| Now updated for XP12.07!
This mod is improving visuals with a few settings changes from default, adding little enhancements to the X-Plane 12 visual experience, and it is particularly focusing on exposure, tonemapping, white balance, sky and atmosphere, volumetric clouds and night lighting. It is only changing a few private art datarefs and it offers a complete set of options which are carefully selected and adjusted.
The script also handles the metering and auto-exposure in order to: try balancing the contrast between brights and darks when in-cockpit, get closer to the sunny 16 rule when outside, maintain a consistent level of exposure whether zooming the view, or maintain a natural change of exposure when looking from darker to brighter places.
Note: The script requires XP12 v12.06+ and only changes private art datarefs. These datarefs are subject to change between versions and are meant primarily for the sole use of LR. This script might therefore not work entirely as expected with future XP12 versions.
Installation
1) Download and install the latest FlyWithLua
2) Copy the lua script to the FlyWithLua scripts folder:
XP12\Resources\plugins\FlyWithLua\Scripts\rxp-xp12-enhancer.lua
Configuration
The script offers a number of personalization settings, in order to setup what options are loaded by default when the script loads. The script also implements a Settings Window which can popup automatically when the script loads, or manually from the Plugins menu.
Extras
This mod also includes a set of XP12 loader background images shot in 4K.
Please make sure to read additional informations in the included readme.txt
This mod is released under the MIT license.
Note: screenshots hosted on x-plane.to appear darker than they should. All the screenshots are included in the download package in jpeg format for user review with any other picture viewer.
mcorleone
This adds a breath of fresh air to the sim - love it.
alex_052
Amazing script! Cant fly without it. Please due to 12.0.8rc1 update the script doesnt work and it crashes at desktop!
Thank you!
cruisealtitude
Wonderful script. it made my Xplane look so much better. Thanks for the wonderful work. When can we anticipate an update for 12.08 ?
bussixx
please update the plugin to version xp 0.8
CptLucky 18 day(s) ago
Hi, thank you for your comment!
XP12.08 is only a beta for now, and this mod is released for official X-Plane release versions only (like with any previous version of this mod), because X-Plane beta versions are continuous work in progress and can break the mod anytime.
guannlin1
I have a new reason to fly Xplane now, thank you!
FSPilotCZ
Fantastic script! Been using this from early versions alone and now I'm using it together with VisualXP mainly because of that contrast nobody else is able to provide. If I could have wish to improve this, to have some presets/save of settings so I don't have to set it every time I load up simulator. Other than that, brilliant! Well done!
CptLucky 2 month(s) ago
Thank you for your kind words!
I didn't include a "preset" function because this script is still surfing on a moving XP12 target, where many things are changing between versions, and could render some of the settings completely obsolete. However, the script file itself is laid out in such a way that it should be easier to setup your favorite settings when it loads. I believe the nature of these settings mean they'd usually be set once for all, and only a few of them are actually session and/or aircraft dependent.
In other words, you might want to open the script file in a text editor and see the available options near the top. You can edit the settings (true or false value) and these will be the default values when the script loads. Eventually, you can always make multiple copies of the script, each with its own set of divergent settings, and globally deactivate each copies but one, using the global RXP_XP12E_DEBUG_DISABLE_ALL setting which is located above all. Whenever you want to change which script, hence for preset to use, just globally disable the active one, enable the one you'd like instead, and select FlyWithLua "Reload All Scripts".
FSPilotCZ 2 month(s) ago
Why I never opened that script to have a look? That's a great piece of advice! This is exactly what I need. Now it is perfect! Thank you a lot 😊
CalibraNR
Hi! Thank you very much for your work! This is by far the best tweak for XP12. Just updated to 12.07 and it seems it stopped working again...
CptLucky 2 month(s) ago
Thank you for your kind words! A new version tested with XP12.07 is now available!
hotbso
Fantastic add-on. Although I own a license of VisualXP Ultimate I prefer this solution.
Unfortunately I can't give a 5-star review as this web site seems to be seriously broken.
CptLucky 2 month(s) ago
Thank you for your kind words!
Avenger432
This mod is nice I see some improvements, but some tweaks don't work or possibly I'm doing something wrong. Moreover this addon brings heavy stuttering to my xp12.
