As said by others before: try P3DV4 and XP11 before deciding.

I currently have P3DV3 (32bit), P3DV4 and XP11 (64bit). I have invested many Euros in the ESP platforms but I just found myself exclusively flying XP11. I run P3DV4 with Envshade, ASP4, ASCA, Envtex, ORBX FTX Global, ORBX Landclasses, REX, which improves the default sim a lot.

The choice also depends on the aircraft you wish to fly. The PMDG 777 for instance is superior in P3D. The PMDG MD11 is not compatible with 64bit P3DV4. Rotate on the other hand will release a MD11 for Xplane, presumably next year. So why not using both platforms, depending on the kind of flights and aircraft you would like to use?

In what respect in MY opintion XP11 is better than P3D?

- XP11 has modules and can be easily extended by plugins - great and easy!

- XP11 (and most addon) does not install in the registry. This keeps your Windows installation tight and clean. You could even run it from a USB stick. Then again, the easy update progress. You can even run several XP installations in parallel for test purposes. This would never be possible with LM's P3D.

- XP11 has much better night lighting and no performance hit with dynamic lighting

- XP11 has sloped runways and rain drops effects on the windshields, just as in real life

- You can get fantastic aircrafts (e.g. ZIBO 737) and photo scenery (Zone photo, XEurope) for free

- You can get nearly everything that you know from FSX/P3D in XP11 as well (TrackIR; Better Pushback & Ground Handling Deluxe (GSX); Multi-Crew Experience, Landing analysis tools, XCamera (EZDOK), IVAO/VATSIM, XOrganizer (Simstarter NG); World of Traffic (Ultimate Traffic)...),

- you can find nearly every airport made by somebody in the Community, some with payware quality

- no blurries in photo textures. Everything is crisp (in P3DV4 I get blurries with photo sceneries, even with high LOD),

Negative points in XP11:

- the mouse wheel zoom cannot be deactivated. If you fly in the VC with TrackIR, this makes it difficult to adjust the knobs. There are plugins to deactivate, but they do not work with all aircrafts.

- no seasons (there are 3rd party replacement textures),

- the crosswind influence on some aircrafts is exaggerated

The weather / sky / water in XP11 can be improved by free plugins and texture replacements (just as in P3D). For XP11 I use FSGRW (works also in P3DV4) as weather plugin. Works great, also for IVAO/VATSIM flights.

So you see, every platform has its pros and cons. A combination of the best features of both platforms would result in a great sim, but this is technically not possible.

Cheers,
Chris

Edited May 29, 20188 yr by Cargostorm

I have come thru the ranks of sim progression just like many of you have for at least 25 years and even did  tours in Aerofly, XP-10, and DCS. Bought all kinds of addons in the thousands$. But when I loaded up XP-11 and Added some Mister X airports [freeware], I could not believe my eyes.

 I would just taxi around KBOS, my home base, and be in awe of what I was seeing for freeware, with spectacular lighting, AI and quality graphics and no loss in performance. I no longer am investing in P3D V4 platform. For what is lacking in XP-11, I will happily wait for the addons to roll in and will enjoy the Aerobask Sky View and the FF320 etc.flying over some of the best graphics I have seen at all altitudes out of the box, bar none. What's a config file? Skip

9 hours ago, Cargostorm said:

 

- You can get nearly everything that you know from FSX/P3D in XP11 as well (TrackIR; Better Pushback & Ground Handling Deluxe (GSX); Multi-Crew Experience, Landing analysis tools, XCamera (EZDOK), IVAO/VATSIM, XOrganizer (Simstarter NG); World of Traffic (Ultimate Traffic)...),

 

Not everything though... Real live traffic (PSXseeconTraffic + RealTraffic) is only available in FSX/P3D.

 

Loved your program Kiek but unfortunately the hefty hike in the subscription put paid to me using it.

Use both and love both... but the Aerobask DA-62 has kept me purely in XP11 since it was released a month ago. 

get both .... thats it ...

I also have both and like aspects of both. Two negatives for XP in my opinion: At least on my system, it crashes far more often than P3D, no doubt due to all of the plug ins that are required to add features like Saitek panels, Lua, etc.  Also, I really wish that FSCaptain and ProATC X worked with XP. I would fly a lot more some of the great planes like the IXEG 737. 

