Skooby Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I have been considering picking up Active Sky Advanced. I've seen people using it with FTX, FEX and REX and the screenshots look good, but thats only a small part of the picture. I would like to hear from anyone who is using it and what the pro's and con's are. Are there any downsides to it, such as being a killer on framerates, install issues, compatability, and setup? How has it affected your flying? Just would like to know more from acurrent users point of view. Thanks, Skooby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxter Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Yes indeed, I have AS as well and was wondering what ASA brought to the table for a possible future purchase... I am interested in any opinions out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casioalpha Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Have been using ASA since release on my old PIV3.2/2MB RAM/NVIDEA 7900GS 256MB/WINXP SP3. Have been flipping between FS9 and FSX, I had all but given up on FSX secondary to poor performance/poor graphics and was not going to invest anymore cash into this format. I can honestly say today I have gone back to FSX and ASA is the reason. Personally I can now achieve comparable performance with FS9 and have it look good. Naturally I have to be careful what settings I use but ASA has allowed me to reduce visibility to more believable levels thus allowing me to free up resources, without it looking worse than FS9. For me I have no issues with the injected weather. I have utilized Active Sky for the past 3 generations and find it to be smoother, more stable and I love the generated turbulence. I have had none of the reported issues over at the AS forum Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IW11 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I've had ASA since Christmas & I like it. I can't notice any drop in performance when ASA runs but I haven't had extremely low vis yet so I'd guess there'd be some drop when it's wall to wall cloud, that's just the way FS works. Like earlier versions the number of cloud layers can be set so if you need the frames you can reduce the layers down to whatever suits, less layers = better performance. I have noticed that the winds are more reliable when comparing to a. workings of the FS wind socks, they usually point in the correct direction,if they have been set up right in the scenery, and b. more in line with vatsim weather (if that matters to you). It's user friendly & will work with either fs9 or fsx. That's about it. have fun Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skooby Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Thanks for the feedback regarding Active Sky Advanced. I have been thinking about picking it up, it sound likes it can be configured to be a good match to the system without being a resource hog. I hear that the sudden and extreme wind shifts have been smothed out as well. With all this in mind, I think I will go ahead and pick it up. Thanks again, Skooby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxter Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I hear that the sudden and extreme wind shifts have been smothed out as well. That's good to hear, it was my biggest gripe with the original version. Cheers and thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiko Glatthorn Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 You got REX already ? The REX 2 update is around the corner - you might consider to wait for this one before dashing out the bucks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahaka Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Theres basically nothing advanced in the ASA compared to ASX, in fact in its current state its worse than ASX. We'll see when they get a usable version out. You can buy now, but thats a prepay of an immature product, that is far from advanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukester Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 You got REX already ? The REX 2 update is around the corner - you might consider to wait for this one before dashing out the bucks... Yep that is what I am doing, hopefully REX2.0 delivers what I am looking for & what has been hinted, incl the removal of the dreaded haze layer and providing wind smoothing. If so then I don't have to spend anything more on another real weather app and can use the funds on future ORBX products Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxter Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 You got REX already ? The REX 2 update is around the corner - you might consider to wait for this one before dashing out the bucks... I was hoping not to have to shell out for a whole new product as funds are tight. I bought ASX when it was first released and was kinda hoping that the upgrade priced would be significantly less than a whole new package. I must admit, I have not compared prices at all. Mu assumptions may be way off the mark. