NOTAM:

A new Active Sky 2012 SP1 Beta update is available: B4469.

If you'd like to participate (at your own risk) please download the update from: http://dreamcatcher.hifisim.com/ActiveSky2012_Update_B4469.zip

All feedback pertaining to SP1 beta should be provided via our support center (ticket system) at: http://support.hifitechinc.com.

Thank you for your participation and feedback!

Changes in this build include:

-          New DWC aloft temperature handling including smooth inter-layer interpolation and realistic temperature decreases and increases at very high altitudes

-          New option: Local Station Writes with DWC – This option, when used in DWC mode, writes to local stations as well as the “global” environment – This creates variation and smoothing but can result in “clear cloud” coverage areas despite the data/conditions

Full SP1 changelog below:

-          New DWC aloft temperature handling including smooth inter-layer interpolation and realistic temperature decreases and increases at very high altitudes

-          New option: Local Station Writes with DWC – This option, when used in DWC mode, writes to local stations as well as the “global” environment – This creates variation and smoothing but can result in “clear cloud” coverage areas despite the data/conditions

-          Fixed problem related to Cirrus handling that could result in excessive cloud clearing/shifting as well as temperature and pressure depiction issues

-          Fixed problem where an Airport (vs. weather station) would fail to bring up proper interpolation station information in the Wx Report screen

-          Fixed problem with certain Sky Night textures that would cause an unwanted bright area of sky in some cases

-          XGauge: Made MET and DST textual weather information background color darker and more opaque for easier readability with brighter background colors (XGauge must be updated by running XGauge Installation Wizard’s file copy and access check)

-          Changed Airplane Icon in Map/XGauge view for better visibility

-          Fixed problem in Wx Edit screen where entering fractional visibility in the METAR string, parsing and then applying would result in an unhandled exception

-          Added support for fractional visibility entry (i.e. 0.25 or ¼) in the Visibility text field of the Wx Edit screen

-          Fixed problem where right-clicking the MAP screen with no flight plan loaded would result in an unhandled exception (now an informational message is shown asking the user to first load a plan with departure and destination specified before adding waypoints)

-          Corrected Latitude/Longitude/Elevation of FALE station in the default-supplied database

-          Fixed problem with Cirrus_Overcast03 texture being improperly handled when creating or installing Snapshots in some cases

-          Fixed problem with Cirrus_Overcast03 texture failing to properly build in some cases which may result in black/gray rectangles being depicted instead of proper cirrus cloud sprites

-          Fixed problem with cirrus texture handling when used with Turkish language settings which would result in black/gray sky or rectangles

-          Fixed problem where certain water textures may fail to copy/install in some cases

-          Fixed problem where machine code generation could fail in some isolated cases causing unnecessary reactivations on a single system

-          Various documentation edits to further explain or better clarify certain elements

-          Fixed problem in Wx Edit screen where deleting the only cloud layer or last cloud layer could result in an unhandled exception

-          Improved DWC very high-altitude aloft temperature handling (between 50K and 90k ft) to avoid unrealistically-low temperatures

-          Fixed UI Screen Size problem that affected some users, causing the UI to be “cut off” and partially inaccessible

-          Changed handling of upgrade verification check to properly allow product name of ASE or ASA during ASE/ASA upgrades (previously ASE must have been chosen regardless of ASE/ASA product being upgraded from)

-          Fixed problem with interpolation of pressure in some areas (mainly near north or south pole) which could result in lower than expected pressure and resulting in higher than expected indicated altitudes (thus resulting in lower altitudes flown using standard 29.92/1013 Kollsman setting for high altitude flight)

-          Changed handling of DWC depiction processes in order to eliminate problematic condition where the area around the aircraft might depict a clear-cloud scenario when surrounding (and reported) conditions include clouds

-          Fixed interpolation issue with surface winds which could result in far-away stations having too much influence with wind direction/speed in some cases

-          Fixed location of DAUO station in distribution data (must be updated from server or manually added via edit stations to affect existing installation)

-          Added Airport/Data station ESNZ in local data for new distributions (must be updated from server or manually added via edit stations to affect existing installation)

-          Added automatic warning and de-selection of confliction option when ATC Wind Lock and Suppress on Ground options are both enabled (which would prevent proper wind updates and ATC lock operation)

-          Fixed problem with rain/precipitation not properly depicting below 0ft MSL

-          Enhanced behavior of voice ATIS/flightwatch so that duplicate Inches/MB reports in some METARS default to Inches instead of QNH during voice readbacks

-          Changed handling of manual refresh or wx edit “Apply” or Drag and Drop so that the depiction process is reset and will immediately depict the requested/reported cloud conditions regardless of settings such as “Prevent Cloud Redraws”, which previously prevented visual cloud updates in DWC mode 

Active Sky 2012 SP1 BETA is now available.  Please note that this is a BETA release, not official, and is to be used at your own risk.  BETA software can, and most likely will contain bugs/errors that will be fixed before official release.

Please provide feedback on this beta (i.e. bug reports, suggestions, comments) via our Support Center system via a support ticket.  Other forms of communication are not official and will not be documented in the system.

