Project: ActiveSky

[Guest pilot_guru]

A new website for ActiveSky wxRE is now up and running. For further details about the latest release (due in December), go to:http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/sure looks like this version is going to be a winner.see you in the clouds!David

[Guest Eric]

Hello, Sadly he gone like all others= payware, and I have FsMeteo, I will not buy this one.Eric

[spotlope 0]

I'd be willing to bet that there's still room for improvement in the area of weather, and that there's room for at least one more weather generation option. After all, how many flight planners are there? I'm anxious to see what Damian has up his sleeve... the advance publicity makes it sound pretty awesome.

[Guest pilot_guru]

yes Eric, Damian has gone 'payware', but I guess with the costs associated with developing good addon products, the developer has the right to recoup those costs in some form or manner.I don't recall Damian ever stating, or reading that his product will 'forever' remain freeware, and I have been using ActiveSky since its first release.I also have FSMeteo, but will definately be purchasing Damians latest release (when released in December).I hear the same argument all the time........he's gone payware.....I already have this or that. But, at the same time, Simmers will run off and purchase YET another aircraft, bearing in mind that they already have more than one purchased aircraft in the hanger..........sort of defeats the argument a bit, lol.Anyway, each to his, its all a matter of personal choice.........to purchase or not.see you in the clouds.David

[Guest dogknot]

Thanks for the link David! I use ActiveSky now and think it's a great addition. After looking at the new web page and reading all the new proposals for the up and coming version of ActiveSky (new name: ActiveSky wxRE), I too think it will be a winner and a most welcome add-on to my flight simming arsenal. A few bucks for a great product is okay by me.

[Geofa 108]

I look at it in a 180 degree opposite heading-happily I can now contribute to someone who has given freely something we probably should have paid for in the first place. :-)http://members.telocity.com/~geof43/Geofdog2.gif

[Guest]

Hereby seconded.

[Guest]

I hope you'll go public when you'll switch to Active Sky in a few weeks.

[Guest]

I agree, this freeware has been immense fun, and 14.95 seems a fair price to pay for the smooth transitions and wake turbulance modelling.B

[Guest PhilipManwaring]

Also guys, don't forget that ActiveSky 1.5 is still out there and available for free. From what I can tell, Damien will keep ActiveSky 2002 available for free download. I've been using it and love it. I also think $14.95 is an incredibly reasonable price for the features in the WXre version. Some of these like wake turbulence will add new elements of realism to our hobby that have never been modelled before. Also, the $14.95 includes upgrades and given Damien's history of rapid and substantial upgrades I doubt that very many people will feel like they didn't get their money's worth. Happy flying,Philip

[Guest pilot_guru]

You are welcome Brent, I didn't know about the website until I was made aware of it, thus my reason for posting here.It gives others the opportunity to have a look and make up thier own minds as to whether they think the product is suitable for them.I too think the price is more than reasonable, I sort of expected that it may have been even a little higher, so my surprise was instantly turned to delight.I suppose by keeping the price at a level where it is attractive, it will also allow those on limited incomes to maybe make a purchase, after all, not all flightsimmers are adults working and earning a living, there are a lot of the younger generation that participate in this great environment and who also like to purchase addons for thier beloved FS. Same goes for the non-working adults and those who are on limited incomes, it provides a reasonable avenue for them to make a purchase, should their funds permit it.Also, Damians current freeware version will still be available for those who wish to use ActiveSky with out having to make a purchase, albeit they wont have all the added extras that ActiveSky wxRe has to offer.I can't wait for its release.........its going to be AWESOME!!!see you in the clouds!David

[raynuss 0]

I presently use FSMeteo, but I tried ActiveSky 1.5 and frankly I didn't like it as well as FSMeteo. I live near my hometown airport and fired up FS2k2 to check out the weather using both programs. The weather when using FSMeteo was very accurate, but when I used ActiveSky 1.5, the weather was not at all accurate. When I looked out my window, visibility was about 1 mile with light drizzle. FSMeteo showed this exactly. ActiveSky 1.5 showed an almost clear sky with no precipitation at all! I tried the same thing for a few days to give ActiveSky a fair chance in different weather situations, but the results were always the same. I removed ActiveSky from my computer and unless there has been a dramatic improvement in the way it reports the weather, you won't see me forking out $14.95 for it. I didn't like it when it was free!Ray

[Guest]

Project ActiveSky looks fantastic! I have downloaded used and enjoyed each release of the freeware version and can't wait for the release of the payware version! Just look at the features!! These are the things that most everyone has been crying for since the release of Flightsim itself...Wake Turbulence!Smooth Weather Transitions!Intelligent Turbulence and Icing!In-Flight Weather Updates!etc... etc... etc...Those are just a few of the features I read off the ActiveSky wxRE website, there's plenty more! The smooth weather transition feature is worth the asking price alone!!!Just my 2 cents, but for what it's worth I think wxRE is going to revolutionize the flightsim weather "experience".C172_FlyerCYQG

[Guest]

FSMeteo does have access to better weather servers for whatever reason, especially worldwide winds aloft (FD) weather reports. Active Sky only simulates FD data outside of the continental US. Simulated data does not allow for accurate real world flight planning, thus FSMeteo will be hard to beat in the foreseeable future.

[Guest GabrielR]

How much is FS meteo?