Future of p3d ?

[abrams_tank 7,394]

10 hours ago, remcosol said:

most add on companies have shifted to ms2020 it seems and I don’t think they’ll be coming back to p3d….

I don't think LM cares about the home simulation market.  LM gets their revenue from the commercial and military market for P3D.

The home simulation market seems to get whatever table leftovers LM gives to it. Such is the reality of P3D, which was never intended for the home simulation market in the first place.

[SimeonWilbury 220]

P3D is still my sim of choice, and will remain so for the near future I'd imagine.

After flying them for a few years I simply couldn't live without the PMDG 744 or Leonardo MaddogX MD80,

Just Flight A300 & their 747 Classic remain anticipated releases for me as well as the TFDI MD11, first two will probably also be ported to MSFS eventually and TFDI seems to want a simultaneous release.

Perhaps if/ when the vast majority of these are eventually ported over to MSFS and the platform gains a more stable update-regime I'll consider purchasing MSFS. But I imagine I'll keep a P3D install for the FSLabs Concorde eventually releases. Certainly the time-frame is long enough that I have no problem continuing to purchase addons for P3D.

As to a potential V6, I agree now is probably too early to speculate. Whether I move would depend solely on Compatibility with existing addons; I'd also give it a few major updates before moving considering 5.2 for me is proving problematic after moving from 4.5.

Whatever the case P3D won't disappear, it may become more niche but I expect it to still be here in 5 years' time.

[Patco Lch 1,464]

On my system P3D will live as long as I do.

[kevinfirth 1,392]

P3D will continue for me for as long as it delivers for me what I need and there isn't a better alternative available.  I'm still purchasing add-ons for it, as well as the other sim.  

[tamba765 54]

P3Dv6 and another $200? That will be the end for me.

Pete Locascio

[cowpatz 243]

We are very inexpensive Beta testers. No more, no less.

Despite their very poor communication I’m still enjoying the product. 

Edited November 6, 2021 by cowpatz

[reecemj 146]

Just now, cowpatz said:

We are very inexpensive Beta testers. No more, no less.

It despite their very poor communication I’m still enjoying the product. 

I couldn’t have said it better..Two thumbs up..

[rocketlaunch 614]

The simple truth is MSFS is slowly strangling P3D as developers flock to it and Xplane is giving her a good kick in the ribs on the way down. 

As of this moment P3D still hold the mantle for systems depth simulation but this will be severely eroded over the next 12 months. I have to say after flying the FBW A320 latley, firing up P3D feels like going back in time.  

[abarter 28]

For me P3D is still what I use 95% of the time. MSFS is nice but the updates are frustrating as they appear on my Store account weeks after the release, in the case of the last update. Plus, the aircraft quality is still early in the stages.

[Rogen 1,087]

Given sales of Lockheed Martin P3D sim systems such as the one in this pic are in the order of 10 to 40 million $$, I'd say the home Simmer is definetly not the target market.

But LM do need the surrounding hurberis of the home simmer, the testing feedback we provide, the developers who create.

Unfortunatelly LM have neglected the baseline sim for too long, there is just too much they have taken for granted, which is often the way it is in a near monopoly situation and now along come Microsoft, throws a spanner in the works and introduces something completely new.

I would hope MS's re-entry drives LM to raise their base line, a wait and see I guess becuase we'll never know till they release...

Cheers

[Rogen 1,087]

I should mention for myself I find P3D great.

Most of my base GFX stuff came over from FSX days e.g. Orbx, Rex Texture Direct, plus Active Sky, the GTN 650/750 and tons of other addons.

And for myself has been a realitively inexpensive swap over, mostly either free, or at update pricing, with only a few that required complete re-purchase.

The $60.00 cost of the sim itself is just a small part and way less than the hardware purchases I've made.

In fact I cannot get over some of the money people throw at hardware...

3090 GPUs cost a fortune in Ausland.

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/graphics-cards/geforcertx3090?page=1

Edited November 6, 2021 by Rogen

[z06z33 763]

The issue is that P3D still largely uses FSX style graphics and lighting(the big one)while they are better than FSX for sure it still looks like a game from 10+ years ago. I really like P3D and I certainly thank LM for making it available to the public but I think P3Ds time has passed unless they can bright the graphics up to 2021 standards.

