As much as I'm often inclined on occasion to favour alternatives rather than to go with the one everyone else chooses, and in spite of the fact that I think it's perhaps a tad overpriced, I personally would still recommend the ubiquitous Active Sky and Active Sky Cloud Art combination.

This is not because I think it is spectacularly better than any of the other options, but rather because it ticks a couple of important boxes for me. The first box it ticks is that AS and the accompanying Cloud Art are well designed to work in concert with one another, and that makes for an entirely hassle-free experience in terms of patching, installation, compatibility etc, and those AS patches typically come fast when a new version of P3D comes out. The second box AS ticks for me, is that it seems to be the main weather engine of choice for developers when it comes to integration with their depiction of avionics by virtue of it being the popular choice, and this isn't just for fancy expensive payware airliners either, for example, the excellent, and quite inexpensive Just Flight TB10 and TB20 Trinidad and Tobago GA aeroplanes have a Stormscope fitted which has far greater functionality with Active Sky installed. To be frank, this second point is what swings it for me, because otherwise, I'm then buying some payware aeroplanes which have functions that don't work.

I will say however, that OPUS is a good choice and certainly has merits too, including ones other options do not have, so if you choose to go with that, you won't be disappointed.

To all your guys who have responded.

I have read and noted all that has been said, but I did not realize the relationship between AS and ASCA.

I did however just watch a Frooglepete youtube video  which has explained all that I really needed to know.  This has gazumped you all, including me) and has led to my holding off for a fortnight (next Pension day) when I will buy both those. A decision, I feel, I won't live to regret.

Again guys, I am heartily grateful for all your input.

Regards to you all

Tony 

 

14 hours ago, himmelhorse said:

I did however just watch a Frooglepete youtube video  which has explained all that I really needed to know.  This has gazumped you all

 

So - if I understand this correctly - you are telling us that you're ignoring all the advice that people gave you here, and just going with what a Youtube video says?? Why not just watch the Youtube video in the first place if that's what you wanted? And I thought the whole point was that you kept asking for options other than ASP4 and ASCA, cos you couldn't afford it.

I'm sorry, but this really comes across as a big waste of everyone's time.

Robert,

If you read my last, I did state that I had read and noted all the advice given. If you read ALL the posts submitted, a majority advised me to go for AS + ASCA.

I actually researched various combinations based on advice received from responders in this topic and mostly, I remained confused and unconvinced of the right way to go. I think, from memory, I asked about 2 or three times whether ASCA was a texture part of AS and whether or not it was a necessary part of Active Skyformation and this information was to eventually prove  crucial.   Nobody actually adressed this question for me. It was only after watching the Frooglepete video that it all came together for me.

In essence, the information provided here was extremely instrumental in my decision making process and I specifically thanked all the responders. So, I stress again it was NOT unimportant nor, was it a waste of anybodys time. Frooglepete was just the final straw that broke the camels back, so to speak. It was the bit that put it all together for me. Please note also, that I do not normally rely on a single piece of advice and I do not normally jump to Youtube as a first or last resort.

Eventually, I also came to the conclusion that most of the options/combinations proved to be less than spectacular  as far as the price difference was concerned. I even downloaded the Rikoo HDEv2 and installed it to see if a cheaper wx engine could prove feasible.  I have to admit that it was indeed impressive but not, actually what I was wanting.

I do not see how you came to your conclusion, and I did not expect to be criticised for mine, but I apologise if I have misled you, or anybody else. I hope this clarifies the situation.

Regards

Tony

I would like to thank everybody again for all the information (most of which pointed to AS + ASCA anyway) which led to my final decision.

Regards

Tony

1 hour ago, himmelhorse said:

Robert,

If you read my last, I did state that I had read and noted all the advice given. If you read ALL the posts submitted, a majority advised me to go for AS + ASCA.

I actually researched various combinations based on advice received from responders in this topic and mostly, I remained confused and unconvinced of the right way to go. I think, from memory, I asked about 2 or three times whether ASCA was a texture part of AS and whether or not it was a necessary part of Active Skyformation and this information was to eventually prove  crucial.   Nobody actually adressed this question for me. It was only after watching the Frooglepete video that it all came together for me.

In essence, the information provided here was extremely instrumental in my decision making process and I specifically thanked all the responders. So, I stress again it was NOT unimportant nor, was it a waste of anybodys time. Frooglepete was just the final straw that broke the camels back, so to speak. It was the bit that put it all together for me. Please note also, that I do not normally rely on a single piece of advice and I do not normally jump to Youtube as a first or last resort.

Eventually, I also came to the conclusion that most of the options/combinations proved to be less than spectacular  as far as the price difference was concerned. I even downloaded the Rikoo HDEv2 and installed it to see if a cheaper wx engine could prove feasible.  I have to admit that it was indeed impressive but not, actually what I was wanting.

