Some First Pics With ActiveSky Advanced

[FAC257]

Took these over the last couple of days after installing ActiveSky Advanced.

One of the most noticable differences I'm seeing is that instead of just the one theme I had customized in ASG/ASX, it seems that ASA can use all of the ASG weather graphics in it's own customized "Snapshots" and then loads those new sets randomly when you start a new flight. So I'm still seeing my ASG weather graphics but with a lot more cloud variety and more variations in the cloud sets. For starters I let ASA create 20 of it's own customized weather set "Snapshots" to use.

The second most noticable thing is that the FSX horizon "clipping" where you could still see the horizon line even through in thick cloud cover, seems to be gone.

Third most noticable thing is that the GUI interface is mind boggling. There are so many options & buttons I'm seriously confused. :)

About the only thing I'm sure of is that it is running on real-world/real-time weather and my first impression is that it seems to be more accurate than even ASX was.

[MCDesigns]

very nice, love the third shot!

can't wait to upgrade so I can fly in real weather.

[limjack]

very nice, love the third shot!

can't wait to upgrade so I can fly in real weather.


I too like that third shot....as though the aircraft is entering a point of no return.

[fliger747]

A question. At altitude, say over Japan at 35000', in and around the jetstream, does it give the same abrupt direction-velocity changes that the default weather does. If not the same, please describe any such transitions.

Thanks! T.

[Marlin]

A question. At altitude, say over Japan at 35000', in and around the jetstream, does it give the same abrupt direction-velocity changes that the default weather does. If not the same, please describe any such transitions.

Thanks! T.



Isn’t that effect close to the real thing? (Ya right.)

It’s like God himself came down and slapped the front end of the plane and gave it a serious push right over the planes speed limit too. Then he has a habit of doing it twice just for consistency to see if he can rip the wings off.:banghead:

This is one of the reasons that I stopped using big jets, it just pisses me off to crash in midair with God. He usually wins, LOL :icon_lol:

[pbearsailor]

This is really a big improvement over the old version for me. I was mostly a corporate turboprop driver in my career and just made a flight in the Cheyenne from KBLI to Pullman, Idaho, like many I've made in the past. Decent weather for departure, just multiple layers on climbout, but Pullman had rain and only a couple of miles of visibility which would likely be fairly tight using the DME arc for the VOR approach.

Not really screenshot kind of weather, but I've done hundreds of approaches in real planes in conditions that looked just like this. I'm really impressed. I've had a few glitches with it so far like many have, but it'll get fixed. It just makes flying in weather look so real. :applause:

That Cheyenne is still a really great airplane, too.

cheers,
steve :wavey:

[Marlin]

What were you guys using for weather before you got ASA and just how much better is this one in compairison?

Thanks for the good shots Steve:applause:

Edit; That is the PERFECT weather for screenshots!!! My kind of flying right there.

[bluediamond]

A question. At altitude, say over Japan at 35000', in and around the jetstream, does it give the same abrupt direction-velocity changes that the default weather does. If not the same, please describe any such transitions.

Thanks! T.

Seems like this version has finally fixed the sudden wind shift problem.I made two long flights (3 hrs)today in the Flight1 Mustang at 37000 ft and experienced none of the sudden shifts that I had experienced in previous Mustang flights using ASX.

Michael

[FAC257]

I started out with one of the old Active Sky versions in FS9. When FSX came out I migrated over with ActiveSky 6.5 in it's crippled but usable form in FSX. Went to ASX + XG for FSX the day they came out.

One difference I noticed between ActiveSky 6.5 and ASX was when flying online with folks still using FS9 w/AS 6.5 or FSX w/AS6.5 is that AS6.5 and ASX weather almost never matched.

The biggest difference for me with the bump up to ASX+XG was in the overall quality of the GUI interface and weather graphics and the shear amount of features the combo presented.

Now with the bump up to ASA + AG:
1. Even more new features

2. Folks using still using FS9 can have matching weather conditions with FSX flyers, since it's a dual sim setup.

3. The cloud rendering seems to be an improvment over ASX. Especially since I haven't seen the dreaded horizon "clipping" through the clouds while flying with ASA. This was one of my biggest pet peaves with the default FSX weather. Niether ActiveSky 6.5 or ASX got rid of it. So far so good with ASA.

4. Since ASA can access all of my XG weather graphics instead of my one custom set, the skies are more varied.

That's just a few off the top of my head.

[pbearsailor]

Marlin, I had ASX before the Advanced. I liked it, but there were abrupt changes in the weather as you flew along and it never really got the low visibility stuff right. Those transition areas seem much better now and the conditions on that approach were just about perfect for me, driving along, watching the DME and waiting for the airport to pop out. Good stuff.

cheers,
steve :wavey:

[Marlin]

Thanks for the honest appraisals gentlemen, the odds are now turning. J<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

[FLighT01]

Excellent screenshots fella's.

FAC 257: I see you mention ASG in combination with ASX and now ASA. Is ASG a different product from XGraphics, (which I've been using with ASX for a while)?

pbearsailor: Quite the contrary, perfect screenshot weather, those approach shots look spooky real to me.

[FAC257]

That's my bad habit of always referring to XGraphics as ASG.

In my brain it'll always be Active Sky Graphics. :)

[FLighT01]

LOL. I understand. I'm running out of little gray cells to store all these acronyms.

I'm definitely going to get ASA after the first patch (at least) gets released for my A box. I'll keep ASX and XGraphics on my B box. Can't decide if I should go XGraphics again for cloud textures or try FEX (I like that cloud designer thingy) or REX. I've got time to think it through.