Moving Frontal Systems?

[Guest VFR_Steve]

congrats on the development and release of another (I'm sure) great weather addon for FSX. I have to ask, in relation to the drag and drop method, are you able, yet, to finally utilise active and moving weather fronts in FSX?For example if I were to practise touch & go's and I could see the weather move in from a distance and perhaps with it, give a change in visibility, wind and rain and over time, to pass over the field... is that possible as it is in the excellent flight sim Flight Unlimited 3?CheersSteve

[Guest VFR_Steve]

Anyone? :(

[Damian Clark 1,244]

Hi Steve,Active Moving Weather Fronts. Well to a degree this is already simulated and has been for a while, but not directly. The "front" is not an object that is synthesized or rendered but the weather data is what defines the "front-like wx". You can see a system moving in from afar along with the changing conditions, although it may not be quite what you are hoping for.Having a true "connected front line" depicted in the sim would require different FS-based weather features that are not currently available. Right now a 16x16km area can contain a single graphical cloud screen that does not connect to other 16x16km areas, so there will be gaps.We've tried a few tricks that haven't quite worked out, so we've really been putting such weather object depiction in the waiting list until FS capability is enhanced here.Its worth it to note that ASA's new interpolation can affect the depiction of weather-data-based frontal information and the results are generally richer when depicting changing weather.Best,

[Mace 1,924]

Anyone? :(

I would think it would be possible programmatically...I suppose it would, but would take some time to implement...much like the hurricanes with ASX. But the larger point is, that really it is already possible to see this with ASv6 or ASX. I mean, I can sit at my home airport, and as the weather updates every 15 minutes or hour or whatever time period, the weather will change. And if a front passes through, the wind will shift, temp drop, precip, etc. Now, you are probably wanting more, like a visual with the clouds, etc. and this I think would require some programming, although you'd really want to talk to the HiFi guys about that as they know more about the ins and outs of it than I do.In real life, it is rare for me to see a frontal passage though. Usually it just rains, the front passes, wind shifts, and that's about it. Many times there is no major change in the cloud structure, at least no visible change. Sometimes there is, but you have to really know meteorology to tell the difference (in cloud types). If there is a line of CB's, AS will show it, but of course depending on the number of stations, that will affect how it is displayed in the sim. Probably if you wanted the "gaps" filled in, that would require some programming to interpolate all the nearby stations for the logic to detect a line and a front.Its some neat stuff to think about how to program it, anyway.

[Guest VFR_Steve]

thanks for your reply, I guess what we have now is the best I'm going to get untill perhaps FS11.. although I've been wishing for this to be implemented properly since FS2002!EVEN far cry2 has a better dynamic weather system than FSX :( the best way I describe it is if you look outside your window on a hot summers day and in the distance you see a dark menacing buildup of dark thundercloud sweeping towards you and with it, bringing gradual change... something that's so important in real world flying and completely ignored in FS.. it's not active sky's fault, it's these talented developers who have saved flight simming for me.I am pretty annoyed though when FS2004 came out promising a dynamic weather system when the only thing that actually changes is the clouds...Thanks for your thoughtsSteve