AS Overcast issues fixed?

[Guest sstobbe]

Previously uninstalled AS6 because the weather wasn't quite "bad enough". I fly the British Columbia coastline quite a bit, where the airports are usually socked in with a half mile visibility, solid overcast skies and rain. Using AS with extended overcast enabled and cloud settings maxed, I invariably was still able to see the ground- the solid overcast cloud layers reported showed up in Flight Simulator as broken or no clouds below and immediately around the aircraft. Made ILS approaches easier.The second problem was that I would lose the bad weather once I got a little ways away from a station reporting it. The weather stations on the BC coast are quite few and far between, but the weather between them is quite uniformly bad anyway.Has the weather gotten worse in the latest edition/service pack of Active Sky? If so, I am willing to give it another try.I am not really looking for tech support with this post.Thanks,

[Chappie 0]

Just read down the forums and get your answer.

[Guest sstobbe]

Steve,Just took a look at some of the recent troubleshooting posts about the issue here. One got locked by the admin prior to resolution, and the other one trailed off unresolved on 8/24. Do you have any further information?There was a reference to a screenshot by Andre showing a solid overcast layer below the aircraft, but the shot had been removed. Did this look like a bona fide shot from AS to you, and did it show an overcast layer that you are looking for? If the program is working for some people out there, then I am willing to try it.Thanks,

[Chappie 0]

Here is my take...and my take only. The program does work for some and not very well for others. The ones that it does work for I would say that it works good enough but would bet that it does not work 100%. If you asked the people that are saying they are happy with it if they are happy all the time and satisfied they are getting accurate wx depicted I would bet that they would say "well not all the time." Some of the people that think it is working may just be merely looking out the front window thinking all is well, but if they actually looked around or down they would realize that they could still see the ground around them in an overcast condition. I think it is a combo of an understanding of FSX's weather capabilities and the interfaces that external program like ASX have to use to talk to FSX that are at the root of these issues. Most people that have problems with it are able to get true overcast conditions by creating them under the FSX weather option without using ASX, but cannot get ASX to create those same type of solid overcast conditions. The thread that talked about a video of ASX running a true overcast depiction was run by multiple people and the video showed not a cloud in sight, so I don't know if it was a prank video or what. The upper level winds that are shifting constantly is a known problem (again being worked) that detracts from the realism of an airliner loosing/gaining speed and having to shove/pull power every few minutes.The program creators I know are working on this big problem and I feel will eventually crack this nut and mature this program into a solid piece of add-on software. If you are satisfied with just looking out front and getting the visiblity called for by your nearest wx station you will get that with ASX. But my experience and that of many others is that cloud/overcast representations are not there yet. The decision to purchase rests with you and if you do purchase it please report back on your results.Steve

[Reset XPDR 1,271]

>Some of the>people that think it is working may just be merely looking out>the front window thinking all is well, but if they actually>looked around or down they would realize that they could still>see the ground around them in an overcast condition. I have never quite understood the need from a realistic flying perspective to have overcast coverage straight down. If you are flying realistically, then it is not possible to look anywhere other than out the cockpit window at the cloud scape, and for this I have found both AS6 and ASX quite believable at depicting. IMO, as soon as you change to an outside view, you have just dipped into the unrealistic and hence all bets are off for expecting totally realistic overcast representation.Gary

[Chappie 0]

Gary,So am I to believe that flying around with a donut hole of clear wx underneath you IS realistic?? How realistic is it if you bank up into a 30 degree turn and see ground underneath your wing on a overcast day FROM the cockpit. The point is not what you see out the front but rather that in overcast weather conditions clouds exists all around your aircraft not just in the front windscreen view. Most airplanes that I fly in FSX have side windows and the view to the ground is easy to achieve from the cockpit while in a bank. You are exactly the type of person I mentioned in my original post that accepts reduced forward visbility as an acceptable overcast condition. If you can create clouds in front and to the side, then why can't they be underneath? Because after all that is truely the only realistic option for an "overcast condition".Steve

[Guest sstobbe]

Gary,Is this issue manifesting in your version of ASX also?Thanks,

[BlueDiamond 0]

Maybe you can't look straight down in a low wing plane but in the cessnas I fly in the real world you can definitely look straight down at the ground out the side windows.Michael

[JSkorna 137]

Hi Steve,Do you have enough information about this issue?Please let me know,Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-community-sigbanner.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/

[Guest sstobbe]

Currently, I can't really say I know whether the issue has been fixed. I haven't seen a screen shot or video anywhere looking down steeply onto a completely solid cloud deck with ASX. Could you point me to something like this?Although the above posters are debating whether its necessary to have completely solid decks, none of them have said that they aren't experiencing this (in my view) problem.Is this something that ASX developers are working on? Thanks,

[Guest sstobbe]

Jim,Also, do you know if my second issue with AS6 has been addressed, namely the lack of bad weather between two widely separated stations reporting bad weather in sparsely populated areas?Appreciate your help,

[JSkorna 137]

Hi Steve,Let me list a few things that we know at this time:1. A few users came forward with OVC problems.2. The thread was becoming too long and confusing so we asked for individuals to help us, we locked the thread and 2 users started new threads in an attempt to help us out. That we appreciate greatly!!3. I, MYSELF, made a short FSX video showing OVC on my 2.5 year old machine. I DID NOT view the video and sent it out. This is the so called "prank" video. I don't know why, but the clouds did not show in the video. So much for that. No, I am not going to pay for FRAPS or figure out how to make a AVI video from FSX.4. I believe these same users cannot get OVC even from FSX weather. So, is it a system specific issue, a FSX issue, or an ASX issue? Nobody knows for sure.5. We are going to continue to work on this for as long as it takes. But please realize that it may be an FSX issue and then we need to work through Microsoft. We do communicate with the ACES team on a regular basis.6. We have added many more virtual weather stations in ares of few real weather stations to address your second issue. Remember though, that averaging will still take place and weather smoothing is still a process that is present.7. Screen shots will always be debated and questioned, so no use there for some. The hurricane threads show shots and I am sure that the Screen Shot forum has shots.I hope this addresses your concerns!Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-community-sigbanner.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/

[Guest faust1200]

I personally can't get FSX to create a solid ovc layer with or without ASX. And if that is the case I don't see how ASX will ever do it. In my mind it's an FSX problem.

[Guest sstobbe]

Hey Jim,Thanks for your detailed response. It sounds like the overcast issue still presents in both ASX and FSX. I think I will try X graphics with FSX weather. Do you get solid cloud decks on your own system when you are descending into them? Other than that, I don't think I need any further information.Thanks,

[JSkorna 137]

Hi Steve,Yes I do, but I don't fly from the top down view, tower view, spot plane view, or from an AI plane's view; I only fly from the cockpit of my plnae.Thanks!Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-community-sigbanner.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/