Long ago learned that if you want a job done well you have to ...do it yourself...except they won't let us? Or WILL they..

Yes I know this is not historical or 'real' but is the following possible with the tools we CAN use and APIs available?

Project: 'Weather Preset Package Manager'

These exist for aircraft and locations so why not weather presets?

I would like to create say 50 presets of the most realistic individual weather scenarios covering day/night/seasons/storms etc.

I would then create 'PARENT' containers (PACKAGES) named for example 'Summers Day', 'Tropical Evening', 'Foggy Mountain Morning'.

Each parent package could hold up to say approx. 5 custom scenarios (ADD/REMOVE).

When I start my flight I would assign the relevant package depending on my location, date/time, season etc.

The package 'MANAGER' would enable the user to set to a linear defined change every 15 mins/hour or be randomized with each morphing into the next during a user assigned time interval (or random). 

Of course we would upload/share our scenario packages to the cloud where others could DL/vote/review them. Would be useful for both PC users and Xbox, we could have realistic or silly/dangerous packages to appeal to everyone (especially YouTubers :D)

The most important part of this idea is that we would not be tied to ONE unchanging scenario throughout the flight OR live weather. Particularly infamous historical weather could be mimicked this way albeit not with a dynamic METAR based solution as most would prefer.

If someone has already done this please let me know, still new to this simulator 😄

 

1 hour ago, SierraDelta said:

Well, he didn't.  ASFS makes "full use of the Active Sky weather data and synthesis system

That still requires interrogation of the environment and working out what to change, when, and how to make it look as good or better than the default. It’s no insignificant effort and should be applauded. The people who can do this are a very small group.

"including enhanced cloudscapes"

How. is there any access via the SDK to modify them?

14 minutes ago, sloppysmusic said:

Long ago learned that if you want a job done well you have to ...do it yourself...except they won't let us? Or WILL they..

Yes I know this is not historical or 'real' but is the following possible with the tools we CAN use and APIs available?

Project: 'Weather Preset Package Manager'

These exist for aircraft and locations so why not weather presets?

I would like to create say 50 presets of the most realistic individual weather scenarios covering day/night/seasons/storms etc.

I would then create 'PARENT' containers (PACKAGES) named for example 'Summers Day', 'Tropical Evening', 'Foggy Mountain Morning'.

Each parent package could hold up to say approx. 5 custom scenarios (ADD/REMOVE).

When I start my flight I would assign the relevant package depending on my location, date/time, season etc.

The package 'MANAGER' would enable the user to set to a linear defined change every 15 mins/hour or be randomized with each morphing into the next during a user assigned time interval (or random). 

Of course we would upload/share our scenario packages to the cloud where others could DL/vote/review them. Would be useful for both PC users and Xbox, we could have realistic or silly/dangerous packages to appeal to everyone (especially YouTubers :D)

The most important part of this idea is that we would not be tied to ONE unchanging scenario throughout the flight OR live weather. Particularly infamous historical weather could be mimicked this way albeit not with a dynamic METAR based solution as most would prefer.

If someone has already done this please let me know, still new to this simulator 😄

 

... or just use the historical weather automatically synced to the date and time set in the sim in the upcoming Active Sky for MSFS - and you are all set. 😉

10 minutes ago, RALF9636 said:

or just use the historical weather automatically synced to the date and time set in the sim in the upcoming Active Sky for MSFS - and you are all set

Well yes BUT I want to fly the same route from say Biggin Hill to Shoreham each day an hour before sunset with the following:

1) Cloudy, mild winds to start

2) 10% chance of light rain

3) 15% chance of clear sky for sunset

4) 1% chance of major storm (lightning/hail)

5) 5% chance of strong winds below 5000ft (takeoff/landing)

With the container with random settings I could fly this every day and no 2 flights would ever be the same!

Or I guess RANDOM historical weather from the UK would do similar lol!

52 minutes ago, chapstick said:

No. They're just changing the weather preset options in MSFS. It literally says it on the product page, we don't need to wildly speculate. 

It says that in addition to many other things. I wasn't speculating as to what the product does because as you state, it is all on their web page.

I was speculating about the mechanics of how it was done.

Interesting.. seems the key is the mode of depiction as described on their product page. "ASFS Preset Weather Depiction Mode" is what's needed to get the full list of features and that's essentially using and controlling MSFS manual weather, like other current weather add-ons currently like REX? There is no new API write access to live weather in the sim so they have to be using MSFS in manual weather mode. How they'll differentiate themselves from other products like REX I guess is their source of data, how they handle transitions, the level of control and use of existing APIs to control MSFS manual weather, historical weather, etc.

The MSFS weather engine we know can already handle and depict various weather situations and clouds but its live weather especially since METAR integration is not depicting everything that's possible, so there definitely is a value-add for a product like this... to put it simply, it's like an assistant is rapidly changing manual weather settings for us (however frequently as the platform API allows) to simulate live weather, historical weather, etc.

Even after MSFS 2024 arrives with enhanced depiction capabilities in the core weather engine (they've stated better simulation of storms, super cells, tornadoes, etc) and assuming the new sim makes fuller use of the its weather engine capabilities for live weather, if MS/Asobo continue to not provide write access to live weather (for whatever technical/architectural and/or licensing issues), then I guess there'd still be a place for products like these which can continue to use the manual weather mode to "inject" weather.. at least for something like historical weather.

