What's to look forward to in P3D?

[kevinfirth 1,393]

3 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I’ve not noticed any impact on fps.

Well, I run at 4k, and I prefer running at 50fps because my trackIR feels much smoother to me. With mostly max settings, I generally use 2xSGSS at 50fps, and 4xSGSS at 30fps.  Even the 3090 can't handle max settings with 50fps using 4x SGSS! 

[Ray Proudfoot 8,944]

16 minutes ago, kevinfirth said:

I use biologicalnanobot's hdr.hlsl shader mod from the P3D forum. Easy to do, just backup a file then cut and paste some code. 

https://www.prepar3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6312&t=142594&start=15

Alternatively, before that, or even in conjunction, I sometimes use FSLabs spotlights to get any VC just how I like it.

I’d forgotten about that, thanks. I tried it a while back but with 5.1 and forgot to reinstate it for 5.2 plus the hotfix.

13 minutes ago, kevinfirth said:

Well, I run at 4k, and I prefer running at 50fps because my trackIR feels much smoother to me. With mostly max settings, I generally use 2xSGSS at 50fps, and 4xSGSS at 30fps.  Even the 3090 can't handle max settings with 50fps using 4x SGSS! 

That would explain things. 👍

[Bob Scott 7,719]

I've removed a bunch of posts that were hijacking/de-railing this thread into another P3D vs MSFS debate.  Keep to the topic, please.

[rocketlaunch 614]

I have to say the enhanced atmospherics are really quite brilliant at times. I really hope they devote some time to develop them further. 

[Gary1124 181]

Just remember guys. Prepar3d is a very small line on LMs balance sheets considering they also have fighters, missles, and all sorts of other goodies to build and sell to Uncle Sam and friends.

[Rogen 1,087]

41 minutes ago, Gary1124 said:

Just remember guys. Prepar3d is a very small line on LMs balance sheets considering they also have fighters, missles, and all sorts of other goodies to build and sell to Uncle Sam and friends.

Yes and they need P3D to train up those customers for their fighters.

Seen the newest Block 70/72 F16 ? there's a claimed 50% increase in the structual life expectancy.

If only LM would divert a little more in funds to P3D...

Cheers

[Gary1124 181]

If LM could use Landsat and Google earth data and generate snapshot version of what is live streamed in MSFS, and then put it in regional packages that are compressed to save space, and have those packages available for as desired download. Or they could set it up that all the scenery packages download compressed except for the user's region and a generated flight plan would automatically decompress the needed scenery packages or the user could do it if he has the drive space. I am just speculating ways in which LM, or even LR, could reasonably meet MSFS scenery advantage. Guys, I desperately want to see the three platforms remain viable. They all have their ups and downs but having three top selling commercial platforms is good for the hobby. I would love to see Flight Gear thrive to. 

[matrosov 3]

On 8/2/2021 at 6:05 PM, rocketlaunch said:

I get that but if you look at say the news feed on fselite it is all MSFS or xplane, even here the forums are pretty barren of new developments for P3D. I had high hopes for the enhanced atmospherics and the direction that may go but at the rate LM put out releases I will be too old and past it.

Oh no XP had a great year or past rolling 12 mos.  Three inibuild planes A300,310 and beluga, very high quality.  Just fligh BAE 146 port over from P3D which is quite fun.  Toliss updates and A340 with a firm release date time frame.  Aerobask phenom and 8x quite possibly this year.  Dash 8 in the next month month and a half. XP`12 just around the corner. Zibo of course with almost daily updates.  We are happy.  Those of us who fly PMDG yeap we are sort of excited for them to go to MSFS but it's a very cautious excitment plenty of money invested in P3D already even though we don't like it much as a platform. but MSFS is a hot mess for any kind of serious flying right now so spending another 300 bucks PMDG birds only for Asobo to screw them over in the next Sim update is a risk that many won't take for another year, year and a half.  .

