Announcements

 

This beta introduces the Stabilised GRIB Data option added to the Weather Download dialog to prevent dynamic changes to the upper forecast data in flight which may cause problematic wind shift on some systems. This option is enabled by default and is currently not saved as part of the configuration data.

 

I have also adjusted the lower wind targets to perform better in extreme conditions. The Upper wind information displayed in the weather report windows now shows the winds at FL440

 

Regards

Stephen

 

This download is provided as a ZIP file, to upgrade please download it then Extract All files into your c:\OpusFSX installation folder. You do not need to uninstall or re-install anything.

 

After installing please check all the settings in your Configure and Weather dialogues. You can download it from http://www.opussoftware.co.uk/opusfsi/downloads.htm

 

In this beta the forced recovery is now enabled seperately once the aircraft climbs above the configured Forced Recovery Altitude + 250 feet. This mod should help those that stop and restart OpusFSX when in flight with the Wind Stabilisation option enabled.

 

This beta also introduces wing flex turbulence effects when the simulator's Settings - Display - Weather 'Disable turbulence and thermal effects on aircraft' option is not set (i.e. make sure it is not disabled) and the 'Advanced Animations' option is enabled in Settings - Display - Graphics.

 

At high altitudes and in low turbulence the wing flex turbulence is set to occassional. Wing flex will become more noticeable at low level, when flying in cloud layers, and when descending etc.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

This download is provided as a ZIP file, to upgrade please download it then Extract All files into your c:\OpusFSX installation folder. You do not need to uninstall or re-install anything.

 

After installing please check all the settings in your Configure and Weather dialogues. You can download it from http://www.opussoftware.co.uk/opusfsi/downloads.htm

 

This beta includes modified Sim Friendly Wind calculations and the Live View attitude update frequency has been changed to match the position updates.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

P.S.  Two points worth mentioning ...

 

1.  You can cause repeated overspeeds if you increase the simulator's speed (time rate) and you encounter a patch of Clear Air Turbulence (CAT). Especially if you set the rate to greater than x2.

 

2. It looks like FSX totally ignores its commanded turbulence (wing flex) when at high altitude (not in cloud). Even though we set it to 'strong' FSX totally ignores it. Yet another FSX bug. We are investigating to see if we can control the wing flex diectly ourselves and then coordinate it with the DHM accel data.

 

Stephen

 

 

After installing please check all the settings in your Configure and Weather dialogues. You can download it from http://www.opussoftware.co.uk/opusfsi/downloads.htm

 

In this beta I have modified the Live View handling of position and attitude updates, setting the FSX reporting parameter to its fastest setting in the server in order to provide a smoother update on some networked systems.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

In this beta I have included further improvements to the Live View server and client side handling. Improved the processing of the user specified destination and alternate sites. All weather updates are now suspended when the sim is paused. Default for the Forced Recovery Altitude increased to 12000 feet to ensure recovery normally before getting to within the simulator's ATC/ATIS range.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

 

In this release cumulus cloud is now used to depict high level cloud layers, and maximum visibility limits have been imposed on reported haze, mist and fog conditions, as well in areas of precipitation.

 

In this beta the LWE will now accept all METARs with missing or erroneous temperature/dew point reports. The missing or erroneous temperature and dew point data is interpolated by the LWE based on the sorrounding METAR data. All erroneous temperature and dew point data resulting from faulty AUTO or even manual reports is now corrected using interpolated results meaning more AUTO METARs will now be accepted and validated.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

In this beta I have adjusted the vis layer boundaries to better match the pre-beta versions. In beta .3 these fixed visibility level boundaries will be further adjusted using the overall weather conditions. I have also introduced a further upper visibility reduction for the very worst conditions likely to be encountered in the winter months. The calculated upper visibility limit and average surface visibility over the entire region is displayed in the Spy window after the weather has been generated and loaded.

