>Man ... that really looks good. It's a great enhancement. I>just wish the developers would rethink their price point.>>I just can't bring myself to part with $44.95 USD for a better>sky/water environment. Perhaps it's because the price point>for Flight Simulator X (an entire flight simulator) is>$44.99.>>At $24.99 ... I think there's a value proposition.>>Christmas coupon promotion???I don't know if you're going to see the price come down any time soon since this iteration of Flight Environment just came out this past September, though I can understand your hesitation to spend that kind of money. However, it's almost like getting a whole new game. The difference is that dramatic (as the screenshots show), and I saw zero impact on my performance.There's also a free update for FEX coming in the near future that will allow it download and accurately depict real-world weather in game, as well as the inclusion of improved runway and airport textures. So it's eventually going to be more than just a simple texture replacement.Really, there are two options at the moment: 1) Wait for the price to drop; or 2) Buy it, see it for yourself, and if you don't feel it's worth the money then take advantage of the 30-day money back guarantee. And for the heck of it, one more screenshot. This is coming in for a landing at Port Columbus International Airport during a snow storm:http://www.picupload.net/f-cd236fa9619bbcc...c55d18640e2.jpg

Here is the default FSX version of this scene (I created a theme to resemble the conditions created by the FEX theme designer, which took about 4 minutes of tweaking conditions):http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/181599.jpgThere are definite differences here, but upon reflection, I'm not certain the improvement is worth a cost equivalent to the entire simulator itself.This is inherently an unfair comparison, as FEX does a lot more than create sky environments, and the value of a dollar compared to a Euro certainly has affected the judgement of the developers as it relates to price point ... but I think you see my point with this comparison.Not to mention the fact that you are clearly right of centerline. Heh! ;)

I love it!! It looks great and performs really well for me. The detail seems to be much more aligned with real life. Capt.Mac

FEX is definitely better than the default FSX cloud environment, mostly because you get control over cloud layers (this is just my opinion). FEX themes incorporate clouds in multiple layers where default FSX seems to give you one type of cloud per scene. My only issue with FEX so far has been price.This guy over here is doing some phenomenonal work with clouds that I think surpasses FEX in just about every respect:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/181600.jpghttp://www.flightsimworld.com/forums//?showtopic=129350Here is the Real Environment Extreme website:http://www.realenvironmentxtreme.com/When I first ran across this guy, he was working on his own. Don't know the whole story, but seemed like FEX developers were trying to hire him but were unsuccessful.I certainly hope Phil Taylor is paying attention to the work this kid is doing. His work improving water alone justifies his immediate kidnapping by ACES Studios. He's making the Magic Screenie a reality.This right here is just sick it's so good:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/181601.jpg

FEX = Stunning and I could not use FSX without it...no performance hit and you can make it look and natural or as wild as you like.My own Stormy Autumn cloud theme.

>Not to mention the fact that you are clearly right of>centerline. Heh! ;)Yes, my piloting skills do often leave something to be desired. But I'm getting better (that is to say every flight no longer ends with a crash). :DBut that is perhaps not the best comparison to make between FEX and default. Try recreating the other two shots I posted, and I think you'll find that FSX default simply comes up short.

Snip: "Try recreating the other two shots I posted, and I think you'll find that FSX default simply comes up short."I like the sound of that challenge.If you can tell me what airport you were flying out of, I will try to make a comparison shot.

>Snip: "Try recreating the other two shots I posted, and I>think you'll find that FSX default simply comes up short.">>I like the sound of that challenge.>>If you can tell me what airport you were flying out of, I will>try to make a comparison shot.Well, the first one was just somewhere up in the sky. The second one was off the coast of Hawaii, Hilo Airport, I believe (though I might have that name a bit wrong).

