Really hoping that MSFS will allow these quality free modders that are really the ones saving the sim for all the long time simmers, all the tools that they require.
I really feel that these modders are helping to support the community in possibly more ways than MS by being able to be hyper focused on a specific aircraft!
They talked about the topic in the latest Q&A. Link Below, timestamped at 42m50s
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1162688828?t=00h42m50s
It’s a Twitch VOD, so it won’t be around forever. I’m sure someone can link to a YouTube video once that becomes available.
Now linked via YouTube, timestamped at 36m42s, which should be the same as the Twitch clip.
I feel like they missed the point a little, talking about an API which requests data from a server. I can understand why they don’t want/can implement it, but I’d assume the weather is loaded into the simulator itself. Why can’t we gather data from the simulator itself? Maybe a misunderstanding because of the term API?
I was confused as well, because Seth seemed to be talking about an API to WRITE weather data to the sim, and then the complications of that written data conflicting with the Asobo weather model.
I thought the request for a weather API was primarily to be able to READ the sims weather data, and from that, allow 3rd parts devs, to develop tools to provide that weather information in various ways to the pilot.
ie Generate ATIS and Metars for airports, based on the SIM’s current depiction of “Real Weather”, and opposed to current Real World Metars and Atis, obtained via the Internet, that often are different to the Sim’s weather, be it MSFS Real World, or a weather preset (or even weather injected by another App, such as “REX WX Force”)
Just rewatched. Looks like around 43:40 (Twitch) / 37:31 (Youtube) they say:
We are completely open to discussing an API, which allows plane makers to access the data that we have currently in RAM.
Which seems good, right? I’m a little suprised myself that this is currently not part of the SDK. Seems quite essential to airliner development. I can understand that an API that pulls weather data from the server is not feasible. But loading from RAM seems like the better option anyways, for users who are using custom weather, or using software like REX WX Force.
They do mention that they don’t have the weather data for the entire planet in RAM, which sounds logical. Anyone have an idea what range we can think of with regards to the loaded data?
At first I thought they were not talking about an API for Wx RDR/GPWS but API for 3rd party Wx engine…now it make a bit sense. I’m surprised it is the “licensing” issue which is preventing them to make a working Wx RDR etc? But they just have to figure out a way to do it! “Modern(*Wx RDR is not a new thing at all)” aircraft without the Wx and terrain awareness system is plainly unacceptable for a FLIGHT SIMULATOR!
I’m not sure the Asobo and MS FS team understands how critical this is for high fi planes… very disappointed.
Definitely only needs to read the data in the airplane.
I’m not familiar with the SDK of this and previous flight simulators, but from what I can tell by reading the initial post of this topic, FlyByWire wants an API, where you can request weather from a specified area. Microsobo are saying that they are hesitant to implement this, due to licensing issues. Which is understandable. Having the ability to request weather and terrain data around the globe makes it easy for malicious users to gather all the data Meteoblue and Bing offers, for free.
However, I can also see that P3D has a SimConnect data bus available to request similar data form. I’m not sure about the specifics of this one, but I assume it can only return weather data that is currently loaded into the simulator. If developers more familiar with this system can comment on this, greatly appreciated.
If the system FBW linked in their initial post does indeed pull from RAM, I don’t see why it cannot be implemented into FS2020.
I’m also suprised by the lack of mentions of custom weather presets and external weather injectors, like REX. This weather data is not subject to licensing issues, and I assume is also loaded into RAM. Is there a fundamental difference between live weather, and custom weather, thus making it so we need two different backend API implementations to read the data?
Would love to hear from people more familiar with the SDK or Asobo about this!
We have a similar opinion about this. We don’t need an API that allows us to poll weather data from location X while flying at location Y. We simply need access to weather data from location X while flying at location X, and obviously, the data from this area is available within the sim (or in terms of Asobo, in the RAM). This could be live data of that area or interpolated data (currently in use by the sim at the time of flight).
The mis-interpretation of this fact and the mix-up with the other request that explicitly demands for access to inject weather is quite confusing. Hopefully, they give this thread a closer look
Well … not quite…
Currently MSFS gets it weather from many places, but the REAL World weather that MSFS gets does NOT always match the Real Word weather as obtained from other Internet Aviation Services.
So when flying on MSFS with “MSFS real Weather”, there is n way to get the correct ATIS information as depicted in MSFS, out to any sort of external app, or even to a MSFS gauge, like a GPS .
This begs the question, when flying in MSFS, and tuning the COM radio to an Atis, some distance away, how is it getting that weather, and from where ?
Is it already in the players sim, or is it requested from the MS servers ?
I would maintain, that when flying in MSFS, with whatever weather one is experiencing in the Sim, the MSFS Atis/ASOS etc weather should be what is actual IN THE SIM, not what is collected from some other real World Internet service.
We also would like to be able to retrieve METARs or sufficient data to create METARs at a given airport, and ideally also wind data at arbitrary levels and locations. Currently you can get a METAR with live data for an airport, but only for airports that have live data, and only live real-world data, not actual in-sim weather.
Maybe the ability to get weather from enroute or destination airport is a justification for using a program like REX, that is based on real world Metars.
You can get the current weather via meta for any location, and when you get there, it is what you expected, because the weather there is also set by the same Metar (or a slightly updated, current one)
Its a slight twist in wanting to get the weather at any place in the sim, instead, you get the real world Metar, and have that Metar weather drive the sim’s weather.
When using MSFS “Real weather”, how big an area of weather is actually “IN RAM” at any particular time, and is it a circle around the plane’s current position, or more an Oval, bases on the plane’s heading ??
I believe this hasn’t been mentioned here as of yet, but in the patch notes for SU6 are two new pieces inside the API which allow METAR retrieval.
SDK
JS API
- Added “GET_METAR_BY_IDENT” (ident) call to JS facility listener to get a METAR by airport ident
- Added “GET_METAR_BY_LATLON” (lat, lon) call to JS facility listener to get the closest METAR by latitude and longitude
From: Release Notes (1.20.6.0) Sim Update VI Now Available! - Microsoft Flight Simulator
That is what I refer to above. It doesn’t actually get the sim weather, but live weather METARs, which are only availalbe for airports the weather provider has data for, and doesn’t match sim weather if you don’t use live weather.
Voted!
I would really like to see weather radar in the CRJ!
Carenado has had weather radar in the Seneca since it first came out. If they don’t use WASM, then what do they use instead, and why can’t Aerosoft and the others use that too?
I think the problem is in the amount and quality of data they can get from the sim/servers or whatever.
A320 is a (duh!) high quality airliner with high quality weather radar. It can predict wind shear, turbulence etc.
Also, getting certain weather conditions along the route are necessary for implementation of high quality VNAV.
Right now, all that the weather radar can do is only show precipitation, that’s all and it’s probably not enough.
Feel free to correct me anyone.
Currently, the only way to obtain weather and terrain radar is through the BingMap JS interface, which only renders a static image that can barely be customized at all (and only cosmetic customizations).
From the initial post in this thread. The devs that do use a weather radar, probably make use of this function. I’m not sure what the limitations are of the customisation of this static image.
I’m guessing Aerosoft cannot customise this image enough to have it match the real life counterpart, and thus have decided to leave the feature unimplemented for the time being.
Critically important. Should be in the next update
I don’t understand why FBW removed the RADAR from the 32nx while the RADAR SDK is empty. FBW please reimplemented Asobo RADAR in the 32nx there is no sense