XPX or Prepar3d Academic ?

[fs_av 0]

If a person already owns fsx then why buy P3D? It seems like you're buying fsx all over again but at a higher price and lower compatibility.

In my case, I made it clear in a subsequent to my OP, that I never played with or owned FSX.Here's my own quote :

.... FSX, which, todate, I haven't played with or owned.....

:

[carrotroot 77]

Then why not find a place that still sells fsx? It's cheaper and comes with around 80 cities and airports.

[MdMax 233]

Hello !

http://www.prepar3d....par3d-academic/

Operating SystemMinimum: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or 7 (32-bit)Recommended: Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit)

Is it compatible with Wine ? If not, then it's a lot more expensive than XPX, because they don't support my OS and I would first have to buy Windows.I noticed in the EULA that they have a server to activate your copy. How long will this server be available ? Will I be able to activate this program in 3 or 5 years ?If they have nice cities, can you post screen shots of Abidjan, Reims, Metz, Stuttgart and Goin ? Are they using a good base mesh and a detailed roads database ?How detailed are the physics ? For example, the first topic here on this page: can you notice the prop wash in Prepar3D ?Thanks in advance and happy flying. :(

[JasonHarris 96]

Hello !Is it compatible with Wine ? If not, then it's a lot more expensive than XPX, because they don't support my OS and I would first have to buy Windows.I noticed in the EULA that they have a server to activate your copy. How long will this server be available ? Will I be able to activate this program in 3 or 5 years ?If they have nice cities, can you post screen shots of Abidjan, Reims, Metz, Stuttgart and Goin ? Are they using a good base mesh and a detailed roads database ?How detailed are the physics ? For example, the first topic here on this page: can you notice the prop wash in Prepar3D ?Thanks in advance and happy flying. :(

I doubt it runs under wine, if FSX does then there is a chance it will. What agme/software doesnt use server activation these days, so much requires you to be online just to use the stuff, even a lot of commercial addons require online authorisation, you can't get away with it. If you are familiar with FSX then it's the same and you can install most of the scenery from fsx on to it as well. Same with mesh, you can use a good mesh from fsx. Physics are the same as fsx as far as I know, from reading a couple months back they were not focusing on inproving the flight model at this point. Just think about prepar3d as being FSX but in some cases it may be faster and if you have specific crashes in FSX preapr3d may fix that. So, until prepar3d V2.0 comes out it is basically FSX to you and I.

[MdMax 233]

Just think about prepar3d as being FSX but in some cases it may be faster and if you have specific crashes in FSX preapr3d may fix that.So, until prepar3d V2.0 comes out it is basically FSX to you and I.

OK thank you. In 2006, I made tests with the free FSX demo here. Result: I said adieu to Microsoft.Happy flying.

[Comanche 417]

P3d is very much like FSX, but with a more basic looking interface and Shader model 3.0 support. There are some other small changes and bug fixes made to it, but at this point its very simular in content to FSX, although LM are quick to point out P3D is not FSX!.They removed some of the default aircraft that you get with FSX and the Acelleration addon but added some Older lockheed aircraft, I guess in appreciation of there heritage as an aircraft manufacturer. Those planes are old models from Just flight. They also added scenery for Norfolk which is the default start-up airport. Other than that, it uses the same default cities and scenery found in the default FSX. However, all the addon scenery from FSX will work fine with P3d.Two improvements I noticed with P3D over FSX are less blurry scenery. One of my pet peves with FSX was the bluries. P3D seemed to cure some of that, but it still happens from time to time. This was one of the reasons I moved over to XPX (no blurry scenery at altitude).One note: some FSX addon developers do not support P3d and using their scenery with it is in violation of their EULA. Flight 1 is one of those. They will not support using their FSX products in P3d. Instead they have a seperate comercial division that supports P3d but at costs that are way over the average flight simer's wallet..Rob

[JasonHarris 96]

OK thank you. In 2006, I made tests with the free FSX demo here. Result: I said adieu to Microsoft.Happy flying.

OK thank you. In 2006, I made tests with the free FSX demo here. Result: I said adieu to Microsoft.Happy flying.

We are six years down the track. There is plenty of software that didn't run well when it first came out but hardware progressed. I have to say that if I had just done that with XPX it would be adieu to XPX as well but it will also get better through better hardware and software optimisations. If thats your only complaint then you may very well like the performance of fsx or p3d compared to xpx at this point in time. I have both and fsx performs better right now but that could be because of the ATI issue.

[fs_av 0]

@ Comanche and JasonHarris, great posts, both of you ! Very informative.Wonderful to have comparision posts of P3D and FSX, as well as XPX.Thank you and please do keep them coming.***********************************************BTW, for those interested, I started a similar post asking for opnions on FSX or Prepar3d here :http://forum.avsim.n...sx-or-prepar3d/

[Mountain Man 142]

What's a better deal, XPX or the Prepar3D Academic with an eye towards the future ?

X-Plane 10 is definitely the one for you if you're concerned about the future. The P3D academic license is like those student versions of Photoshop or Microsoft Office that are only intended for those actively enrolled in an educational program and require proof of enrollment to be elegible for the discount (in the case of Photoshop and Microsoft Office, the license has to be renewed annually; I assume it's the same with P3D). After that you gotta pony up $200 for the professional license.XPX has the distinct advantage here because for only $30 more than the P3D academic license, you get an actively developed high-end flight simulator that you can use for as long as you have a computer that can run it.It looks like a pretty clear-cut choice. Thanks for asking! :(

[WarpD 824]

I think a few in here are trying to claim Prepar3D offers less than XPlane... I don't think that's being honest.Cost for cost I think XPlane's pricing doesn't match it's actual 'complete package' offering.... and that's when I compare what is in each sim.

