With the best intentions in the world, I bought Active Sky, a little fed up with seeing such blue skies and few clouds on the horizon.

I know Asobo's weather forecast is very good, but I checked Rex Weather Force and Xenviro, and finally decided on Active Sky.

My surprise is that, upon arriving in Madrid, the METAR is predicting broken clouds at 6500 and 5000, and also at 8000, but I find a thin layer of clouds at 9000.

This kind of thing baffles me. Why is it so easy to provide METAR information if it's actually ineffective?

I'm thinking about getting my money back, because while it has many options, I honestly haven't been able to make sure that Active Sky represents the weather the METAR says it will, on several occasions.

Likewise, going back to Asobo's default weather forecast is a bit sad.

Is there a super-professional who has a great recommendation, and who doesn't belong to a company that just wants to sell its product?

I have MSFS2020.

On the other hand, I bought MSFS2024 twice, but it was impossible to fly. I read here on avsim that the MSFS2024 weather engine is wonderful, and, on the other hand, another team says it has a lot of problems.
?

What does a user do?

Thanks!

19 minutes ago, AbrahamGR said:

I know Asobo's weather forecast is very good, but I checked Rex Weather Force and Xenviro, and finally decided on Active Sky.

For 2020 I would recommend xEnviro2020.  It can produce some incredible skies.  Of course just like every weather addon, it uses a global model, unlike the local model of 2020 default.  xEnviro2020 constantly morphs between weather areas, rather than big changes in one go.  Considering some of the excellent skies it produces, I was more than happy with the global model.

DIY weather is the best IMO.

dd

11 minutes ago, Sky_Pilot071 said:

DIY weather is the best IMO.

dd

Thank you but… what is DIY?

1 hour ago, AbrahamGR said:

With the best intentions in the world, I bought Active Sky, a little fed up with seeing such blue skies and few clouds on the horizon.

I know Asobo's weather forecast is very good, but I checked Rex Weather Force and Xenviro, and finally decided on Active Sky.

My surprise is that, upon arriving in Madrid, the METAR is predicting broken clouds at 6500 and 5000, and also at 8000, but I find a thin layer of clouds at 9000.

This kind of thing baffles me. Why is it so easy to provide METAR information if it's actually ineffective?

I'm thinking about getting my money back, because while it has many options, I honestly haven't been able to make sure that Active Sky represents the weather the METAR says it will, on several occasions.

Likewise, going back to Asobo's default weather forecast is a bit sad.

Is there a super-professional who has a great recommendation, and who doesn't belong to a company that just wants to sell its product?

I have MSFS2020.

On the other hand, I bought MSFS2024 twice, but it was impossible to fly. I read here on avsim that the MSFS2024 weather engine is wonderful, and, on the other hand, another team says it has a lot of problems.
?

What does a user do?

Thanks!

Hmmm, have you checked your ASFS settings. Are you in active mode or passive mode?  In passive mode you are still seeing Asobo's weather anyway.  Do you have update on approach enabled or disabled?  

In my experience ASFS is usually pretty spot on in terms of visually matching it's Metar.   There is a reason it has been the go to in terms of weather depiction and simulation for years.

3 minutes ago, psolk said:

Hmmm, have you checked your ASFS settings. Are you in active mode or passive mode?  In passive mode you are still seeing Asobo's weather anyway.  Do you have update on approach enabled or disabled?  

In my experience ASFS is usually pretty spot on in terms of visually matching it's Metar.   There is a reason it has been the go to in terms of weather depiction and simulation for years.

Well, im in Active mode. (Thats why i bought the product) 

the update on approach is also checked on. But i discovered suddenly clouds dissappeared like ice creams with hot. 
 

but the most bad thing for me was just to expect a metar i read on the active sky map, but: it wasnt there projected. 
 

so… its like waiting every little flight expecting to see if it the metar becomes true or not. 
 

i dont want to dissappoint another users but that is my point of view. 

3 minutes ago, AbrahamGR said:

Well, im in Active mode. (Thats why i bought the product) 

the update on approach is also checked on. But i discovered suddenly clouds dissappeared like ice creams with hot. 
 

but the most bad thing for me was just to expect a metar i read on the active sky map, but: it wasnt there projected. 
 

so… its like waiting every little flight expecting to see if it the metar becomes true or not. 
 

i dont want to dissappoint another users but that is my point of view. 

I would reach out to Damian and HiFi support.  Sounds like something is amiss with your setup.   They will ask for logs and if possible want to see what MSFS says the weather is doing in Dev mode.  He is usually very responsive.

Open a support ticket and I am sure they will be more than happy to help, definitely sounds like something is off.    ASFS is usually pretty spot on.

55 minutes ago, psolk said:

I would reach out to Damian and HiFi support.  Sounds like something is amiss with your setup.   They will ask for logs and if possible want to see what MSFS says the weather is doing in Dev mode.  He is usually very responsive.

Open a support ticket and I am sure they will be more than happy to help, definitely sounds like something is off.    ASFS is usually pretty spot on.

thank you very much for your recommendations. I anyway asked for a refund, but, that doesnt mean i will not buy it again some motnh after!.)

thanks!

