Dave, that is super what you made to show what V2.5+ does! May I use your pictures for an article about this effect in P3D in my Dutch flightsim magazine? [PilotenPost; freeware- no adds at AVSIM] have no Idea how to PM you .
The spheres in the P3D don't have the reflection map but those non reflection spheres in the fore ground have a different brillance that I do like [compare #4 left] The top #3 in V2.5 is far more chrome-like than any of them in the top picture. But it is surely strange they have no chrome.
Is this issue at all related to the problem with transparent parts on Orbx static aircraft and the problems with Orbx volumetric grass? See my threads in this forum. I'm asking because those effects also rely on semitransparent textures
Okay, great research I start from scenario setup so I will try booting straight into a flight to see. I have this issue on the P-38 and many other default aircraft in addition to the aerosoft F-14, Milviz F-86, M2M Mirage 2000 (canopies) and SSW F-104/F-84 (all textures featuring a diffuse alpha).
I noticed the same problem with EnvMap textures in my Prepar3D 2.4. Is it possible that this is a problem in the graphics card? In my case it is a humble Nvidia GTX550TI, version 347.88 drivers ...
The problem texture P38 existed since P3D V1.4.
I noticed also a problem with propeller in relation to more distant clouds, where the notion of depth there, something like the clouds overlap the propeller turning, depending on the viewing angle of.
I not reported problem in forum.