Well, I never saw anything remotely similar to weather in those pictures in FSX. If latest AS2012 service pack makes scenes like that possible than I'd call it revolutionary! I don't have much time for FSX lately but now I'll definitely check out what AS2012 with the latest SP can do.

Maybe that's where the so called arrogance of some people is coming from. Some things you simply have to see to believe. Specially in FSX

I know what he means but question the arrogance of the retort.

 

No arrogance intent meant.

 

Like 0Artur0 said, never saw anything close to the OP pics so I'll believe it when I see it.  I'm not sure its possible to do this in FSX even.

 

Surely AS2012 has a bunch of preset weather settings that do storms which one could easily post a pic of.

No arrogance intent meant.

 

Like 0Artur0 said, never saw anything close to the OP pics so I'll believe it when I see it.  I'm not sure its possible to do this in FSX even.

 

Surely AS2012 has a bunch of preset weather settings that do storms which one could easily post a pic of.

VeryBumpy,

One thing I can say regarding AS2012 SP2 is the thickness and fullness of the clouds in overcast conditions has been improved out of sight. If it is overcast and cloudy you actually pass through it when climbing with no holes as was with in SP1. Likewise descending, if the visibility is low it's like descending into pea soup often with the runway only appearing just before touchdown. The HUD on the NGX comes in handy during these approaches.

VeryBumpy,

One thing I can say regarding AS2012 SP2 is the thickness and fullness of the clouds in overcast conditions has been improved out of sight. If it is overcast and cloudy you actually pass through it when climbing with no holes as was with in SP1. Likewise descending, if the visibility is low it's like descending into pea soup often with the runway only appearing just before touchdown. The HUD on the NGX comes in handy during these approaches.

 

Andrew, what you say sounds quite exciting. I have never had any experience of AS as I have always run with REX. Have you experience of comparing the two, and if so, what are your thoughts regarding caomparisons? BTW, one thing I will say, is that whenever I've seen pics of AS, my opinion is the colour of the skies leaves a lot to be desired.... 

AS 2012 sp2 new features:

 

http://secure.simmarket.com/hifi-tech-active-sky-2012.phtml

 

Looked at all their images, none show a dark, menacing storm front.  :(

All,

 

We are never going to be able to reproduce what you see in a picture from real life to what you see in a sim. The sim engine has it's limitations and real life can do whatever it wants. Yes, FSX can show approaching fronts, but it is still a weather station based system, so the area covered by a station will have the same general look. 3rd party weather engines improve upon what you see as you move from station to station compared to what the default engine produces.

As a frequent user of Active Sky Evolution (build 707) I can say that, with proper settings, it does an excellent job of depicting almost all weather conditions.

 

Tow key things, however:  Proper settings in ASE, and appropriate cloud density settings via FSX's config go a long way in creating convincing weather conditions.  I notch cloud density in the config to the full setting of 16, and use six cloud layers in ASE.  A density setting of 16 in the config makes for solid overcast conditions and fog layers.

 

Keep in mind that, even with the help of third-party software, FSX can only do so much in depicting weather, and there comes a point where one is simply asking too much in terms of replicating real-world visual conditions in the sim.

 

One other thing.  By default, FSX visibility conditions are simply rendered too far.  At best, in real world flying, you can expect probably no more than 80 to 100 mile visibility at altitude.  Frequently it is less than that, and gets even less the lower you fly.  In ASE I use 80 mile maximum upper visibility, 40 mile maximum lower visibility, and 0 for minimums.  Works and looks well.

Beautiful picture. It looks like a "Laker," a ship carrying materials on the US Great Lakes.

Opus is the closest I have come to being totally satisfied with FSX weather.

Yeah, I've got the screen shots for you. I'll have to go through and dig them out.

 

ActiveSky 2012 is incredible.  Textures are very good, but combine REX Essential Textures with AS2012 and you have plenty of OMG moments.

 

In the meantime, check out the low cloud LAYERS and fog in this video. Approach into San Diego. It was incredible.

 

http://www.twitch.tv/ovpa/c/2160860

 

 

Dave

Screen shots. Couldn't find ones to match what you had, but seeing these you shouldn't have to trust me.  AS2012 with REX Textures.

 

 

 

Opus is the closest I have come to being totally satisfied with FSX weather.

 

Really?  No, REALLY?  Just kidding.

 

I've flown in the North Atlantic Winter, off the beaten path over the ocean and land at altitudes ranging from 500ft (for you military guys who understand, I'm might be lying just a little) to 32,000ft, and I have to say that for weather, including realistic turbulence, AS2012 is exceptionally true to life.Love the settling when crossing a layer, the turbulence when crossing a front, love it all.  For what it's worth, I've also flown in regular winter (VP-44, CAC5 1985-ish) and wild to nice weather from New Brunswick Maine to Puerto Rico.  For my money, I simply can not beat AS2012.

 

Now to be fair I've not tried OPUS yet, but the reason is that I mostly fly commercial airliners on VATSIM, and in that regard OPUS is not yet ready for prime time (by their own admission).  Still, I've heard good things about it and look forward to the future of both OPUS and especially AS2012.

 

I honestly can't see liking anything more than AS2012, especially with what they have the drawing board (oops).

 

Dave

These are shots from taxiing out of DFW today using ASE!

 

 

 

 

Opus............

 

Not sure if this is exactly what the OP is looking for but it shows some promise.

 

These are shots from taxiing out of DFW today using ASE!

 

fsx 2013-04-17 04-36-12-73.jpg

 

 

Lots of pretty pics being posted for sure but none do a distinct menacing storm front. This one by tf51d above comes closest so far.

 

As JSKorna said, I'm thinking it's not possible to do this within FSX weather abilities.

Wow, if FSX could do this we'd crap our pants.