Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking P3d, just expressing my long held frustration. It's a little like a relationship, you fall in love, then after a while you have to work at keeping the interest and love alive. Sometimes, arguments and disappointments become too great and you go your separate ways. I fear this is happening with me. I've been simming for about 12 years now and flying with P3d since it's release, being continually frustrated with each version. Sure, not in the same way as FSX, as that was often code related, so CTDs, freezes etc etc. But with P3d, with every release, I seem to be continually frustrated, but at a different level. No CTDs or freezes but slow loading autogen, disappearing autogen, shader issues, slow loading sim etc. and to be fair, many of the issues relate  to third party addons too. Don't get me wrong, v4.4 is probably the best I've experienced in P3d, but it has come at a price. So, as a sim, I am reasonably OK with things. But sometimes, like a marriage, I'm rather tired of having to work hard at keeping that flame alive.

I have to admit at doing the dirty a few weeks ago, when a friend convinced my to visit a place of ill repute... she was called... DCS.  Wow, exciting or what! I can sit down, jump into an aircraft, fire up the sim and be flying a mission within a couple of minutes. Now the real excitement, and I mean mind blowing excitement, was learning to fly the VTOL Harrier and fly online with my buddy Rich Russell. Having perfect commmunications and fly alongside each other, after him giving me a full pre-mission plan, on a mission in enemy territory, is so removed from P3d, that it's more than refreshing... it's incredibly exciting! There is soooo much to learn about flying the Harrier, that at times, it does seem a little overpowering, but Rich continues to teach me, a little bit at a time. It is taking me hours and hours to learn the VTOL techniques, not to mention mission planning, navigation and the weapons system. It is a complicated bit of machinery, but it really does deliver satisfaction, especially when you're flying for real alongside a friend. Is it better than P3d? The answer, is of course no, because they are as different as oranges and apples, but as with many things, variety is the spice of life 😄

Edited May 4, 20197 yr by Rockliffe

2 minutes ago, Rockliffe said:

Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking P3d, just expressing my long held frustration. It's a little like a relationship, you fall in love, then after a while you have to work at keeping the interest and love alive. Sometimes, arguments and disappointments become too great and you go your separate ways. I fear this is happening with me. I've been simming for about 12 years now and flying with P3d since it's release, being continually frustrated with each version. Sure, not in the same way as FSX, as that was often code related, so CTDs, freezes etc etc. But with P3d, with every release, I seem to be continually frustrated, but at a different level. No CTDs or freezes but slow loading autogen, disappearing autogen, shader issues, slow loading sim etc. and to be fair, many of the issues relate  to third party addons too. Don't get me wrong, v4.4 is probably the best I've experienced in P3d, but it has come at a price. So, as a sim, I am reasonably OK with things. But sometimes, like a marriage, I'm rather tired of having to work hard at keeping that flame alive.

I have to admit at doing the dirty a few weeks ago, when a friend convinced my to visit a place of ill repute... she was called... DCS.  Wow, exciting or what! I can sit down, jump into an aircraft, fire up the sim and be flying a mission within a couple of minutes. Now the real excitement, and I mean mind blowing excitement, was learning to fly the VTOL Harrier and fly online with my buddy Rich Russell. Having perfect commmunications and fly alongside each other, after him giving me a full pre-mission plan, on a mission in enemy territory, is so removed from P3d, that it's more than refreshing... it's incredibly exciting! There is soooo much to learn about flying the Harrier, that at times, it does seem a little overpowering, but Rich continues to teach me, a little bit at a time. It is taking me hours and hours to learn the VTOL techniques, not to mention mission planning, navigation and the weapons system. It is a complicated bit of machinery, but it really does deliver satisfaction, especially when you're flying for real alongside a friend. Is it better than P3d? The answer, is of course no, because they are as different as oranges and apples, but as with many things, variety is the spice of life 😄

should  try  the  dcs  hornet  and   tomcat landing  at  night  on  the  carrier

I don't do military have done them I the past but they bored me after a time, and now they are dead and gone titles no military sim up to now has lasted or had the success the flight sim has, it has it`s fans but not the broad appeal.   

I have not had the same challenges with P3D, just recently went from 4.4 to 4.5.  But having Xplane11 too is a challenge, because Xplane11 in my opinion has better default everything, other than cloud appearance, P3D IMHO offers more realistic clouds, plus seasons, plus is less memory intensive, not that either sim crashes on me. 

I also just added Reality XP for Xplane11 and given the experience, I will get it for P3D4.5 in a few weeks, it adds so much to bizjet flights in my opinion, or propjets, with the integration with Carenado and Alabeo products. 

I usually switch off on which sim I use, flying P3D and Xplane at least once per day.  I like my photoreal coverage in Xplane11 better than my MSE scenery for P3D, it has better color separation since I could choose my source, and a notch better resolution.  I also favor Xplane11 when it comes to copters, which P3D does a terrible job at, copters just fly with too much a downward nose attitude and do not autorotate or hover nearly as well as Xplane11. 

