Settings Screen

In the Settings Screen you can configure various options which will affect your weather depiction and enhancements.  We recommend using the defaults (which can always be recalled using the "Reset to Defaults" button) for your first experience with ASX.

General

• Automatic Weather Downloads: When checked, new weather data will be downloaded at regular intervals to keep you up to date.  This is called "online mode" or "live wx mode".

• Enable VATSIM Downloads: VATSIM has agreed to allow Active Sky users connect to their servers and get the latest VATSIM-specific METAR for the departure and destination airports of a flight plan.  When enabled, Automatic Weather Downloads are also enabled, and a valid flight plan has been specified, VATSIM departure and destination station weather will override HiFi's DataNet X weather.  This is usually not any different, but using this mode when connected to VATSIM ensures all pilots and controllers have the exact same weather while in the departure/destination airport zones.  For more information about VATSIM please visit http://www.vatsim.net. 

• Download Interval: When Automatic Weather Downloads are enabled, this specifies how often to download new weather from the servers.

• Dynamic Rate of Change:  This specifies how quickly you would like your weather to "drift" from the updated specific METAR data to other conditions (between updates).  Also controls how quickly clouds form and dissipate within an area.  This option will TAKE CONTROL of FSX's Dynamic Rate of Change slider.  We recommend 50% for most circumstances.

• Force High Priority Processes:  When checked, ASX will utilize more CPU and run its main threads at a higher priority.  Some systems may benefit from this setting for better speed (such as redraw speed of the map imagery).  This option may introduce some stuttering/frame rate loss on some systems so experimentation is recommended..

Effects and Enhancements

• Wake Turbulence Strength: This sets the overall strength of wake turbulence effects.  The lower side of the scale will depict gentle effects, while 100% can cause loss of control when a heavy aircraft's wake is encountered by a lighter aircraft.  Set this to 0 to disable wake turbulence.

• Depict Hurricanes: Check this to enable the depiction hurricanes.  Hurricanes are depicted when actual hurricane data indicates.  To generate a hurricane either wait for one in real life or set your active time to a historical period when a hurricane existed (any time after January 1, 2007).  Hurricanes are depicted on both the map and within FSX.  They will inherit the wind speeds and strength as the data suggests.  All actual weather stations/airports within the vicinity of a hurricane will inherit the hurricane conditions and ignore any METAR data (which is often old or incorrect during actual hurricanes).

• Create Virtual Stations: Check this to have ASX automatically generate stations within FSX in order to fill gaps and provide more weather coverage.  Stations are generated at approximately 100nm intervals and inherit and/or interpolate the weather of nearby reporting stations.  When using this feature, FSX should be closed before ASX in order to prevent a delay that occurs when FSX needs to remove Active Sky's generated stations on disconnect.

• Enhance Route Coverage:  This will generate several virtual stations in the immediate (10nm) range of your departure and destination airports (when a flight plan is specified).  This helps reinforce the weather conditions expected and as reported, which can sometimes fail to be consistent depending on other nearby station data.

X Graphics Integration

• Enable SkyScape Mode: This enables X Graphics SkyScape mode for wx-influenced integration.  Essentially, when checked, ASX will instruct X Graphics to install only SkyScape mode cirrus textures when wx-influenced textures are selected.  SkyScape mode cirrus textures are cirrostratus and cirrocumulus layers with an enhanced 3D effect.  Please see the X Graphics documentation for more information.  X Graphics is required to use this feature.  For more information on X Graphics visit http://www.hifisim.com.

• Use SkyScape for Stratus: When checked, any lower stratus layers that would normally be generated by ASX will become SkyScape mode cirrus layers.  The "Stratus Cloud Occurrence" slider will affect the chance of such "stratus SkyScape" layers being generated.  SkyScape mode cirrus textures are cirrostratus and cirrocumulus layers with an enhanced 3D effect.  Please see the X Graphics documentation for more information.  X Graphics is required to use this feature.  For more information on X Graphics visit http://www.hifisim.com.

Winds

• Maximum Surface Wind: The maximum speed in knots to depict surface winds.

• Minimum Wind Turbulence: The minimum level of wind turbulence to be depicted. 

• Maximum Wind Turbulence: The maximum level of wind turbulence to be depicted.

• Minimum Wind Shear: The minimum level of wind shear (shift of wind direction of speed) to be depicted.

• Maximum Wind Shear: The maximum level of wind shear to be depicted.

Visibility

• Minimum Surface Visibility: The minimum visibility to be depicted at the surface (in statute miles).

• Maximum Surface Visibility: The maximum visibility to be depicted at the surface.

• Maximum Upper Visibility: The maximum visibility to be depicted when above the surface visibility layer.

Clouds

• Maximum Cloud Layers: The maximum number of clouds to be generated under any circumstance.  This can greatly affect performance especially during complex weather conditions when many layers may be normally generated.  We suggest between 5 and 8 layers maximum on higher-end systems, and 3-4 layers maximum on lower-end systems.

• Minimum Cloud Turbulence: The minimum amount of turbulence to depict while in clouds.

• Maximum Cloud Turbulence: The maximum amount of turbulence to depict while in clouds.

• Minimum Cloud Icing: The minimum level of icing to generate while in clouds.

• Maximum Cloud Icing: The maximum level of icing to generate while in clouds.

• CAVOK Cloud Generation: When a station reports CAVOK (Ceiling and Visibility OK), this setting controls the occurrence of fair-weather clouds generated.

• No Data Cloud Generation: Controls the occurrence of cloud layers to be generated when a station is unable to report clouds.

• Cirrus Cloud Generation: Controls the occurrence of cirrus (high altitude) cloud layers to be generated.

• Stratus Cloud Occurrence: Controls the occurrence of stratus clouds vs. cumulus clouds.

Reset to Defaults

This button will load the recommended default settings, overriding any currently active settings.

Cancel

Cancels all changes and reverts settings back to their last state.

Apply

Immediately activates all settings as indicated.  Some depiction-related settings changes will require a restart of the flight session and/or a complete refresh cycle before they are apparent.