~ boxcarSky sets ~

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boxcar

Charter Member
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You've seen Set 1 this past week, the 6 dozen of you who've downloaded them: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php/112735-boxcar-Sky-set-1-zip Set 1 was subdued, de-saturating the textures as much as I dare for what is intended, namely- A reasonably clean sky though mildly saturated with particulates along with a completely new night sky.

Set 2 is getting very close to release. These are quite a bit brighter, indicative of the sky after a long storm front has finally moved on, leaving a gorgeous clean sky behind. Two of the fourteen texture transitions remain to finish smoothing out and one last bitmap tweak and it will be accomplished. Here are few shots of upcoming Set 2...





Sun rising





Early afternoon





Sun setting



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My goal is for no less than 10 sets over the course of these next several months. With all going well I'll make it so. Set 3 will be a sky for overcast conditions.

Break's over, time to get back to it... :onthego:

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Just pick the one you like best. The set which is already release shows the evening skies which are common for the latitude where I live. That's why I picked that set.

Cheers,
Huub
 
~ boxcarSky set2 ~

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Have uploaded the 2nd sky set, completed this afternoon. 6 versions before I got it just right. Instructions/Options are contained in the ReadMe. It should become available in our Warbirds Library shortly. A couple more screenshots, both @ 50 miles visibility...





Pre-Dawn





Nearly Noon



*edit*- They're posted now:

boxcar Sky set 2.zip​


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Thanks you, Andy, my pleasure to share the sets as they're finished. The screenshots are not the best quality, reduced to half their original width, though they give an idea of what can be expected color and light-wise. There are no preview screenshots included in the downloads so this thread will have to suffice for the present. When having the full 10 sky sets of my goal then a more detailed explanation of each set is planned in the total package with detailed installation options given, small comparison screenshots to be included giving a hint of what you can expect from each sky set. Suggest: Scrolling up this thread a bit and then back down to compare the Noon shots of each set, you'll see the difference. Here are some comparison shots for the previously-described and uploaded Set 1:





Noon





Sunrise





Sunset​


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News- With the weather being quite rainy here these past few days it's given me the opportunity to study the sky for Set 3 - Overcast textures. Started the set this morning and with only one little hickup in needing to swap 2 textures when the transitions were too abrupt light-wise, they all came together amazingly fast. Have actually been designing flight simulator skies for the better part of a decade, first for FSX although one needed FEX to take advantage of the early ones. Never have I designed a full set in just one day until today. Most of it was simple: Find a good jumping off set and de-saturate. Then de-saturate again, and then de-saturate even more. Line them up in progressive order to inspect and then once again another kiss of de-saturation. Really. A little light adjustment here, a wee color adjustment there and voilà!

Designing more realistic skies in FS2004 has personally been highly satisfying so far. After thoroughly testing all 14 of the transitions just to be sure that the textures play well together then I'll upload Set3 for overcast conditions. Here's a preview, heading over to Florence, Oregon and the area where I once lived for the better part of a year...






Sunrise - 10 miles visibilty
with Florence by the Suislaw River and the Pacific Ocean.





Noon - 20 miles visibility
looking down towards the Carl Washburne State Park





Sunset - 10 miles visibility
nearing Yachats ("YAH-hots"), a cool little community about 20 miles north of Florence​


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Not there yet with this set. At least for what I'm after, though you may like them. Too bright on the horizons and still too bright around Noon, in my estimation. This can all work for thinner overcast conditions along with 10 miles visibility though, so I'll keep working on what I'm after with a copy of this set thus far to save as a specialty set of overcast textures. Visibility examples...





Post-Sunrise
@ 10 miles visibility





Post-Sunrise
@ 20 miles visibility





Post-Sunrise
@ 30 miles visibility





Noon
@ 10 miles visibility



The horizon is darker, not lighter, on overcast rainy days. Without rain and thinner overcast, yes, then this is working. Thoughts?​

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~ boxcarSky sets 3, 4, and 5 ~

Got it figured out acceptably. At least they're pleasing to me. Specialty sets of sky textures, 3 of them, all to be uploaded together: Set- 3: Thinner overcast; Set 4: Moderate overcast; Set 5: Heavy-duty "the-street-lights-come-on" overcast. :) You've seen a preview of the lightest set, shots posted above. Set 3 works best @ 10 miles visibility, in my opinion.

Amelia helped out in testing Set 4 this morning and afternoon. She's a nice woman pilot and a very interesting person...





Dawn
@ 10 miles visibility





Noon
@ 20 miles visibility





Noon
@ 40 miles visibility​



After the successful testing of all the transitions and adjusting a few textures, had decided to pull out the stops and design a seriously-deep overcast sky set...
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Set 5: Threatening overcast conditions
The thick layer of stratus clouds are several thousand feet above the ground...



Dawn
@ 20 miles visibility






Post Dawn
@ 20 miles visibility






Afternoon
2 pm @ 20 miles visibility






Noon ...but you'd never know it :)
@20 miles visibility


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Went back to Set 3 today for a 225 nm rt, Alliance - Cheyenne, a relaxing flight to grab several more illustrations...










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Any interest in the 3 overcast specialty sets? If not then it won't hurt my feeling. Only have one but it won't be hurt. :) I'll keep plugging away on the conventional sets. You need not set the sim clouds at 100% overcast to get the effect, especially with Sets 4 & 5. 3/8 to 5/8 cloud cover has about the same effect, the sky textures "filling in". These 3 overcast sets are obviously for low-level aviation only, in the clouds or below them.
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Am pressing onward with designing a full 10 sets of sky textures independent from the sets that have been released thus far as well as releasing the 3 overcast sets to come, bringing the total to 15 different skysets. One folder will have 10 different versatile skies together to allow FS2004 to systematically change the sky each day. The package will also include individual folders containing a uniform skyset to cover all 10 days so you'll know just what you're getting every day after you find one you particularly like and want to fly for a while. This is precisely what software such as Flight Environment, REX, and FEX do when selecting and installing a set of sky textures: All of the 10 days are of the same textures. Difference is you simply need to manually install the set you desire for that day's flying or otherwise whenever desired -or- use the set with 10 different days.

Am keeping a set of folders handy containing each individual skyset to copy all 140 textures from a particular set and then paste them into the main FS2004 / Texture folder to overwrite the existing textures. Very quick and easy. Just make sure you have the existing sky textures backed up beforehand if and when you wish to switch back to them again.

Regarding skysets 3, 4, & 5 (the specialty overcast sky textures), they should all 3 be uploaded together in the next several days for anyone wanting to give them a go on occasion. Please read through the ReadMe2 that will be included for a few tips in using them. Again, these specialty overcast skysets are for lower altitude flying, below or in the clouds. Just 3 more examples of what may be experienced using these sets...






Set 3 - Lighter Overcast
20 mile visibility with 5/8 stratus a few thousand feet above






Set 4 - Moderate Overcast
20 miles visibility with 5/8 stratus a few thousand feet above






Set 5 - Deep Overcast
20 mile visibility with heavy rain and 5/8 cumulus a few thousand feet above​


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