Anyone come back to FSX after trying P3D?

[Cjr60611 31]

 

I miss the visuals in P3D, but FSX:SE with the DX10 Fixer installed is smooth, performs well, lets me use all my add-ons without concerns about compatibility, and is vastly easier on my wallet.  Nice interface, too!  And I get a lot more flying done, as opposed to managing the sim.

 

 

+1 P3D is the way of the future (at least until DT Flight SIm is released) but I have too much invested in FSX:SE to be able to sim the way I want in Prepar.  I have actually tried P3D twice in the past and each time decided to return to FSX.  Partly because I am a creature of habit but also because I kept thinking the transition would be easier each time, I was wrong.  Further, I really didn't like having to shell out $$$ for items I already purchased in FSX - I just had a fundamental objection to the expense.

Finally, FSX:SE is like that old Mustang your pop left you, it's exciting to take her out for a spin but, it's also fun tinkering around the garage trying to make her better (which is the reason I'm constantly on this forum).

[Claude Troncy 4]

Bonjour,

Last week I bought and install P3D V3.2 because I read on the forum it seemed to be a big step in quality.

Yes visual is good but I am coming back to FSX SE, because with my config and despite a lot of experimentation, P3D shimmers and is more hesitant than FSX (microstutters).

In fact P3D run like FSX in windowed mode, and with this fact,  it’s behavior in relation to vsynch is logical.

So why LM doesn't choose the fullscreen mode like FSX does ? Seems difficult to understand  as P3D  derives from FSX.

 

So no solution to have the smoothness of FSX SE other than LM returning back to fullscreen exclusive mode.

Regards

Claude

[W2DR 1,860]

This has been an interesting thread. As I type this I'm installing FSX:SE. I really like the look and feel of P3D but the drop in framerates and the increase microstutters are pushing me back to FSX. If the Steam Edition can provide a bit of VAS relief (as opposed to FSX boxed) I, too, am going back to FSX.

 

Doug

[BoskoBD 2]

I'm extremely happy with P3D v3. No microstutters or any other glitches at all. Had tons of problems with FSX and frame rates. I felt like I was spending more time tweaking than flying. I run P3D with FTX add-ons and ASN(among others) and it runs like a dream. I haven't touched the settings at all in months now and never have a problem.

[edpatino 1,968]

I'm with P3D for year and a half now and I'm very satisfied with its: 1. Stability, 2. Fluidity, 3. Graphics capabilities, 4. Performance (i.e. FPS) of P3D compared to FSX. Never tried FSX Steam. When I was on FSX I had frequents CTD for whatever reason, not all this has gone away, to me P3D is a very stable platform. Apart of all that there was the issue of OOM, which now disappeared since P3Dv3, and were also frequent with FSX during sessions with complex addons.

Sorry to see that a knowledgeable guy like Pete Downson is having difficulties with "hesitations" in P3Dv3.1 and 3.2, and hope LM take his remarks under consideration to help improve P3D more and more. P3D is a continuous evolving platform, and I'm pretty sure LM will bring it to its maximum potential through each version release.

In conclusion, I don't like to say never again, but in this case I think I will never go back to FSX nor try out FSX:SE.

Edward

[magnetite 38]

I've tried P3D a few times, but kept coming back to FSX:SE. Some of that may have been not wanting to spend a bunch of money rebuying all my add-ons for it. My system may not be up to snuff to run it, as it is over 5 years old. I get a lot of graphical glitches (slow loading) in P3D that I don't get in FSX:SE.

 

The plan for now is to hold out until Dovetail releases their new simulator.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

I've tried P3D a few times, but kept coming back to FSX:SE. Some of that may have been not wanting to spend a bunch of money rebuying all my add-ons for it. My system may not be up to snuff to run it, as it is over 5 years old. I get a lot of graphical glitches (slow loading) in P3D that I don't get in FSX:SE.

 

The plan for now is to hold out until Dovetail releases their new simulator.

 

Something a miss on your end P3D loads way faster than FSX

[FlyingBeach 6]

Visually, after you add in various texture add-ons, what's the real difference? I'm really struggling to see any at all. Maybe I'm just viewing it through FSX coloured glasses?

 

I never had any problems getting FSX to run smooth. To be honest, it's not that hard to achieve. So an incentive to 'move on'? Regular updates and reinstalls for every p3d fix doesn't sound like moving on to me.

 

Mark L.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Visually, after you add in various texture add-ons, what's the real difference? I'm really struggling to see any at all. Maybe I'm just viewing it through FSX coloured glasses?

