Still no historical weather options for MSFS?

[Ray Proudfoot 8,990]

7 hours ago, Damian Clark said:

I know there's a very few very vocal critics of myself and Active Sky, that have somewhat dominated the AVSIM wx discussions over the past few years.  You've nearly succeeding in making us give up.

Criticising a third-party developer for creating an optional addon is as ridiculous as it gets. If it doesn’t interest you just ignore it.

Did they do the same when PMDG announced they would make their products available. Or Fenix? Or FSHud? It beggars belief. It really does.

Thank God Damian has the strength of character not to let these individuals get the better of him.

[RALF9636 1,976]

10 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Criticising a third-party developer for creating an optional addon is as ridiculous as it gets. If it doesn’t interest you just ignore it.

Indeed. Some comments sound as if Active Sky would break the default Live Weather of MSFS.

The opposite is true. Even with Active Sky running (in passive mode) you can still use the default live weather. And of course even after installing Active Sky you can still run MSFS and its default weather without running Active Sky at all.

So you can use Active Sky on some flights and don't use it on others, depending on what kind of flying you want to do.

[DD_Arthur 1,068]

18 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Criticising a third-party developer for creating an optional addon is as ridiculous as it gets. If it doesn’t interest you just ignore it.

Did they do the same when PMDG announced they would make their products available. Or Fenix? Or FSHud? It beggars belief. It really does.

Thank God Damian has the strength of character not to let these individuals get the better of him.

?  Reading through these threads I don't see any 'vocal minority' or any actual criticism of this guy or his product. 

I see plenty of questions about what it can bring to a sim that already provides a live weather system and what exactly it can do that existing products can't.

However,  the idea that there's some sort of campaign to stop it or that Microsoft/Asobo would actually take any notice of this is laughable....

[Ray Proudfoot 8,990]

17 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

?  Reading through these threads I don't see any 'vocal minority' or any actual criticism of this guy or his product. 

Whilst you may not have seen them Damian clearly has otherwise he wouldn’t have posted his comment. There are other forums besides this one.

[DD_Arthur 1,068]

8 hours ago, Damian Clark said:

I know there's a very few very vocal critics of myself and Active Sky, that have somewhat dominated the AVSIM wx discussions over the past few years.  You've nearly succeeding in making us give up.  But our supporters and their growing encouragement helped us overcome that.  This product is made for them, the Active Sky fans, supporters and weather enthusiasts everywhere.  It's not for those who can't find value in our efforts.  

Here you go Ray; he seems to think a ‘vocal minority’ here have it in for him.

He then seems to want to limit his product to a certain self-defined section of the potential customer base.

A bit strange….

[Damian Clark 1,272]

1 minute ago, DD_Arthur said:

Here you go Ray; he seems to think a ‘vocal minority’ here have it in for him.

He then seems to want to limit his product to a certain self-defined section of the potential customer base.

A bit strange….

Yes, I'm a bit strange, and laughable as you say above.  Thanks for pointing that out.  But I've also been significantly discourage by the very negative (IMO) feedback by a few regarding wx-addon capability being disallowed as well as HiFi/Active Sky participation in MSFS since the announcement over the past years as well as the way we've been treated by several figures in the community outside the forums since MSFS.  Things have definitely turned more favorable lately but it hasn't always been the case.  I invite you to view the MSFS forum threads and the many threads here on the topic, but I don't care to prove anything to you or anyone.  I'm just sharing my thoughts.  

[F737MAX 5,643]

Back on topic...

REX's Weather Force and HiFi's Active Sky FS will both bring historical weather.

The latest Weather Force beta build (released last Monday) includes:

Quote

ADDED - Integrated new weather API into system. 

ADDED - Historic/Archive weather rendering.

How these add-ons will display that will be fascinating.

Also, it's interesting how both add-ons also provide their own weather API. Does this set up a chance for more realistic wxr in aircraft?

[jcomm 5,940]

3 hours ago, Juliett Alfa Romeo said:

Exactly. No one is forced to use AS or even Historical Weather, but this is fundamental for me.

Btw, I've already bought MSFS, the 737 from PMDG, the 320 from Fenix and GSX Pro. I repeat, only because of AS and Historical Weather...

 

 

🤣 I'm in the opposite route 😁

Reinstalled and tried to play MSFS 2020 for a while, longer than usual, to be able to cooperate in the beta-testing of ASFS... 

