Active Sky Cloud Art for FSX & P3D - Released!

[anden145 2,285]

Enjoying this as well... Some pics I took enroute to LFPG...

 

 

 

 

 

[GSalden 4,687]

On request :

 

[Egbert Drenth 250]

Hm, well, I guess you have to see it in motion. I see some (very) odd clouds and the lighting doesn't seem right at all here and there.  

It's a bit weird though that most screenshots I've seen so far don't entice me to spend money on all this. 

 

I have exactly the same feeling, normally I would have bought anything from HifiSim without the blink of an eye.

I'm confident that AS16 is an improvement over ASE but I'm not so sure about ASCA. 

The clouds look way too 'creamy' colored even a bit cartoonish. But as many say, that is in the eye of the beholder.

[Bobsk8 12,807]

I have exactly the same feeling, normally I would have bought anything from HifiSim without the blink of an eye.

I'm confident that AS16 is an improvement over ASE but I'm not so sure about ASCA. 

The clouds look way too 'creamy' colored even a bit cartoonish. But as many say, that is in the eye of the beholder.

 

What is a shame is that some are linking AS16 and ASCA together like they are one product, which they are not. AS 16 is an excellent upgrade from ASN. ASCA, in my opinion, is a mediocre cloud replacement, for Rex SC if you already have Rex. I think if users just get AS16 and try it with their present clouds, they will be really impressed. 

[ErichB 3,647]

Okay so the question then is: What will you miss out on if you don't use ASCA with AS16? Is there a technology behind the use of both which is not possible if not combined? Although yesterday I had some very pleasant experiences with this combination, I'd still like to experiment some more with REX SC.

[Nemo 1,305]

I have been using it since yesterday morning. After several flights at different locations and at diffent dates (historical weather mode) I am very convinced. Both AS16 and ASCA play together in perfect harmony ('global dynamic' mode). Until now, I have not seen any of these unnatural cloud fameworks which have been published as screenies in this thread.

[Egbert Drenth 250]

 ASCA, in my opinion, is a mediocre cloud replacement, for Rex SC if you already have Rex. I think if users just get AS16 and try it with their present clouds, they will be really impressed. 

 

I do have REX SC and that is the reason why I'm reluctant to invest.

Nevertheless I do consider AS16+ASCA as one product because the dynamic cloud replacement is the unique selling point.

AA16+REX does not equal dynamic cloud replacement.

 

As we speak I'm looking also to some videos and they look much better then the images.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t1aSv0aHTw

So the/my judge is still out... I haven't decided yet.

[virtualstuff 766]

I do have REX SC and that is the reason why I'm reluctant to invest.

Nevertheless I do consider AS16+ASCA as one product because the dynamic cloud replacement is the unique selling point.

AA16+REX does not equal dynamic cloud replacement.

 

As we speak I'm looking also to some videos and they look much better then the images.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t1aSv0aHTw

So the/my judge is still out... I haven't decided yet.

 

Well Egbert as for WX engine AS is a non brainier for me...

So I'm trying out for 19 dollars ASCA (just support the guys over there and say thank you for all those years)

and if I don't like it well I still have my preferred WX engine.

They work great to getter and in motion the clouds are looking a lot better, overcast is beautiful no more gaps.

That having said hoping HiFi will tune some clouds more to a nature look ;-)

[Guest]

Negative, Full Dynamic is THE setting. Full Dynamic will add much more variation to the scene as opposed to global. High clouds and sky textures will still stay global but low clouds will get much more variety with Full Dynamic over Global. And yes, Full Dynamic creates the scene based on real world weather just like Global.

 

 

Then why is (so it seems) everybody (apart from you) using the global setting...? I mainly thought Global was THE setting because a screenshot showed all three option on auto (full has clouds NOT on auto) and, as I said, everybody is using it and not 'full'.

[Bobsk8 12,807]

I do have REX SC and that is the reason why I'm reluctant to invest.

Nevertheless I do consider AS16+ASCA as one product because the dynamic cloud replacement is the unique selling point.

AA16+REX does not equal dynamic cloud replacement.

 

As we speak I'm looking also to some videos and they look much better then the images.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t1aSv0aHTw

So the/my judge is still out... I haven't decided yet.

