P3D: 64-bit development appears hopeful ;o)

[mgh 89]

 

But who have said that V.2 gonna be 64bit...??

 

To the best of my knowledge no one. My recollection is that Lockheed Martin actually stated that V2 will use DX11 but stated nothing about 64-bit, even when specidfically asked

[virtuali 4,421]

I believe there's some confusion between P3D V2.0, which will introduce DX11 and will be hopefully released this year, and an eventual 64 bit version, which it's more likely a 3-years dev cycle.

 

It took several years for Adobe to release a 64 bit Photoshop, and even more years just to update the Mac version to 64 bit too, and they surely have much larger developing teams.

[tf51d 284]

That really isn't the case. You only need to be running too many high quality addons at the same time to cause an OOM error.

 

This can be managed, in the dll.xml file. by adding the following line in each optional entry (The dll's that are used on every flight leave alone.)

 

<ManualLoad>True</ManualLoad>

 

This will cause FSX to ask at startup whether to load them. It's a little inconvenient, but you can save enough address space, that you can run without OOM's. Since doing this I can now run the NGX without OOM's before I rarely completed a flight without OOMing when flying the NGX. I'm still on 32bit Vista which makes my system even more susceptible to OOM's, then those on Win 7 or 8 64bit. 

[HighTowers 1,434]

but I saw on the prepar3d facebook page that V2 is about 3 years away.

 

3 years away?! I thought LM said 2013.

I'm guessing that this year might be 1 or 2 interim releases. V1.X

go to the prepar3d Facebook page. You don't need an account. There someone specifically asks about it and the response was from the prepard3d Dev team.

 

Maybe its just an extremely conservative response.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Noel 4,504]

OK, I don't see this is copywrited material though maybe it is mentioned in the fine print or what have you, but here is some comment from that forum, w/ links to LM's comments:

 

---------------

Hi,

perhaps you'll get a better impression from the LM Prepar3D forum. A couple of more relevant threads on 64 bit are here:

http://www.prepar3d....viewtopic&t=164
http://www.prepar3d....iewtopic&t=1862
(Beau is one of the developers.)

Accordingly, they are interested in 64bit, but can't rush because of legacy code. Version 2.0 most probably will indeed start as DX11, but not 32bit. Given a possible time frame for 2.0 at the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014 (from my head - search forums) you may get an idea when we can expect 64bit - certainly not anytime soon, but sometime in futue.
 

[Guest]

64bit will break backward compatibility, there just is NO OTHER way around this ... if you really love flight simulation and want it to move forward then you'll have to wait and hope 3rd party vendors make a 64bit version of your add-ons. You can't have it both ways, sorry, just NOT possible.

 

If that is a "deal breaker" for some, then you still have FSX and can keep juggling visuals (and FSX.CFG) and features to stay within the 32bit address space and "be happy". I really don't understand why so many are reluctant to see a 64bit FSX? Your existing FSX 32bit still works??

 

To provide an analogy, if you buy car from BMW, modifiy the engine, wheels, stereo etc. etc., and then BMW release a new model do you expect that all your existing BMW modifications will somehow magically be transferable to a completely new BMW model with a new and improved engine? Some might, most probably not. FSX 32bit to FSX 64bit is the same concept. End users and the 3rd party vendors have no valid right to expect such compatibility.

 

However, with that said, LM indicated V2.0 sometime before 2016 on FaceBook ... I guess V2.0 could come out this year, but then I don't understand why LM would reference 2016? If there is confusion, then LM created it.

 

Beau (from the linked threads) hasn't committed to 64bit at all ... I think people are projecting their "hope" of a 64bit update. In fact, what I've read indicates to me they have NO confirmed plans to move to 64bit ... Beau's response is more a defensive one, not a positive one.

 

64bit FSX will open the door for potential 3rd party products, I mean seriously OPEN THE DOOR ... as in booming sales. It will not happen overnight, it'll be a gradual slow transition ... but NOTHING is lost, you still have your 32bit FSX. Sure, some 3rd party vendors may not make the move to 64bit, but I'm betting most will -- certainly the popular titles. IF 64bit FSX happens, and that's a big IF.

 

But realistically what do we really know about LM's plans? Not much concrete at all ... not even DX11. I see people pointing to links/threads indicating what's going to be in V2.0, but nobody at LM has come out with an exact detail list of what they plan to put into V2.0. "looking into", "good idea", "considering it", ... these are all NOT positive confirmations of V2.0 content.

 

A development project (version) doesn't start without a feature set in the project's specification ... that just doesn't happen (unless you are a 1-2 person development team in a very small company). There will be a timeline, there will be a feature set ... I pay my $9.95/mo to LM and have not receieved any information about what exactly is going into the next version ... maybe I just didn't get the memo

 

But in the meantime we have to juggle OOM's in FSX, but have XP10 64bit, and P3D v1.4.

 

As far as OOM's in FSX ... I know how to limit them, but in doing so I reduce visuals ... so it's a choice of flying the AC with reduced visuals or flying another AC that doesn't OOM with all the visuals I like. In my case I prefer to keep the visuals and fly more simplified AC ... but there are times where I just want to experience the AC and turn down the visuals ... but obviously, the optimal solutions is to have the visuals AND the complex AC ... that just CAN NOT happen in 32bit FSX. The ONLY way out is 64bit.

