R.I.P. Active Sky Evolution

[PhrogPhlyer]

3 hours ago, defaid said:

When sales revenue for that product diminishes to the point that the cost of support is greater than whatever percent of revenue then the business will end support.

For all of us users of legacy flight sim versions, defaid's explanation is why the local VW dealership doesn't have parts for a 1966 model Beetle Coupe. However parts and other support can be found by aftermarket companies. The same with our legacy programs.

 

I "moved up" with FS1 (1982), FS3 (1988), FS2000, FS2002, FSX (2006), along with investing countless hours on addon scenery, aircraft, and utilities. I made a personal decision to not do so again until my current sim of choice (FSX) fails to keep me entertained. Within the past year I started repainting aircraft, am attempting to learn scenery placement, and have begun more historically related flights and screen shot. This keeps me quite engaged and happy. 

 

These forums are valuable tools to share the vast amount of knowledge and experience that exists among our FlightSim community. I learn much from reading forum comments no matter which sim version they relate to. Rather than using this as a place to hold textual dogfights, wanting to shoot other sim versions down in flames. let's help discover solutions and workarounds to solve the actual issue being addressed.

 

I look forward to continuing to share, learn, and enjoy FlightSim's forums that have become an important part of my simming experience., 

 

[JSkorna]

17 hours ago, JSMR said:

So why do they still support FSX and P3D? 

 

 

Because they still make money from selling software for those platforms; the MAIN PURPOSE of ANY business.

[Tom Gibson]

I agree that's true, but does it have to be?  Can't we wish and campaign for a more enlightened society?  Just because something is a certain way does not make it right!

[JSMR]

10 hours ago, JSkorna said:

Because they still make money from selling software for those platforms; the MAIN PURPOSE of ANY business.

Really? 
 

FSX? 
P3D?
 

So all those developers (nearly all) who left P3D the last few years because of no sales to switch over to MSFS ….were wrong? 
 

You’re saying all the major developers - despite saying it’s a terrible business decision to stay developing for P3D - are staying on P3D because it’s a better business decision? 
 

Despite they all saying that moving over to MSFS because no one was buying for P3D? 
 

But you say they stay with P3D because it’s a better business decision? 
 

 

*headscratch emoji 
 

 

[JSkorna]

Who and the heck said anything about right or wrong or whether to stick to P3D or not? You really need reading comprehension classes, then a business class or two because it's obvious that you don't know what you are talking about, for sure. You are WAY better off sticking to your tons of fun FS2004 and let developers make their own decisions.

[JSMR]

25 minutes ago, JSkorna said:

Who and the heck said anything about right or wrong or whether to stick to P3D or not? You really need reading comprehension classes, then a business class or two because it's obvious that you don't know what you are talking about, for sure. You are WAY better off sticking to your tons of fun FS2004 and let developers make their own decisions.

But the developers have already made their choice. They all left fsx and P3D to move to MSFS. 
 

But you say….they didn’t? 
Even though…..they did? 
 

But you say they don’t stay with fs2004 since it’s a bad business decision?
And you say they stay developing add-ons for fsx because it makes money? 

But 98%+ developers all left p3d (no mention of fsx) to move to MSFS because they say p3d makes them no money. 

But you say….

 

you do know what you’re saying right? 

 

*headscratch emoji 

[Skywatcher12]

I hope this topic goes at least 15 pages.

[Skywatcher12]

I'll say again, you can still happily use AS 6.5 offline. The online aspect makes literally no difference. Just get the weather files. I think the other user who deleted his post was downloading from NOAA. Don't ask for step by step instructions as I've never done it.

[DirkDP]

Damn, just seen this...

I have several years of daily historical downloads. Unfortunately I have only a few for Nov/Dec 2022 and nothing for 2023.

 

Didn't know one could "convert" NOAA data into ASE.

I'd be interested to know how this is done...

 

Regards,

DDP.

 

[Tom Gibson]

And you need civility classes...

[loki]

On 4/29/2023 at 4:41 PM, jgf said:

  If people are still using that program, yes.  People keep websites going for years, even though they've only a fraction of the active members they once had, surely a business can support a server to let those who paid for their software continue to use it.   Micro$oft no longer supporting W95 or XP or Win7 doesn't mean you cannot install and use those OS, but taking down the AS servers means those of us who paid for that software (which still "works", just has no data source now) are SOL.  It also means I would not purchase from them again, how long before they take down the current servers.

 

There can be a pretty big difference between a relatively simple website hosted by the likes of GoDaddy and a custom server running something like Active Sky. Keep paying GoDaddy, or whoever the hosting company is, and they will keep the web servers up and running, allowing your website to stay up for years with little effort on your part. When it comes to something like Active Sky, however, a big part of the server maintenance and support falls on the developer directly, and is not always trivial. Fail to keep up with security patches and you will soon find your server taken over by anyone from script kiddies to crypto mining to ransomware gangs. Making sure those upgrades and security patches don't break your software takes time and the more software you need to test against, the more effort it takes. This might be a rounding error for a company the size of Microsoft, but for smaller outfits such as HiFi Simulations, it can quickly become a big drag on resources, taking resources away from other products.

