To P3d or not to P3d

[Guest]

 

 

I have it on 2048 texture size.

 

I'd recommend 1024 textures, especially if you are using Orbx products and REX.

 

Cheers, Rob.

[Boomer 1,619]

For me P3D is most certainly looking like the future for me

Starting to think so myself after seeing it on a buddy's pc yesterday.

 

Too bad that leaves PMDG behind because I aint paying ~$150 for the P3D 777.  If the P3D cost is going to be higher than the FSX version, I would like to hear a valid reason for it.

[nathanpinard 0]

To speculate, just about any aircraft being made for P3D that is competitive to Lockheed Martin is probably being charged a license fee, and those costs are passed to us. A2A is doing it, and PDMG is doing it. So far I haven't seen Majestic planning anything like that.

 

Btw, there are sources to installing the FSX PDMG into P3D. No idea how compatible they are.

 

I did some more tweaks, and cut HDR from P3D and instead used HDR in SweetFX, which improves framerates a bit. I also did Matt Davies FSX 2013 tweaks and set the Inspector to limit the framerate. I don't have much AA on, that kills FPS.

 

With ORBX installed and nearly everything maxed I'm at 20-30fps in the city now. No major stutters.

 

 Things to avoid is the shadows cast from buildings and terrain. That is an insane amout of processing. I think those with major SLI setups will be able to swing that.

 

Oh, and also I discovered that ORBX and REX weren't really the reason why my FPS dropped when I loaded at KPDX. It was KPDX that was the reason. The game starts you at Langley which isn't that involved object wise.

[Spartan0536 49]

To speculate, just about any aircraft being made for P3D that is competitive to Lockheed Martin is probably being charged a license fee, and those costs are passed to us. A2A is doing it, and PDMG is doing it. So far I haven't seen Majestic planning anything like that.

 

Btw, there are sources to installing the FSX PDMG into P3D. No idea how compatible they are.

 

I did some more tweaks, and cut HDR from P3D and instead used HDR in SweetFX, which improves framerates a bit. I also did Matt Davies FSX 2013 tweaks and set the Inspector to limit the framerate. I don't have much AA on, that kills FPS.

 

With ORBX installed and nearly everything maxed I'm at 20-30fps in the city now. No major stutters.

 

 Things to avoid is the shadows cast from buildings and terrain. That is an insane amout of processing. I think those with major SLI setups will be able to swing that.

 

Oh, and also I discovered that ORBX and REX weren't really the reason why my FPS dropped when I loaded at KPDX. It was KPDX that was the reason. The game starts you at Langley which isn't that involved object wise.

 

REX4 is extremely well optimized, in FSX I MAY take a 1-2 frame hit with 2048 clouds and 4096 ground textures. ORBX CAN cause you to lose some frames but its usually very minimal at most I have seen is perhaps 3-5 frames. My system specs are listed under my avatar on the right, and they are not that impressive, its all about appropriate tweaking, and in the case of P3D there is a little less tweaking to be done from what I have read.

[MikeT707 1,181]

 

 

To speculate, just about any aircraft being made for P3D that is competitive to Lockheed Martin is probably being charged a license fee, and those costs are passed to us.

What on earth does that mean?

[gpbarth 12]

So is everyone who "just popped P3D into my machine and flew it around a bit" paying the $199 fee for the software, or are you running it in demo mode? I paid a whopping $48 for FSX when I bought it, and since then I have spent as much as $90 for the PMDG 777 (which I never thought I'd do). Paying an average of about $50 for every add-on adds up fast, and right now I've got a whole lot of cash tied up in FSX. If everything I owned would run in P3D, I might think about spending $200 for that license, but having to start all over again, and maybe spending a lot more for PMDG products for P3D makes me think that I'll have to pass and ride FSX out to the end.

 

Oh, well...

[Guest]

 

 

but having to start all over again, and maybe spending a lot more for PMDG products for P3D makes me think that I'll have to pass and ride FSX out to the end.

