Worth commenting, of course, that OpusfSX is in constant development and therefore many improvements have been made since the review was written.

 

Also worth commenting that AS2012 is in constant development.

OPUS is fine if you like the eye candy theme based weather engine type (which AS2012 can also do) but AS2012 also has other much more comprehensive and accurate modes available

Strangely enough, no one seemed to mention FSMeteo, which I used "way back when" and was still using when REX Essentials came out. FSMeteo was simply a weather engine without anything else - it inserted the weather and whatever you were using for scenery/textures did the rest. Haven't tried the others, but with the newest REX, I'm getting everything I want in one package. So far, it hasn't disappointed me with the real weather or the clouds and storms, especially when you're flying in "weather", like T-storms.

 

I'll check out OPUS, but I think REX is doing a great job!

OPUS is fine if you like the eye candy theme based weather engine type

I'm confused. This is definitely NOT the OPUS I am familiar with. Yes you can load a static theme, but it is all about the most real live weather that FSX can handle.

OPUS is fine if you like the eye candy theme based weather engine type (which AS2012 can also do) but AS2012 also has other much more comprehensive and accurate modes available

 

Well here we disagree ;-)

OPUS is fine if you like the eye candy theme based weather engine type (which AS2012 can also do) but AS2012 also has other much more comprehensive and accurate modes available

 

LOL It's perfectly fine if you like AS2012 more then OpusFSX but to start posting nonsense about OpusFSX is another thing. And calling OpusFSX a 'theme based weather engine type' is utter nonsense. ^_^ The fact that OpusFSX apparently gives more eye candy then AS2012 (which seems to be the case in the way you put it) I can live with though.

Really mad dog, where did that come from? As fas as "real world/time" weather depiction, Opus can't be beat. For those that like to fly under non "real world" conditions, perhaps the others suit there needs better with all the options, but when it comes to actual real weather depiction, there's no contest.

 

Glen

 

edit: Had to edit that, I had "weather deception" instead of depiction on the first line, nearly fell on the floor laughing when I read it after. Yes, Opus deceives you into believing it's real weather.

OPUS is fine if you like the eye candy theme based weather engine type (which AS2012 can also do) but AS2012 also has other much more comprehensive and accurate modes available

 

Theme based weather engine... this is EXACTLY what OPUS is not. Theme-based is where you setup specific weather per user specifications for flying. Have you tried OPUS?

I just reinstalled AS2012 last night and have updated it up to the SP2 Beta 4. I am just returning from a much needed break from simming and didnt know AS2012 released that huge Service Pack. Ill be flying with it for awhile to do some comparisons, but the one flight i did get in before i hit the rack i was impressed with some of the new features, and they seem to be big on gradual cloud transitions instead of the sudden cloud shifts we all know and love to hate.

I own AS2012, OpusFSX and REX Essential. I love the textures from REX. I used to use AS2012 and was very happy with it. That is until I bought OpusFSX. It seems like it takes forever to startup AS2012 compared to OpusFSX.

 

The strong point in my opinion of AS2012 is the weather map; it is really helpful for me to see what the weather is for various locations that I fly; also AS2012 has some really nice sunrise and sunset textures.

 

The strong point of OpusFSX is the lightning quick startup speed and it's weather depiction -- seems more accurate and believable than AS2012. OpusFSX seems somewhat overpriced to me since it doesn't contain any textures and that it's camera software seems confusing to me.

 

So that all said, I almost always end up using OpusFSX. Just wish it has a map feature like AS2012.

 

Happy Flying!

Interesting thread, I own Opus, AS2012 and REXE+HD (for textures only). When I tried Opus last it had no winds aloft, but I understand that this now has changed.

 

I fly only airliners, thus using the winds aloft predictions from AS2012 for my fuel calcs via AS2012's avg windcomponent and my enroute fuel calculations via the wpt wind data from the flightplan wich I import into AS2012.

 

How would I do similar with Opus?

