What are the add-ons for FS2004 that allow the smooth transition of weather, clouds, etc.?What I mean by smooth transition is the weather not instantly changing from a few clouds around to, say, 5 mi. visibility while flying along.If I'm not mistaken AS2004 does this but are there any others?

Weather Maker Enhanced Edition sets the weather dynamically over a grid area. Thus, I have found the transitions are as smooth as FS2004 will allow. However, the downfall at this time is that it is not real weather. You can change the weather via the XML file it loads. The other benefit is that it is free! Not to say that Active Sky 2004 isn't - it is very good product.You can get it for a test run at http://www.weather-maker.com.

Active Sky 2004 is free?

No, but we are running a discount program this weekend!Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

Okay, two questions...1) Does AS2004 indeed provide smooth weather transitions? Is there a video somewhere that shows this happening?2) Will this discount program offer still include ActiveRadar?

1. Video, no. Just the feedback of users. Smooth weather transitions, yes.2. Any purchase will include Active Radar. It is always part of the whole package.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

Hey Jim,I too am considering a weather program. FSUIPC does pretty much what I want in terms of visibility which was my primary concern. I'm pretty happy with FSW clouds and FSUIPC. Is there a frame rate hit with ActiveSky? This would be my concern at this point as my sim is running beautifully and it seems that problems often multiply as scenery, etc. is added.Thanks so much,Mark

Hi Mark,Thanks for your interest! Without knowing your system I can't promise you the world. However, using FSW clouds is a start in the right direction. From that, AS 2004 has many adjustable options that a user can use to fit their system. Next, our support team will always be around to help individuals get the most out of our product and their computer system. Last, there is a discount running right now on all new purchases of AS 2004.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

Not per se, but if AS creates a complex weather scenario with 10 layers of clouds, you'll see a drop in FPS - the same drop as if you created custom weather with a lot of different layers. It's the weather that causes the drop in fps, not activesky...If you run activesky on a clear day, you won't see any drop in FPS! ;).Best,sgEDIT - forgot to say that the max number of cloud layers is user-definable, so if you get decent performance with 2 or 3 cloud layers, you can leave it at that. By default, i don't think there is a limit...

I think I'll give it a try...My system specs..Dell 83003.4 ghzRadeon 9800 pro2 HDs1gb ram

Mark,Thanks in advance! With that system you should be good to go. If you have other questions or concerns please start a new thread in our forum here at AVSIM.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg