[ErickC]

I have been working on environment sounds, and, to that end, have created new SMS files for clear, rain, and snow. I also made an alternate version of the rain SMS files for a thunderstorm. Is there any possibility that thunderstorm might become an available weather option? Basically, my idea is that visibility would be reduced, and the sim would load "storm_in.sms" and "storm_ex.sms" if present, and "rain_in.sms" and "rain_ex.sms" if those SMS files are not present. I've attached what I have here (beware that this will overwrite the default track sounds... an occasion for the world's smallest violin, I suspect).

 NAVS_env.zip (95.8MB)
Number of downloads: 282

[railguy]

This suggestion leads to a long-time need in OR: It would be nice to be able to select Skydomes, clouds, etc. either at the main screen or within the environment and weather definitions contained within the activity. It would also be desirable that sounds could be made season or weather specific. In the simple example, frogs croaking and birds chirping are pretty much out of place in winter or in a snowstorm.

In the case of a thunderstorm, they usually don't last the full length of an activity if they are prototypical. Having the sounds, lightning (if there becomes a way to render that in OR), and cloud type transformations should be programmable through weather change events or by key strokes in the way the cloud cover, fog, etc. can be modified now. TS20xx has fiddled with these kinds of features for years, so it probably isn't impossible to do.

These would be neat features in OR, and a very big step beyond MSTS.

[ErickC]

That sounds neat, but I was thinking that for simplicity's sake the first implementation could more or less be the same as "rain" but with reduced visibility and maybe reduced adhesion to simulate more water flow.