Hello

My copy of FSX:SE has ended up completely broken and I have been unable to fix it. I'm still trying to find a solution but I am beginning to think that I am going to need find a new flight simulator. I have been looking at P3D since it might allow me to use some of the addons I have purchased for FSX:SE. I am wondering about how P3D compares to FSX:SE. I am particularly interested in the stability and reliability of P3D in comparison to FSX:SE. Before FSX:SE stopped working, it would crash so frequently that I think I may have been spending more time troubleshooting game crashes than actually flying. It was so bad that it was impossible to make a transatlantic flight without a game crash, and even domestic flights across Canada and the US were giving me trouble. Is P3D any better? I am also wondering whether there are any features that FSX:SE has that P3D doesn't or vice versa. Apart from the crashing, I generally liked FSX:SE. I am also wondering what the major differences are between the different versions of P3D?

I have a number purchased addons that I would like to be able to continue using. These are:

- JF DC-8 Series 10-40, downloaded from Steam

- JF DC-10, downloaded from Steam

- JF L-1011 Professional (P3D v1-v5)

- JF DC-8 Series 50-70 (P3D v1-v4)

- CLS 747 200-300 (P3D v1-v3)

- DC-6B Legends of Flight (FSX Only)

- Comet Jetliner (FSX Only)

- Constellation Professional (FSX Only)

I'm not too bothered with losing the two addons from Steam since I was not aware that there were better versions of those addons available elsewhere when I bought them but I would like to keep using as many of the others as possible. I notice that there are a couple of JF Constellations listed in the default vehicles for P3D. Is this the same as the Constellation Professional? I am wondering if there is any way to get the FSX only addons to work in P3D. I have seen some discussion of P3D v3 and v4 compatible aircraft being able to be used in more recent versions. 

Thank you for any assistance

2 hours ago, thegreatishgriffin said:

I have been looking at P3D since it might allow me to use some of the addons I have purchased for FSX:SE

I did just that same journey some years ago and have not looked back.

The current version of P3D (v5) is 64bit and DX12 which means no more OOMs and better gfx performance, that said anything programmed specifically for 32bit (i.e. FSX) will not function, Although if you want to be able to run 32bit, P3D v3 was the last of the line of 32bit releases, v4 and above are all 64bit.

Plus anything purchased from Steam will not function at all due to Add-ons sold via Steam include DRM and thusly are locked to FSX-SE.

For a lot of things you'll need to purchase x64 versions, however equally a lot of add-ons include updated versions freely available, it's sort of a bit of column A and Column B in this regard. A2A aircraft are an example where you would need to re-purchase (its always been their policy) and the heavy hitters are the same.

I have managed to migrate some 32bit aircraft over by replacing some gauges, dlls and making model mods but it's not always possible and some even when migrated don't place nice. On the plus side you can migrate most of the FSX-SE default aircraft over as they use gauges of the same name as those in P3D - only those in P3D are recompiled as 64bit and thus work.

Also if you've any Orbx scenery the vast majority will migrate over to P3D at no cost.

Another item to consider is your hardware as P3D is a heavy hitter of GPU and CPU.

And a plus is having a 30Hz capable monitor provising a big advantage for smooth frame rates with high settings via a 30Hz vsync.

Cheers

Edited August 21, 20214 yr by Rogen

thegreatishgriffin. P3DV5.2 is a very good simulator. There had been some issues when released but most if not all are fixed. I went from FSX(A) to P3DV5 my only hold up was getting a decent PC first (I went with an Intel I7 and NVIDIA RTX 2070 super card with SSD's) First no more tweaking with P3D, the sim runs smoothly and without any problems on my system, in fact it is simply outstanding imho. 