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by matrosov

[Dirk98 354]

Who knows, some principal developers may even return to Prepar3D after they've played enough with MSFS. Nothing tells us that LM is going to close the shop, so still they'll be a niche for their efforts here as well.

[SimeonWilbury 220]

I think the idea that many developers will return to P3D is a little bit optimistic, at least in terms of primary development.

I'm not quite the pessimist that some on this forum are, but I do think we need to embrace the reality that P3D will be a second-order priority at best, MSFS is the most commercially-viable platform at present & will most likely be the priority for 3rd party devs for the foreseeable future.

That doesn't mean there won't be anything for P3D though. Certainly on the scenery-side of things, so long as P3D maintains a big enough niche I can see future products being developed for MSFS first then later ported over. And developers with an existing back-catalogue of older sceneries for FSX/ earlier versions of P3D could probably still make it commercially viable to update these sceneries to the current state of the airport(s) and standards of the Sim.

I'm a little less-sure on the Aircraft side of things but I think P3D does have advantages in that it's niche always was it's capture of the study-level market. Aircraft already far into development will still likely be finished and I don't see devs like PMDG dropping P3D support overnight given the complications related to developing study-level sims for MSFS.

As I said in my earlier post I still think P3D has a future for the next few years, at least for us established users. Certainly I'm content with continuing to invest in P3D as a mature & stable platform with a sizable back-catalogue of addons to make use of. But it's never going to compete with MSFS for commercial/ consumer appeal as that simply isn't what it's designed for. I don't see P3D entirely disappearing though unless either Xplane or MSFS can adequately fill that study-sim 'niche'.

Edited August 7, 2021 by SimeonWilbury

[micstatic 4,319]

6 hours ago, Gary1124 said:

If LM could use Landsat and Google earth data and generate snapshot version of what is live streamed in MSFS, and then put it in regional packages that are compressed to save space, and have those packages available for as desired download. Or they could set it up that all the scenery packages download compressed except for the user's region and a generated flight plan would automatically decompress the needed scenery packages or the user could do it if he has the drive space. I am just speculating ways in which LM, or even LR, could reasonably meet MSFS scenery advantage. Guys, I desperately want to see the three platforms remain viable. They all have their ups and downs but having three top selling commercial platforms is good for the hobby. I would love to see Flight Gear thrive to. 

The counterpoint to this.  Do you really want an already limited amount of flight sim developers stretched between 3 different sims?  I'd rather see them in 1 or 2 so we can get more new addons. 

[Gary1124 181]

5 hours ago, micstatic said:

The counterpoint to this.  Do you really want an already limited amount of flight sim developers stretched between 3 different sims?  I'd rather see them in 1 or 2 so we can get more new addons. 

Depends. I don't have a lot of addon aircraft. Primary one is the A2A Skylane which is a ringer for my instructor's Skylane with 530/430 GNS. For just fantasy I have the A2A Bonnie and Commanche. I don't want to stray from real world parallel to far. And if I would get more aircraft just for fun they would be other A2A birds, Just  Flight's Duchess or Arrows, Flight1's B200, Xtreme Lear 25, or the iFly airliners for commercial. I would choose only a few Study level birds that cost a little more.

But everyone has different objectives in their simming and variety is good.

Edited August 7, 2021 by Gary1124

[micstatic 4,319]

@Gary1124Don't forget about payware scenery!

[Dirk98 354]

Me personally, perhaps, I don't even need new planes in P3D (just keep upgrading the released ones when possible), but sell me more terrains, regions, areas, airports and and utilities, of course.

Edited August 7, 2021 by Dirk98

[Gary1124 181]

3 hours ago, Dirk98 said:

Me personally, perhaps, I don't even need new planes in P3D (just keep upgrading the released ones when possible), but sell me more terrains, regions, areas, airports and and utilities, of course.

If LM manages to take any town with a pop of 1000 or more and give it the correct footprint and street grid on the ground I would be real pleased. Orbx LC does that by and large but not 100% of course. Some of those grids are photo type and devoid of 3d mostly. Makes it look bombed out.