FSX-MS ASN vs AS2016?

[Bob Scott 7,715]

I've been having a bit of a rennaissance with FSX:SE on a rig built for portable use on the road...my home rig is full-up P3Dv4 on a 55" monitor, high-end controls etc, but I have been experimenting with my old trusty FSX stuff on the portable machine.  When I moved to P3D, I was still using Active Sky Next, and I now use Active Sky 2016 for P3Dv4 as my go-to weather engine.  I never used AS2016 in FSX, and right now I have ASN back up and running, and frankly i don't see a lot of difference between it and my ASP4 setup in P3D.

Does anyone have any observations as to what AS2016 brings to the table in FSX that would justify an upgrade from ASN?

Regards

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

5 hours ago, w6kd said:

Does anyone have any observations as to what AS2016 brings to the table in FSX that would justify an upgrade from ASN?

Regards

I remember when AS2016 came out Damien put up a comparison chart that listed the differences between the two. I think the main thing with AS16 was that it was designed to work with ASCA and provided some fixes and updates to improve other weather features. I don’t remember exactly all the differences but it was enough for me to pay the upgrade cost and go to AS16. 

[TextRich 88]

I have ASN and do not yet have AS16.  A few hints are in the product page:

https://hifisimtech.com/as16/#buynow

What I remember the most when it was first released is that clouds in higher latitudes are no longer vertically stretched.  I will probably get it if REX's Weather Force is still not any better than ASN's weather depiction.

[torque2 24]

On 7/27/2019 at 8:01 AM, w6kd said:

I've been having a bit of a rennaissance with FSX:SE on a rig built for portable use on the road...my home rig is full-up P3Dv4 on a 55" monitor, high-end controls etc, but I have been experimenting with my old trusty FSX stuff on the portable machine...

I'm in the opposite situation, a long-time user of ASN and FSX on my desktop machine, but with P3Dv4 and ActiveSky for P3Dv4 on my laptop (I just had no luck getting P3D to run properly on my desktop machine (Win 7) but it runs fine on my Win10 laptop).

I too considered upgrading from ASN to AS2016 for FSX but since I don't use ASCA it didn't seem worthwhile.  I've been 100% happy with ASN and see very little difference between it and AS for P3Dv4 in use.

 

[remilton 66]

I might consider moving from ASN to AS16 for FSX if there were an upgrade discount, but I can't find one and with such small differences it just doesn't seem worth it.

[MaDDogz 242]

Hifi doesn’t seem to sell ASN on there site no more, but available on steam.

Does ASN have Xgauge ?

[pete_auau 1,152]

you probably  find that   asn  isn't  supported  no more  

[TextRich 88]

3 hours ago, MaDDogz said:

Hifi doesn’t seem to sell ASN on there site no more, but available on steam.

Does ASN have Xgauge ?

Yes it does.  🙂

3 hours ago, pete_auau said:

you probably  find that   asn  isn't  supported  no more  

Right, but there is enough older support to get ASN up and running with FSX and FSX:SE.  I am still able to use ASN even though HiFi is no longer updating it.  I would recommend first time AS users to just get AS16.

[Kronovan 14]

On 8/19/2019 at 1:16 AM, pete_auau said:

you probably  find that   asn  isn't  supported  no more  

Well I got suppprt from Hifi with configuring ASN about a year ago and AS2016 was already out. I might add that the support was first rate. My impression is that it's still supported as it's still the AS version that's sold on Steam.

Edited August 22, 2019 by Kronovan

[pete_auau 1,152]

7 hours ago, Kronovan said:

Well I got suppprt from Hifi with configuring ASN about a year ago and AS2016 was already out. I might add that the support was first rate. My impression is that it's still supported as it's still the AS version that's sold on Steam.

yea  that's  good,   but  why  would  anyone  buy  asn  which is  really  outdated

Edited August 22, 2019 by pete_auau

[Kronovan 14]

5 hours ago, pete_auau said:

yea  that's  good,   but  why  would  anyone  buy  asn  which is  really  outdated

Well based upon some of the comments in this post, it doesn't sound so outdated. Main reason is price of course; I bought my ASN at a 60% discount in a Steam sale for about $12 CDN, whereas AS2016 would cost me around $44 CDN. I'm sure AS2016 has some worthwhile improvements, but ASN is such a major improvement over the stock weather in FSX I find myself content with it. With what I saved I was able to also buy Accu-Feel and HD Airport Graphics in that same sale all for less than the price of a single AS2016 purchase.

[TextRich 88]

11 hours ago, pete_auau said:

yea  that's  good,   but  why  would  anyone  buy  asn  which is  really  outdated

Since ASN is available on Steam, many people (especially those not old enough to get a job) have funds in their Steam Wallet (from gift cards, rewards, and so on). They can use those funds if they do not yet have money or a bank card.

[tf51d 284]

I use ASN still too with REX cloud textures, works great for me!!

[MAHLER 10]

I use ASN with Rex textures on 2 rigs;- win7 FSX, and, win10 ;- P3D both work fine.

Over the last couple of years I have had to contact HiFi with activation issues, and

have always received prompt satisfactory support.