Feature Request: Auto Preset/Passive Modes?

[ASThomas]

Could we have an option to have the program automatically set to preset mode during ground/takeoff/departure and then automatically transition to passive mode once we are say 30 NM from destination, and then the same thing on arrival, about 30 NM from arrival transition from passive mode to preset mode?

Thank you for this program, really enjoying it!

 

[prolixindec]

That's a good idea (as long as the transitions can be smooth). MSFS does a good job of global "world" weather, while ASFS does a fantastic job of "local" weather.

 

[ASThomas]

And maybe instead of a hard coded 30NM, let us provide the distance because it may depend on some factors like speed of aircraft, length of flight etc.

 

[prolixindec]

Hello Damian and the ASFS Team,

I posted earlier on this thread and I'm posting again, because I want to raise visibility, and I want to make the case as strongly as I can that ASThomas's suggestion is really excellent. ASFS does a phenomenal job of creating beautiful weather depictions, truly phenomenal, and Damian and crew deserve lots of admiration and respect. I'm happy I gave you my cash, and I'm not disappointed that I purchased your product. You guys are great. (And the update/beta cycle is really a model for the sim community; your only comparison so far in customer responsiveness is the legendary Hardy from Aerowinx.)

That said, for those of us who fly 5000 mile legs at FL370, the Achilles' heel of ASFS is the fact that the weather is implemented globally. The horizon in the high thirties (flight levels, that is) is about 200 miles away. If the weather changes from clear to overcast based on local METAR/TAF reports, then ASFS changes the weather globally from clear to overcast, so for 200 miles around the aircraft, everything changes all at once. If you pan your view around, you always see the same weather everywhere -- in front of you, behind you.

But in MSFS, they have a boundary: it's clear behind you, and overcast in front of you, and you fly into the overcast, which approaches, and then envelops the aircraft. You can look behind you and see the clear skies receding into the distance as the clouds take over. Right now as I type this, I'm flying over Japan at FL360 with Osaka on my right and farmland (and the ocean) on my left. The inland weather in MSFS is cloudy over Osaka and the mountains, while it's clear on the left, all the way to the horizon if I turn my view 90 degrees. When I put ASFS in charge of the weather depiction, the entire cloudscape (for 360 degrees all the way around the aircraft) becomes uniformly BKN and there's no demarcation anymore of regional weather differences. This is a loss.

So I think ASThomas's suggestion is the best of both worlds: let ASFS automatically take control when close to a terminal area, where ActiveSky really works its magic fantastically well, and let native MSFS generate the weather when high and enroute, so we can fly our airliners through specific weather regions that are local and not global.

One suggestion could be to automatically switch to "Passive" mode any time the aircraft is above FL250. (This would be my recommendation.)

Another implementation, slightly more complex, would be to automatically switch to "Passive" mode when 30 nm from an airport in the flight plan.

This feature could be made into a checkbox, so people who don't care about it could ignore it -- and they'd never know the difference.

It could turn ASFS from a really great app into a must-have app.

Thanks for considering.

Will

 

[mmcmah]

Hello Damian and the ASFS Team,

I posted earlier on this thread and I'm posting again, because I want to raise visibility, and I want to make the case as strongly as I can that ASThomas's suggestion is really excellent. ASFS does a phenomenal job of creating beautiful weather depictions, truly phenomenal, and Damian and crew deserve lots of admiration and respect. I'm happy I gave you my cash, and I'm not disappointed that I purchased your product. You guys are great. (And the update/beta cycle is really a model for the sim community; your only comparison so far in customer responsiveness is the legendary Hardy from Aerowinx.)

That said, for those of us who fly 5000 mile legs at FL370, the Achilles' heel of ASFS is the fact that the weather is implemented globally. The horizon in the high thirties (flight levels, that is) is about 200 miles away. If the weather changes from clear to overcast based on local METAR/TAF reports, then ASFS changes the weather globally from clear to overcast, so for 200 miles around the aircraft, everything changes all at once. If you pan your view around, you always see the same weather everywhere -- in front of you, behind you.

But in MSFS, they have a boundary: it's clear behind you, and overcast in front of you, and you fly into the overcast, which approaches, and then envelops the aircraft. You can look behind you and see the clear skies receding into the distance as the clouds take over. Right now as I type this, I'm flying over Japan at FL360 with Osaka on my right and farmland (and the ocean) on my left. The inland weather in MSFS is cloudy over Osaka and the mountains, while it's clear on the left, all the way to the horizon if I turn my view 90 degrees. When I put ASFS in charge of the weather depiction, the entire cloudscape (for 360 degrees all the way around the aircraft) becomes uniformly BKN and there's no demarcation anymore of regional weather differences. This is a loss.

So I think ASThomas's suggestion is the best of both worlds: let ASFS automatically take control when close to a terminal area, where ActiveSky really works its magic fantastically well, and let native MSFS generate the weather when high and enroute, so we can fly our airliners through specific weather regions that are local and not global.

One suggestion could be to automatically switch to "Passive" mode any time the aircraft is above FL250. (This would be my recommendation.)

Another implementation, slightly more complex, would be to automatically switch to "Passive" mode when 30 nm from an airport in the flight plan.

This feature could be made into a checkbox, so people who don't care about it could ignore it -- and they'd never know the difference.

It could turn ASFS from a really great app into a must-have app.

Thanks for considering.

Will

It's an interesting suggestion and one that one can do already by simply changing modes when you want to switch. However, the problem you have is that you'd experience a sudden shift in weather depiction whenever you make the switch (automatically or manually).

Also, you wouldn't be able to fly with historical weather in your scenario, as MSFS doesn't know anything about non-live weather.

However, it's an interesting questions: varied clouds depictions versus weather fronts. Which does one prefer?

 

[prolixindec]

Very valid point about historical weather. I wouldn't consider that a reason not to implement the "auto-Passive" option that I'm describing, just a limitation of MSFS that has to be lived with. If MSFS someday incorporates historical weather, then so much the better.

And you are quite right that you can do this by switching ASFS manually from Passive to Active in the appropriate flight regime. No argument there.

 

[Stromantys]

excellent idea, you could make a gradual transition to a passive mode system once in flight... and activate AS mode when approaching the airport... perhaps arriving at a certain flight level... these are ideas obviously... damian will tell us if feasible or not...