some wag will complain that they can't see their expensive Orbx scenery for all the clouds that are getting in the way?

 

Yeh - my co-pilot was complaining he could not see FTX-AU today, between Melbourne and Sydney!

 

 

 

First time I have ever seen solid cloud deck in years of simming!

 

 

AS16+ACSA - Full Dynamic (clouds to 100Nm). P3D V3.3.5, iFly NGX.

Climing through 32000 for 35000. Frames at 30-32 (locked at 33). I feel Hi-Fi have definitely improved performance. I do not have the best graphics card either, so I do not use SGSS, this is just 4X MSAA.

 

Earlier over Pattaya in the PMDG 777, out of Bangkok headed for Changi (Discovery Theme).

 

 

So solid overcast, for me is at last a feasible reality.

 

Thank you HiFi

 

Rob

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.

Full dynamics here also...

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:

 

Okidoki.... I just finished my first 2 hour flight using AS16/ASCA.

First impression: Good

Somehow the earlier screenshots do not represent correctly what you actually see (or better: what I actually did see)

The cloud textures are nice (and not mediocre), but I like the REX ones better.

Nevertheless I would rather use the ASCA combi for now because of the extra features

 

Since I disabled all AS-messages I don't have a clue when/if the dynamic injection worked, but I'm confident it does  :Nail Biting:

I use a networked installation, encountered no issues at all, although it would be nice to have a manual available before installing.

Agree that AS16 + ASCA with full dynamics seems to produce the best results ... sky textures still seem to be the missing link for me (none of them seem to match what I see in CA).  

 

Here are the settings I'm using that seem to work very well:

 

AS16 + ASCA

P3D Graphics settings

 

Cheers, Rob.

 

Once again, Rob helping the community. Thanks, sir.

Finally - solid overcast! Just think of all the simmers who will be frantically brushing up on their IFR skills!! No more peeping through the holes now gentlemen!!   :Whistle: 

 

 

Just think of all the simmers who will now be frantically brushing up on their IFR skills.

 

You could just rotate your view down to show instruments only -- but of course Jedi land blindfolded  

 

Cheers, Rob.

Well, I downloaded the trial version of AS16 (still using REX soft clouds).  Looked at the map and picked a spot with overcast and limited visibility.  Flew from Darrington (1S2) to Orcas Island (KORS).  I'm very impressed.  I don't have cloud density at maximum in P3D (in fact, it's left of center on the scale), but it looked pretty much like overcast to me.  Beautifully rendered cloud intersections with the mountains.  Looked very realistic.  Flew into and out of clouds and the visibility transitions were very smooth.  Just very realistic depictions overall!   Lot's of cloud drift and spindle against the mountains and utterly convincing cloud layers.  

 

Sorry, I was too busy admiring the atmosphere to remember to take pics.  

 

I'm off to find some place with haze to test whether that ridiculous hard upper edge of fog and haze has been fixed.  If so, I think the investment to upgrade from ASN will be worth the money.  

 -- but of course Jedi land blindfolded  

 

Cheers, Rob.

 

Lol!! The way that I land sometimes Rob, I seriously think that a blindfold might be an advantage! 

Hi there!

I pulled the trigger and bought AS2016 and ASCA.

Both installed flawlessly, but how can I activate the Option of real time texture loading?

I can´t find an option within AS2016 or ASCA!?

Hi there!

I pulled the trigger and bought AS2016 and ASCA.

Both installed flawlessly, but how can I activate the Option of real time texture loading?

I can´t find an option within AS2016 or ASCA!?

 

Just select the full dynamics theme in ASCA and click install ;-)

Just select the full dynamics theme in ASCA and click install ;-)

Thanks a lot!

I´ll give that a try!

But first install one of the static themes on the first run.

 

Then you can select full dynamics or global automatic to have the textures installed on the fly as you fly

But first install one of the static themes on the first run.

 

Then you can select full dynamics or global automatic to have the textures installed on the fly as you fly

Oh, ok! I didn´t do this!

But it seems to work anyways...

 

 

 

So solid overcast, for me is at last a feasible reality.

 

Thank you HiFi

 

Rob

 

In almost every screenshot I see repeat cloud textures, at least 11 on this one.

I have been very hesitant about buying new addons, given the state of flux in the flight sim industry (Aerofly 2, DTG Flight Simulator and maybe even P3d 4.0). I did reserve some cash for both AS16/ASCA (assuming that there was a reasonable upgrade price) and ORBX FTX LC NA (for which the USA portion has not been released yet). I have been using ASN with REX TD 4 soft clouds and I have been pretty happy with it in P3d 3.3. I run the full ORBX suite and the P3d Tweak Assistant.

 

My observations  (P3d V3 only, sorry) with AS16 on the default settings and ASCA with "full dynamics" are pretty much in line with what others have posted. Compared to ASN, both full overcast conditions and visibility are more realistic. When flying through clouds, the "doorway" phenomenon that is very obvious in FSX and still noticeable in P3d has been replaced with an immersive transition, where the individual cloud sprites are no longer visible. I did a number of flights with the RA Turbine Duke and the performance, at least for me is unchanged. I did not experience a drop in frames rates nor did I see any stuttering. In fact, it is somewhat better with AS16 in one regard. In the past, I had to isolate ASN on it's own cores in order not to get a stutter when it updated the weather. With AS16, this no longer appears to be necessary. Whether the threading in AS16 is more efficient or its just a coincidence, I can't determine. I did not experience any rotating clouds, but then again P3d V3.3 didn't exhibit that annoyance for me even with ASN. I did not do enough very high altitude flights to determine if the popcorn cloud issue is resolved or not.

 

As to ASCA, despite being apprehensive about some previous comments that the cloud textures were not as realistic as those in REX TD4 SC, I did not find that to be the case. On the other hand, it was pretty hard for me to see the dynamic texture changes, but I suspect that one needs to make a number of flights in variable weather conditions, in order to get the full effect.

 

And yes, there is cloud popping with AS16, but it doesn't happen that often and seems to be related to weather transitions. One thing that doesn't work quite right is that if one changes the flight plan in mid flight, AS16 automatically reconfigures the weather. My advice on that is, just don't do it. I just did it to see what would happen.

 

All in all the the AS16 UI is an improvement over ASN (which was looking a bit tired) and the integration between AS16 and ASCA is seamless.