P3D V2.3 Beta 2 Testing

[SteveW 1,792]

Started testing the latest beta build from LM ... performance improvement so far appears to be about 15% across the board...

 

Thanks Rob, I already find P3D 2.2 performs exceptionally well. However I've been unable to iron out a constant tiny grating in the smoothness of the flow that I often noticed in videos too, I found it seems better with bathymetry enabled and reducing look ahead frames. I'm hoping that's figured out in 2.3. Also If you remember I had a problem assigning an axis to flaps, once I reset the sensitivity it sprung into life; thanks for that. Appreciated. Steve.

[FLAPS15 8]

Thank you Rob,

 

Great to hear the big iron works as well, I will watch this LM development with interest and once out and ready will give P3D the test it deserves.

 

As I never use AG in FSX I think it should work well for me!

 

All the best

 

Mark

[Guest]

 

 

How about that water...Mine looks nothing like that 2.3 improvement?

 

Yes, water was improved for 2.3 ... LM may dial it back a little to improve FPS, but I'm kinda hoping they leave Ultra water setting alone.  I agree, the water looks much better ... how it was washing up against the shoreline was very realistic.  I wasn't having any FPS issues considering how high my display settings are and although the video may look like there are some

your C172R is gonna need some new rubber boots.

stutters, I can assure you the actual experience was fluid.

 

I'm not using REX 4 in my any of my 2.3 testing.  No real reason, I just want to see how well default textures work.

 

 

 

You're a good man, Rob - you left the stall warning in the last video to show you are human after all...

 

Haha, definitely not my best flying ... I was too busy looking out the window and pretty much ignored the aircraft and what I was supposed to be doing and the crosswind procedures.  I think you'll enjoy v2.3 ... certainly worth getting your feet wet to see if it meets your needs.

 

Agree the A2A C172 lights were very nice, sorta made me want to fly low and slow for 8 hours straight enjoying the view.  But I think LM nailed the Global night lighting.

 

 

 

your C172R is gonna need some new rubber boots.

 

I'm surprised I didn't break something - damage is on

 

Cheers, Rob.

[Guest]

 

 

Also If you remember I had a problem assigning an axis to flaps, once I reset the sensitivity it sprung into life; thanks for that. Appreciated.

 

Good deal Steve, glad it's sorted out.  I wouldn't use videos as too much of a stutter meter ... my actual flight experience is far smoother than anything I've recorded, even the native records (prior to upload to YouTube) show stutters that didn't exist in my actual flight.  I'll post some v2.3 Timeframe graphs later this week which show a much more consistent time between frames compared to v2.2 (same area, same weather, same add-ons).

 

These are the settings I'm using and they are working very well for me: http://www.robainscough.com/P3D_V2.php so well that I turn AutoGen Building up to "Dense".

 

 

 

I will watch this LM development with interest and once out and ready will give P3D the test it deserves.

 

It's certainly worth a try ... if you get stuck with performance/visuals, try some of my additional settings from my web site (main settings page) and see what may or may not work for you: http://www.robainscough.com/Prepar3D_Settings_2.php.  Keep in mind my CPU and chipset are not top-of-the-line ... gonna be 3rd gen stuff soon.  I think this is going to be a great year for flights sims, Haswell-E, X99, DDR4 do out very soon.  nVidia looking to release a new Tital killer GPU before year end, 4K monitors getting cheaper ... it's a great time to be flight simming.

 

Cheers, Rob.

[chatman 29]

Hi!

 

Any word on possible release date of 2.3?

 

Thx

[SteveW 1,792]

more consistent time between frames compared to v2.2...

 

Thnx Rob.

[HighTowers 1,434]

 

 

 I'm sorta surprised more folks aren't flying these larger aircraft in P3D as the extra head room P3D offers in VAS means you can eat your cake (keep the visuals turned up) and fly for 16+ hours without having to worry about an OOM.

