VATSIM Altitude Disagree with In-game Altitude

It’s fixed by the dev from vPilot.

Is the altitude always matches the altitude IRL? If the plane indicate an altitude in the plane is it completely sure it matches the height the plane actually are located at even if we have the pressure set correctly? I would like to see a real meassurement like that. I think the Meteoblue graph is more realistic than the first you did. We have a simulated weather in the sim. The more static things they add like FSX had (METAR) the less simulated weather we will have.

Maybe they should calibrate the altimeters in the sim to ISA

How they manage difference in altitudes:

When designing the structure of airspace where air traffic control is provided, an ATS authority will have to consider annual and seasonal variation of temperature when establishing the minimum flight altitudes. This is what VATSIM needs to do, adapt to temperature changes.

To me VATSIM making the weather unrealistic in MSFS. I thought we all wanted a realistic weather in a flight simulator. It’s up to VATSIM to adapt to the realistic weather we had in MSFS at release not the way around.

What about a filter?

If sim= MSFS, use pressure altitude scenario 2
Else, use pressure altitude scenario 1
End

Obviously, I’m sure more complicated than that

Why still looking for solutions - it’s fixed!

Perfect. :slight_smile:

What was the fix then?

vPilot - 3.3.0 - Released 2022-04-08

c975526 Implement MSFS altimetry workaround.

I don’t know what he did, but it’s working great now!

Sounds perfect that they adapting to the new system. I just wish VATSIM could have adapted to the new global Meteoblue only weather too that MSFS was released with. Now after su7 with METAR implemented i can see so much things that makes it step back to old type of weather with transitions between different weather sources. It was something i had left behind me in this sim but now we are back again with those.

Would have loved a system the made METAR reports from the weather that happening in the sim instead of using real METAR to create weather because they are so limmited in detailed data of weather. I know they are more accurate but not fluid and does not fit into the Meteoblue data.

YES, that would be great for MSFS players, and they, with ATC could use those MSFS derived Metars – for MSFS pilots, but then what about FSX, P3D & XP pilots who do not receive the MSFS weather …

I think most of those would upgrade to the more realistic weather system anyway :slight_smile:

I don’t think many uses windows 95 anymore. If they do they can’t use new software.

?? A lot of Pilots (And ATC) on Vatsim are using P3D & XP

I know they do. But why not have two atc platforms to choose from? Vatsim msfs and VATSIM legacy?

I know the users would split up but thats needed to be able moving forward. Changing MSFS weather to METAR is moving back.

I wonder how MSFS would have looked like if they was choosing to made it compatible with Windows 95. I think many still uses that to feel nostalgic. But not when they want to use new software.

Cannot see that happening – its difficult enough to get ATC staffed for just one Platform !!

Personally, my choice is easy … Pilot Edge !! (Problem Solved)

Then we will never see a simulated weather system in any new flight sim. To me that sounds like ATC is more important than the actual flight environment right? To me the atmosphere is more important to behave correctly in a flight simulator. And i really know a simulated weather can’t be perfect match to METAR. And i also know a weather created by METAR can’t be simulated. Because simulated weather can’t stay at METAR values for 30 minutes.

I’m not familiar with that thing but if i understand it correct they do real observations of weather in the sim?

Perry, I’m not sure what you are talking about here. With the workaround I added in vPilot, MSFS pilots can use real weather on VATSIM and not cause problems for ATC or other pilots.

But many here at the forums tells me they needs the weather to match METAR to be able to use VATSIM. To me it feels wrong to change the weather we had in the sim to match those METAR readings. It creates unrealistic transitions in weather as we can see since su7 in MSFS. To me it feels like the thing you fixed is the most important thing to match to be able to use VATSIM right? All of the other things differ anyway depending on what weather engine is in use. Why completely change the weather locally around airports just to fit those METAR? I liked the weather we had pre su7 without any kind of transitions. It felt so much more realistic. Especially pre su4 when they also deactivated gusts. Wind is never constant and the wind on a METAR is just meassurement of winds in a 10 minutes period of time. Wind is not locked at the METAR value IRL.

Besides the thing you have fixed is also predictions right? Because outside of airports predictions is used to decide pressure enroute even in VATSIM. Or am i completely wrong here?

Many says prediction is fantasy weather. To me it feels more real than any other type of weather. Weather is a global thing. Not local formed around an airport.

Edit: I must say really well done finding a workaround :smiley:

Those people are wrong. You can use any weather you want on VATSIM.

