I got some questions about how this works on a technical level.
So first of all, I installed the mod, and I think it looks great. I used the dynamic over time feature with the lowest time value. Then I began comparing it with how it works in Vanilla and figured that I have no idea. I noticed that in Vanilla, I never saw any really interesting cloud formations like with this randomized mod. For example with very low coverage scale, leading to many many small cloud. Or even just really big clouds (for cloudy weather) with some light breaks. All the "cool" looking types I have never seen in Vanilla.
Then I skipped some time with Immersive Time Skip and realized, that for me, the parameters of the clouds never ever changed. Yes, they change from light, to heavy, to cloudy, but it's always the same pattern. Especially noticable when reverting back to light clouds and they just moved a bit.
So my question is: 1. Do clouds in Vanilla even change these parameters that are randomized in your mod? 2. If yes, what triggers the change? Save file reload, over time, weather stage change? (I couldn't notice) 3. Do I understand correctly that in Vanilla even if theses parameters changes they will never do so within one "active" weather type contrary to your mod? 4. Do I understand correctly that randomize over time only uses real time, and ignores ingame time and thus time skipping?
I ask because I use your mod as an addition to immersion. And as really really nice as I think your mod is, I fear that the changes over time, even with the lowest time setting, are pretty slow. So I ask myself, if I will ever see really different cloud types, or if they are just slightly slightly different the next time I have the same weather type (for example light clouds, since it's easiest to notice and keep track of). And if it is even "better" in this regard in Vanilla since I haven't noticed any changes whatsover with time skipping.
Hope it's somewhat clear what I mean. It's late and I'm tired ^^
Vanilla never adjusts these values at all, they are the base engine values for the clouds (then each weather state applies it's own multiplier to these values, or something like that, anyway). Clouds in vanilla basically never change during a single weather state, they just move across the sky.
And yes, this is (effectively) tied to real time, not game time. I can't remember exactly why now, but I did try using game time first and it just didn't work too well, so swapped... Using game time really wouldn't make much difference, though... The clouds aren't changing a lot because I have limits on how far the values are allowed to stray from the slider values... If I didn't, the clouds could change too much in some states and mess up the lighting... It'll look fine in some places, but the exposure will be all messed up in other areas...
If you want it to change more/faster, use a lower cloud coverage slider value... Just make sure you don't go too low or some states may not have clouds that are supposed to, or you might get weird looking clouds...
With all that said, though, I'll do some testing and see if I can randomize a bit when the player skips time (still not sync with game time, I'll just randomize the value with a min/max allowed value, but let it stray farther from the slider value than the random over time option does)...
Yeah, vanilla only has the one value for all weather states/quests/etc... It never changes the values that this mod does at all, just modifiers to the value (multiplier, divisor, whatever, I really don't know how that works, but it's something like that)...
That baffles me. The system is already there in engine and fully usable. With your mod or others (I figure some weather mods like Enhanced Weather tap into the same system) there are some breathtaking cloud patterns. But CDPR just didn't utilize it, or made it dynamic, or even scripted changes for some missions. It's just one relatively boring pattern.
As cool as that might sound on paper, it'd lead to a lot of lighting issues during transitions as the clouds scale to the new values... Weather transitions in the game aren't long enough to do that properly... Would work fine with some env mods (in theory, if they extend the transitions), but not vanilla (or most env mods)...
Edit: Could do some very minor randomization, but in that case, might as well just use the random over time option (that already exists) and have fully randomized clouds in all states that never stray too far from the original, but far enough to be noticeably different...
Just for the hahas I often joke "it had to be made with wizardry since its just too magical to not be" on some of your and TheCyanide's uploads. But now, after first trying their lut switcher and today trying this masterpiece of a mod for the first time I might be on to something, cause its either an intricate dark art, or you guys are seriously talented 😂 Really though you are so talented & make some super cool shit. I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it!
