Future of p3d v3.4

[Stefan888 11]

I was wondering will PMDG continue to support both v3 and v4.I now that 747-8 is both v4 and v3 but will this support continue in future,at least two years from now.We need to save money for new built.Thanks for replies

[Ephedrin 418]

My PERSONAL opinion: 

as more and more people have problems running FSX and the 32bit versions of P3D with the latest windows updates I expect both platforms being dropped very soon. Many scenery developers have already done it and as FSX doesn‘t seem to be a reliable development platform anymore it‘s not more than wasted money... I wouldn‘t bet on it anymore, to be honest.

[NMahinK 10]

Again also my two cents, the future of P3D 3.4 is simply to emigrate over to P3Dv4. V4 has so much more to offer and is one of the most stable platforms in years. 32-Bit simulation platforms are fast becoming an ancient relic. In my opinion I feel it is just a matter of time before FSX and P3Dv3 are dropped altogether, again just my two cents here.

[30K 72]

As far as i see it... There is actually no real argument against V4, well maybe except some upgrade prices but at the end of the day... The feeling to never fear the rising VAS number in the process explorer is 100% worth it.

This alone is enough reason for me.

[officercrockey 196]

5 hours ago, Stefanrus said:

I was wondering will PMDG continue to support both v3 and v4.I now that 747-8 is both v4 and v3 but will this support continue in future,at least two years from now.We need to save money for new built.Thanks for replies

Why you would need a new build for P3D v4?... if you can run v3.4 fine, you can certainly run v4. Maybe you can't use the higher settings it provides or the dynamic lights but then you are still on the level of v3.4.

[MarkW 1,491]

I have P3D v3.4 installed with two airports and one plane....EGLL, KJFK and Concorde.  As soon as there is a Concorde for V4 its gone.

[elmucki 32]

a lot of developers are only supporting v4 going forward... Not sure if PMDG is part of that. Would make sense thou as v4 is going to be the main platform... 

[spearmint_flyer 579]

I just installed V3 to fly some LR on the 767  and 757 when ever I get the itch to fly them. After CS releases the 757 its almost dead. E-jets once in a while is also something I intend to use it for. 

[downscc 1,327]

There are still a number of active FS2004 users out there too.  I'm sure FSX and P3Dv3 will be around for awhile.  There are the early adopters and the never adopters.

[Christopher Low 5,341]

There are several reasons why I am still using P3D v3, and I will continue to use it until a selection of "issues" with the 64bit version of P3D have been sorted out.

[Captain Kevin 586]

6 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

There are several reasons why I am still using P3D v3, and I will continue to use it until a selection of "issues" with the 64bit version of P3D have been sorted out.

This is why I'm still on FSX. Once I am satisfied that those issues have been addressed, I will consider getting a new computer to make the switch.

[kevinh 409]

1 hour ago, Captain Kevin said:

This is why I'm still on FSX. Once I am satisfied that those issues have been addressed, I will consider getting a new computer to make the switch.

It isn't like going from FS9 to FSX. You don't need a new computer to switch to P3Dv4. I get better performance from P3Dv4 than FSX-SE, I didn't change anything. The only upgrades you might need are a better graphics card and some more RAM. Also you have to budget for the cost of P3D licences of any PMDG/A2A/FSL addons you have.

Supporting multiple versions of addons for numerous sim platforms is going to be an increasing problem for developers of complex addons, especially when FSW matures as a product. FSW is of course an alternate 64 bit upgrade path from FSX and potentially a much cheaper one.

[mtrainer 136]

KevinH has a good point, if developers are free from having to develop multiple versions for older, less capable platforms, it simply takes away time they could be spending giving more goodies in the top of the line version of the product.

This, from a fellow who flew 2004 FS for nearly 10 years (Level-D 767).....even though I had FSX during most of that time the FSX platform felt like a stutter-fest.  The high frame rates in 2004 version allowed for some of the best landings I've ever accomplished in a sim.  Nothing like high frame rates for landings!

Anyhow, my vote is to drop FSX, old versions of Prepar3D, and once we're all on the same page the add-on community will start delivering new features in spades.

I'm on Windows 10 and I can't even get MS FS 2004 to work any more and I think FSX (boxed version) is busted too.   Not worrying about it.

Mark Trainer

 

[Captain Kevin 586]

21 minutes ago, kevinh said:

It isn't like going from FS9 to FSX. You don't need a new computer to switch to P3Dv4. I get better performance from P3Dv4 than FSX-SE, I didn't change anything. The only upgrades you might need are a better graphics card and some more RAM. Also you have to budget for the cost of P3D licences of any PMDG/A2A/FSL addons you have.

Supporting multiple versions of addons for numerous sim platforms is going to be an increasing problem for developers of complex addons, especially when FSW matures as a product. FSW is of course an alternate 64 bit upgrade path from FSX and potentially a much cheaper one.

I should point out that I'm running FSX Steam on a laptop that is very quickly running out of hard drive space (and by that, I mean I only have 35 gigabytes left on it), so I pretty much have no hope of being able to upgrade any components on it. My only alternative would be to get a desktop that's capable of running it with the possibility to upgrade components should the need arise. As for aircraft add-ons, the only one I have is the PMDG Boeing 747-400, so that isn't really an issue for me.

7 minutes ago, mtrainer said:

I'm on Windows 10 and I can't even get MS FS 2004 to work any more and I think FSX (boxed version) is busted too.   Not worrying about it.

That's unusual. You're certainly not the first person I've seen who wasn't able to get FS9 running on Windows 10, but some of us have managed to get it running on Windows 10, myself included, so that one baffles me.

[kevinh 409]

9 hours ago, mtrainer said:

KevinH has a good point, if developers are free from having to develop multiple versions for older, less capable platforms, it simply takes away time they could be spending giving more goodies in the top of the line version of the product.

This, from a fellow who flew 2004 FS for nearly 10 years (Level-D 767).....even though I had FSX during most of that time the FSX platform felt like a stutter-fest.  The high frame rates in 2004 version allowed for some of the best landings I've ever accomplished in a sim.  Nothing like high frame rates for landings!

Anyhow, my vote is to drop FSX, old versions of Prepar3D, and once we're all on the same page the add-on community will start delivering new features in spades.

I'm on Windows 10 and I can't even get MS FS 2004 to work any more and I think FSX (boxed version) is busted too.   Not worrying about it.

Mark Trainer

 

Thank you but that wasn’t quite the point I was trying to make. The continuing development of P3D causes problems for developers as they have to keep updating old products to maintain compatibility. It takes up resources which would otherwise be creating new products. Inevitably older versions cease to be supported. New products take longer to develop as the platform evolves.

Clearly platform development is a good thing, as it creates new features and better simulation for developers to exploit. But it has a downside too.