Is Active Sky of any use if you are using simple clouds?

Sure it is! It really doesn't touch the cloud textures. In fact we recommend FSW clouds for many of our users.Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

Hi,FSMeteo 6.4 stutters like all Billy Heck when online updates occur on my computer as well. For this reason alone I find it usuable and I have yet to find a solution to this stuttering no matter what I have tried. I have heard of all kinds of remedies but frankly nothing I do seems to effect the stuttering. Personally I have given up on FSMeteo once and for all. Regarding Activesky2004 - I find it too gee whiz and not enough actual substance. Activesky promises all kinds of very neat weather effects, wind smoothing, cloud transitions, ect. But I will tell you right here and now that no matter what enhanced/improved/treaked version of Activesky2004 that comes out, it NEVER works as advertised, especially the wind smoothing functions it supposedly offers. If you are considering Activesky, buyer beware is all of the advice I can offer. With the latest version just released I STILL get goofy indicated airspeed fluncuations more or less constantly. It's like turbulence everywhere you to try to fly. Every version of Activesky released has quirks and weather oddities, I swear, this program is cursed by the software Gods. Maybe HIFI Sim needs to draw a pentagram on the floor and sacrifice a goat..........So what is the ultimate solution? I recommend registering the latest version of FSUIPC from Pete Dowson and stick with FS2004's own online weather. Personally, I have found it's the most flawless and reliable weather solution/combo out there. FSUPIC 3.30 does fix the inherent goofy wind transition flaw in FS2004's weather once and for all, that's all there is to it. This is the only weather solution that has EVER worked reliably for me in FS2004.There you have it, my valued opinion :)

Thanks Eric... I think I share allot of the same views on this as you, it's just that the default weather system has it's problems too. I don't like rain at 1,000ft and clear skies at 12,000ft over the same area within a matter of seconds...

I find it too gee whiz and not enough actual substance You building your own weather program Eric? You are at least good at putting down companies that do not fit *Substance*, of course your 02 is worth 02 IMO..Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4][h3]P M D G's 747-400[/h3][h4]coming to a runway near you[/h4][/font color]Caution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)AMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |

I'm another happy ActiveSky2004 user. Once you see all the amazing things it does, you will never use any other weather.

Hello Eric,NEVER WORKS AS ADVERTISED... how so? What specifically does not work as advertised?Goofy airspeed fluctuations? You mean you get turbulence? You can disable this if you don't like it. Try FSUIPC "suppress all turbulence". Many find the turbulence highly realistic. If you enter a vertically forming cloud in low-stability air, you will likely encounter turbulence, just like in real life. We have made every effort to make this as realistic as possible. Yes this is different from the consistently smooth default FS9 weather. How many real life experiences have you had where you had a perfectly smooth flight? In my 500 or so hours, I can only remember a couple completely smooth flights, on calm nights. There are NO reports of wind shifts since FSUIPC 3.308 fixed this (this was not an AS2004 problem). Have you really tried the latest B131?Cursed? We will NEVER be able to release a version that works? Man, well, I understand you are sharing your opinion, but your experience is far different from what others have shared and your post has many inaccuracies. We haven't received countless praise, best wx add-on awards and 5-star reviews for nothing. I spend countless hours going over every single problem report and making sure all issues are addressed. As of now we have not one open issue. Would you like to open one? We have ALWAYS been able to resolve all reported issues.Concerning comparing FS9 default wx to AS2004. How can this be done? FS9 has a faulty wind interpolation bug that will always sway your winds from that as reported. It also has a problematic visibility layer depiction that B130 has addressed and made much better. Our server system is far beyond what anything else offers. We offer wake turbulence simulation, realistic TAF processing, weather planning dialogues, voice flightwatch, aloft unpredictable and drift effects, accurate air stability computations and intelligent cloud types, precipitation radar and wx tracking module, and much more.I understand you'd like to "save" people from making the huge mistake of trying AS2004, and while that is discouraging enough and no doubt has influenced many potential user's decisions, is it really as bad as you say it is? If you are so dissatisfied I am surprised you have not contacted us in request for a refund (or even issued a support request?). We would surely grant you one! We are not trying to gain dissatisfied users. On the contrary, we try to go way above and beyond all expectations and if we failed for any reason we hope you will give us the chance to correct it, and if we are unable, we are not going to deny a refund!In short, if you don

All I want to know is does AS2004 update as smooth as the default weather engine. I'm tired of the sim stuttering everytime the weather updates... If enough people can confirm that AS2004 is stutter free when updating, I'll buy it. It almost sounds like this thread is about to go another direction that it was not originally intended. Randy, I actually hate the kind of comments like the one you mentioned above. I asked people to give me their opinion about all weather products and that's what Eric has done. He doesn't need to know how to develop a weather engine just because he's wise enough to differentiate between what he likes and dislikes about a product (purchased with his own money). I hate when you guys go there. I

Well I do not know you so I will not get into anything with you here, I would rather save it for another day, you are certainly welcome to contact me in private but please do not ask questions for others, only yourself. You can always contact PMDG directly with your concerns through [email protected]. Come to the PMDG forum and we can *talk* about what you want, not what this guy has to ask because frankly no one I know cares what he thinks.Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4][h3]P M D G's 747-400[/h3][h4]coming to a runway near you[/h4][/font color]Caution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)AMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |

To quote Randy Smith's own signature:"Caution! Not a real pilot" :(I won't let Randy Smith bait me into getting this thread locked down like he does to so many people on here, so no sophomoric rebuttal rheotoric from me, sorry, nice try guy. :) If someone requests personal observations and experiences about a product, I gladly offer mine and that's all there is to it. Anyone is free to agree or disagree with my opinion; it's just that such personal opinions should not be constantly repressed on these public forums by those who disagree. Too many people like Randy swiftly attack anything percieved as dissention from consumer ranks and try to keep ANYTHING negative about a developer's product from being examined. That to me is simply unacceptable. Damian Clark (developer of Activesky 2004) has now stated is this thread that he now offers refunds to any individual who is dissatisfied with his product. Well, one can't ask any more than that.

Well I used Active sky with Fs2002 and it was great then I used the default weather in FS2004 when it came out gave me stutters..I now use AS2004 and I dont have any problems with it I fine the interapulated(sp) weather a good funtion because in australia there arent that many weather stations represented...Though i would suggest trying to figure out the problem with Fsmeteo and at the same time give AS2004 a demo... cant hurt..My $100 worth

Randy my post is still sitting unanswered in the PMDG forum... :-roll

Ben I just need to get confirmation that when the weather updates during a flight I don't get pauses and stutters. I'd buy AS2004 with no problem... I don't want to invest in this program only to have the same framerate issues and FSMetro... :-hang

Personally, I use AS2004 (NOTE: not an endorsement from AVSIM, just my personal opinion).Now, AS2004 can give you GREAT looking weather if you have the hardware for it (i.e. many cloud layers, turbulence, wake turbulence, etc.)It can also be configured not to do updates if your altitude if below a certian level. This is especially helpful on landing when you don't want an update to happen when you are over the threshold.You can also turn off some of the other features if you feel they are impacting your frames. Again, this will depend on your computer and graphics card and FS settings (i.e. traffic density, etc.) You can also limit the number of cloud layers it will use.I also use the FPS-friendly clouds to help out, and I normally limit the cloud drawing to 30 miles until I am way up there (if I'm flying the PMDG jets) then I let it go to max so I can see those far off Tstorms.My personal experience has been very good with AS2004, especially after the problem of wind shifting was solved. I have seen some beautiful fake weather!Your mileage may vary.

I use ActiveSky 2004