 

Regards,

Morten

 

 

To those who seem to be getting their panties in a bunch about Opus "theme based" coverage - this is not a knock on Opus. I believe you are confusing terms. There are two "themes" here - one is what we normally think of - you load a theme or a set of clouds, sky, water etc and go fly. Very simplistic for those weather mavens but, as I understand it - Opus is theme based as opposed to station based. I don't know the range but Opus will load the correct weather from the local area and apply that "theme" across a wide area - this gives you great cloud coverage out to a distance and little or no cloud popping BUT depending on how far you go, the weather can be inaccurate. Station based basically reads weather from the reporting stations along the route and adjusts as you go - which can result in cloud popping BUT more accurate weather along the route.

 

SO don't get offended if someone says Opus is theme based because it is - but that's not a bad thing. When they add station based reporting and interpolation( if they already haven't), they will also have to deal with the cloud popping.

 

So it still comes down to what type of flying you wish to do and exactly how accurate you need the weather to be. And as far as the visual go - that is always in the eye of the viewer - if you like what you see and it's pretty, then it's good for you - doesn't make it the best or worst - it is simply good for you.

 

Vic

- Opus is theme based as opposed to station based. I don't know the range but Opus will load the correct weather from the local area and apply that "theme" across a wide area -

Sorry Vic, but this is TOTAL nonsense! Opus reads every METAR for hundreds of Kms (sorry, can't remember what size the area is), interpolates where necessary, then simulates that varied weather as you fly through the zone ... Which moves with you as you travel from sector to sector. The "theme" in the "local area" is most definitely not applied across a "wide area" which is why you can see a weather front coming, fly into it, and turn around and fly out of it again. That's not a theme by any definition of the word.

I don't know the range but Opus will load the correct weather from the local area and apply that "theme" across a wide area

 

Er... no, it doesn't. It does not load the weather from one station and applies that to the entire world around you. That's what default FSX weather does. It's quite the opposite: it loads the weather as it is with ALL variations possible from horizon to horizon. So you could say it loads the weather from all stations around you at once and offers you one big theatrical weather scene to fly around in.

I once took off with a clear sky and I would see some vague clouds at the horizon. When I got closer I could see that was a huge weather front with heavy thunderstorm. After a while I entered that thunderstorm and when I looked back to where I came from, I still could see the clear sky over there. So it does not apply local weather all around you (as FSX default weather does) but it loads the entire 'weather scene' with all possible variations around you, from horizon to horizon. ANd that's why I love OpusFSX.

 

Do you own OpusFSX? I don't own AS2012 so I won't say how AS2012 does all this. The thing is: I don't know. I own ASE but that probably works different then OpusFSX (mainly thanks to the competition it offered). Maybe the people who don't own OpusFSX shouldn't post here how they think it works: post how AS2012 works and the OpusFSX owners will post how OpusFSX works and then the people who don't own either can choose. Whatever you do, stop posting nonsense. ^_^

Er... no, it doesn't. It does not load the weather from one station and applies that to the entire world around you.

 

I suggest you learn to read. "wide area" does not mean the whole world. I wouldn't consider that nonsense, just simple fact. Not a knock at Opus so chill out. For what it does, Opus is a very good program. For what it doesn't do, the developers are working on it.

 

That's what makes the world go around.

 

Vic

Sorry Vic, but this is TOTAL nonsense! Opus reads every METAR for hundreds of Kms (sorry, can't remember what size the area is), interpolates where necessary, then simulates that varied weather as you fly through the zone ... Which moves with you as you travel from sector to sector. The "theme" in the "local area" is most definitely not applied across a "wide area" which is why you can see a weather front coming, fly into it, and turn around and fly out of it again. That's not a theme by any definition of the word.

 

SkipperMac - I don't want to start a war of Opus vs AS2012 - both are excellent programs. Let's just say we understand terms differently. Probably should have used the term "local" as you did rather than "wide". To me, in this context, they are the same. Explaining what is meant by theme based versus station based is more than I care to get involved in. Just accept that it doesn't have ANYTHING to do with THEMES as the term is currently used with weather programs.

 

Vic

 

Vic