[Rogen 1,087]

I surmise LM have negelected the baseline because their main sales targets would use the higher level P3D licensing where the GFX engine is separated from the sim engine and thus the GFX engine whould potentially be something quite different to what we as home simmers see, probably using high rez sat data not publicly available, or at least not at a cost effective price.

But they could certainly do something much better, EA is a step towards improvement in general lighting and feel, but yes the base GFX need overhauling.

Then again the P3D dev group is likely a much smaller affair to that of Microsoft, where stats have it ~1000 people have worked in bringing MSFS to market (and updating) including contracters such as Orbx, Aerosoft and A2A.

I cannot see LM developing at the pace of MS, they seem like a conservative group more aimed at compatability via a slower and steadier pace than MSFS pushes.

They would have to contract out (which is what Microsoft did in the first instance), even then development takes time and inserting large changes does bring considerable risk to compatability and would naturally introduce new bugs.

But they do have to do a lot, even the SDK/dev tools have been neglected for too long.

Time will tell.

Cheers

[F737MAX 5,560]

The LM P3D development team are in a difficult place, IMO. Their business model is to make incremental changes to the platform, relying on backward compatibility and third party products to encourage sales of the next version. Any change to that tried-and-tested dynamic risks not gaining enough sales to justify the development costs of a new version.

However, until / unless LM make a compelling argument for us consumer flight simmers to stay / return to P3D, they'll continue to lose the wide pool of testers that we are for them and the wide third party ecosystem that supports their product.

We might not be the primary audience for the P3D platform, but we have an outsized influence on the market surrounding a flight sim platform. At this moment in time, MSFS and XP look to be in healthier positions.

[coastaldriver 915]

The future? we may but speculate. Lets look at the reality. A few thoughts and reassurance for a few nervous nellies that we are being left behind - you are not! Your right at the cutting edge already! 

LM have taken an old piece of software and rebuilt it to work with a 64bit computing environment. They have carefully rebuilt it to integrate with external software to increase the functionality and portability, they have incorporated the latest software for pc graphics and pc graphic cards (EA, DX12, True Sky and Nvidia wave motion) they also did this the maximum backward compatibility possible with the original FSX ESP engine (Because despite a few limitations it is very good programming and more than adequate to handle complex aerodynamic and motion vector simulation). They have placed it hardware wise where you need a good high end PC and GPU but not a super PC and they have kept if functional on the main PC operating system platform WIN10. What we do not see or understand is the main customer base who have real life aeroplanes and systems with desk top only or part fabricated cockpits or full motion simulators that use P3D as a means of generating a simulation scenario. Most importantly it has to be relevant to the airframe they use or are training for. These customers are not in the habit of racing off to the latest marketing or game fad - it is a serious business that demands a stable, robust and trouble free. These customers (Mostly military but not all) do not change systems regularly nor do they want to!. Most tend to hang onto these systems for decades or until a type is retired. So to ask what is the future is to ask are there likely to be any significant aerospace aviation developments in the next 10 years that would require something new or different given current computing systems (Hardware and software) - NO! So the present we have is the future we will have. 

I expect LM will fix a number of areas that will simply improve that stability and integration particularly the scenario/mission tasking tools - not to race off on a tangent that requires their customers to now invest in whole new simulation systems. 

I am more than satisfied with P3DV5 - it meets all my needs for flight simulation and as a hobby is a rewarding and enjoyable experience. With numerous non aeroplane addons such as weather, navigation planners and a few minor tweaks for some parts via addons again I have a simulator that enables me to basically engage in any form of flight simulation I want - fast jet, weapons systems, hud displays or old fashioned analogue guages - small jets, big jets, small piston and big pistons. As for pistons they are dinosaurs hard to find any commercial or miltary operator who even has a piston aeroplane so they have no need for piston simulation - bonus that FSX was originally focused on pistons and bonus that because of backward compatability old developments and models have integrated basically effortlessly. The graphics are superb I have no performance issues or glitches and it works as advertised! What more could one really want? So the future is my present! 

I am glad LM used the sim community as testers and allowed us entry into the product - yes there have been a few bumps on the way but really the future is here and it is fine by me. 

As for the other sims - grass in the next paddock always looks greener. 

My only irk or problem is that there is quite a bit of that could be improved with the older models I use or have (some not all) but the developers cannot generate the required income from sales in P3D to do the work and many have now actually quit flight simulator development all together so these models will not be redone again. There could also be a change or improvement to the terrain graphics representation here and there. 

I am more than happy with my future as it is!