 

Im here waiting for the heavies to show up but theres not alot on the table regarding quality. This is here after all a "professional" sim but the heavies or just commercial tubes are not really out in full force yet. Of course waiting for PMDG but other than that theres the AXE, and the CS777 which I dont have, and the Ifly 737. the BBS330/340 is due out for a major upgrade anytime now and will be p3d v2.2 ready. A much better FDE apparently so hopefully that will help towards the p3d heavies. 

[ChaoticBeauty 6,692]

My personal take on 3D lights, very hard on FPS if they are true calculated 3D lights and not just a static cone texture with alpha.  The current static cone textures with alpha only really works when you have fog or low visibility and clouds ... during clear weather it looks unrealistic.

I'm pretty sure the 3D lighting on the C172 is calculated in real-time and illuminates all objects, like this example: http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=35505 This is also shown on the video you posted in which the C172 landing lights illuminate the trees you're flying close to.

 

On the other hand the Cherokee does not have the option for the 3D lighting (and it looks like the 2D lighting is not even working at all).

 

Here is a quick video showing A2A's C172R and Cherokee in P3D V2.3 Beta 2 ... it also shows the improved global night lighting (at least I think so) ... aircraft are no longer so dark at night.

Not just the night lighting, in all those 2.3 videos you've posted the lighting in general looks a lot more realistic to me.

[Superdelphinus 718]

and I was pulling my hair out because I couldn't get an average higher than 20 fps in highly populated area (Paris). This looks like I might be able to reach 30fps with this newer version.

10% of 20 = 2

[carlito777 712]

I'll post some v2.3 Timeframe graphs later this week which show a much more consistent time between frames compared to v2.2 (same area, same weather, same add-ons).

 

That is great news. Looking forward to the results of these analysis. I fully agree with your opinion that frame timing is the most important lever to get a smooth experience. If one can achieve a perfectly even timing with 30 frames per second that should look perfectly smooth to the human eye. And todays hardware should already be capable of achieving that except for very densely populated areas or at heavy add-on airports.

 

Thanks Rob for all the updates to keep us in the loop on the P3D v2.3 developments!

[denali 74]

LM may dial it back a little to improve FPS

 Why don't they just make it clear with settings that you are at DNE if you want to get the performance they are going for, but leave the settings in for young bold simmers to thrill themselves with.  

Another very appreciative community member here for the vids.  Thank you.

[fogboundturtle 2,708]

10% of 20 = 2

 

I know how to count. It was a sarcastic comment. I am CPU bound like most of us. My GPU is barely running while my  CPU is using the last 3 core to an 100%.

[Christopher Low 5,341]

My motherboard and GPU failed together a week ago, so I am currently waiting for a new PC to be built. That being the case, I am seriously considering taking this opportunity to move over to P3D. Is there an expected release date for version 2.3? I think it would be sensible to wait for the release of this version before purchasing, so that I don't have to update very soon after that. Can anyone tell me if the following addons work fine in version 2.2?

 

Quality Wings 146

RealAir Duke/Turbine Duke

Aerosoft Dublin X

Flight1 Ultimate Traffic 2

 

I see that there is a thread regarding the latter on one of the forums here, but I just wanted to make sure that it can be installed and used in P3D (including PowerPack updated schedules and repaints) without any kind of link to FSX. If I decide to purchase P3D, then it will be a 100% commitment (ie. FSX will not be installed).

 

Does P3D come with an SDK? I want to be able to use Airport Design Editor, since I am a "fiddler" when it comes to AFD files :smile:

[Andydigital 93]

UT2 is no longer being developed and will not be getting anymore updates so I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole if I didn't already own and use it.

 

I presume you missed the huge P3D compatibility thread? And why did you not start your own thread its off topic.

[Christopher Low 5,341]

I haven't really been thinking about P3D much lately, since I wasn't expecting my old PC to fail for at least the next two years. So yes, I missed the big P3D compatibility thread. As for Ultimate Traffic 2, I have been using it for several years with FSX. I am not bothered about whether it is officially updated or not, since it is more productive to add your own updated schedules with PowerPack. I guess what probably concerns me more is whether all of the additional models that I have added for use as AI planes will work properly with P3D!