Weather Radar

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Gents-Normally I stay out of these conversations just because we've explained our position on it quite a bit...But the original poster here clearly didn't intend for anyone to get upset or jump on him for starting a thread on the same topic... It seems to me he was intellectually curious about the reasons why- so please guys: Lets not jump on one another...To the original poster: The issue for us is the ability to realistically represent precipitation discriminators in the same fashion as the processor box on an actual weather radar would. That data is locked away inside the sim's mind, and doesn't provide data that I would consider realistic.I've sat behind color radar for thousands of hours and have used it to pick my way though some monster lines of T-Boomers... and it operates FAR differently than any of the offerings currently available for the sim world...So for us it really comes down to the question of: Do we invest the time in something we know really doesn't provide much value to our products? Or do we invest that time into things that really DO add value... We go with the value proposition as we see it.(I know some folks disagree with our evaluation of value... but "it is what it is.")

[Tabs 2,790]

Have you all thought about making a deal with Jeppesen (or Garmin, as I am more familiar with them) where one can purchase a special subscription (perhaps once a year or 6 months) that is compatible with PMDG. Or creating a converter for the raw Jep/Gar data where one can purchase their own Obstacle cycle and run it through, where obstacles will appear in the 37. I have not actually looked into our Garmin data to see how encrypted it is, so it might not be possible at all anyway.

Yes, and as I've said before the answer is always "Sure! Just pay us (insert ridiculous amount of money here)." That data costs airlines hundreds of thousands of dollars per update from Jeppesen, it's not something they want to give away to flight simmers. It's one of Jepp's core business.

[DAD 2,653]

Just pay us (insert ridiculous amount of money here)."

lol. can image that.i bought many years ago some trip kits. no idea whether jepp still offers them but it was a set of manuals and charts for a specific country/region w/o update service at a *rather* adequate price. now I very much used the orbx madness sale and got quite a few of their scenery I was lucky to see that I even go the pacific trip kit, covering - how funny - the pacific area incl. australia. flying with them is a real fun again. hey, and I even opted for the hard cover ring binder then. nowadays the money goes into kids clothes, shoes and diapers. tempus fugit.

[ExNusquam 11]

Yes, and as I've said before the answer is always "Sure! Just pay us (insert ridiculous amount of money here)." That data costs airlines hundreds of thousands of dollars per update from Jeppesen, it's not something they want to give away to flight simmers. It's one of Jepp's core business.

See, that's why it would be awesome if PMDG was a Boeing company. Then their sister company would give them that data for free! :(

[dazz 69]

I'd venture that the terrain DB isn't going to need to be updated unless a cataclysmic world event happens... if that occurs, I'd bet flight simming will be the last thing on anyone's mind. Seriously though, the EGPWS is there to keep you from crashing into terrain at night or in low visibility, it's not some hyper-accurate and detailed topo map. The resolution of the real life unit's terrain is pretty low compared to the terrain mesh addons you get for FS actually.

And would adding a landclass package significantly change the terrain in a way that makes the data inconsistent?

[captainklm 1]

sorry to ask but I really have no time to read the other posts,so there will be no weather radar? If not then if you look on facebook the photo of the 2d panel there is some clouds on the place where they show waypoints and stuff (what was that called again???) Can someone update me? Please?

[dazz 69]

That's the EGPWS

[SkyOwner 0]

This topic has been really interesting so far, learning about FSX's rather pathetic way of implementing weather.However, after reading myself into Active Sky, doesn't that model more accurate weather? So would it (in theory) be possible to make an accurate weather radar that works with plugins like Active Sky? Or would that still not be realistic? Cheers,Ernst Haagsman

[masneoquil 66]

This topic has been really interesting so far, learning about FSX's rather pathetic way of implementing weather.However, after reading myself into Active Sky, doesn't that model more accurate weather? So would it (in theory) be possible to make an accurate weather radar that works with plugins like Active Sky? Or would that still not be realistic? Cheers,Ernst Haagsman

But again, ActiveSky just improve the efects plus real time weather.The fact that the rain is still an efect around your aicraft can't be change by any Add-On

[michal 44]

And would adding a landclass package significantly change the terrain in a way that makes the data inconsistent?

:( I never heard of landclasss data modifying terrain elevation. What matters is terrain elevation data only.

[Tabs 2,790]

And would adding a landclass package significantly change the terrain in a way that makes the data inconsistent?

Landclass is just the file that determines what textures get applied where over the terrain mesh. The EGPWS is showing you terrain elevation and contour - that's it and that shouldn't change barring catastropic earthquakes, volcanic eruptions that destroy or create a new volcano cone etc. What really gets updated on real life aircraft is the obstacle database, not the terrain DEM.

sorry to ask but I really have no time to read the other posts,so there will be no weather radar? If not then if you look on facebook the photo of the 2d panel there is some clouds on the place where they show waypoints and stuff (what was that called again???) Can someone update me? Please?

No weather radar - that's something we've been very consistent with over the years. You'll need to read the other posts to understand why, I'm not going to type it all out again.The display on the 2D panel shot (there is a caption there explaining this by the way) is terrain data - those are depictions of mountains that surround the KPHX airport.

However, after reading myself into Active Sky, doesn't that model more accurate weather? So would it (in theory) be possible to make an accurate weather radar that works with plugins like Active Sky? Or would that still not be realistic?

Active Sky still works within FSX's weather system, so no. It's a more accurate depiction of what the real life weather is than FSX's default real-world weather download system, but it all still works within FSX's framework - same issues surrounding precipitation and all of that.

[Prycon 1]

Is it possible for a third party program to simulate real weather (precipitation) outside of FSX? So weather radar can use data from that program inside FSX, and if a plane enters one of the storm centers it would crash the plane because of stress (which happens when you fly too fast in FS). Maybe wouldn't be visual correct, and it might slow down FPS, but it would give the simulation some depth. Just a thought.

[dazz 69]

Landclass is just the file that determines what textures get applied where over the terrain mesh. The EGPWS is showing you terrain elevation and contour - that's it and that shouldn't change barring catastropic earthquakes, volcanic eruptions that destroy or create a new volcano cone etc. What really gets updated on real life aircraft is the obstacle database, not the terrain DEM.

Sorry, I meant terrain mesh, not land class. Like FS Genesis.

[Tabs 2,790]

Is it possible for a third party program to simulate real weather (precipitation) outside of FSX? So weather radar can use data from that program inside FSX, and if a plane enters one of the storm centers it would crash the plane because of stress (which happens when you fly too fast in FS). Maybe wouldn't be visual correct, and it might slow down FPS, but it would give the simulation some depth. Just a thought.

Unlikely - you'd need to be able to add things to the FSX engine most likely to do that. Without source code, that isn't possible. Someone with an ESP license could probably do it, but it wouldn't be FSX compatible.

Sorry, I meant terrain mesh, not land class. Like FS Genesis.

The database we created is the same resolution as what's in the real life unit, so it won't matter what mesh you have installed. Again, like I was saying last night, the point with EGPWS is situational awareness and preventing CFIT incidents at night and in IMC, not providing some sort of hyper-detailed topographical map of the terrain. What's in the real thing is of a lower resolution that a lot of people probably think.

[dazz 69]

The database we created is the same resolution as what's in the real life unit, so it won't matter what mesh you have installed. Again, like I was saying last night, the point with EGPWS is situational awareness and preventing CFIT incidents at night and in IMC, not providing some sort of hyper-detailed topographical map of the terrain. What's in the real thing is of a lower resolution that a lot of people probably think.

Ok, thanks Ryan