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Alaaar

Moving to P3D soon .......

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Dear all,

Planning to move this weekend to P3D......I got myself a new computer and since I almost know nothing about P3D except it's a 64bit development for the ancient FSX (I am going to miss....Really)  I have some questions I hope for a straightforward answers, I already have the following add-ons for FSX so getting them for P3D will not a big issue since most of them are working for both platforms starting day 1......OK here we go:

1- Do I need a weather engine (I use AS2016 I have it for FSX)

2- Do I need REX TD/SC ( I already have it for FSX)

3- Do I need REX SF ( I already have it for FSX)

4- Do I need REX WW airports  ( I already have it for FSX)

5- FlightSim Commander? TOPCAT?

6- ORBX products ( I already have it for FSX)

7- Does Navigraph charts and FMS data works the same way as FSX?

8- I know that PMDG and Flightsimlabs products have to be repurchased again? while the Maddog Md-82 is having reduced price for FSX owners? other models I all have to investigate?

Your advice is highly appreciated 

Best regards

Alaa 


Alaa A. Riad
Just love to fly...............

W11 64-bit, MSFS2020, Intel Core i7-8700 CPU @ 3.20 Ghz 6 Cores, 2 TR HD, 16.0 GB DDR4 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 MB GDDR5
 

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you will need a weather engine and i would go for REX skyforce,think there is an upgrade price from FSX..also pretty sure ORBX is compatible with FSX and prepar3d 4.3 at no extra charge.

steve

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1- Do I need a weather engine (I use AS2016 I have it for FSX)

There is an upgrade for P3D.  If it were me I would also purchase ASCA

2- Do I need REX TD/SC ( I already have it for FSX)

Will work.  Up to u

3- Do I need REX SF ( I already have it for FSX)

Will work.  Up to u.  Not a fan.  I would not use the sky force weather engine.

4- Do I need REX WW airports  ( I already have it for FSX)

Will work.  Up to u

6- ORBX products ( I already have it for FSX)

Will work with P3d no problem.

7- Does Navigraph charts and FMS data works the same way as FSX?

Yes

I also recommend ENVTEX and ENVSHADE. Works very well with Active Sky and ASCA


Matt Wilson

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3 hours ago, Alaaar said:

Dear all,

Planning to move this weekend to P3D......I got myself a new computer and since I almost know nothing about P3D except it's a 64bit development for the ancient FSX (I am going to miss....Really)  I have some questions I hope for a straightforward answers, I already have the following add-ons for FSX so getting them for P3D will not a big issue since most of them are working for both platforms starting day 1......OK here we go:

1- Do I need a weather engine (I use AS2016 I have it for FSX)

2- Do I need REX TD/SC ( I already have it for FSX)

3- Do I need REX SF ( I already have it for FSX)

4- Do I need REX WW airports  ( I already have it for FSX)

5- FlightSim Commander? TOPCAT?

6- ORBX products ( I already have it for FSX)

7- Does Navigraph charts and FMS data works the same way as FSX?

8- I know that PMDG and Flightsimlabs products have to be repurchased again? while the Maddog Md-82 is having reduced price for FSX owners? other models I all have to investigate? 

Your advice is highly appreciated 

Best regards

Alaa 

1. Yes - you will need to repurchase; however, there's a discount for FSX users...there's also a sale on now so you can get the upgrade >$20

2. No - however, do you really needs this with SF? 

3. No - Rex SF license is good for  FSX & P3D

4. No - REX WW airports license is good for  FSX & P3D

5. No - Both will work for P3D

6. No - Your ORBX license is valid for all ESPs; in fact, their 'ORBX Central Center' makes it incredibly easy to install/activate there products between platforms)

7. No - Works the exact same

8. Depends - With the exception of PMDG, most offer discounted updated prices...


Matt King

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3 hours ago, Alaaar said:

 

8- I know that PMDG and Flightsimlabs products have to be repurchased again? while the Maddog Md-82 is having reduced price for FSX owners? other models I all have to investigate?

 

Yes u will have to repurchase for a ridiculous price.  Not sure with the Maddog


Matt Wilson

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44 minutes ago, steve howlett said:

you will need a weather engine and i would go for REX skyforce,think there is an upgrade price from FSX..also pretty sure ORBX is compatible with FSX and prepar3d 4.3 at no extra charge.

steve

Could not disagree more; SF wx engine is no where close to HIFI's model.  In fact, it's almost 8 years behind AS2016; as a result of REX still relying on ESPs old SDK, their wx engine still suffers from 'popping' and abrupt wx changes.  These problems were resolved by HiFi with the release of AS2012; their subsequent products (ASN and AS2016) have only gotten better. They are not even remotely on par with each other...

BTW, the OP does not need to pay an upgrade price REX Sky Force; the license is good for both products...