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casioalpha Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Everybody's experiences appear to be individual. I myself have found this to be a huge improvement on ASX, as ASX brought my system to its knees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Paul Mes Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I myself have found this to be a huge improvement on ASX So did I. I loved AS 6.5, hated ASX and now run ASA from my old laptop thru simconnect and it works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxter Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Everybody's experiences appear to be individual. I myself have found this to be a huge improvement on ASX, as ASX brought my system to its knees. So did I. I loved AS 6.5, hated ASX and now run ASA from my old laptop thru simconnect and it works fine. That indeed sounds like good news. Cheers and thanks for the information, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Webb Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I myself have found this to be a huge improvement on ASX So did I. I loved AS 6.5, hated ASX and now run ASA from my old laptop thru simconnect and it works fine. So an upgrade from ASX to ASA might be worth it after all?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skooby Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Wow Thanks for all the new feedback. I do have REX and since the new update is around the corner, maybe I'll hold off to see what it has to offer. We all know how much we don't like to be tinkering with FSX instead of flying. With this new info in hand, I will hold off on ASX and see what happens with REX. So far REX has been great for alot of eye candy. Thanks again to everyone for all of the helpful insight. Skooby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest javo Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 in fact in its current state its worse than ASX.Would you care to elaborate? Such comments are generally from those who have no idea how to use the program. We'll see when they get a usable version out.again, elaborate, what is unusable about it? There are some users who have had and still have issues with wind shifts using a particular payware aircraft. The issue is being addressed by the aircraft developer inconjunction with the developer of ASA. You can buy now, but thats a prepay of an immature product, that is far from advanced. care to elaborate, I am interested to see what you have to say. AS 6.5 is FS9 only ASX is FSX only ASA is FS9 and FSX ASA allows the user to use REX and FEX features, which was not possible with ASX or AS 6.5 ASA is lighter on resources than ASA It'll be interesting to see what the REX update produces, now that Reed Stough has had the chance to see what ASA offers. ASA wasn't available when REX was released. I have both ASA and REX and continue to use both for the features offered by one or the other or both. It is admirable to see those involved with REX (beta testers) doing their best to direct potential purchasers toward REX and away from ASA but at the end of the day, if you do your home work, you will arrive at the best weather engine and what it has to offer that is most suitable for you. No matter what weather engine is offered on the market, one will suite some but not all and vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxter Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Javo, a quick question please, Could you let me know how many actual Western Australian weather stations ASA uses in the sim? I don't mean the interpolated ones, but actual RL weather stations. I have ASX and it seems that there are only about 3 or 4 weather stations in the whole of West Oz. Cheers and thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Unfortunately I think it's a limitation of the weather data source rather than the weather program (although what the weather program does with this data is important). I don't believe there are any free sources of weather data that these programs can suck in other than the NOAA data which is what REX uses. Not sure if Active Sky uses this (I'll assume they do though). I've been flying around the south west of WA a bit lately using REX weather and I've been somewhat disappointed with the weather it generates. REX doesn't have TAF or METAR information for YABA or YBLN because the NOAA doesn't even though you can get this information from BOM. Using REX weather I need to fly close to YPPH for it to pick up the TAF from there and use that weather. I don't know if or how REX interpolates weather for areas where the NOAA has no TAF or METAR information for it to use. It's frustrating that there is a lack of WA weather stations that these programs can use. If only BOM had a free source of usable weather data that these programs could utilise. Regards, Serge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aceshigh Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Does Active Sky Advanced load any faster than the Active Sky X ? My ASX seems to sit at the "Parsing line items" for a long time... I have fast broadband2 + and a fast PC but ASX is very slow to load. I use X graphics for clouds "etc" and was thinking of Rex version 2 when it comes out... but is the Rex weather engine any good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skooby Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Does Active Sky Advanced load any faster than the Active Sky X ? My ASX seems to sit at the "Parsing line items" for a long time... I have fast broadband2 + and a fast PC but ASX is very slow to load. I use X graphics for clouds "etc" and was thinking of Rex version 2 when it comes out... but is the Rex weather engine any good? Aceshigh, I currently have REX and have been a little disappointed with the real world weather it provides. REX performace wise (for me) has been great. I think that if someone is looking for a good all around program then REX is the way to go. The environment, clouds, customization (except for the weather) and all the nice little touches that have been put in it are terrific, but I am left