odd effect from dome light

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Profs72
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Posts: 23
Joined: 18 May 2021, 09:38

odd effect from dome light

Post by Profs72 »

Setup:
P3DV4 latest
i7 9700
16G RAM
2060 SUPER

So, about a week ago, I purchased the A2A Cherokee 180 (P3D version) from Justflight. All is going well, I've enjoyed just over 7 hours of flight, according to the engine. except for 1 thing. When I switch on the dome light, it just becomes a pixelated mess on the cieling where one would normally see a smooth glow from a light. Is there anything I can do? Thanks!
Last edited by Profs72 on 18 May 2021, 12:43, edited 2 times in total.

Profs72
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Posts: 23
Joined: 18 May 2021, 09:38

Re: No windshield rain + odd effect from dome light

Post by Profs72 »

Capture.PNG
Capture.PNG (182.57 KiB) Viewed 5404 times

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Nick - A2A
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Posts: 13734
Joined: 06 Jun 2014, 13:06
Location: UK

Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Nick - A2A »

Hello Profs and welcome - glad to hear you're enjoying the Cherokee.

I haven't seen anything before like the issue pictured in your screenshot. Please can you let us know what graphics settings you're using in P3Dv4, and also whether you have any shader mods or similar programs installed which change the way visuals are rendered in the sim.

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

Profs72
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Posts: 23
Joined: 18 May 2021, 09:38

Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Profs72 »

I use Tomatoshade but disabled it to test if it was the issue or not. It was still strange looking after disabling it.
Here's the graphics section of my config:

SCREEN_CAPTURE_MAX_JOBS=10
VIDEO_CAPTURE_WIDTH=720
VIDEO_CAPTURE_HEIGHT=480
VIDEO_CAPTURE_FPS=30
VIDEO_CAPTURE_BIT_RATE=3200000
VIDEO_CAPTURE_IS_THREADED=True
VIDEO_CAPTURE_INFO_SEND_RATE=20
VIDEO_CAPTURE_MAX_FRAME_SIZE=500000
VIDEO_CAPTURE_TTL=255
HDR_BRIGHTNESS=1.000000
HDR_BLOOM_THRESHOLD=3.000000
HDR_BLOOM_MAGNITUDE=0.100000
HDR_BLOOM_BLUR_SIGMA=0.800000
TONEMAP_DAY_EXPOSURE_KEY=0.280000
TONEMAP_NIGHT_EXPOSURE_KEY=0.130000
HDR_SATURATION=0.690000
MAX_POINT_LIGHTS=5000
MAX_SPOT_LIGHTS=5000
RS_MIN_OBJECT_PIXEL_RADIUS=2.000000
MAX_TEXTURE_REQUEST_DISTANCE=1000.000000
REFLECTION_PROBE_DELAY=20
ViewGroup_Number=-1
MAP_DRAW_THREADED=1
MIPMAP_VC_PANELS=1
TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=4096
NUM_LIGHTS=4
COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1
AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1
LANDING_LIGHTS=1
DYNAMIC_LIGHTING=1
DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1
LENSFLARE=0
HDR=1
DYNAMIC_REFLECTIONS=4
SHADOW_QUALITY=2
SHADOW_DRAW_DISTANCE=2
CONTENT_NO_SHADOW=0
INTERIOR_SHADOWS_CAST=1
EXTERIOR_SHADOWS_CAST=1
SIMOBJECT_SHADOWS_CAST=1
TERRAIN_SHADOWS_CAST=1
VEGETATION_SHADOWS_CAST=0
BUILDING_SHADOWS_CAST=1
CLOUD_SHADOWS_CAST=1
PARTICLES_SHADOWS_CAST=0
INTERIOR_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
EXTERIOR_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
SIMOBJECT_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
TERRAIN_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
VEGETATION_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
BUILDING_SHADOWS_RECEIVE=1
SHADOW_NUM_CASCADES_LOW=4
SHADOW_NUM_CASCADES_MID=5
SHADOW_NUM_CASCADES_HIGH=7
SHADOW_NUM_CASCADES_ULTRA=12
OPAQUE_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE=4096
TRANSLUCENT_SHADOW_TEXTURE_SIZE=1024
OPAQUE_SHADOW_DRAW_DISTANCE=1000
TRANSLUCENT_SHADOW_DRAW_DISTANCE=1000
SHADOW_LOG_PARTITION_LOW=0.850000
SHADOW_LOG_PARTITION_MID=0.850000
SHADOW_LOG_PARTITION_HIGH=0.850000
SHADOW_LOG_PARTITION_ULTRA=0.850000
EFFECTS_QUALITY=2
EFFECTS_DISTANCE=2
TEXTURE_QUALITY=3
IMAGE_QUALITY=0
MOON_PHASE_LIGHTING=True
See_Self=1
Text_Scroll=1
DYNAMIC_INTERIOR_CAPTURE=False

Any idea if any of those entries are causing the issues?

