Thinking Prepar3d instead of Flight....think again

[TheFamilyMan 280]

For all those betting on Prepar3d becoming the rightful heir to the FSX thrown, better think again for this is the first clause of the Prepar3d EULA:1. License Grant. Subject to the terms and conditions of this EULA, Licensor hereby grants Licensee a fully paid-up, nontransferable, nonsublicensable, nonexclusive license during the Term of this EULA to use the Software, but only on no more than one computer at any one time, only by no more than one user at any one time, and only for purposes other than personal/consumer entertainment.So there is NO WAY that Lockheed Martin will actively pursue any market for Prepar3d other than commercial/institutional environments engaged in training and/or systems simulations. This is from their online store:Prepar3D® ApplicationTrain for your missions and practice flight plans with Prepar3D®. Lockheed Martin offers Prepar3D for military, government, commercial, training and education applications. As provided in our End User License Agreement, the Prepar3D application is not to be used, offered, sold or distributed through markets or channels for use as a personal/consumer entertainment product.Make of this as you will, but the legalese is clearly stated: Not for consumer entertainment purposes. I guess that their MS licensing agreement has this written into it as well.

Edited January 6, 2012 by TheFamilyMan

[Jean-Paul 167]

Oh no, not again :(

[3-2-1-Now 126]

Wow - someone who actually reads the license! Kudos!!So... why can people register for $10/month? Is there a question somewhere in the purchasing process that stops you if you answer "consumer"?Best regards,Robin.

[GHarrall 494]

For crying out loud!!!! Again..............here is a quote from John Nicol (lead dev at LM) regarding this:"Just to be clear (and trying not to sound defensive!). Anyone can purchase Prepar3D. We do not sell it as an entertainment product and the EULA talks about that, which means that it will not be appearing on the shelves of Best Buy next to Call of Duty any time soon..... I am not sure where the rumour started that we sell only to certain people, but anyone can buy it. It isn't about consumers, but end-use. If you are a pilot, simulation user, student, whatever and want to use it for familiarization, training, taxiing over bugs then go for it. If you are 10 or 110 it doesn't matter. If you want to use it at an arcade game, then buy something else. You can go to our website and purchase it with a credit card and download it. The commercial license version is $499 and we have added a considerable amount of features and made a lot of bug fixes to the code that we were fortunate enough to procure from Microsoft. A list of features can be found on our website at www.prepar3D.com. We certainly have added in bathymetry data to allow the use of submersibles and we have added in a few features for hard-core users that they should find interesting including true multi-channel (spreads the load of the image generator across multiple PCs), update to DirectInput 8 to allow up to 32 axes and 128 buttons per joystick, sensor views (night vision and infra-red), updated landclasses, GPS upgrades and so on. We have also updated and improved the SDK documentation and added more samples for developers. We are also going to be releasing an update version 1.2 of Prepar3D and the SDK in the next few weeks.Those that are looking to test, integrate, develop, investigate etc and therefore do not require a full commercial license can subscribe for $9.95 per month and receive 2 copies of the software. That is an option that many people are taking and I would be glad to see more people come on board and see what they can do with the app! There are no restrictions to joining the developer network.If people are using Prepar3D for commercial activities, then switching to the commercial license is appropriate and required.For Victor, sorry that the website isn't clear enough. I will work with Lockheed communications to try to get some clarity on that. We are just a bunch of engineers and not necessarily the best at marketing!!"Regards,John NicolPrepar3D.I think this is clear enough for everyone.

Edited January 6, 2012 by Glenn Harrall

[JasonHarris 96]

It's already been posted we can't talk about this but a few seem to want to wield the sword of fear. Go read any of JNicols posts.

[3-2-1-Now 126]

Anyone know if LM intend to create a whole new flight model based on reality?Best regards,Robin.

[hmslion 1]

Thanks John for the definitive answer to this.

[snwboardn 87]

STICKY! LOL I have officially bookmarked this page and will use it as a sword when this comes up... Thanks

[TheFamilyMan 280]

Sorry for being so thick. I didn't think to seach for posts from Prepar3d developers, I simply went to their web site to check it out. So in regards to their EULA, is their marketing an exercise in "ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies", for is the flight sim hobby not "consumer based personal entertainment"? For sure, lots of spin can be applied here...crud, this stuff makes me sick at times.

[snwboardn 87]

It all depends on what the definition of "is" is...

[JNicol 17]

:((Sorry couldn't help myself...)

[Johan_Dees 84]

Case closed.

[JNicol 17]

Anyone know if LM intend to create a whole new flight model based on reality?Best regards,Robin.

We created a new SimConnect function called ExternalSim that allows the default internal flight model to be replaced with an external one. Therefore you can use a high-fidelity flight model if you want to and plug it in if you are a developer, or third-party add-on provider that wants to simulate a more complex system, or vehicle. Just as an aside, the existing flight modeling system is very powerful and complex. It is very much under-utilized and very good flight characteristics can be achieved if used properly. I will try to get the existing flight model documentation improved over the course of time. As I have come to understand the existing features, I have become more and more impressed with the work that the previous development team did and we are certainly building upon that.

[JasonHarris 96]

We created a new SimConnect function called ExternalSim that allows the default internal flight model to be replaced with an external one. Therefore you can use a high-fidelity flight model if you want to and plug it in if you are a developer, or third-party add-on provider that wants to simulate a more complex system, or vehicle.

Very interesting, I will have to have a look at the documents a bit more deeply. I know simconnect was lacking in some areas of fsx and I had to turn to fsuipc to extract some information.

[snwboardn 87]

:((Sorry couldn't help myself...)

you silly newbie...