wanting something a little more in depth and customizable in regards to the real world weather engine. After reading numerous posts on this, I came to the conclusion that what would be best for me is to hold out for a little while until the REX update to see if this is fixed and could fill the gap. Time will tell, but I'm hopeful. With that being said, as you can see ASA has a good track record, regular updates, and not to mention a community that swears by it. They have been around for quite sometime and know what they are doing. At this point I would say that if I already did not have REX and wanted a deatiled and in depth weather engine for FSX, then I would not hesitate in getting it. I may even end up doing so in the long run. But I'm going to hold out for the REX update first. Just my take on it. Skooby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiko Glatthorn Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 It is admirable to see those involved with REX (beta testers) doing their best to direct potential purchasers toward REX and away from ASA but at the end of the day, if you do your home work, you will arrive at the best weather engine and what it has to offer that is most suitable for you. No matter what weather engine is offered on the market, one will suite some but not all and vice versa. Oh, you must talk about me... I am a HIFI customer since many years, bought all products since FS9 and know those inside out. When i post in whichever internet forum, i keep it fair. With my post above i was pointing out that it might be a good idea for existing REX customers to sit out the update before deciding for another weather engine. Simply because i know what's coming... The update is free and if it doesn't satisfy you, there is always a purchase button waiting . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest javo Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Oh, you must talk about me... wasn't talking about you Heiko, just a comment in general from observations here and at the REX forums since December, so rest easy. I have purchased every weather engine that is/was available on the market at the time and ran them against Damiam Clarks weather engines......sad to say most didn't even come close to Damian products. I'll continue to purchase weather engines as they are released. As said in my earlier post, I also have REX, which has some nice features and features which I use alongside ASA. One thing that really gets up my nose is when someone posts an article putting down a product without providing any findings/facts or even comparrisons. Those types of posts do nothing for any of the programs being talked about and does not help the potential purchaser at all in his/her decision making. Now I am talking about you Heiko - Mango is one of the few people who has posted about REX and ASA and provided factual info regarding both (including screenshots, comments, likes and dislikes) , which in my book, was a fair observation of BOTH products and observations which help the prospective purchaser make an informed decision of which product to purchase. More posts like Mango's helps those intending to purchase to make an informed decision. Does Active Sky Advanced load any faster than the Active Sky X Yes it does load quicker I use X graphics for clouds "etc" and was thinking of Rex version 2 when it comes out... The clouds from REX are way better than those from XGraphics. ASA allows you to use the cloud features from REX alongside the ASA weather engine. Give the REX team time to fine tune the wether engine and go from there. but is the Rex weather engine any good? Yes the weather engine is good and more than likely will be much better in REX2 after Reed and his team have fine tuned and tweaked here and there. I expect that it will be close to, equal to or maybe even better than ASA but time will tell. Could you let me know how many actual Western Australian weather stations ASA uses in the sim? There are few reporting stations in WA compared to other places in the world. In the USA, for example, there seems to be a reporting station every few hundred miles where as in WA there are relatively few and spaced far apart. There are Met Offices at Albany, Broome, Carnarvon, Cocos Island, Esperance, Eucla, Geraldton, Giles, Halls Creek, Kalgoorlie, Learmonth, Meekatharra, Perth and Port Hedland. There are approx 100 (give or take 1 or 2) auto, un-manned weather stations scattered over WA and the surrounding islands. When flying in parts of the South West, you will get the weather mainly from Perth (YPPH). As you migrate further east along the coastal strip you will get the weather from Esperance (YESP) and then from Eucla. seems that there are only about 3 or 4 weather stations in the whole of West Oz. I have been able to access all 14 stations when flying in the area particular to the station. On a finishing note - I think REX will give ASA a run for its money - it is certainly already looking that way. Any competition is good for the customer or end user, as it gets the developers in a frenzy producing the best of the best for the flightsim community and at the end of the day it is us (the end user) who wins alongside the developer who has the most sales. A win win situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiko Glatthorn Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Yes javo, i made the same observations and it's getting up my nose as well sometimes. I couldn't agree more with your last post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxter Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Could