Retiring from P3D .. my thoughts

[hatata 13]

Hello everyone first of all thanks for all the help and support over the years. P3D has been a blast and a huge source of frustration. I am just simply done with trying to keep my P3D installation in tip top form. Every time i rebuild my machine I have to chase down all my add-ons.. get reactivation reset for various products and no matter how hard I have tried to script the re-installation process with the tons of add-ons and tweaks I am just tired and done. Watching the possible revolution that Microsoft Flight simulator 2020 might be, removed any remaining desire I have left to invest in P3D for the time being. 

Its kind of like when I was younger and trying to learn the guitar. I spent so much time fiddling with my tone that I ended up not playing as much as I should. The reason for my post is not that I expect anyone to really care but I am curious to how many folks feel the same way ? With all of P3D's legacy code quirks and the add-on ecosystem that improves on basic features the sim does not have are you feeling discouraged to invest any longer now that we have some possible hope that plane add-ons might be the only thing we need to invest in?

Anyway .. regardless of what happens with FS2020 and P3D This forum has been a huge part of my reading daily for years and I am thankful for you all! I did not contribute much but again

Thank you. 

Edited October 30, 2019 by hatata

[ZLA Steve 370]

These kind of post always amuse me, but I will wish you well since you put it out there. Out of curiosity, just how often do you rebuild your machine?

 

[hatata 13]

2 minutes ago, ZLA Steve said:

These kind of post always amuse me, but I will wish you well since you put it out there. Out of curiosity, just how often do you rebuild your machine?

 

I get a hardware upgrade allowance from my job so of course I try to upgrade my processor once a year which usually means a new mother board and a complete re-install of windows. In addition to the rebuilds .. when P3D installations get bloated or something gets corrupt you find yourself in a full re-install position anyway. 

[ZLA Steve 370]

I see. Oh well. Enjoy the sunshine!

[VOJu24 7]

Well I never even made the move to P3D but definitely get the feeling, I haven't played FSX properly in like 10 months, I did some tweaking here and there but it's just even preparing a flight properly seems like so much effort. 

I do miss it though and if not tonight I want to play some time soon again. But part of the problem is also that I have too many addons, I don't even know what I want to fly and where and with what purpose. So I need to decide GA or more jet aircraft and then I still need to come up with a flight plane that satisfies my desire for having something realistic, ideally with an idea of the story behind the flight. And once I'm done with that one evening is gone and the other evening I feel like doing something else. The other problem is the upkeep, even though I have lots of custom scripts to make it easier, it seems every time I think of doing it I spend first an hour looking for what I haven't updated. 

So yes I totally get your feeling, but I'm trying to fight it now, cause it's been too long and I mean all the money I've invested I should enjoy, because I love airplanes and understanding them better! (And I love airports ...)

[Farlis 2,277]

35 minutes ago, hatata said:

I try to upgrade my processor once a year which usually means a new mother board and a complete re-install of windows.

Is it really necessary to re-install windows after a mainboard upgrade? Or is it just recommended?

[micstatic 4,299]

For the most part I already have most of what I need for P3D.  It's possible here and there I would add a scenery.  But I've got a good setup right now.  I'll buy the new MS whenever it comes out.  But even that day, it may not be ready to accommodate the type of flying I like.  IFR airline flights from A to B in a PMDG level aircraft with VATSIM.  Oh and without chaseplane I wouldn't even consider making the move. I will be pleasantly surprised if one year from today I'm fully switched over.  So that's great but there is still a ton of flying to be done until that point.   

[Mace 1,902]

46 minutes ago, Farlis said:

Is it really necessary to re-install windows after a mainboard upgrade? Or is it just recommended?

It's a good idea, and often necessary depending on the OS and how the OS boots.

What gets me is the OP reinstalls/rebuilds once a year.  You have to really LOVE it to do that, and clearly he does not.  If something is being run that corrupts an install, I would run far far away from whatever that was, on my next (frequent) install.

[Amon1973 1,421]

I feel your pain in keeping our flightsims running to a decent level, In some ways I feel like pausing until MSFS but I just can't keep away from the hobby, yes there is something not to far away that might blow socks off, but there are still loads of things to learn in our hobby, and if it wasn't for MS, I'd still be amazed by what we have at the moment , when compared to my first flight sim (Aviator) on the BBC Model B.

[DellyPilot 109]

1 hour ago, Farlis said:

Is it really necessary to re-install windows after a mainboard upgrade? Or is it just recommended?

I haven't, still running the same Windows 10 I upgraded from Windows 8 many moons ago.