I do not see how you came to your conclusion, and I did not expect to be criticised for mine, but I apologise if I have misled you, or anybody else. I hope this clarifies the situation.

Regards

Tony

I would like to thank everybody again for all the information (most of which pointed to AS + ASCA anyway) which led to my final decision.

Regards

Tony

Glad you made a choice, but my understanding is that the ASCA textures were not that well received here at least in comparison to the competition. 

You don’t need ASCA for AS to function correctly. 

Edited September 14, 20187 yr by GHarrall

2 hours ago, OzWhitey said:

I'm sorry, but this really comes across as a big waste of everyone's time.

That is quite rude and quite wrong. Part of the selection process is gathering information and forming an opinion. The OP did just that - it's his system, his money and his call and you might want to consider adjusting your attitude.

Tony - The AS/ASCA combination is an excellent choice. The visuals are always purely subjective and everyone will have a different opinion but as they were designed to work together. AS will work with any cloud/sky combination but is most efficient with ASCA.

Vic

Glenn,

I agree that ASCA was not necessary, and that was my understanding too. It certainly makes a nice complete package though. I initially looked at AS + HDEv2 as a combo in an effort to save some money. HDEv2 was impressive but after looking at Froogle i made the decision to go with ASCA despite the added cost. I would love to have had the money to opt for AS + REX Skyforce but it would have started divorce proceedings here and that would have lost me my house family and halve my pensioner income, on top of the increased cost for REX LOL.

It may well happen in the far off future should I live that long.

Thanks mate.

Tony

12 minutes ago, GHarrall said:

Glad you made a choice, but my understanding is that the ASCA textures were not that well received here at least in comparison to the competition. 

That depends on who you talk to Glenn - there are many who prefer ASCA and many who prefer the competition. Although when the product was first released there were initial problems which were corrected in subsequent updates.

Vic

This topic comes up every other week. Maybe, one of these threads should be pinned. It's hard to offer advice when so many people have varying opinions about this subject leaving the OP confused. Thankfully, I found some great weather addons that I really love and enjoy!

Vic,

I most certainly appreciate your support on this topic. 

However, I would like to point out that I was not unduly upset at Roberts' response. My main concern as, and I stated this in my response, that I had indeed misled him and I think it was my "Gazumped" that did the trick for him.   

I think I am one of the most moderate fellas and have no wish whatsoever to upset anyone.

Thanks again mate

Tony

Hello again guys,

Well ain't this ironic.

After all our discussion, I note that (FSElite news)  ENVTEX is merging/joining REX Skyforce. I am rather glad I was not my impulsive self in this instance and put off till payday my purchase of AS + ASCA. 

I dont know whether this information should change my decision or even  defere my buying of Active Sky. 

How many as users would opt for the ENVTEX/REX combination over the AS/ASCA 

Regards

Tony

Envtex and ASCA already have been working together since early on. Nothing has changed.

 

Vic

Vic,

Thanks mate.  I have sort of uneducatedly guessed at that, but what I was looking at was  the new combination of  REX Skyforce/integrated ENVTEX with AS compared to of AS + ASCA + ENVTEX. If there is any upgraded prices wfor the new REX product then it obviously increases the package price and whetyher or not it would make a better combination is a moot point. 

The question that I am asking, I guess, is whether or not I (nor indeed, anyone) should even be considering that combo.

Regards 

9 hours ago, himmelhorse said:

Vic,

I most certainly appreciate your support on this topic. 

However, I would like to point out that I was not unduly upset at Roberts' response. My main concern as, and I stated this in my response, that I had indeed misled him and I think it was my "Gazumped" that did the trick for him.   

I think I am one of the most moderate fellas and have no wish whatsoever to upset anyone.

Thanks again mate

Tony

Yes, it was mainly the “gazumped”. 🙂

Sometimes things don’t quite come across as they should in online posts, or can be misinterpreted by the reader. 

At any rate, what I was going to post is that I would go with Rex Skyforce if I needed a single program. The weather engine is excellent though imperfect, and the textures are great.

That’s what I use, and I have ASP4 and Opus as well to choose from.

I add the ASP4 engine into the mix when I want historical weather, or when I want my PMDG weather radar to work. If you can live without those two things, you Skyforce is a splendid option, and you can always buy ASP4 down the track to add these features.

Robert,

As I said  before I have taken  no offence to your post. Enough said.

I think I have made my final decision which has been largely to the communitys' input. However, I am really open to new input especially regarding the latest integration, until I finally lay out my dollars.  I simply want to maximize my dollar output and get the best value I possibly can.

Thank you for your response.

Regards

Tony