Why this mod is one of the absolute GOATs to help with my storytelling: I had no idea how badly I needed this mod. I've been trying to take pictures meant to be in a city other than NC, more than halfway across the entire NUSA. It started to become so annoying cause it still clearly looked like they were taken in NC, but I couldn't tell what would fix it. Lo & behold, this is it. It needed the super fluffy clouds. My characters grew up and lived in central Texas with their nomad family before NC. All the shots needed to create the hometown feel were the central Texas, giant, puffy white clouds. I'm going to throw together collaged irl Texas sky pics and in-game shots cause I'm so excited I found the perfect fix, I want others to see. This mixed Cloudy NC - Big And Fluffy - with the fluffier ini tweaks hits the bullseye, dude. Pure beauty!
Alright alright, I'm done fangirling over a mod, lmao. Thank you so much!!
Not sure if this mod is the reason, but i have absolutely no clouds in the sky. Can somebody help me with that? I've been searching for answers but unfortunately there's a mission called clouds in this game thats taking up my search results :(
If any of the sliders are set to 0, there will be no clouds... Otherwise, it shouldn't be this mod and really not sure what else would cause it (unless the volumetric clouds option in the game's settings is disabled)...
I had an idea for people who get a lot of axl clothes, cars etc and are frankly getting sick of the whole virtual atelier, vcd stuff to update constantly etc.
Is there a way to have a cet script that can sense axl cars and clothes in your games files and automatically add them to your inventory? If you start a new character or go back to another one it can be hard to remember what you've added to the game, especially if you didn't bother w the virtual stores just used cet codes. A simple compare to what's already in that characters inventory true/false and adding all the false stuff into their inventory. I'm fairly sure the cet code has to be in the ArchiveXL files themselves.
I haven't personally looked into ArchiveXL at all to know if this would be possible, but I'm kinda thinking it wouldn't be (at least without requiring mod authors to update all of their ArchiveXL-based mods to directly support it)...
Pretty sure it would be a lot of work for whoever would decide to make something like this, though... It would be kinda cool but I don't personally use any ArchiveXL items/vehicles in my game, so sorry, but I'm definitely not gonna be the person to do it...
But, I really don't know... Maybe someone else with some knowledge of ArchiveXL and a better understanding of lua/CET could do it super simply...lol
Ah ok then. Really all the axl stuff will have the cet codes in the descp and you can add them manually via cut paste in the cet console so there must be an id in the tweak yaml file or the .archive file that will recognize it and cet looks for it and adds it to your inventory with just the player additem call out so I def think it's doable.
All virtual atelier is is a way to make it immersive and automates the cet code into a store front. The problem is that everytime you get a new item from a modder you also have to go get an updated virtual atelier that they have added that item to the store it gets kinda tedious tbh. I can live without virtual atelier just add the new stuff in w a simple cet window with add items that are there in the files.
I don't use virtual car dealer just use cet codes but I think it's pretty much the same as VA just cars storefront. So a universal code/file finding plugin for cet should do the same thing there.
I guess the soln is ONE big cet code spreadsheet for what I have the files installed for then when I go back to an old save or start a new game just copy and paste those into the cet console, done.
Ah ok then. Really all the axl stuff will have the cet codes in the descp and you can add them manually via cut paste in the cet console so there must be an id in the tweak yaml file or the .archive file that will recognize it and cet looks for it and adds it to your inventory with just the player additem call out so I def think it's doable.
The issue I'm thinking you would run into is the scripts not returning the command as a function/variable... Since they're not CET-based, they probably don't return anything... I know for Virtual Atelier, the authors have to manually add their items in... I'd assume if it was easy to just detect them then Virtual Atelier would already do so...
Eh VA is to put a store where the command to add item, in cet would be for immersion is my take on that, VA wouldn't just add stuff by itself because then why have a store then? No need for VA as a store if it did what I'm wanting. I'm thinking after the fact of me dragging the archive and yaml r6 file in there to just detect what's there and auto add it like when I click "buy" in va but who knows I'm not a coder just idea man mostly you're prob right knowing more about this stuff than I do.
If vortex wasn't such a hassle I'd try that as it's more automated but seems to cause as many problems as it solves better to just manually do it imo.
Long post incoming, but you got me interested so had to do some digging...lol
I just downloaded a few clothing items and cars to check out their files, and yeah, it's definitely not possible... They're just TweakDB entries, but they're new TweakDB entries with new names, so if someone were going to make a mod to automatically detect them, they would have to download every mod that adds in a custom item and get the entry names to put into the script... It would totally work that way, but nobody is going to do that...