Now back to P3D v5 and XP12 🙂 

In P3D v5 I just wish Damian could bring the very interesting approach he followed to bring proper low / high temperature effects on pressure to MSFS 2020, something that while modelled by default when using Real Weather works partially, and dosen't work at all with Preset or Manual weather, unless one uses ASFS... I'd love to have that in P3D v5 and v6 ... XP12 has it natively, either with Rea World Weather or Manually defined weather, although it still needs some fine tunning ...

[sdirand 247]

People voice their opinion and often more frequently when they are not happy. People who are happy about a product often don't say it.

About AS, people expect to retrieve the product they knew in FSX & P3D. Some are more septical than others that this will happen and that's why they voice their opinion.

The public will be the only judge. If the product is very good for it's value, don't worry it will sell and will be a great success, just like it was on FSX & P3D.

Edited April 17 by sdirand

[Maxis 1,867]

1 hour ago, sdirand said:

People voice their opinion and often more frequently when they are not happy. People who are happy about a product often don't say it.

About AS, people expect to retrieve the product they knew in FSX & P3D. Some are more septical than others that this will happen and that's why they voice their opinion.

The public will be the only judge. If the product is very good for it's value, don't worry it will sell and will be a great success, just like it was on FSX & P3D.

Agreed.

I took a very long break from simming with when FSX came out .. I have been simming before that since version 4.00. My system couldn't run it. I was fresh out of college and was unable to put in the funds to get FSX to run decently  on my system. So i missed completely the FSX/P3D era. So naturally what i know is MSFS2020 and what it provides which is for me (at the moment is not bad) and in other cases is great . I am also very hesitant to be piling on a bunch of third party add-ons (again im not from the P3d lot spending hundreds in add-ons) and whatever i purchase MUST provide value. I'm sorry if the Dev feels he is being unfairly criticized  and has to prove the value of his product again but new sim.. new audience which probably prefers everything to be included in the platform they are using. Now we all know that is not possible when it comes to scenery and aircraft but weather (sorry to say) is one aspect i think most of the simmers including myself in MSFS with no nostalgic attachment to Activesky was hoping would never have to purchase an add-on for. Fast forward to 2024 and we still don't have a decent radar simulation / in cloud turbulence has been turned down and MSFS/Asobo still hasn't managed to provide at minimum 24 hours worth of historical weather among other things that  have been lacking .. ok .. Active sky now has an opening ..take your shot..

Looking forward to seeing in a video how this product works In passive mode (because the whole active injection model and the way it handles transitions is a non starter for me) to objectively enhance the wx experience in the sim. If the enhancement adds value ..ill buy it. if it doesn't ill pass.

When the other thread opened up about initial release i stated i was skeptical ... but open.

Not being unreasonable to be skeptical when for all intents and purposes myself  and most of the users of the sim are more or less happy with the wx as it stands ... and was hoping the sim would develop and refine the wx. Lucky for Active Sky Asobo dropped the ball in that department so are open to see what is offered.

 

Edited April 17 by Maxis

[Damian Clark 1,272]

47 minutes ago, Maxis said:

and most of the users of the sim are more or less happy with the wx as it stands ... and was hoping the sim would develop and refine the wx. Lucky for Active Sky Asobo dropped the ball in that department so are open to see what is offered.

Regardless of AS or not, a sim developer cannot do everything to satisfy every user or demand regarding weather.  I know that was the message, that there would never be a need for any add-on for weather, for anyone, but that is simply not true, and that whole idea, and those that advocate for it, are not realistic, and in the end, that message and idea only hurts innovation.  This is my opinion.  And what my frustrations were addressing.  I should have been more specific, as I think this was misunderstood.  I wasn't speaking to those considering our product, I was speaking to those who've been openly vocal against wx-addons, a proper weather SDK for MSFS, or Active Sky specifically.

I really don't get why Asobo has to "drop the ball" on anything for us to have any potential success.  I think they've done a fantastic job, they will continue improving.  If you're thinking of AS as in competition with MSFS weather or "replaces" MSFS weather, then please understand, this is not the case at all, not from our perspective.  We're trying to highlight and expand on the best parts of the sim and the internal weather system, and enhance the experience for those who want that kind of thing.  I think it's similar to advanced study-level aircraft.  Many like that complexity, but many don't want to spend 30 minutes starting an airplane realistically and following checklists according to real procedures.  It's great to see more depth in default aircraft as we are seeing now.  But it doesn't mean there isn't a need or opportunity for add-on aircraft just because default aircraft are improving.  No matter what anyone says or messages, 3rd party developers can do things that sim developers can't, mainly by focusing on specific aspects that aren't in the scope of the base sim.  That applies to weather too.  Why would MS/Asobo or any AAA dev invest time and effort in things that only a smaller portion of the community wants?  Especially as they have a growing need to reduce costs and increase revenue?  A very small developer such as HiFi, who is motivated by innovation and community support, can fill in the gap here for that segment of users who is looking for more depth that satisfies their needs.