Now I reloaded all of my ORBX via their configurator and I also managed to get a lot of new stuff as well but I also had a lot of FSX scenery that has ported across to P3D as well. You will get some elevation issues and some stock airport overlay issues from time to time but this is all fixable via Scruffy Ducks ADE. I keep all my scenery out of the P3D installation even ORBX and it is all in a stand alone scenery directory - easily handled by P3D via the xml method or just the scenery library editor. Works smoothly no issues at all etiher. 

Aeroplanes are more tricky, namely as Rogen says some 32 bit stuff will not work because you are now in a 64 bit environment basically if there is no proper interior model with a sim model it is a no go in P3D. 

Now from your list of what you want or will they work - yes all of them. I have all of them installed (except the 747 never had that one) the only issue you may encounter is the installer looking for FSX or P3DV4 but there is a work around for that as well - have a look a the threads here and there is a You Tube video as well. The JF connie by the way is a stock model in the sim anyway so you do not need to add it in it is already there. The DC-6B works fine but still has the original supercharger not working issue - I use the PMDG DC-6 and I have also installed the Cal Classic DC-6 as well both are good. The JF DC-8s all work without any problems as well. The DC-10 well it works but there is a thread here about upgrading and getting it to a high standard in P3D which is highly recommended - takes it to payware quality as well when your done. Comet is ok too Cannot comment on the L1011 I have it but never installed it into P3D others have and say it is ok too. 

You will not regret moving over P3D is now a very high standard sim and the bonus is how much good stuff from FSX goes across as well. I can now fly in the worst weather into the most dense airports or scenery areas in a high level payware model and no glitches or stutters or hangs - smooth and quick all the time, what more can you ask for? Bonus is True Sky and EA even the standard installation is good. All you need is an external weather engine and the sim will do the rest! P3D does not have a internet connected weather function. 

 

 

Edited August 21, 20214 yr by coastaldriver
additional information

Just to add to what has been mentioned already, P3D since v4 has been a very stable sim and the performance is way better than what you will get with FSX.

Wrt to differences you have more settings adjustments available in P3D directly within the sim.

Weather atmospherics (known as EA) has been introduced. Its stil in its infancy but is getting better

Scenery, if you have the Orbx land class for various regions installed, will look better

 

As mentioned a decent performing sim rig is important. When I moved to FSX I built a new rig. You will need a decent CPU that can run in the 4.5Ghz range is key for smooth performance and enough SSD space (1Tb) for the core sim and all addons you plan to install. 16-32Gb RAM. And a mid-high performing GPU (GTX 2000 or 3000 series or equivalent AMD card).

 

 

Rogen, coastaldriver, 787flyer, Thank you for the help. I have a decent computer that met or exceeded all of the requirements for FSX:SE so I'm fairly confident in its ability to run something like P3D but I'll check to make sure.

17 hours ago, thegreatishgriffin said:

My copy of FSX:SE has ended up completely broken and I have been unable to fix it.

Before you jump off the deep end, what is going with your FSX-SE?  Mine went awol last month and after a good deal of frustration I found that an updated nVidia driver installation put a new file "NvCamera32.dll" on my system that was interfering with FSX SE startup.  I found out about it at the following web page:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/314160/discussions/0/3046104862447471029/

I removed that file and FSX SE was back to normal.  Mentioning it in case like me you have lots of time invested in configurations, etc.

 

 

Edited August 21, 20214 yr by fppilot

1 hour ago, fppilot said:

Before you jump off the deep end, what is going with your FSX-SE?  Mine went awol last month and after a good deal of frustration I found that an updated nVidia driver installation put a new file "NvCamera32.dll" on my system that was interfering with FSX SE startup.  I found out about it at the following web page:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/314160/discussions/0/3046104862447471029/

I removed that file and FSX SE was back to normal.  Mentioning it in case like me you have lots of time invested in configurations, etc.

 

 

It goes to a black screen whenever I press the "Fly Now" button. I made a post in the CTD forum about it if you want more information. I'll check out the link and see if it helps.

