Active Sky review

[Speedbird 217 160]

I bought it and really wanted to like it but after a few flights I’m back to default weather as I had various, repeatable issues with ASFS.
 

Live weather updates just stopped after departure and by the time I got to my destination the weather was miles off the METAR and still the same as my departure weather. Weirdly, using refresh from the Debug menu updated to the correct weather but that’s not a solution when I want to use Live weather.

The second big issue was that it caused erratic speed and roll changes during take off, climb and descent. I fly the Fenix and repeatedly saw the speed race up 50 kts in a matter of seconds during initial climb causing me to overspeed and the same happened during descent in reverse, almost triggering A Floor. Turbulence was also violent when METAR showed 5kts winds and course changed caused weird and erratic bank behaviour. 
 

I’ve used AS since FS9 days, tested with various settings (realism, easy, tweaked versions of both), with and without loading a flight plan, even switching off turbulence effects completely but nothing helped. I reinstalled and tried with the latest beta. And yes, I read the manual and I’m not using any weird and wonderful mods or conflicting add ons.

On the AS forum there’s others with the same issues - wx not updating and someone even posted a video over there of erratic bank behaviour that stops the second AS is turned off.

Maybe I’ll try it again one day after a few more updates but for now I’m back to default as I never had a single issue with it.

[fppilot 4,407]

ASMS.  Assortment of images from a variety of conditions from a flight from Austin Executive (KEDC) to Birmingham (KBMH) today.  After nearly four years of vented frustration, this former wx professional is now at ease with MSFS weather.  Pressure and winds, both surface and aloft, are spot on with live reports.  Thank you HIFi.  Where in tarnation have youj been???????

As an aside. I recommend if you are considering Active Sky that you pay attention to the profiles of those members posting in the subject.

Edited April 24 by fppilot

[Bobsk8 12,880]

@fppilot,

I agree, the weather now with ASFS is excellent. 

Edited April 24 by Ray Proudfoot
Quoted post with multiple images removed.

[sloppysmusic 311]

1 hour ago, Bobsk8 said:

So I have read many comments where the posters said that they heard that AS was not worth buying

MSFS 2020 + a working weather add-on would lose sales for MSFS 2024 IMO. I wonder weather the YouTube paid 'influencers' are worried HIFI has stolen some of Microsoft/Asobes thunder?

I make no apologies for poor humour there..😌

 

[vgbaron 3,724]

4 hours ago, sloppysmusic said:

I have to eye roll that title though..

Great minds think alike and all that! I cringed on that too but and I hope I don't step on any ties but Emmanuel is German - I was married to a wonderful German woman for 20 years and they have, IMHO, a different way of viewing things. I really think he believed that to be a compliment and that he had no agenda with the title.

But I cringed......

[F737MAX 5,738]

57 minutes ago, sloppysmusic said:

MSFS 2020 + a working weather add-on would lose sales for MSFS 2024 IMO. I wonder weather the YouTube paid 'influencers' are worried HIFI has stolen some of Microsoft/Asobes thunder?

I don't believe that. MSFS2024 has much more going for it for Asobo to worry about a 3PD weather add-ons.

I think it's more to do with ignorance of less detail-orientated flight simmers (and I mean that in a non-disparaging way). People don't necessarily understand the benefits of multiple cloud layers, variety of cloud types and historical weather data. When I started out flight simming, ubiquitous big, puffy, visually-appealing cumulus clouds would have also suited me just fine.

Now that I'm using complex aircraft, trying to get a long-haul heavy out of OMDB at noon just isn't going to happen, I'd need a 6 to 9-hour time revert. Neither is a bug-smashing VFR flight where the METAR is reporting +FZDZ BKN008 FEW015.

The 3PD weather add-ons have demonstrated that they are more capable than MSFS2020's Live Weather in a lot.of respects, but (IMO) a lot of people consider it to be good enough for their less demanding needs.

[vgbaron 3,724]

1 hour ago, Speedbird 217 said:

Maybe I’ll try it again one day after a few more updates but for now I’m back to default as I never had a single issue with it.

As with any software, things get by the beta team. Fortunately you have one of the best developers working on the product and he is aware of these anomalies. Some with the Fenix are fine and some having the same issues.