--------------------

From https://hifisimtech.com/asfs/ (underlining my own.. seems like "Passive Depiction Mode" is just MSFS live weather with Active Sky injecting visual effects?)

ASFS Preset Weather Depiction Mode

ASFS Preset weather depiction mode features advanced weather preset conditions control for the best accuracy within the preset depiction capabilities, and full use of the Active Sky weather data and synthesis system including historical and custom weather options.

Passive Depiction Mode

Passive mode is used with live weather and allows MSFS’s internal live weather depiction to take full control of weather depiction in the simulator, while Active Sky FS provides Active Air Effects and all other non-depiction features (mapping, planning, voice features, conditions report, web companion app, etc.)
 

Edited April 14, 20242 yr by lwt1971

57 minutes ago, sloppysmusic said:

someone has already done this please let me know, still new to this simulator

As a payware, there is this option, to mention an example:

https://orbxdirect.com/product/sofly-weather-preset-pro
 

 

As a Freeware, Here you will find several samples, of different types in different locations

https://flightsim.to/discover/Weather

 

 

I'm happy with MSFS's visual depiction of weather.  I just want the effect of that weather on the aircraft to feel remotely realistic.  I look at a METAR for a flight I'm about to do.  It's looks fun.  I'm familiar with it from the real world, in a similar aircraft.   I set off and find awful, jerky, inertia-lacking jolts, movements and general exagerration in the sim.   ...I get really fed up with it and change to a weather preset that I've created that has no wind or turbulance!

Perhaps this RealTurb is what I need to look at.  

For this new product, well my instinct is that it will be a refined alternative to REX but, with no SDK access, not on par with the AS that I've owned in FS2009, FSX and X-Plane.   Would love to be wrong though!   I'll be watching the initial reviews from the sidelines.

4 minutes ago, polosim said:

As a payware, there is this option, to mention an example:

https://orbxdirect.com/product/sofly-weather-preset-pro
 

As a Freeware, Here you will find several samples, of different types in different locations

https://flightsim.to/discover/Weather

 

A bit  off topic but relating to the above, this set of presets is absolutely stunning and I rate it far higher than the Sofly addons I bought:-

https://flightsim.to/file/24251/floyd-s-epic-clouds

44 minutes ago, lwt1971 said:

Interesting.. seems the key is the mode of depiction as described on their product page. "ASFS Preset Weather Depiction Mode" is what's needed to get the full list of features and that's essentially using and controlling MSFS manual weather, like other current weather add-ons currently like REX? There is no new API write access to live weather in the sim so they have to be using MSFS in manual weather mode. How they'll differentiate themselves from other products like REX I guess is their source of data, how they handle transitions, the level of control and use of existing APIs to control MSFS manual weather, historical weather, etc.

The MSFS weather engine we know can already handle and depict various weather situations and clouds but its live weather especially since METAR integration is not depicting everything that's possible, so there definitely is a value-add for a product like this... to put it simply, it's like an assistant is rapidly changing manual weather settings for us (however frequently as the platform API allows) to simulate live weather, historical weather, etc.

Even after MSFS 2024 arrives with enhanced depiction capabilities in the core weather engine (they've stated better simulation of storms, super cells, tornadoes, etc) and assuming the new sim makes fuller use of the its weather engine capabilities for live weather, if MS/Asobo continue to not provide write access to live weather (for whatever technical/architectural and/or licensing issues), then I guess there'd still be a place for products like these which can continue to use the manual weather mode to "inject" weather.. at least for something like historical weather.

--------------------

From https://hifisimtech.com/asfs/ (underlining my own.. seems like "Passive Depiction Mode" is just MSFS live weather with Active Sky injecting visual effects?)

ASFS Preset Weather Depiction Mode

ASFS Preset weather depiction mode features advanced weather preset conditions control for the best accuracy within the preset depiction capabilities, and full use of the Active Sky weather data and synthesis system including historical and custom weather options.

Passive Depiction Mode

Passive mode is used with live weather and allows MSFS’s internal live weather depiction to take full control of weather depiction in the simulator, while Active Sky FS provides Active Air Effects and all other non-depiction features (mapping, planning, voice features, conditions report, web companion app, etc.)
 

Very well put !

5 hours ago, Fiorentoni said:

Historical weather? Instabuy.

Exactly this.

Definitely something I would have purchased right away if released a few years ago.  Now I will wait and honestly I think its best to wait for 2024.  Activesky generally charges for all versions so expect to buy this for MSFS2020 and again for 2024, if and when released.

2 hours ago, Tuskin38 said:

The problem with the WXRADAR is third parties can’t create their own as they’re not allowed to read the in-sim data.

Why would this make it any different?

? I have several aircraft with working WXR that works on precipitation detection.

If they can’t read the in sim data how are they managing this?

9 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

? I have several aircraft with working WXR that works on precipitation detection.

If they can’t read the in sim data how are they managing this?

There is a WXR radar in the sim that developers can use but it does have missing features/functionality that developers are wanting to see. This forum post should give you some idea of what people are wanting: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/implement-weather-and-terrain-api-s-for-aircraft-developers-to-implement-accurate-radar-predictive-windshear-egpws-and-metar-wind-uplink/442016

Edited April 14, 20242 yr by Zangoose