 

I think the unique selling point of AS16 is the much improved weather generation and visual effects and better FPS it has over anything else on the market. It doesn't need cloud replacement to accomplish that. 

[Guest]

https://www.youtube....h?v=2t1aSv0aHTw

 

Pretty useless video imho because the guy has absolutely NO idea what he is doing. I don't even own the addon and have only seen screenshots of it but even I can see he TOTALLY misinterprets the menu (just check it at 6:20 and specially 7:10, where he thinks the THEME departure is showing what you will see during departure... LOL. And he obviously doesn't use the automatic setting which this addon is all (or mainly) about. YouTube is so full or crap...

[Egbert Drenth 250]

Well Egbert as for WX engine AS is a non brainier for me...

So I'm trying out for 19 dollars ASCA (just support the guys over there and say thank you for all those years)

 

Hmmm.... I guess you are right...

I just forked out $ 82.85, Aussies $ that is....

Luckily FlightSim Store added it today, so for us Europeans that implies no VAT, an extra 21% 'discount'

 

Going to install it this afternoon..... It better be good!  :smile:

[Nuno Pinto 1,406]

Then why is (so it seems) everybody (apart from you) using the global setting...? I mainly thought Global was THE setting because a screenshot showed all three option on auto (full has clouds NOT on auto) and, as I said, everybody is using it and not 'full'.

 

I am using full dynamics. Reading the manual shows the difference, and to me, full dynamics is the way to go for the variation in cloud textures.

 

Global uses the same textures for all cloud formations.

[markk71 4]

 

 

Luckily FlightSim Store added it today, so for us Europeans that implies no VAT, an extra 21% 'discount'

Nice, thanks for the tip!

Too bad i already bought ASCA via Simmarket.

[B777ER 2,489]

Then why is (so it seems) everybody (apart from you) using the global setting...? I mainly thought Global was THE setting because a screenshot showed all three option on auto (full has clouds NOT on auto) and, as I said, everybody is using it and not 'full'.

Right from Kostas Terzides (Lead Developer) mouth (or keyboard) which was posted on the HiFi forum:

 

3D clouds in FSX/P3D use a single texture file consisting of 16 sample areas (for stratus, wispy, solid etc areas of the cloud). So texture variation for 3D clouds is maxed out to 16. This is the way it has been working since many years ago.

 

- Global automatic mode works based on this fact. Every time AS16 updates the weather it checks the conditions, communicates with ASCA and then ASCA decides which single texture file to install to the sim, just prior to loading the new weather. So this working together with the smooth theme transition you all know (?) since ASN introduced it, creates an environment that slowly changes the textures you see in the sim. Max variation however is still 16

 

- Full dynamics: Now imagine each 3D cloud having its own texture (similar for example to AI aircraft, where each aircraft type uses different textures). That's what Full dynamics offers. Of course since the cloud variations are hundreds, we'd run into memory issues loading that many textures (if the current weather conditions have many different types of clouds). So, we restricted the "pool" of possible textures to 8, giving us an overall variation of 128 which is more than adequate while at the same time VAS footprint is minimal (unless you use 4096 textures). So how this thing works in action?

- When AS16 is prepared to load new weather conditions consisting of a cumulus congestus, a Cumulonimbus calvus and some stratus layers, each one of them will use a different texture, increasing the scene realism significantly. As the flight progresses, depending on the weather conditions, a different cloud model will be selected (e.g. cumulus humilis) which has its own texture inherently "attached". This is the way in Full Dynamics you get transition of cloud textures as your flight progresses.

- One other advantage of this is that for example in Full Dynamics, some clouds that "need" higher resolution to depict properly (like the CBs) will use a higher resolution texture (up to the limit the user has selected in ASCA settings). At the same time softer clouds (like stratus), will only choose the texture resolution that is actually needed (e.g. 512DXT) and the result will be equally good looking scene, with much increased performance.

 

Hope, all this makes some sense to you. Just give these options a try. It is some times hard to spot the difference immediately, but e.g. with Full Dynamics chances are that at some point you may find yourself in a situation where both soft and well defined clouds are present at the same time.