How many X can we expect in P3D2.X ?

[vgbaron 3,630]

Gerry has a valid point. This IS, after all, a commercial venture designed to be profitable. Point releases are usually free. Major changes are not. I believe that LM will TRY to keep back compat as long as possible with FSX but I expect that will fall back to the individual developers to maintain as time goes on.

 

I guess i am dense but I still do not see that OP's point. This is SOFTWARE-  things will change. If LM goes to 64bit, which I expect they will  down the road, most add-ons we have today will not work.

 

Is that a reason NOT to buy P3D now?  I and I am sure many others have hundresd of $$$ worth of add-ons purchased that are  no longer compatible with FSX, let alone P3D.

 

It is a fact of life.  Live with it or get another hobby.

 

Vic

[gandy 18]

64bit P3D i believe would be version 3 and yes it would break most addons that use a dll for some level of control, while most scenery for 2.x would work it could still have some issues.

 

The good thing about p3d is that you dont have to buy the next major version if you dont want to, there is a lot more addons for 1.4 than 2.x but thats because 1.4 is older but i hope that developers waiting for LM to optimize the sim before they convert addons will do so when 2.3 is released and then it still could be a year before we see those addons in the sim.

 

We are playing a waiting game as v2 is still to young.

[vtracy 0]

Friends, Romans, countrymen! Lend me your ears!

I have been into flight sim only for 5 years now. And I have shelled out approx. €1,500.00 for addon software only! Software that not only added aircraft and sceneries but also was meant to 'speed up' the performance.

I am VERY happy that now a company has the code which is interested in improving it, andwhich is interested in cooperating with add on providers.!

They have done to the FSX spaghetti code what MS should have done. a ,ong time ago! In such a short time, they solved most of the massive problems that we suffered from in FSX. Please, do not complain about 50.00$ every three years or so.

As to the question of ( backwards ) compatibility: MS were not really interested in compatibility at all. As the history of 'Windows' shows ( I have lived through all versions, since 1.0 ). i am no programmer but have designed software. Part of the design was to design interfaces for outside software providers which gave them enough flexibility while at the same time retaining continuity. 'Behind' these interfaces, the code can be handled in every way necessary. The crux is the design of the interfaces! There has to go a lot of brain power into their design in order to give them a long life! The contrarry is interfaces that delay/hinder/obstruct the software that uses them.

 

I have all confidence in LM that they will, over time, create a solid construction of the FSX successor that will make it a product with longevity. They are obviously more interested in creating a product that serves their trainig needs ( rather than short term money ) and therefore are glad about any help that they will getnfrom cooperative software companies. Their goal is not to make a lot of money from this software. So, I have high hopes that this flight sim product - in all its versions and permutations - will keep me company for a long time..

[Guest]

I'm still not clear what this question is about?

 

LM have provided a significantly large amount of compatibility with all their versions, far more than I thought possible.  It has generated a bunch of spaghetti code to deal with all the demands of keeping that compatibility and yes it has broken some things.

 

Some people seem to know what is going into Version 3 ??  I've heard nothing about V3, but apparently some are in the know or are you just making stuff up?  If you are making stuff up to promote compatibility fear then I don't see that as productive.  If you do know about V3, please list your sources?

 

If you don't want anything to ever change, then FSX is probably going to be the product you want.  If you are looking for new features, advancement in graphics, and more, then P3D and XP10 continue development and what they do to retain compatibility is not something a consumer has much control over.  Obviously LM and LR don't try to break compatibility IF it is avoidable, but IF it's not then they do so to ensure a future with growth rather than a dead end future.

 

Personally, if anyone is truly passionate about Flight Simulation, they'll find ways to either live with what they have and the cost (no one is forcing you to buy add-ons) or they support the development of products which means spending money.  And no, Flight Simulation is not exclusively for the wealthy and rich (far from it) ... plenty of people enjoying the product "as is" and on limited budgets.

 

Cheers, Rob.

[mgh 89]

 

 

I'm still not clear what this question is about?

 

How much will Lockheed Martin continue to give us free?

[gandy 18]

 

Some people seem to know what is going into Version 3 ??  I've heard nothing about V3, but apparently some are in the know or are you just making stuff up?  If you are making stuff up to promote compatibility fear then I don't see that as productive.  If you do know about V3, please list your sources?