 

I never had any problems getting FSX to run smooth. To be honest, it's not that hard to achieve. So an incentive to 'move on'? Regular updates and reinstalls for every p3d fix doesn't sound like moving on to me.

 

Mark L.

 

It has been a bit painful but looks like we are getting over the hump - loading a fresh install is painless so thats good - takes no time to install sim itself

[tf51d 284]

Visually, after you add in various texture add-ons, what's the real difference? I'm really struggling to see any at all. Maybe I'm just viewing it through FSX coloured glasses?

 

I never had any problems getting FSX to run smooth. To be honest, it's not that hard to achieve. So an incentive to 'move on'? Regular updates and reinstalls for every p3d fix doesn't sound like moving on to me.

 

Mark L.

The main difference is shadowing, P3D has some real nice shadowing effects. Especially Cloud to ground shadows. The other big advantage to P3D v3.2 vs FSX Box is it's vastly improved VAS management, however compared to FSX-SE it's about equal in this area. Other than that, no big differences. To date there have been no addon specific to P3D that hasn't originated from an FSX release. Of those only one that I know of has added a feature to it's P3D version that won't work with FSX/FSX-SE - The PMDG 777-300ER which added in virtual cockpit taxi camera system. FSX version only has a 2D version. This may change over time, and P3D only addons, may become more prevalent, but it hasn't happened yet.

[TheFlightSimGuy 514]

The main difference is shadowing, P3D has some real nice shadowing effects. Especially Cloud to ground shadows. The other big advantage to P3D v3.2 vs FSX Box is it's vastly improved VAS management, however compared to FSX-SE it's about equal in this area. Other than that, no big differences. To date there have been no addon specific to P3D that hasn't originated from an FSX release. Of those only one that I know of has added a feature to it's P3D version that won't work with FSX/FSX-SE - The PMDG 777-300ER which added in virtual cockpit taxi camera system. FSX version only has a 2D version. This may change over time, and P3D only addons, may become more prevalent, but it hasn't happened yet.

 

That taxi cam is nearly useless though. It KILLS framerates so I dont even bother to use it. 

[MarkW 1,493]

P3D definitely better in the shadows, lighting, haze in the distance.  On the downsides, some shadows are really annoying like terrain....they are absolutely beautiful when its a large mountain or hill but a small burm or the edge of lake is just a strobe light effect of dancing shadow lights....annoying.  Plus the LOD radius transition is a mess.  The area inside the LOD radius is sharp and filled with autogen then you get a sharp circular boundary where everything beyond is a blurry mess.  In FSX-SE the transition is subtle and you don't really notice it.  For those with heavies like PMDG I don't see the value in moving from FSX-SE (as long as you have Steve's fixer) to P3D v3.2.  Right now using 3.2 for VA flying and ConcordeX (but only because I am a beta tester).

[Mike_CFII_MEL 789]

Hi,

 

Prepar3D IS my future!, for me FSX died some time ago... I've NEVER regretted the switch to P3D!.

[AviatorMoser 353]

Looks like the answers can fall approximately into a few main statements.

 

1. "P3D runs great and looks great. Why would I go back to FSX?"

 

2. "P3D is an improvement but not enough to warrant the extra costs associated with it and its addon catalog."

 

3. "P3D doesn't really look all that much better in the end. You still spend money on addons to improve the scenery irregardless."

 

4. "P3D runs worse on my system than FSX. Why would I pay money for worse performance, and then spend more money to upgrade my hardware to get adequate performance?"

[Glynn 405]

I have just spent a week with P3Dv3.2 and last night requested a refund.

 

During the week in an effort to get reasonable AA I spent £439 on a GTX980 as my 570 was clearly the bottleneck but the AA even at 4XSGSS was noticeably worse than FSX/DX10 at the same setting.

The frame rates whenever in heavy cloud were very poor, worse by far than my GTX570 managed in FSX/DX10

 

The water was also worse with no discernible movement

The clouds also seem to have a very odd flat bottomed appearance in this version.

The hard line at the edge of the LOD radius with blurred textures beyond also looked odd unless visibility was purposely limited.

 

Performance was much less than FSX/DX10 with a noticeable lack of fluidity using TrackIR.

 

So regretfully I uninstalled and requested the refund to which Lockheed Martin to their credit were very gracious about.

I would have kept the software but the AA issue is not solvable whilst P3D uses DX11 or until another generation of cards arrives.