This is a tough one. Very happy with my REX + ASE combo and looking at the weather-related features of AS2012 compared to those of ASE as outlined at simMarket it is hard to see whether there is 40 Australian dollars of value at the discounted pricepoint for current ASE users - I certainly would not spend a cent more!. Is there a killer weather related enhancement in AS2012 that makes it a must have?ThanksBruce

Here's my preliminary report on AS2012. First, I've owned every version of AS since 6.5 so I'm familiar with many of the nagging problems. I'm currently flying a long flight from KSAN to PHOG using AS 2012 and I'll update as the flight goes. Sorry, but there will be no pictures, just my thoughts.What I noticed that has changed:1. The new hourly METAR no longer takes 10 - 20 minutes after the new METAR has been published to be received by AS. I received the 0459 METAR from KSAN at 0505 zulu.2. Upper level winds are much better than they were in ASE. The wind in the SIM is actually what AS2012 is actually reporting at the corresponding altitude.3. No more crazy wind shifts!!! The wind has held steady so for during climb out gradually changing but still holding from the NE direction as it should be.4. The METAR is reporting SCT100 and judging by what the definition of SCT is, in the sim, it's spot on. Not too many clouds, but not too little either.TEXTURESOk, so I think this part is completely subjective. It's going to depend on your monitor resolution (mine is 5760 x 1080 HD across 3 screens) and your overall graphics settings in the SIM. I have all my sliders except for water and autogen to full right and an LOD_Radius set to 6.5.The cloud textures are nice. They give you a lot of options to choose from and the new GUI makes it very easy to choose. I flew last night in an AS2012 thunderstorm just to get an idea of what the clouds would be like. All I have to say is amazing! While I admit it's not fully REX Overdrive quality, I did see enough positives to outway that only negative:1. NO SEE THROUGH CLOUDS! That annoyed me the most about REX and I didn't get it with the AS2012 clouds.2. FPS is about 15% better than REX. I'm using DXT 5 & 1 over 32 at full 4096 resolution.3. The added cloud textures like the whisp and the various stratus/cirrus clouds made it much more realistic looking.Now onto the ground textures. What I liked and didn't like:LIKED - Snowy Runway textures - there are enough choices to make you go....what does a snowy runway really look like?LIKED - Even though you picked a color/texture for your runway, you could also select what the surface would be like separately (like cracks, oil spots, etc).LIKED - The amount of options!DIDN'T LIKE - Being an Air Traffic Controller and seeing aircraft parking spots on a daily basis, I think HiFi REALLY missed the mark on what a parking spot actually looks like. There doesn't seem to be enough oil/dirt/tire marks on their parking spot textures. In fact, it looks a little too clean...my driveway isn't even that clean lol.That's really the only thing I didn't like, BUT just like the cloud textures, the ground textures aren't as CRISP as REX Overdrive, BUT it really isn't enough for me to really fuss about.That's all I have for now, I'll post more as my flight goes along.

...DIDN'T LIKE - Being an Air Traffic Controller and seeing aircraft parking spots on a daily basis, I think HiFi REALLY missed the mark on what a parking spot actually looks like. There doesn't seem to be enough oil/dirt/tire marks on their parking spot textures. In fact, it looks a little too clean...my driveway isn't even that clean lol.

Sounds like an easy fix for a future SP. Thanks for th nice review!Cheers,- jahman.

Alright so far so good. Been in cruise for about 4 hours now and I must say, the advanced interpolation over the ocean has been about as close as you could expect. While I was leaving US Airspace and heading into Oceanic territory, I have a tail wind of about 70 - 80 knots. Sure enough looking at the wind charts on the NOAA website, there is a low pressure system over the southern tip of California which caused the tail wind. About an hour or two out, the winds slowly came back around to an easterly flow of about 40 knots. This might seem low in contrast, BUT, because of the low pressure system, I was actually in a "corridor" of lighter winds. See attached image for general route over Pacific Ocean in relation to the upper level winds.Now, along with the winds, the clouds were about perfect as well. In the little "cooridor" that I was in, there are only trace amounts of clouds (according to live satellite). This was also true in the sim, just a few clouds around to make the scenery more than just ocean and sky.My opinion, advanced interpolation has been dramatically improved.I'll have one more not once I've landed to give my final thoughts.

My opinion, advanced interpolation has been dramatically improved.

