UKJim 502 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 So im currently using FEX and Opus - was wondering about active sky next and rex textures - so what are you using at the moment? Cheers Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Godden 945 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 I was using REX Essential for a long time...the additional textures are great. I went down the ASN path for my weather engine 12 months ago, and wouldn't go back, and still use REX Essential for textures. Was looking to REX4 for overall improvement but I think it's only marginal. Most of the Mutley Crew / Mods use the ASN / REX Essential combination. Cheers Andrew Link to post Share on other sites
wain 879 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 same as above, I use REX+ overdrive for textures with ASN for the weather input, in P3D I use just REX+ Overdrive for both, only because I have not changed to ASN since v2.5 update. Wayne Link to post Share on other sites
MBunjes 2 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Recently switched from OPUS to ASnext. What an improvement ! No more clouds popping and I love the weather radar in the NGX. I'm using REX texture direct plus soft clouds Link to post Share on other sites
donnybalonny 46 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 I like to fly and I dislike using to much time/energy on setting up things and reading manuals, so i go simple and fast and it works really well. I use Fsglobal real weather as a weather machine and some HD freware cloud textures. Sometimes, I use the soft clouds, but mostly because the one texture they install is low quality resolution and so, it runs lighter on fps. Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 As Andrew stated above, I also use ASN with Rex4 textures. This is a great combination and will take some beating. Link to post Share on other sites
Corsaire31 419 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Dynamic weather from Pilot's FS Global Real Weather and FEX for textures and colors. Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 I used to use Opus but switched to AS Next - I cant begin to describe the improvement, AS is superb. Later I added soft clouds, this provides a subtle change, but in rain the difference is great, at lower levels you get those rain clouds that have indistinct edges. It is so life like, highly recommended. Link to post Share on other sites
Sabre 28 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 I just changed to ASN with Rex4 textures and Soft Clouds. In my opinion from what I've seen so far ASN is better than the REX weather engine. Link to post Share on other sites
adrians69 159 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 I use Rex Essential+Overdrive and Soft Clouds. I am looking to get ASN for the engine soon though Link to post Share on other sites
donnybalonny 46 Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 I find that the weather engine is a lot more important than textures. A good weather engine will make even default cloud and sky textures look great and remember that a lot of complex real weather layers with high resolution cloud textures means serious fps drop. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,316 Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I went the freeware route for awhile but then went with REX Essentials w/Overdrive, during a sale and was happy as a dog in a fire hydrant store. I will try ASN one day since so many people seem happy with it (minus the wake turbulence which I believe they just improved somewhat). I always enjoy trying something new just for the change itself. Link to post Share on other sites
Auger 22 Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 I've been using REX + Overdrive for several years, just recently upgrading from 2 to 3. ASN is also on my radar, but for now the REX engine works OK. Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Ok thanks guys all very interesting responses. I just got the rex 4 texture direct in the sale and already have soft clouds - next step is to try active sky next. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted May 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Tried active sky next and ended up buying it I only had OpusFSX (not the updated version) and it didn't perform as well with dense cloud coverage and frames. ASN on the other hand performs a lot better and the overcast actually looks correct - I love all the additional features like turbulence caused by other aircraft and also the vast amount of other options too. Opus was good but I never use the camera features as I have EZdok. So if someone was asking what I'd recommend now it would be rex texture direct and active sky next. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,316 Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Thanks for your input Jim, hopefully it will help others searching for a great combination of weather addons.. Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted May 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Thanks for your input Jim, hopefully it will help others searching for a great combination of weather addons.. It is just my opinion tho and extensive testing has not been performed. Like everything related to FSX every setup is different and performance varies from one piece of kit to another. I try and grab every frame with my old dinosaur machine, so if a piece of software enables any benefit then for me it's worth every penny. The thing I realised too tonight as well is if you turn RND off in EZDok but keep DHM on - your head moves with the turbulence. Having this with ASN and the A2A cherokee I was in heaven Thanks for listening to me babbling. Link to post Share on other sites
