5.1 Question

[Zimmerbz 153]

I am thinking of going back to P3d and getting 5.1.  My plan is to delete 4.5 from my PC and do a brand new install of 5.1, then install all of the countless addons that I bought from previous versions.  My question is, with the base 5.1, is there anything that I won't need to install into 5.1 such as Active Sky, Orbx, etc?  I am not sure what you get with the base sim from previous P3D versions.  Is there anything that was very useful in previous P3D that is currently not working in 5.1?

[micstatic 4,310]

one thing I would highly recommend.  Re do your orbx with a separate library outside the sim.  It makes it much easier to manage and gives you more option in the future for p3d upgrades and reinstalls.  Just about all of my 4.5 scenery is working great in 5.1.  A dozen or two required very simple compatibility fixes which you can either get as a separate installer from where you purchased or via inibuilds in their V5 compatibility patch section.  main thing I'm missing right now is the pmdg 777.  But it's enroute.  

[johncott 177]

3 minutes ago, Zimmerbz said:

I am thinking of going back to P3d and getting 5.1.  My plan is to delete 4.5 from my PC and do a brand new install of 5.1, then install all of the countless addons that I bought from previous versions.  My question is, with the base 5.1, is there anything that I won't need to install into 5.1 such as Active Sky, Orbx, etc?  I am not sure what you get with the base sim from previous P3D versions.  Is there anything that was very useful in previous P3D that is currently not working in 5.1?

P3DV5.x  advantages

Upgraded a lot of airports. Deleted old abandoned ones, added new ones and updated and still updating existing ones with each update.

Added Enhanced atmospherics (EA) (TrueSky). Still needs work in my opinion, but improving with each update.  For example, cockpits to dark with EA on.

ORBX - I went from FSX-SE to P3D V5.x. All my ORBX add-ons worked ok with free updates.  My ORBX products include all the open LC, base Pack, and vector products.

P3DV5.x does have its own vector data. I found it had issues at first, looks like it's getting better but still needs some work.

Aircraft - All of my flying is General Avaition.  All of my Carenado, Just Flight, Lionheart Creations and other pay ware planes worked ok.  Carenado just needed a free update available on their website. Just Flight updated their planes. The Lionheart Creations planes worked ok except for the Quest Kodiak which had a minor issue.  A simple edit to the the aircraft.cfg fixed that.  Milviz still does not have their planes working.

Weather Engine  - P3DV5 does not have a live weather feature and you will need a 3rd party weather engine if you want live weather.  I use Pilot's FSGRW and had to buy a new version.  I'm not sure if Active Sky is offering a free update or a discount for a owning a previous version.

Stability - I started with P3DV5HF1 and now using P3DV5.1HF1. When flying, P3DV5 has been very stable for me.  If I do get a CTD, It usually happens when selecting a plane before I fly or if I save a flight with a 2D window open.

[787flyer 633]

If you plan to install P3Dv5.1, I would recommend  you install as much of the scenery outside of the main P3Dv5 sim folder if the installer allows. This has the benefit that future updates of vP3D5.x will likely not disrupt your installed scenery. Orbx does allow scenery to be installed in a Library. I would definitely create a v5 Orbx Library. A large SSD capacity will come in handy too!

For aircraft installed into the main sim folder, I have not seen many issues with updating P3D e.g. my PMDG and Aerosoft Bus aircraft functions without issues.

Third, a great utility, if you did not use it for v4.5, to organize all your scenery is the Lorby's Addon Manager that is freeware but is of tremendous value.

Main weather addons are supported in v5.1 and also 3rd party AI addons. GSX and other utltiies are also available with v5.1 support. Scenery is a bit patchy still . Some developers have still not provided v5 updates but I have found that mapping to the v4 version works in most cases.

 

I dont think you will miss much that was in P3Dv4.5 that's not in v5. There may be the odd stock aircraft that is not available in v5 since the Content component was fully updated by LM.

 

IMHO, you will enjoy P3Dv5.1 as I noticed a performance improvement over v4.5.It still has its teething problems though in some areas incl EA but each update is getting better. I still fly with this off for the time being.

[kevinfirth 1,392]

4 minutes ago, aldridgem said:

If you plan to install P3Dv5.1, I would recommend  you install as much of the scenery outside of the main P3Dv5 sim folder if the installer allows. This has the benefit that future updates of vP3D5.x will likely not disrupt your installed scenery. Orbx does allow scenery to be installed in a Library. I would definitely create a v5 Orbx Library. A large SSD capacity will come in handy too!

For aircraft installed into the main sim folder, I have not seen many issues with updating P3D e.g. my PMDG and Aerosoft Bus aircraft functions without issues.