Awaiting the ticket, I don't see anything yet. Feel free to send me the ticket number in PM.

You haven't provided any information showing any discrepancy, only that you expected one thing and got another. There could be lots of reasons for that. But we don't have any open issues like this, so it is likely something setup wrong, or perhaps misunderstanding of what is being presented. For example, we get many reports of "weather is wrong as reported" when the user has enabled offline/historical mode but expects live weather. Or when user looks up weather for their destination airport instead of local area, and they are still 200 miles away, wondering why the weather doesn't match in sim. That's just two of several dozen common things we see all the time. Without more information, there is no way to help here but if you want help, feel free to ask for it and I'll do my best.

Quote

who doesn't belong to a company that just wants to sell its product?

I can assure you, we aren't making any money selling ASFS. it's been a long time since we've seen any profits (years). We would have abandoned it long ago if we only cared about money. Reading your post, it sure sounds like our product is very bad and we are bad company who only wants to "sell its product". Neither is true.

Edited April 5, 20251 yr by Damian Clark

Been rolling with HIFI ActiveSky since FS9 here. I don't know if it was a placebo effect but somewhere between FS9 & FSX.   I remember they had textures that would inject with the flight plan and if there was fu/smoke in the metar seems like it would implement smoke or darker clouds was a trip even the sky colors changed.

                                                       Happy Landings

 

 

Edited April 5, 20251 yr by jwhak

16 minutes ago, Damian Clark said:

Awaiting the ticket, I don't see anything yet. Feel free to send me the ticket number in PM.

You haven't provided any information showing any discrepancy, only that you expected one thing and got another. There could be lots of reasons for that. But we don't have any open issues like this, so it is likely something setup wrong, or perhaps misunderstanding of what is being presented. For example, we get many reports of "weather is wrong as reported" when the user has enabled offline/historical mode but expects live weather. Or when user looks up weather for their destination airport instead of local area, and they are still 200 miles away, wondering why the weather doesn't match in sim. That's just two of several dozen common things we see all the time. Without more information, there is no way to help here but if you want help, feel free to ask for it and I'll do my best.

I can assure you, we aren't making any money selling ASFS. it's been a long time since we've seen any profits (years). We would have abandoned it long ago if we only cared about money. Reading your post, it sure sounds like our product is very bad and we are bad company who only wants to "sell its product". Neither is true.

Thank you very much for your reply. Here's another Active Sky user, from when I used prepar3d. So I'm also a fan of good products, undoubtedly like Active Sky. 🙂 My doubts regarding the AS2020 product stem from the fact that I've taken three flights today and haven't seen any connection between the METAR and what was happening in the sky at that moment. Of course, in the Active Weather option.
In any case, I want to apologize, because my comment didn't mean to make you think you're just looking for money. On the other hand, you are within your rights. If I had a business, I would do it too! 🙂  

But obviously, that's not what I meant. I was referring to the uncertainty I've had on these first three flights. The same goes for MSFS2024, wich i finally asked for refund  two times.

Since I've already requested a refund for AS, I'll almost be forced to buy it again next month, if Active Sky really works well. But i first have to think about it.

As a reflection I share with you: don't you think everything is too difficult? I'm not referring to AS. But to everything that needs to be done to make a simulator work. All filled with tutorials to get some performance... that might wear the user out. Although those of us who love this: we never tire.

Thanks!

38 minutes ago, AbrahamGR said:

 My doubts regarding the AS2020 product stem from the fact that I've taken three flights today and haven't seen any connection between the METAR and what was happening in the sky at that moment. Of course, in the Active Weather option.
In any case, I want to apologize, because my comment didn't mean to make you think you're just looking for money. On the other hand, you are within your rights. If I had a business, I would do it too! 🙂 I was referring to the uncertainty I've had on these first three flights. The same goes for MSFS2024, wich i finally asked for refund  two times.

Since I've already requested a refund for AS, I'll almost be forced to buy it again next month, if Active Sky really works well. But i first have to think about it.

As a reflection I share with you: don't you think everything is too difficult? 

You refunded MSFS 2024 because it was “impossible to fly”?

You want a refund for Active Sky after three flights?

…but you might buy these again? Okay…..🤔

Disclaimer: I beta tested for Damian for 15 years out so. It’s simply the best and most accurate weather program out there. 

Please reach out to Damian, I’m sure he’ll be happy to help. I hope you get this resolved so you can enjoy AS like we all do 👍. 

Cheers,

Peter

Damian and the HiFi team always respond to questions. You won't be disappointed.

29 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

You refunded MSFS 2024 because it was “impossible to fly”?

You want a refund for Active Sky after three flights?

…but you might buy these again? Okay…..🤔

Yes. I bought it twice...hoping to understand, for example, the terrible key mapping design. It's designed to confuse, not to facilitate. The second time, I found that no matter what I did, the terrain textures were always blurred with too many trees.

I requested a refund for Active Sky because, after three flights, I realized the METAR wasn't being interpreted correctly. What do I do? 300 flights?

And yes, I'm always open to new opportunities if the actions (not words or teasers) prove that it actually works.

Active Sky is a great product; I really liked it in Prepar3D.