You might want to read this thread:
http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,21728.msg218519.html#msg218519Maybe we are lucky and RTP and Final Render look more similar in the (near) future.
For the time being we have to render crops to be sure, I guess.
On the other hand there are some settings I change to get closer to the preview:
- turn of "Use voxels for shadows" in the "Optimisation" tab of the cloud
- reduce the "Edge sharpness" on the "Main" tab of the cloud
- raise the "Ambient" value on the "Tweaks" tab of the cloud (0.1 - 0.5) or something
- use the "modulator" slots on the "Tweaks" tab of the cloud
- increase the "Light received from environment", "Enviro light" value on the clouds "Lighting" tab
Did the Final render you posted really take 1 hour?
If so, a more accurate preview would be indeed very helpful...
It`s tedious and time consuming to work around this.
cheers, Klaus