Edited by kingm56

Matt King

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3 hours ago, Alaaar said:

1- Do I need a weather engine (I use AS2016 I have it for FSX)

Well, it depends of the type of flying you do, but I would say ABSOLUTELY and ABSOLUTELY stay with ActiveSky.  I have used every single weather engine and weather related textures available, carefully looked at the all under may different conditions and a heard of horses could not pull me away from ActiveSky with ASCA and Eventex textures.  NOTE that everyone and their three brothers have different advice for weather textures, but I don't know a single flight simmer who compared the REX/SF weather engine to ActiveSky and not found it a slam dunk decision to go with ActiveSky.  Now, REX hopes to replace the SF weather engine at some point in the future and I'll take another careful look at that when they do, but for now it's pretty much ActiveSky or nothing! 

3 hours ago, Alaaar said:

2- Do I need REX TD/SC ( I already have it for FSX)

Not if you already have Sky Force, but I would give some serious consideration to ASCA and Eventex textures.

3 hours ago, Alaaar said:

3- Do I need REX SF ( I already have it for FSX)

What you need is a Weather Engine and Weather textures and you can certainly use REX SF textures with ActiveSky's Weather Engine if you choose.  But again, I'd give serious consideration to ASCA and Eventex.

3 hours ago, Alaaar said:

4- Do I need REX WW airports  ( I already have it for FSX)

It's an EXCELLENT product which will help provide increased immersion for airports you don't have payware for.  But you certainly don't need it.

3 hours ago, Alaaar said:

5- FlightSim Commander? TOPCAT?

It's a personal decision.  Have you tried SimBrief?  It's freeware, web based and not only an excellent flight planning suite, it gets better and better all the time and since it's web based you don't have to worry about upgrading the software on your computer.  NOTE:  It won't calculate takeoff performance (not yet anyway).

3 hours ago, Alaaar said:

6- ORBX products ( I already have it for FSX)

You don't need them, but it's certainly nice to have.

3 hours ago, Alaaar said:

7- Does Navigraph charts and FMS data works the same way as FSX?

It does.

 

Best wishes for Happy Flights!!!

 

 

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Dave Hodges

 

System Specs:  I9-13900KF, NVIDIA 4070TI, Quest 3, Multiple Displays, Lots of TERRIFIC friends, 3 cats, and a wonderfully stubborn wife.

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Gentlemen, thank you very much for all your comments I just started my new computer and I will read all your recommendations 

I do appreciate it 

Best regards

Alaa  


Alaa A. Riad
Just love to fly...............

W11 64-bit, MSFS2020, Intel Core i7-8700 CPU @ 3.20 Ghz 6 Cores, 2 TR HD, 16.0 GB DDR4 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 MB GDDR5
 

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3 hours ago, kingm56 said:

Could not disagree more; SF wx engine is no where close to HIFI's model.  In fact, it's almost 8 years behind AS2016; as a result of REX still relying on ESPs old SDK, their wx engine still suffers from 'popping' and abrupt wx changes.  These problems were resolved by HiFi with the release of AS2012; their subsequent products (ASN and AS2016) have only gotten better. They are not even remotely on par with each other...

BTW, the OP does not need to pay an upgrade price REX Sky Force; the license is good for both products...

where did i mention Hifi and anything to do with there weather engine??

 and the fact that Skyforce includes textures,why would he want to buy any other weather program.

as for me if i want the best looking weather ,it's REX all the way.99% of screenshots shown anywhere use REX skyforce with REX textures.

the sudden weather changes have never bothered me that much.the incoming patch will solve that issue.

 

 steve

Edited by steve howlett

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I looked back over older posts that I made when Opus, Active Sky and FSGRW were the primary weather engines. My conclusion at that time is one couldn't go wrong with any of the three. Each had some bells and whistles that the other two did not possess. Over time HiFi pulled away from the others by making constant improvements and adding features. That remains true today. But is Sky Force really 8 years behind? I think that's a bit over the top language used to drive home a point. I'd say that the gap between the ASP4 and SF weather engines is about the same as the gap between the SF clouds and ASCA. Each developer seems to have a specialty at which it excels.

But ASP4 has not changed much recently. SF is a new product and is awaiting an update. The good news for REX is that SF is getting better while ASP4 is at a plateau. I think that REX will be able to catch up. On the other hand, it would be nice if ASCA had better clouds. Using just one developer's products makes more sense than mixing and matching.

One thing about the weather. It's constantly changing.

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The good news you will jump strait into 4.4.


 

Raymond Fry.

PMDG_Banner_747_Enthusiast.jpg

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Hi Folks,

I finally made it - I'm a 1%'r...

:tongue:

HiFi - all day - every day - my sky cocktail of choice for P3Dv4 - (ASP4/ASCA/ENVTEX/ENVSHADE) - amazed every time I fire up the sim - and I have REX...

Only recently noticed on FSElite a new major update to ENVTEX is in the works...

Regards,

Scott

Edited by scottb613

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1) FSXWX is free weather engine and works well with P3Dv4. ASP4 (the P3D version of Active Sky) or REXWD are paid alternatives.