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Nick - A2A
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Posts: 13734
Joined: 06 Jun 2014, 13:06
Location: UK

Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Nick - A2A »

Thanks for the info. My hunch would be that TomatoShade is responsible. When you used this add-on, did you use the "extended reflection rendering" because if so, the model itself for the aircraft will generally be modified. If you have used this feature, please could you check to see what files are present in the "Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\A2A\SimObjects\Airplanes\A2A_Piper_PA28_180_Cherokee\model" directory?

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

Profs72
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Posts: 23
Joined: 18 May 2021, 09:38

Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Profs72 »

My hunch would be that TomatoShade is responsible.
After disabling tomatoshade, issue persists.
If you have used this feature, please could you check to see what files are present in the "Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\A2A\SimObjects\Airplanes\A2A_Piper_PA28_180_Cherokee\model
I never created a profile for the Cherokee, it was already fitted with the required materials. The only files that are in there are is the VC model and Exterior model. I checked Model.cfg and it is looking for the correct models.
ModelFolder.PNG
ModelFolder.PNG (2.56 KiB) Viewed 5389 times

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Nick - A2A
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Joined: 06 Jun 2014, 13:06
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Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Nick - A2A »

Thanks for confirming there are no TomatoShade-modified MDL files present. Even with the add-on disabled, these have caused rendering issues in the past.

After you disabled TS, did you restore the original P3Dv4 shaders? In any case, I'd recommend deleting P3Dv4's shader cache just to be on the safe side.

Regards,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

Profs72
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Posts: 23
Joined: 18 May 2021, 09:38

Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Profs72 »

Yep, Shaders disabled, then cache cleared, then original shaders restored. Same result.

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Nick - A2A
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Posts: 13734
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Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Nick - A2A »

Okay, thanks. Might be worth renaming your Preapr3D.cfg file so that the sim creates a new copy with default settings and check if the issue still persists. Are there any other rendering abnormalities with night lighting etc., or is this the only one you've noticed?

Cheers,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

Profs72
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Posts: 23
Joined: 18 May 2021, 09:38

Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Profs72 »

The only thing I noticed was the volumetric/3D landing light does not appear in the virtual cockpit. I’ll try get the sim all default and test again.
Last edited by Profs72 on 18 May 2021, 17:36, edited 1 time in total.

Profs72
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Posts: 23
Joined: 18 May 2021, 09:38

Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Profs72 »

After letting P3D regenerate the config, it is still there, but a lot less obvious. I think it could be to do with HDR lighting settings.
Last edited by Profs72 on 18 May 2021, 17:42, edited 5 times in total.

Profs72
Airman
Posts: 23
Joined: 18 May 2021, 09:38

Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Profs72 »

Upon further testing, I've found that it seems to be connected to the bloom. this kind of makes sense, the odd effect is being blurred out by the bloom making it less obvious.
Bloom Minimum:
Capture3.PNG
Capture3.PNG (77.2 KiB) Viewed 5376 times
Bloom Default:
Capture4.PNG
Capture4.PNG (130.83 KiB) Viewed 5376 times
Bloom Maximum:
Capture5.PNG
Capture5.PNG (103.31 KiB) Viewed 5376 times
I believe it may be being caused by faces clipping inside one another because from below, it is possible to clearly make out the edges and vertices “popping” in and out of view. Perhaps an object was not assigned a visibility condition.

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Nick - A2A
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Joined: 06 Jun 2014, 13:06
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Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Nick - A2A »

Hello Profs,

Just made it home and have tried to reproduce your issue based on the info you provided above, but with bloom set to either minimum...

2021-5-19_20-6-17-570.jpg
2021-5-19_20-6-17-570.jpg (112.97 KiB) Viewed 5327 times

Or maximum...

2021-5-19_20-6-31-373.jpg
2021-5-19_20-6-31-373.jpg (119 KiB) Viewed 5327 times

...With my P3D v4.5.14.34698 installation, the dome light effect seems to be fine.

Are all the components of your P3Dv4 installation fully updated to the final release version?

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

Profs72
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Posts: 23
Joined: 18 May 2021, 09:38

Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Profs72 »

Are all the components of your P3Dv4 installation fully updated to the final release version?
Yep, did a clean install of the whole thing a few months back too. Im at a loss as to what it could be tbh.

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Nick - A2A
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Re: odd effect from dome light

Post by Nick - A2A »

Profs72 wrote: 19 May 2021, 14:16 Im at a loss as to what it could be tbh.
Me too at the moment I'm afraid.

For what it's worth, I just tried loading P3Dv4 with an Active TomatoShade profile, with no ill effects. In fact the night bloom effect is enhanced, the pic below being taken with the default in-sim bloom setting of 1.0.

2021-5-19_20-29-34-456.jpg
2021-5-19_20-29-34-456.jpg (135.17 KiB) Viewed 5319 times

Thanks,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

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