Effects set to defaults except when testing out the effects of the sliders.
I have no problem with any of the effects displaying or causing any lag. (Nvidia 7900)
First the new high level clouds look nice although move unnaturally for high level clouds. To much evaporation and condensation going on. Reminds me of a time lap movie.
The lighting effects have lots of potential with all the adjustments. Very cool.
I am bummed that the low level 3D clouds are missing. I relied on for some cool sky house effects and also to mask the mountain top despoilers running unfettered above me. Plus they are real fun to fly though.
I have builds on the ground, at 250 meters, at 450 meters, and at 650 meters.
On the ground the sky looks great but I missed my low level 3D clouds. Colors looked a bit weird and I am still undecided on if I will like them after a while. Mountain side its way to visable. Looks like I will be deploying some particle effects of my own.
At 250 meters, the wonderful cloud tops are gone and in its place is just transparent nothing space until the ground which is unpleasent to look at. The sky above looks nice though.
At 450 meters, not a lot of change. But the horizon looks nicer as do the upper level clouds. Looking down use to fade into haze, now just a harsh water table and nearby builds are strikingly vivid.
Rising up to 650 meters, I pass through a paper thin cloud layer into instant blackness. No clouds below. Just the shimmering water table. Nice for playing space station and the controls allow the stars to shine. Although when thus set, the stars also shine on the ground during the day. The light of the sun illuminated the area, My skin looks strange though. Way to much contrast with harsh shadow effects. Maybe thats proper for bing in space. When above the sky texture, there is no Sun.
I think that things are moving in the right direction, and I like the effects but not at the expense of the afore mentioned features. Also as more sophisticated features are developed, I am sure that individual experiences will diverge more. So what looks cool with the right hardware will look lame, even ugly with basic hardware. Should be a concern for those intrested in creating attractive builds at larger scales. Those building theme sims for example.