 

Some people embrace change, some don't like change at all ... what triggers someone to embrace change is unique to each individual.  Life's an adventure, maybe someday you'll ride this particular adventure.  For me, life is just too short, with what limited time I have I want to experience as much as I possibly can, not a single minute wasted.

 

The purpose of life IS the adventure ... I do not need an answer, it's the path of understanding that I seek.

 

Cheers, Rob.

[styckx 1,871]

Some people embrace change, some don't like change at all ...

Cheers, Rob.

 

And the change is so much easier than it ever has been.. Remember early in Prepar3Ds life when NOTHING had P3D installers,  most 3PD were in the "we'll wait and see" stance on it and most of the discussion in here was how to get stuff to work and fights over the EULA? My how quick things have changed..  No more fights and I'd say 80% of the 3PD are on board with P3D installers.

[gpbarth 12]

Some people embrace change, some don't like change at all ... what triggers someone to embrace change is unique to each individual.  Life's an adventure, maybe someday you'll ride this particular adventure.  For me, life is just too short, with what limited time I have I want to experience as much as I possibly can, not a single minute wasted.

 

The purpose of life IS the adventure ... I do not need an answer, it's the path of understanding that I seek.

 

Cheers, Rob.

You are right, Rob. However, I have been playing this game since personal computers were invented (ever hear of the Sinclair ZX-81?), and been flying the official Flight Sim since it's original SubLogic days. I am now 67 years old and on a very fixed budget. I fly FSX because I can no longer fly the real thing (can't pass the medicals anymore), and enjoy the reality. What I don't enjoy is the expense - I never thought when I bought the 777 for $90 that I'd spend twice what the sim cost just for an add-on aircraft.

 

But I can no longer afford to keep up with the changes. My machine is now probably near the bottom end of what's needed to fly efficiently.  My 300Gb SATA drives are almost antiques by current standards, and I could barely afford the NVidia gForce GTX650 with 1 Gb of RAM.  And now all of that investment looks like it will have to be increased to keep up with the new stuff.

 

I wish I were younger, with a big income and money to burn for all of this, but I think I've reached the end of the line. I simply do not have the funds to spend another $200 on a flight sim, and then replace, at a larger cost, all of the aircraft I now have.  So I guess I will tough it out with FSX until it just stops working, and find something else to do. The hobby has just become too much of an expense on a fixed retirement income.

 

But it was fun, and I think I can keep FSX running for awhile yet. I'll grab a few more add-ons, and stay up here to watch you "kids" discover the latest and greatest hardware and software. When I look at some of the home-built cockpits with 3-5 monitors and a full control column, it blows my mind. What next?

[LHookins 3,103]

Gary, I'm kinda in the same boat you are.  I went ahead and dropped the $200 for P3D.  I figured there would only be a few things that I might have to repurchase, and I could always run them in FSX instead.

 

Was it worth $200?  The jury is still out.  Oddly enough, I've only booted up FSX a couple of times since I started flying P3D and that was to install new aircraft, one of which I ported over to P3D already.  I look at my screen shots from FSX and think, "Wow, that really doesn't look right" now.  I was looking at screen shots from MS Flight tonight and noticed that P3D's autogen looked better... a lot better.  Of course I'm running P3D autogen maxed, which makes a huge difference, and I was never a big fan of Flight's autogen anyway, although I thought the rest of Flight was first rate.

 

From what I've seen, you may only have to repurchase a few DLC items while the rest will port over without problems.  Some may not port over, and some may never have P3D versions... keep FSX around for those.  While there are some up-front costs, it's not like you'll have to start over from scratch and buy everything new.  If you primarily fly PMDG, you'll probably want to stick with FSX and there's no problem with that. 

