make the transition from medium to light snow cover look too much like you are going from plenty of snow cover to almost none at all, overnight. If I had any graphics skills, I could try increasing the thickness of the light snow textures, but sadly, I have no experience modding texture files.

OTOH, if you would like me to increase the number of days that have light snow on the ground in order to put more of a wintry chill up your spine, I can easily do that, if you like. Or, you can do it yourself. It's a pretty simple process, really, which is why I can do it!

Bob, I’m fine with any type of snow cover, as long as it’s not green grass. Does your mod, or in combination with ME have the ability to control the snow cover? Keep the weather “snowy” enough to avoid spring thaw in January and February?

Yes, snow cover is controlled by a variable in each year's historical weather file. The question is, how snowy do you want it? We are talking about France, after all, not Norway. Also keep in mind that the game engine only allows for snow cover during the months of January thru March, so no white Christmases, I'm afraid.

Currently, there are some very long stretches, particularly in 1916 and 1917, with at least some snow on the ground. I think the longest stretch is 56 days, in early 1917. There is less snow in 1918, but I believe that year's winter wasn't quite as bad as the previous two. However, I can create a somewhat snowier 1918 if you like. We can call it "Special Winter Edition of the Historical Weather mod."

Bob, “Special Winter Edition of the Historical Wather Mod” sounds good, but if it’s not historically accurate then let’s leave it as is. Thanks for entertaining the thought, though! Out of curiosity, do you know if the winter green grass texture tiles are separate from the summer texture tiles? If I were to edit the winter tiles, would that affect summer tiles? Just wondering.

Hi Fullofit. There are 4 sets of ground texture tiles for the 4 different seasons. If you you download my Seasonal ground textures mod V2, you can look at which ground tiles you can edit if you want to try it yourself. Cheers!

Thanks 4L0M. With your seasonal textures that makes it even easier. I feel green grass in the winter is about to be a thing of the past.

4L0M, a few questions.

One, is it possible to increase the amount of snow for the light snow textures? They are not very snowy right now. I would try and fix them myself, but I have absolutely no ability when it comes to textures.

Second, is there any way to make snow cover appear in the months other than January through March? I would like to see some snow cover in December or April on occasion.

Thanks.

Fall already has two sets of terrain tiles, one with snow and one without snow. As a result, December is fully capable of having snow on the ground (per the weather conditions).

Spring / Summer on the other hand, only have one set of terrain tiles so no snow during either of these two seasons.

To get Spring to have snow, you either have to change the CFS3.exe or get OBD to create a "go around", unless you can get JJJ to possible figure out how to get snow to show up in April with his MS program.

Fullofit,

I can add a few more days with light snow cover, no problem. With JGSME, if you don't like it you can easily go back to my previous version. Looking over the files, I think adding a few more days of light snow cover might not be a bad idea.

PR is correct that you can can get light snow cover in December (I had forgotten about that), but I don't think you can get any medium or heavy snow in that month. My historical weather files call for medium and heavy snow cover on a few days in late December, but all I have ever seen is light snow.

BuckeyeBob, you know best. In reality I hate snow, but in WOFF I think the snow on the ground stays far too short. Then again, my idea of winter may be a little screwed, living in Canada and all that.

Any snow still there in the Great White North, eh?

Yeah, your view might be just slightly skewed, I suppose. Still, a little more light snow cover won't hurt anything, and might add a little more "chill" to the overall atmosphere. Too much green grass can be boring, too!

If you are curious, I have compiled some statistics about how many days (out of 90) have snow cover on the ground in 1.44 of the weather mod. Don't click if you don't want to know!


I can break it down to month by month, if you want to know that, too!

Bob, my snow shovel is still within reach (just in case).
Seeing those numbers all I can do is wish for weather like this here. I suppose all those cannon explosions kept the temperature higher than usual, hence such minimal snow accumulation on the ground. That’s how I explain it to myself.

Snow is just like it should be, if we are talking about Flandres. Normally in Januari is here the coldest, not december.

True, but December 1916 was maybe the coldest and snowiest on record.

All depents on the region, I know in France it could be cold, but if talking about -4C over 4days in Belgium as cold then I guess you are right.
Belgium and the Netherlands do have a sea climate so, we have all kinds of weather only not the extreme. Only the Ardennes are snowy.

http://ww1weatherreports.wikifoundry.com/page/1916+December
http://www.weerstationlosser.nl/index.php?pid=4

Good points, Dutch, which is why I am being careful not to add too much heavy or medium snow cover in this update. As you know, light snow cover in the game is very light and can easily pass as light snow showers, flurries, and even frost on the ground, so it won't alter the "weather' in any significant way, other than make it "feel' colder.

I appreciate the feedback, particularly from someone with more direct experience with the weather patterns in Europe. For instance, in the States, weather fronts generally come from the west and northwest. Is that also true in northwest Europe? Do big snowstorms come from the west, or are they more likely to come from the northeast, via Siberia? I can use this information in future updates to the wind direction in my cloud mod.

In the winter eastwind wil bring dry frost mostly, because this wind is going over dry frosty land. Normally no snow only because of the wind it feels like being in Siberia.
Nothern wind will also bring in frost, but also snow that will stay. The air did catch up moistere from the warm undeep nordsea and the cold air will freeze this to snow.
The west wind comes from the Atlantic, only here the, UK pulls out the most extreme weather from the clouds, like the tick layers of snow or the big ice hail balls, sometime we get a part of the leftovers.

The wind from the south is moistly higher in temperture and when containing moistere it could bring every kind of percipitation, hail, snow, rain or glaze. But because the temperature does increase this will melt.

I did mention that in Januari, it is colder and that is the earth has cooled down, in februari, more sunlight is showing and sun means the earth is recieving heat.

I hope to have a "slightly snowier" historical weather mod update ready as soon as possibly tomorrow for those who like to experience a chill up their spine, at least while flying in the winter months. The update is almost entirely confined to added snow cover on the ground, so it will have little or no effect on clouds or precipitation.

Version 1.45 of the Historical Weather mod is now available here and at the bottom of the first post of this thread. I will also make a version of the mod available for Sandbagger for hosting on his website.

The biggest change to this version is the addition of several days of light snow cover on the ground for the winter months in order to better simulate the chilly weather during that time of year. I have also improved the transitions from light to moderate and heavy snow cover when appropriate. This update does NOT significantly change the weather in any other way, so cloud cover and precipitation is not affected. Keep in mind that the winters of 1916 and 1917 were historically cold and snowy, so expect to find a lot of snow on the ground for long stretches at a time during those years. Snow cover should be slightly more sporadic for the years 1915 and 1918.

I also made a few minor corrections to a couple of text entries, but the major change was the addition of the extra snow cover.

Thank you, Bob! It'll be like home now.

Brrrrr!

I'm using cloud mod 2.9.2 with the PR fog option selected. I've also been using the various versions of AnKor's blue triangles mod. Today I installed version 1.3 and selected the high end version for gameplay. On my second mission I had a sharply defined open square with fog surrounding it (I think this qualifies as fog anyway).

I've never noticed it looking like this before. I've no idea if it's the cloud mod, AnKor's mod, or the combination of the two. I have scenery and terrain set at 4.

hoongadoong;

Try swapping out the blue triangle mod and see if you can duplicate the problem. If not, put the mod back in and see if the problem is consistent. Let us know how things go.

Also, if it always happens with the high end mod, try the medium end mod to see if the problem occurs there.

What are the specs of your processor and your graphics card

Can you also tell me where the anomaly occurred. GPS coordinates would help or just say something like x miles from airfield and give directions. (Forget this line. I found the spot just north of Thiaucourt.)

Do you have any other graphic mods enabled? I've sometimes seen something similar with 40L0M's ground texture mod enabled.

Also, as Robert said, try using the medium version of the blue triangle mod. Finally, if the problem persists, try lowering scenery or terrain settings in Workshop to 4.

I'll see what happens with the medium mod. But fog comes and goes so I may not have it again soon.

I have an i7-6700 with a 980ti card.

This happened a little north of Verdun but other than that I can't be more precise.

I am also using effects mod V1_1 by 4L0M and historical weather mod 1.44.

Scenery and terrain were both already at 4 when this happened.

Yes, I am seeing the same problem. I have to assume it has something to do with AnKor's mod, but I haven't been able to pin it down yet.

This "fog" is the default terrain texture, which is not supposed to be seen as it is usually covered by actual distant fog.

It may be caused by terrain mods.
My version has the largest ring to be defined as
<Ring PatchWorldDim="32768" RingDim="3" MinMaskRadius="65536"/>
which means its diameter 32768 * 3 = about 98 km.
Yaan's version has
<Ring PatchWorldDim="16384" RingDim="3" MinMaskRadius="32768"/>
which makes it only about 49 km.

Unmodded WOFF UE has
<Ring PatchWorldDim="16384" RingDim="9" MinMaskRadius="65536"/>
so the ring diameter 16384 * 9 = 147 km.

If you are ok with editing xml files then you can try to change modded values and see if it helps.
First, you need to find the "Budget" corresponding to your terrain settings (i.e. <Budget Name="Five"> for terrain quality = 5)
And then change the first <Ring...> line below this budget.
I would suggest changing both my and Yaan's version to be:
<Ring PatchWorldDim="32768" RingDim="5" MinMaskRadius="65536"/>
i.e. RingDim="5" instead of "3".
This should increase terrain rendering distance even further (~163 km) than the original one and the cost of slightly larger GPU memory use.

Thanks for that Ankor, I will test it and if works fine on my end I will update the mods.

hoongadoonga, as Ankor says, it isn't really fog, just the default terrain texture for textures "outside' of our normal viewing range. So far, the problem is most noticeable on clear and mostly sunny days (Good and Light weather conditions). On cloudier days, the texture is obscured by clouds and not as noticeable (but still consuming computer resources).

