Render the Sun with a fading disk when bloom is disabled

When disabling bloom, usually in order to save a few more fps if possible, the sun is rendering as a perfectly outlined disk (with small atmospheric variation effect yet a plain disk). Furthermore, when Render Scaling is above 100%, the sun disk is rendering with a black outline (like many other “lights” by the way).

However when bloom is enabled, it is rendering as a fading disk expanding outward and it is very convincing, and when SS is above 100% it is no longer rendering with a black outline.

I understand the Bloom shader is actually making something like a blur on a smaller res copy of the render buffer and uses this as the highlighting source (it is usually how it works and why it takes some resources - read back, shader, blend). However it is not necessary to render the full Bloom Shader pass.

I’d suggest when Bloom is disabled, MSFS renders the Sun disk with a fading out halo. It would just be a rendering shader, not a bloom shader, specifically for the sun, and this will greatly enhance the effect.

UPDATE: As a matter of fact I believe it would be better having 3 values: OFF, Low (Sun Only), High (Full)


[update 31MAR2021]

Disabling Bloom post-processing is not just a matter of saving fps:

  • This effect is also blurring cockpit integral lighting (the light behind buttons so that you can read labels in the cockpit at night) and is making text on buttons less sharp and therefore less legible.

  • This effect is also blurring the EFIS screens in conflating thin lines and in dilating larger ones
    (as in: OpenCV: Eroding and Dilating )

  • I find text legibility degradation due to Bloom post-processing more prominent on lower resolution VR headsets (comparing G2 and Index)

Great idea. I’ve noticed this as well.

1 Like

I hope it will be toned down in the next sim update. I’m bumping for 30 more days so that it gets additional time for voting and comments.

3 Likes

Do you have any add-ons in your Community folder? If yes, please remove and retest before posting.
No

Are you using Developer Mode or made changes in it?
No

Brief description of the issue:
With BLOOM OFF the sun is a flat disc

Provide Screenshot(s)/video(s) of the issue encountered:

BLOOM OFF

BLOOM ON

Detail steps to reproduce the issue encountered:
Equivalent setting in Graphic Options

PC specs for those who want to assist (if not entered in your profile)
i5 8600K @4.8 - 2060 Super - 16 GB

Build Version # when you first started experiencing this issue:
1.18.14.0

Are you on the Steam or Microsoft Store version?
Microsoft

Did you submit this to Zendesk? If so, what is your ticket #?
115747

I’m not sure what the bug is though? That effect is what bloom does. Without it activated, you won’t have that effect.

Uhm, yes, but no. The bloom, ok. But sun can’t be in this way without it. Also because, with bloom off, the new mid tones of the shadows are little lower and the scenery is darker how you can see in the images.

Yes, because there’s no bloom from the Sun. It’s exactly as expected. The effect basically adds a transparent white layer above the image, stronger near the light source and weaker further away. So there’s a lot of white just around the edge of the Sun’s disk, and just a bit down on the terrain.

Here’s an article about it with on/off pictures in The Witcher 3:

Yeah, the sun has been a flat disc with bloom off since I first installed in December.

It’s one of the first things I disable alongside other windshield effects because it makes navigating by eye/landscape in vfr easier.

Ok, but this is Prepar3Dv4 with BLOOM at 0.