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How is ASVE purchased and
downloaded?
Click the
Buy Now button to transfer to our online sales site!
You'll be able to pay and download immediately. We accept
PayPal and all credit cards.
How big is the ASVE download?
Approximately 95MB for the base product with 256x256 and 64x64
texture resolution sets. Additional texture sets can be
downloaded and installed at any time from the
Downloads page. The 512x512 set is
approximately 90MB and the 128x128 is approximately 30MB.
Do you offer a CD version?
Yes, through SimMarket at
www.simmarket.com.
Will ASVE negatively affect
simulator performance?
All clouds and weather depiction within FS9 will cause a performance
hit, and ASVE is no exception. Most systems with a decent
graphics card (such as ATI 9700 or better) and a 2.0GHZ processor or
better should be able to enjoy many cloud layers and effects with
the higher-quality options with a barely-noticeable performance hit.
Users with lower-end systems can take advantage of the many
different ASVE performance-related options as well as FS9 display
options to fine-tune the acceptable balance of performance/quality.
In addition, ASVE offers DXT and MIP texture modes for increased
cloud performance beyond even stock FS9. Bottom line: If you
can achieve acceptable performance with Stock FS9 and real weather,
it should not be any different with ASVE. It could possibly be
better!
How is support offered?
We are extremely customer-service oriented and interact with our
user-base on a daily basis. We have a forum at AVSIM where
thousands of users, many beta testers and the development team
themselves frequent, and you can usually get a reply to just about
any question within a few hours. We also have a support e-mail
address (support@hifisim.com)
and will generally respond within 24-48 hours (usually sooner).
We are committed to our customer's satisfaction of all our products
and will work with them to solve any problems experienced and/or
update/patch the software as required. We also enjoy receiving
suggestions and feedback on AS technology, so that we may further
improve our products with new enhancements that our users are
looking for!
What's the difference between
[insert graphics add-on of your choice] and the ActiveEnvironment
component of ASVE?
ASVE is a complete weather engine that is directly integrated with
cloud and sky environment texture sets. Such set combinations
are automatically selected based on active weather conditions
(optional) to provide a realistic and always-changing appearance to
your skies. Other cloud/environment graphic add-ons do not
contain a weather engine or related features, and instead focus on
specific textures (such as clouds, waters, sky color, etc).
ASVE and all such graphics add-ons compliment each other by
providing an even greater selection possibility of textures.
Regardless of which textures are used in a given category, ASVE
users will still get advanced FS9 weather depiction technology and
all the great tools, features and effects that make ANY texture look
great!
What's the difference between
ASVE and FS default real-weather?
Pretty much night and day! If you're not satisfied with FS
real weather (we're betting on it since you're reading this!) then
ASVE is your solution. Many inherent problems with FS9 real
weather depiction are solved or minimized by advanced ASVE depiction
technology. Many effects add variety and unpredictability to
your weather. Full control of the weather environment, even on
a local or regional level, is completely possible with a few easy
clicks. We started working on AS over 4 years ago, and with an
endless supply of great feedback and user interaction, we've shaped
the product that our customers have asked for. In short, FS9
weather was designed to appeal to the casual simmer not necessarily
worried about realism and detail. ASVE, on the other hand, is
NOT designed for the casual simmer, but instead for those who want
the challenge and realism that a comprehensive, finely tuned and
long-term weather development effort can provide.
What's the difference between
[insert weather add-on of your choice] and ASVE?
We know of no other weather add-on that even comes close to ASVE in
terms of realism, features, options, weather data access, continuous
active development and customer support. We do however
acknowledge that a few other add-ons that are out there, and can
sincerely respect the effort of the developers. We support and
encourage healthy competition as this only pushes everyone to raise
the bar and in the end the user will always get better, always
improving technology that makes "what is possible" a gray area. With that
said, we are committed to providing our users with the best weather
engine possible and have years of upgrades and new products already
in the works!
What is your refund policy?
We only offer refunds if the software fails to install and run on
the user's system, and this requires that all traces of the software
be removed as well as deletion of the server access ID.
Refunds are granted on a case-by-case basis and requests must be
received within 7 days of purchase to apply. Please read our
features list and system requirements to make sure ASVE is right for
you before you purchase.
What is your update/upgrade
pricing policy?
When you purchase an ActiveSky product, you are purchasing that
version only. Certain free enhancement upgrades and/or service
updates for bug fixes may be made available at HiFi's discretion at
any time. Free upgrades/enhancements are not guaranteed,
however. Brand new products/major new versions may be offered
to previous-version users for a discount at HiFi's discretion for
but again this is not guaranteed.
Is a new AS version in the works?
We're always working on new stuff! But we have no plans for a
new major version release for quite a while... we've just released
ASVE in October 2005! We typically do not release new major
versions more frequently than 1 year apart. When we get within about 6
months of a new product release we will make that information known
on our website and forum.
Why do you charge for major new
product versions?
We don't do a brand new version unless it is significantly
different and improved over the previous version. In
addition, each major version has its own unique set of expenses (of
which a majority is attributed to the HiFi DataNet server/network
system with measurable recurring costs). Since add-on sales
are obtained almost exclusively from the initial launch, releasing
brand new versions is the only way to continue to retain revenue and
support the direct and recurring costs without going to a very
complex and problematic subscription format. Remember, for
each product, you are receiving an unlimited subscription to our
weather network and ANY version is directly supported by HiFi up to
1 year after your purchase.
Do you accept suggestions for
future versions?
Absolutely! We love to hear from our users and feedback is
what shapes our development direction! If you have a feature
you'd like to see, or just general comments or questions, please
contact us at
suggestions@hifisim.com. |
ASVE was programmed by Damian Clark
and graphical texture content was created by Chris Willis.
Support and Usability Design Assistance is provided by Jim Skorna.
Work first began on developing
ActiveSky back in 2001. The first version (original ActiveSky)
was released in early 2002. Since then, we've released
ActiveSky wxRE (December 2002), ActiveSky 2004 (December 2003),
ActiveSky 2004.5 (November 2004), ASV (June 2005) and just recently:
ASV Enhanced (October 2005).
The ActiveSky private beta team is a
core group of approximately 30 members who have been testing the
product's various versions since 2002. They put many hours
into testing and interacting with the development team on a daily
basis. Most of them are actual real-world Pilots and all of
them have extensive simulation and weather experience. Several
members hold advanced degrees in aeronautics and meteorology.
The various ActiveSky versions have
earned numerous awards for Best Flight Sim Add-on Utility and Best
Weather Engine. Our most recent award was given by SimFlight
for AS2004 (Best FS Tool).
Damian Clark, Programmer and Lead
Developer, is a Commercial Pilot Certificate holder with
Multi-Engine and Instrument Ratings.
The HiFi DataNet took over 2 years
to develop and consists of 3 separate servers (2
collection/distribution, 1 collection/control). The system is
responsible for collecting weather data automatically from several
different sources, synthesizing it into station-based data,
archiving snapshots, and providing the real-time or archived data to
AS users in a secure (encrypted) and efficient format. Over 30
gigabytes of weather data are collected and served each day!
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