PilotEdge Forums

Hey everyone,
Trying to gauge whether it's worth buying.
Most of my flying down low in a Baron and occasionally in the 20's with the B200. I don't care about eye candy as much as authenticity. I would like to see weather depicted as close to the real Metars as possible. I would love to hear some opinions as I fairly new to XP. If this isn't the way to get the most realistic wx depicted, what are you doing?

Thanks,
Dave

I can't speak for Skymaxx because I don't use it. xEnviro is fairly new and honestly, it's the most accurate weather/ environment I have seen for X-Plane yet. That said, I haven't really seen Skymaxx in action other than screenshots, so I can't say exactly how it compares with xEnviro.

Both are worth checking out for sure. Watch some youtube videos of both and decide which you like better.

Not at all. xEnviro is the way to go. Like Shawn said, it's a new product, so it can be a bit rough around the edges sometimes - but it creates very accurate weather and a very immersive experience that I've never found in any other product. I fell in love the first time I found myself cloud surfing on an approach, popping in and out of the layer.

I am one of the suckers who has bought SkyMaxx Pro upgrades every time they release a new one, including the Real Weather Connector. Those products have not materially improved in years. Core design principles are flawed, such as the box of clouds around your aircraft in an otherwise empty sky and inaccurate weather depiction, especially what should be IMC but isn't. I forget who said it first, but the statement "I bought the new SkyMaxx Pro just to make sure I still hate it" sums up the relationship well. I will never buy another SkyMaxx product, and I wholeheartedly endorse xEnviro.

On the 4th, I'm interviewing (live) the creator himself.

If you still have specific questions about the addon, please come ask yourself and get a direct answer straight from the developers of SMP.

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6963

Taking a look at the type of flying I do as I described in my original post, a better question would be...is it worth buying one of these weather engines or stay with the X-Plane 11 default weather?

Dave

I have both "Skymax+RWC+NOAA" and xEnviro.

Skymaxx is pretty.

xEnviro is realistic, you just cant go back after you see the clouds all the way to to horizon.

I hope it helps.

I have both xEnviro and SM4. I'm using xEnviro exclusively now mainly because of the horizon to horizon coverage and variety of cloud formations. The 2D textures haven't been a deal killer for me but I can understand that those that spend a good deal of time with external views may have a gripe or two. I can't imagine going back to Skymaxx at this point.....not that's it's terrible and there will certainly be those that understandably prefer it.

I also have both SMP4+RWC and xEnviro. Agree fully with the above comments. xEnviro is a far more accurate representation of actual METAR conditions than SMP4 and I run it exclusively now. And yes, xEnviro is worth buying vs. staying with default.

Thank you everyone for the feedback. xEnviro it is.

boevad wrote:Thank you everyone for the feedback. xEnviro it is.

Good call!