The update is available here:

http://dreamcatcher.hifisim.com/ActiveSky2012_Update_B4448.zip

Active Sky 2012

Revision Log

SP1

B4448

-          Fixed problem related to Cirrus handling that could result in excessive cloud clearing/shifting as well as temperature and pressure depiction issues

-          Fixed problem where an Airport (vs. weather station) would fail to bring up proper interpolation station information in the Wx Report screen

-          Fixed problem with certain Sky Night textures that would cause an unwanted bright area of sky in some cases

-          XGauge: Made MET and DST textual weather information background color darker and more opaque for easier readability with brighter background colors (XGauge must be updated by running XGauge Installation Wizard’s file copy and access check)

-          Changed Airplane Icon in Map/XGauge view for better visibility

-          Fixed problem in Wx Edit screen where entering fractional visibility in the METAR string, parsing and then applying would result in an unhandled exception

-          Added support for fractional visibility entry (i.e. 0.25 or ¼) in the Visibility text field of the Wx Edit screen

-          Fixed problem where right-clicking the MAP screen with no flight plan loaded would result in an unhandled exception (now an informational message is shown asking the user to first load a plan with departure and destination specified before adding waypoints)

-          Corrected Latitude/Longitude/Elevation of FALE station in the default-supplied database

-          Fixed problem with Cirrus_Overcast03 texture being improperly handled when creating or installing Snapshots in some cases

-          Fixed problem with Cirrus_Overcast03 texture failing to properly build in some cases which may result in black/gray rectangles being depicted instead of proper cirrus cloud sprites

-          Fixed problem with cirrus texture handling when used with Turkish language settings which would result in black/gray sky or rectangles

-          Fixed problem where certain water textures may fail to copy/install in some cases

-          Fixed problem where machine code generation could fail in some isolated cases causing unnecessary reactivations on a single system

-          Various documentation edits to further explain or better clarify certain elements

-          Fixed problem in Wx Edit screen where deleting the only cloud layer or last cloud layer could result in an unhandled exception

-          Improved DWC very high-altitude aloft temperature handling (between 50K and 90k ft) to avoid unrealistically-low temperatures

-          Fixed UI Screen Size problem that affected some users, causing the UI to be “cut off” and partially inaccessible

-          Changed handling of upgrade verification check to properly allow product name of ASE or ASA during ASE/ASA upgrades (previously ASE must have been chosen regardless of ASE/ASA product being upgraded from)

-          Fixed problem with interpolation of pressure in some areas (mainly near north or south pole) which could result in lower than expected pressure and resulting in higher than expected indicated altitudes (thus resulting in lower altitudes flown using standard 29.92/1013 Kollsman setting for high altitude flight)

-          Changed handling of DWC depiction processes in order to eliminate problematic condition where the area around the aircraft might depict a clear-cloud scenario when surrounding (and reported) conditions include clouds

-          Fixed interpolation issue with surface winds which could result in far-away stations having too much influence with wind direction/speed in some cases

-          Fixed location of DAUO station in distribution data (must be updated from server or manually added via edit stations to affect existing installation)

-          Added Airport/Data station ESNZ in local data for new distributions (must be updated from server or manually added via edit stations to affect existing installation)

-          Added automatic warning and de-selection of confliction option when ATC Wind Lock and Suppress on Ground options are both enabled (which would prevent proper wind updates and ATC lock operation)

-          Fixed problem with rain/precipitation not properly depicting below 0ft MSL

-          Enhanced behavior of voice ATIS/flightwatch so that duplicate Inches/MB reports in some METARS default to Inches instead of QNH during voice readbacks

Hello everyone,

We're pleased to announce our next product: Active Sky 2012!

Active Sky 2012 expands on the award-winning Active Sky Weather Engine and combines it with brand new high-definition graphics, fully integrated to debut what we call "Total Weather Immersion".

Over 16GB (uncompressed size) of high-definition graphics textures in dozens of categories are at your fingertips - accompanied by advanced imaging techniques including high-quality down-sampling and user-recoloring.  Easily create your own texture variations with a few clicks of the mouse.  Route awareness, weather-influenced selections, custom themes, universal graphics add-on integration and a clean, intuitive interface provide robust command of the total experience.

For more information including feature list, screenshots, and video, please see the new Active Sky 2012 page at www.activesky2012.com !

Please note that this was sent as a newsletter from the HiFi Support Center which you have registered.  If you'd like to remove yourself from future newsletters, please edit your account settings at http://support.hifitechinc.com.

Greetings from the HiFi Support Center, and Happy Holidays!

We will be operating with reduced staff during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  Support requests will be handled as quickly as possible but may be slightly delayed if the request occurs during an off-day.  Thank you for your understanding!

We have upgraded our support system with a brand new Support Center in order to better serve our customers.  New features include a knowledge base, comprehensive ticket tracking, product registration and more.

This new system will replace our previous support mechanisms, and old "accounts" were not able to be moved over due to extreme technology differences.  Please register for a new account and register your products to take advantage of this new system.  Note that Support Center accounts are separate from all other accounts including HiFi Shop Accounts, and a Support Center account is required to obtain Technical or Order support.

Reminder: All official support will now occur exclusively via this new HiFi Support Center available at: support.hifitechinc.com.  Thank you!