REX Essential PLUS vs OpusFSX

[rstough 528]

Yes will be expanding the archive files. It is approx. 140 million rows of data for each year, and our focus has been mostly on getting REX out. So after things calm down we will start the process of moving more data over.

[Kosta 122]

I've never seen a weather engine that worked as good as Opus.

 

I used it. Would like to know what you find about Opus weather engine so good? Let's exclude the cloud depiction... because when it comes to weather, it's virtually only one little part.

 

Opus FSX has been spot on accurate as to the depicted weather and METARS

 

How so? I always had correct METARs in AS, just up to 30min late, which is, considering what is happening in the background, quite OK.

 

Seemed to work fine when I tried it last night. Bit slow to do the initial load of METARs and winds aloft, but no delays on injection after that.

 

I don't understand why people nag about the startup of the weather engine. How long does FSX need to start up? In my case, and the case of a very powerful computer, weather engine loads faster than FSX does...

[tttocs 301]

I don't understand why people nag about the startup of the weather engine. How long does FSX need to start up? In my case, and the case of a very powerful computer, weather engine loads faster than FSX does...

 

Huh?? This wasn't a complaint (and certainly not a "nag"), just a factual observation. I'm actually very pleased with the functionality of the feature and have so stated elsewhere. Note that I also mention that there were no perceptible delays after the initial load, which is indeed what really matters to me.

 

If that wasn't clear, my apologies.

 

Scott

 

Edit: And just to be extra clear, my remarks were in reference to REX new historical wx feature and its data load.

 

S.

[Kosta 122]

Scott - that wasn't pointed towards you. I'm also sorry if it came over like that, simple internet lingo. I ment in general - Opus become so popular because it starts instantly. Why does it do that? Because it has nothing else than NOAA METARs to report/forward.

[Jim Young 2,356]

Rex is first mentioned in the topic title. No dis respect Jim, but sometimes I think you get trigger happy.

 

Hi Julian,

 

I see Tom has moved this topic back and that's great but I saw nothing about FSX in the OP. The topic title indicated it was a comparison between one software weather product against another software weather product that were made for FSX. I think it would have made a great topic in the OPUS Forum too as I'm sure those interested in OPUS weather would have loved to review the comparison with REX Plus (or maybe not...). I appreciate your bringing this to my attention. Mistakes happen occasionally. I just wanted to explain my rationale.

 

My apologies to the OP for moving the topic too!

 

Best regards,

Jim

[tttocs 301]

Scott - that wasn't pointed towards you. I'm also sorry if it came over like that, simple internet lingo.

 

Gotcha. No worries and thanks for clarifying.

 

Scott

[XPX64man 130]

I used it. Would like to know what you find about Opus weather engine so good? Let's exclude the cloud depiction... because when it comes to weather, it's virtually only one little part.

 

I like Opus because it sets up and loads weather quickly. You don't have to wait long periods for loading weather like with REX or Active Sky 2012. Turn on Opus and your weather is there, looking wonderful, instantly.

Another thing is that I can fly in clear weather and see overcast ahead in the distance. It will get closer realistically and I will fly into that overcast and be on zero visibility, staying in it without the weather cleaning and reloading. With REX or AS2012, you will find yourself, all of a sudden, in clear weather.

I also like the turbulents in Opus. I'll be flying along and hit turbulents where my aircraft will vibrate realistically. I haven't had that with other weather engines.

AS2012 said that the Opus weather engine is where theirs was seven years ago. I don't see that and I have been a customer of Active Sky for a long time.

Both Active Sky and REX are good products, but my preference is the Opus weather engine.

[William J.S.S 173]

I was at work today, and looked up into the crappy sky we had all morning, and thought to myself....now would be a good time to load up FSX and Opus. It's that good.

[ZKOKQ 984]

I appreciate your bringing this to my attention. Mistakes happen occasionally. I just wanted to explain my rationale.

Hi Jim,

Fully understood. Appreciate your comments. I just thought the thread might go south on the Opus forum.

 

Regards

Julian

[tttocs 301]

Both Active Sky and REX are good products, but my preference is the Opus weather engine.

 

Can't help but keep playing devil's advocate... Your preference compared to what? REX as you've seen it, or REX as it is since the new release? I'm still evaluating and trying things, but I'm also still amazed at those who know the answer before even trying.

 

Scott

[HighTowers 1,434]

 

How so? I always had correct METARs in AS, just up to 30min late, which is, considering what is happening in the background, quite OK.

 

 

Coming from REX I rarely had METARS that were accurate. Mostly flying in clear blue skies when outside my window it was raining. If having a METAR 30 min late is ok with you, thats great! I cant speak for AS I dont own it. But Opus doesnt seem to have any delay. The Metars are updated then Opus updates on the next load. The weather you see in the distance is what will be when you get there unless the Real world weather has changed rapidly you will see the change reflected. And for the majority of the loads , I dont have a drastic weather change. I.E clear blue skies suddenly become overcast of heavy broken clouds, it will fairly gradual. That to me is alot more realistic.

[LHookins 3,102]

I like Opus because it sets up and loads weather quickly. You don't have to wait long periods for loading weather like with REX or Active Sky 2012. Turn on Opus and your weather is there, looking wonderful, instantly.

