Another vote added 
3 Likes
I see ray tracing mentioned in this thread, and the great computational cost it would have, but is it really necessary?
The sun is far enough away that the rays are parallel. so all that really needs to be done is to get a 2d image of the clouds from the sun’s angle in the sky and project that as a light mask on the ground. When youre in or under the cloud, mask out the sun’s light so you dont get shadows in the cockpit. Im sure theres enough data available in drawing the clouds in the first place to use for light masking.
Theres no need to jump to ray tracing and tank everone’s fps.
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No, it’s not that trivial. It may work somewhat if we assume the sunlight is coming directly from above only. But still it won’t be very accurate. You should not get shadows from smaller patches of cloud when they are very high up. Also, you should get diffused edges which should differ based on the altitude of the cloud, this may be approximated, but again may not be accurate enough.
But the bigger problem is when the sun light is coming from an incident angle. Then the shape of the top down cloud mask alone is useless, you will need information about height of the actual cloud patch itself and its shape to calculate reasonably accurate shadow shape.
I am smart engineers can figure out how to do this with some degree of accuracy and may be a little performance hit, but I am sure it’s not that trivial as you are making it out to be.
Edit: After reading your post again, I see that you actually mentioned the angle of sun. But the problem still remains. If you look at the original post, they are talking about more accurate shadows as seen in real life instead of course patches of shadows, also real time updates to those and also terrain interaction, possibly meaning mountains and tall structures interacting with the shadows. I think to achive that with any degree of accuracy, you will need some kind of ray intersection and traversal computation. Or it can be faked which will not look right in a dynamic world like MSFS is.
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Vote for this wishlist because above 20,000 ft the sim seems like a cartoon… there is no depth… maybe activate an on/off option for more powerful PCs… above water it is even worse…
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Yep! We need that! Voted! 
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Keeping the Topic Alive
To keep this important topic visible for the developers, I’m reposting it to push the discussion forward.
- Current Limitations
The game does simulate cloud shadows on the ground, but the effect is too subtle. This undermines immersion, especially during low-altitude flight where the lack of strong shadows breaks the visual coherence with the weather.
- Benefits of Improved Cloud Shadow Diffusion
Enhancing ground shadows would significantly boost realism. It would help convey the scale and height of weather formations, and add depth to lighting transitions, particularly at dawn or dusk where light behavior is more dynamic.
- Next Step – Casting Action Shadows on Clouds
Beyond ground shadows, projecting the shadows of aircraft or explosions onto thick cloud layers could bring the entire scene to life. It would increase spatial awareness and add cinematic realism, especially during complex flight maneuvers or combat.
Conclusion
I trust the community to help raise this topic to the developers’ attention. Please vote and share this post so it gets the visibility it deserves. The more support it gathers, the better the chance we have to see it implemented.
Thank you for every voters !
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just voted. In some scenarios, the cloud formations are quiet lovely, but in partly cloudy conditions the clouds look like mashmellow blobs.
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voted , would be awesome
I look at this video and I can only dream of seeing this type of shadows on clouds, it adds so more depth and perspective, which I think lacks for now (even though they made huge progress on shadows objects on the ground like trees, those shadows are Chief kiss)
I mean, look at this ! This changes everything about lighting and world environment , I’d love to see that
Keep voting guys, let’s get Asobo’s attention !
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Voted!! Hope to see this on the roadmap!!
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I hope too ! Because In fair weather with scattered clouds, it’s precisely the cloud shadows that make the ground feel alive and dynamic. Without those shadows, everything happening on Earth feels repetitive. And beyond the beauty and realism added by those shadows, I believe this absence alone explains why some players struggle to find Microsoft Flight Simulator engaging, Because it lacks all those cinematic landscapes that could be found in other games.
Two more examples :
and
Two scenes are enough to show that you don’t need thick, massive clouds to cast shadows and create a real sense of what they call a “digital twin” of the planet.
I genuinely believe this is within their grasp — but we won’t see it happen unless we speak up AND VOTE !
2 Likes