Ankor, that makes sense. I fooled around with the PatchWorldDim values in the compositetexturebudgets.xml file and the compositescenerybudgets.xml files last night but didn't have much luck. Hopefully, with your suggestions I will have more luck later tonight. A couple of questions: 1) Can't we just use the default compositetexturebudgets.xml file instead of the revised one? I noticed you lowered the RingDim values across the board. Does your mod only work with the reduced values? 2) Do you think the values are actually in feet instead of meters? A horizon radius of 147 km seems a little wide to me. The unit doesn't really matter, however, because the principle is still the same.

Robert, care to colloborate? I have a little time to work on this in the evening. Perhaps we can pool resources? I have a feeling that we may have to alter some of the other RingDim values for some of the other PatchWorldDim values as well.

Robert, care to colloborate? I had some time to work on this in the evening. Perhaps we can pool resources? I have a feeling that we may have to alter some of the other RingDim values for some of the other PatchWorldDim values as well.[/quote]

Out of the office will PM you this evening

Well, I'm just glad that you guys (modders) know what you're doing. All of this is way over my head.

It's amazing to me that this (already tremendous) game just keeps getting better and better even though it's been nearly nine months since the last OBD patch came out.

The lowest possible RingDim values is the whole point of my mod
I think I've explained it in the "blue triangles" thread, but performance heavily depends on RingDim squared. So, for example, RingDim=5 is 2 times "better" than 7 because 5*5=25 vs 7*7=49. The downside is increased GPU memory use, because such config causes more overlap in terrain textures.

Values are in meters, but I believe it is not the radius, but diameter. To be honest I'm not 100% sure how the outermost texture ring works, so I may be misinterpreting something.

Stupid cloud popping mod question: I thought I heard somewhere that the clouds themselves were not FPS killers. My very poor (and quite possibly misguided) understanding of the cloud popping issue is that when part of the cloud is out of view, thats what sometimes causes the engine to suddenly not render or render the cloud - resulting in the popping in and out experience.

Probably impossible to do but just for the hell of it - is it possible to mod the engine to always render the clouds, even when they are "out of view", so they won't pop in and out? If they aren't FPS killers, would rending the clouds "all the time" (if thats even possible) cause FPS or other performance issues?

Thanks for the explanation, Ankor.

Excellent questions, Hellshade. Although I'm afraid that I don't know the answer to them, your hypothesis about some of the cloud being out of view does seem to make sense. Being out of view seems to mean possibly two things: 1) part of a cloud that is off screen in your "peripheral" vision, or 2) a cloud that is partially hidden behind another cloud. Both seem to result in cloud popping. I'm afraid you will have to ask Ankor for any additional insight into the matter, though.

Recent "weather" reports indicate that far fewer "pop up" clouds may soon be arriving at a front near you. Details to follow within the next few days!

Could you please explain what the BB and PR in fog options stand for?
(It's been a long time I'm out of buisness and missing lot of things)

It's where you actually see the fog all around you (a weather condition) versus the game's distance fog horizon (which is used to limit your long distant terrain viewing and keep your FPS up).

It is by author:
BB - BuckeyeBob
PR - PanamaRed

JJJ65, I stand corrected, I misunderstood elephant.

Thaks guys, both explanations are valid!
Again, which is the actual difference between BB and PR? (in distance I suppose).

PS: I think I have BB option enabled at the moment.

orbyxP, has categorized this Mod, ias not compatible with PE.
What's the case?

Only a short question for @PR and @BB:
Do you work on the optional cloud-mod for PE? The sky/cloud-grafic in PE is better than in UE, but I miss a few variants of your mods.

Thanks for answer.

Sorry that I did not reply earlier. I haven't been monitoring this thread for a few months. So, Elephant and Becker01, let me see if I can answer your questions:


There shouldn't be any difference in the horizon distance between most of the BB clouds and the PR clouds.The difference is that if you use JJJ's mission editor, there is a button you can click to enable "Buckeye Bob's Horizon fix." This extends the view distance by removing the foggy horizon from some of the original WOFF skies (good or fair weather conditions) at a cost of somewhat decreased framerates. Un-click the radio button if you prefer higher framerates.

Actually, I can't say, as I still don't have PE yet (Gasp)! However, there is nothing that I know of that should make the mod incompatible with PE. I think you can enable it without seeing any issues.

Long story short, yes, I am currently working on an update of the cloud mod for PE. More details to follow, but for now, you should be fine using the current version.

And thank you for using my mod!

Hallo @BB,

thank you for answer and the very nice info about your mod-update in progress!!

I fly with your current version in PE because I can't do WOFF without your great cloud-mod and I haven't recogniced (significant) conflicts with PE so far.

Greetings!

Hallo, Becker01!

Thank you for your interest in the cloud mod.

A little background concerning my update. A few months ago, I thought I was only a few days away from releasing an update to the cloud mod when I learned that WOFF had just been updated to PE. This forced me to review my changes, and I realized that I had made a major mistake in my approach to updating the mod. Unfortunately, this would basically force me to start over on a project which had already consumed several months of my time. Right around that time, I also got hit with some work, health, and family issues which made it impossible for me to do any further work on the cloud mod. Hopefully, that has now passed, and I can go back to working on the update.

Instead of releasing the mod all at once, I now plan to release the mod in two stages. The first stage will contain several revisions to improve framerates and the appearance of some cloud types. This stage will also contain a handful of new cloud types. I may also revise a few of the very heavy cloud types so they aren't quite as dark and heavy or so you don't encounter them as much. This stage may also contain some revisions to the fog and mist files, but that may have to await the release of the second stage of the mod. Hopefully, I will be able to release this first stage in just a few weeks from now.

The second stage (if successful) will contain some changes that will hopefully reduce some of the left over cloud banding or popping problems. However, this part of the project will take much longer, so I don't have an estimated time when it might be ready yet. Hopefully, just a month or two, but who knows?

Thanks for more details @BB!

Take the time you need for it. Job, health and family are more important!

Greetings!

.

Thanks for applying your talents and time to this project BB, it is much appreciated. Your cloud work in the past has been stellar. PE is wonderful, but it did throw a kink into a fair number of the mods out there. Ah well, the price of progress I suppose.

Cheers!

Lou

.

Thank you for the words of encouragement! At the time I started, I didn't realize how much work I would wind up putting into the cloud mod and the historical weather mod. However, they have both turned into labors of love, and that keeps me going. It can become overwhelming, however, especially when real life intervenes.

Speaking of the historical weather mod, I am almost ready to release a new version which I hope will be even more historical than the existing version. Basically, the new version will reduce the number of flights in rainy (particularly heavy and medium rain) and extremely cloudy conditions by about 25%. I've also managed to sprinkle in a couple of weather changes for days in which i found references to the weather in the historical record. There are a number of additional changes, as well. All in all, this should mean your pilot will spend less time battling inclement weather, and more time battling enemy aircraft.

(Note: changes in the new version will probably be the most noticeable for those who also use my cloud mod, as there is a greater variety of heavy weather clouds in my mod than in the stock version. However, even users of the stock clouds should benefit from the updated weather files).

Thank you, BuckeyeBob
for this essential mod as well as your detailed answers to my questions.

Version 2.00 of the historical weather mod is now ready for download. You can find a link to the latest update and the included readme file at the end of my first post in this thread. These files are JSGME ready. Please note that this mod is separate from, but can be used in conjunction with my optional cloud mod. I hope to have an updated version of the cloud mod available sometime in the next month or two.

Enjoy!

Thanks BuckeyeBob but I don't see a link to the new version of the historical weather mod in the first post.

I love your cloud mod and am looking forward to the upcoming revised one.

I'm confused. The link to the weather mod in the first post of the thread leads to the 1.45 version of the weather mod. Is it ready the 2.00 version?

Just checking to see if you were paying attention! Seriously, I think old age is creeping galloping up on me. I thought I had edited the page, but I guess I forgot to click on the update post button. Anyways, the link at the bottom of the first post should be working now. Please note that the file on Sandbagger's web site has not been updated yet.

Bob, it is not the old age. It is the giddiness of a schoolgirl showing through due to this new release. Congrats on another fine version of this awesome mod.

Tee, hee, giggle, giggle! You are SO right, Fullofit! I mean, gag me with a spoon! Whatever!

Ive been away for a while but just wanted to pop by and say thanks Bob for yours and others continued modding work on this phenomenal title...Cheers pal

Hi Bob;

Just ran the latest update of your mod and it run very nicely. No negative impact on my performance so far.

It's galloping up on more than just you -- that's why I assumed I was confused . Thanks for the great work.

Thanks, mates!

Robert, if the mod causes any negative impact on the game's performance, then something is seriously wrong!

Thx for update and conitnuous work, BB.

Hallo @BB!

Great!!
Question: is it possible to offer the new hist. wea. mod on sandbaggers website? He can change out the old and the new version there.

Thanks and Greetings!

Bob, my comment was in relation to my experience with lightening and thunder. In the past it had an impact but that doesn't seem to be the case now.

Robert, I sense there may be a bit of confusion here. The historical weather mod is entirely separate from the cloud mod and has nothing to do with thunder and lightning. I suspect you are experiencing less lightning because it is set to only occur during the spring and summer months.

My Bad.

Time for me to wake up!

ZZZZZZ, snort, WHAT??!!

sorry to ask but has anyone else had any issues flying in 1916? 1st i get a "Historical Weather data file error EOR check =27 Record number 121" message then after clicking ok i get...

."d:\OBD Software\WoFF\OBDWW1 OVER FLANDERS FIELDS\campaigns\campaign data\weather\OFFHistoricalweather1916.text

Total records: 184 lines per record: 12 Try reinstaling WOFF to remove this error??

Any advice would be welcome..cheers all

EDIT: After a bit of testing i only get the error in 1916 BuckeyeBob. 1915,1917 and 1918 all seem fine? Im using the Ver 2 of your historical weather mod pal..Ive tested the 1.45 version and i dont get the error that i get in 1916 ver 2 Thanks

Thanks for the bug report, Adger. I have identified the error and will have a fix up in the next couple of hours.