2) REX4 TD/SC works with P3D, no additional purchase necessary. You don't need it but it does make things look significantly better

3) Again, you don't need REX SF. I presume it works in P3D at no extra cost but I don't have it. ASCA is an alternative that interfaces with ASP4 weather engine if you get that.

4) I believe REX WW was patched to work with P3Dv4, no additional purchase necessary. Although reviews indicate whilst it improves appearance of default airports with it's sharper textures, it also reduces variety.

5) TOPCAT isn't sim dependent afaik?
     FSC is not P3D compatible; LittleNavMap is a free alternative that works with P3Dv4. There is also FSTramp which is descended from FS Nav but I think they charge a subscription?

6) All ORBX stuff works with P3Dv4, that was part of my rationale for choosing it over GEX & UTX (who added P3D support later than ORBX)

7) Nav databases for addons work exactly the same (Navigraph or Aerosoft Nav Data Pro) are not sim dependent

😎 In addition to PMDG and FSL, A2A and CaptainSim also insist on you repurchasing aircraft to get them in to P3D. Aerosoft and Majestic offer a discounted upgrade path. Alabeo and Careando work with P3D without any additional fees.

 

Edited by ckyliu

ckyliu, proud supporter of ViaIntercity.com. i5 12400F, 32GB, GTX980, more in "About me" on my profile. 

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12 hours ago, jabloomf1230 said:

I looked back over older posts that I made when Opus, Active Sky and FSGRW were the primary weather engines. My conclusion at that time is one couldn't go wrong with any of the three. Each had some bells and whistles that the other two did not possess. Over time HiFi pulled away from the others by making constant improvements and adding features. That remains true today. But is Sky Force really 8 years behind? I think that's a bit over the top language used to drive home a point. I'd say that the gap between the ASP4 and SF weather engines is about the same as the gap between the SF clouds and ASCA. Each developer seems to have a specialty at which it excels.

But ASP4 has not changed much recently. SF is a new product and is awaiting an update. The good news for REX is that SF is getting better while ASP4 is at a plateau. I think that REX will be able to catch up. On the other hand, it would be nice if ASCA had better clouds. Using just one developer's products makes more sense than mixing and matching.

One thing about the weather. It's constantly changing.

In terms of wx engines, yes they are.  The 8 years wasn't pulled from the ether; it was roughly the time when HiFi announced they were able to work outside ESP's limited SDK (i.e. AS2012).  Thus, they solved the sudden weather shifts, abrupt winds aloft changes and cloud popping long ago.  SF wx engine still relies on ESPs SDK; thus, those issues still occurs. In short, SF wx engine is on par with ASX, which was released 8 years ago (circa 2010).  The comment wasn't "over the top"; instead, it was based on logic predicated on facts.  Please show me where I err.... 

Your comment concerning ASP4 plateauing is perplexing; you assert that because SF is newer, it's better?  Skysims MD-11 is 8 years newer than PMDGs version.  Is the former better than the latter?  Moreover, why do imply that HiFi has ceased development (plateau)?  Unlike REX, HiFi doesn't make hyperbole claims regarding future products; conversely, they release no details regarding future products until just before release.  We would be crazy to assume  HiFi isn't working on an update, especially when you consider their release history; they release a new product every 2.5 years.

REX makes incredible textures! However, in terms of weather engines, they're nowhere close to HiFi.  If they were, do you think SF would allow you to use 3rd party weather engines? That alone is acknowledgment that their weather engine is not up to par with competing products.  If it was, there would be no need for this option.  

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Matt King

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17 hours ago, steve howlett said:

where did i mention Hifi and anything to do with there weather engine??

 and the fact that Skyforce includes textures,why would he want to buy any other weather program.

as for me if i want the best looking weather ,it's REX all the way.99% of screenshots shown anywhere use REX skyforce with REX textures.

the sudden weather changes have never bothered me that much.the incoming patch will solve that issue.

 

 steve

Your post is confusing (and difficult to read).  Do you understand the difference between weather engines and weather textures? I asked because this statement/question is confusing:

"Skyforce includes textures,why would he want to buy any other weather program"

Using your logic, there's no need to buy SF; after all, FSX/P3D includes textures, so why do I need to buy REX?  Moreover, why do you need REX Skyforce with REX textures?  The former contains Gbs upon Gbs of textures; if you have the former, you don't need the latter.   I'll also add that AS4 and ASCA (textures) cost is on par with SF.  Factoring the massive difference between wx engines, the former is probably the smarter buy. Although, ideally you would use HiFi wx engine and SF for textures...

BTW, the upcoming 'patch' was suppose to be a completely separate product/purchase; however, for obvious reasons, REX decided to include it as part of SF.  We'll have to wait and see if it's an actual improvement.  If we know anything about REX is they tend to overhype their software.  Plus, it takes them forever to deliver on free upgrades.  I'm still waiting on my WW Airport updates (it's been 3/4 years?).

Again, to the OP, if you currently have AS4, I think you will be disappointed reverting to SF wx engine; there are copious YouTube videos that explain said wx engines deficiencies...


Matt King

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