The developer behind Ultra Weather XP – the environmental improvement plug-in for X-Plane – has previewed the completed cloud and sky art, due to be packaged with the upcoming v2.5 update, though a post to the product’s Facebook page and group.
This update, which continues to build on the much-loved features of the existing v2.4.x, is expected to bring further enhancements enabled by X-Plane’s 11.30 improvements and features.One such feature that has been missing up to this point is accurate light behavior in clouds. The addition of this means the light effects on clouds and objects will be noticeable when passing through in all weather conditions and all times of day.
Multiple sky types have been added in version 2.5 – Normal and Spectacular Skies. The former is described as having “normal sun without cinematic rays and no deep foggy horizon”, while Spectacular Skies creates a deep, foggy horizon with cinematic sun rays. It’s not known if these rays and the fog are created through the use of X-Plane’s new particle system, however. Between these sky types, there are also 12 unique sky texture sets per sky type, and on top of that there are the existing 12 sets of cloud textures to choose from, though with all-updated cloud sets.
At this point there is no confirmed release date, but the post did mention the cloud transition effects have moved out of the beta stages, indicating that the development is drawing to a close in some aspects. We’ll stay on top of it and bring more news as it comes to hand.
