Doing some initial test flights here.

 

Quick question: Is there some way to tell what weather the plugin is injecting, besides just the visual appearance? There are no cloud layers or winds shown in the default XP weather menu with the XEnviro plugin running, like you get with SkyMaxx Pro. Is there any way to get something like a METAR from the plugin? 

 

I have the winds backed down in the settings menu, but it would be nice to know what they would be if I didn't use the current setting. As I understand it, the ATIS you get from the default XP map doesn't indicate what XEnviro is doing.

Doing some initial test flights here.

 

Quick question: Is there some way to tell what weather the plugin is injecting, besides just the visual appearance? There are no cloud layers or winds shown in the default XP weather menu with the XEnviro plugin running, like you get with SkyMaxx Pro. Is there any way to get something like a METAR from the plugin? 

 

I have the winds backed down in the settings menu, but it would be nice to know what they would be if I didn't use the current setting. As I understand it, the ATIS you get from the default XP map doesn't indicate what XEnviro is doing.

 

Hi

 

I am wondering the same thing.

 

We just got overcast in in Chicago and the weather is show clear in xEnviro at KMDW

If others report the same, maybe their server us not updating.

 

If anything changes i'll report back

 

Bob

Here is an update:

 

This is very interesting, not sure if anyone else has seen this.

 

 

I was doing performance testing with X plane and what to turn on HT to do some comparison.

Prior to to turning HT on I remember I was getting the some clouds this morning although is mostly clear which reflected the real weather conditions.

 

When I reported that there where no clouds at Midway in the sim is when there is actual cloudy condition and snow, I had set HT on in my BIOS, which I thought should not make any difference.  

Realizing this I turn it off and the overcast condition appear with the traces of snow that we are getting out side.

 

For some reason, turning on HT affects xEnviro ability to generate clouds.

If this is a know issue, let me know.

 

If anyone else see this,let me know and I will submit a ticket describing what I seen here.

For know on my system with HT off, it working.

 

Bob

Here is an update:

 

This is very interesting, not sure if anyone else has seen this.

 

 

I was doing performance testing with X plane and what to turn on HT to do some comparison.

Prior to to turning HT on I remember I was getting the some clouds this morning although is mostly clear which reflected the real weather conditions.

 

When I reported that there where no clouds at Midway in the sim is when there is actual cloudy condition and snow, I had set HT on in my BIOS, which I thought should not make any difference.  

Realizing this I turn it off and the overcast condition appear with the traces of snow that we are getting out side.

 

For some reason, turning on HT affects xEnviro ability to generate clouds.

If this is a know issue, let me know.

 

If anyone else see this,let me know and I will submit a ticket describing what I seen here.

For know on my system with HT off, it working.

 

Bob

HT must be off in the Nvidia panel to avoid poor performance and stutters in X-Plane. It's a known bug.

HT must be off in the Nvidia panel to avoid poor performance and stutters in X-Plane. It's a known bug.

 

Hyperthreading and Threaded Optimization is not the same thing

Here is an update:

 

This is very interesting, not sure if anyone else has seen this.

 

 

I was doing performance testing with X plane and what to turn on HT to do some comparison.

Prior to to turning HT on I remember I was getting the some clouds this morning although is mostly clear which reflected the real weather conditions.

 

When I reported that there where no clouds at Midway in the sim is when there is actual cloudy condition and snow, I had set HT on in my BIOS, which I thought should not make any difference.  

Realizing this I turn it off and the overcast condition appear with the traces of snow that we are getting out side.

 

For some reason, turning on HT affects xEnviro ability to generate clouds.

If this is a know issue, let me know.

 

If anyone else see this,let me know and I will submit a ticket describing what I seen here.

For know on my system with HT off, it working.

 

Bob

 

I'm betting you were just getting server delays.  I have HT on, never even had it off in fact, and Xenviro shows clouds in both XP11 and XP10.

 

But, I do get random weather drop outs or no weather at all, and then 15 minutes later it will appear.

 

These all go back to my concerns last week with relying on their server across the world to get any weather data, but I won't dare bring that back up on Avsim again.

I'm betting you were just getting server delays.  I have HT on, never even had it off in fact, and Xenviro shows clouds in both XP11 and XP10.

 

But, I do get random weather drop outs or no weather at all, and then 15 minutes later it will appear.

 

I'm getting a few drop outs too. At least that's what I assume is happening, where there is a sudden drastic change to clear blue skies... no interpolation. Then later it goes back to what should be the real weather for an area. 

 

I don't think we're always getting completely smooth, continuous weather updates from their server, but I can't say if it's on the XEnviro end or timeouts and net traffic at my end. That's why I wish there was some kind of readout of what XEnviro thinks the current METAR is, so we could track changes and updates.

 

These all go back to my concerns last week with relying on their server across the world to get any weather data, but I won't dare bring that back up on Avsim again.

 

I think it's a legitimate topic, but as a new product I'm willing to wait and see if they can iron out the kinks. It was just released, after all. Aside from the injected weather accuracy and server stability, I have some other concerns about VFR flying and how it handles things like runway viz, but I need to do some more test flights.

 

I don't think we're always getting completely smooth, continuous weather updates from their server, but I can't say if it's on the XEnviro end or timeouts and net traffic at my end. That's why I wish there was some kind of readout of what XEnviro thinks the current METAR is, so we could track changes and updates.

There are still quirks in that regard and I've also talked with the support team but I didn't get a conclusive answer. Maybe more people should contact them?

