I've corrected my post. Honestly, you seem to have overlooked the conditional phrase "...from the perspective of a "simmer"..."For the average simmer, it does not appear to offer any real advantage at all.

Actually no, you indicated that the product was vastly inferior given that you thought it was missing components that it isn't. I just thought it was unnecessarily negative. You haven't pointed out the new features, bug fixes or performance enhancements. Looking through the Prepar3D forums, there is a new Multiplayer system coming, the "gamer shell", ground capabilities and so on. I would just like to see us have a conversation on the product that is based on actual use rather than third-hand information. I am a user of Prepar3D and although it is still showing its FSX roots, I am excited about where this is going. I think that for the average gamer/casual simmer, the product is not for them, stick with FSX and Flight when it comes out. However, if I had dropped a few thousand dollars on sim hardware, would I rely on a product that is no longer supported, or opt for a product that is supported and has a roadmap. I particularly like the fact that the developers and team are accessible and that we can actually talk to them as opposed to facing the black wall of nothingness that was the ACES Studio. Thanks for your time, I appreciate the conversation. I didn't want to appear to be harsh. I guess my FSX passion is moving on!

Thanks for your time, I appreciate the conversation. I didn't want to appear to be harsh. I guess my FSX passion is moving on!

I actually do have the developer's subscription but thus far haven't really had the time to do much with it, hence my "in-depth ignorance." From my POV it's simply a hedge against the future so to speak. After all, $9.95/mo for two working "seats" plus the developer tools isn't what anyone would call a "deal breaker!" Even if one never even used it all, just having ready access to an active forum is worth that small ongoing expense!Having been professionally engaged in FS development for nearly twelve years now though, I've come to appreciate the danger of "unrealistic expectations" on the part of consumers. For the vast majority of simmers, this product truly does not offer much -if any- real benefit. For the 1% or so who have any experience at all in development or who have an investment in home cockpit hardware, it's a huge blessing. Almost a "God send" so to speak... :(

Am I missing something. but what is the advantage in using Prepar3D to those developing for FSX - are the available tools better?

Am I missing something. but what is the advantage in using Prepar3D to those developing for FSX - are the available tools better?

Gerry, I honestly don't know yet myself. I'm still struggling to finish downloading the rather huge source files. I've got two other machines on my network downloading, but last night's downloads failed to write to my NAS correctly, so I'm having to try d/l'ing again... :(

I’ve browsed the Prepar3D SDK docs on their site and didn’t see any differences.It’s possible there are some minor tool changes – not documented, or I may have missed them.I think the only advantage to supporting P3D is a potential second market.

Ahhh DirectX Guages for starters?Kind of undoes an evil in FSX... heck even x-plane has non cpu rendered guages :)