If you can say the same on the temperatures involved (my major break with ASE), it would sound very good. Not so much on the cruise ones, but at some more remote locations for example. By the way, thanks for the detailed report so far. Useful stuff that is.I had to smile at some points, as .. hey, we are buying weather addons since years and in 2011 we can eventually report

The wind in the SIM is actually what AS2012 is actually reporting at the corresponding altitude.

So thumbs up on the improvements, but maybe you get my 'chuckle point'. No offence intended, Jeremy. As said, keep the reports coming, sounds promising.

LOL, none taken CoolP. As I don't fly to remote places very often, I can't speak about the temp issue nor can I say I've ever experienced it.

Since folks say weather generation has improved in AS2012, and the textures are still not as good as Rex overdrive.One option might be to get AS2012 for weather and retain REX for textures, AS WEVE ALWAYS DONE!!!!.

Now that I've completed my flight, I can give my final thoughts. First, my arrival METAR called from clear skies. My sky finally cleared up of the few clouds that lingered around (and gradually not all of the sudden) about 40 miles away from the airport....not bad. The "force to destination airport" worked as it should, landed with the correct weather as reported by the current METAR.My opinion is just that, an opinion, and from what I've seen so far, if you're on the fence about this one you should probably wait. Keep in mind iko, that I felt the textures weren't as good as REX OD, BUT, and it's a big BUT, the difference was so minuscule that I almost didn't even bother posting my comparison. Don't take what I said as REX textures are WAY better, because that isn't what I meant. Both are solid and excellent looking texture sets, but if you already have one....there's really no point to having the other unless you don't mind spending the cash. If HiFi is planning on making a WX Engine only version and you don't want to stray from your REX textures, then wait for the Engine only version.Now, onto my personal opinion to HiFi as a consumer....again...just an opinion. I understand development costs money, and I think you all did an excellent job with AS2012 and the new texture sets. However, the fixes that were applied (at least the ones that I noticed) should have been applied as a patch to ASE, not force us to buy a whole new program. I can live without the fancy GUI, the textures, what I really want, are the fixes. Seems the only way to receive them is to buy the new program. While I appreciate your efforts and the small discount you gave us previous owners, this will most likely be the last HiFi product that I purchase. I think the only way you'll get me to open my wallet again is to come up with something that is going to "WOW" me. We as consumers should not be forced to pay for bug fixes.......and that is what I feel this new Active Sky program is (excluding the textures).Again, just my opinions, they are not meant with any malice or to offend.

Another short report:One of my pet peeves with MSFS is the lack of realism when making an instrument approach through fog and/or a low stratus layer.. I flew KSMF to KFAT this morning. KFAT was reporting 600 BRKN and 1.5 mi vis. The KFAT weather "popped" in when I was about 20 miles out even though I had the flight plan active in AS2012 and the "force destination weather zone" box checked. However, the realism of the broken layer and vis was the best I have seen in FSX. (I used the stratus clouds from AS2012). I found the stratus layer to be represented realisticly ie; the clouds were not transparent, there was a well defined top and bottom to the layer, the thickness of the layer was appropriate and well defined, when I broke out under the layer the visual was very real looking. Not sure why the "force destination weather zone" didn't prevent the KFAT weather from popping in though. Must be something I did wrong. But, all in all, this weather program is producing a marked improvement IMO with regard to making FSX seem more like the RW.

I've been a long time users of Active Sky back to ASX as well as X-Graphics. Others have provided details above that I would generally agree with so I won't go into great detail, but overall I'm quite happy with the upgrade and just like it's predecessors, wouldn't fly in FSX without it.Great job!

Oh man, this is soooooooo hard. There are just so many great FSX releases just lately, that I'm waaaaaay overspent this month. Out of curiosity, do devs plan it this way - just before christmas? There's still three that I badly want this month too

I have purchased ASX and X Graphics combo. I currently use ASX/REX Overdrive combo. I'm pretty happy with it. Not sure if it's worth the upgrade. I'll be ok with paying around $40 for AS2012 but hesitant to pay anymore.

JBZ, is this using DWC mode on your flight?

Can you program a weather only 2012? Sorry, but the answer is left out a bit to obvious, that's why I'm nagging. I think you are doing good as salesman by the way.

I feel the same, till then...Thanks,Dirk.

Can I install the upgrade on a separate client from where my ASE is now? I'd rather continue using ASE for FS9 from there and keep it intact. I wonder if AS2012 checks the previous install? If so it's unfortunate as I can only install on the 2nd client. Still thinking. Dirk.