Fed Up

[Beardyman 604]

I'm just wondering where P3D development is heading ?

At least last two updates with nothing interesting for end user, so many updates and still P3D is just a tad better than FSX...

[PaulFWatts 100]

 

 

Vic has exactly right here. I've done extensive testing using both SSD's and several types of HDD's (10,000rpm, 7200rpm, 5400rpm).

 

Thanks Vic, Doug and Harry for your insights.

 

Apologies for hijacking this thread as in hindsight I should have started a new thread.

 

Sounds like my only concern would be the load times. Are you able to give me an idea on how much longer it takes to load in terms of a factor, e.g. 1.5 times as long, 2 times as long, etc

 

Also I don't currently deselect scenery as I found it hard to work out which sceneries to deactivate (because many of the files just have the name basexxx (where xxx is a number) in them. Is there an easy way to do this as would just like to activate the scenery for the region I am going to fly in.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

 

I have P3D (V3.4) running perfectly now, but it did take time finding the sweet spot. But now, when I look back at all the time I spent searching for that sweet spot, boy is it worth it.

 

Hi IM,

 

I've just PM'd you as interested in learning more about the tweaks you have done.

[vgbaron 3,627]

 

 

At least last two updates with nothing interesting for end user, so many updates and still P3D is just a tad better than FSX...

 

You are entitled to your opinion but many will completely disagree. As it is now, P3D is far and away better than FSX and it's still under development. YOU may not have found anything interesting in recent updates but I can assure you that *I* did as did many others.

 

Vic

[Guest]

You are entitled to your opinion but many will completely disagree. As it is now, P3D is far and away better than FSX and it's still under development. YOU may not have found anything interesting in recent updates but I can assure you that *I* did as did many others.

 

Vic

 

 

Could you qualify any of those assertions into factual information that we could use to consider a potential move to P3D?

 

It would be very useful; instead of just "YOU" reckon this and "I" reckon that.

[jcomm 5,939]

Honestly, I'm in the fence regarding re-installing FSX:SE or going P3D monthly license again just to be able to use the FSLabs Airbus, and get back to the weather I can't find in any other flight simulator, provided by AS16 and ASCA.

 

I am very spartan abou the features I enable in such a sim. Usually set autogen scenery to nill or minimuns, no shadows, clouds set to DXT5. This is because my system is still an old i5 2500 @ 3,3 GHz, while the graphics board is really not that bad - Gefforce G960 GTX 4 GB GDDR5.

 

Just don't know what to do yet... Meanwhile I'm find the best time of my simmer life in the last years playing combat flight simulators, DCS and IL2, where the flight dynamics are really unique... but I miss the civil aircraft, World coverage, and teh weather modelling I am acustomed to by Active Sky...  and I really wanted to have a great Airbus !

[vgbaron 3,627]

Could you qualify any of those assertions into factual information that we could use to consider a potential move to P3D?

 

It would be very useful; instead of just "YOU" reckon this and "I" reckon that.

I could but it would be more beneficial if you took a look at the changelogs on each revision. Those changes, on a properly set up system, result in better graphics, better utilization of the CPU and GPU etc. Not top mention that they are continuing and we are looking at a 64bit version down the road.

 

Vic

[MarkW 1,493]

Well so much for my problem free P3D experience.  Today on a very nice PMDG 747 v3 flight from Anchorage to Ontario P3D crashed  NTDLL as the culprit.  Happened for no reason over the ocean.  Luckily I was able to restart from a saved situation and carry on to the destination.  Just wish I understood what happened.

[vgbaron 3,627]

Lots of info on ntdll crashes in our CTD forum Mark.

 

Vic

[dbw1 445]

With the problems of P3dV3.4 I decided to stay with P3dV3.35 and am happy with it. Started a new build last fall and this time did not install Orbx vector or global and no FSDT sceneries. Have had 1 oom total.

 

Got several Fly Tampa scneries, PMDG aircraft, lots of Orbx etc. All works pretty good and I have no complaints.

