Active Sky Cloud Art for FSX & P3D - Released!

[JLSeagull 191]

ROFL! Good one.

 

Vic

 

I am in the process of submitting a ticket to HiFi requesting that we can label clouds (as per AI aircraft), e.g. type, speed, direction, proximity, volume, severity, possibility of death etc....     

[rjack1282 316]

I bought AS16 and ASCA yesterday and am loving the combination. Been using ASN/Rex SC.

[aviator8 9]

Some AS16 initial testing, more to come

http://imgur.com/a/QG8CF

[virtualstuff 770]

Some AS16 initial testing, more to come

http://imgur.com/a/QG8CF

 

Great shots :-)

[airlinejets 709]

Some AS16 initial testing, more to come

http://imgur.com/a/QG8CF

It's kind of odd, some people post pics that I'd qualify as lacking but yours look really good. I could live with that output and be more than happy. The most important thing for me though, does the weather engine portray accurately the metar reports, winds aloft etc.?

[HUSSAR 272]

 

 

possibility of death etc....     

 

I am afraid that is dependent on your piloting skills David. 

It's kind of odd, some people post pics that I'd qualify as lacking but yours look really good. I could live with that output and be more than happy. The most important thing for me though, does the weather engine portray accurately the metar reports, winds aloft etc.?

 

Hi Michael,

 

I am a little biased, but let me say that weather portrayal is based on the quality of the METAR (mostly human) and you should consider that all factors combined, weather engines are designed to do the best possible job given the information that is presented to them.  What we had years ago with respect to weather portrayal vs what we see now is the understanding that the dev's have of their respective weather engines.  Either way, we as customers (and testers) are enjoying the fruits of their labor as they continue to provide us with incredible experiences.

[Guest]

It's kind of odd, some people post pics that I'd qualify as lacking but yours look really good.

That's probably because he is only testing AS2016, not ASCA.

[aviator8 9]

Great shots :-)

 

Thank you

 

 

 

It's kind of odd, some people post pics that I'd qualify as lacking but yours look really good. I could live with that output and be more than happy. The most important thing for me though, does the weather engine portray accurately the metar reports, winds aloft etc.?

 

Well, I can't speak about the accuracy yet. And honestly, I was hesitant at the beginning when I looked to all the pictures posted. Until I decided to upgrade to AS16 only and go from there. Looking to the almost real haze and some major improvements over ASN, I couldn't be happier!

 

 

 

That's probably because he is only testing AS2016, not ASCA.

 

You are probably right

[airlinejets 709]

That's probably because he is only testing AS2016, not ASCA.

Hehehe, it was too good to be true. lol

[Poppet 710]

I am in the process of submitting a ticket to HiFi requesting that we can label clouds (as per AI aircraft), e.g. type, speed, direction, proximity, volume, severity, possibility of death etc....     

 

lol Very good 

[hesynergy 67]

I have been following this topic all along trying to figure out which way to go. Recently I have been a REX texture and ASN weather engine user and happy camper. ...

Here is part one of my Simmerly modded ASCA WITH REX Soft Clouds. Seattle Loop Prepar3d v3.2, Lancair v2 AS16, Modified ASCA, REX SoftClouds FTX PNW PART 1

 

https://youtu.be/U98PTo9QxXo

 

...part 2 won't be ready prolly til tonite due to my abysmally slow load bandwidth .

 

A tribute to N15JG ( I believe his name is Alan )and his terrific series "On The Glideslope" Where he Produced the "Island Hopping The Pacific Northwest" flights.

 

https://skyvector.com/ll=48.36021851201551,-122.23620221518544&chart=1&zoom=4&fpl=%20KAWO%20KOKH%202WA1%20KFHR%20KORS%20KBLI%20KBVS%20KAWO .

 

lt looked like so much fun that I decided to duplicate his flight to see what FTX PNW AND UTXUSA combined, looked like. After all, Orbx advertised it as "working perfectly with UTX". Also, I wanted toinclude a few additional features.

 

This is Part One of an unedited test of of a "Mongolized, Synergy" of Prepar3d v 3.2 , I-7 2600K OC'd 4.2 Ghz/GTX1080 loaded up with;

 

1. Active Sky16,

2. Active Sky Cloud Art, with all of its settings unchecked to allow the use of REX Soft Clouds.

3. FTX Pacific NorthWest WITH UTXUSA v2.

4. RealAir Lancair Legacy for P3d. With;

5. Dual GTN 750 with Complications...there is NO LISTING on the GTN 750 database for Diamond Point yet Diamond Point, a private airport, IS listed in Skyvector, P3d, Aivlasoft EFB using Navigraph AND Pilot2ATC. Go figure !

 

I went to Skyvector, and got 2WA1's location. While the GTN allows Coordinates, Radial/Radial, and Radial/Distance, I believe coordinates, is more accurate, so I used that method of GTN750 to create a User Waypoint location.

 

I decided to see the extent of the 7 Cloud layers I set in AS16, so in Part 2, between our last leg KBVS, Skagit Bay, https://skyvector.com/airport/BVS/Skagit-Regional-Airport, and home, Arlington KAWO, we took the Lancair to FL120 with gratifying results. I had under-estimated the times even though the Lancair maintained a phenomenal 3000 FPS climb rate, maintaining 120 KPH!. I had to do a dizzying dive, extending my direction Ten miles until I could get to within 2000 feet of KAWO's Traffic Pattern Altitude: 1058 AGL (1199 MSL), then turned back to land....figguring my lil' Lancair could get down to there in 10 miles...its incredible what a turbo charged 380HP engine on one hand, and Milspec dive brakes(AirBrakes) can do to alter Altitude and speed in Likkity-split time.

 

Thanks again to N15JG for the idea. Be sure to visit Alan's video blog http://www.ontheglideslope.net/author/alan/ .

 

 

"The first of a two-part video, with the route overall being Arlington - Eisenberg - Diamond Point - Friday Harbor - Orcas Island - Bellingham - Skagit Bay - Arlington. In this video we fly the Arlington to Friday Harbor legs.

 

http://wp.me/p7kt1U-ak

 

Hope this helps some of y'all in your decision-making .

 

Cheers,

Chas

[longrangecruise 57]

 

 

As 16 is fantastic. I did three flights yesterday, two into rough weather, and the cloud and turbulence  effects are absolutely amazing. The FPS are the best I have ever had in bad weather, and I still prefer the look that I am getting with Texture 4 HD + soft clouds compared to many of the screenshots I am looking at. To me the SC look like real clouds, rather than drawings of clouds that aren't quite right. 

 

I agree! I tested AS16 and I like that there is actual wx and turbulence  going on in these clouds.

 

I am not too sure about ASCA, though. Some screenies I see look really good, especially in stratus or foggy conditions. I also like that there is actual CB's available now, but most of the cumuli and CB's look like drawings and too artificial for me.

 

Is someone waiting to see what REX is going to offer?

[Speedbird 217 159]

Reading a lot of the comments here I was a bit sceptic. After completing my first flight with the AS16+ASCA combo I can say I am genuinely impressed!

The weather engine is a significant improvement on the already good ASN, but ASCA really gave me some impressive sky and cloud textures and structures - contrary to what many people write here. When I looked out the (real) window this is pretty much exactly what I saw a few miles from EGLL.

Great performance and slightly lower VAS footprint as well on my machine.

[reecemj 152]

 

 

Reading a lot of the comments here I was a bit sceptic. After completing my first flight with the AS16+ASCA combo I can say I am genuinely impressed!

 

+1 Max...I had to see it for myself and am glad I spent that 20 bucks.

[whoispankaj 51]

 

 

 

Pankaj