If you are not able to wait that long, the error is in line 1451 of OFFHistoricalWeather1916.txt. The date is 26 August 1916.

Instead of

The code should be

Line 1451 should be "1" instead of "None".

Link to update now available at the end of the first post in this thread.

Massive thank you pal for your continued work on your weather and cloud mods.

You are very welcome, sir.

Also, welcome back to WOFF! I, too, have been away from WOFF for awhile, but am now working again on an update to the cloud mod. Hopefully, I will have something ready for you before the end of March.

Great news, nice one Bob

Thanks for the update BB

It's always nice to hear from mod supporters.

I may have something ready by mid-March instead of the end of next month, so in other words:

Unfortunately, the cloud popping problem has proven to be a much tougher nut to crack than I had expected. Instead of a 50 - 75% reduction, I am now looking at a 25 - 50% reduction, instead. Still, there is always hope I may eventually stumble upon the magic solution to the problem (other than getting rid of the problem clouds entirely).

On the other hand, there will be lots of other changes and improvements, including a few new clouds, reduced cloud counts (to improve framerates), modified "heavy" clouds so they aren't quite as heavy, etc. Almost every cloud type (over 100) have been modified in some way or another. I will also incorporate HarryH's preload.xml file as part of my mod to hopefully help reduce cloud popping.

Thanks, Harry.

Short update: Optimizing each cloud type is taking longer than I expected. It's a bit like "Wack-a-mole." Since many cloud types share common cloud "templates," changing one template to reduce popping in one cloud type sometimes increases it in another type. Additionally, what works for one cloud type often does not work for another cloud type. Each cloud type has to be individually tinkered with. On the positive side, however, I think I am reducing the problem by around 50%.

Looking ahead, I am also musing over what to do about heavy rain clouds in the campaign. As I see it, I have three options: First option: no change. On days with rain that you are not grounded, you will occasionally have to fly in very poor, heavy cloud, conditions. Second option: eliminate all of the very heavy rain cloud types. Due to game mechanics, you will still fly under dark grey, rainy skies, but there will be much fewer fluffy, thick clouds that you will have to fly through and which will obscure your vision. Third option: a compromise between he first two, where I eliminate two or three of the heaviest cloud types and retain a few others. Or, I could include another optional folder in the mod so you can install or uninstall these very heavy clouds as you see fit. Call it the "Stormy Weather" option, if you want.

Also, please note that each cloud will still be available in QC, this change will only affect weather in the campaign.

Anyone have any preferences?

Hi Bob. I would prefer the Optional folder solution. .

Dear Bob, I want it all! And I want it now!

Hallo BB!

Normaly I would say "As realistic / historical as possible".

More concret IMHO:
I can't imagine, that the pilots did fly through thick, big heavy clouds for longer time, so that they could not see each other. I'm sure, they have tried to avoid it.
So the second option could be the best one. And -additionally- flights under 8/8 overcast sky are rare in WOFF with default.
On the other side it is very difficult to find the most realistic solution. So maybe it is the best, to offer all 3 options. Then everybody can handle it as he likes it.

I like options one and three the most (option three for those who feel that it's not realistic to fly in awful weather, in WWI crates). I'll take both options please, especially the first one, since I'm a glutton for punishment in the WW1 flight sim world . Your work on the cloud/weather mods. is appreciated.

Footnote to my thoughts above: if you want to streamline the development process of the weather/cloud mods. BB, I would recommend option three as the best one - still retains the gritty dignity of option one but is probably closer to historical realism if we believe that regular flying in awful weather wasn't encouraged in WW1.

(I have nothing against the option 2 variant but it may be too reminiscent of overcast skies in First Eagles 2 that way, i.e., bland and not so inspiring; the TW sims do clear, scattered, and broken skies well, but overcast conditions...with absence of volume/texture to the cloud masses, for the most part, it just doesn't have the same kind of magnificence that current bad weather does in WOFF.)

Anyway, good luck with completion of this very valuable mod. for WOFF.

Von S

Ha! That does seem to be the common consensus.

Thank you for the feedback. Their are pluses and minuses to each approach. I agree that it is historically inaccurate to fly in extremely cloudy/rainy conditions. On the other hand, like VonS, I know that many of us (myself included), are gluttons for punishment and don't mind the occasional challenge of flying in undesirable conditions.

Fortunately, it shouldn't be too difficult to provide several weather options, including a default "light" heavy weather option and a heavier "stormy weather" option. I can tinker with the number of heavy clouds in the stormy weather option so you won't see them quite so often.

Becker01--I assume you are using the latest version (2.01) of my Historical Weather mod. It reduces the number of rainy days where you are required to fly and also reduces the chances of heavy and medium precipitation on days when you do fly.

VonS--Thank you for the continuing work on all of your mods!

P.S. The update will also have slightly reduced wind speeds. For example, there are now three cloud types that have wind speeds of 6 m/sec. I have reduced that to only one cloud type in the update. I also cut back slightly on the number of cloud types with wind speeds of 5 m/sec. This will make flying in the early war period just a little easier.

90% done?*









*but 10% of the work....

Okay then.

I am at the stage where I could use the help of a few beta testers. Ideally, I would like at least one person who uses my mod with JJJ's Mission Editor and at least one person who does not. Please send me a PM if interested.

Depending on the response, I should have something ready for testing in a day or two.

@BB

I would like to help you, but I'm too busy to test it seriously at these weeks. Sorry!
I hope, you have some members for the test.

Greetings!

That's fine, Becker. I understand how busy one can be these days, what with viruses and panic buying and what not. Thank you for your interest, though!

Anybody else willing to lend me an hand? So far, I have just one volunteer.

Come now, there's a war on!!

Bob

I will jump in and do some testing for you, providing you can outline some guidelines of what needs to be looked at.

Best Regards

Thank you for the offer, Robert. How much time do you have to spare? Currently, I have four testers, but one or two may not have a lot of time to devote to testing right now, so if you have some time I can certainly add you to the list. Or, would you prefer if I put you "on call" for help as needed?

I don't anticipate any technical issues to crop up, at least any that I can fix without access to the game code, so this beta is mainly to get feedback from testers in as great a variety of weather conditions as possible. It's simply not possible for me by myself to test every single cloud type in every weather condition at any different altitude.

Cheers!

The beta is progressing apace, so now is your last chance to provide input, identify a problem (other than cloud popping or flashing), or make a request for something that you would like to see in the mod.

One question I have for users of the current, 2.9.2 version: what would you like for me to do about fog and mist? I can leave it pretty much as it now is, or get rid of the low level, flat clouds (at the cost of atmosphere) that tend to be responsible for most of the flickering at ground level. Anyone want to share their thoughts on the matter?

Hallo @BB,

short answer:
Please don't decrease the low level fog and flat clouds!
I look forward to your mod, all different types of clouds and specially the 8/8 overcast / cloudlayer.

Greetings!

Becker01, I had to look up your reference to 8/8 clouds, and once I did that I see that you are a glutton for punishment.

The more (clouds) the merrier, right? Never fear, there will still be plenty of opportunities for lots of 8/8 sky conditions, just not quite as many as before.

There are no 8/8 clouds in WOFF right out of the box, so if you want to get that fix, my mod is a good place to start.

I will also preserve the option to keep all low level clouds. Basically, there will be a normal, "all clouds" option, as well as a light, "fewer heavy clouds" option.

Last chance to chime in!

I'll be posting my completely overhauled version of the cloud mod tomorrow. Until then, here is a section from the readme, detailing some of the important changes:

• New: Entirely revised version. Almost every existing cloud in OCM 3.0.0 has been completely revised and optimized in order to improve frame rates, improve overall appearance, and significantly reduce the appearance of cloud "popping" in the game. While some amount of cloud popping is inevitable due to the CFS3 game engine, version 3.0.0 reduces cloud popping by approximately 50% from previous versions of the mod. Note: In order to eliminate as much cloud popping as possible, I also recommend that you activate HarryH's No Cloud Pop Mod, which is fully compatible with OCM 3.0.0
• New: Light Weather Option. Per user request, this option removes ten heavy cloud types from the campaign to reflect that many missions in the Great War were cancelled due to poor flying conditions. Low level fog and mist effects are also reduced in this option. If you prefer the "challenge" of flying in any number of different weather conditions, including very cloudy and stormy weather conditions, activate the Full Weather Option.
• New: Nine new clouds, including four additional "light" rain or snow clouds. Three original WOFF clouds that were not included in previous version of the OCM have also been slightly revised and included with this version. Overall, the presence of these new clouds should result in somewhat improved flying conditions in both "heavy" and "rainy" weather conditions, even with the Full Weather Option. The full list of additional clouds in 3.0.0 can be found at the end of the readme.
• Weather folders have been tweaked in order to accommodate new cloud types and provide a better balance between good, light, and heavy weather conditions.
• Slightly reduced the appearance of fog and misty weather conditions, as these clouds are particularly affected by cloud popping.
• Wind speeds adjusted slightly to improve balance between good and poor weather conditions.

I've been working on this update off and on for the last 10 months or so. Please raise a toast to my beta testers, 77_Scout, Fullofit, HarryH, and VonS.

Thanks for all your efforts Bob and that extends to the beta testors. We are so lucky to have so many contributing modders here!
Your work is much appreciated. I for one will be using your mod permanently as I have with your previous releases.

Cudos to you.

Thanks, Robert. It's always nice to hear that one's work is appreciated, even if it's for modding a computer game. Although it has been a lot of work, it has also been a pleasure to contribute, if only in a small way, to the sim we all love.

I recommend that everyone upgrade to the new version. In addition to the new clouds, there are a ton of visual and performance improvements as well. While far from perfect, I think most people will be pleased with the results.

Please note that I have created two versions of the mod: a full version and a light version. WOFFER's who had decided against using the 2.9.2 version because of cloud popping, banding, and flashing may want to give the new version a try, particularly the light version.

