your concerns and assumptions are well founded.
I will disagree. I don’t know where your reference point was but even going back just a short few years, the latest sims ARE much better than you remember them and pilots today ARE routinely shown much more realistic visual scenes. In fact, I would suggest that of all the elements of FSTDs, the visual has shown the most improvement.
Visual manufacturers have been able to take full advantage of the mass market gaming industry and as a result the power and graphics capabilities now available to the (low volume) simulation market was unimaginable just a few years ago. Likewise, the home theatre led projection mass market has made cost effective 4 Mp projectors systems more common place on simulators allowing up to 210° X 45° FOV 3 channel systems with high brightness, great definition and excellent and distinct colours.
Of course, all these capabilities needs to be used and improved database modelling techniques with associated OS or real times with the ‘special effects’ have harnessed these with fantastic results.
Cost is not an impediment to upgrade to this later and far superior technology as typically they are 50% CHEAPER to purchase than the previous generation systems and the operating costs are minimal so why ‘industry’ doesn’t upgrade is somewhat baffling to me. (In our case we have upgraded every FFS to this latest technology).
Your original question referred to the low visibility operation and again, this area is much improved with far greater control of the environment being available to the instructor. However, I find myself being in full agreement with something that AirRabbit constantly states in so much that unless the instructor is totally familiar with the particular FSTD operation, typically these additional features and controls are not (never?) utilised to their full extent.
Unfortunately many TDMs still design their FSTDs for engineers to operate not instructors and quite often a pseudo type rating is required just to operate the damn devices!!