For some transition time, I would like to keep the V3 platform (especially because the IVAO MTL AI aircrafts are not ready yet).
Now that more and more "native" SDK V4 compiled sceneries come out, keeping the two platforms would require a double install in order to have the same sceneriy also available in P3D V3.

This raises a quesition in regard of "upward compatibility".

If you do not use the new V4 features such as dynamic lighting, will there be a problem if you use V4 SDK generated sceneries also in V3? I am wondering whether the grould layerings, runway and taxi markings, and lights such as the PAPI and approach lights will be displayed correctly in V3 even when the relevant files were compiled with SDK V4.

Anyone?

 

No.  You can not load v4 SDK developed items into any prior version of Prepar3D or FSX.

If you're wanting to use two platforms... it's time to accept that there are costs, limitations and requirements.  Stop trying to cut corners and "cheat", per se.

Ok, that's a clear statement. I am just wondering because FlyTampa brought out patches to make their airports V4 compatible. But the patched airports do also work in V3.

1 hour ago, WarpD said:

No.  You can not load v4 SDK developed items into any prior version of Prepar3D or FSX.

What happens?

They may corrupt your scenery.cfg file and you have to recreate the whole thing. That's just one possibility.

 

Vic

3 hours ago, Cargostorm said:

Ok, that's a clear statement. I am just wondering because FlyTampa brought out patches to make their airports V4 compatible. But the patched airports do also work in V3.

Then that is evidence that they did not re-work the scenery to actual P3Dv4.x compliance. They simply adjusted the installer program to find the absolute path to your P3Dv4.x installation.

In other words "compatible" is not at all the same thing as "compliant."

5 hours ago, Bryn said:

What happens?

 

All 3D models created for a scenery should be recompiled with the v4 XtoMDL compiler.  If it is, it's not useable in a prior version.  The textures should be reworked to be v4 compliant as well, I believe there are changes in what formats the textures can be in with v4.  Any custom coding in the scenery needs to be reworked to be v4 compliant.

 

Just because you can insert a v3 scenery into v4 doesn't mean you should.  It can affect performance.

Without naming specific developers or specific products (simply because I do not have any such information), you are missing the point that developer can of course use their bi/tri/quead/whatever installers to install the appropriate files depending on the selected sim you install into.

 

And I guess that is more in line with what the OP asked:  Just because a dev updates their product to be compatible with v4, does not necessarily mean it will not work anymore on v3  (though for reasons indicated by others, it may).