45 minutes ago, simbol said:

VOXAtc since it injects it own traffic

V742 uses the schedules & subsequently "controls" traffic from any "traffic.bgl" source ...... unlike any other ATC programs.

PATC reacts but does not "control" ..... fsuipc though can help "control" even UTL for these other ATC programs.

Vox requires additionally investment in TTS voices ...... so for the same money thereabouts, you have "controlled AI" or "supplied" voices.

Edited October 20, 20187 yr by vadriver

voxATC sounds great! I will try the trial version. Thanks.

New FSPassangers for P3D4 should be before Christmass. I will wait.

So the last question... best clouds & sky & stars & sun & moon working with Active Sky... I'm still reading about it but it seems REX has bigger performance impact than HiFi products + Envtex.

Dan: my bad, I was not asking for your nickname but the why of your preferences. Anyway, clear now, thanks. Makes me think.

Patrick: my understanding is:

1) Environmental enhancements textures: clouds, sky, moon,... Some of the items below have them all, some a few, etc.
- REX
- ASCA
- ENVTEX
-...

2) Shaders modifiers/enhancers
- PTA: many settings/tweaking options. Good if you like micro-tuning and not good if you like Plug and Play. However there are some presets available by third party or community.
- TomatoShade
- ENVSHADE: no settings/tweaking options. Plug and Play.

ENVTEX and ENVSHADE work best together the developer says. And I read PTA works best with REX addons..

Hope it clarifies a bit. I cannot make any recommendation because I do not own any of those addons. At this I'm questioning myself if I should get one or not.

PS: I'm interested by the comments on  the "optimal addons list", but I will refrain from commenting, until your questions are answered, to avoid to divert the discussions.

Edited October 20, 20187 yr by Simicro

33 minutes ago, kyrtaps said:

So the last question... best clouds & sky & stars & sun & moon working with Active Sky... I'm still reading about it but it seems REX has bigger performance impact than HiFi products + Envtex.

What can your HARDWARE handle?  It's no use buying a "clouds" product that has 4096 x 4096 cloud textures if your hardware can't display them in a "timely manner" without bogging down your sim performance.  Out of the 5 "display objects" you listed above (clouds, sky, stars, sun, moon), your MAIN concern should be what level of CLOUDS can your hardware handle (with the type of flying you will be doing...default aircraft?  A complex system heavy PMDG one?).  If you can run 4096 x 4096 clouds at 4K resolution on a 4K monitor, the other 4 items will run fine too.  But nowadays, if you have to turn down the cloud resolution to get acceptable performance, it is no use trying to "compare" weather products.  They ALL have just about the same LOWER resolution display of the clouds.

The 3 main "clouds" players today are Active Sky (with their Active Sky Cloud Art addon), REX SkyForce, and "the rest" of the players.  A lot of people buy BOTH Active Sky (for the weather engine) and SkyForce for the cloud textures and cloud types.  But it becomes a personal preference in those kind of choices.  You can use one, or the other, or both at the same time.  It's really up to the individual user...but what their HARDWARE can handle must be considered so you don't end up spending money on things that you simply wouldn't be able to run during your simming session if your hardware can't do it.

And as many of the above posts have said, adding anything like a "shader" product can be a shot in the dark.  Some work fine with some weather addons, and some don't.  Personally, I'm like Dan.  I don't use ANY "shader" addon products.  I've seen over and over again where they can cause more problems than it's worth, like when they DO make your weather look "good", but at the expense of messing up your cockpit display.  So then you end up using another "tweek" to try to fix the cockpit display.  Why go through all of that?  If you have P3Dv4.3, good hardware, and some already quality products like Active Sky and/or SkyForce...and you CAN'T get the "weather depiction" and all the other "outside view" in the sim to look good already...you ARE doing something wrong.

Edited October 20, 20187 yr by FalconAF

@FalconAF Important notes about tweaks and shaders, thanks Rick. I will read more about it.

I fly on full HD projector (100" screen). It looks great and I don't need 4K resolution now. I have AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and M.2 disk (work good). I'm considering to upgrade my graphic card (GTX 1060 -> 1080) and buy more RAM (I got only 8 GB, 3200MHz now). Black friday is soon 🙂

I've decided that my weather engine will be Active Sky (I'm buying upgrade, I have ASN for FSX). 

Now I'm choosing between REX Sky Force or ASCA. 

Best regards,
Patrick

14 hours ago, downscc said:

It is just my preference.  I don't like stuff that I personally consider arcade effects.  Brighter brights, flashy effects, or over boosted bass.

Same here, however... I do use PTA. I never tweaked anything in it myself but just loaded the included MattDavies preset and that's it. Why? Not because I care about arcade effects like brighter brights etc. but because I absolutely care about the extremely realistic blue color in the distance, the so called Rayleigh scattering. To me this makes a WORLD of difference in P3D! Without it P3D looks totally unrealistic, dull and flat to me, which colors being the same all the way up to the horizon. This default PTA preset also isn't too overly bright or cartoonish: you just select it, install it and that's it. No need for tweaking or tinkering. And I never ever had any problems with my sim due to PTA. For me this Rayleigh scattering alone is really worth the purchase. Whenever I have to reinstall P3D PTA is one of the first addons I use, just for this (a random screenshot I took a few minutes ago to show you what I mean):

 

Edited October 20, 20187 yr by Guest

I will try TomatoShade & ReShade + Presets for PMDG 777 and clouds. More about it here: 

 

Edited October 20, 20187 yr by kyrtaps

3 hours ago, J van E said:

I absolutely care about the extremely realistic blue color in the distance, the so called Rayleigh scattering.

Real world one would only see the bluish tint in the distance with lower dew points and in certain lighting so I am curious as to if the effect is always there? I assume that it also depended on altitude, for as you go higher you are no longer going to see it.

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 12:02 AM, kyrtaps said:

much more better than my old FSX

I'm curious ..... where did you ask for "advice" before your 6 only posts here at avsim ???

1 hour ago, vadriver said:

I'm curious ..... where did you ask for "advice" before your 6 only posts here at avsim ???

Nowhere :-))  I've read some topics and websites about new P3D v4.

I started flying ten years ago, but I prefer fly rather than writing on forum. 

5 minutes ago, kyrtaps said:

but I prefer fly rather than writing on forum. 

Unless help is needed 😉

8 hours ago, Simicro said:

Unless help is needed 😉

or you need to harass recalcitrant developers about missing / quirky features etc,etc.

28 minutes ago, vadriver said:

or you need to harass recalcitrant developers about missing / quirky features etc,etc.

LOL.

I think users are getting nicer.. 😉

S.