45 minutes ago, thegreatishgriffin said:

It goes to a black screen whenever I press the "Fly Now" button. I made a post in the CTD forum about it if you want more information. I'll check out the link and see if it helps.

Mine was freezing at the opening splash screen.  You might also check your driver version and if it's new about the time of the issue beginning roll back to a previous driver.

1 hour ago, fppilot said:

Mine was freezing at the opening splash screen.  You might also check your driver version and if it's new about the time of the issue beginning roll back to a previous driver.

I tried the NvCamera32.dll trick with no success. The driver was last updated in early 2021, long before any issues.

It looks like P3D v5 is a little bit beyond the abilities of my computer. Fortunately, P3D v4 appears to be a good fit and I think I will change over to it if I can't fix FSX:SE over the next few days. 

On 8/21/2021 at 7:12 PM, thegreatishgriffin said:

It goes to a black screen whenever I press the "Fly Now" button.

Maybe are you trying to fly FSX-SE in full screen mode? This and Windows 10 do not play nicely. I had to use windowed mode and then use Borderless Gaming to fake a full screen mode.

OTOH, I saw your system specs. You'll do fine with P3D4.

12 hours ago, Luis Hernandez said:

Maybe are you trying to fly FSX-SE in full screen mode? This and Windows 10 do not play nicely. I had to use windowed mode and then use Borderless Gaming to fake a full screen mode.

OTOH, I saw your system specs. You'll do fine with P3D4.

I've had FSX:SE in windowed mode for nearly as long as I had it, partly because of issues with crashes. I've been trying to fix it for a few weeks now with no luck.

3 hours ago, thegreatishgriffin said:

I've had FSX:SE in windowed mode for nearly as long as I had it, partly because of issues with crashes. I've been trying to fix it for a few weeks now with no luck.

Unfortunate, DX9 and redistributables installed ? DX10 trialled ?

Here's a compare of FSX-SE vs. P3D 4.5. same airport, same aircraft, same saved flight actually. Everything is almost the same although FSX-SE has RAAS which I didn't end up repurchasing for P3D. The 9 minute mark is about where they swap over.

Cheers

 

Hi thegreatishgriffin,

I left behind P3D 3.4xxx at the beginning of this year for P3D 5.1 Hf1. Whether you choose P3D versions 4 or 5, you will enjoy either one primarily because of the 64bit environment. Version 5 has the advantage, at least it seems to me because of DX12 and its benefits. There has been improvements to Version 5.2 Hf1, however as noted, EA is still in its infancy. I do hope that LM will be able to make the needed improvements to it. As noted previously, Version 4xx is quite stable; one thing to consider is any "future" addon a\c you might purchase. Some commercial vendors like Milviz is no longer supporting P3D regarding any new aircraft or updating older a\c to version 5. Most of their addons will work fine in Version 4.5xx

Regarding the default "Connie" that comes with P3D-- in my own personal opinion its "just" okay but I have been spoiled by A2A's version of the Connie therefore I "hangared" the JF version and use A2A's.

Finally, regarding system: I have a 5.5 year old Jetline: i7 6700K o\c @ 4.6 Ghz, a GTX 1070 (8Gb of Vram), 16GB of sys. ram, Samsung 970 EVO Plus NV Me M.2 SSD (1TB) dedicated to P3D. I have an older Samsung Flat Screen monitor (1920 x 1080 resolution). I use Orbx scenery addons and so far I have had no problems running P3D version 5. Most of my sliders of reasonably set to the right side. My Vram usage has been very little, not anywhere near Vram Oom which can happen in version 5. My FPS is set to 30. 

Hope this helps,

Raymie

 

Rogen, I have a post on the CTD forum relating to my issues with FSX:SE. I don't think that DX is the issue. I was able to run it with out any issues and haven't had any issues or concerns relating to DX. Thank you for the video, I like what I see. I was a bit worried when I read that the Academic License version had a watermark in the top right corner, assuming it was going to be large and obnoxious. Glad to see its small and out of the way.