I'll get the new version posted as soon as the cat stops napping on my lap!

Bob, what’s her name?

She is a he!

He came to me pre-named as "Velvet." He was a solid, black cat, with just a hint of brown. Now that he is older, the brown is more noticeable.

I'll see if i can upload a photo...



Velvet1

.

Thanks as always Bob for your time, talent, and efforts on this exceptional cloud mod of yours, it is much appreciated. I look forward to giving the latest version a try!

.

Mostly time and effort, Lou. I'm not sure talent had anything to do with it!

Okay, now that the cat has cooperated, here is the link to the new, improved, version: WOFF UE PE OCM 3.0.0

I will also post a link at the end of the first post on this thread and (eventually) send the file to Sandbagger.

Enjoy! Please post any questions or observations on this thread.

Thank you, BB!

Thank you, Sir! Salute!

People, this update would not have been possible without Fullofit's help and encouragement. He is a prince among men, or at least flight simmers.

Well, I wouldn’t go that far. You don’t want this title to go to my head and start changing my profile to “Prince formerly known as Fullofit.”

Not to mention that you would also need a funky, guitar aircraft shaped symbol, to boot!

Thanks BuckeyeBob (and testers).

Yep, Thx BB and the testers.

Hallo @BB

Thanks for your mod!!
I haven't found it on Sandbaggers modpage and then I have tried your dropbox, because you have written, that I don't need an account only for download. Yes, indeed, it has functioned. So I have downloaded your historical weather mod too.
And now I must test, test and test …

Glad you were able to download the mods, Becker!

Let me know if you have any questions, and be sure to share your impressions, as well.

In quick combat I have tested some cloud variations now (all is too much) and I could see some new in compare to 2.92.
My favorites (so far) are the BB and PR Fog variations, because they simulate the stratus-layer, you can fly under, very well.

Stratus you have had in RedBaron too much, in ROF and WOFF not enough. So … Thanks!

And THANKS to the "Tester", who have helped you!

BUG REPORTS

I was watching one of the fine videos made by Fullofit of one of his flights for April 5, I believe, and I noticed a fair amount of cloud popping/flashing. While I did my best to eliminate such annoyances, I have found that the problem can be quite specific to certain factors such as altitude etc.

As I can't test every possible situation, I would like to encourage those of you who use my mod to make me aware of any problems you may notice by sending me a bug report. All that needs to be done is to write a short sentence or two explaining the issue and what you may have been doing at the time (looking around, climbing, diving, etc.) along with a saved copy (make sure to save it before you fly your next mission) of either the OffDynamicWeatherMission.xml file or the mission.log file from Jara's mission editor program. This will help me to track down the problem.

If you need any help locating either of these files, just let me know. You can post your reports either here or by sending me a PM.

Thanks.

Bob, you've got a lot of catching up to do if you're only on April 5

Don't you know I've invented time travel? It may be April 13 for you, but for me...???

Oh, and MvR has assured me personally that his monocle cleaning compound is 100% authentic. He gets a 10% cut on all ebay sales.

Lou will be ecstatic to lean of this.

.

Oh, I knew it was the real deal. It did come with a Xeroxed copy of the letter of authenticity from Mrs. Von Richthofen after all, and there's no faking that.

.

Version 2.02 of the Historical Weather files is now available, correcting an error in the OFFHistoricalWeather1915.xml file.

Thank you to WalleysWorld and JJJ65 for bringing this error to my attention.

The link to 2.02 can be found at the end of the first post of this thread..

bump

Update: 11.4.2021

I can confirm that v. 2.02 of the Historical Weather mod is fully compatible with BHaH2! Activate the usual way, with JSGME.

I have also looked at the OCM, and it also appears to be compatible, although a few features will not be fully implemented until JJJ's Mission Editor is made compatible with BHaH2. OBD also made a few minor changes to a few cloud files, but that does not appear to affect whether the mod works or not.

Now that BHaH2 is out, I also plan to update the OCM in another of my continuing efforts to cut back on the annoying cloud popping and flashing. For this, I would like to benefit from your assistance. The next time you fly a campaign mission where you encounter significant cloud popping or flashing, whether you use the cloud mod or not, please reply to this thread, briefly describe the problem, and attach a copy of the OFFDynamicMissionWeather.xml file to your post. This will help me to identify the clouds which are contributing the most to this problem. Just make sure to copy the file before you fly the next mission, because the OFFDynamicMissionWeather file changes when you click the button to start your next mission.

This will really help me to solve this nagging problem. Thanks to any and all who participate.

Hey BB. I just went flying through some thick clouds. Lots of pops, both vertical and horizontal.

<Weather Name="OFFDynamicWeather WPrecip">
<BackgroundWeather precipType="Snow" skyboxCloudType="ThickClouds" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" fogColor="4284111450" Windspeed="0" windDir="278">
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusSmallfluffyR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="40000" CloudCount="66" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusfluffyR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="45000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="400" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusFluffyLarge.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="35000" CloudCount="52" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="700" fogColor="4287542759"/>
</BackgroundWeather>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="1" windDir="111" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N50 0" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N50 0" Lon="E1 15" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCirroCumulus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="10000" CloudCount="9" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="20600" MaxAltitude="20600" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloNimbus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="16000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="20000" CloudCount="67" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="15000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1600" fogColor="4285164135" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="1" windDir="112" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E1 15" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCirroCumulus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="10000" CloudCount="9" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="20600" MaxAltitude="20600" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloNimbus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="16000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="20000" CloudCount="67" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="15000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1600" fogColor="4285164135" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="109" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N50 45" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N50 45" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E1 15" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCirroCumulus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="10000" CloudCount="9" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="20600" MaxAltitude="20600" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloNimbus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="16000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="20000" CloudCount="67" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="15000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1600" fogColor="4285164135" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="116" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N51 0" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N51 0" Lon="E1 15" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="25000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="30000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudFog.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="8000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="900" MaxAltitude="1300" fogColor="4288987369" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="113" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E1 15" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusSmallR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="40000" CloudCount="66" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="500" MaxAltitude="500" fogColor="4287542759"/>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="45000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="400" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759"/>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusFluffyLarge.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="35000" CloudCount="52" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="700" fogColor="4287542759"/>
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="112" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N51 45" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N51 45" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E1 15" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusSmallfluffyR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="40000" CloudCount="66" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="45000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="400" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759"/>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusFluffyLarge.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="35000" CloudCount="52" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="700" fogColor="4287542759"/>
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="109" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N52 15" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N52 15" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N52 0" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N52 0" Lon="E1 15" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusSmallfluffyR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="40000" CloudCount="66" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="45000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="400" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759"/>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusFluffyLarge.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="35000" CloudCount="52" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="700" fogColor="4287542759"/>
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="1" windDir="112" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N52 30" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N52 30" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N52 15" Lon="E1 0" />
<Point Lat="N52 15" Lon="E1 15" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="25000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="30000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudFog.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="8000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="900" MaxAltitude="1300" fogColor="4288987369" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="111" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E1 30" />
<Point Lat="N50 0" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N50 0" Lon="E1 30" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCirroCumulus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="10000" CloudCount="9" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="20600" MaxAltitude="20600" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloNimbus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="16000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="20000" CloudCount="67" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="15000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1600" fogColor="4285164135" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="112" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E1 30" />
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E1 30" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCirroCumulus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="10000" CloudCount="9" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="20600" MaxAltitude="20600" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloNimbus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="16000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="20000" CloudCount="67" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="15000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1600" fogColor="4285164135" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="113" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N50 45" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N50 45" Lon="E1 30" />
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E1 30" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusSmallfluffyR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="40000" CloudCount="66" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="45000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="400" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759"/>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusFluffyLarge.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="35000" CloudCount="52" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="700" fogColor="4287542759"/>
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="110" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E1 30" />
<Point Lat="N51 0" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N51 0" Lon="E1 30" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="25000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="30000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudFog.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="8000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="900" MaxAltitude="1300" fogColor="4288987369" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="110" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E1 30" />
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E1 30" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCirroCumulus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="10000" CloudCount="9" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="20600" MaxAltitude="20600" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloNimbus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="16000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="20000" CloudCount="67" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="15000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1600" fogColor="4285164135" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="1" windDir="113" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N51 45" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N51 45" Lon="E1 30" />
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E1 15" />
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E1 30" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCirroCumulus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="10000" CloudCount="9" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="20600" MaxAltitude="20600" fogColor="4285164135" />
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<Point Lat="N52 0" Lon="E2 30" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCirroCumulus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="10000" CloudCount="9" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="20600" MaxAltitude="20600" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloNimbus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="16000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="20000" CloudCount="67" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="15000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1600" fogColor="4285164135" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="1" windDir="111" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N52 30" Lon="E2 15" />
<Point Lat="N52 30" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N52 15" Lon="E2 15" />
<Point Lat="N52 15" Lon="E2 30" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCirroCumulus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="10000" CloudCount="9" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="20600" MaxAltitude="20600" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloNimbus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="16000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="20000" CloudCount="67" Lightning="NoLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4285164135" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="15000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1600" fogColor="4285164135" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="1" windDir="112" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E2 45" />
<Point Lat="N50 0" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N50 0" Lon="E2 45" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="25000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="30000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudFog.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="8000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="900" MaxAltitude="1300" fogColor="4288987369" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="1" windDir="113" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E2 45" />
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N50 15" Lon="E2 45" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusSmallfluffyR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="40000" CloudCount="66" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusfluffyR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="45000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="400" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusFluffyLarge.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="35000" CloudCount="52" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="700" fogColor="4287542759"/>
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="111" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N50 45" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N50 45" Lon="E2 45" />
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N50 30" Lon="E2 45" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusSmallR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="40000" CloudCount="66" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="500" MaxAltitude="500" fogColor="4287542759"/>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="CloudCumuloStratusR.xml" CloudType="PartialClouds" CloudRadius="45000" CloudCount="60" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="400" MaxAltitude="600" fogColor="4287542759"/>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusFluffyLarge.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="35000" CloudCount="52" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="600" MaxAltitude="700" fogColor="4287542759"/>
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="1" windDir="112" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E2 45" />
<Point Lat="N51 0" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N51 0" Lon="E2 45" />
</Bounds>
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudCumulusCongestus.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="25000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1000" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudStratusR.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="30000" CloudCount="70" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="1200" MaxAltitude="1500" fogColor="4288987369" />
<CloudLayer cloudfile="cloudFog.xml" CloudType="ScatteredClouds" CloudRadius="8000" CloudCount="50" Lightning="noLightning" MinAltitude="900" MaxAltitude="1300" fogColor="4288987369" />
</WeatherObject>
<WeatherObject precipType="HeavyRain" MaxAltitude="1700" MinAltitude="-100" Windspeed="2" windDir="109" >
<Bounds>
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E2 30" />
<Point Lat="N51 30" Lon="E2 45" />
<Point Lat="N51 15" Lon="E2 30" />
&

Thanks, Todd. That's the file, but instead of copy and paste, will simhq let you attach the file instead?

