Hyper-Exaggerated Milky Way

[WarEaglePhD]

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ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Description of the issue: The Milky Way is hyper-exaggerated. In real life it is only visible in the darkest of areas and even the light from the cockpit at night is enough that it cannot be seen clearly from the cockpit. As it stands now it is as if the earth has been sucked close to the center of the galaxy and the bright center around Sagittarius A* is clearly visible. This totally destroys immersion at night. Either remove it or make it faint. Assuming you cannot account for ambient lighting around cities which render the Milky Way invisible, please give users a choice to remove it or add it depending on where they are.

ICAO, coordinates, or specific location: Globally visible

[PC Only] Did you remove all your community mods/add-ons? If yes, are you still experiencing the issue?

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

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REPRODUCTION STEPS

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YOUR SETTINGS

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[PC Only] Are you using Developer Mode or have you made any changes to it?

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MEDIA

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[END OF FIRST USER REPORT]

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[N6722C]

@WarEaglePhD have you tried minor adjustments of your Video’s GAMMA. You “may” beeing seeing the Milky way to bright if the gamma is turned up above optimum calibration, and you might also be able to almost totally hide the Milky Way by slightly reducing your gamma.

Whether the items like the Milky Way is exaggerated or not may well be due to a very slight adjustment of Gamma at the dark end of it’s range ?

[Speed1994]

Topic moved to User Support Hub > Scenery & Airports

[N6722C]

Its really amazing just how many STARS MSFS injects into the sim, Normally you may not see them, but if you TWEAK your Gamma, (To the extreme), it is surprising how many star and other heavenly bodies become visible !!

(Yes, I had to try it !! )

[N6722C]

and an IRL photo, from about the same location and time.

I did not get the Milky Way in my MSFS Screen Shot, but certainly got a whole mass of background stars

[N6722C]

How I normally have my Gamma adjusted, ( and Brightness & Contrast) - it may not be 100% Realistic, but I like the way it simulates My Fantastic Night Vision !!

[Stardrifter2232]

Probably a time-lapse photo not reflecting what one would see with their eyes from a cockpit. I do see the milky way where I live, but it’s very faint.

[TheFalconOne]

Having been on flight decks at night at FL400, I can state the Milky Way is very visible if you have the flight deck lights low. You are away from all the light pollution on the surface and above a good deal of the atmosphere.

WarEagle, are you talking from experience?

[WarEaglePhD]

Guys - come on. It’s not my gamma, it’s not the brightness of my monitor, it’s reality. I’m speaking from both experience and common sense. On a flight deck over a dark area, irrespective of height, you will not see the blazing MSFS depiction of the Milky Way due to the cockpit lighting unless you turn it down low or off and wait minutes for your eyes to adjust. You won’t see the Milky Way near any cities period. Even if you were standing in the middle of a dark desert and stepped out of your car it will take minutes for your eyes to adjust and even then the Milky Way is NOT the brightest thing in the night sky. It is simply is not realistic the way it is currently presented. The way it is presented is as a long exposure photograph which is not representative of what the human eye sees - unless you have Zeiss Lenses replacing your retinas.

[TheFalconOne]

The brightest thing? No, it’s not; that’s either the moon or a planet. But it is very visible and I do not think the sim is inaccurate in that aspect. Of course, these ‘faint’ light effects are very much affected by the graphics settings of the simulator and even more so by the settings of the screen. Is your screen calibrated in any way? Even the default Windows calibration can make a HUGE difference.

You say you have firsthand experience, but is that really from a flightdeck at high cruise levels? There is a remarkable difference between FL200 and FL350+.

Mathijs Kok
PMDG

[Saurer01]

Can we please have this as a topic to vote on? My screens gamma is not off, but the unrealisticly overexaggerated milky way ruins the night sky in 2024. I’d love to see this resolved without having to change my hardware settings, which would affect all other applications.

[Speed1994]

Hi @Saurer01, are these what you’re looking for?

Brightness of stars should be related to ambient light & light pollution

[Screenshot (229)] The Stars in the Sim are beautiful, however, they’re fully visible under any lighting conditions, even in a brightly lit area. In real life, the darker the area you are in, & the more distant you are to light sources, the brighter the stars are. If you’re in a brightly lit cockpit at the gates, you would’nt be able to see many stars, but at cruise level with all the lights dimmed you would be able to see better starlight than most places on the ground. Yes, I know it’s a …

Change appearance of stars and planets, especially needed at dawn/dusk time of day

Especially when there is a colorful dawn/dusk sky which is always I believe, I find stars & planets look too big, too fuzzy looking, don’t twinkle, and look to me like they are painted on the colored sky, versus exist behind the atmosphere, as in light years away. The dawn/dusk appearance of stars looks just flat out fake and don’t match the rest of the quality of sky and scenery in MSFS. A quick look at P3D’s which are smaller, sharper, and though they too are too bright at dawn/dusk also l…

[Saurer01]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I was only about the over exaggerated milky way, the way the OP stated it normal stars don’t bother me

[btdc00]

Yeah, it’s quite funny in the current state. Like it’s just dawn, half of the sky still lit, but the milky way is clearly visible

[BegottenPoet228]

I’m fine with this…No filters - DX12 4K SDR

[Serginogamer]

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