[JasonHarris 96]

X-Plane 10 is definitely the one for you if you're concerned about the future. The P3D academic license is like those student versions of Photoshop or Microsoft Office that are only intended for those actively enrolled in an educational program and require proof of enrollment to be elegible for the discount (in the case of Photoshop and Microsoft Office, the license has to be renewed annually; I assume it's the same with P3D). After that you gotta pony up $200 for the professional license.XPX has the distinct advantage here because for only $30 more than the P3D academic license, you get an actively developed high-end flight simulator that you can use for as long as you have a computer that can run it.It looks like a pretty clear-cut choice. Thanks for asking! :(

From my posts I don't think I have encouraged use of p3d so lets be clear about that. Furthermore I don't discourage use of it or think it is a good idea to spread anymore false information about which which has been done in the past and seems to continue to be done. I look forward to seeing what v2.0 brings us as I look forward to advancements in any serious flight simulator. I will buy it if it brings me something I want. To clear up your post MM, where did you get any of your information? Who said you require proof of eligability, who said you should be concerned about the future of p3d? Who said (you didn't you assumed) you have to pony up $200? Whether it's xpx, fsx, prepared or anything else I appreciate informed information and yours contains information I have not heard anywhere before. A number of people have bought p3d academic, to qualify for the licence you must be 'Academic licensing can be purchased for educational efforts at or below the undergraduate level.'. It also specifies home use. If you think you use flight simulators as part of a learning experience then you can get it, we have been told that I just went through the checkout process without purchasing it and it did not ask me for any proof, I stopped just before the payment page. Other people have paid for it and did not require any academic id, enrollment form etc. I appreciate you like xpx but it will stand on it's own merit, not the made up deficiencies of other sims.

[Mountain Man 142]

To clear up your post MM, where did you get any of your information? Who said you require proof of eligability, who said you should be concerned about the future of p3d? Who said (you didn't you assumed) you have to pony up $200?

http://www.prepar3d.com/prepar3d-license-comparison/The academic license is explicitly intended for undergraduate students, so I just assumed like other academic software licenses that it required proof of eligibility. Perhaps I was mistaken, but I did clearly state that it was merely an assumption.That said, given the terms of the licensing agreement, it would seem that it's a matter of personal ethics and one's own conscience if they want to use it for long-term non-academic use.

[JasonHarris 96]

We know we are not allowed to talk about the licensing so we may as well stop. What we do know is that the developers have given us the OK and the only people who are putting up opposition are the guys who have no intention of using it. You showed the license comparison page which shows what you are allowed to do with the license, it's clear from that you cannot use it for commercial use. The academic page says you can use it for classroom, home or educational programs. Anyway, my point was that you said how the license worked, compared it to how others worked and stated it would work the same. It doesn't work that way. You then went on to say XPX has the distinct advantage of being an 'actively developed' high end sim that you can continue to run in the future. You're directly implying p3d does not have this as well. If that doesn't tick all the FUD boxes I don't know what does.

[MdMax 233]

We are six years down the track. There is plenty of software that didn't run well when it first came out but hardware progressed.I have to say that if I had just done that with XPX it would be adieu to XPX as well but it will also get better through better hardware and software optimisations. If thats your only complaint then you may very well like the performance of fsx or p3d compared to xpx at this point in time.

You're right, hardware progressed a lot since 2006, but hardware can't improve software, nor change the features or flight models, nor remove bugs. Hardware can only allow you to display more slides per second, use higher settings, or install more detailed add-ons within many limits. With software you need real support and a strong commitment from the authors. You can possibly replace that with a better open license and an active community, or the source code with a strong knowledge.I ordered X-Plane 10 the 1st day I was able to download and test the demo in November last year, because I noticed that with X-Plane 9 like settings and add-ons, it performed better than X-Plane 9. I could enjoy it immediately and knew the Laminar Research team will continue to improve it and listen to their customers. It was already awesome for a 1st "beta", and I still use X-Plane 10 today with my Core 2 / 8800GT system, with all my X-Plane 9 add-ons.It's nice to see that FSX fans may also have a solution for the future of their favorite software. This may lower the number of desperate comments I'm reading since January 2009. Competition and diversity is good. But I also highly doubt that Prepar3D will attract X-Plane users.

[JasonHarris 96]

You're right, hardware progressed a lot since 2006, but hardware can't improve software, nor change the features or flight models, nor remove bugs. Hardware can only allow you to display more slides per second, use higher settings, or install more detailed add-ons within many limits. With software you need real support and a strong commitment from the authors. You can possibly replace that with a better open license and an active community, or the source code with a strong knowledge.I ordered X-Plane 10 the 1st day I was able to download and test the demo in November last year, because I noticed that with X-Plane 9 like settings and add-ons, it performed better than X-Plane 9. I could enjoy it immediately and knew the Laminar Research team will continue to improve it and listen to their customers. It was already awesome for a 1st "beta", and I still use X-Plane 10 today with my Core 2 / 8800GT system, with all my X-Plane 9 add-ons.It's nice to see that FSX fans may also have a solution for the future of their favorite software. This may lower the number of desperate comments I'm reading since January 2009. Competition and diversity is good. But I also highly doubt that Prepar3D will attract X-Plane users.

If you are happy there is no reason to move, thats not what I am advocating. I am just saying that if you walked away completely from something based on how it worked the day it was released you could be missing out and I am sure you have. At the minimum you have missed out on seeing how good it can be even if it's still not your cup of tea. As I say, if I did the same I would never have bought xpx because the demo did not run well. Like you say, I knew it would improve and so does fsx run better than it did 6 years ago. I don't expect or hope p3d will take away users from xpx, if it pans out well it will be a good progression for people who are happy with FSX and the $$ they have put in to their addons. New users can make their own minds up which way they go. If they are like me they will own them all :)