Third, a great utility, if you did not use it for v4.5, to organize all your scenery is the Lorby's Addon Manager that is freeware but is of tremendous value.

Main weather addons are supported in v5.1 and also 3rd party AI addons. GSX and other utltiies are also available with v5.1 support. Scenery is a bit patchy still . Some developers have still not provided v5 updates but I have found that mapping to the v4 version works in most cases.

 

I dont think you will miss much that was in P3Dv4.5 that's not in v5. There may be the odd stock aircraft that is not available in v5 since the Content component was fully updated by LM.

 

IMHO, you will enjoy P3Dv5.1 as I noticed a performance improvement over v4.5.It still has its teething problems though in some areas incl EA but each update is getting better. I still fly with this off for the time being.

Agree with all except use of EA.  At dawn/dusk it has some visual issues still, but in the day it surpasses non EA by some margin IMHO.

The best aspect of v5.1HF for me is the vastly superior performance, I can hold 50fps in 4k with any aircraft.  In some weather scenarios my 2080Ti chokes though, and requires AA turning off...  Never had a prob with vRAM.  I miss my Milviz PC6 Porter from 4.5 though, I am seriously doubting whether they will ever port it over... 😢

Edited December 5, 2020 by kevinfirth

[sonny147 573]

3 hours ago, kevinfirth said:

Agree with all except use of EA.  At dawn/dusk it has some visual issues still, but in the day it surpasses non EA by some margin IMHO.

The best aspect of v5.1HF for me is the vastly superior performance, I can hold 50fps in 4k with any aircraft.  In some weather scenarios my 2080Ti chokes though, and requires AA turning off...  Never had a prob with vRAM.  I miss my Milviz PC6 Porter from 4.5 though, I am seriously doubting whether they will ever port it over... 😢

totally agree kevin apart from the milviz porter , what the hell is that lol ! 

[kevinfirth 1,392]

1 hour ago, sonny147 said:

totally agree kevin apart from the milviz porter , what the hell is that lol ! 

Always loved them since seeing them in Air America, and that was solidified when I started parachuting out of them 🙂 Superb aircraft!

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

I also agree with Kevin with regard to EA. LM is improving it, albeit at a snail's pace. But in 5.1 it's better than sprite-based clouds, which to me now look fake. MSFS has ruined me for going back to old display technology, whether it's non-PBR textures, sprite-based clouds or billboard trees. Time marches on. 

[David Vega 348]

@Zimmerbz, thank you for posting this.  I've remained with P3Dv4 because while I understand v5 provides better performance and an updated airport database, it has seemed that it's not quite functional/stable yet.  It's nice to see that LM is working on it to hopefully get it at the same level of stability as v4.  Guess moving to v5 depends on what's important to the pilot.  I'm only flying airliners, mainly the PMDG B777 at the moment, and from what I read in this thread, it's not quite ready for v5.  The other stuff doesn't bother me, like clouds, because I remember when they used to look like ping pong balls in an earlier simulator.  I also moved away from FSX only to P3D to avoid having to deal with memory issues and now one has to be aware of VRAM on v5.  I understand that's a DirectX 12 thing.  Looking forward to migrate to v5 once all the ducks line up.  

[sonny147 573]

Stick with what makes you happy , yes v5 is a different animal to previous versions of P3d that's for sure , you need good hardware luckily I have that so felt confident in making the jump ,it's been a rocky road for sure , would I go back no !, But I say to others do it , no I wouldn't if your sim is good for you stick with it and be happy 🤠

[jimcarrel 688]

Strange I was thinking of going back to 4.5. Seems life was simpler, but maybe I'm just dreaming of the leeks and onions in Egypt.

[sonny147 573]

Wow lol !

[Bob Scott 7,714]

1 hour ago, jimcarrel said:

Strange I was thinking of going back to 4.5. Seems life was simpler, but maybe I'm just dreaming of the leeks and onions in Egypt.

Why not keep both v4.5 and v5.1 around?  I do...and I find that 4.5 is still useful for some airplanes and airfields that haven't made the trip to v5.  SSDs are pretty cheap these days.

[jimcarrel 688]

9 hours ago, w6kd said:

Why not keep both v4.5 and v5.1 around?  I do...and I find that 4.5 is still useful for some airplanes and airfields that haven't made the trip to v5.  SSDs are pretty cheap these days.

The main reason is I have 2 500 gig SSD's, 5.1 is on one, and that other 2020 sim is on the other. I have 3 7400 rpm hard drives with other files, programs etc. (including other types of games). Believe it or not my work days are over and a budget only goes so far. Can't support all that my eyes see. Work long grasshopper's, retirement is not all fun.