 

I have it on a MSI GT72 laptop -I7-6820, nvidia 980m-4gig. P3d is on a 500gig M.2 ssd. Got a Dell 34" curved monitor plugged into the laptop.

Dave

[jcomm 5,939]

This all makes me think I should really not spend my money in P3D right now...

 

FSX:SE will certainly do the job just well, untill v4 get's released.

[Stratocruiser1 134]

Wait. Did I miss an earlier memo? Did Vic just say 64b?

Howard

[vgbaron 3,627]

Yes Howard but LM has not made any official announcements so I'm waiting like everyone else. My feeling is that it will be relatively soon. Way back when LM first released P3D I had conversations with their Project Lead and it was stated that they planned to get the most they could out of 32bit before switching to 64. To me, it appears they are just about there.

 

So, not to start any unfounded rumors, all this is my own supposition.

 

Vic

[Jim Young 2,356]

And now this topic will move to discussions of the 64 bit version of P3D and that will not be good as it will be way, way off topic from the OP.  It's amazing how fast these topics go off topic. 

 

The OP indicated a problem with P3D but did not indicate anything about his computer specs or anything about the errors or issues he's having.  His first sentence was interesting, "guess I've reached the saturation point in trying to mess with all of this software to get it working properly".  Then later on he says GSX and FSDT are virtually unusuable.  What's wrong?  It won't start up?  He says P3Dv3 is a nightmare and seems to work more poorly every time he starts it up.  Installing lots of software add-ons will do that.  The more installed, the longer it takes for P3D to boot up.  P3Dv3 works great 'out of the box' and with the default configurations.  Then, there are those like the OP who says he has a top of the line Jetline System with plenty of power.  That's the misconception many get.  They think they have a super powerful computer system so they can ramp up the settings to the max because that's what they do with all games on the Internet.  Turn all the settings up to the max.  You can do that with the just P3Dv3 installed.  Go ahead, turn all of your settings up to max without any add-ons.  You can do it and you will have no problems (well, maybe you'll run out of VAS if you have max autogen on a long flight) but mostly you can fly P3Dv3 with max settings on a powerful computer system.  It's when you install the add-ons that things start to go downhill.  Is that Lockheed Martin's fault?  That developers like FSDT or PMDG or the makers of any other software have a lot of eye-candy in their software so it will sell better?  Another resource intensive add-on is real weather like AS16.  Depending on the weather, it can really take up a lot of resources but it's something everyone wants.  Real weather in your sim rather than the default.  When you install those eye-candy airport add-ons or state of the art aircraft like PMDG releases, you have to turn your settings down.  No computer system currently on the market can run P3Dv3 and add-ons with max or nearly max settings.  It is literally impossible and if you try it will destroy your enjoyment of the products. 

 

Tweaks are not good and anyone who does not know that much about computers should stay away from any tweaks.  The settings others use when they tweak are for their computer system, their setup and the settings will most likely not work for anyone else.  The AVSIM P3D Configuration Guide, authored by our moderator, Rob Ainscough,  provides some good settings and some valuable information when you install add-ons.  In P3D you do not touch your display driver settings.  Just mess with the settings in the P3D settings.  It will give you great enjoyment if you bring down your settings. 

 

Over the years I have seen more and more disappointment with running products like FSX and P3D.  I attribute it to the fact computers have gotten faster, more powerful.  FSX/P3D are basically the same sims except P3D can be updated to the latest technology.  When the Intel Sandy Bridge CPU's were released a 3-4 years ago, it opened up FSX and P3D.  Members were finding that FSX and P3D ran better without any stuttering, blurries, pauses, or crashes.  They considered it the greatest achievement for FSX/P3D.  But then, members started raising their sliders because they had a more powerful system and things started to go downhill fast.  Many looked for the holy grail of tweaks from the old FSX/FS9 days and they seemed to work but turned out to be only placebo's. 