Looking at Virtual Atelier itself, though... It would be possible using the data it returns, but I think it would have to be done with redscript since it's a redscript mod, and I don't know redscript at all...
That also wouldn't solve your issue at all, though, because you would still need the stores for each item installed for it to populate the data in Virtual Atelier... At that point, might as well just use VA...
You can pretty easily open the .yaml files for the items to get the codes, though... It'll be the "entityName"... Just add "items." at the beignning and format it into the game command to add it, e.g:Game.AddToInventory("Items.entityName") You could even make a list of all the commands for your installed items and add them all at once... Just format the list like this, then copy/paste it all into CET console: Command1, Command2, Command3, etc, etc
If you really want to, you could even use my Simple Notepad mod so you can save the list to it and execute it at any time (even with a keybind if you want to)... This mod also already includes an example "note" with commands to add ammo which you could just edit... You don't need to put commas after each command if you do it this way, too...
Yeah I edit the yaml files almost every time because I don't use equipment-ex, too much hassle, so I switch around the slots for good mix of options per slot, dress in foot slot for example, then I have a no special outfit lock mod so can use all slots there and it's enough. No need for A.nother requirement to bother with. So I knew the item codes are in the yaml and thought that file could be read to then just have a script add in the "player.additem(x)" automated into a cet menu to command it to look for the r6/tweak files. Then just sort of have it go through the cet console and batch add. Every item added is going to have to have a yaml anyways. So bypass VA completely.
Eh you know I'm not a coder other than simple things like stuff I can open w notepad and edit stuff easy to understand not like some complex code. INI's for another example pretty easy to understand. The big problem is if you forget to update the VA store for every modder you have the stuff installed but can't see it or you forget loading earlier saves or a new run, it's not a big deal really just thought maybe a modder w the versatility like yourself could do it pretty easily and lots of people would like to have that to not bother with all the updates and checking this or that just add in what I installed when I want or even have it auto add stuff in, no one cares if they have 2 of the same dress or car etc
I do have the cet codes anyways they're just spread around in text files I made as most modders don't bother to add that into their download. So I'd just need to make a master list to the copy paste into the cet console to add all of it.
So I knew the item codes are in the yaml and thought that file could be read to then just have a script add in the "player.additem(x)" automated into a cet menu to command it to look for the r6/tweak files. Then just sort of have it go through the cet console and batch add. Every item added is going to have to have a yaml anyways. So bypass VA completely.
Technically, someone could probably write a Windows application (maybe even a .bat script) that could read the contents of all installed .yaml files in the r6 folder and make a new list of commands based on them, but I'm fairly certain that there's no way to make either CET or redscript do it... I have no idea how to do anything like that, though...
yeah thought so there, it's all fairly standardized in the yamls for clothes have the entity name tag, the cars wouldn't work really since mostly the yamls for them are handling information nor for other things like weapons tweaks which I have a few so the entity name would have to be the requirement to then put it in the player.additem format.
So yeah I could see a script to go through the r6/tweaks folder, read files look for entity name put it in the player.additem to then just put it in that form in a separate txt file. That's all I do is copy the cet codes as is and copy paste them into the cet console so the mod would really be detecting the entity name then compiling a txt then interfacing w cet to just add in the console codes essentially just copy paste automated.
VA does that really just you have to go to an in game computer to each modders store then add items to your basket and click buy then it just adds it in w cet codes to your inventory. So it's doing that or the modder does that for their VA store download. I figure I want the mod I'm downloading and installing I don't need the immersion of the store and buying just add it my inventory that's why I've just been doing that rather than the VA interface, which I do have just haven't bothered with too much since v2.0. Adding cars is just CET manually for me, I don't want a.nother store like virtual car dealer to bother with for the 10 cars I do have or so.
Many (most) add clothing mods include dozens of color variations in their VA stores. So even if something could auto add all such items to char inventory, it would actually be kind of messed up because inventory would be utterly flooded with 100s of items of different colors.
The point of VA stores is so you can pick the small handful of items you actually want to use from an assortment of variations, most of which you probably don't actually want...
I have noticed that this mod creates artifacts on volumetric fogs, I see pixels and glitches in the presence of smoke in interiors or outdoor fog, removing the mod solves the problem.