 

Since there's nothing else to do with Opus once you've started it, you immediately start FSX. If you do the same thing with AS2012, without waiting for AS2012 to completely load the weather, by the time you're in the plane the weather is generally already loaded. Opus may have a slight advantage as it loads local weather first, then the rest of the world in the background. AS2012 may have a slight disadvantage as the weather may change shortly after initial load due to the weather synthesis in Active Sky, necessary to deal with incorrect or out of date METARs.

 

Another thing is that I can fly in clear weather and see overcast ahead in the distance. It will get closer realistically and I will fly into that overcast and be on zero visibility, staying in it without the weather cleaning and reloading. With REX or AS2012, you will find yourself, all of a sudden, in clear weather.

 

I don't get cleaning and reloading in AS2012. It may depend on your settings. Also, I'm seeing the same "overcast ahead in the distance" in AS2012 with my settings, which is still there when I arrive. One thing I am NOT seeing in AS2012 is cloud shifting when the weather changes, as you get in Opus if the local METAR changes, one of the reasons the default Opus update period is 30 minutes.

 

I also like the turbulence in Opus. I'll be flying along and hit turbulence where my aircraft will vibrate realistically. I haven't had that with other weather engines.

 

Currently, turbulence in Opus only affects camera shake, not the actual aircraft. This is planned to be fixed in a future update. This means you have to have at least one Opus camera defined or you see no turbulence at all. Some people prefer not to use Opus cameras.

 

If having a METAR 30 min late is ok with you, thats great!

 

Default Opus weather update interval is 30 minutes. If a 30 minute old METAR changes one minute after Opus loads it, your METAR will be 30 minutes late. This can be alleviated by setting the Opus weather update interval to 10 minutes (for example) in which case your METARS will generally only be up to 10 minutes late, but you'll see more cloud shifting if local METARs change. Opus does have a slight advantage because you're getting the METARs immediately rather than the slight additional processing time used by AS2012. This advantage may go away once Opus offers historical weather, which it does not at this time.

 

And for the majority of the loads , I dont have a drastic weather change. I.E clear blue skies suddenly become overcast of heavy broken clouds, it will fairly gradual. That to me is alot more realistic.

 

Same with AS2012. I can't speak for REX, but I suspect it has that problem.

 

Hook

[HawkDsl 50]

From a practical aspect, REX now has similar features as OPUS without hitting the BUY NOW button for 50 bucks.

 

 

My REX powered weather and textures are so far and away from MS stock, it's like a totally different sim.

 

At any rate, it's good to have so many choices for the sim environment.

 

I'd like to thank the REX team for offering what is practically a whole new weather system for free (for previous purchases).

[Kosta 122]

Dave, you are correct, Opus doesn't have any delay, why: it doesn't incorporate ANY other real world data except metar. But in FSX, this ain't enough for a real weather representation.

 

I had Opus, I used it, and noticed the downsides - those being inaccurate winds, wind shifts, winds aloft, missing temperatures aloft etc - they might be "working" on it, but the fact is now and now it is not working. It's the same and I could just say "if it's ok for you to have inaccurate winds, that's great!".

 

Up to 30 minutes delay is for me OK, since AS never really missed the weather outside, it was only in worst case scenario a little delayed - if you set 5min updates, it's even gonna be 15min delay.

 

As far as you are telling me, you care about eye-candy, but not about realistic weather depiction.

[Guest]

I think a lot depends on what you expect and want from a weather engine. I am one of those guys who 'only' want a beautiful theatrical background for my short (usually 50 to 100 nm) low and slow VFR flights. So the weather theme I load with OpusFSX and take off in also is the theme I land in (take note though that an OpusFSX theme can hold loads of various weather situations!!!). I do like the idea that the weather is just as it is in real life but I don't care about in between updates... my flights are too short for that anyway and OpusFSX gives me all the variation I need (if it's there in real life). I don't care at all about winds aloft (low and slow) but I do care about quick startup of the engine and also quick loading of weather. So... for me OpusFSX is the perfect solution!

 

About starting up: ASE takes ages on my PC. If I start ASE together with FSX it often is still busy connecting and downloading when I am in the plane already... Also when I move to another location it takes quite some time for the new weather to load. ASE also gives me a LOT of connection problems and errors... That may be a problem on my PC only but it IS a problem for me nonetheless.

 

About "also, I'm seeing the same "overcast ahead in the distance" in AS2012 with my settings, which is still there when I arrive." OpusFSX is the only weather engine that loads an awesome theatrical background that stays as it is. With ASE the weather only seems to be generated around my airplane and it changes around my airplane as I move along, resulting in clouds disappearing or popping up. And it also seems that the weather around my plane is everywhere. I don't have that steady 'scene' that OpusFSX gives me with any other weather program. Maybe this is due to certain settings, but well... it works with OpusFSX almost out of the box: it's easy to get one while after years of using ASE I still haven't got a clue about a lot of settings. This also may be a personal problem (me being ignorant ^_^ ) but OpusFSX gave me what I wanted minutes after installing it, so... that makes the choice for OpusFSX as my one and only weather engine rather easy!

 

In short: it's all very personal and subjective... ^_^