My Experience with Prepar3D

[mtrunz 3]

Just wanted to share my experiences with Prepar3D!

 

Yesterday I decided to do a clean install of my machine! So I installed Windows 8 64-bit and instead of FSX I decided to purchase the Prepar3D Academic version, so that I can continue to learn the Airbus X Extended (besides the fact that it seems to be the successor of FSX). I downloaded it, installed it and it just works. I can fly for long periods of time without the application doing a CTD. Graphics look somewhat better on Prepar3D but its pretty much very similar to FSX.

 

Even connecting to VATSIM was extremely easy. I have Google'd and heard all these issues about flying online on Prepar3D, it really is very simple! All I did is download Squawkbox 4, made sure I just install it by itself (if you don't have FSX installed its the only way anyway AND i skipped the SimConnect installation as part of Squawbox because Prepar3D has already installed it, perhaps even a newer version) and when you run Prepar3D and open SquawkBox (it runs in a separate application so you need to have Prepar3D on windows mode) and connect to VATSIM, it automatically knows what airport your in at Prepar3D and your all set! That's it!

 

So far I'm very happy with Prepar3D! Just keep in mind the only addons I have currently for Prepar3D that I used also in FSX is Airbus X Extended, Ground Services X and OpusFX. I have never bought any scenery addons for FSX because even though i'm sure it looks amazing, i don't think its worth it.

 

Considering that Prepar3D is in active development, I can't wait how much better they will start to improve it further!

 

Hope that helps people deciding to use Prepar3D in the future!

[XPX64man 130]

You may have persuaded me to try it again. I tried P3D before, a while back, and had some CDT. So when I bought my new computer, I just installed FSX, which is running great. Like you said, P3D is the future, and now there are many addons that are being designed for it. Even Orbx is setup for P3D.

I may have to have another harddrive installed in my computer.

I am also using X-Plane 10, both 32 and 64bit versions. I love the new 727 by FlyJSim.

It may be fun to have three different flight sims on one computer.

[mtrunz 3]

You may have persuaded me to try it again. I tried P3D before, a while back, and had some CDT. So when I bought my new computer, I just installed FSX, which is running great. Like you said, P3D is the future, and now there are many addons that are being designed for it. Even Orbx is setup for P3D.

I may have to have another harddrive installed in my computer.

I am also using X-Plane 10, both 32 and 64bit versions. I love the new 727 by FlyJSim.

It may be fun to have three different flight sims on one computer.

 

That's awesome! Maybe you can do like side by side comparisons of graphics of the same default airport at the same spot or write a comparison. I tried the demo of X-Plane but I couldn't get plane of the ground (but that was before I got my joystick)! But what I do know is that X-plane is a pretty solid software and I'm sure even that will get major upgrades in the future! But yeah like I said...so far Prepar3D is very stable and very good on the frame rates as well.

[mtrunz 3]

I just wanted to do a follow up in terms of connecting to VATSIM using Squawkbox on Prepar3D!

 

Everything worked fine using the installation method I mentioned at the beginning of the thread, the only problem I found was that when you connect using Squawkbox I couldn't see other airplanes! Here is why:

 

When you install Squawkbox it tries to find MicrosoftFlight Simulator. I didn't have it installed so when I just told it to install Squawkbox itself. That didn't install the textures airplanes that came with it (simobjects/airplanes). What I did installed FSX then re-installed Squawkbox, found the texture airplanes (folders Squawkbox and VIP inside sim objects/airplanes) and copied them from fsx into Prepar3D. Then I noticed when loading Prepar3D and afterwards connecting to vatsim with Squawkbox, Prepar3D constantly froze. What I did was made a copy of prepar3d.exe and renamed it to fsx.exe on the root folder and then use fsx.exe to startup prepar3d and that solved every issue I had!

 

Now I can fly online and also see all the other airplanes flying on Vatsim inside Prepar3D! I actually uninstalled FSX and made a backup copy of the airplane texture folders so that in the future I can install Prepar3D and fly online without installing Fsx!

 

Hope that helps anybody trying to get it to work

[Bartbear 10]

That's awesome! Maybe you can do like side by side comparisons of graphics of the same default airport at the same spot or write a comparison.

 

Look here to:

 

http://#####.wordpress.com/fsx-vs-p3d-performance-comparison/

[JimmiG 244]

Look here to:

 

http://#####...nce-comparison/

 

I agree with this:

So, FPS have not been everything, but landing with 22fps in FSX and 22fps in P3D, are two completely different things.

 

I don't think meassuring average FPS over a full second is granular or accurate enough to tell you what's going on. A better way to meassure would maybe be a histogram showing frame latency (ie. time between frames). I think that even though P3D and FSX both produce the same number of frames in one second (say 22), the latency would be more evenly distributed at around 45ms in P3D, where as it would be all over the place in FSX.

[simmerhead 885]

Try changing to averageframerate instead. It will show average and high/low fps.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/Products/Games/FSInsider/freeflight/Pages/CustomizingShift-Z.aspx

 

 

[WR269 367]

I just wanted to do a follow up in terms of connecting to VATSIM using Squawkbox on Prepar3D!

 

Everything worked fine using the installation method I mentioned at the beginning of the thread, the only problem I found was that when you connect using Squawkbox I couldn't see other airplanes! Here is why:

 

When you install Squawkbox it tries to find MicrosoftFlight Simulator. I didn't have it installed so when I just told it to install Squawkbox itself. That didn't install the textures airplanes that came with it (simobjects/airplanes). What I did installed FSX then re-installed Squawkbox, found the texture airplanes (folders Squawkbox and VIP inside sim objects/airplanes) and copied them from fsx into Prepar3D. Then I noticed when loading Prepar3D and afterwards connecting to vatsim with Squawkbox, Prepar3D constantly froze. What I did was made a copy of prepar3d.exe and renamed it to fsx.exe on the root folder and then use fsx.exe to startup prepar3d and that solved every issue I had!

 

Now I can fly online and also see all the other airplanes flying on Vatsim inside Prepar3D! I actually uninstalled FSX and made a backup copy of the airplane texture folders so that in the future I can install Prepar3D and fly online without installing Fsx!

 

Hope that helps anybody trying to get it to work

 

I highly recommend the Estonia migrator tool, costs around $10 and it will save you all the hassle of adding any add ons non native to P3D, like SB4 or FSINN.

 

[mtrunz 3]

I highly recommend the Estonia migrator tool, costs around $10 and it will save you all the hassle of adding any add ons non native to P3D, like SB4 or FSINN.

 

Do I need to have FSX installed to use the migrator tool?

[b0gey_dead_six 11]

Do I need to have FSX installed to use the migrator tool?

 

No, you do not need FSX installed.

[kand 205]

I was a die hard P3D convert but recently cancelled my subscription, I find FSX running Dx10 now gives much better performance than P3D 1.4 so for me its just what i want, I will certainly go back to LM once they release the DX11 version of P3d though, I think we are very lucky that LM have allowed the consumer market to taste their product!

[Ian McPhail 55]

Kand: I respect your conclusion, but I find overall P3D has given me the better experience.

 

However the faster modern GPUs and CPUs now mean that FSX has moved from a lumbering log to a good experience, But as it will never be updated, whereas for whatever imputed reason (and the forums are full of gloom and doom) P3D is being upgraded.

 

And frankly apart from a few developers, most others seem to have accepted P3D as a legitimate platform.

[astroavion 2]

I tried installing SB 4.0 on P3D without ever having FSX installed; only FS9 (uninstalled). It says it cannot find any microsoft flight sim product. Of course, because there is none.

 

Am I even using the right SB version for P3Dv3 on Win8.1?