I don't know what to do anymore

[captpopup 0]

Hello forum

I have got myself all confused and in a muddle. I have recently purchased P3D having been a MS Flight Simmer for many years (on and off... work family and all that). I have quite a few add-ons for FSX, including PMDG aircraft that I know I will have to re-buy for P3D. I have A2A aircraft that I understand work with P3D and some airports. I have REX4 Texture Direct, Active Sky Next, Shade (although not sure if I need this anymore), EZdok, Track IR5 and some scenery in the form of FS Global 2010, Ground Environment X Europe, Ultimate Terrain X Europe and last year, purchased ORBX FTX England. I have some utilities too... FS2Crew for the NGX 737, PFPX Flight Planner. I built my own computer and got carried away with making sure it could run the programs I want it to run and have a level of future proofing (an alsmost impossibility in the world of PC's... my graphics card is an nvidia GeForce GTX Titan Black... the only bit of hardware I have known to go up in price as new products become available... damn that TitanX). Anyway, my rig has the operating system on it's own SSD, MS FSX on it's own SSD and now P3D on it's own SSD (nothing else added to this  yet). I like things clean and tidy so that things can be found easily... and this is my problem. Do I uninstall FSX and free up a SSD and only run P3D? Do I run both platforms in which case do I have to install duplicate versions of my compatible programs on my P3D drive? or will P3D access the scenery folders and utilities on my FSX drive?

I understand that P3D makes better use of modern graphics cards and that FSX is no longer being supported by MicroSoft... changing to P3D does make me feel like a captain about to jump ship before the passengers though. Changing to P3D will leave me with some redundant software and some things that I would have to buy again (PMDG aircraft alone will cost a pretty packet). I'm not sure if my scenery will work with P3D either but then again... do I go down an ORBX route only?

 

I'm sure this argument has raged for a number of years now when P3D emerged from the shadows but now we have P3D 2.5 with talk of P3D v3 on the way... and FSX stuck.

 

I used to be indecisive but now... I'm really! not sure. This post is like tossing a coin but slightly biased as it's in the P3D general forum. That's because you have either made the switch or have only used P3D. I would really appreciate a shove in the right direction.

 

Ray

[louisdecoolste 12]

PMDG and A2A aircraft will have to be repurchased - at least the latest ones. Earlier A2A may be installable into P3D, but are not supported. So be careful before you start throwing FSX product into P3D as it can really mess things up.

 

Almost all ORBX products are now available with triple installers to include P3D at no extra cost - just re-download them from the original site. Add the new FTX Central V2 via the last library file update, which must be installed P3D-specfic and you can get most of those up and running quickly.

 

Rex4 needs a minor upgrade - small cost - then can be used with P3D. 

 

Can't help with ASN

 

Shade is not necessary, and certainly not wise on a fresh P3D install - HDR alone makes Shade redundant for P3D - although some do still swear by it.

 

Yes P3D should be on a SSD - you can always copy your FSX installation to a back up drive as there is no need to uninstall it for P3D, space requirements notwithstanding. 

 

Yes P3D can access scenery installed in FSX but some do not work, so be very very careful what you add in. Do not block copy though - that way disaster lies !

 

Do NOT go at this like a sprint. It's a marathon. Add items ONLY one at a time and verify they work before moving on to the next. Use the opportunity to de-clutter your flight sim setup - many of the `indispensable` addons you probably haven't even used in FSX for ages, so you don't need them in P3D.

 

If you decide not to repurchase addons for P3D then keep a tally of the money saved - it will easily pay for a dedicated SSD for P3D alone.

 

Good luck.

[Nyxx 6,993]

I waited for PMDG and did not enjoy buying all over again, but to cut a long story short there is no going back. The lighting and everything about P3D is so much better, then add in cloud shadows and VC shadows and its a new world. 

Most good addon come with P3d installers and "older" ones work by just adding them manually.

 

If you go for it you will never go back as you have a PC that can run it well, you will get lower FPS but I can lock FPS@30 and go anywhere in anything and that's really all you need.

 

Go for it.

[spearmint_flyer 579]

Most people that go to P3D never go back to any version of FSX. That being said some people leave it installed to fly aircraft that have many glitches or are not able to buy the P3D version. When I first switched over I did not uninstall FSX because the NGX was not yet available and then the cost of it when it did release had my bank to wait ando catch up the 777 is another where I have a license for it but I still do not have a P3D license. So I just don't use it. But most add ons are compatible withave both Sims. Carenado , Active sky, Most Rex products, so I have a feeling you won't miss FSX once it's gone.

[Jimm 437]

I waited for PMDG and did not enjoy buying all over again, but to cut a long story short there is no going back. The lighting and everything about P3D is so much better, then add in cloud shadows and VC shadows and its a new world. 

Most good addon come with P3d installers and "older" ones work by just adding them manually.

 

If you go for it you will never go back as you have a PC that can run it well, you will get lower FPS but I can lock FPS@30 and go anywhere in anything and that's really all you need.

 

Go for it.

If I may, I played both sides of the fence and wound up going back to FSX for good, with FSX:SE.  Granted, P3D looked great, worked fine but as was pointed out above, PMDG was one retailer that I was disappointed in that I had to pay for an entirely new model just to use it in P3D.  As for lighting, shadows, etc., I finally got my setup just how I want it and with running REX, DX10 and FSX:SE it is just right for my tastes as it is balanced between scenery and stability.  I can keep using my PDMG products (which work awesome now) so I'm a happy camper, but as it is always said, your mileage may vary.  I have nothing against P3D but I have an issue with companies squeezing out a few bucks here and there for the sake of compatibility.  I understand that folks like pMDG may have to start over from scratch to create their aircraft for a particular sim, but before the P3D rage, everyone used FSX and bought the products and now if they want to use P3D, they have to cough up more cash without any type of discount or "sidegrade" offer.