I'm betting you were just getting server delays.  I have HT on, never even had it off in fact, and Xenviro shows clouds in both XP11 and XP10.

 

But, I do get random weather drop outs or no weather at all, and then 15 minutes later it will appear.

 

These all go back to my concerns last week with relying on their server across the world to get any weather data, but I won't dare bring that back up on Avsim again.

 

Hi be77solo

 

I am going test this again in the morning. I thought there is something strange, because it did make since to me as to why the clouds would not to show with HT on and with off both clouds and snow appear, so I will check again.

 

Thanks

 

Bob

Hi be77solo

 

I am going test this again in the morning. I thought there is something strange, because it did make since to me as to why the clouds would not to show with HT on and with off both clouds and snow appear, so I will check again.

 

Thanks

 

Bob

 

Yep, I bet because you restarted and reloaded the sim/server connection, it got things working.  I too have times where I get no weather at all for a while.  It's quite annoying, but nothing to do with my hardware.  Eventually, Xenviro finds it's connection it seems and things load again.

 

When it's working, Xenviro is absolutely the best looking option for X-Plane (still not totally sold on winds aloft) and is a great product.  But, the server issues and how it gets the actual weather data to load definitely need attention.

 

 

When it's working, Xenviro is absolutely the best looking option for X-Plane (still not totally sold on winds aloft) and is a great product. But, the server issues and how it gets the actual weather data to load definitely need attention.

 

This is what's holding me back.

I did my first real flight with XEnviro, and so far I'm not sure it's ready for VFR use. Flight was from Prince George CYXS to Kamloops CYKA (Canada). In the XEnviro settings menu I had minimum ceiling and minimum runway visibility set to 1000m, winds backed all the way down. It started out fine, with scattered clouds. Not sure I'm buying this cloud appearance, but so far so good:

 

 

Then about 40 miles out, I saw a sudden wall of fog or severe low visibility approaching. It looked like something out of a Stephen King movie. There was no transition, it just suddenly appeared. I noticed the visibility barrier wasn't actually approaching, but staying ahead of me. So I guess that was the minimum RVR kicking in, but it looked really strange. It was also in a circle all around the plane, not just in front:

 

 

It continued to appear ahead of me as I approached the airport:

 

 

So I hit the panic button -- CAVOK from the plugin menu. It did indeed clear the immediate area, but it leaves weird artifacts in the near distance like this image below. There is a viz or fog remainder, and it doesn't look like the next landclass tile is being loaded: 

 

 

You can still those weird artifacts off in the distance after touchdown:

 

 

So, I'll assume they will fix that weird graphics glitch.

 

Meanwhile, I dunno about using this for VFR and lower level flights. It's too early to tell from just one flight. I did another one to a nearby airport and got the same effects, but I'll try again after the weather changes a bit, maybe fly out to the coast and see what that looks like in the next few days before deciding whether to keep it, or move back to SkyMaxx Pro v4+RWC. 

 

Wow, those are maybe the worst screenshots of xEnviro I've seen to date. Certainly it needs more work. Thanks for the feedback Paraffin.

 

I did my first real flight with XEnviro, and so far I'm not sure it's ready for VFR use. Flight was from Prince George CYXS to Kamloops CYKA (Canada). In the XEnviro settings menu I had minimum ceiling and minimum runway visibility set to 1000m, winds backed all the way down. It started out fine, with scattered clouds. Not sure I'm buying this cloud appearance, but so far so good:

 

 

 

So, I'll assume they will fix that weird graphics glitch.

 

 

Something is wrong with this picture - that looks like SMP - never seen clouds like that in xenviro but seen tons of shots of SMP that look like that - something strange going on - great fps assume its XP10

 

I did my first real flight with XEnviro, and so far I'm not sure it's ready for VFR use. Flight was from Prince George CYXS to Kamloops CYKA (Canada). In the XEnviro settings menu I had minimum ceiling and minimum runway visibility set to 1000m, winds backed all the way down. It started out fine, with scattered clouds. Not sure I'm buying this cloud appearance, but so far so good:

 

 

Then about 40 miles out, I saw a sudden wall of fog or severe low visibility approaching. It looked like something out of a Stephen King movie. There was no transition, it just suddenly appeared. I noticed the visibility barrier wasn't actually approaching, but staying ahead of me. So I guess that was the minimum RVR kicking in, but it looked really strange. It was also in a circle all around the plane, not just in front:

 

 

It continued to appear ahead of me as I approached the airport:

 

 

So I hit the panic button -- CAVOK from the plugin menu. It did indeed clear the immediate area, but it leaves weird artifacts in the near distance like this image below. There is a viz or fog remainder, and it doesn't look like the next landclass tile is being loaded: 

 

 

You can still those weird artifacts off in the distance after touchdown:

 

 

So, I'll assume they will fix that weird graphics glitch.

 

Meanwhile, I dunno about using this for VFR and lower level flights. It's too early to tell from just one flight. I did another one to a nearby airport and got the same effects, but I'll try again after the weather changes a bit, maybe fly out to the coast and see what that looks like in the next few days before deciding whether to keep it, or move back to SkyMaxx Pro v4+RWC. 

 

In your last photo, I saw the exact same thing today on a flight from KLAX to KSBA, via a westerly coastal path.  For a while, the same area along the coast looked as if the mesh wasn't loading as quickly as it should.  I do not believe this issue to be tied to XEnviro, as my flight was performed without it, although I was using XP's default weather, so perhaps the two issues are tied to weather generation...just a thought.