 

Hook

[Thomas Andersen 45]

No simulator is perfect or has it all. So I am enjoying both FSX, Prepar3dv2 and X-plane. FSX for "the complete airliner experience" with wonderful airports, realistic AL and ATC, PMDG. Prepar3d for general aviation flying with the lastest ORBX regions and airports. And x-plane 10 for the most immersive dusk and night time flying.

 

Recently I have found myself flying a lot of X-plane 10 with Flightfactor 757. Approaching an aiport in an urban area, passing over highways with moving traffic, getting the sensation of actually floating through air, fighting agains cross winds, the experience in XP10 is just incredible!

 

I'd like the emphasize the sensation of floating through air that XP10 gives. Is is true that A2A airplane and/or Accu Feel can correct somewhat the default "flying on rails" experience that FSX gives. However landing a tubeliner in FSK truly feels like "flying on rails". It is not very challening and way to predictable.  

 

However in the end, I am enjoying all main civilian simulator platforms as no one completes the experience. 

[fiftysix 6]

Some people embrace change, some don't like change at all ... what triggers someone to embrace change is unique to each individual.  Life's an adventure, maybe someday you'll ride this particular adventure.  For me, life is just too short, with what limited time I have I want to experience as much as I possibly can, not a single minute wasted.

 

The purpose of life IS the adventure ... I do not need an answer, it's the path of understanding that I seek.

 

Cheers, Rob.

 

Very well said

[gpbarth 12]

Gary, I'm kinda in the same boat you are.  I went ahead and dropped the $200 for P3D.  I figured there would only be a few things that I might have to repurchase, and I could always run them in FSX instead.

 

Was it worth $200?  The jury is still out.  Oddly enough, I've only booted up FSX a couple of times since I started flying P3D and that was to install new aircraft, one of which I ported over to P3D already.  I look at my screen shots from FSX and think, "Wow, that really doesn't look right" now.  I was looking at screen shots from MS Flight tonight and noticed that P3D's autogen looked better... a lot better.  Of course I'm running P3D autogen maxed, which makes a huge difference, and I was never a big fan of Flight's autogen anyway, although I thought the rest of Flight was first rate.

 

From what I've seen, you may only have to repurchase a few DLC items while the rest will port over without problems.  Some may not port over, and some may never have P3D versions... keep FSX around for those.  While there are some up-front costs, it's not like you'll have to start over from scratch and buy everything new.  If you primarily fly PMDG, you'll probably want to stick with FSX and there's no problem with that. 

 

Hook

Thanks, Hook. I'm being very judicious with my money nowadays, and although I hate thinking about spending $200 more on top of what I've spent already, it isn't totally out of the question. Since I am a realism buff, I absolutely NEED the A2A aircraft - the P-51 (military and civilian), the C-172, and the B-377.  I  want the CoolSky MD-80 and the Mad Dog MD-80. I also want the PMDG models.  I very rarely fly any of the stock FSX A/C anymore, with the exception of the trike, which I use to fly around my neighborhood and check out the surrounding areas (I have the PA MegaScenery Earth).  I'd like to get the Flight1 King Air and the Majestic Dash 8, eventually.

 

So, given that information, what can I expect to port over to P3D? We already know that PMDG is out, so what about the others? A2A? Cooksky? Mad Dog? Majestic?  If I could fly all of them in P3D, I might spend the money, although I would hate to lose the PMDG line.

 

IF - FSX stays functional, I'll probably stay right there, but there is a little flexibility there.  For now, I will wait and see.

[nathanpinard 0]

A2A already has aircraft set for P3D. PDMG has plans, they are NOT out.

 

Majestic has plans to come out with a P3D installer after they come out with their other packages.

[n4gix 4,947]

To speculate, just about any aircraft being made for P3D that is competitive to Lockheed Martin is probably being charged a license fee, and those costs are passed to us.

As a matter of fact, Lockheed-Martin does not charge any developer one thin dime as a "license fee." Period.

 

There are however some changes that have been made that will sometimes require code changes, and possibly some model changes to accommodate P3Dv2.x, and this extra work has to be offset somehow.