What am I missiing?

[aerhead1 5]

I keep reading posts in the PMDG page about how great this Prepar3d is, like it's the second coming of the personal sim world. I've also looked at a few youtube clips and comparisons and I don't really get what the fuss is about. I generally can't stand photoreal scenery, and that's the only real difference I notice. And according to the website, it's not even intended for personal use. I know FSX has it's many flaws and aggravations, but I need more evidence on why I would want to pitch it, so I figured i'll mine this forum for info. I may get flamed, but if there's any valuable information in said flaming i'll take it into account. Please help.

[ricka47 611]

For me, it's about using something that has a future.  I thought that X-Plane 10 would be it,  But, for me, it wasn't and I went back to FSX.  I added the DX-10 fixes to FSX and have been very happy.  But, the "guts" of FSX will not change.

 

So, and this is just a personal thing - not everyone feels this way, I like the idea that there are people right now working on P3Dv2.1 and beyond.   Folks who are happy with FSX (and there are many reasons for that), can continue to use it for many years to come.  It's nice that there is a choice.

[RWFeldman 159]

It does give some a warm fuzzy feeling just knowing its not a MS product. Im in it for effect and could care less about the future blah blah. You are correct Aerhead1, there is very little difference. Fog, that you cant use because it destroys performance, HDR lights, which is the same as bloom with the same performance issue and some shadows in the cockpit, which also come with a performance penalty. Overall. you are correct

[Arwen 289]

aerhead1, on 13 Dec 2013 - 12:03 PM, said:

 

 

 

I keep reading posts in the PMDG page about how great this Prepar3d is, like it's the second coming of the personal sim world. I've also looked at a few youtube clips and comparisons and I don't really get what the fuss is about. I generally can't stand photoreal scenery, and that's the only real difference I notice. And according to the website, it's not even intended for personal use. I know FSX has it's many flaws and aggravations, but I need more evidence on why I would want to pitch it, so I figured i'll mine this forum for info. I may get flamed, but if there's any valuable information in said flaming i'll take it into account. Please help.

I've used FSX since v.4.0 (on my older brother's computer), and bought my own copy of FSX when it came out in 2006, and since then have invested hundreds of dollars into FSX addons, in my pursuit of trying to make my FSX flying more realistic. I also own both X-Plane 9 and X-Plane 10. And I was a beta tester for MS Flight (which actually gave me a better feeling of flight than FSX and X-Plane ever did).

 

When I bought a new computer this past summer, I didn't even install FSX, because I no longer wanted to invest any more time and money into an outdated flightsim. So I bought X-Plane 10, in hopes that it would be the future . . . and I was very disappointed! X-Plane 10's "plausible world" never felt very plausible to me, and flying a light GA just felt wrong (it got blown all over the place, like it weighed nothing). The only thing I really liked about X-Plane was it's night lighting and the flight model of helicopters (which were never right in FSX or yet in P3D). [i was also a beta tester for Fly!, which also had excellent flight models, including its helicopters.]

 

After my disappoint with X-Plane X (and with MS Flight), I was feeling like the future of flightsims (at least in what I was hoping for) was pretty bleak. So when I heard that P3D V2 was going to be released this year, I wasn't feeling very optimistic. But they offer a great full refund policy, so I figured that I would give it a try. Boy am I happy that I did! This is, to date, the best overall flying experience I have had in any flightsim. Perhaps you can get somewhat near P3D with FSX, if you buy enough of the right addons, but this was not my experience with FSX (I bought both Ground Environment X and Ultimate Terrain X for FSX, and a bunch of aircraft addons). The only 3rd party addons I added so far to P3D, are FTX Global and A2A's Piper Cub.

 

Is P3D2 perfect? NO . . . there are a LOT of bugs/issues that need to be fixed, and a LOT of 3rd party addons are going to need P3D2 specific versions in order to work correctly. But I'm convinced that the issues will be fixed and we're going to see more and more 3rd party addons for P3D in the next few months.

 

I just updated X-Plane 10 today to the latest version and fired it up for the first time since I've had P3D2 running, as I wanted to see if I have been just imagining that P3D is really that much better. I flew around for a while, and I immediately missed P3D's feeling of reality . . . both in the way the small aircraft feel and in the way the scenery looks, and in all the other little things the are just better in P3D. BTW: running X-Plane 64-bit, I was averaging about 34 FPS in my home area . . . in P3D I'm getting 60 FPS (which is the max I can get on my current monitor, with vertical sync locked). And I have both configured as close to the same as I can get them.

 

Oh, P3D is intended for personal use, just not "Personal Consumer Entertainment" . . . which is due to Microsoft's silly licence restrictions.