[Maxis 1,867]

44 minutes ago, Damian Clark said:

Regardless of AS or not, a sim developer cannot do everything to satisfy every user or demand regarding weather.  I know that was the message, that there would never be a need for any add-on for weather, for anyone, but that is simply not true, and that whole idea, and those that advocate for it, are not realistic, and in the end, that message and idea only hurts innovation.  This is my opinion.

 

We have to agree to disagree then .. nothing personal .. my view of the matter is that if the platform had a few more deliverables (a radar with tilt and windshear prediction / plausible turbulence and a  presentation of clouds pre SU 5 with suitable blending of metar data and 24 hours of historical wx) Active sky would be moved a lot more into niche category. So yes ,,, MSFS has dropped the ball so some of us are willing to take a look.

You may not see it that way but pretty much that's why i am even interested to take a look.

Edited April 17 by Maxis

[mmcmah 413]

22 minutes ago, Maxis said:

We have to agree to disagree then .. nothing personal .. my view of the matter is that if the platform had a few more deliverables (a radar with tilt and windshear prediction / plausible turbulence and a  presentation of clouds pre SU 5 with suitable blending of metar data and 24 hours of historical wx) Active sky would be moved a lot more into niche category. So yes ,,, MSFS has dropped the ball so some of us are willing to take a look.

You may not see it that way but pretty much that's why i am even interested to take a look.

Funnily enough, I don't think you two are disagreeing. You're both saying that you're hoping to fill a need that a 3rd party developer might fill, which the sim developer might not want to, be able to, or want to dedicate the resources to do so.

[Damian Clark 1,272]

12 minutes ago, Maxis said:

We have to agree to disagree then .. nothing personal .. my view of the matter is that if the platform had a few more deliverables (a radar with tilt and windshear prediction / plausible turbulence and a  presentation of clouds pre SU 5 with suitable blending of metar data and 24 hours of historical wx) Active sky would be moved a lot more into niche category. So yes ,,, MSFS has dropped the ball so some of us are willing to take a look.

You may not see it that way but pretty much that's why i am even interested to take a look.

Fair enough, thanks for the discussion.  I understand you and others are only interested in AS because of just a few small MSFS weather limitations or issues you're unhappy with or lack of historical wx.  If we can offer you something you find of value, that's great and I hope you can find enjoyment with ASFS or any other weather enhancement product.  Shortly after release there should be plenty of feedback and videos to help you decide. 

One thing I'd like to propose is the possibility that if those "few more deliverables" are realized from the base sim, you will very likely find other things you will want that you maybe haven't even considered yet.  Many of our most popular AS features were developed out of situational demand during beta testing that we didn't foresee in earlier design stages, and some of them came totally by accident or were a last minute idea.  Being in FS sim add-on dev for nearly 25 years now I have heard "all I need is this one more thing" a few times 🙂

[mmcmah 413]

1 minute ago, Damian Clark said:

Fair enough, thanks for the discussion.  I understand you and others are only interested in AS because of just a few small MSFS weather limitations or issues you're unhappy with or lack of historical wx.  If we can offer you something you find of value, that's great and I hope you can find enjoyment with ASFS or any other weather enhancement product.  Shortly after release there should be plenty of feedback and videos to help you decide. 

One thing I'd like to propose is the possibility that if those "few more deliverables" are realized from the base sim, you will very likely find other things you will want that you maybe haven't even considered yet.  Many of our most popular AS features were developed out of situational demand during beta testing that we didn't foresee in earlier design stages, and some of them came totally by accident or were a last minute idea.  Being in FS sim add-on dev for nearly 25 years now I have heard "all I need is this one more thing" a few times 🙂

Well put, Damian.

Since you mentioned the release, can you give an indication of whether you expected it in days or weeks? I'm overly excited about trying the product out, and am obsessively checking here and in Discord channels to see when it releases... 😳