 

The Disable Low Overcast option has now been removed, this effect is perminently enabled within the LWE.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

In this beta I have extended the visibility targets slightly and the assigned visibilities modified to improve the realism. A new 'Reduce Maximum Upper Visibility Limit' option has been added to the Weather dialog for those users who prefer their upper visibility limits to be reduced a notch.

 

The Max Surface Visibility option in the Weather dialog has now been renamed to 'Default Surface Visibility'. The default surface visibility will now default to either 32km or 48km depending on latitude and time of year.

 

The rules for altostratus and altocumulus selection modified to consider additional parameters. All Opus Weather Reports will now show a '- Historic' prefix in the title when historic data is being used. Corrected a problem with the previous betas where a visibility index could go 'out of range' under certain circumstances.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

P.S.

 

 

In this beta I have added the Live View Test option for the FSXSERVER program. The Live View Test dialog can be displayed by clicking on the Live View Test button in the Configure dialog. Click on the Help (Question Mark) button for advice and instructions on conducting the tests. The server and all client systems must be upgraded before conducting the Live View Tests, client side testing will be available soon.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

P.S.

 

 

In this beta I have changed the site weather reports so that the FL200 and FL040 target data is no longer displayed in the Destination and Alternate Weather Reports when the GRIB Forecast option is disabled. The FL540 temperature target has also been improved for Concorde flyers. <OpusFSX>\Themes\OpusWeatherReport.txt file format changed to add the new FL540 temperature target. I have also made some preparations for the Weather Smoothing beta development cycle.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

Improved overall upper wind and temperature targets and corrected a problem with the weather injection. Software prepared for the global weather at cruise altitude option.

 

The Weather Update Period and Distance can now be set to up to a maximum of 1440 minutes (1 day) and/or 480km (300 miles). If you set the distance to greater than 192km the LWE will now inject the full size 992km x 992km (535nm x 535nm, or 616 x 616 statute miles) region into the simulator. Only recommended on long haul flights where users may wish to minimise the weather updates in the cruise.

 

The surface pressure is once smoothed out to 1mb per 16km (10 miles). Surface wind stabilisation will also now stabilise the surface pressure thus preventing both wind and pressure changes.

 

Several weather related simplifications have been included in this beta. The Weather dialog has been changed and a new Weather User Preferences dialog has been added. The Destination and Max Cruise Altitude boxes in the Weather dialog have been separated to emphasise them more, two new options have been added labelled 'Set All Options Automatically' and 'Problematic Wind Shifts'.

 

The automatic settings option uses your specified 'Max Cruise Altitude' to determine the optimum weather settings for your flight. User systems that suffer badly from wind shifts should also set the 'Problematic Wind Shifts' option. The cirrus, fog/mist effects, visibility, and a re-instated 'Disable Low Overcast Effect' options have now been moved to a new Weather Preferences dialog.

 

The Weather Smoothing dialog now contains new options to 'Include Pressure Stabilisation' with the Wind Stabilisation and an 'Enable Weather Smoothing' option (ready for future use). Long haul flyers or user whose system's experience problematic wind shifts should include pressure stabilistaion. All long haul flyers should also set the update frequency to 1440 minutes and 480km. The pressure stabilisation option is set automatically on problematic systems.

 

This beta is suitable to all users wishing to participate and test the automated settings. Just make sure you enable the Set All Options Automatically, then specify both your Destination AND your intended Max Cruise Altitude, finally hit the Update Weather button and fly.

 

In this beta where appropriate the METAR time code (DDHHMMZ) is appended to the first line, containing the reported QNH pressure, of the Local. Destination, and Alternate weather reports. The wind data will now show the target wind at your specified cruise altitude when that is above 4000 feet and the GRIB forecast data is available.

 

If the simulator disconnects from the SimConnect link for any reason, the FSXSERVER program will now attempt to automatically re-establish the connection after a 5 second delay.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

The Automated Settings have been modified to enable Wind Stabilisation at medium to low cruise levels whenever the Adjust Sim Friendly option is also specified.