CptLucky 3 month(s) ago
Thank you. Make sure to read the "tips" under the (?) icons, and expect a XP12.06 version hopefully today!
servenej
Hello, when will the update be released ?
CptLucky 3 month(s) ago
Hi, it shouldn't be long now, hopefully today!
rodriguez.ottati
Hello, are there any updates about the 12.06 compatible version?
CptLucky 3 month(s) ago
Hi, it is still WIP but nearly done! Thank you for your interest!
rodriguez.ottati 3 month(s) ago
do you need any Beta Testers? I was one of the Beta testers for LR in the early Alpha versions of XP12, so I have a ton of experience.
Regards.
CptLucky 3 month(s) ago
I thank you for this. It is alright for now!
FinalLight
headsup this one breaks 12.06 a bit.
might have to redo quite a few things.
Westbay_Games 4 month(s) ago
I can confirm the menu does not load when spawning into the simulator.
FinalLight 4 month(s) ago
Cubemap reflections seems to break the lua script.
I can't sim without night lights edit and other things 😋
hope you'll update it
CptLucky 4 month(s) ago
Thank you for the reminder!
Please note this mod is only for XP12 release version.
An update for 12.06 "release" version is in preparation.
hotbso
Wonderful new visuals and no impact on frames. Great work!
Sethos
Really enjoyed what it did, until I got the ToLiss A320 Neo. I was puzzled why it was so incredibly dark, cabin lights not working properly, main panel floods completely not working, even flashlight could barely be seen... Second I removed this plugin, it was back to normal, which is a shame.
CptLucky 5 month(s) ago
Thank you for sharing your experience. You can manually disable nearly each option 1 by 1, which would help finding out which one of these more specifically could be causing the issues you're describing. You might want to just edit the lua script, set all the 'override_xxxxx' options to false, then load XP12 and open the script settings window. From then, start enabling them one by one from the bottom of the list, enabling the first option last, and try finding which one more specifically would be causing this.
camrad1983
please investigate what could cause light stutters every 2 seconds. I don't have anything that could cause them nor that I use any fps-intensive features.
CptLucky 5 month(s) ago
Thank you for your feedback. There are 2 settings which can affect fps directly: "Enable Dynamic Reflections (cube map)" and "Enable Volumetric Light (Experimental)" (see the (?) tooltip).
Just make sure to not use any of them and this should solve the issue. Otherwise all the other settings, by their very nature, can't affect performance at all!
Usimp
Really good enhancements
iLucasRT
First of all I must tell you that you have done a great job, I used this script on my last flight and you can really feel the change.
I wanted to ask you also, do you know if there is a way to make x plane render at a higher resolution? Like msfs with its render scaling. I have this problem and setting the resolution in graphics is not an option and seeing the power of lua I thought maybe I could program something that allows me to set the resolution of the textures or something similar.
CptLucky 6 month(s) ago
Thank you, I'm glad this is helping more people!
What you are referring to, if I understand correctly, is the "TAA" render resolution in FS2020. This is a setting which allows rendering at a lower resolution prior up scaling to the display resolution. There is no modern AA implementation in XP12 though, and the closest functionality is FSR instead. This is the AMD library that allows up scaling from render to display res too, minus, the "AA" part (anti-aliasing). It doesn't work the same at all, but this is the closest in terms of functionality, albeit, it also magnifies the aliasing issues unfortunately. The mod provides a settings to enable FSR and then adjust the sharpening strength, you still need to open the XP12 graphics settings should you want to change the up scaling ratio though (perf, quality, etc...).
JonasN1985
Are there any permanent changes to settings or files when using this lua script? Or can I try without risk?
CptLucky 6 month(s) ago
Hi, this mod is unobtrusive and won't permanently change anything in your settings!
It consists only in changing private art datarefs at runtime, which most are also revertible at runtime via the settings window. A few of these can't though, because XP12 is using them with a varying value and once these datarefs are written to, there is no way to restore their initial state. The settings window clearly mentions which setting can't be reverted (actually it is only the first one in the list).
ChupacabraO.o
Thank you very much 🤝
Maupilot81
with this last update the plugin window at startup is blank. the 1.2 works fine!
CptLucky 6 month(s) ago
Thank you for the feedback, the issue is now identified and an update is almost ready!
Maupilot81 6 month(s) ago
Great thank you!
mcorleone
This adds a breath of fresh air to the sim - love it.