Call me strange but I enjoy using both P3D and MSFS2020. Each one provides me a different level of immersion. I also have thousands invested in addons for P3D and I'm slowly building up my MSFS2020 collection. I still buy P3D addons if it peaks my interest but that market is slowing down. Over time I will transition as 2020 matures and more aircraft become available. I did the same thing moving from FSX to P3D. By the time 2020 is going strong I will have gotten my moneys worth out of my P3D addons, just like FSX and FlightSims before that. It's the price we pay in this hobby.

Quickly how some have dumped on P3D or those who still decided to hang on for a little while longer. Everyone wants to attack each other based on which Sim they are currently using. This community can be ruthless at times. I say enjoy which Sim makes you happy and don't worry about what others have to say. Each person will give a different reason but in the end it comes down to our interest in aviation. 

To be honest ORBX never had the man power to complete those premium regions the way they were going about it in a timely manner, also consider their developers are contracted and do the work where they can and when they can as they do have other jobs and lives. Also a few key people passed away which is completely out of their control, as well as a few others getting further into their retirements or others branching off and doing other development projects outside of ORBX

The new MSFS has proven that the computer can use automation to make better scenery and extremely faster then the human can, therefore the automation process makes the ORBX approach obsolete. I am a fan of the hand placed regions that ORBX was doing but that was a labour of love and they were never going to cover all of the world using that approach. The new approach MSFS is using is still a little buggy here and there but really good considering it is only about a year in now, it is getting better daily

Edited February 10, 20215 yr by Matthew Kane

I don't see this discussion as attacking sims.  It is about one developer doing what he said he was going to do. Years ago Orbx Southern Rockies was in the works.  What happened to it.

I don't fault them for supporting XPlane and MSFS.  I fault them for appearing to leave behind the platform that made them what they are today.  FSX and P3D made Orbx what it is today.  Many people are invested in Orbx True Earth as well as FSX and P3D.  What's wrong with continuing to support the original platforms AND moving onto the new ones.  It should not be a matter of either or.

Sue has been waiting for Cote d'Azur.  Many of us have been waiting for Southern Rockies to complete the Western North American set. 

As for P3D not being meant to be a consumer - entertainment product I'll bet consumer - entertainment flight simmers have outnumbered the commercial and military training products purchases by far.

Noel

14 hours ago, rickjake said:

when all the complex planes like PMDG, FSLabs, Majestic, etc, are available in MSFS I highly doubt there will be much of a market left for P3D developers.  I know that once PMDG 737, Majestic Dash 8, Aerosoft CRJ are out for MSFS, P3D will very likely be collecting dust on my PC.

That's quite a statement and one I myself had six months ago but I'm slowly changing my mind.

I'm going to make a statement of my own, re-Flying P3Dv5 with Orbx, PMDG and A2A I'm realizing that they won't achieve this type of "flying quality" in MSFS. But again don't get me wrong, MSFS +Orbx are visually stunning but as of this writing I'm saying that the flying dynamics are inferior.

The planes that I'm seeing released for MSFS are basically a cut n paste cookie cutter approach, the MAX is a perfect example, at this point it remains to be seen if the top names will bend the knee to this approach and release an "inferior" product, some will but how far will they go we'll see.

1 hour ago, Wise87 said:

Quickly how some have dumped on P3D

Who says that P3D aren't working on a streaming scenery, let me ask everyone. If both MSFS and P3D has the same scenery which would you choose.

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

IAs for P3D not being meant to be a consumer - entertainment product I'll bet consumer - entertainment flight simmers have outnumbered the commercial and military training products purchases by far.

Noel

You are probably right and I'm sure LM benefited from that but we were never the intended target audience. 

If we were never intended to be a target audience why was it marketed to us?  Why is it available to us?  Did LM stress the 'academic' market to make it more attractive to the flightsim community?  To make us think we were somehow gettingto a product designed for the aviation market instead of the hobby market?

Noel

Edited February 10, 20215 yr by birdguy

28 minutes ago, FPStewy said:

Who says that P3D aren't working on a streaming scenery, let me ask everyone. If both MSFS and P3D has the same scenery which would you choose.

For me, I Just want a sim that will perform well in VR, with complex, study level aircraft and great scenery and clouds, weather. etc.   Right now, MSFS gives me a more immersive experience with much smoother performance.  At the end of the day, that is want we all want. Just waiting on more complex study level aircraft. So, if I can believe the developers, then they are coming to MSFS. 

I am not dumping on P3D.  I love P3D and still use it. Nothing wrong with having both. But it has always been  a challenge to get good framerates and eye candy out of FSX/P3D and I don't see that changing anytime soon.  

Nobody here has a crystal ball, and if by chance, P3D does create a better sim engine that's equal or better then MSFS, than a lot of simmers will have a make a decision on what platform they will stay with. If that happens, and enough people stay with P3D, than I'm sure the add-on developers will come back. As I said before, they will follow the money. 

26 minutes ago, birdguy said:

If we were never intended to be a target audience why was it marketed to us?  Why is it available to us?  Did LM stress the 'academic' market to make it more attractive to the flightsim community?  To make us think we were somehow gettingto a product designed for the aviation market instead of the hobby market?

Noel

I am not going to get into it here.  Microsoft sold the commercial license to LM. The entertainment part of FSX was sold to Dovetail games. 

One only has to read the licensing agreement of P3D to know that it's not intended for entertainment.  Why did they let us use it, I don't know, but I'm glad they did. 

5 hours ago, rickjake said:

Why did they let us use it, I don't know, but I'm glad they did. 

I think they always intended for us to buy it and marketed it as a professional program as opposed to recreational program to make it more attractive.

Noel

I don't know if ORBX intends to continue the region scenery, but they have recently committed to completing the openLC scenery which was very welcome news.

They are currently working on the Middle East and Southwest Asia area and planned its release for the first quarter of 2021.  Next they plan to do the rest of Russia and Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, and finally Southeast Asia.

So they clearly still see a market for P3D and are not solely focused on MSFS.

Dave

Edited February 11, 20215 yr by dave2013

My own little quibble with ORBx concerns the "updates to UK airports" that Greg Jones indicated would start being rolled out at the end of November. I have been waiting for an update to correct the "wobbly" white centreline markings at ORBx EGPN Dundee for nearly a year, so I was hoping that this would have been done by now. I have mentioned this two or three times on the ORBx forums, but nobody ever answers, and I am not able to message Greg (or any of the other ORBx developers) directly. I appreciate that development schedules slip, but it would be nice to receive a simple "the UK airport updates have been delayed due to other commitments" kind of message (if that is indeed the case). I would not be entirely happy about that, but at least then I would know where I stand.

Some people probably think that correcting the alignment of the centreline markings at Dundee is hardly something to worry about, but misalignment of runway markings is one of the most annoying issues that I see in flight simulation. I see those markings every single time that I fly to and from an airport, and they should not appear to point in multiple different directions. They should be straight.

Edited February 11, 20215 yr by Christopher Low