 

This beta introduces the 'Shortcut Controls' option which allows users to assign joystick button and keyboard keys to common actions or controls within the FSXSERVER program. All shortcut controls are defined using the Shortcut Controls dialog accessed via the FSXSERVER program's main form.

 

At present, users can assign buttons and keys to update the weather, toggle the Opus weather report window ON/OFF display, cycle to the next weather report, or cycle backwards to the previous weather report. Only relevant weather reports can be displayed using these controls. The Local Area weather report is always considered active and relevant. The Lower and Upper Atmosphere weather reports are only active if the GRIB data is enabled. The Destination and Alternate weather reports are only considered active if the relvant Destination or Alternate site has been specified in the Weather dialog. I have U (Update Weather), W (Weather Report), N (Cycle Next), and shift-N (Cycle Last) configured and operating on my system. It is up to the user to make sure any assignments are not in use elsewhere on their systems.

 

An option to enable the Magnetic Variation within the simulator has been included in the Weather User Preferences dialog, this option is disabled by default. When enabled, there will be a difference between the reported wind directions METAR and GRIB forecast data which always report directions with respect to True North and the current wind directions within the simulator and reported by ATIS which are always Magnetic directions. To assist the pilot, the LWE will show the current Magnetic Deviation (- Magnetic Variation) in the weather report windows. Displayed in the form 'MagDev XX.X' at the end of the surface wind information. You must ADD this value to all wind directions to convert them to Magnetic directions at the current location. Please note, I cannot show the Magnetic Deviation at the Destination or Alternate sites, only at your current location in the simulated world.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

All joystick and keyboard inputs are now enabled independently of Live Camera to allow the Shortcut Controls to be used without enabling the Live Camera interface. Improved Lower and Upper Atmosphere wind targets.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

I have modified the conditions for weather updates and refreshes during the descent phase to coordinate and minimise the number weather changes (in preperation for the Weather Smoothing version 3.00 betas). All non-zero Max Cruise Altitudes that are less than 1000 feet are now interpreted as an implied flight level. The dialog will also now accept entries such as FL230 for an explicit flight level. Corrected anomalies in the lower wind forecast and automated settings.

 

The aircraft's vertical speed has now been added to Live View client status updates. This may only be a temporary upgrade since I have not found any way to stop the sim from calculating and updating the vertical speed itself even in the frozen state of the client. Hence the VSI is likely to jump around a bit.

 

The ICAO code and name for Johannesburg airport has been changed to FAOR 'Johannesburg INT' in keeping with the recent ICAO code changes. Previously this airport was designated as FAJS 'Jan Smuts'. Note, the airport will still be designated using the FAJS ICAO code within FSX and P3D.

 

Two new template text files have been provided which can be renamed and edited (see the file content for details). These new files can be used to specify any corrections or additions to the LWE met stations list. The two new template text files are,

 

OpusFSX_MetStation_Additions_Template.txt
OpusFSX_MetStation_Corrections_Template.txt

 

Just edit them and remove the '_Template' suffix from the filename and the LWE will read the content and update it's met station data each time the FSXSERVER program is started. Master copies of these files will eventually be kept in-house to ammend and update the MetStation data file with common changes and additions to the listed NOAA station data.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

P.S.

 

I have further ideas about minimising the number of weather updates and refreshes even further but will need to undertake further tests before including the options. The Weather (Cloud) Smoothing software has now been coded and is being tested.

 

N.B.

 

A problem with the OpusFSX_MetStation_Additions.txt file handling has been corrected and the corrected beta was posted at today 19th Feb, 15:40 Zulu.

 

Please note, if you intend making additions the stations they MUST be valid METAR stations at either the NOAA or VATSIM sites. Just adding some ICAO codes does not mean there will be weather available for those stations. All additions MUST be valid Met Stations.

 

 

This release version is identical to beta 2.90.5 above.