I'm sure Damien will get it resolved in a bit.

[jcomm 6,020]

8 hours ago, F737MAX said:

The 3PD weather add-ons have demonstrated that they are more capable than MSFS2020's Live Weather in a lot.of res

pects, but (IMO) a lot of people consider it to be good enough for their less demanding needs.

A lot of users close their eyes to many aspects of how MFS offers a lot but with rather basic quality and / or coherence in it's implementation.

Thanksfully there are deveopers who can turn their addons ( for Airbus I have to consider the FBW the best example, for weather HiFi with ASFS, for ATC (non-AI) FSHUD, ....) into really valuable examples of what can be done with a base simulator with an incredible potential, and a unique capability of portraying the World, even if in some aspects, like colours and lighting I can sometimes find P3D with some mods and XP12 doing an even better job...

I am one of those users, and have given up trying to convince myself I can play XP12 or P3D only and find in each of those the satisfaction I look after in a simulator... MSFS is a temptation and now with someone who has long been doing some of the best ever improvements for weather depiction and effects simulation, I am even more feeling at home, and I want to believe MFS 2024 will make me feel even better !

[c912039 112]

11 minutes ago, jcomm said:

...

I am one of those users, and have given up trying to convince myself I can play XP12 or P3D only and find in each of those the satisfaction I look after in a simulator... MSFS is a temptation and now with someone who has long been doing some of the best ever improvements for weather depiction and effects simulation, I am even more feeling at home, and I want to believe MFS 2024 will make me feel even better !

To be truthful, I'm finding comments like this hard to understand, when, 'over the fence', you called MSFS the 'GTA Flight Sim' just 2 days ago.

 

[jcomm 6,020]

31 minutes ago, c912039 said:

To be truthful, I'm finding comments like this hard to understand, when, 'over the fence', you called MSFS the 'GTA Flight Sim' just 2 days ago.

 

It's still how I see it, the GTA flightsim, but it looks gorgeous!!!

Some addons can also make a difference, and help me forgetting about what I don't like about it.

Same applies to the other two...

Edited April 25 by jcomm

[-Belga- 141]

9 hours ago, vgbaron said:

I was married to a wonderful German woman for 20 years and they have, IMHO, a different way of viewing things. I really think he believed that to be a compliment and that he had no agenda with the title.

Yes, we definitely prefer a more direct approach, which often seems rude to people who're not used to it.  😇 In Germany, there's a saying which literally tanslated says "Not scolding is praise enough". So I'd agree the title to be meant in a positive way by Emanuel.

Edited April 25 by -Belga-

[Cpt_Piett 4,839]

8 minutes ago, -Belga- said:

Yes, we definitely prefer a more direct approach, which often seems rude to people who're not used to it.  😇 In Germany, there's a saying which literally tanslated says "Not scolding is praise enough". So I'd agree the title to be meant in a positive way by Emanuel.

Haha, it’s sort of the same in the region of Norway I live in. When something’s ok, it’s probably outstanding 😅

Btw tried historical weather for the first time yesterday. Went back just a couple hours as I was a bit late to start a flight during daylight hours in the time zone where I live.

It’s extremely simple to use. I just check the “sync” bow and set the time in MSFS.

Edited April 25 by Cpt_Piett

[james_d 21]

Anyone using RealTurb with Active Sky or is it best to let AS do its own thing? 

[RALF9636 1,999]

5 minutes ago, james_d said:

Anyone using RealTurb with Active Sky or is it best to let AS do its own thing? 

I am using both. They work fine together.

[fsiscool 252]

After testing quite a bit with AFS active and passive mode, I came to the conclusion, that for my needs I prefer the passive depiction (= keeping MSFS Live weather).

I made a video that shows the differences, so here is what you have to overlook if you prefer ASFS in active mode:

I have to admit that I don't like the uniform weather representation by ASFS. Seeing 50 miles ahead, that your route will lead into bad weather is something I don't want to miss.

And, ... btw. is not true that MSFS Live weather is only showing one cloud type. Cloud variation looks even better to me.

Also I did not look out for special conditions that make ASFS look worse or bad. I just did a flight, encountered a bad weather cell (actually several in a row after the first one) and went back after landing to record a video of both modes, so everybody can see what I am talking about.