beta patch atmosphere & lighting at altitude
 

This is at approx. 13,000ft or 4 Km over the Channel. I made this to show how the new atmosphere effects change the external appearance of A/C.

Ignore the poll title, the Left side is pre-beta patch (current retail version), right side is new beta patch.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d6.../13k-hurri.jpg

Nice comparo. The beta patch shows more dynamic range than the pre-patch version. *NOT SO!!!! See EDIT below! You can see more detail in the shadows (weathering on the Hurri's wing and fuselage) and in the highlights (clouds in the background). This is closer to what the human eye can see vs a camera's capability.

Edit: OP got his left and right mixed up. Turns out the latest patch may have REDUCED dynamic lighting. That's disappointing. Best to see more comparison shots to be conclusive.

The right is with de patch and the left is without it... right?

Correct you are :!:

So let me get this straight. The left is the current retail patch and the right is where they've turned the brightness up and the contrast down and lost performance, a.k.a. the current beta patch?

Yes that's 110% correct.

I got the sides reversed in my poll title, but you have it sorted.

my guess
the final result will be not in this patch but to the next one
where will be the final optimization

My guess is that it´s the result of removing some filter that isn´t optimized, and I hope they will bring it us when they done it for non hit FPS...

I hope...

IMHO add some atmospheric fog on the left one will give the best result

Uhm. I don't get it. If left is prepatch and right post patch where is the improvement? In fact it seems to be getting poorer and flatter and worse and is a HUGE step backwards.

Also see the shadows: they are now of far lower quality. The canopy glass is no longer the same and also the light reflections are tuned down to almost IL2 levels. The metall parts on the wings now are dull grey and not shining ...