With the release of patch 1.07 and the associated cloud fixes therein (I wonder who is the brilliant and devastatingly handsome person behind that fix) I will have to update a few OCM files to avoid it overwriting the revised BHaH2 files. You can still use the mod, but some of the cloud flashing fixes in BHaH2 will not work as well. Fortunately, it should be fairly easy to fix the OCM in order to implement these improvements.

Please stay tuned....

Thanks for info @BB!
I will add this to your mod in the mod-list on CA this weekend.

Greetings!

Thanks, Becker01!

A (relatively) brief update:

In contrast to my original intention to release a quick update to the OCM that would mainly focus on revisions to the 70 or so cloud types in the mod, I have instead decided to focus on a more extensive revision that will also focus on a substantial re-working of the underlying cloud files which make up the basic elements for the cloud types that exist in the game. Basically, I have come to the conclusion that many of the original cloud files that came with the original CFS3 are "porked." A few of these changes made it into the 1.14 BHaH2 patch, but more should appear in the OCM, with its greater number and variety of cloud types.

Although I won't be able to eliminate all forms of cloud flashing, the changes I have already made to several cloud files seem to have had a beneficial impact, both in terms of some forms of cloud flashing, as well as on the overall appearance of several different cloud types.

Although I don't yet have an ETA for the release of the update, I expect it will be closer to weeks rather than months. I hope the wait will be worth the delay.

@BB

Thanks for the update, looking forward to release day!

Regards.

Fube

Cheers Bob, looking forward to the next release of OCM also.

Great news Buckeye! It's been my major pet hate of WoFF for many a long year. Any improvement is welcomed.

Thank you gentleman! I have posted a few pics of my work in progress over at combatace. Please check them out!

Love what you have done so far.

@BB,

Just taken a peek over at CA, looking good


Regards.

Fube

Thank you, PR and Fubat.

PR, I think I managed to figure out how to reduce that "bowl effect" we discussed a while ago. It involves a combination of messing with the altitude in the cloud type file, along with the minHeight and maxHeight values and maxYOffset and minYOffset values in the cloud file file, plus a whole lot of trial and error tinkering.

Now, if only I could find the magic formula for getting rid of cloud flashing! What I could really use is someone like Ankor or 40L0M who knows something about editing .dds files or DX shaders programming!

I think you are doing a fantastic job.

You are solving a problem from long ago when it comes to the Fog and Haze in the game.

With your fix, we can properly show those two type of weather correctly in WOFF.

Was there ever a Sun Mod to decrease the size. I poked around in the suneffect.xml but haven't figured it out yet? I am still using and loving you OCM BB. Thanks.
Also a question please BB. Is 40LM's Effects(FX) , skybox and ground season textures compatible with your OCM?

S!Blade<><

I've also poked around in the suneffect.xml file but I haven't permanently changed anything. While it might be possible to change the size of the corona, to change the size of the orb or disk probably requires editing some .dds files, which may be easy or hard to do. Ironically, graphics really isn't my thing, the cloud mod is almost exclusively based on changes to cloudfile.xml and weather.xml files.

If I recall, while 40LoM's cloud textures work perfectly fine with the OCM, I'm not sure about his skybox and ground texture mods. I don't think they conflict with any files in my mod, but they may cause some of the skies to look slightly different. I don't think it will hurt to try them out with the OCM, though.

Cheers!

40LM created a smaller moon, but not sun.

The reduced sun mod was asked about several years ago and Pol said (IIRC) that you reduce it in one of AnKor's mod files by changing some numbers, but I can not remember which file or numbers.

BuckeyeBob, I saw this tonight in Campaign using your OCM. Maybe you have already seen this? It looked like a grid overhead fro a while. WOFF PE.

S!Blade<><

Yup. One of the things I hope to fix in OCM 4.0.

ALERT to users of BH&HII CCFA

A new update to "WOFF 0 BH&HII - Consolidated Custom Facilities Airfields Mod" is soon to be released by Sandbagger.
It is version 1.4, which is required if you are using JJJ65's "Mission Editor". It contains a correction which otherwise would cause Mission Editor to fail in the 1918+6 Period.

- This release has corrections to the 1918+6 Periods “.csv” file for JJJ65’s Mission Editor. The header line was erroneously shuffled to the end of the file."

Regards

Blade, I forgot to ask: which suneffect.xml file were you poking around in? The three files you need to change are in the WOFFScenery/Weather/Lighting Heavy, Normal, and Overcast folders. I believe the suneffect.xml file in the main OBDWWI folder gets overwritten by one of these files, depending on the weather state. That may be why you were not noticing any changes when you were poking around.

For those who are still following along, I have another status update.

As usual, this project is taking much longer than I expected. Every time I think I have fixed something so it looks good at one altitude, it looks bad at another altitude, sometimes with no clear rhyme or reason. However, most of that looks fixed for the most part. Keep in mind, however, that almost all of my work on the update to this point involves only the high-level clouds and the low-level haze and fog clouds. The fluffy mid-level clouds that tend to have some issues with clouds flashing off and on in front of each other still has to be worked on (although some of the work I have done on some of the haze clouds should take care of some of that, I hope). At this point, however, I think I can say that I have finally completed work on fixes to most of the old cloudfiles as well as created some new cloudfiles of my own. Now, it will be mostly a matter of putting these cloudfiles together into different combinations to create the actual cloud types you will see in the game. This will likely take me another 2 -4 weeks.

In the meantime, I have put together a few of my favorite cloudfiles for you to see. Please take a look at the attachments at the end of this post. Highlights of the new clouds will be:

1) Less cloud flashing and popping, particularly at high and low levels. However, please note that it is impossible for me to eliminate all cloud flashing, popping, or clipping in the game.
2) Better transitions between flat cloud layers so as to reduce cloud banding. Still a work in progress, particularly for mid-level fluffy clouds, but much better for thin haze clouds.
3) Somewhat better framerates than in OCM 3.0.
4) The addition of better haze and fog clouds with less cloud flashing, with a slight reduction in "fogginess," particularly at low levels. d

Anyway, I have a lot more fun tools to play with, so back to the salt mines! Thanks!

Looking great Bob, thank you for your hard work in continuing to at least try to reduce the cloud flicker\popping

Looking good mate!

Can't wait Mr. Buckeye! Looking fantabulous Sir.

S!Blade<><

I had to take a break for a week or two, but hopefully I will be back up and running shortly. I continue to make small discoveries that I hope will improve the final product, but I can't make any guarantees. For some clouds, it seems you will experience some popping or flashing at certain altitudes or flying conditions, no matter what I do. My job is to try and limit those conditions as much as possible, but I am afraid I cannot eliminate them entirely.

Thank you for your patience!

Cheers Bob, appreciated mate.

Thanks, Adger.

A brief update: I am (slowly) working my way through all the weather files and replacing many of the old cloud files with my new and improved cloud files. Usually, this is straight-forward, but occasionally, I run into problems. For example, in the process of replacing many of the old haze cloud files with the newer ones, I discovered that while the new files significantly reduced cloud flashing while flying in an easterly or westerly direction, this was not the case when flying in a northerly or southerly direction! (WOFF QC defaults to flying from east to west). Arrgghhh! Fortunately, I think I have managed to fix the situation, although there may still be some residual cloud flashing in some circumstances.

On the bright side, I have managed to add one or two more weather types! See BB Grey Altocumulus Clouds below:

Bob, there is no bright side when it comes to clouds and fog. Glad you’re still kickin’. You’ve been quiet lately. Head in the clouds, I guess.

Nice Grey Altocumulus Clouds Sir. I am eagerly awaiting your nest version, but enjoying your previous work now. Thanks for all you do!

S!Blade<><

Super Altocumulus clouds @BB!!

Greetings!

Yes, I am quite proud of them myself. They also look good as fog clouds down low, except that they flash horribly at low altitudes, so I won't be using them low.

Sorry for the delay in responding. It has been a rough last day or two. As I type this, I am going on not having slept for the last 30 hours. My 92 year-old father is in hospital with pancreatitis and diverticulitis, which is causing him severe pain and not allowing him to sleep. Due to Covid, there are no hospital beds available, so he has been in the ER for the last day or so. I am going to try and get a few hours of sleep and head back over there tonight.

Hallo @BB!

I'm sorry to hear that from your father! I hope for you and your familiy that all these things will be fine again.
Don't forget to take care of yourself. Try to sleep!

Greetings!

This hasn’t been a good time to get sick, but who has a choice in these matters. Keeping fingers crossed for your father. Get some rest and take care.

@BB, Hope you’re dad starts feeling better soon mate, and hopefully you’ll be able to grab a few hours kip, it’s #%&*$# at the moment pal regarding hospitals/ covid etc..Over here in Blighty you struggle to even get a face to face doctors appointment. My thoughts are with you stay strong, stay safe mate.

