Sundog Software releases version 5 of SilverLining

Sundog Software has released version 5 of its SilverLining Sky 3D Cloud and Weather Software Development Kit (SDK) for simulation and game developers to enable more immersive flight training in dangerous weather conditions.

"SilverLining 5 includes a new library of hand-modeled cumulonimbus thunderheads and towering cumulus clouds," explains Frank Kane, founder of Sundog Software. "Our team worked from photographs taken of real storm clouds in various stages of development to deliver a convincing visual simulation of bad weather from any altitude."

A cloud editor application is also included to allow customers to modify or add their own cloud models as desired. "Simulating the sky and weather brings a challenging set of requirements for developers of virtual training environments," Kane continues. "We allow our customers to convincingly simulate any weather, at any time, at any place, while making integration of our software as simple as possible and its overhead as low as possible."

SilverLining 5 delivers improved performance in stormy conditions due to several new optimizations in how its clouds are rendered.

The software is compatible with round-Earth simulation systems and includes sample integration code for popular frameworks such as OpenSceneGraph.