As others have said, GA flying is the strength of XP. There are some cool planes that have not been seen in P3D, and the flight dynamics seem more real to me (although I am not a real pilot).  Many GA planes and add ons like the Reality expansion packs are of the same quality as what A2A offers with P3D. 

I've been on the fence about XP11 for a while now. Like the OP, I tried the demo, and while I liked the flight dynamics of the default C172, I was quite apalled by the way the default 737 handled in stormy weather. That seemed like a total joke to me. However, the visuals of default XP11 are overall wonderful to look at, and this has always retained my interest in the platform. I have a question about that:

XP11's shaders have always appeared to me as being far, far superior to those of P3D. The haziness in XP11 looks incredible, and gives the distant terrain a wonderfully realistic feel. That said, I've also felt like the shaders make the sim a little too 'dark' and 'red', whereas P3D's shaders make the sim look a little lighter, and the colors more neutral. For that reason I;ve been considering to use XP11 primarily for flights around the American southwest, as the redness of the shaders makes that area look really good especially. My quesiton, however, is whether there are ways to change XP11's shaders? Something like PTA for P3D?

Guys - we're right on the edge of this belonging in the XP forum. This thread is not for XP support.

Vic

Happy to see I’m not alone in the XP11 and P3D use. Love them both!

Get XP11 when it is on steam sale.  I got mine last year during Christmas sale.  But I do not use it, due to the fact that I have made some investment in p3dv4 products.  Mostly A2A, PMDG, Majestic and Orbx P3D offerings.  I can not justify the price to spend more.  Maybe when A2A and PMDG really go into it - maybe then.  

I love the fact XP11 has all addons outside the root directory etc.  P3Dv4 does that now too kinda (current stuff works, just few players are still living in the sim root directory).

Both are good.

Lack of WX and SKY/CLOUD texture systems like ASP4, ASCA, ENVTEX, REX SF is a serious shortcoming of XP11. The remainder is close to, almost better or better in XP11 ))

 

10 minutes ago, Dirk98 said:

Lack of WX and SKY/CLOUD texture systems like ASP4, ASCA, ENVTEX, REX SF is a serious shortcoming of XP11. The remainder is close to, almost better or better in XP11 ))

 

I love flying in the winter in P3D. Wouldn't want to give that up for anything. 

On 5/27/2018 at 9:24 AM, dmarques69 said:

Not going to argue that with you, even more if you are a real pilot, but the differences are just so notorious, anyone can see it and feel it, i made one challenge to my self and i landed the PMDG 737 and the Zibo mod 737 in the same weather conditions and in the same aiport, and oh my, its like night and day, the PMDG(great in systems simulation) was not even a challenge to land, is so straight foward, as for the ZIBO, it took me 3 attempts to land, this with a severe cross wind in both.

As a side note i was whats can be called a P3D ******, i have probably more than 1000 hours in P3D, but in terms of flight model once you go with XP you cant go back, even with the lack of so many other things, and no one can say the opposite, is just there to see.

The lookup table vs blade element flight model discussion has been beaten to death (and debunked) over the years. The conclusion was that one was not better than the other, it all comes down to how each is implemented. Some addon devs do it better than others. Its that simple. This will be the same in both sims.

A2A, realair - both excellent in the P3D / FSX realm.

My conclusion with using the XP11 demo at least with the default aircraft (main focus was C172) that it was on par with P3D. No more, no less. Certainly not 'night and day' difference.

53 minutes ago, GHarrall said:

The lookup table vs blade element flight model discussion has been beaten to death (and debunked) over the years. The conclusion was that one was not better than the other, it all comes down to how each is implemented. Some addon devs do it better than others. Its that simple. This will be the same in both sims.

A2A, realair - both excellent in the P3D / FSX realm.

My conclusion with using the XP11 demo at least with the default aircraft (main focus was C172) that it was on par with P3D. No more, no less. Certainly not 'night and day' difference.

Well you gave the only example than in my opinion is head to head in FD with XP, A2A, this guys know what they do, you just need to follow them in social media to see all the work that they do before releasing a plane to the public! Rather than that you cant give me another example, because there aren't, the only difference i see in this one , is that you have to pay in one side and on the other is free.