Sunset with OCM 4

Looks lovely Bob, but I could be biased. I’m a nature loving person by nature.

Hello BB, great shots I've been following your progress for some time and I'm most curious. While the cosmetic aspects are apparent (and very good work, might I add) I'm primarily interested in the performance benefit (as regards the so-called "popping" in and out of clouds/textures).

Can you elaborate on how successful you believe you've been thus far in trying to improve that, and how much you think is possible going forward?

The cloud popping is one of the few niggles remaining for me, and I'd give practically anything to see it eliminated - though, if I understand your comments, it's likely impossible to eliminate altogether.

What's your assessment currently? And is more improvement likely still?

Again, great work that is admired and appreciated.

Fantastic work Bob

Fine work BB - nice seeing those classic, ominous clouds from the WOFF UE era (courtesy of your previous cloud packages) being made ready for BH&H2. I'm thoroughly enjoying your ver. 2.9.2 cloud pack in my FrankenWOFF 4.18. Recommended for stock WOFF PE, instead, is ver. 3.0 of your pack (ver. 3.0 gives the odd rainy-sunshine day when used with the WOFF 4.18 exe, but ver. 2.9.2 fixes the problem).

Cheers all and happy flying even in rain (but do watch for joint and glue weaknesses in the wings ),
Von S

Thank you, gentlemen. Fullofit, too!

Work continues apace on OCM 4.0 My father has been out of the hospital for a couple of weeks now, but requires almost round the clock care. Physically, he is doing okay, but his cognitive decline continues. Although he has done pretty well for a 92-year-old, it is still sad to see a former college professor who used to enjoy reading and talking about history, philosophy, science, politics, and sports become a shell of his former self. Fortunately, I still live near him and visit him every few days, but it does tend to cut into my work on the cloud mod. It does help keep my mind off of things, though, so that is a positive.

kknowsbear, I wouldn't still be working on the OCM if I didn't think further improvement was possible! The short answer to your question is that I think I have made significant progress this time around in reducing and eliminating various forms of cloud popping, although you are correct that it is probably impossible to get rid of it altogether. There are just too many variables involved and almost an infinite variety of different cloud conditions.

The longer answer to your question is that my work on the clouds in WOFF has gone through various stages. With OCM 1.0 and 2.0, I was mainly interested in adding additional cloud types (now up to more than 80 additional). At that point, I wasn't thinking about cloud popping at all and I didn't understand anything about the cloud .dds files or cloud files. With OCM 3.0, I began to fiddle around with cloud files, but I didn't completely understand how they worked, which may have inadvertently led to an increase in cloud popping. With OCM 4.0, I began to understand that the CFS3 cloud files are basically "borked," so I set about on a complete overhaul of most of the existing cloud files in the game (located in the WOFF weather/clouds folder). At least now they will be "borked" in my own way!

For anyone who is interested, I can describe in more detail how many of these files are messed up, but that is likely another long post!

One last bit of good news: I think I stumbled upon the reason at least one of the combined light and dark cloud files was producing severe flashing of some dark clouds. This file should be fixed in OCM 4.0. So, yes, I am (slowly) making progress!

VonS--

Glad you continue to enjoy version 2.9.2 of the mod. Do you have any theories why version 3.0 sometimes produces rainy, clear days and 2.9.2 does not? I have been so busy with version 4.0 that I haven't had much time to consider why 3.0 has this problem.

Hello BB --

Ver. 2.9.2 is swell indeed on older WOFF installs. In terms of theories, all I can say is that it probably comes down to a couple of factors, one being what version of the "Historical Weather Mod" one is running in conjunction with the clouds mod.

For example, I have two vers. of the weather mod. downloaded - ver. 1.4.5 (that gives more flying in bad weather) and ver. 2.0.x (that gives more flying in good weather). I have so far never run ver. 2.0.x and keep ver. 1.4.5 loaded in my WOFF PE/UE 4.18 "backport."

So, in terms of my observations -- ver. 3.0.0 of your cloud pack worked well in my previous (fairly stock) install of WOFF PE ver. 5.0.3, and the 1.4.5 weather mod. activated (there were no strange days with simultaneous rain and clear skies). On the other hand, in my ver. 4.18 backport of WOFF, ver. 3.0.0 of the clouds pack did not play well with the 1.4.5 weather mod., but ver. 2.9.2 of the clouds works beautifully with the 1.4.5 weather mod.

My backport-thingy install has backported all PE-era terrains, and aircraft, including the Fokk. D.VI, into a UE install that uses the ver. 4.18 exe to give me SweetFX. Also backported, in conjunction with the terrains, are all of the seasons and weather-related files from my previous, fairly stock ver. 5.03 install of WOFF. In terms of mods. that I am running in my (Franken) WOFF contraption - most are PE-era mods. - there was no need to stick with UE-era mods. in such a hybrid install - no anomalies spotted - except with the ver. 3.0.0 clouds pack (that is WOFF PE-era) when it is run together with weather mod. ver. 1.4.5.

My guess at this point, therefore, is that the historical weather mod. version is important to take note of, in conjunction with what ver. of the clouds pack is being run. For ver. 2.9.2 of the clouds pack, and earlier, best is probably to stick with the ver. 1.4.5 weather mod. Weather mod. 2.0.x on the other hand should be used only with your clouds mod. ver. 3.0.0 and above. The ver. 1.4.5 weather mod. may be more "forward-compatible" than ver. 2.0.x of the weather mod., since it worked well for me when I had my fairly stock WOFF PE 5.03 installed, together with your ver. 3.0.0 clouds pack running in WOFF PE. I wouldn't be surprised if weather mod. ver. 1.4.5 continues to behave well even with your latest ver. 4.0.x of the clouds pack that you are working on for BH&H2 -- the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that there is less risk of simultaneous sunny/raining anomalies with weather mod. ver. 1.4.5 -- no matter what ver. of WOFF or what ver. of your clouds mod. is being run, but keep in mind that these are only my observations from what I've been running on my rig.

At this point I would, at any rate, not recommend weather mod. 2.0.x for WOFF UE-era (or hybrid UE-era installs of WOFF) - only for PE-era and later, and that it be used only with your clouds mod. 3.0.0 or later (not with ver. 2.9.2).

The other possible factor related to weather patterns/anomalies may be the WOFF executables themeselves, However, I doubt that there is something hard-coded into WOFF exe 5.x or later, as compared with WOFF exe 4.x or earlier, and that controls/randomizes the frequency of cloudy days versus sunny days when flying in WOFF. The same logic would apply to WOFF exe 6.x or later (BH&H2) -- I think the more important factor is what I have written above regarding cloud mod. and weather mod. combinations.

In terms of BH&H2, I am so far only running stock weather patterns in it, and the slightly enhanced 1 MB+ sized clouds found in the old 4L0M standalone clouds pack that dates to the WOFF UE-era - so I can't offer any observations there on weather mod. and your cloud mod. combinations that work best.

Good luck with your ver. 4.x clouds pack - I look forward to it.

Von S

Thank you BB for taking the time to answer my questions. Certainly an interesting look into the matter, and given the situation with your father, it's genuinely appreciated that you should be willing to spend time on this. I personally try to avoid saying "I know how you feel", simply because I don't think it's possible for me to know how you feel, no matter what I may have experienced myself. That said, I can appreciate the circumstances - and I extend by best wishes to you and your family as you cope.

If, at some point, you can elaborate on how things are 'messed up', I wouldn't mind hearing - but I believe it's better for all if your time (whatever you can afford, mind) doing this were spent working on correcting the issues. We are lucky to have someone who is willing to commit the effort.

Now, I'll ask you to indulge one other question, if you please: Since it sounds as if the work you're doing is such a significant improvement over 'stock', one has to wonder when/whether it will at some point become part of the stock sim. No doubt, the small OBD team does their best, and it seems as if work like yours would be welcomed (though I'm sure there must be challenges, and I don't have first-hand knowledge of what they involve).

Here's why I ask: I am not given to having to deal with manually applying mods etc in order to play a game. Just my own personal perspective. I work with software and systems all day, and have for 35+ years, so when it comes to my 'off time' I just prefer to be able to enjoy something that doesn't require me to fiddle with or troubleshoot. (At that point, I normally get paid and it becomes work lol). But, as evidenced by your own ongoing effort and commitment, there are some things that can be improved upon 'out of the box'.

For me, it would be so much easier and make so much more sense - assuming the improvements are what they purport to be (and I have zero reason to doubt it) - if they were part of the sim itself.

Another factor is OBD doesn't necessarily support modded installs (as is certainly their prerogative)...so anything installed after the fact is always going to be looked at as a potential problem that isn't officially supported. Again, seems to me it would be best if this were not an obstacle.

Your thoughts?

(PS. I want to be perfectly clear here that the foregoing are my own perspectives and opinions, to which each of us is entitled. I don't wish to see a conflict raised over this...it's just a question, and a fair and reasonable one at that. Thanks).

Good points KK -- while I can't speak for BB's excellent cloud mods. and integration of said mods. into stock WOFF -- I can offer a few general observations of my own, and having worked on some mods. for WOFF over the years (such as my FM packs and GPU Tuners for WOFF/WOTR).

a) OBD is very friendly towards mods. and modding, providing that proper copyright acknowledgement is given, which is a refreshing change from many other sims. and reminds me of the best spirit of modding typical of the First Eagles 2 (ThirdWire) community, so well done on that note gents, as well as, of course, on the excellent developments to stock WOFF too

b) I am assuming that OBD is a two or three-man team at most, so they neither have the resources nor time to invest into full-time testing, support, and integration of the many mods. available for WOFF into stock WOFF; a fourth person would probably be required to be on the team and to test mods. 24/7, to troubleshoot, etc., and to make sure that all mods. are fully compatible at all times with the latest iteration of WOFF, as well as to support user concerns/questions regarding such mods. - a daunting task

c) some mods. have, as far as I know, been integrated into stock WOFF over the years, such as the "News mod." from many years back, as well as, if I'm not mistaken, ver. 1.4.x (one or two versions prior to 1.4.5) of the "Historical Weather Mod." - so mod. integration does happen into stock WOFF, on rare occasions, but (as indicated in point b, above) - it isn't possible for OBD simultaneously to troubleshoot/support all mods. and work on stock WOFF coding/development

On another, optimistic note -- 99% of mods., or so, available for WOFF UE/PE/BHAH2 are JSGME-friendly -- so a click or two, or three, is all it takes to load mods. into WOFF -- very convenient compared, for example, to First Eagles 2 where hardly any mods. are JSGME-friendly. Then again, why someone would want to run stock FE2, or make mods. easily off-loadable in FE2, is beyond my understanding.

