What is LM up to? Do we get a P3D V3.4? or V4? anything?

[fluffyflops 1,858]

I hear the next version includes flying unicorns

I've heard the unicorns have fixed all in memory leaks in the pmdg 777 and better still pmdg have admitted they exist

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

LM has consistently shown support for the 3rd party add on community by not making major improvements to the base behavior of the sim such as weather, AI traffic, aircraft, ATC and scenery. Rather, they have focused on improving stability and performance.

[SpiritFlyer 987]

Lockheed Martin's P3D Team has been a termendous asset to the broader FS community. Instead of ignoring or resisting add-on developers they have aggressively tried to incorporate compatibility with older products.

 

They are without a doubt, the most friendly platform developer to this hobby centric community than anyone else at the table, despite the fact that they are focused on the professional market.

 

Thank you guys for your thoughtful service to us!  It is much appreciated and we wish you the very best as we move forward.

 

Kind regards,

[vgbaron 3,627]

Yes, Stephen, I find it interesting that we are not LM's primary market yet they have been supremely more open in dialogs with us than MS ever was and we WERE their main market.

 

Vic

[Wobbie 938]

We are not allowed to be LM's primary target market. They got ESP, Microsoft's professional version of FSX that they have modded & updated into P3D ..

 

Built on the core technology behind Flight Simulator X, Microsoft ESP is a visual simulation platform that brings immersive games-based technology to training and learning, decision support, and research and development modeling for government and commercial organizations. 

Of specific interest to the Flight Simulator developer community is the opportunity to expand on the powerful Microsoft ESP serious games simulation platform which is licensed to be sold by third parties and used in commercial, non-entertainment settings.

 

Dovetail got the non commercial/gaming FSX core that they slightly modded & released as FSX:Steam, of which future development has been frozen. AS we know, they have released their 'Flight School'with their own sim to be released at some undisclosed future date.

 

So, for the 'entertainment' simmers, we got the now frozen FSX:SE, for the newbies, we got DTG's Flight School, & some future 64bit  sim.

 

The commercial users have P3D, & we have been VERY fortunate that Lockheed Martin still take our money & let us play with it, with the only restriction, license wise, that we are not entertained by it.

 

As far as, in the old days, when Microsoft not having dialog with us... If I recall, we did not complain too much then, & really, what dialog did we need? They gave us the basic engine, folled with service packs & Acceleration. The dialog came from the add-on guys. THEY, the freeware & payware guys, gave us the add-ons that made our sim whatever we waanted it to be.

Let's face it, the only dialog we really expect, nowdays, is when DTG or LM is going to cater to our demands & let us know as to when their new products will be released.

 

IMHO, I really think that we should make the effort & have more dialog with those freeware developers, the payware one's as well, to thank them for making our sims, be them FS9, FSX, or whichever sim we enjoy, so immersive for us. We take those guys for granted. 

 

Cheers, & happy flying,

Robin  

[Cruachan 705]

As far as, in the old days, when Microsoft not having dialog with us... If I recall, we did not complain too much then...

 

Hi Robin,

 

As far as I remember, at times we did little else. Indeed, I can recall those frustrations, and admit I was responsible for converting some of these into apposite posts, caused by MS's constant stone-walling of the community. Doubtless the developers were not to blame as they were certainly shackled by dictates from above and their employer's draconian policies. Somewhat surprisingly and refreshingly this attitude seemed to relax somewhat during the ACES era. Sadly, as we all know that didn't last as MS eventually pulled the plug.

 

We have to face up to the fact that most monopolistic organisations have a mind set which, somewhat paradoxically, excludes the feelings of their customer base as 'there's no sentiment in business'. For me the reality is that since the days of Bill Gates Microsoft's interest in Flight Simulation waned rapidly as it was far too niche and didn't deliver the expected financial returns necessary to keep that interest alive.

 

For more years than I care to admit I was a staunch supporter of Microsoft and couldn't see beyond all the products we have grown to rely upon. The ACES debacle witnessed the beginning of my disillusionment and gradually, bit by bit, that erosion of trust and respect for an organisation that cared little for how I felt started to grow. Call me naïve, if you like, for having held this position for far too long and you are probably right. However, I will always have more respect for a business organisation that communicates well wth their customers, admits and accepts their shortcomings where they exist and shows a willingness to work towards the benefit of all involved. MS falls well short of these ideals and, for me, their blinkered and determined behaviour regarding pushing everyone towards Windows 10 illustrates this uncaring, unsympathetic attitude all too well. Indeed, there seems to be strong grounds for suspecting that since September/October 2015 measures have been taken to make it difficult for Windows 7 users to use Windows Update effectively. This could be interpreted as a deliberate ploy to put pressure on those, like myself, to upgrade to an operating system where MS have more control than ever over what we do.