P3D 4.5 has come to the fore in night lighting I feel, just posted some screenshots of that.  But I cannot diss it for what it lacks, that is why I have two sims, so I can fly depending on what I want to see and where I want to see it.

John

Agreed DCS is the bees knees. Flying their study sims is like flying PMDG but then Having the 777 loaded to the teeth with weapons that you have to understand how to fully operate like in the real world and the whole time avoid getting your Butt  shot down.

DCS also utilizes VR more effectively. 

Edited May 4, 20197 yr by zmak

6 hours ago, zmak said:

Agreed DCS is the bees knees. Flying their study sims is like flying PMDG but then Having the 777 loaded to the teeth with weapons that you have to understand how to fully operate like in the real world and the whole time avoid getting your Butt  shot down.

DCS also utilizes VR more effectively. 

Sure, I feel I have a purpose in DCS, and more importantly, there are consequences, something that is not apparent in other sims, not to the same extent anyway.

I think variety is a good thing. And to be honest, regarding playing other games too beyond those involving planes. It's a funny feeling seeing someone coming out of their little cave and finding out about other games with modern graphic engines and what they are capable of 🙂

16 minutes ago, Rockliffe said:

Sure, I feel I have a purpose in DCS, and more importantly, there are consequences, something that is not apparent in other sims, not to the same extent anyway.

That's a good point about consequences. I think the only reason I keep flying a civilian sim is that I do most of it in the FSEconomy game, where I have to make enough virtual cash each month to pay the maintenance overhead, work up flight plans for profitable routes, and so on. It gives me motivation to fly. It also sends me to airports and remote strips I never would have found otherwise.

I'm currently on a virtual tour of Japan in FSEconomy, flying a Carenado PC-12 across Alaska from the Pacific Northwest and taking assignments along the way to pay for it. It might turn into a round-the-world trip, I'm not sure yet. 

I used to be very big into air combat sims. I was actually the head SysOp of the air combat flight sim forum at creaky old Compuserve, before the Web was around. My favorite combat is vintage gunnery though, not the modern stuff, so I haven't gotten into DCS.

Rise of Flight with WW1 combat was the last time I got into air combat, but it's been a while since I've flown there. I haven't been able to relate to all the Eastern theater WW2 stuff that 1C has been doing. If they ever get around to the WW2 Pacific theater they'v'e talked about, that will probably lure me back in. 

7 hours ago, John_Cillis said:

because Xplane11 in my opinion has better default everything, other than cloud appearance, P3D IMHO offers more realistic clouds, plus seasons,

How is the flight planning and ATC in X-Plane doing for you?   Talking about boring, frustrating, tedious, irritating, intolerable....

If X-plane could get some at least semi-realistic single player ATC and AI, I may just start installing some of the excellent freeware available and even start buying add-ons.

Now if VATSIM or the like would have all official ATC positions in the whole world filled with professionals 24-7-365 then I would do online ATC.

To fly w/o ATC and a busy AI aircraft environment is also very boring, and FS2000-ish. 

 

11 minutes ago, pracines said:

How is the flight planning and ATC in X-Plane doing for you?   Talking about boring, frustrating, tedious, irritating, intolerable....

If X-plane could get some at least semi-realistic single player ATC and AI, I may just start installing some of the excellent freeware available and even start buying add-ons.

Now if VATSIM or the like would have all official ATC positions in the whole world filled with professionals 24-7-365 then I would do online ATC.

To fly w/o ATC and a busy AI aircraft environment is also very boring, and FS2000-ish. 

 

I use Pilot2ATC both on XP11 and P3D, plus World Traffic 3/UT Live. Problem solved...

Do you really fly with default ATC and Traffic in P3D??

31 minutes ago, pracines said:

How is the flight planning and ATC in X-Plane doing for you?   Talking about boring, frustrating, tedious, irritating, intolerable....

If X-plane could get some at least semi-realistic single player ATC and AI, I may just start installing some of the excellent freeware available and even start buying add-ons.

Now if VATSIM or the like would have all official ATC positions in the whole world filled with professionals 24-7-365 then I would do online ATC.

To fly w/o ATC and a busy AI aircraft environment is also very boring, and FS2000-ish. 

 

I am only using Reality XP now for flights that I plan, otherwise I fly without a plan.  I have never interacted with ATC in P3D or Xplane, I do not find it realistic and except for those rare bizjet or propjet flights, I usually fly outside of controlled areas because in real life, most of my Light Sport and all of my Trike training was outside controlled areas, a radio was there just to call out to traffic if in the area.  Reality XP makes flight planning a breeze, I love the way I can pick the approach I want and procedures I want and the autopilot will follow until I disable it when I am within sight of the airport since I prefer manual landings, just to keep my skills up.  The way I have P3D and Xplane set up with variable cross winds enhances my real life lessons and rudder use, when I have them, people say the sims cannot be that realistic but at least in terms of Microlights and Ultralights, they are, I give the nod to Xplane11 though, it seems less on rails although originally it was more on rails than the MSFS series.

