New Rex SkyForce 3D - The ASN Killer?

[vgbaron 3,615]

It definitely looks very good, but will also wait for the reviews before purchasing.

Understood but as far as the visuals go - we're talking purely subjective opinion. So I give a fantastic review to Active Sky clouds and someone else does the same for Rex. It really depends on what YOU like to see.

 

I think the reviews on both products will be excellent - so you're stuck making your own call.   :smile:

 

Vic

[Guest]

Hm, well, no matter how many fancy Latin cloud names you throw into that REX video, a cloud is still a cloud... Looks all the same to me. I am sure I am missing something obvious but since I am missing it, I don't plan to spend money on it. My current skies look great and different everytime and that's good enough for me. I sometimes feel sorry for all those people who have the urge to buy each and every version of each and every addon. Being happy with what you've got is soooooo relaxing and nice, surely beats always having or wanting to look at the next best thing.

[Jimmy RFR 406]

I'm thinking that this is also a weather injector, based on the size of the formations shown a few times in the video?  Some of what they're showing looked absolutely massive, very specific, and nothing like anything I've yet to see in my sims.

 

I've been more than happy with the depiction of ASN combined with Rex + Soft Clouds to this point - it looks nice, and it seems to depict a good variety of situations.

 

However, as someone who has grown up on the prairies, with a completely wide open sky, I do long for the isolated massive anvil shaped thunderstorms you can see rise up in such a dramatic manner and march across the landscape. Or the systems that would spread out with these rotating "wagon wheel" branches - those you had to keep an eye on for tornadoes.

 

Now, not that a person would ever want to fly a small aircraft into things like that, but it would be awesome to have the depiction of such events in the sim. I've always felt that the area where our current weather is lacking is in the ability to actually create cloud formations that are as large and as varied as in real life.

 

Maybe this will take the weather a step in that direction?

 

(I've also got a few kids I'm willing to give up if someone were to create weather as shown in that video for X-Plane)

 

(I'm kidding about that...)

 

(I maybe would only give up one of them... :smile:)

[777 340]

If they can deliver proper overcast. I'm sold.

[Samaritano 304]

Hm, well, no matter how many fancy Latin cloud names you throw into that REX video, a cloud is still a cloud... Looks all the same to me. I am sure I am missing something obvious but since I am missing it, I don't plan to spend money on it. My current skies look great and different everytime and that's good enough for me. I sometimes feel sorry for all those people who have the urge to buy each and every version of each and every addon. Being happy with what you've got is soooooo relaxing and nice, surely beats always having or wanting to look at the next best thing.

 

I have to agree with Jeroen on this one. Even though I welcome innovation I have a feeling this is not that much different from what we currently have. I understand that companies like REX and HiFi have to sell products to stay afloat. I really hope it's the next big thing. I wish them well.

[TheFlightSimGuy 514]

Why ASN Killer ? This looks only texturing.. Next level (?) replacement for REX Soft Clouds. Looks nothing to do with weather injection ?

 

Honestly I don't think it will be a weather engine like ASN, looks more like a more advanced Texture Replacement set than REX 4 and REX Soft Clouds.

 

It'll be interesting to see whether maybe Sky Force 3D will be a competitor for Hi-Fi's new product which will be announced at FlightSimCon too.

 

The video clearly states that it is a cloud model and weather system. 

[x-plane 123 61]

What I would do to have that in X-Plane. Hats off to the REX team on what looks like another great product.

[hhbrbg 139]

it seems, that I have to postpone uninstalling p3d :-)

[GSalden 4,656]

Textures that will be loaded while flying is a big step.

That means that on a longer flight different cloudsets will be shown...

 

Correct me if I am wrong...

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Hm, well, no matter how many fancy Latin cloud names you throw into that REX video, a cloud is still a cloud... Looks all the same to me. I am sure I am missing something obvious but since I am missing it, I don't plan to spend money on it. My current skies look great and different everytime and that's good enough for me. I sometimes feel sorry for all those people who have the urge to buy each and every version of each and every addon. Being happy with what you've got is soooooo relaxing and nice, surely beats always having or wanting to look at the next best thing.

It's your Avatar...take those dark glasses off....

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

With the state of flux in the industry, I think that I'll wait on these products to see what the DTG Flight Sim looks like. Of course, an attractive upgrade price from either REX or Hifi might still tempt me into buying one of these products.

[anden145 2,285]

Looks interesting...

 

Although I would really hope for a complete overhaul of the weather/cloud system (and perhaps lighting system) in Prepar3D... True 3D volumetric clouds, which cast true shadows and shade - and of course also blocks sunlight, so you would experience true darkness and get similar effects like this:

https://ebtenorio.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/sun-behind-clouds-1.jpg
http://freeimagescollection.com/images/sky/sun-behind-the-clouds-dramatic-scene-f5.jpg
http://m3.i.pbase.com/u42/kmannen/large/33372003.SunBehindCloud.jpg

Anyway - that's just my wishful thinking... I don't think it would happen - and certainly not from a 3rd-party developer, since it seems, that the lighting- and cloud-system (2D-Sprites) are a fundamental element of the ESP engine... 

 

But one can always hope... 

[virtualstuff 758]

Textures that will be loaded while flying is a big step.

That means that on a longer flight different cloudsets will be shown...

 

Correct me if I am wrong...

 

Correct that's new we had previous textures loading before starting based on the WX metar with ASN and REX, but never during flight ;-)

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Quote from REX Forums

 

We will have more detailed information soon, but for shorts and quick summary of what is Sky Force, it's nothing like others "REX clouds" have been done before, NOT texture foundation based product, we changed the structure and scenery clouds system for ALL clouds type, redesign them all from scratch to match Real World Clouds Class and at the same time, fixed several issue in Flight simulator, bad placement, wrong height of each clouds type, coverage, up side down texture, true fix no clouds pop corn, (outside shade, not needed anymore), increased frame rate compare to default, OUTSIDE texture, as example now overcast is full overcast without hole and more then acceptable frame rate (unlike using 2 layers to covers holes and what have been done before) , Supercell now have true Anvil top,  can reach up to 75k with all it's anatomy top to bottom, Storm severity change real time according to the METAR, same thing with Cumulonimbus Calvus Clouds, complete redesign of stratus structure scenery clouds, clouds street are now easily visible with the appropriate clouds type etc.

 

Going to be EPIC    

[AviatorMoser 353]

It still feels like you are flying among cardboard cutouts of deeper clouds. It's not the REX team's fault. That's just the cloud rendering engine in FSX and P3D.