 

Just think of the potential of 64bit, and you'll soon forget why you wanted to retain compatibility with your 32bit add-ons.

[HighTowers 1,434]

If P3D goes 64 bit, it will break compatibility with all addons that use C++ gauges anyway.

 

Unless they make a separate 32 bit process just for gauge dll's, which will probably reduce performance significantly and is a huge development task.

 

Is this really a big deal?  I dont understand why that would be a big issue. XP went 64bit and soon after the addons had 64 bit updates from what I see. Wouldnt the same thing apply particularly newer addons?

Forgive my programming ignorance. 

[some1 65]

Only the addon developer can do that, because the gauge has to be recompiled. If the developer is willing and able, then sure, in most cases it won't be a big problem. But if the product is no longer supported, or developer doesn't want to support it in P3D, there's nothing you can do.

[mgh 89]

But realistically what do we really know about LM's plans? Not much concrete at all ... not even DX11. I see people pointing to links/threads indicating what's going to be in V2.0, but nobody at LM has come out with an exact detail list of what they plan to put into V2.0

 

Extract form a forum post by Adam Breed of Lockheed Martin (obviously before V 1.4 was released)

 

 

We are not able to provide projected release dates for future versions, but I can say we will be releasing 1.4 shortly. DirectX 11 will only be included in 2.0+.

 

That, combined with other posts, suggests that the intention is to introduce DX11, but i haven't seen anything similar said about 64-bit.  

[jcomm 5,939]

Well, I just installed LM prp3d and am fine with it just as it is now - a clean, smoother, even better in some aspects (weather i.e.) than FSX Gold experience...

 

And, just learned that my preferred flgithsim is still 32 bit, but it might go 64 too in the future... Anyway, just as it is now it outperforms any other sim in terms of flight dynamics! DCS World!

 

So, this stuff of being 64 bit or not, although it makes sense and would be nice to have , isn't by far what makes up a good flight simulator....

[HighTowers 1,434]

Well, I just installed LM prp3d and am fine with it just as it is now - a clean, smoother, even better in some aspects (weather i.e.) than FSX Gold experience...

 

And, just learned that my preferred flgithsim is still 32 bit, but it might go 64 too in the future... Anyway, just as it is now it outperforms any other sim in terms of flight dynamics! DCS World!

 

So, this stuff of being 64 bit or not, although it makes sense and would be nice to have , isn't by far what makes up a good flight simulator....

 

I dont fly P3D as much as I would like to simply because of PMDGs restriction, and since FSX has DX10 workarounds that make it better it works for now. 

 

FSX is a pretty darn good simulator or else it would have never survived this long. It just needs to be optimized, tweaked, and bugs fixed. Add in 64 bit and it will be awesome simulator whatever you call it after. (Prepar3d V2??? consumer edition   :ph34r: )

Think about what could be added in complexity, because it takes more memory, but having no restricitons, this would be huge. We certainly have the hardware to do it. Heck I can run other games with higher FPS and even higher temperature with no problems. Bring on the 64bit!

[gpbarth 12]

I haven't been following this thread and so this might sound like a stupid question, but who will make a 64-bit version of FSX? With MS gone from the scene, and LM using the legacy code for P3D, I thought that FSX was dead in the water, aside from tweaks and making DX10 work.

 

I'd love to know that FSX could be out in a 64-bit version, as I'm very happy with it right now, and that would only make it better. I'd go to 16 Gb of RAM and faster drives if that happened.

 

BTW, since I updated my video card to the GeForce GTX650 - by any means not the top of the line in video cards - I have switched to DX10 and love it! I only have a quad core AMD processor, 1 Gb on the GPU and 4 Gb RAM, but FSX is running a steady 30 FPS with most of the sliders maxed, and I'm running several of the A2A planes and the CoolSky MD-80 Super Pro, REX Essentials + Overdrive, EZCA and Megascenery Earth Florida 2.0.

[Boeing or not going 578]

A x64 version of P3D is useless, what would really be needed is a DX11, so you can actually get good framerates with modern hardware. People who keep getting crashes have bad setups, as I explained earlier. There is no reason for x64.

[RWFeldman 159]

 

a clean, smoother, even better in some aspects (weather i.e.)

 

Im just curious, as P3D has no real world weather. What weather engine are you comparing it to? I assume just the default weather?

[starflight 8]

And, just learned that my preferred flgithsim is still 32 bit, but it might go 64 too in the future... Anyway, just as it is now it outperforms any other sim in terms of flight dynamics! DCS World!

 

Actually, DCS is already 64-bit (as well as 32-bit). Their recent announcement is being read wrong--they're dropping support for 32-bit because it's limiting them, and they will be working exclusively on the 64-bit codebase:

 

As we move forward improving the DCS World environment, we are more and more often running into roadblocks that prevent us from doing so due to supporting 32 bit operating systems. This includes larger and more populated worlds with greater terrain mesh details and textures. By moving to 64 bit support only, we will be able solve this and allow larger missions with more units, and it will allow us to improve visual effects.

 

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3755483/1

 

Edit: original announcement: http://xsimreviews.com/2013/03/21/dcs-roadmap/