I want to start with a flight sim.

Both a very nice

But which? 

FS2020 or P3d ?

Like your opinion

Edited October 21, 20205 yr by ster100

Warning: Flamewar bait.

But why don't you compare the recommended specs for either P3D4, P3D5 and FS2020 and judge your rig for yourself? Don't use the minimum ones, unless you want to suffer needlessly. They are too optimistic. If you want to add FSX-SE to the mix, use P3D3 recommended specs for this.

P3D system requirements available here: https://www.prepar3d.com/system-requirements/
FS2020 system requirements here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/microsoft-flight-simulator-standard/9nxn8gf8n9ht#activetab=pivot:regionofsystemrequirementstab

Edited October 21, 20205 yr by Luis Hernandez

I agree with @Luis Hernandez evaluate your hardware first. Hardware is a big upgrade cost for someone just starting out in the hobby.

If you meet the specs, MSFS 2020 is a nice modern sim that favors new simmers (full disclosure: i only fly it about 30% of the time because of missing functionality). With MSFS you can get a good taste of the hobby without having to buy a lot of add-ons like weather programs. Plus, with Microsoft GamePass, you can play for just a few dollars a month.

Good luck and welcome to the wacky world of flightsim.

Edited October 21, 20205 yr by yurei

6 hours ago, ster100 said:

I want to start with a flight sim.

Back in 2017 you said you have XP11, are you not using it anymore?

As the others suggested, your hardware is probably going to help determine what you buy.

Welcome to Avsim.  As previously stated, your computer may dictate which sim will be better for you.

MSFS is cheap on the Xbox Gamepass (for PC!) and looks beautiful. But if you're interested in the technical parts of flying (IFR procedures, following air traffic control, super-realistic aeroplane systems) it's not advanced enough yet. There are some freeware third-party mods for some of the aeroplanes in it but these don't fully bring them up to spec.

P3D is much older. Out of the box, frankly, it shows. But it is a fully mature platform, though you'll have to spend quite a bit of extra money (and time!) if you want it to look nice and to include fully modelled addon aircraft.

If you're new or dipping your toe in again I'd get MSFS. If you enjoy that and want to do more in-depth simulation of things like airliners or hardcore online multiplayer through VATSIM, it might be worth looking at P3D. The general feeling is that MSFS will be at the same level as P3D in a couple of years, so if you're on a budget you might want to think ahead a bit.

In a nutshell MSFS is a one stop shop but not the ideal solution (yet) if you want complex aeroplanes with super-realism. P3D can offer you super-realism systems-wise for many aeroplanes, but it can get expensive to do that. So, in order to help you...

Above are my reviews of both the most recent version of P3D and of MSFS. But don't let this alone influence you since you may well disagree with my opinion, so I would recommend you watch a few reviews such as these and see what floats your boat. At the end of the day, it's what appeals to you which matters the most and only you can make that decision, but reviews such as mine can make that decision a more informed one.

 

One note of caution: don't take for granted that your MSFS performance would be worse than in P3D. My performance (with a 6700K CPU and a GTX1070) is significantly better in MSFS.

James

57 minutes ago, honanhal said:

One note of caution: don't take for granted that your MSFS performance would be worse than in P3D. My performance (with a 6700K CPU and a GTX1070) is significantly better in MSFS.

James

I second that. Even on my i7-10700K@5GHz together with a GTX1070 Prepar3d v4.5 is a lot of the times a stuttery mess. Even in situations in which neither the CPU nor the GPU is at 100% load and fps are over 30 (on a 30Hz monitor). MSFS on the other hand is buttery smooth as long as I can maintain 30fps on a 30Hz monitor.

By the way: I'm running 4k resolution. MSFS can maintain 30fps even on my ancient GPU if I turn down the render scaling to 80%.

Edited October 23, 20205 yr by carlito777

If your priority is more realistic aircraft flight dynamics and systems simulation get P3D.

If your priority is more realistic scenery representation to go sight seeing and exploring get MSFS.

If you want both, get both.

Simple as that.

Ted

I will agree, Prepar3D is a mature product, while MSFS, although available to the public, is still very much a work in progress.  Most seem to expect MSFS to be a full featured and complete flight sim sometime in 2021.  P3D gives you the ability to fly warbirds and combat aircraft, it is presently unclear if MSFS will have such features.

Not sure if you have made your decision, but I would emphasize, if you want VFR general aviation flying then FS2020 is the way to go as you have the entire world right out of the box. More detailed (study level as they say) aircraft will come to this platform.

If you have your heart set on particular aircraft with excellent flight characteristics and detail (available from 3rd party developers) then go with P3D. But you will then buy additional scenery packages for the best experience in the regions and airports you desire.

 Does anyone know how Xplane 11 compares? 

I'd slot XPlane halfway between P3D and MSFS in most respects. It's a good looking sim for the most part, particularly the night lighting, and it has some features which plonk it halfway between the two as well.

As far as add-on stuff goes, halfway between the two is again where I would place it. P3D has loads of add-ons including a lot of FSX stuff which works with it, whereas MSFS is the new kid on the block and so there's not a great deal of stuff for it yet, and XPlane sits in between those two positions.

If you want to talk about flight models, that's where the real arguments will start however. Some people love XPlane's flight model, others not so much. The only real way to decide which one you like best, is to try them all. Which apart from the size of HD required and the bandwidth/time necessary to do that, is okay where XPlane and MSFS are concerned, because XPlane 11 has a free demo and MSFS can be tried out for a quid on a new Gamepass account. The one which you can't really do that with is P3D although if you wanted to test the flight model out on P3D, you could try FSX-SE which is cheap, because the flight model in that is essentially the same one.

Indeed, if I were in your place, I would consider X-Plane next to MSFS. At least X-Plane comparing to P3D, is the least expensive to get you good airlinerer experience (if you want airlinerer experience of course, for example the fantastic zibo 737mod is free) and its graphic is not bad either and you get slopped runways :D. However, I would also really consider MSFS as well, that sim is magnificent with it offers and surely will get to that level of P3D and X-Plane. 

Bottom line, if you have budget, you can use MSFS and X-Plane together and get the best out of both 😉

 

Edited December 29, 20205 yr by omarsmak30