I'm ever more convinced to make the switch.  We'll see if P3Dv5 will be out early next year, otherwise I'll likely go ahead and get v4.

I completely agree with you and others regarding PMDG's practices where P3D is concerned.  I consider it to be a blatant money grab, and I will not be purchasing their P3D products unless they offer a discount for the FSX versions I already own - period.

Thanks for the responses everyone.

Dave

6 hours ago, pgde said:

1. I am not an Orbx user but MegaScenery user. Cost to upgrade: zero.

I am an ORBX user and in fact own all of their packages. Cost to upgrade from FSX to Prepar3d4: zero (over all incarnations FSX->P3D1->P3D2->P3D3->P3D4).

Kind regards, Michael

13 hours ago, downscc said:

I like to do low level mountain flying in the PMDG DC-6, and maybe it's because I'm using Pilot's mesh but I don't see mountains popping up in front of me,, but I do agree that the P3D rendering engine is long over due a significant update.  I will often see a slight shape shifting, which is weird but I'm used to it.

As for cost, no one who has paid to fly will ever call this an expensive hobby.  I know it's relative, but I know sportsmen that pay much more for hunting or fishing and I suspect that even bowling is more expensive than this hobby.

I agree Dan, at the end of the day, it can be as cheap or as expensive as you like. As with any hobby, once you become hooked and engrossed with it, you try as much as possible to acquire the finest and best you can afford. Let's face it, anyone can buy a copy of FSX for a few dollars, a cheap joystick and enjoy it as a PC game. That's how most of us got started, I'm sure. Then once you become enthralled with things, you want to get a better plane, then better scenery, etc etc. It's very easy to tot up how much money you've spent on the hobby from day one, and frighten yourself 😱 but it's how much a year is spent, surely, in the same way you'd look at your golf membership and cost per game. 

Can't say i really notice the scenery popping and giant trees etc. What really still gets me is the atrocious night lighting. I love night flying but the state of it in P3D just kills it for me.

Xplane is much better in some respects although it suffers from popping which ruin things as well.

I'm simming for almost 20 years now. Never looked at any other sim than FSX & P3D. I must admit, lately, whenever I see an Xplane screenshot I cry a little. I never used Xplane, I'm not using it now but I have to admit that it's is overtaking P3D so fast it's unbelievable. I invested a small fortune in FSX & P3D addons but I'm seriously thinking in switching to Xplane when next versions come out. Of course, it all depends on what P3D v5 is going to bring us but even with that, the situation is very complicated - if they introduce the new engine than the compatibility with all the addons is most likely going to be broken, so the addons are not the excuse to stay with P3D anymore. If they don't introduce the new engine than it most likely can't look much better than it looks now - which is not good at all. So the only way I'm staying with P3D in the future would be that v5 is going to bring us as good or better visuals and performance than Xplane. Simple as that.

7 hours ago, Chock said:

 

So the big question is:

Will you be prepared to accept a new terrain engine for the sake of longer term gain which will most likely render all current scenery addon's useless - and therefore stick with the platform but have to pay for the scenery add-ons (again) - or would that just make you switch platforms entirely?

9 minutes ago, ErichB said:

So the big question is:

Will you be prepared to accept a new terrain engine for the sake of longer term gain which will most likely render all current scenery addon's useless - and therefore stick with the platform but have to pay for the scenery add-ons (again) - or would that just make you switch platforms entirely?

It's going to be a clean slate and people will choose the better platform.

12 minutes ago, ErichB said:

So the big question is:

Will you be prepared to accept a new terrain engine for the sake of longer term gain which will most likely render all current scenery addon's useless - and therefore stick with the platform but have to pay for the scenery add-ons (again) - or would that just make you switch platforms entirely?

I am pretty sure LM will keep some extent of backwards compatibility which has always been one of their declared goals, and certainly for a reason.

I can imagine, even a new terrain engine keeping basic compatibility. I recall having been told by experts the transition to 64 bits would render all our addons completely unusable because of some byte ordering or longer/shorter variables or other strange stuff I didn't comprehend, which was plainly wrong.

Kind regards, Michael

6 minutes ago, pmb said:

I can imagine, even a new terrain engine keeping basic compatibility. I recall having been told by experts the transition to 64 bits would render all our addons completely unusable because of some byte ordering or longer/shorter variables or other strange stuff I didn't comprehend, which was plainly wrong.

Yup, I remember that.  

Like may others, I use both P3D and XPlane. The use of the platform depends on the kind of flying and availability of high-end aircraft. I do also come from FSX, bought thousands of sceneries and add-ons and recently "discovered" Xplane 11 and its features (I tried XP8 before, but it was not convincing for a switch). Especially night flights in XP11 are a joy! However, none of the platforms is perfect. Default P3D suffers from blurred terrain and popping-up textures and default XP11 has no seasons. For GA I usually go with XP, for airliners either XP or P3D. Especially with airliners you are usually so busy in a one-man cockpit with ATC that there is no much time to look outside the window when being in the approach phase.

Sometimes I think it would be great to have the same amount of natural haze in P3D as in Xplane in order to mask some of P3D's blurries.

4 minutes ago, Cargostorm said:

Sometimes I think it would be great to have the same amount of natural haze in P3D as in Xplane in order to mask some of P3D's blurries.

This raised my curiosity.. maybe an add-on could replicate this under P3D.. please send me screenshots privately so I can study possibilities..

All the best,
S.

5 minutes ago, simbol said:

This raised my curiosity.. maybe an add-on could replicate this under P3D.. please send me screenshots privately so I can study possibilities..

All the best,
S.

This can already be done using Active Sky if you set a visibility parameter.

17 minutes ago, ErichB said:

This can already be done using Active Sky if you set a visibility parameter.

I know but I am interested to see the PICs from XP11 haze :), just researching as I am looking for the mouse that scare the Elephant .

S.

15 minutes ago, simbol said:

I know but I am interested to see the PICs from XP11 haze :), just researching as I am looking for the mouse that scare the Elephant .

S.

Is this enough? I am glad Prepar3d doesn't come with this by default like XP11 where you have to jump through a few hoops to get rid of it. There certainly are hazy situations in the real world, and Prepar3d can cope with them (as Erich mentioned, e.g. using AS). However, if you want to have a clear shiny summer day on the backside of a cold front, it needs a lot of patience in XP11.

Kind regards, Michael

Edited September 26, 20187 yr by pmb

1 minute ago, pmb said:

I am glad Prepar3d doesn't come with this by default like XP11 where you have to jump through a few hoops to get rid of it. There certainly are hazy situations in the real world, and Prepar3d can cope with them (as Erich mentioned, e.g. using AS). However, if you want to have a clear shiny summer day on the backside of a cold front, it needs a lot of patience in XP11.

Kind regards, Michael

Well this is the problem.. some people want the haze all the time and others don't.. we humans are very difficult to please..

This is why no Aliens in the universe have contacted our planet yet as they are scared we will be disappointed about them, I know, I know.. my conspiracy theories are crazzy.. 

S.