Environmental upgrade needed

[CanadaOne 36]

Howdy,My stable of planes is nice and full, and I have the FZ01 and FZ02 sceneries along with some good freeware scenery, now I'm looking for an environmental upgrade. In short, I want more eye-candy.Is ActiveSky 6 the way to go? Is the difference very noticeable? This is one area of the add-on market I know very little about.Also, what about mass-coverage scenery packages? I have the MegaScenery PNW, it's nice but is there something that gives a general improvement across the board, something that tightens up the code and makes the whole sim look better? Anything like that out there? I've got the horsepower and a bit of cash, I want to bring FS9 to it's eye-candy max.Thanks.

[GHarrall 494]

AS6.5 is essential for FS as far as I am concerned. The difference is like night and day.Other essentials for your eye-candy pleasure:Ultimate Terrain - USA, Canada, EuropeGround EnvironmentFlight EnvironmentAll available from Flight1.comRegards,Glenn

[CanadaOne 36]

Thanks for the response. I'm looking at all the products you mentioned.A question, if I may. You're suggesting Active Sky and Flight environment together, one layered on top of the other? Also, are you suggesting the same with Ground Environment and Ultimate terrain? Do you know how these will mesh with the FZ01 and FZ02 sceneries?If I can only afford one program for a better looking sky, would you suggest Active Sky or Flight Environment?Thanks again.**I've been reading the reviews and Ground Environment looks very good. Also, it appears that Flight Environment is for the eye candy crowd and ActiveSky more for the hardcore crowd. Is this accurate?

[greengriffon 51]

I'm one of the many people who use ActiveSky and Flight Environment together.If you have both, you can use ActiveSky's weather engine to generate the weather, but use Flight Environment's graphics to display it.Unbeatable combo IMHO.GG

[CanadaOne 36]

Sounds good. Expensive, but good.I was just looking at the Ground Environment Pro package. It's mighty expensive at $50, but what price fun, eh? I might be able to get the Ground and Flight Environment and maybe ActiveSky later. I have a few bucks, but this could get out of hand pretty quick. All I know is I want the best possible representation of flight I can afford. (If my wife ever finds out, I'm doomed... )

[GHarrall 494]

Exactly,But if you are looking to save a bit of money, AS comes with ActiveSky Graphics which is very similar to FE anyway. I just prefer the FE graphics (plus it has much improved water textures and effects)Ultimate Terrain and GE do two different things.UT provides accurate coastline and water 'data'. Think of this as the canvas.GE provides more realistic textures. Think of this as the oil paintOne thing which I did forget, which I also think is essential (especially with UT) is FSGenesis terrain mesh. This adds the correct topography to the FS world.Hope this helps,Glenn

[GHarrall 494]

I dont have GE Pro.I bought it when it first came out before the pro version was available.You can still buy it now as GE2006If you like it, you can always upgrade to Pro later for $20 via a Flight 1 coupon.Glenn

[CanadaOne 36]

It does, thank you.I think I'm going to get the Ground Environment Pro. I want that oil painting you speak of. UT will have to wait.I'm still undecided between AS and FE. I'll keep reading the reviews. FE is a good deal less expensive so maybe I'll get it first. Just GE and FE is going to put me back a chunk o' change.I'll check out the FSGenesis terrain mesh as well. I've heard a lot about it but never really looked into it.Guess if I get the GE & FE programs this aft, I'm better off doing a whole new install.Thanks for the info. @-@

[GHarrall 494]

I would get AS6.5 over FE if I had to choose.AS 'generates' real world weather downloaded from servers. It comes with it's own texture program (sky, clouds, sun etc) called ActiveSky Graphics.FE does not 'generate' any weather, it only replaces textures.So in this regard, AS gives more bang for the buck.Glenn

[CanadaOne 36]

Copy that. Just came back to read the AS review again.DL GE Pro time.And thank you again.

[alsummers 0]

If someone told me I could only keep one of my addon's, it would, without the SLIGHTEST doubt, be Activesky. I don't believe you can quantify the change it makes to FS. Whenever I load up FS, my excitment is mainly to see what beautiful skyscapes Activesky is going to present me with!Of course its important to have the right settings! But its easy to find instructions for the best setup in Activesky options on the forums here!Get it, you won't be disappointed!Regards,Al.

[GHarrall 494]

I also forgot to mention that UT comes with accurate road data and accurate urban landclass, meanining that towns and cities are where they are supposed to be as in the real world. The 3D night lights are fantastic also.So all in all, these are my 'must haves' for FS9:1) Active Sky2) FSGenesis Terrain Mesh3) Ground Environment4) UT Europe5) UT USA6) UT Canada / Alaska7) Flight Environment (if you prefer it to ActiveSky Graphics)And for later (if you like slow and low flying)Tongass FjordsVancouver+

[CanadaOne 36]

I DL'd GE and FE. You pay when you install, but I haven't installed either yet. Pretty sure I'll scratch FE and go with AS. When everyone and every review says it's great, well, it probably is. Few products I've seen have received such overwhelming support as AS has.Just killed my FS9 installation. It was at 9Gigs. Going to do a nice clean re-install just with the good stuff all packed together after a good defrag.Once the install dance is all done, should be some good flying tonight. :-kewl

[GHarrall 494]

There is some freeware mesh from FSGenesis here in the library. You should try it out and see if you like it. It covers all of USA and some of Canada at 38m resolution. (default FS is ~750m)Search by author for 'Justin Tyme'It's old now and has no support, but if you like it you can buy the latest version from the FSGenesis website.Glenn

[Paul J 349]

Hey Can1! I just did what you're looking to do. I already have FZ01 and 2, plus UT_Can/Alaska, and ASv6.First I purchased Justin's NA Mesh:- North America FS2004 Terrain 2 DVD Set - Code:DVD-NAthen: (after I rcv'd and installed the mesh):- US National Landclass Project - Code:LCUS.This was followed by d/l'ing and installing:- UT USA from Flight1 + plus the FZ02 patch and the FSG "sandwich" patch. I also discovered a new site, which seems to cover all patch issues with UT:- http://scenerysolutions.com/Compatibility/. . . and then d/l'ing and installing:- Ground Environment Pro - also from Flight1.The full install and configuration takes a few hours, but the results are breath-taking. I had no idea "the States" was so populous!! There's MILLIONS of houses and buildings - and hills! Mountains! Roads!I got my hardware a coupla months ago - for FS ten - and it works, but I need my addons - and they're not there (yet?), so I got right back into 9 with a vengeance. 40-60 fps, I had ASv6 already, so that's anywere, any weather, any traffic, anytime. It's fantastic!Regards,