MSFS Asobo Dev Q&A ongoing now

[Falconjet112 40]

Thanks! Good to know regarding ongoing cloud improvements. 

[abrams_tank 7,490]

I'm just gonna say, I think people need to be a little more patient, especially with respect to clouds.  The first step was making the weather data match METAR, which they did, and now MSFS is much better for VATSIM fliers. While you may not think the weather is better, a lot of VATSIM users do think the weather is much better for them.  As for the cloud variation, it was a bit of a setback, but they know about this and they are working on a solution.  

This is just like when the community dumped on the MSFS team for not having an SDK where study level airliners could be done in MSFS.  Well, we have study level airliners now.  Yes, it took about 1.5 years since release, but 1.5 years to get study level airliners in a new flight simulator is a record pace.

They're going to make the weather and clouds better, just give them time.

 

[Farlis 2,323]

4 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

They're going to make the weather and clouds better, just give them time.

I agree. People also ignore that they repeatedly stated that weather to them is one of the THE most important things to get right. They are not blind, they fly themselves and they see what does work and what doesn't. Seb just cautioned that some things may be beyond the scope of what the engine can do (like proper cirrus rendering). 

Their approach to weather is that everything should be computed in real time. Not that you put some textures somewhere to simulate something, but to have a system where you input all the data you need, and then it gives you what you see in the real world. 

This is a very bold approach, and maybe some things will forever remain beyond the scope what it can do. But they are not ignoring anything, they are working on solutions. And we are not at the point in development where they have to concede that a specific thing can't be solved. We should look at it where it is at half point in their 10 year development plan.

[SubtotalGuide 133]

 

2 hours ago, Farlis said:

Which is exactly the reason why they decided the limit updrafts earlier. The way Seb answered the Gusts question it seems he is the driving force behind dumbing things down because he thinks adverse weather of that kind would confuse people.

 

37 minutes ago, Farlis said:

People also ignore that they repeatedly stated that weather to them is one of the THE most important things to get right. They are not blind, they fly themselves and they see what does work and what doesn't. Seb just cautioned that some things may be beyond the scope of what the engine can do (like proper cirrus rendering).

Hmm, which is it?

 

46 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

While you may not think the weather is better, a lot of VATSIM users do think the weather is much better for them.

Can any VATSIM users here confirm or is this another "most people are happy and not on the forums" wool-over-the-eyes statement.

Edited May 26, 2022 by SubtotalGuide

[Farlis 2,323]

12 minutes ago, SubtotalGuide said:

Hmm, which is it?

Both at the same time. Overall their goal is to depict weather as real as possible, so far EXCEPT for conditions that might throw inexperienced users off. But they are listening to the community.

But you be negative all day long as much as you want. Whatever that will accomplish in making anything better...

[WestAir 2,530]

1 hour ago, abrams_tank said:

MSFS is much better for VATSIM fliers. While you may not think the weather is better, a lot of VATSIM users do think the weather is much better for them.

What about the (overwhelmingly large) number of us who don't use VATSIM? By catering to the VATSIM crowd, we now have violent wind shifts that throw you 3,000 feet off your cruising altitude, and donuts of weather circling METAR stations, and silly looking depictions in CAVOK conditions.

I'm not saying ASOBO was wrong to appease the VATSIM crowd. I'm saying they should've just added a toggle for their new changes.

[Violent wind shift at cruise due to forced METAR update]

[Two images of what happens when a cloud passes an airport between METAR reports, causing impenetrable donuts]

[Below video. METEOBLUE says rain, METAR says no rain]

As a reminder, this is how things looked before METARS replaced full dynamic weather:

I'm happy the VATSIM crowd got what they needed. Now I'm ready to fight for a toggle. It's probably my most wanted feature right now.

[Farlis 2,323]

3 minutes ago, WestAir said:

[Violent wind shift at cruise due to forced METAR update]

METAR updates do NOT influence upper winds. Should be obvious, since METAR reports winds at ground levels only...

Edited May 26, 2022 by Farlis

[SubtotalGuide 133]

22 minutes ago, Farlis said:

But you be negative all day long as much as you want. Whatever that will accomplish in making anything better...

If I'm negative it's only because the sim that I paid for in Aug 2020 has been ruined while people keep telling us to be patient. While I tried being patient over the past 2 years the sim had mostly gotten worse. Placating words will work no longer, results are what matter.

[WestAir 2,530]

27 minutes ago, Farlis said:

METAR updates do NOT influence upper winds. Should be obvious, since METAR reports winds at ground levels only...

They're absolutely related. These wind shifts only happen to me at ~55 minutes past the hour. Check the time on the image above. This matches the time METAR's are updated. Moreover, if a large overcast cloud is passing a METAR station that is reporting clear because it's only 2152L, the hole in the cloud will go to the top layer of atmosphere (or at least 12,000 feet if automated, if I recall, but could be mistaken). My uneducated guess is that the dynamic weather builds upwards off the stations like they were a foundation and only blends with METEOBLUE at high altitude, but I imagine someone else has a more technical (and correct) answer as to why and how SU5 added these cruise altitude wind shifts.

Edited May 26, 2022 by WestAir

[Gaiiden 98]

If they addressed more forum questions then people would just whine that they didn't get in-depth-enough answers