Running Tandem - FSX:SE & P3Dv3 - Experiences?

[greggerm 312]

Hello, my name is Greg, and I have flightsim OCD.

 

For years, I've subscribed to a mantra that I will only have (1) flavor of a MSFS-based simulator installed at any time on my PC. A nice, clean PC with no dual simulators - no muss, no fuss. With that being said, I've found myself in the midst of a tug-of-war this summer between the gloriously beautiful Prepar3D v3 and the highly compatible FSX:SE.

 

I am flying along enjoying the beauty of P3D, but start to miss flying the Level-D 767 or PMDG MD-11... So I flush my system with a new baseline build and bring it back up with FSX:SE, make some airliner flights, and start missing the beauty of P3D again... So I flush my system with a new baseline build and bring it back up with P3D, but I start to miss flying the Level-D 767... So I flush my system...

 

Some say that José is "The UNINSTALLER", but I'm sure to have given him a run for his money over the course of the past ten years or so.   As efficient and proficient as I have become in the art of reinstalling my entire PC, the fact is I am finally getting tired of it. I'm considering giving in and performing a dual install. For those of you who run both FSX:SE and Prepar3D v3, I've got some questions - primarily surrounding scenery and weather addons. I'll throw them out here and feel free to answer, comment, or otherwise mock me and my thought process.

• Any need to install one before another?
• Any sensitivity with addon vendors to have their product installed on one before the other?
• Will I need to install each of the (3) flavors of SimConnect for each platform independently?
• Orbx - will there be two "FSX Central" instances (one for FSX, one for P3D) and will they be independent?
• ActiveSky 2016 & ASCA - (I own it for both) - Any users running both versions for your dual-installed sims? Gotchas or issues? (primarily on the ASCA side, as I know there are two distinct versions of AS2016)
• REX Texture Direct - any dual users supporting both FSX and P3D with REX:TD? Gotchas or issue?

This is a big step (for me, anyway). I know many of you might do this very thing, so feel free to share any of your tips, tricks, hints, or cautions as I prepare to make the change.

 

Editing to add: I do have the DX10 fixer for FSX and find that while it makes substantial improvements, to me it still not enough to keep me permanently running FSX - especially with what the PTA/RealismShaderPacks can bring to P3D.

Editing to add: I also own the Estonia Migration Tool, but some of my FSX-only addons remain incompatible. I have not used it for my recent rebuilds, and don't plan on using it going forward.

 

Thanks!
-Greg

[Mephic 129]

Not that I want to change your mind but did you consider FSX SE with Dx 10 scenery fixer? It's quality is not much worse than p3dv3 (and I like colour pallette more, it's less game'ish) and it remains compatible with loads of freeware and payware addons. When you use it with as16 and asca i cant see major differences vs p3d although the latter has amazing cloud shadows on ground and hdr. It also has no vas issues. Im considering full switch to p3dv3 next year but it's only because I fly 3 aircrafts and all are compatible with it. I also have lot of pay ware airports with full compatibility so freeware is not a must in my case. But I'm still hesitating tbh since my fsx-se with dx10 is well optimized and looks great.

[greggerm 312]

Thanks for the tip, Tomasz! I actually do have the DX10 Fixer and while it does make some great improvements, it's still not enough to keep me happy with FSX for all my simming needs. I've updated my initial message with that note in case others think it might be a good recommendation. I appreciate the input though!

[MarkW 1,490]

I have FSX-SE with DX10 Fixer and P3D Academic version 3.35 (or whatever is latest).

 

Basically I fly P3D almost all of the time now and only fly FSX-SE when I want to fly the PMDG 777 as its the only aircraft I cannot port over and I am not prepared to pay twice for it.....that might change if P3D ever comes out with a 64 bit but for now this is how I am setup.

 

I think you will also find that over time you will just naturally fly P3D more often as it just looks a bit better.  Performance is honestly about the same on my system but that is very subjective. 

[downscc 1,327]

I've had all the platforms (FSX, FSXSE P3D XPL) at one time installed without any issues at all. However, there are posts here almost everyday from folks with problems caused by the EMT.

[greggerm 312]

Any other tips, tricks, and experiences are welcome - is it truly that simple and easy thing to manage? (*Perhaps I've been overthinking it for all this time!)

 

Thanks,

-Greg

[nealmac 260]

I've no problem running both on the same machine. The only reason I have both is because (like Mark said above) I'm not willing to pay for the PMDG 777 again. I'm just glad I made the change to P3D BEFORE buying the NGX. Both give me similar framerates, but P3D looks far prettier.

 

To be honest I don't really use FSX as much as I used to. But when I do, there's a couple of things I need to do. I need to make sure that PFPX and ProATC is reading the Active Sky Next weather file from the FSX location rather than the P3D location (only takes a minute to change it) and remember to set it back when I'm finished. Also, if using ProATC you need to go into the options and tell it which sim you're using. Again, only takes a minute.