[n4gix 4,947]

Oh, P3D is intended for personal use, just not "Personal Consumer Entertainment" . . . which is due to Microsoft's silly licence restrictions.

Indeed. If not personal, just who would it be for then? In any case, this should be the last word on this part of the discussion, as these speculations are simply not permitted here... ^_^

[Kuragiman 227]

I have no desire to change.   With the add-ons I have and the hardware I run, there is little difference to me between the two other than that fact that one cost me $19.99 to buy and the other is $199.99 if you want to remove the logo from LM on your screen 24/7.    While DX11 is nice, a large majority of add-ons do not like this and it's a breaker for now.   As devs start making DX11 compliant add-ons the world will change for the better.    With DX-10 fixer, ENB, REX and ActiveSky going with MegaScenery and FTX Global running... the game looks as good as I need it to look and performs wonderfully.    I would probably have made the switch because it IS in development if the price tag wasn't ridiculous for what it is right now, in my opinion.   If it was retail priced at 49.99-59.99 I would have jumped ship once PMDG came on board.

[DylanM 1,069]

Until you actually try it an see how fundamentally the core engine has changed (both from performance and visual perspectives) trying to make objective comarpsions to FSX is near impossible. Yes the land textures may look the same...because we've installed the same texture replacement packs into both the sims :rolleyes:

 

And "large number of addons don't like DX11" is quite an unqualified stretch - almost all my "old" FSX aircraft installed and work just fine in P3D, and now have automatic cockpit shadows, etc etc...no fixer required. 

[KingGhidorah 209]

I have no desire to change.   With the add-ons I have and the hardware I run, there is little difference to me between the two other than that fact that one cost me $19.99 to buy and the other is $199.99 if you want to remove the logo from LM on your screen 24/7.    While DX11 is nice, a large majority of add-ons do not like this and it's a breaker for now.   As devs start making DX11 compliant add-ons the world will change for the better.    With DX-10 fixer, ENB, REX and ActiveSky going with MegaScenery and FTX Global running... the game looks as good as I need it to look and performs wonderfully.    I would probably have made the switch because it IS in development if the price tag wasn't ridiculous for what it is right now, in my opinion.   If it was retail priced at 49.99-59.99 I would have jumped ship once PMDG came on board.

 

Sounds perfectly reasonable point of view to me, whether one shares your opinion or not.  I Uprated you because I'm getting really tired of repeatedly seeing DylanM handing out demerits for entirely reasonable comments such as yours. No need for people to act like P3D Goons, and I hope that Avsim staff is taking note.

[enamel 4]

You are missing the fact that P3D is an actively developed and supported product. That is the long and short of it, people are excited about a ray of hope for the future of flight simming.

 

If you are happy with FSX, by all means stay with it and enjoy your flights.

[DylanM 1,069]

Sounds perfectly reasonable point of view to me, whether one shares your opinion or not.  I Uprated you because I'm getting really tired of repeatedly seeing DylanM handing out demerits for entirely reasonable comments such as yours. No need for people to act like P3D goons, and I hope that Avsim staff is taking note.

 

My only "dislike" is for blanket staments about rendering or compatibility that aren't empirically based or from firsthand experience. 

[DylanM 1,069]

While DX11 is nice, a large majority of add-ons do not like this and it's a breaker for now.

 

Nope - it was this. Everything else is completely valid IMHO.

[DarkstarF16 72]

I'm going to tell a little story... You go on holiday to some place, and on your travels you discover a vista that just blows you away. You instantly reach for your camera and take lots of pictures.

 

Back home, a friend pops round, and you go on and on about this amazing place you discovered. You reach for your snaps and suddenly, they just don't capture what it was you experienced.

 

It's the same with videos of P3D - those with first hand experience, understand. Those without, don't get it. Of course, everyone interprets what they see differently.

[aerhead1 5]

$199?!!! Is that the basic package price? If so, this debate is over, lol. I love simming, but I do other stuff with my life. I'll stick with FSX. Thanks everyone.

[enamel 4]

The price ranges from $9.95/mo for a dev subscription to $2300 for a Professional Plus license.

You can find the prices here: http://www.prepar3d.com/prepar3d-store/

 

I imagine most of us here, being students of life, opted for the $59.95 Academic version.

[aerhead1 5]

Yeah, I thought the $59.95 price probably the most reasonable for our hobby. I'm still not all that convinced that I'll leave FSX. I'm just a weekend pilot and I'm pretty happy with my setup, but Was curious to see if Prepar3d was really that much better. Pleasantly surprised by the objectivity.