[PhrogPhlyer]

3 hours ago, Tom Gibson said:

And you need civility classes...

It was getting a bit tense, for sure.

[Skywatcher12]

17 hours ago, DirkDP said:

Damn, just seen this...

I have several years of daily historical downloads. Unfortunately I have only a few for Nov/Dec 2022 and nothing for 2023.

 

Didn't know one could "convert" NOAA data into ASE.

I'd be interested to know how this is done...

 

Regards,

DDP.

 

The year doesn't matter. Is it a deal breaker if you fly May 23rd 2018 weather or May 23rd 2023 weather?

Active Sky works so well you can just use downloaded weather to start a flight. Active Sky will change the weather to predicted weather as your session goes on so it's virtually the same as being online. If you really want the actual weather to be totally correct as it was in the real world at a later point in your session, you can just upload another weather file during your flight. eg load a file at the start of the flight then maybe before desent into the airport load another file so landing conditions will be accurate to what they were in the real world if not happy enough to use predicted weather.

Then of course it's a flight sim, we cover large areas of ground so even using static weather works because we will always fly to areas which have different weather due to the vast distances a plane covers.

All AS features work apart from the online aspect so it's still a brilliant product.

[jgf]

From where do you download weather files, and how do you load them in AS6.5?

I'm still searching for my old AS to reinstall, after recently deleting it as a result of this thread - https://www.flightsim.com/forums/topic/56812-active-sky-65/#comment-297945

 

[argeme]

Could anyone please tell me how to make ASE run offline. When I run the ASE it just starts initially but then it just stops without loading. 

[JSkorna]

There should be an option in the settings. Been so long I can't remember for sure.

[jgf]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:23 PM, Tom Gibson said:

I agree that's true, but does it have to be?  Can't we wish and campaign for a more enlightened society?  Just because something is a certain way does not make it right!

The most damaging phrase in the language is “We’ve always done it this way!”
— Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper

[Skywatcher12]

16 hours ago, jgf said:

From where do you download weather files, and how do you load them in AS6.5?

I'm still searching for my old AS to reinstall, after recently deleting it as a result of this thread - https://www.flightsim.com/forums/topic/56812-active-sky-65/#comment-297945

 

NOAA website would be the place but I don't know what sort of conversion they need to work in AS as I've never used these files. The member who posted about this and whatever he does to use them deleted his post. Think he worked out best to be hush hush so everyone doesn't bombard the NOAA server and they pull the plug on downloads. He's probably frantically stocking up on weather files right now after he read my earlier posts on historic weather and doesn't want others doing the same. I'm only guessing of course!   

[Skywatcher12]

14 hours ago, argeme said:

Could anyone please tell me how to make ASE run offline. When I run the ASE it just starts initially but then it just stops without loading. 

The last ASE build went 100% online and won't open. It's build 709, tells you on the main screen what build you have bottom left. Any previous build, ASE had an offline mode and will work and open up completely without ANY need for the internet. I think for many people this will simply mean, don't apply the last official patch to take it up to build 709.

All ASE functions will work except online weather or downloading of weather files of course.

I worked this all out years ago as I knew I had to future proof FS9 weather and ideally ASE. I worked out how to get ASE to work without internet and then downloaded masses of weather with it. It has a really good weather download option where you could set up many files and then just leave it running while it downloads and you go off and do other things. It was a type of semi-batch weather download function.

As I've said, ASE is even now a sensational program for our flight sim, it has masses of features. Everyone should still be able to use it following the stuff I've mentioned in this thread.

[Skywatcher12]

Finally, remember the above applies to FSX as well so you got both sims covered for life.
Every weather product can disappear for FS9/FSX and it makes absolutely no difference whatsoever!

Long live FS9 and with ASE or AS 6.5 it will.

[Skywatcher12]

17 hours ago, jgf said:

I'm still searching for my old AS to reinstall, after recently deleting it as a result of this thread - https://www.flightsim.com/forums/topic/56812-active-sky-65/#comment-297945

 

Sorry, I didn't see that thread. I would have said NO, DO NOT DELETE!!!

[jgf]

Well, if downloading the weather files is not easily accessible, and loading them to AS is some arcane secretive process, I guess i'm still SOL with AS and no need to reinstall.

[Skywatcher12]

15 hours ago, jgf said:

Well, if downloading the weather files is not easily accessible, and loading them to AS is some arcane secretive process, I guess i'm still SOL with AS and no need to reinstall.

It can't be too hard. Not sure a file conversion even needs to be made, just the data from the downloaded weather may need to be input into AS directly which may be quite straight forward. Without checking AS and all this myself, I can't tell you. Surely someone has by now tried NOAA weather who can provide some info?

[Skywatcher12]

12 minutes ago, 3Green said:

I could offer a solution for ASE or AS65, but every time I post a link, johnhinson or JSkorna report my post and mrzippy deletes it.

 

RJ

Why would your post be deleted? I haven't seen anything in this thread that potentially breaks any rules.

[PhrogPhlyer]

51 minutes ago, Skywatcher12 said:

Why would your post be deleted?

His post is gone. Oh no!