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JumpThanks for this wonderful mod.
I got some questions about how this works on a technical level.
So first of all, I installed the mod, and I think it looks great. I used the dynamic over time feature with the lowest time value.
Then I began comparing it with how it works in Vanilla and figured that I have no idea.
I noticed that in Vanilla, I never saw any really interesting cloud formations like with this randomized mod. For example with very low coverage scale, leading to many many small cloud. Or even just really big clouds (for cloudy weather) with some light breaks. All the "cool" looking types I have never seen in Vanilla.
Then I skipped some time with Immersive Time Skip and realized, that for me, the parameters of the clouds never ever changed. Yes, they change from light, to heavy, to cloudy, but it's always the same pattern. Especially noticable when reverting back to light clouds and they just moved a bit.
So my question is:
1. Do clouds in Vanilla even change these parameters that are randomized in your mod?
2. If yes, what triggers the change? Save file reload, over time, weather stage change? (I couldn't notice)
3. Do I understand correctly that in Vanilla even if theses parameters changes they will never do so within one "active" weather type contrary to your mod?
4. Do I understand correctly that randomize over time only uses real time, and ignores ingame time and thus time skipping?
I ask because I use your mod as an addition to immersion. And as really really nice as I think your mod is, I fear that the changes over time, even with the lowest time setting, are pretty slow. So I ask myself, if I will ever see really different cloud types, or if they are just slightly slightly different the next time I have the same weather type (for example light clouds, since it's easiest to notice and keep track of). And if it is even "better" in this regard in Vanilla since I haven't noticed any changes whatsover with time skipping.
Hope it's somewhat clear what I mean. It's late and I'm tired ^^
Thanks
And yes, this is (effectively) tied to real time, not game time. I can't remember exactly why now, but I did try using game time first and it just didn't work too well, so swapped... Using game time really wouldn't make much difference, though... The clouds aren't changing a lot because I have limits on how far the values are allowed to stray from the slider values... If I didn't, the clouds could change too much in some states and mess up the lighting... It'll look fine in some places, but the exposure will be all messed up in other areas...
If you want it to change more/faster, use a lower cloud coverage slider value... Just make sure you don't go too low or some states may not have clouds that are supposed to, or you might get weird looking clouds...
With all that said, though, I'll do some testing and see if I can randomize a bit when the player skips time (still not sync with game time, I'll just randomize the value with a min/max allowed value, but let it stray farther from the slider value than the random over time option does)...
Does this mean that Vanilla only has one weather pattern/base engine value (whatever you wanna call it)?
If so, then this mod is a clear win in my book. I can just choose the pattern I like, and use the dynamic option for a little variety :)
Edit: Could do some very minor randomization, but in that case, might as well just use the random over time option (that already exists) and have fully randomized clouds in all states that never stray too far from the original, but far enough to be noticeably different...
Why this mod is one of the absolute GOATs to help with my storytelling:
I had no idea how badly I needed this mod. I've been trying to take pictures meant to be in a city other than NC, more than halfway across the entire NUSA. It started to become so annoying cause it still clearly looked like they were taken in NC, but I couldn't tell what would fix it. Lo & behold, this is it. It needed the super fluffy clouds. My characters grew up and lived in central Texas with their nomad family before NC. All the shots needed to create the hometown feel were the central Texas, giant, puffy white clouds. I'm going to throw together collaged irl Texas sky pics and in-game shots cause I'm so excited I found the perfect fix, I want others to see. This mixed Cloudy NC - Big And Fluffy - with the fluffier ini tweaks hits the bullseye, dude. Pure beauty!
Alright alright, I'm done fangirling over a mod, lmao. Thank you so much!!
I had an idea for people who get a lot of axl clothes, cars etc and are frankly getting sick of the whole virtual atelier, vcd stuff to update constantly etc.
Is there a way to have a cet script that can sense axl cars and clothes in your games files and automatically add them to your inventory? If you start a new character or go back to another one it can be hard to remember what you've added to the game, especially if you didn't bother w the virtual stores just used cet codes. A simple compare to what's already in that characters inventory true/false and adding all the false stuff into their inventory. I'm fairly sure the cet code has to be in the ArchiveXL files themselves.