Cheers all and happy WOFFing (stock or modded),
Von S

Thank you for the kind words, kksnowbear. Dad isn't going anywhere soon, I don't think. He's still a tough old bird! Thank you also for your endorsement of my cloud mod.

In regard to your question, I agree with VonS that OBD is very supportive of mods and the modding community. In fact, as VonS says, they have even incorporated a few mods into the stock game, including my Historical Weather mod, as well as the News mod, which I also had a hand in creating. With regard to graphics mods, I expect that OBD needs to be much more careful. In addition to changing the look of the game, perhaps in undesirable ways, the devs also have to be concerned with frame rates and overall performance. There is also the issue of continued support of the mod. What happens if they accept a mod and a problem occurs in the future? Or, perhaps a new add-on pack or update changes WOFF in a way that makes the mod incompatible? The original modder may have moved on to other games. What happens to the game then? Still, I know for a fact that they have included some graphics mods as improvements to the game. Naturally, they prefer to do it themselves, but they will accept a third-party mod as long as it meets their requirements.

I'll try and address how the original CFS3 files may be messed up in my next post.

First, I probably shouldn't have said that the files are borked. It's probably more accurate to say that the files are complex, and that the original CFS3 was likely released without adequate testing. Without going into all of the variables involved, I can say that some of the variables do seem to be mislabeled. For example, one variable is cloud height, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the height or altitude of a cloud off the ground. Instead, it seems to control the length of the cloud sprite or texture "painted" onto the sky. There are also values to control the X,Y, and Z coordinates for clouds, but they also don't work quite the way I would expect, or perhaps I just don't understand 3D coordinate systems.

Another pair of variables controls how many sprite textures are painted into the sky, but there doesn't seem to be a linear relationship between the number entered and the amount of cloud textures you see in the game. Sometimes when you increase this number, the cloud textures increase, but sometimes they decrease, instead. This pair of variables also seems to have something to do with some instances of cloud popping. For example, one of the darker cloud files was producing a good level of cloud popping of a particularly dark cloud. For whatever reason, changing the "minsprites" value from 4 to 5 seemed to stop that cloud from popping. Go figure.

Updating the cloud mod to reduce cloud popping and flashing is a lot like that. Most of it involves semi-random tweaking and testing of different values to see what effect they have. Sometimes it works, sometime it doesn't. Unfortunately, I have also found that even after updating the cloud file .xml files, each individual cloud type .xml file also has to be tweaked in order to get the cloud to look and behave the way I want it to behave. Even then, sometimes I encounter problems. For example, not long ago I thought I had cured one particular cloud of cloud popping. However, I then discovered that the cloud popping that disappeared while flying in an east-west direction reappeared when flying in a north-south direction! Back to the drawing board. After several more hours of late night tweaking and testing, I finally managed to reduce most of the cloud popping, at least in the cardinal directions. I still don't know what may happen when flying SE to NW, though!

I also believe that sun position, brightness, and skybox type may also have an influence on cloud flashing, but I don't think I can do anything about that. Fortunately, the flashing these produce does not seem to be quite as severe.

After explaining all that, does anyone want to take over my job for me?

Looks like no takers. The job is yours!
Talk about job security.

No on wants to take over my job? I wonder why???

Maybe I need to hire a few Igor's to work for me?

Thanks, VonS. I have bolded the part of your reply that highlights what I think is the actual problem, now that I have thought about it. I now remember that while working on OCM 3.0, I changed a variable in the Background weather section to fix the "blue hole" problem that existed in a few heavy cloud types in stock WOFF. With PE, I could create a grey overcast cloud that covered up this hole. For whatever reason, BHaH2 seems to have removed the overcast cloud but leaves the rain, making it appear to rain with blue skies (BHaH2 stock also has this problem of rain with a blue sky, occasionally). Fortunately, I think I have discovered a workaround for this problem which should be implemented in OCM 4.0.

Hello BB -- glad to hear that the info. I posted was helpful. It seems therefore that stock BH&H2 and WOFF 4.x.x-era installs treat weather similarly (both remove the overcast layer), whereas WOFF 5.x.x-era is perhaps more easily patch-able regarding that. This would explain why your fix for the removed overcast layer - OCM ver. 3.x.x - does not fix the rainy-sunshine day problem in WOFF 4.x.x or WOFF 6.x.x (BH&H2). I look forward to OCM 4.0, as I'm sure do many other WOFFers. (I will keep my FrankenWOFF 4.18 install therefore intact, even once I move fully to BH&H2 - since these comparative/multiple setups help to narrow down possible problems/fixes.)

Cheers all,
Von S

Great! Sounds like a plan!

I have made some progress today on the cloud mod, finding and significantly reducing the cloud flashing in four BB cloud files.

In addition to all of the fixes and improvements, there will also be at least six new cloud types in OCM 4.0, bringing the total to over 120, including all the existing WOFF clouds (revised) and around 16 clouds from Panama Red's original cloud mod, which was the inspiration for this work! The new cloud types are:

BB Grey Altocumulus Clouds
BB Light Altocumulus Clouds
BB Light Wispy Clouds
BB Overcast Sky
BB Small Grey Cumulus Clouds
BB Widely Scattered Fluffy Clouds

I still have a fair amount of tweaking and testing to do, but I do believe I can glimpse a little light at the end of the tunnel!

Hallo @BB,

WOW, great!

Just a short request:
Please cover up the blue hole again for the overcast cloud cover.


Thanks and Greetings!

Thanks, Becker01. The "blue hole" problem is more complicated than you might think, but I think I have found a workaround. An ideal solution would probably involve new skybox graphics, but I'm afraid that is beyond my capabilities at the moment.

@BB,

you are right! I haven't known the work with the blue hole. Sorry!
Nice, that you have found a wokaround.

Greetings!

Here are a few examples of my efforts to get rid of the "blue hole problem." I hope this is something close to what you had in mind. Currently, I'm not entirely sure why the sun effect is reduced in the second picture but not the fourth.

On to the front lines! With new cloud, BB Small Grey Cumulus Clouds.

And a few more sunset pics with OCM 4.0

BB -

Jaw dropping screens there. As someone who has lived WOFF 8 hrs plus/ day for the last 19 months, I thank you. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Your Cloud mod graced Oliver's many screenies before BHAH and I hope they will again.

Keep up the good work and I hope your father continues on the mend.

Best Regards,

@BB,

the blue hole-pictures:
I have used OCM till OCM 3.0 with PE. You got it to cover the blue hole over the head. And in my memory I could see the sun in the middle of the day through the cloud-laye over you; similar to picture 2 and 4.

So you are on a good way in my opinion.

Greetings!

Thank you epower. I am very happy if even a few of my cloud creations have contributed in any way to some of your wonderful DiD stories--if only to provide you with a little more "atmosphere."

@Becker01,

Thanks. Although there is still a bit of a hole there, it has been covered up more effectively, at least for heavy clouds. A cure for the sun shining brightly through overcast and dark clouds would likely either require a coding fix, or a combination of a less intensive sun effect and JJJ65's Mission Editor.

To everyone: I am getting closer to releasing a beta version of the mod for testing. If interested, please post a request in this thread.

Yes please - I would like to give the ver. 4.0 beta clouds a go both in my FrankenWOFF 4.18 and BH&H2 ver. 1.16 installs - while I'm a bit busy with real work currently, I will do my best to test things like weather anomalies, how healthy the FPS are, etc. - and will comment as soon as I can. Feel free to PM-me a link to the beta download when it's ready for testing BB.

Cheers all,
Von S

Hallo @BB,

yes! Please count me in and send me a PM (maybe you can write a short announcement in this thread before).

Greetings!

VonS and Becker01,

I will definitely send you both a PM when the beta is ready. Thanks for offering to help. Anyone else is also welcome to volunteer.

I do expect that some of my changes, particularly those which add some high level clouds and haze to eliminate the blue hole problem, will have a negative impact on frame rates. However, I do not believe this will be noticeable for most people, except perhaps those with older systems. We shall see!

Two weeks!

BTW, here is a pic of me hard at work on the cloud mod. They can be so darned frustrating at times:

The clouds or the kids?

No, mod users!

OCM 4.0 released for beta testing.

Hallo @BB,

nice! Where can I find it?

Greetings!

Hallo, Becker01.

I tried to send you a copy via a PM, but simhq said you have not enabled private messaging. At the moment, I'd prefer not to make the mod publicly available.

Hallo @BB,

I have no explanation why it was off. I have PM's. Now I have turned it on again.
Please try it and let me know.

Greetings!

I have it

Great!

WOW!

I know, you are the expert for clouds and I know your previous versions. But -to be honest- I haven't expected this result! Great!
More details via PM the next days.

Greetings!

I apologize for the recent lack of updates. I have posted some on the combatace web site, for those who are interested.

The WOFF 1.17 patch threw a bit of a wrench into my plans, as several cloud sprites were made both lighter and darker by OBD, throwing off several of my adjustments aimed at reducing cloud popping and strobing. Absent any further changes, though, I hope to have something ready for public release in a week or so, hopefully less.

I am also happy to report that I am currently working with gecko to investigate the possibility of even more additional improvements to the skyboxes and horizon. These improvements, if we can solve a few nagging technical issues, will have to wait for OCM 4.5 or 5.0, however!