 

Cheers, Rob.

 

 

Hi Rob,

 

v3 is just me taking a wild guess about p3d 64bit as i personally would see that as a major revision and not an update, not knowing anything about the plans for the future LM have other than updating 2.2 to 2.3.

 

One way i look it as the amount of payed support LM would need to provide and the 64bit environment could be more demanding on them hence my guess that if they do a 64bit version it could be version 3 and if we wished to use we would have to buy as while plenty of us want a 64bit p3d i dont think it will be free to us.

[Guest]

How much will Lockheed Martin continue to give us free?

 

Is it?  OP seems concerned about compatibility with add-ons as P3D versions progress (at least that's what I got from his second post).  Which is different from his first post which seems to ask the question is v2.3 the last update?

 

As far as I know v2.4 will be slated for release later this year.  Beyond that LM have suggested a 64bit version will happen eventually but no such version number has been assigned and not much has been said what will or will not be compatible - so 64bit has not been associated with a V3.x.  If someone does know details about a version 3.x, please do list your sources (and I will verify).

 

Now there are 3rd party products that do have to change their products when LM release a new version ... this varies from product to product (some don't have to do anything others do).  But I have a hard time believing those 3rd party content providers/developers didn't understand that's what happens when you work an SDK and rely on specific features of a product ... sure they complain they have to go and recompile or change something, but a developer should understand that's the business they've elected to be in, sooooo....

 

On the flip side, developing for a moving target can be tricky, it would be helpful to know what's going to change in advance so one can be prepared.  But the reality of changing a platform like ESP often means until you get deep into the code and make the changes, you don't know what it'll impact until "after the fact" ... developers can't and don't memorize millions of lines of code and then can immediately understand what a change will impact.

 

A good example is how the cloud system currently works, LM could have made breaking changes to improve it in v2.2, but they were risky and had no guarantee of success so they didn't -- these types of things a dev doesn't know about until they are deep into the code and have done some R&D and tested.

 

Cheers, Rob.

[mgh 89]

What i got from the first was:

 

 

 

From what I have understood P3D1 got to 1.4. Does this mean we can expect P3D2.3 and another update but nothing more ?

 

My emphasis

[Guest]

You read into this a "cost" factor ... I don't see any mention of cost concerns ... I read into this as "last update".  Perhaps the OP can clarify their question(s) and indicate if it's one about his cost or future of product or both?

[mgh 89]

Lockheed Martin won't continue to provide free up-dates ad infinitum.

[BMagann 11]

I read it as "when do you suppose things will get back to the old days when a new sim comes out every few years and we have to buy new add-ons." Personally I will welcome that if it happens.

[jfri 42]

You read into this a "cost" factor ... I don't see any mention of cost concerns ... I read into this as "last update".  Perhaps the OP can clarify their question(s) and indicate if it's one about his cost or future of product or both?

 

The question was meant as will 2.4 be the last update ?

[vgbaron 3,630]

Lockheed Martin won't continue to provide free up-dates ad infinitum.

No one can say what they will do for sure but as I said earlier, most software companies do not charge for point releases. Some just call them SP1 but they are free. A major upgrade - not update will not be free.

 

That is, if LM stays with generally accepted procedures.

 

Vic

[Guest]

The question was meant as will 2.4 be the last update ?

 

I believe 2.4 will be the last update for 2014, nothing has been mentioned about more updates in 2015 or what is planned for 2015.  But I don't work for LM (in the financial sense anyway) so this is just information I know about as of today.

 

EDIT: Vic's assessment is fairly common for the software industry, I can't say that's what LM will adopt, but it is common.

[eminyilmaz 17]

LM was releasing update once in 6 months or a year for P3dv1. We already have 2 updates for v2 in 6 months or so, right? So, I don't think it's really comparable. But, If you really want to stick that math, think it this way, P3d v2.0 was a beta release in fact, it was so buggy they had to release 2 updates quickly. P3dv2.2 should be released as v2.0 at the beginning. Since major bugs eliminated, we'll see longer intervals between updates. Back to your math, there may be 4 more updates coming before v3.0.