Difference between Activesky graphics and Flight Environment?

[barryward12345 0]

There appears to be so many of these addons to improve the flight and/or ground textures, that it is difficult to know what to settle on. I have a faster computer now and have decided to stick with FS9 (it's apparently still not fast enough for FSx) - so I am looking for differnt flight and ground textures. I have seen many freeware and payware ones.So what are your opinions - and specifally , what is the difference between Activesky Graphics and Flight Environment?Thanks Barry

[Guest Mixermanic]

I am kind of in the same boat as you - going down the FS9 route.I have been told by several people that the "optimal" setup includes AS6.5 with ASG, Flight Environment, and Ground Environment Pro. Apparently they all work in Harmony...Real Environment Pro (freeware) also has some excellent runway and taxiway textures - I don't use the corona replacements as I rely on AS6.5 for that...Hope that helped rather than confused you more!!Martin

[CanadaOne 36]

Flight Environment has excellent graphics but does not make weather. I have it and it's very, very good. Highly recommended.AS6.5, which I don't have, apparently makes weather and does graphics, though the general opinion seems to be that FE looks better while AS6.5 is more dynamic. Also, I've been told AS6.5 is more complicated to use than FE. Lots of people seem to use the FE graphics and AS6.5 weather maker together.Ground Environment Pro is a must-have. Period! I can't imagine flying without it. Makes the whole world look beter and has lots of options. It's not cheap, but worth every penny.FS Genesis elevation mesh is a must-have as well. DL all their free stuff from their site and see what you think. Guaranteed you'll love it. Get the freeware mesh of Vancouver Island and British Columbia to see what this stuff can do. You'll probably end up buying several packages later on. The mesh that covers the west coast Canada/USA are the best packages to buy.Enjoy.

[Guest KemoF15]

My setup and recommendation:Terrain/scenery1) Add FSGenesis 38Meter as terrain mesh on top of default FS92) Add Ultimate Terrain USA/Europe etc3) Add GE Pro4) Add specific airport addons (Cloud 9, Imagine Sim, Oceanflight Megahubs payware etc--also recommend Grimshaw's KBOS and Ansari's KLGA freeware available in avsim library)Weather/Sky/water1) Add Active Sky 6.5 (think of as the realtime dynamic weather platform)2) Add Flight Environment to tweak cloud and water preferences3) Lastly, I added Real Sky Pro for dawn/dusk sun textures onlyThey all work in concert. The startup sequence for me is:1)Build flightplan in FSBuild 2.32)Pick specific gate in Gatekeeper for that flight3)Open ASv6.5 and import the flightplan--builds weather for the entire route of flight4)Click on GE Pro button on the AS6.5 menu page--GE Pro builds textures for given weather (eg., mostly clear, partly cloudy, overcast etc)5)"Hide" AS6.56) Open FS9--load the flightplan etcIf you don't have FSBuild I'd recommend it--you can save/point your flighplans into numerous areas (specific aircraft FMS, Active Sky, Squawkbox, Gatekeeper, and into FS9 itself)You don't have to enter Flight Environment each time you fly--just set your preferences and save/install.In FS9 with above package plus Squawkbox/FSACARS running in the background and sliders maxed out, I average 30 FPS with most complex aircraft (PMDG, Level D, PSS, Wilco Airbus) in largest airports with lots of weather--and it looks stunning! In FSX with latest SP, by contrast, I get about 15 FPS (without running squawkbox--not available yet) with very little weather at large airports in default jets, and I have to set sliders 75% with autogen off--FSX to me without autogen and mid-range complexity looks average at best. The lack of performance is a showstopper.Therefore, I'm sticking with FS9. Good Luck and enjoy!KemoF15AMD FX-62 Dual CoreNvidia 7950 GX2 (1GB GPU) overclocked4GB Corsair RAMRaptor 10000rpm HDDell 24" wide

[Guest codkilla]

KemoF15 at what point in your "start-up sequence" do you install the Flight envoironment textures? Just about to buy FE then I will have all the software you mentioned above and plan on following your advice.

[Guest KemoF15]

I simply use FE like ultimate terrain--install it once and it's good to go--if you want to change cloud textures/water/sky etc, just open it up and select/modify and FE installs. It has perhaps one of the most user friendly interfaces I've seen. FE will give you some great defaults or you can "randomize". Also FE will tell you that "this cirrus set works best with this stratus etc."So to answer, I don't open FE as part of my normal FS9 start sequence like you do with ASv6.5 or GE Pro.KemoF15

[JSkorna 137]

Just to add to this, Kemo is not using any ASG graphics at all, so nothing is getting overwritten in FS04.Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-community-sigbanner.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/

[Guest KemoF15]

Good point Jim--thanks! Here's a dusk shot at KDCA tonight.KemoF15 (USA2579 on VATSIM/Squawkbox)

[Guest KemoF15]

...and here is a daytime shot climbing out of KDTW today. The visibility was 6nm with haze.KemoF15

[duckbilled 310]

Right now I am using FSX only but I am thinking about going back to FS9. It has been close to a year since I have flown in FS9 making it had to compare the two sims but these screenies are making me more convinced that I should revert back to FS9.In FS9, I was using Active Sky, FE and GE Pro along with hundreds of airport add ons, FSG Mesh and landclass.IMHO, the must have add ons for FS9 are Active Sky, FE, FSG Mesh, GE Pro and Ultimate Traffic. In addition, there are so many good scenery add ons from Aerosoft, Flight Scenery, Cloud 9 and Flytampa.