PCAviator 30 Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 Once Active Sky Next came out (ASN) most of our customers blended that superior weather engine with the REX texture sets and many have sworn by that. So the ASN/REX combination appears to be the most popular from what I have seen/heard. It can take a bit of a performance hit running the two together or lower-end systems, but that was more evident for those that were using the higher-res textures from the REX Set. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 Add one more to the ASN/Rex 4 Texture Direct combo.. still not on the soft clouds wagon though, although I'm considering it... Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted May 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 Add one more to the ASN/Rex 4 Texture Direct combo.. still not on the soft clouds wagon though, although I'm considering it... I've got soft clouds too and in combination of them all it really makes the sim come alive. I go for 2048 textures as I have an old pc - runs really well in dense cloud. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 Add one more to the ASN/Rex 4 Texture Direct combo.. still not on the soft clouds wagon though, although I'm considering it... I've got soft clouds too and in combination of them all it really makes the sim come alive. I go for 2048 textures as I have an old pc - runs really well in dense cloud. I think I even had to scale back to 1024 textures in order to maintain good frame rates with dense cloud cover... Trying to convince my dear wife that it's time to replace my old PC as well, but I can't really defend the cost for the specs I want Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted May 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 Haha exactly the same buddy - spec'd up a machine I'd be happy with and it came to about 800 quid lol. My mrs said I can start a new pc fund but you know how it goes - higher priority stuff takes that away. Feeling your pain Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 My cat had no objections to a new PC. Cats are awesome that way. She even thought my choice of replacement CPU was PURRfectly fine. Cats are so easy. I am definitely thinking of picking up that ASNext, and I have already spoken to the cat about it, and she had no objections to that either...sweet. Really starting to enjoy flying in inclement-er weather these days. The PrecipitX addon, and the Accu-feel addon purchased on sale recently from A2A made it all seem more present too. Looks like ASN includes more than just prettier clouds but also more realistic microburst/thermal/sink effects...sounds fun. Unfortunately, it will have to wait for some wallet recovery...after the ORBx sale. Jeesshh...that whacked hell out of a paycheck. But such cool new places Link to post Share on other sites
wain 879 Posted May 26, 2015 Report Share Posted May 26, 2015 Like I said I use REX / ASN misture and I am very happy, are there any good shots posted of soft clouds and could a user explain what they do.... I built a machine about 18 months ago, cost about £730 quid, its not the best but it runs suffuiciently with the likes of REX, ASN, FTX GLOBAL / VECTOR, HD TREES etc, looked at a 2gb GTX960 for £169 today but not sure if it would change that much, I have FSXSE and P3D running fine with my old GTX650 at the momemt, we could just keep spending, it takes some will power to say no..... Wayne Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 So, I took the plunge and picked up Soft Clouds at a nice discount... very nice!!! Haha exactly the same buddy - spec'd up a machine I'd be happy with and it came to about 800 quid lol. My mrs said I can start a new pc fund but you know how it goes - higher priority stuff takes that away.Feeling your pain 800 quid I could probably get away with, my machine I toyed with ended up in the $2.200 region My cat had no objections to a new PC. Cats are awesome that way. She even thought my choice of replacement CPU was PURRfectly fine. Cats are so easy. I am definitely thinking of picking up that ASNext, and I have already spoken to the cat about it, and she had no objections to that either...sweet. Really starting to enjoy flying in inclement-er weather these days. The PrecipitX addon, and the Accu-feel addon purchased on sale recently from A2A made it all seem more present too. Looks like ASN includes more than just prettier clouds but also more realistic microburst/thermal/sink effects...sounds fun. Unfortunately, it will have to wait for some wallet recovery...after the ORBx sale. Jeesshh...that whacked hell out of a paycheck. But such cool new places Just you wait until those purchases starts to lead to diminishing cat food supplies in your house.. then you'll be in big trouble Link to post Share on other sites
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