 

It's all getting pretty messy and can only end in tears.

 

Thank goodness, with Lockheed Martin, we have a parent organisation with an evident and passionate interest in flight, providing an enthusiastic Development Team with all the necessary support and encouragement to continue this great adventure in our simulated world and skies!

 

Regards,

Mike

[G7USL 117]

I moved onto a great 64bit sim in XPlane 10.45 and It's realism has to be experienced to be believed. I love the IXEG B737, the uneven runways and the many, many views with hesitation free replay's.

 

For me, P3D is dust.

[Bobsk8 12,730]

I moved onto a great 64bit sim in XPlane 10.45 and It's realism has to be experienced to be believed. I love the IXEG B737, the uneven runways and the many, many views with hesitation free replay's.

 

For me, P3D is dust.

 

I tried X plane on a friends PC and found it pretty second rate compared to P3D. A long list of things that X plane was missing, that I enjoy in P3D. 

[SpiritFlyer 987]

Thank goodness, with Lockheed Martin, we have a parent organisation with an evident and passionate interest in flight, providing an enthusiastic Development Team with all the necessary support and encouragement to continue this great adventure in our simulated world and skies!

 

 

I feel the same! Thank you Lockheed Martin for letting us tag along. You have earned our support and respect!

[Christopher Low 5,353]

 

MS falls well short of these ideals and, for me, their blinkered and determined behaviour regarding pushing everyone towards Windows 10 illustrates this uncaring, unsympathetic attitude all too well. Indeed, there seems to be strong grounds for suspecting that since September/October 2015 measures have been taken to make it difficult for Windows 7 users to use Windows Update effectively. This could be interpreted as a deliberate ploy to put pressure on those, like myself, to upgrade to an operating system where MS have more control than ever over what we do.

 

That is a very interesting comment, Mike. The reason I say this is because of one recent Windows 7 update.....KB3177723. About a week ago, my PC failed to boot up when I switched it on. It went through the System Repair sequence, and my PC was restored to an earlier time and date. This happened several times before I realised that it seemed to be connected to a single Windows update. I stopped this update from installing, and the problem vanished.

 

Frankly, I was thinking along exactly the lines that you have suggested. I have never had a single problem with automatic Windows updates in the past, and it strikes me as rather suspicious that this has happened not long after the "upgrade to Windows 10 for free" option expired. Microsoft had better not be playing tricks with their customers.....

[pmb 5,137]

 Microsoft had better not be playing tricks with their customers.....

Why not? Without any serious competition, MS is pretty much free to do what they want these days We (including me) are now repaid for making Microsoft the uncaring, unsympathetic giant they are. 

 

As a sidenote: I was not yet able to install that Win 10 Anniversay thingy on either of my two machines. Perhaps it's better that way.

 

Kind regards, Michael

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

I wouldn't worry about the Win 10 happy Anniversary update. Mine won't install either, but every day it keeps trying to do so. I figure I'll just wait until I have to buy a new computer.

 

I think the problem with the "old" Microsoft is that they were rolling in dough and never thought that being customer friendly was important ... until the bottom fell out of the PC market.

[FaxCap 13]

I have always hated the way Microsoft did business. Their "You will buy it and you WILL like it" attitude.

As for WindoZe 10 use O&O's free telemetry blocker.  Or in Win7 use freeware SpyBot Anti-Beacon.

 

Let's face it, Windows 10 is just glorified spyware.

 

CK

[Guest]

The next version of P4D will support all X-plane 10 and 11 add-ons and be able to dynamically link to the Xplane flight model core DLL. It'll support DTG PBR and all DTG add-ons.

 

There will be an optional compatibility mode that will run all existing 32bit add-on in a 64bit address space using new virtual method technology (VMT) developed by LM's work with NASA on the Jupiter probe.

 

Price is $4.99 for "wonder" edition and $7.99 for the "deluxe wonder" edition.

 

There will also be a "Spock" and "Spock Pro" edition for those able to contain their emotions during ALL stages of flight.

 

There is also going to be a new SDK to support avatar mode in The Sims world and WoW.

 

Hope this helps clarify a few things.

 

Cheers, Rob.

[airlinejets 709]

 

 

The next version of P4D will support all X-plane 10 and 11 add-ons and be able to dynamically link to the Xplane flight model core DLL. It'll support DTG PBR and all DTG add-ons.

What?? No support for FlightGear??? :mad:

 

:wink: