Right on the heels of the Triton 1.5 release, the SilverLining Sky, Cloud, and Weather SDK 2.5 is now available from our download page, together with updated integration packs for Havok Vision and Lightspeed 3.2. As always, licensed users with current support plans may get the latest full source distribution.

SilverLining 2.5 splits out physics updates, culling, and rendering for better integration with engines that perform these operations asynchronously. Have a look at the new Atmosphere::UpdateSkyAndClouds() and Atmosphere::CullObjects() methods – these may be called outside the main rendering thread. Using them is optional; if you don’t call them, they will be called implicitly by Atmosphere::DrawSky(). We’ve dramatically simplified our OpenSceneGraph integration sample using these methods – gone is the clunky projection matrix callback it used to rely on, and now time of day updates may happen asynchronously from rendering.

Version 2.5 also includes improvements to cumulonimbus clouds (thunderheads.) Animated rain effects underneath these clouds and virga are now present, and cumulonimbus clouds now interact better with SilverLining’s imposters for distant clouds.

We’ve also included libraries and sample projects for Visual Studio 2012 / Windows 8 SDK. We’re only supporting Windows 8 desktop applications for now, but watch for Metro support soon.

There are many other smaller fixes and enhancements in SilverLining 2.5, making this a worthwhile update for everyone. Check out the full release notes for the complete details.