Since then I have upgraded Windows to Pro and replaced all hardware components all on the same Windows installation, no issues but probably due a rebuild! 

Since P3Dv4 arrived in a few years ago I've simply upgraded Clients on each new minor release, haven't had problems.

 

[SP2472 2,291]

3 hours ago, hatata said:

Hello everyone first of all thanks for all the help and support over the years. P3D has been a blast and a huge source of frustration. I am just simply done with trying to keep my P3D installation in tip top form. Every time i rebuild my machine I have to chase down all my add-ons.. get reactivation reset for various products and no matter how hard I have tried to script the re-installation process with the tons of add-ons and tweaks I am just tired and done. Watching the possible revolution that Microsoft Flight simulator 2020 might be, removed any remaining desire I have left to invest in P3D for the time being. 

Its kind of like when I was younger and trying to learn the guitar. I spent so much time fiddling with my tone that I ended up not playing as much as I should. The reason for my post is not that I expect anyone to really care but I am curious to how many folks feel the same way ? With all of P3D's legacy code quirks and the add-on ecosystem that improves on basic features the sim does not have are you feeling discouraged to invest any longer now that we have some possible hope that plane add-ons might be the only thing we need to invest in?

Anyway .. regardless of what happens with FS2020 and P3D This forum has been a huge part of my reading daily for years and I am thankful for you all! I did not contribute much but again

Thank you. 

You feel the same as me...but you did not get banned as I did here by a moderator named Dave at Aerosoft. I simply said it was not a good idea to "spend big" on $200+ add-ons since MS2020 is coming soon in 6-12 months. This was my opinion and not an attack.

Btw, during this time period I was complimenting Aerosoft for their very fair upgrade to the A330 (not really necessary since this add-on is reasonably priced) and the quality of their upgraded CRJ.

I guess no one's allowed an opinion and you can be attacked by corporate "flightsim" anytime they want. 

Edited October 30, 2019 by SP2472

[David Vega 348]

I do not feel like you, but understand your desire to retire from the hobby.  May you find another that gives you what you wished this one would've been and more.  

Since I've been using flight simulator since the Commodore 64 version, through Microsoft Flight Simulator 1 .. FSX, and now P3D, and I can remember the pre and post excitement and expectations of every new version (specially since we've had Internet and forums), I'm expecting, and have been observing, the same for MS FS 2020.  So, it's easy to predict folks will buy multiple add-ons for it, and go through the configurations, setups, complaints, etc. It's the nature of the hobby in its current form.  MS FS 2020 will not be perfect in itself, and the combination of add-ons thrown on top of it will make it even more finicky.  But I'm still going to purchase it, I'm still anticipating it, and will enjoy it to the max.  Though MS had said they will be FSX backwards compatibility, I haven't heard about P3D.  Is good to know that I can still train in P3D while MS FS 2020 matures.   

[LecLightning56 33]

I am mildly amused by the obituaries to the flightsim world as we know it, i.e. RIP etc., particularly since we may all have a good year ahead to wait before we can start using MSFS2020, and the fact that avsim.com now seems to full of clairvoyants providing their vision of what they think things are going to develop into. We don't know enough about LM's future plans and nor for that matter what X-Plane may bring in the future and it may be too early to write these off completely just yet. It is strange that we all get to see something even brighter and shinier and, like all children, start throwing away our old toys and scream for the latest and greatest offerings. Yes, MSFS2020 does look very good but at least it may set a benchmark for others in what PC-based flight simulation is capable of producing. This can only be good in terms of directing things we way we need it to be. The plethora of scenery available exemplifies the problem we have got at the moment: the default offerings are perhaps a little inadequate and do not provide an immersive, satisfying experience. So, I am positive about what the future holds but will continue to enjoy my products for the time being and cannot see the point in ditching everything in despair at the present time.

Also, I have had a quiet laugh at how frequently people may upgrade their hardware: I have upgraded my CPU and motherboard recently, replacing not-so-inadequate 10 year old kit. I for one prefer a slower pace of change where my PC is concerned! 

[ryanbatc 12,774]

Must be rough to upgrade your PC once a year hahah!  Up until very recently I was using my 2500K from 2011!

Good luck to ya!

[Patco Lch 1,459]

I kind of enjoy the tweaking and problem solving that goes with flight simming. Can be very frustrating at times but extremely satisfying when you find the solution. Then again I never worked in I.T. so most of what I know about computers I learned here. Being forced to research and a little trial and error problem solving has given me a bit of an education. Keeps my mind active in my senior years. Kind of like owning an antique car and always trying to get a little more out of it.