Thank you, everyone, for your patience!

Cheers for the update BB.

I'd love to try the beta as well. Looks beautiful.

Once again, I apologize. I have recently been buried by real-life concerns, so I haven't had hardly any time to devote to the cloud mod. The mod itself is about 95% finished and has been for a while now. The other 5% consists of going through two or three dozen weather types and adjusting the contrast between the light and dark post 1.17 patch clouds. I could release the mod in this rough state now or wait a few more weeks and release the finished project. Fortunately, I now have a few days before the holidays to spend on tweaking the mod in an effort to get it released before the end of the year.

WW, would you like me to send you a copy of the unfinished mod now, or wait until it is ready for final release?

BB

Hallo @BB,

at first Thank You Very Much for your great and much work you have done so far!!!
IMHO I would like to suggest, that you finish the last 5% and release your mod then. But if you are tired, need a longer break, then I recommend to release the mod at the current status with the additional info, that you finish the last works with the next update.

Greetings!

I have submitted what I hope will be the final beta for testing. Assuming no problems are found and once I have updated the readme file, the mod should finally be ready for release. Stay tuned.

Big announcement coming later today!

Fantastic news BB, Merry Christmas pal.

Christmas isn't quite over yet, fellows! If you look very closely at the bottom of your chimney stocking, I think you will find one more treat: Optional Cloud Mod 4.0 is here!

From the included read me file, here is a description of some of the major changes in OCM 4.0:

Completely revised version, with significantly reduced cloud flashing, popping, and strobing. Perhaps the most significant improvement to the mod has been updates to many old cloud files, plus the addition of several new cloud files to the game. These changes are important, because cloud files are used to build the weather types that are displayed as clouds in the game. As a result, almost every cloud has improved appearance and performance. These improvements mean that I have been able to drop the “Light” version of the mod and to improve the fog and mist files so that most players will not need to delete these files in order to enjoy the mod. Finally, several new weather types have also been added to the mod, bringing the total number of "skies" in the game to more than 120!

Following is a list of many of the new features:

• New: Another almost completely revised version. Virtually every existing weather type in OCM 4.0 has been significantly revised and optimized in order to improve frame rates, improve overall appearance, and reduce the appearance of cloud "popping" and flashing in the game. Many existing cloud files have been revised, and thirty new cloud files have been created, with this aim in mind. While some amount of cloud popping is inevitable due to the CFS3 game engine, I believe that OCM version 4.0 reduces and even eliminates several forms of cloud popping that continued to exist in previous versions in both the original game and in the mod.
• New: Revised fog and mist clouds. While pretty, fog and mist files in previous versions of the mod also were plagued by significant cloud flashing and flickering, particularly at low levels. With the addition of several new cloud files and a few other modifications, cloud flashing and flickering has been significantly reduced in OCM 4.0. Of course, due to variations in computer setups and equipment, some examples of cloud flashing will still occur for some users. Most instances of cloud flashing seem to occur between 1,500 and 2,500 feet, with some variation depending on ground elevation. Above those heights, cloud flashing should be much less noticeable.
• New: Nine additional weather types. A full list of the additional clouds added in 4.0 can be found at the end of this document.
• New: More realistic haze clouds. No more streaks of thin, hazy clouds. Users will encounter a much greater variety of haze in the game, with the addition of 15 new haze and fog cloud files!
• New: Some of the very dark clouds that were introduced with the release of patch 1.17 have been lightened so they aren’t quite so dark.
• Weather folders have again been tweaked in order to accommodate new cloud types and provide a better balance between good, light, and heavy weather conditions. The appearance of bright, white clouds in overcast and rainy weather conditions has also been reduced.

Link to the mod here: WOFF Optional Cloud Mod 4.0

Hi all,
''BuckeyeBob' has released Version 4 of his Optional Cloud Mod.

The download is available in the 'User Mods Pages' (Sky Mods).

User created Sky mods

The page is dated 26th December 2021. If you don't see that date in the header block of those pages, clear your internet cache or refresh the page.

Mike

BuckeyeBob;

Is this mod BH&HII compatible? I noticed the downloaded mod file is called "WOFFUEPEOCMVer4.zip" which is a little confusing to me.

Best Regards and hope you had a great Christmas

Thanks, Mike.

Robert, yes, the mod is compatible with all versions of WOFF, but is specifically made for BHaH2. I should have made that clearer in the readme.

Readme file updated. Zip file and mod folder renamed to WOFF Optional Cloud Mod 4.0

Users should download the mod and readme file again, just to be on the safe side.

Fantastic work.. A must have mod cheers BB

New version available at Sandbagger's site and here: WOFF Optional Cloud Mod 4.1

The new version updates two fog and mist files and revises the readme file to clarify how to delete heavy weather types from the mod, if desired.

Enjoy!

Really lovely skies!

As you fly towards an idyllic sunset, you hear tak-tak-tak and bullets tear the fabric!
It is the rude awakening!

Hi all,
''BuckeyeBob' has released Version 4.1 of his Optional Cloud Mod.

The download is available in the 'User Mods Pages' (Sky Mods).

User created Sky mods

The page is dated 30th December 2021. If you don't see that date in the header block of those pages, clear your internet cache or refresh the page.

Mike

I am currently working on a small update that will further reduce blinking in mixed light and dark cumulus clouds, reduce cloud density (and blinking) in a couple of heavy clouds, reduce the chances of strobing in heavy fog, and fixes one or two minor errors. A later update will allow users to choose a "light" version of the mod which will automatically remove some of the heavier cloud and fog types, which should reduce cloud flashing, blinking, and popping even more, with only a slight loss in cloud variety and appearance.

Comments or suggestions are welcome!

BB

No comments or suggestions? Okay, I'll add a few of my own!

The update is finished and is currently being tested by my beta "team." The readme file will list most of the changes, but the main focus is on improved performance and visual appearance of various cloud types. A few cloud files that were still producing cloud popping in some weather types have been removed. Several "heavy" weather types were also revised in order to improve visual appearance and reduce cloud popping and flashing. Finally, several fog and mist weather types have been further adjusted to reduce flashing and popping, particularly at low levels. BB Fog Heavy was also removed from the campaign due to flashing issues.

The new version will also contain a "light" version of the mod, which removes several weather types that still have some flashing and popping issues. Users who are particularly sensitive to this issue may prefer to use this light version of the mod.

Cheers!

Version 4.2 of the Optional Cloud mod will soon be available at Sandbagger's site and can also be found at the end of the first post of this thread. Here is a list of the major changes:


Enjoy!

Hi all,
''BuckeyeBob' has released Version 4.2 of his Optional Cloud Mod.

The download is available in the 'User Mods Pages' (Sky Mods).

User created Sky mods

The page is dated 27th January 2022. If you don't see that date in the header block of those pages, clear your internet cache or refresh the page.

Mike

I'm curious. Of those who use the OCM, how many also use Jara's Mission Editor and how many don't? The mod can look and behave differently depending on whether the M.E. is used or not.

I should mention that the most notable difference between using the cloud mod with or without the Mission Editor is how the horizon is rendered. Users who also use the Mission Editor and the Weather Manager button will have more distant horizons on clear and lightly cloudy days, while those who don't use the Mission Editor will have a more foggy and restricted horizon. The color and opacity of the band of haze near the horizon also may not quite match the exact weather type if the Mission Editor is not used. While I can easily create a version of the cloud mod with an extended horizon for those who don't also use the Mission Editor, I don't think I can do anything about the color of the haze without the editor.

Does your horizon fog fix need to be ticked for it to have the distant horizons ect in ME mate? Cheers

Your hard work on the cloud/weather mods. is greatly appreciated BB. Since I can't stand horizon banding (immersion killer for me) - I fly either with both your clouds/weather pack and JJJ's Mission Ed. loaded, or with neither (stock cloud types/patterns and no Mission Ed.) -- I never use the extra cloud pattern packs without the Mission Ed. precisely because of those possible haze discolorations and/or horizon banding bugaboo.

Cheers all,
Von S

Adger, you'll have to ask Jara that to get a 100% correct answer, but I believe the answer to that is yes.


Thanks, again VonS. In regard to the horizon band, I might be able to create a mod to make the band is a little less noticeable, even when you use the cloud mod without Jara's Mission Editor.

Yes, the radiobutton must be ticked.

Hallo @BB,

very nice idea to develop a mod with a more extended horizon!!!; not only for user which don't use the OCM with ME but also for user, which don't use ME because they don't work with Java.

Greetings!

Hi Becker

Just curious why you don't want Java on your system.
I would like to understand your thoughts.

Best Regards

Hallo @Robert,

I have had big trouble / problems with Java a few years ago. So I decided not to work with Java any longer. And the result: In all the time till today there is no function, no program on my system for which I need Java. All works fine without it.

I hope you can understand my decision.

Greetings

Thanks BB and Jara, quick few questions to you Jara if you can shed some light...WOTR doesn’t have the 3rd party button in Workshop like WOFF, scramble missions don’t give me time to open the ME they load too quick is that correct? Also the weather manager appears and shows Bobs horizon fix does that work the same as WOFF? Plane culling has thrown up issues for me so I don’t use that option in WOTR.

Sorry I maybe should have posted this in WOTR forum ..my apologies lads.

Thanks Becker!

That is easy - simply run Mission Editor when "Weather brief" window appears.

Thank you for your reply Jara, il try that ..thanks for the ME for both sims.

Herr Becker,

Check your PM's please.

I found a minor error in the BB Large Fluffy Clouds.xml file that makes it have very few large, fluffy clouds. Fortunately, the fix is very easy to do.

First, navigate to the WOFF OCM 4.2 OBDWWI Over Flanders Fields/weather folder. Open up the Off_BB Large Fluffy Clouds.xml file with any text editor. In the third line, delete the "X" from "cloudcumulostratusX.xml" so it reads "cloudcumulostratus.xml" Save and close the file, then reload the mod. The cloud should now display correctly.