Ok...I have v2.5 downloaded from about a week ago.  I have not installed.

 

My question is:

 

I have a great running v2.4 with all my 3rd party add-ons running as well. I just came off a flight around raining Hana, Hawaii.    The question asked is; Is there truly enough of a difference visually, and/or sim performance-wise, to at this time, to basically wipe out a perfectly running v2.4 installation and all the 3rdP add-on's, and then run v2.5 and the state of affairs with 3rdP programs as it stands this morning?  Do any of you, that have installed, have any regrets for doing so at this time, over your stable prior, v2.4?  Do you feel any (perceived) improvements because of the latest version, was worth the time and effort?

 

I will obviously update at some point in time...but again ask;  do you think (for those that did) that it was worth the trouble, and the version pains, of what works, and what does not, once more?  Your thoughts would be appreciated to help me make a case decision to leave v2.4, and install v2.5

 

Thanks,

 

Mitch

Do you feel ...

Regardless of how I feel, 2.5 is the supported version now.

 

Personally I don't regret taking the jump (I practised managing updates many moons ago by doing "The Falcon Dance" more times than I like to remember ...), but then again I don't mind if every addon doesn't work flawlessly with the updated sim right away. Would be a miracle if they did, considering the changes in 2.5.

 

Of course you will eventually have to update to the supported version, but if you have a nice beefy 2.4 installation that works flawlessly, and you know for sure that some of your addons are not yet updated, there's probably not much harm done by waiting a week or two.

 

You may even be able to skip a P3D hotfix or two by doing this! :wink:

Regardless of how I feel, 2.5 is the supported version now.

 

Personally I don't regret taking the jump (I practised managing updates many moons ago by doing "The Falcon Dance" more times than I like to remember ...), but then again I don't mind if every addon doesn't work flawlessly with the updated sim right away. Would be a miracle if they did, considering the changes in 2.5.

 

Of course you will eventually have to update to the supported version, but if you have a nice beefy 2.4 installation that works flawlessly, and you know for sure that some of your addons are not yet updated, there's probably not much harm done by waiting a week or two.

 

You may even be able to skip a P3D hotfix or two by doing this! :wink:

Thanks for that. Have you seen any 'real-time' improvements though between v2.4 and v2.5 as in the way of FPS, animation, or what-not, as you remembered from a vanilla to vanilla install...sans add on's?

I would stay on your current version. I don't think there is enough to warrant the effort right now. I upgraded because I was on v2.3 before so I wanted to jump up so I could use later versions of Active Sky Next etc. To be honest I struggled to notice anything different and I was jumping up 2 versions! I dont think we will see anything significant (like cloud shadows were) until v3.

Like you Mitch I had V2.4 running very well, things were smooth.

 

I decided to do a reinstall with V2.5 and my experience has been lower frames and constant landing stutters that ruin the experience for me. I'm using the same addons as I used in V2.4, Orbx, asn, flytampa and simaddons.

 

 

It's likey something I did/my setup but I might revert back to 2.4 to regain the smoothness I no longer have.

 

That's my experience:)

 

Tony

Thanks for that. Have you seen any 'real-time' improvements though between v2.4 and v2.5 as in the way of FPS, animation, or what-not, as you remembered from a vanilla to vanilla install...sans add on's?

Not noticed anything ground breaking, on my system both vanilla versions perform and appear pretty identical, albeit without rotating clouds in 2.5. :smile:

I have noticed a differences framerate-wise around congested areas.  It seems a little bit smoother overall, less microstutter, and stutters in congested areas are with a "rhythm" now instead of more random, which makes for less annoying congested areas.  

I had the same doubts, but I'm glad I made the switch. Graphics and performance have improved very nicely and I was even able to turn on a couple of extra cloud layers in ASN. I notice my FPS is much more stable then with 2.4, as in a 25-35 average in 2.4 to a 33-35 average in 2.5 and that's with the extra cloud layers.

I would stay on your current version. I don't think there is enough to warrant the effort right now. I upgraded because I was on v2.3 before so I wanted to jump up so I could use later versions of Active Sky Next etc. To be honest I struggled to notice anything different and I was jumping up 2 versions! I dont think we will see anything significant (like cloud shadows were) until v3.

Much appreciated.   Very valuable insight. Thank you!

Like you Mitch I had V2.4 running very well, things were smooth.

 

I decided to do a reinstall with V2.5 and my experience has been lower frames and constant landing stutters that ruin the experience for me. I'm using the same addons as I used in V2.4, Orbx, asn, flytampa and simaddons.

 

 

It's likey something I did/my setup but I might revert back to 2.4 to regain the smoothness I no longer have.

 

That's my experience:)

 

Tony

Thank you for the input, Tony. Much appreciated!

I had the same doubts, but I'm glad I made the switch. Graphics and performance have improved very nicely and I was even able to turn on a couple of extra cloud layers in ASN. I notice my FPS is much more stable then with 2.4, as in a 25-35 average in 2.4 to a 33-35 average in 2.5 and that's with the extra cloud layers.

Thank you!

I want to thank everybody that offered their experience.  It has helped very much to form an opinion of whether to make the jump to v2.5 at this time.  

 

Much appreciated, the responses.

Not noticed anything ground breaking, on my system both vanilla versions perform and appear pretty identical, albeit without rotating clouds in 2.5. :smile:

So, vanilla to vanilla...pretty much the same, but no rotating clouds...thank you.  The Van to Van is a very helpful metric.  After reading all that offered their experiences in going past v2.4, I think that I shall at this time, wait for v2.5 to mature out a bit, and allow 3rdP's to catch up on their installers, that interest me.  This was very helpful, and allowed me to make a truly informed decision at this time.

 

The forum at its best  :smile:  

 

Regards!

 

Ses

Mitch, Like me, you could wait a bit and see how it goes. There is a hotfix 2 to test and who knows if there will be a hotfix 3.

If over the coming weeks most addons will work correctly with the final v2.5 then I will make the switch....

Well, this page lists all the fixes and changes in 2.5:

http://prepar3d.com/news/2015/02/98935/

 

Only you can decide whether they are worth a re-install for you. For me, the terrain shadows, stretched bridges and vertical clouds was enough to warrant the update - in fact I had already uninstalled 2.4 completely a long time ago precisely because of those bugs. In 2.4 you had to disable Terrain Shadows, a core feature of the new rendering engine, so the improvement with 2.5 is huge for me.

 

If the listed issues don't bother you, by all means stay on 2.4 for now. You might also want to wait a few more days until Hotfix 2 comes out and gets integrated into the main installer so you don't have to start your new clean installation by installing a bunch of hotfixes and patches.

Thanks, Jimmi, and Gerald.  I will hold off, until there is a stable version of v2.5, and ORBX has everything down pat, along with the others.  Yes, I have terrain shadows turned right off in v2.4, and will look forward to that being able to be turned back on in v2.5.  Until then, v2.4 is a good deal to keep churning out the P3D smiles...  

 

The one thing that is always appreciated, is that there ARE vX.x's to move to....within the platform. That is always a good thing, ...always!  

 

Cheers;

Mitch

 

I, like you have a perfectly loaded and working 2.4. Although it seems that 2.5 is a stable build,  I don't see  enough overwhelming reason to start the whole installation process over again.  

Good and bad for me, though mainly good.

 

Good: finally they appear to have fixed the massive framerate drop that happened at sunrise/sunset. General performance and smoothness feel better. Terrain shadows properly fixed however...

Bad: no fault of LM I guess but having fixed the terrain shadows it has highlighted that my system isn't man enough for them - I get stutters if I have them on so they are switched off. But most other settings are max/near max.

Yes terrain shadows are fixed, the bridge extrusion issue is fixed (big one for me), and I believe ASN SP2 only works with 2.5...so if you use ASN you should strongly consider the upgrade.