 

This is all opinion and everyone else has a rite to express how they feel about it, but when you consider cost for this hobby, it gets mighty expensive to maintain two sims.  Then of course, you have to consider products coming from devs that make certain claims about functionality that really don't work on your rig, so that's money blown.  I personally feel that you have to read every single word of everything published and then make an informed decision.

 

-Jim

[rparson99 32]

I think it really comes down to where you'll be spending your Sim time. Keeping fsx as you have it on a separate drive is fine.. It won't go anywhere.... And perhaps if you find that p3d is the place to be, you can just choose not to base future purchases on fsx... It now being in a state of disinvest (as it should be as there is no further development).

 

For p3d, most addons that are p3d compatible can install into p3d without disturbing fsx, so I would hunt down the latest installers for your favorite addons and get them current with p3d.

 

The fact that you have both on a separate drive is good, particularly for p3d as you may need more space as time goes along. Good luck.

[toby23 136]

P3D never crashes for me.

P3D feels much smoother.

P3D looks much better than FSX, what's not to love about almost 3d clouds and cloud shadows.

Reshade/Sweet FX does not crash the sim.

Yes, you have to repurchase your favourite aircraft but the developer also had to rework and/or relicense them for use in P3D.

The only negative point I have with P3D is antialiasing but I hope this will be fixed in the future, for now you can use downsampling with that monster graphic card.

[Christopher Low 5,332]

There are four aspects of FSX that I miss.....

 

* Realistic water (with REX)

* Strobe and navigation lights on AI Planes

* Flight1 Cessna Citation Mustang

* Airport lights that work properly

 

Some addon airports (UK2000 is a good example) have lighting that works just fine, apart from issues with PAPI lights. Bearing that in mind, I am perplexed as to why other airport developers seem to find it so difficult :huh:

[Bobsk8 12,523]

I think if tomorrow P3D stopped working and they went out of business, and  I was forced to go back to FSX, I would find another hobby "again". Can't imagine dealing with FSX at this stage of my life. 

[OneWhoKnocks53 51]

Another one here who went p3d and never looked back. Runs smooth, looks great, and its still getting attention on the development of the core sim. I used fsx from the day of release, but when p3d 2.3 dropped, that was the end of fsx for me. Good times for sim pilots! I'm now just starting to get familiar with xplane too, but don't see myself making the switch to xpx full time any time soon.

[nooon 21]

Reshade/Sweet FX does not crash the sim.

 

 

There is a case where it does crash indeed, at least on my rig, it's when enabling video capture with an external tool that do a d3d10 hook. That happened with SweetFX. Also I've had a crash with ReShade when using IVAP client (ivao thing).

 

I do love P3D over FSX anyway, for the very same reasons (smoothness...). One additional positive point for P3D is the FPS and smoothness are steady for the whole flight duration. Take off, approach, landing. No decrease.

On FSX, I had a decrease of performance during descent and approach more often than not, especially during medium/long hauls. That never happens with P3D. There is some serious optimization of ressource usage in P3D compared to FSX.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

I think if tomorrow P3D stopped working and they went out of business, and  I was forced to go back to FSX, I would find another hobby "again". Can't imagine dealing with FSX at this stage of my life. 

 

Exactly life is to short - spending countless hours days months and years trying to get that sim acceptable not to mention the horrendous install process - all set 

[Clutch Cargo 384]

My, my, my. Boy, I'd hate to be behind the poster of this thread in a grocery store... "paper or plastic Mr.?"  "Mr?"  "MR!?!"  :unsure:   (all in good fun). 

 

Simple answer to your dilemma.  Run both for now for on their separate SSD's.  Try P3D with a few addons pointing to your FSX addon folder.  Try a few new addons... some freeware on P3D.  Don't go off spending a ton of $$$ on upgrading all your stuff yet.  Take your time.  The only one that is putting pressure on your decision is you.

 

Then eventually you'll dump FSX , and have n extra SSD to put all your P3D stuff.  There... problem resolved  :wink: .

 

Clutch

[vgbaron 3,491]

I have a second system with FSX on it. It's getting dusty. I haven't flown FSX in over a year. Not wanting to start a war but FSX:SE doesn't even come close to P3D. It's STILL FSX.

 

Yes, there will be some adjustment with some add-ons but most major players are slowly bringing their product over to P3D - some for free - some not - it's still worth it.

 

Vic

[captpopup 0]

Thank you all

 

I knew if I came to the P3D forum I would get the sense of direction I needed.

 

I have a couple of days at my disposal... I'm going to move all my FSX stuff to an old external drive. Remove all residual files and folders. Reload all that I have that is compatible with P3D, go back to the places where I purchased some of my add-ons and re-download the P3D version (some small cost involved in some of these I think), then try to get P3D running as sweet as you all seem to have it. Then make a judgement before re-purchasing my PMDG and A2A aircraft (the A2A Comanche is already compatible I think... this can be my test plane). Reading your responses here it would seem the writing is on the wall for FSX.

 

If I can't get on with P3D... then I can spend the next month or two trying to put FSX back :rolleyes:

 

I love the 'gathering dust' and the 'lifes too short' comments... that tipped it for me.

 

Thank you again

 

Ray