As I have been watching streamers mess around with the new PMDG 737, I have noticed that many (not all though) have a more photoreal, defined looking contrail at cruise. Has this been updated, because I have tried messing with every graphical setting I can think of, and mine still looks like a blob of cloud coming from the back of the plane.
Another user suggested that it could be a graphics card thing as I have an older style card. But I’m not sure?
Just wondering how this is possible?
Mine look like this:
And I’d love them to look like this:
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These new PMDG contrails look absolute sharp! I have most of the graphics settings on medium as long as not graphics card is installed, but these contrails come out of the box when flying the PMDG 737 and are used as new enhanced visual effect.
Maybe a bug during your installation happened when you cannot see these new enhance gorgeous contrails?
It´s not a matter of graphics settings. The contrails should be “just there” without any further tinkering and whenever using the PMDG 737 and getting her up into the stratosphere. 
It´s not a medium or ultra settings thing (and I even use DX11 only to prevent the DC-6 Cloudmaster from crashing back to desktop).
Of these two screenshots I find the top one more realistic looking 
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does the pmdg 737 have condensation trails on either the wings or intake into the engines?
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same, i have the pmdg 737 and i cant stand the sharp cloud texture they use in addition for the contrails.
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Exactly what I was thinking.
Real contrails become more predominate after they’ve been around awhile and then slowly degrade. They don’t come off the aircraft looking like a roman candle.
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This is how a contrail really looks like, PMDG made an absolute masterpiece of new contrail animation and visuals! Absolute fantastic compared to the ugly vanilla contrails.
This is how the look like in real-life when using some telescope or paparazzi camera lens:
In the next update PMDG should fix the bad looking pilot footrest screws and add some intense vortex effects at the turbine inlet 
and we would have the best 737 ever made in any simulator since 30 years.
That top picture is much more realistic though. Please don’t wish for that lower shot, it’s very FSXesque…
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I think that in PMDGs case the contrails gets sharp and not transparent too close to the aircraft.
Are there other effects on the PMDG like wingtip Vortex, Engine vortex, Water spray on takeoff etc?
Since parallel 42 hasn’t announced anything for MSFS yet, it would be nice to know before buying.
I have the same problem, i don’t understand. I reinstalled the 737 but it’s still the same thing. It has nothing to do with a graphic card problem because i have an RTX 3090. How to solve this problem? Has anyone succeeded?
I think in fs2020 the contrails starting way too far from the airplane. If you look up into the real sky you will see that they start much closer than in the sim. Might be not as close as they seem to be in the picture above but definitively much closer than where they currently start.
Are your clouds settings set to ultra? I have seen a difference in contrails while switching from “ultra” to “high” settings. “Ultra” setting provides the contrails as shown in the first picture (of OP) while “high” setting provides the contrails as shown in the second picture (of OP).
its literally just a flat image texture of a cloud/smoke. You can see this if you use a external camera and turn the camera around the contrails of the 737. Seems like it is just added to the default msfs particle vapor.
and regarding gap between engines and when the visible contrail starts, that depends.
See: How Big is the Gap Between Contrails and Engines? – Contrail Science
Depends on the static air temperature amongst other factors, cloud be closer, could be further away, could be no contrails at all.
If you look at the picture you’ll see that even the contrails starting the longest distance behind are within about 1 length of the plane (just to be able to compare). Usually I see contrails starting 6…10 airplane length behind. Just to be sure: I’m talking about the contrails of the other traffic not those of the own plane. The latter you wouldn’t see from the own cockpit anyway.
Ok, no idea, I’m talking about the photo’s in this thread.
You never had ATC telling you “there’s traffic at 11 o clock 10 miles” and then you look out of the cockpit and see a plane (flashing winglights and a bit of a body of a plane)…and contrails seemingly following a mile behind? 
I’m hardly see any live traffic anyway because live traffic isn’t working in European airspace.
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Yes, volumetric clouds are on “Ultra”.