 

The best anyone can do is to turn your P3D settings back to the default.  Fly for a while and then slowly start moving the sliders to the right or turning on a function that was not turned on with the default.  The secret I have found to success in setting up FSX or P3D is to let the sim "breath".  Let your sim have time to render the thousands of textures during a flight.  You cannot get it to render very fast if you have high settings.  Read Rob's excellent guide for setting up P3D.  Most of all, do NOT follow the advice of others regarding tweaks.  Most tweaks will actually take up more resources and take up rendering time if you have set the wrong parameters.  You should never ever allow FSDT to employ the suggested tweaks they have placed next to the area where you register your flight.  Never ever allow those tweaks to be employed.  Just exit.  (If you did allow them, you will have to delete your P3D.cfg and allow it to be rebuilt). 

 

I just built a new system (see specs) and I immediately installed P3Dv3 and ran it once.  I then installed the PMDG 737 and 777 aircraft.  Played with them for a few flights.  All went well and I had high FPS.  I then installed every FSDT and FlightBeam airport.  Again, no problems.  Got them registered and yes, I do have a problem with them in regards to FPS and VAS at some of the airports (like KORD) but I know I will not be there long and will be departing soon.  I then installed my Orbx/FTX scenery and found my fps fell even more.  I know I have to be careful when flying over this scenery if in the PMDG 777 or 747 and I have AS16 enabled and the weather is bad.  So far I have had a lot of success and I have evidence of my fps and VAS usage as I have set up my FSUIPC to monitor my VAS usage and log everything about the flight.  Heck, sometimes, even with AS16, MyTrafficX, the PMDG 777, Orbx Southern Cal, FSDT KLAX and FlightBeam's KSFO, I get fps at a max of 145 and a minimum of 11.  The 11 usually happens at the departure airport or the arrival airport.  My textures outside the aircraft are crisp and clear and most of the time the textures are rendering instantly.  That's all I need as I spend a lot of time reviewing the FMC legs and making sure my flight is on track.  So it is possible to enjoy P3D with many add-ons.  You just have to be careful when exceeding the default settings you got when you first started up P3D (each system defaults are different - it is based on your system).

 

Hope this helps and you enjoy P3Dv3 someday soon!!

 

Best regards,

Jim

[ubersu 78]

LM has said nothing whatsoever about a 64bit version of P3D. If LMCO can make money from it, they may do it. If they can't they won't. I worked for them for years and that's the way they roll. With the new administration beating on them for cheap, I expect lots of layoffs and the marginal profit areas will be the first to go. Let's hope it doesn't come to that because our add-ons have reached about as far as the base sim can take them.

 

DJ

[Wobbie 938]

From: http://www.airdailyx.net/interview-with-lockheed-martin/

Technology

Jerome: There have been many rumours and much speculation about 64-bit support. I read an official forum post on your website that mentioned that the initial Prepar3D v2 release would be 32-bit, with a 64-bit one to follow. Could you kindly elaborate where the 32- and 64-bit versions are on the Prepar3D v2 roadmap? 

Wesley: The 64-bit question is a great one, and it's kind of tied directly into backwards compatibility. When we do go 64-bit, most of the currently compiled add-ons won't work. Similarly to how we see people requesting advanced flight dynamics to the core, etc. - that is hard to do and to move forward and still keep backwards compatibility. Customers already have a host of add-ons they are invested in, and we are invested in our developer network members who build content for Prepar3D as well. So what we've done there for v2, is create an all new iSimObject interface. This is an entirely new interface directly to the core of the simulation that let's developers develop and use their own flight-models and dynamics and variables. Literally anything is on the table with this new interface. We really hope developers begin to leverage it.

So, with all that said, v2 is 32-bit. We've put a lot of thought into a 64-bit v2, and will continue to do so, but I can't promise you when it will be done or ready, or what all the hiccups with existing add-ons would be.

 

​Some professional aircraft developers ARE developing for a 64bit version.