I do not know what motivated me to get Reality XP a couple of weeks ago, I was never into programming flights in bizjets, but I just changed my attitude, wanted to liven up my sim experience, since there are so many others here who swear by programming the peripherals in their sim experience, just in case they find themselves confronted with them in a real aircraft.  Reality XP has given me the dream of feeling like one of those Youtube bizjet pilots, and in addition to Xplane11 I will add it to P3D next month, perhaps, if I am in town, since I may go on hiatus with my daughter during her summer break, possibly to DC, Orlando or even Great Britain, depending on how much I receive in settlement for being run over two months ago.

John

11 hours ago, Rockliffe said:

But with P3d, with every release, I seem to be continually frustrated, but at a different level. No CTDs or freezes but slow loading autogen, disappearing autogen, shader issues, slow loading sim etc. and to be fair, many of the issues relate  to third party addons too. Don't get me wrong, v4.4 is probably the best I've experienced in P3d, but it has come at a price. So, as a sim, I am reasonably OK with things. But sometimes, like a marriage, I'm rather tired of having to work hard at keeping that flame alive.

Hello Howard,

You have a newer PC than me and yet I'm not having these kind of troubles at all, even with many major add-ons. I had Jetline build my PC, and it is a workhorse. I thought for sure I would have to buy a new PC when P3D v4 came out, but performance has been very good. As a matter of fact P3DV4.5 is running faster than 4.0 because I have more sophisticated add-ons now, and 4.5 still runs at the 20 FPS I lock at (since the FS9 days), and the very high settings I use, including autogen, at the max UI distance. 

I suspect its your PC (bottlenecks, config, updates, drivers). Who built your system? Can you contact them to help you diagnose any possible issues? Also, there is possibly that an add-on causing problems somehow. 

If you have either, how does XP11 run on your system? How does AF2 run on your system? DCS w/o tons of add-ons, or setting changes over the course of months/years, should not be the only determining test to conclude that P3D is boring. P3D has been cleaning and cooking dinner for you (or you for her 😄) for years. 

The point I'm trying to make is, given your system specs, you should not be having the issues you describe. I don't think P3D is the problem, neither should you. Investigate some more, set P3D and all add-ons to default settings, make sure all your drivers are current, check system temps, make sure PC is clean inside and out. I'm not saying you have not done all of this, I just want to help you get P3D running as good as it does for me. 

Now, if you would not call these things "issues", then there needs to be a question of expectations from P3D, given the amount of add-ons you have, and the settings you set. For example, I have many scenery add-ons; from the full Orbx global at max vector settings, to tons of airports all at max settings, to terrain. With this fact and the fact that I do not unload any of them anytime, because I fly everywhere, I expect P3D to take a long time to load. As a matter of fact its part of the preflight for me. Because I set very high settings for ASP4 my clouds are drawn to 145 NM (I fly FL380-410 a lot during Atlantic dawn🤩), and ASCA is building the highest level of overcast it can, I do not expect to run at 60 FPS, not even close. I want a more realistic scene, and 20 FPS is acceptable to me.

All n All I hope you will find yourself enjoying your marriage with P3D - divorce is very ugly, a total unnecessary waste...P3D is only 'human'. 😂

 

 

Paul, I don't think the question of how P3D runs on Rockie's system, it seems to me that it's a case what P3D does for him. I can and do, sympathise with him. Taking off flying XX nm to an airport, landing: Repeat. Is only interesting for so long. (Hence, I reckon, the incessant clamour for new content)

DCS provides a reason to climb into a cockpit, whether it's to come to grips with a Harrier and it's weaponry(above my pay grade) or to be able to fly within feet of three or four other aircraft. No to mention the courtesy needed to taxi in the presence of other aircraft, vehicles, buildings and lampposts!

Good onya Howard. 👍

22 minutes ago, Ron Attwood said:

Paul, I don't think the question of how P3D runs on Rockie's system, it seems to me that it's a case what P3D does for him. I can and do, sympathise with him. Taking off flying XX nm to an airport, landing: Repeat. Is only interesting for so long. (Hence, I reckon, the incessant clamour for new content)

DCS provides a reason to climb into a cockpit, whether it's to come to grips with a Harrier and it's weaponry(above my pay grade) or to be able to fly within feet of three or four other aircraft. No to mention the courtesy needed to taxi in the presence of other aircraft, vehicles, buildings and lampposts!

Good onya Howard. 👍

You explained it perfectly Ron, as always my friend. 😏 

 

Edited May 4, 20197 yr by Rockliffe

I'll have to invest in a new HD so I can enjoy DCS.....  Wings of Prey I like as well....