I was really excited to see these northern lights for the first time in the sim, but they quickly lost their luster after observing them for a few seconds. This addon is really just a series of images that are randomly strewn across the sky. Although the images are good quality, and look great at first glance, they shift too quickly, which makes watching them non-immersive and distracting. This addon would be immediately improved if the aurora shifted slower, and if the images distorted in random, subtle movements.
I am very happy with this addition! To be honest, I installed it when I was very busy with work and forgot. While flying into ENGM from Canada last night, I was pleasantly surprised to see the "Green Curtain" of the Northern Lights I grew up seeing in Central Alaska! The presentation was very accurate and realistic compared to what I saw for many years. GREAT WORK!!!
While I appreciate the attempt to bring Northern Lights to MSFS 2020, the current state of the addon is disappointing in a couple of ways.
Negative: Visuals are very busy, overlaying the same patterns dozens of times on the sky, going to the horizon in all directions in a similar fashion. Northern Lights don't illuminate the sceney or clouds and they don't reflect in water. Permanent northern lights above a certain latitude which is unrealistic.
Positive: We have Northern Lights. Coverage is somewhat changing throughout the year. As a hopefully first iteration there is a lot of potential for improvement.
Really nice job. Looks good in VR, too. Only critique is that sometimes the lights disappear instantly (sort of like weather instantly loading/disappearing. Don't let that discourage you from picking this up though, I'm sure it will be fixed and it's really cool. Can recommend!
For those who like visiting the northern hemisphere, this addon is definitely
the icing on the cake.No impact on fps and a must have if you are into eye candy.
Imagine sitting in the ole canoe and observing this natural spectacle...