Cloud Editor issue

[Greebo]

I've been playing around with the cloud editor and have found something odd with it. The Down Time HR box should determine the delay between each instance of a cloud formation. I would have assumed this meant that if I put 0.00 in this box the cloud formation would restart as soon as it ended.

This isn't what happens however. The cloud editor takes the cloud formation's life time, adds this to the number in the Down Time HR box and makes this the delay time for the formation to restart. So if the cloud formation lasts one hour and I add a one hour delay in the Down Time HR box it takes two hours to reappear. The only way to get a cloud formation to repeat instantly is to put a minus number in the Down Time HR box that is equal to the number in the Life Time box. The delay timing in the game seems to match the timing in the Cloud Editor.

Is this what should be happening or should I post this as a bug?

Also in an MA terrain is it permissible to put a minus number in the Down Time HR box to make the formation repeat straight away?

[Nefarious]

I'm a cloud editor noobie, and have yet to get into the new version, but I was told to set those numbers to .02 for quick respawn.

[MachNix]

Not sure if we have the right definition of Life Time.

The Life Time textbox is the time it takes for the first row of clouds to travel from the AW-Line to V.  (I have to jump to a different Front and back to get the Life Time Textbox to update after making changes to the location of V or the Speed.)  The actual lifespan of the front is the time it takes for the last row of clouds to go from D to V.  So that last row of clouds has to fall off the end of the conveyer belt at V before the first row of clouds can appear at AW with a Down Time of 0.  By setting the Down Time to the negative of the time shown in Life Time Textbox, you are restarting the Front when the first row of clouds reach V.

If you are trying to have continuous clouds over an area, recommend you use more then one front rather then negative down times.

The editor does not report the lifespan of the front and you have to calculate it yourself.  Clouds now cover a 16 square mile area.

[Greebo]

Thanks Machnix, that makes it clear. I had already decided to go with a second set of clouds and have set it up so both sets travel in opposite directions and end at the same places to avoid the formations appearing and disappearing suddenly every hour.

Wondering how many clouds I can have running at once now. The previous cloud limit for an MA terrain was 900 but its going to be a lot less with these big formations. Currently my setup has a peak of 80.

[hitech]

It is now not so much the quantity, but rather making sure you don't have them overlapping so that you would be seeing more then a few at a time.

HiTech

[hitech]

also greebo, did you see the sweath command, it allows you to alt tab from ah and editor, save and then reload the weather with out having to exit either program

HiTech

[68falcon]

.sweath works nicely 

[Greebo]

Thanks, I saw the sweath command. I used it to create a load of weather files with a single front but each with different type of cloud. It made it easy to compare the look of all the editor's cloud types in the game.

I made sure none of the cloud fronts overlap, a few of them touch edge to edge.

[MachNix]

It is now not so much the quantity, but rather making sure you don't have them overlapping so that you would be seeing more then a few at a time.

HiTech

Need a little more guidance on what is allowed.

Typically there is a high thin layer that covers the entire terrain to give the sky some dimension with lower level cloud fronts scattered around.  That makes two overlapping fronts so having absolutely no overlapping fronts seems a bit extreme on the one side and having 10 overlapping fronts looks to be a bit extreme on the other.  The most I can see myself using is four: A high thin layer, a cumulonimbus tower with some stratus clouds at the base, and maybe something on top.

I would hate to design some nice effect only to find it crashes the server or ruins frame rate.  Is there someway to tell if things are going badly?

Would like to see someday the clouds have a gradient from slight grey on the bottom to white on top and have a control to vary the overall shade from grey to white so we can create some nimbo-looking stuff.

[hitech]

If you try mixing layers and clouds , they may not sort correctly if the cloud goes threw the layer, or multiple layers.

Would like to see someday the clouds have a gradient from slight grey on the bottom to white on top and have a control to vary the overall shade from grey to white so we can create some nimbo-looking stuff.

The all ready do with bump mapping on.

HiTech

[Greebo]

 I have a thin "Layer Heavy" at 16K across the whole terrain with nimbus fronts below and stratus fronts above. None of the nimbus or stratus fronts cross in the vertical plane and none of them pass through the layer.

[hitech]

I have a thin "Layer Heavy" at 16K across the whole terrain with nimbus fronts below and stratus fronts above. None of the nimbus or stratus fronts cross in the vertical plane and none of them pass through the layer.

My guess is that should work.

HiTech