you let me know how many actual Western Australian weather stations ASA uses in the sim? There are few reporting stations in WA compared to other places in the world. In the USA, for example, there seems to be a reporting station every few hundred miles where as in WA there are relatively few and spaced far apart. There are Met Offices at Albany, Broome, Carnarvon, Cocos Island, Esperance, Eucla, Geraldton, Giles, Halls Creek, Kalgoorlie, Learmonth, Meekatharra, Perth and Port Hedland. There are approx 100 (give or take 1 or 2) auto, un-manned weather stations scattered over WA and the surrounding islands. When flying in parts of the South West, you will get the weather mainly from Perth (YPPH). As you migrate further east along the coastal strip you will get the weather from Esperance (YESP) and then from Eucla. Thanks for the info, the last time I fired up ASX (which was a while ago) Geraldton gave me an "Interpolated" result. Does that mean somehow my setup is not working properly? However now that you have mentioned those locations, I will check once again. Cheers and thanks again for the info. EDIT: OK I decided to fire up ASX and went to the map mode... I then went to the "Seek Station" box and typed in YABA... Once the map re-drew, I moused over the YABA icon and the info box said "YABA - Albany, Albany WA, Australia (No Actual Data). Under that was a string of Weather related code followed by the word Interpolated... I get the same result for Geraldton and for Esperance. Actually the only ones that I do get (without the words "Interpolated" or "NO Actual Data") are YPPH, YPEA, YPKG, YPLM, YPPD YFRT YPKU YBRM YCTN YTEF so I am making the assumption that these are actual receiving/reporting stations. And yes a few more than the three or so that I estimated prefiously... My understanding of the term Interpolated may be flawed, so if someone would like to clarify what it means in the context of ASX, other than an adjusted or estimated value based on a couple or more known other values elsewhere, then I would be very much appreciative. If what I am seeing is not correct, could someone please feel free to suggest where my dataset is being corrupted or otherwise failing. With thanks in advance. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Chris, It looks like ASX uses the same weather source as REX then. If you go to the NOAA website and enter those ICAO airport codes you'll find that you'll get TAF's for the ones that you get in ASX and not get TAF's for the ones where ASX interpolates them. This shows that it's not the program (ASX or REX) that's the problem. It also shows why there are so many reporting stations in the USA (compared to here) as it's a US government website. http://adds.aviationweather.gov/tafs/ As I mentioned in my previous post, it's a shame these weather programs can't access local sources of data such as BOM here in Australia. Regards, Serge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxter Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thanks for that Serge, What I am confused about is that comment made by Javo above my last post... When flying in parts of the South West, you will get the weather mainly from Perth (YPPH). As you migrate further east along the coastal strip you will get the weather from Esperance (YESP) and then from Eucla. I have been able to access all 14 stations when flying in the area particular to the station. I was wondering how this was possible. Is he able to somehow download the weather data from a better source? Cheers and all the best, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest javo Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 As with most Govt organisations they do change how they do things quite often, mostly for cost cutting, stream lining or for what ever reason they think is reasonable. My comments Chris, were from when I only had ASX and referred to flights made with the same at the time, some time ago. It is possible that some of the stations are now only recieving stations (of which I think Geraldton is one of them now). YESP is serviced by 2 weather stations, one located in town (BOM Office) and the other situated at the airport about 16k out of town. I am not sure if both are submitting data to BOM HQ or if just the town station is submitting. There is access direct to BOM for weather source but unfortunately, for one reason or another, it isn't or maybe can't be used by weather prorams. My guess would be that there would be a huge fee attached to the service for use by commercial applications. I use a freeware weather program (only works on WinXP) which gives up-to-date weather info and covers all of Oz. I sent the info to Damian Clarke a couple of years ago but that is as far as it went. Your ASX is more than likely working correctly Chris - the culprit will be the recieve only stations. I'll have a play with ASA later tonight and see which stations are interpolated and which are not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxter Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thanks a lot javo. Very much appreciate your insight and knowledge. It is a shame that the developers cannot tap into better sources of data to give us West Aussies a more realistic idea of weather. It was a bit disappointing when I once flew in a region that was over 300Nm ahead of a cold front and still experienced rain, in a region that was very much clear and free of cloud. Cheers and thanks again, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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