Then why did they need to completely change weather system in MSFS? I really like Meteoblue weather. Most realistic weather i ever used in a flight simulator. Meteoblue is the closest we can get a complete weather simulation in a flight simulator. Meteoblue simulates weather. I don’t care if it’s 12 hours old, 1 day old or a year old. It simulates weather and has always been live-weather. Everybody sees the same weather at the same time in the simulator. If i made an observation of weather at an airport you could use that to plan your flight at that airport i made an observation from. Thats weather to me. The weather works like that IRL. If i made an observation here where i live right now you could use that to plan your flight from my location. I could have used that to control you landing here too. Same thing in the sim as well. No need of real METAR to change Meteoblue weather. Only the need of in sim observations from users or from automatically generated METAR-reports from the weather occuring in the sim.

Many here on the forums are good at reporting weather doesn’t match real METAR then i think those people would have skills making a METAR-report from the sim weather right? Best would have been if Asobo rendered a METAR based from Meteoblue data. They can render that data into visual weather then they for sure could make a simple METAR-report from it.

On VATSIM as controllers in our radar clients we get METAR updates from the real world (sometimes a little delayed) and go off of those. So if you ask for an altimeter check, I’m going to give you what the altimeter is in the real world METAR. When we set up runways, we go off of real world conditions (and SOPs) to determine runway use and whether we are using visual approaches or instrument approaches.

If you want to add some realism to the mix, then you should fly with real weather turned on so that all of those conditions above match. That’s where the METAR blending comes in.

If you want to use your own weather, then it is fine, but it will take away some realism. You will be responsible for your own altimeter settings and will need to make sure you are always using the correct setting. You will be limited to whatever runways the controllers are using for winds also. This means you may have to land with that strong tailwind that you don’t want. You can request any runway you want, but don’t expect every controller to fulfill that request, especially if it is busy. Might end up stuck in a holding pattern for an hour+ waiting on your preferred runway.

It’s best if people are all using the same weather so that there are no issues with runways, no issues with separation due to everyone using different winds aloft, no altitude issues with incorrect altimeter settings (easier for me to tell you “verify altimeter 30.04” than for you to look up what your current pressure is), etc.

Really good with a good response :smiley: But i don’t think a simulator should adapt for a 3rd party tool. I understand it’s much better if the weather match the weather ATC controlling against. But a METAR to me isn’t a good way of creating weather realistically. It’s a good tool to use planning and predict the weather that could be on the runway but even in reality those METAR doesn’t match the condition. Thats why go around exists. In this sim i bet nobody is going around because the winds are set at METAR values constant. And if METAR says VFR thats what will be there for 30 minutes. I’ve seen weather that changes to low visibility to clear in seconds. But now in the sim we know for sure it will be a fog circle around the airport for 30 minutes if METAR say so.

It would have been realistic if those using VATSIM used the weather occured in MSFS instead. Because it’s there we are flying not in the real world. With maybe switch that toggles between METAR and MSFS users or something. I don’t know really just that vatsim adapt not MSFS. But thats too late now right. They already try to adapt for VATSIM. I don’t like it. I hope they get it right. I’m not using VATSIM as you know and i enjoyed the weather in MSFS. It was the best weather i ever experienced in a sim.

Why not just have a automatically switch near ground to turn it to METAR weather that our computers produce and then when leaving airport it could have switched over to Meteoblue. Thats also blending and had matched VATSIM and that would not required them to completely change the weather system. Like 3rd party addons did it but integrated into a setting for live-weather with a toggle on/off for METAR weather.

I agree, but I think we are at a point where technology hasn’t really caught up to give us a good solution. As you said, METAR’s are good for some flight planning purposes, but in real world you wouldn’t expect the conditions in the METAR to exactly match what you see when you get there. For instance listen to ATC on LiveATC at an airport where there is bad weather, and they are constantly updating the winds and conditions over the radio, but the METAR isn’t getting any updates.

One solution is like you said, online networks could adapt and use meteoblue data, but who knows if that will happen. VATSIM is the biggest online network, but it is completely non-profit. All of the servers, programming work, etc are all provided by people who generously donate their time/resources to VATSIM and have been doing so for decades. You would have to find someone that is willing to pay for that meteoblue data out of their own pocket, and then people to donate their time to do all of the coding to update everything. It would be a massive undertaking that may happen one day, but probably not any time soon.