Pretty sure it would be a lot of work for whoever would decide to make something like this, though... It would be kinda cool but I don't personally use any ArchiveXL items/vehicles in my game, so sorry, but I'm definitely not gonna be the person to do it...
But, I really don't know... Maybe someone else with some knowledge of ArchiveXL and a better understanding of lua/CET could do it super simply...lol
All virtual atelier is is a way to make it immersive and automates the cet code into a store front. The problem is that everytime you get a new item from a modder you also have to go get an updated virtual atelier that they have added that item to the store it gets kinda tedious tbh. I can live without virtual atelier just add the new stuff in w a simple cet window with add items that are there in the files.
I don't use virtual car dealer just use cet codes but I think it's pretty much the same as VA just cars storefront. So a universal code/file finding plugin for cet should do the same thing there.
I guess the soln is ONE big cet code spreadsheet for what I have the files installed for then when I go back to an old save or start a new game just copy and paste those into the cet console, done.
If vortex wasn't such a hassle I'd try that as it's more automated but seems to cause as many problems as it solves better to just manually do it imo.
I just downloaded a few clothing items and cars to check out their files, and yeah, it's definitely not possible... They're just TweakDB entries, but they're new TweakDB entries with new names, so if someone were going to make a mod to automatically detect them, they would have to download every mod that adds in a custom item and get the entry names to put into the script... It would totally work that way, but nobody is going to do that...
Looking at Virtual Atelier itself, though... It would be possible using the data it returns, but I think it would have to be done with redscript since it's a redscript mod, and I don't know redscript at all...
That also wouldn't solve your issue at all, though, because you would still need the stores for each item installed for it to populate the data in Virtual Atelier... At that point, might as well just use VA...
You can pretty easily open the .yaml files for the items to get the codes, though... It'll be the "entityName"... Just add "items." at the beignning and format it into the game command to add it, e.g:
Game.AddToInventory("Items.entityName")You could even make a list of all the commands for your installed items and add them all at once... Just format the list like this, then copy/paste it all into CET console:
Command1,
Command2,
Command3,
etc, etc
If you really want to, you could even use my Simple Notepad mod so you can save the list to it and execute it at any time (even with a keybind if you want to)... This mod also already includes an example "note" with commands to add ammo which you could just edit... You don't need to put commas after each command if you do it this way, too...
Eh you know I'm not a coder other than simple things like stuff I can open w notepad and edit stuff easy to understand not like some complex code. INI's for another example pretty easy to understand. The big problem is if you forget to update the VA store for every modder you have the stuff installed but can't see it or you forget loading earlier saves or a new run, it's not a big deal really just thought maybe a modder w the versatility like yourself could do it pretty easily and lots of people would like to have that to not bother with all the updates and checking this or that just add in what I installed when I want or even have it auto add stuff in, no one cares if they have 2 of the same dress or car etc
I do have the cet codes anyways they're just spread around in text files I made as most modders don't bother to add that into their download. So I'd just need to make a master list to the copy paste into the cet console to add all of it.
Anyways thanks for investigating it.
Technically, someone could probably write a Windows application (maybe even a .bat script) that could read the contents of all installed .yaml files in the r6 folder and make a new list of commands based on them, but I'm fairly certain that there's no way to make either CET or redscript do it... I have no idea how to do anything like that, though...
So yeah I could see a script to go through the r6/tweaks folder, read files look for entity name put it in the player.additem to then just put it in that form in a separate txt file. That's all I do is copy the cet codes as is and copy paste them into the cet console so the mod would really be detecting the entity name then compiling a txt then interfacing w cet to just add in the console codes essentially just copy paste automated.
VA does that really just you have to go to an in game computer to each modders store then add items to your basket and click buy then it just adds it in w cet codes to your inventory. So it's doing that or the modder does that for their VA store download. I figure I want the mod I'm downloading and installing I don't need the immersion of the store and buying just add it my inventory that's why I've just been doing that rather than the VA interface, which I do have just haven't bothered with too much since v2.0. Adding cars is just CET manually for me, I don't want a.nother store like virtual car dealer to bother with for the 10 cars I do have or so.
The point of VA stores is so you can pick the small handful of items you actually want to use from an assortment of variations, most of which you probably don't actually want...
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Jump