FSX-MS Noob questions about weather engines

[Gpruitt54 0]

i recently installed REX4 Texture Direct with Soft Clouds. In the General Setting section there is a spot for the bath to a weather engine. I thought that is what Rex4 Texture Direct with Soft Clouds was doing. I once owned an early version of REX2, and it (so i thought) pulled weather information from external sources and generated weather in FSX.

 

So then, What is REX4 Texture Direct with Soft Clouds if it is not a Weather Engine? I am not interested in buyng another tool because for weather. That is why I bought REX4 Texture Direct with Soft Clouds. I am looking at free options like FSXWX (http://www.plane-pics.de/fsxwx/home.htm) but I want to ask you buys about this specific tool or a better, easy, and stable tool that will work to generate weather for Rex4 Texture Direct with Soft Clouds.

 

Any help you guys can provide will be appreciated.

I am running FSX-SE.

[Glynn 405]

REX Texture direct and soft clouds are just textures, Texture Direct does not include a weather engine unlike the earlier products.

 

My advice would be to buy ASN but if that is not an option then the free FSXWX will work with any textures you have installed either from REX or any other source.

[vgbaron 3,504]

I'd second the purchase of ASN - it works extremely well with REX textures.

 

 

Vic

[Gpruitt54 0]

Besides using the earlier versions of REX, I've never used a weather engine. With REX Texture Direct, I am trying a free weather engine called FSXWX.  It is a small .EXE file that I place in a directory and provide the path to the file inside of REX.  I ran FSX-SE and while running the weather engine interface in order to see what the weather engine was doing.  I flew a route out of Portland toward Seattle.  I was impressed at all the effects both visually and physically (in-cloud turbulence, clear air turbulence, gusts, etc) on the plane (Carenado King Air C90B HD). Above all, I liked the low use of system resources.  

 

 

I will read up on how to setup ASN.  If it is as easy as using FSXWX, I may consider giving it a try. But, it is hard to beat an effective free option.

[neucoas 82]

ASN or stick with FSXWX. Works really well, and i like it. It's the weather engine I use, for me there is no need to go with ASN.

[Gpruitt54 0]

I am happy to see that others are using and having success with FSXWX.  I will look at ASN in order to be informed, and for the fact that so many are using it.

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

If you plan on buying any PMDG aircraft and you want the weather radar to work, you will need ASN.

 

Aside from that, ASN is a wonder program and very easy to use. I'd recommend it if it's in you budget. It also allows you to use live weather, download historical weather based on a time and date in the past, or create your own weather themes.

 

I'm sure the freeware weather engines as also nice, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for, hence the reason ASN is not freeware.