High definition clouds and precipitation for advancing climate prediction (HD(CP)2) is a framework project funded by BMBF. The general target of the project is to advance the understanding of cloud formation and precipitation processes using a very high-resolution model based on the dynamical core of ICON, integrated for short time periods (days) over relatively large domains. The project started in 2012 with a first phase where the large-eddy simulation (LES) component of ICON was mainly developed. For benchmarking purposes, semi-idealized simulations with two state-of the art LES models were conducted. These simulations were used to analyze whether the semi-idealized framework is capable of reproducing observations gathered during the HD(CP)2 Observational Prototype Experiement HOPE conducted near Jülich, Germany in April-May 2013.