>FEX is definitely better than the default FSX cloud>environment, mostly because you get control over cloud layers>(this is just my opinion). FEX themes incorporate clouds in>multiple layers where default FSX seems to give you one type>of cloud per scene. My only issue with FEX so far has been>price.>>This guy over here is doing some phenomenonal work with clouds>that I think surpasses FEX in just about every respect:>>http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/181600.jpg>>http://www.flightsimworld.com/forums//?showtopic=129350>>Here is the Real Environment Extreme website:>http://www.realenvironmentxtreme.com/To be fair, that shot you posted is actually a combination of Real Environment and Flight Environment.

Mountain Man,This isn't perfect (I spent maybe 5 minutes on this), but it's fairly close ... note the 3 layers of clouds (this was my interpretation of your shot: an overcast moving in, thunderheads building, and high cirrus in the upper atmosphere):http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/181602.jpgAgain ... I'm not debating that FEX isn't a good effort ... I'm just questioning whether it's worth what a person paid for the entire simulator (keeping in mind there are global financial considerations also that are involved.)This was created by overlaying 3 cloud types. It seems to me that in the default FSX themes environment, this isn't typical (usually, it's a single cloud layer of a certain cloud type.) But creating this weather theme in the default FSX enviornment was trivial and cost-free.

>Again ... I'm not debating that FEX isn't a good effort ...>I'm just questioning whether it's worth what a person paid for>the entire simulator (keeping in mind there are global>financial considerations also that are involved.)>>This was created by overlaying 3 cloud types. It seems to me>that in the default FSX themes environment, this isn't typical>(usually, it's a single cloud layer of a certain cloud type.)>But creating this weather theme in the default FSX enviornment>was trivial and cost-free.That's really not a fair comparison, though, since you'd have to spend several minutes setting up and testing your weather and clouds every time you wanted a different look. FEX gives you those results with FSX's *default* settings, and, in my opinion, the cloud textures are superior and considerably more varied. I suspect the differences are more pronounced in motion, too. Not to mention a completely different look is only a few clicks away.So while you can arguably get similar results in FSX with lots of tweaking and testing, FEX seems considerably more convenient and flexible and the end results are, in my opinion, much better.

The results with FEX are arguably better.But this took virtually no tweaking, was free, came with FSX and is reuseable. I just can't see the value at $44.95 for FEX.But ... as they improve it, I could maybe be persuaded.Best of luck to you with it.Cheers,KevinBTW: I do like Ground Environment X (same developers) and have purchased that product, but it was at half the price of FEX.

Very nice...both your pictures and their cloud textures.Thanks,RobertP IV 3.2 ghz, 2gb DDR ram,Intel D865GBF 800 FSB mobo, 512mg ATI Radeon x1650 Pro graphic card, 500gb & 160gb Seagate 7200 RPM Ultra ATA 100 hard drives, Win XP Home Edition, 19" ViewSonic E 90f+SB monitor, 600 Watt Ultra XFinity ATX power supply and Saitek 52 throttle/joystick

Hey Kevin,I understand your point of view on the price, yes unarguably it is more expensive than we would have liked, however we had a number of issues to consider: FEX is a growing product, with alot more content and functionality to come. Either we could reduce the price initially and then charge for updates (which would ultimately cost more) or set a medium price that allows for such continued development. (The price of the dollar is also a big problem).Also FEX was expensive to make, being that much of the content was taken from airborne photography we obtained ourselves. Many of our sky themes for example are derived from real photographs as are all of the clouds and the water patterns.In respect of hype from another forthcoming addon, sadly we do not have the time to constantly post screenshots being heavily involved in development. Our product is here and new content will be arriving soon which we are sure will raise the bar further. :-) So we don't really worry about clones, we will continue to do the best we can.Regards,Chris

Chris,I think the battle between the "sky developers" is healthy for the simming community. You're all producing some amazing improvements, and I wish all of you the best. And I realize that the sinking dollar is negatively affecting your pricing strategy over here in the States. All importers are feeling that pinch.Cheers,Kevin