Hi, I downloaded ASVE a couple of nights ago, and I am not very impressed. My main problems are to do with much slower performance, and overcasts that are never overcast! I mostly use MS Flightsim2004 to practice IMC procedures for real life GA flying. The sort of settings I like to practice in are OVC 500ft, vis 1200m, with the tops being around say 3000ft.When I take off into these settings, not only does the system run slowly, but the ground is always visible to some extent and when I climb above the tops, I can see the ground clearly as if the cloud distribution is 4 octars.I have read through the user manual and have tried as much as I possibly can to sort these issues. I have:- tried many different configurations of FS2004 weather display settings- tried the resolution in 256x256 and 64x64- enabled Mips & DXT using Imagetool- tried with & without "overcast enhancement"- limited cloud layers to 3- run fps at around 20- and loads of other tweaksI'm sorry to say this but I don't feel that this product is very user friendly. Too many advanced tweaking options have been provided which cause confusion. Do I want "cotton candy" clouds, or do I want them "thick and soft"? What? I just want realistic weather!It may be simple for people familiar to earlier versions, but to a newcomer it seems rather disjointed. The manual doesn't clearly state how the operation of FS weather settings should change after you install the program. As I understand it, ASVE should be started before MSFS2004 and run minimized throughout. Why couldn't it have been integrated within the flight simulator platform? The reason why I ask this is because it gives rise to confusion. Should I be setting my weather with METARS etc via the ASVE platform, or should I be setting it with the FS weather menu?Why have the WX configurator at all? If you want live weather use the online update. If you want to insert your own settings, use the perfectly acceptable weather interface in MSFS2004, and save the hassle of the updating process which takes too long.I'm sure you are going to tell me that I'm doing it all wrong, and I apologize if I am, but, I don't see how this product is worth the money, it isn't "all that". UK BasedMS Flight Simulator 2004Just Flight UK Airfield Scenery AddonsTraffic 2004FS TerrainVATSIM UserADSL Internet ConnectionLAPTOP ProcessorModel : Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.06GHzSpeed : 3.07GHzPerformance Rating : PR4078 (estimated)SMT Support : 2 Unit(s)Type : StandardL2 On-board Cache : 512kB ECC Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sectorMainboardBus(es) : ISA AGP PCI CardBus USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBusMP Support : 1 CPU(s)MP APIC : NoSystem BIOS : AT/AT COMPATIBLE Total Memory : 510MB DDR-SDRAMChipset 1Model : Clevo/Kapok Computer SiS645DX CPU to PCI BridgeFront Side Bus Speed : 4x 133MHz (532MHz data rate)Total Memory : 512MB DDR-SDRAMVideo SystemAdapter : MOBILITY RADEON 9000 Physical Storage DevicesRemovable Drive : Floppy disk driveHard Disk : HITACHI_DK23EA-60 (56GB)CD-ROM/DVD : TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-R6112 (CD 24X Rd, 16X Wr) (DVD 3X Rd, 2X Wr)MultiMedia Device(s)Device : Realtek AC'97 AudioOperating System(s)Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional (Win32 x86) 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)

Hi,We are sorry that you are not very impressed. If you are asking for help I will go through your entire post and make some suggestions.1. Any laptop running a Mobility 9000 is not going to be able to handle a graphics intensive program like FS04 along with ASV, Traffic 2004, FS Terrain, and other additional graphics add-ons. This is especially true with only 512MB main memory. So the first thing that drops out of FS04 are the graphics. This may be why you never see a true overcast. About the best you are going to be able to do is use 64 bit clouds, a 60 mile sight distance and a 30 mile cloud draw distance.2. The cloud textures are not going to affect the weather, only how the clouds look. If you don't want to choose, put AE in Random mode and you'll never need to worry about this again.3. The FS weather settings are not going to change. The weather will be User Defined, meaning that ASV will take care of everything. The only change to make is dynamic weather should be set to None. Then the manual shows you the weather screen options to set in FS04.4. Why can't this be programed into FS04? Because ASV is an external program and it cannot be integrated.5. You shouldn't be setting any METARs, in ASV, or in FS04. Everything is automatic.6. The wx Configurator is a powerful tool for users who wish to set up their own weather conditions. If you favorite airport is socked in with IFR conditions any you want VFR conditions you can quickly and easily change the conditions at that one airport, at a range of airports or at all airports.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg

Hi Jim,Thanks for your quick reply. I take back the "not worth the money" comment. Evidently my hardware is not up to the job. I'll try to skim down some of those resource hungry programs.

>So the first thing that drops out of FS04 are the graphics.>This may be why you never see a true overcast. About the best>you are going to be able to do is use 64 bit clouds, a 60 mile>sight distance and a 30 mile cloud draw distance.Also, you can try to set max visibility to 29 miles (via ASVE options). This way, you will remove clouds pop-up while flying (if you set 30 mile cloud draw distance) and you will remove also a visibility shifts (30->29 miles) inherent to how FS9 depicts weather.Marco

Hi dog,I really hope you will take the time to go through things. I am sure that things can be over-whelming for a first time user. My suggestion is always to go one step at a time, with the manual open, and just explore where and how things work and interact. Then, come back here and ask specific questions as those come up. Don't wait until you are so frustrated that you want to give up on anything. After a few weeks of use, things will come naturally and ASV will be just one short step to take before you go flying.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg