Back from MSFS -- worth upgrading to P3D v5 from v4 ?

[Gabe777 132]

Thnx all.

I use Lorby scenery organiser so presumably I can just copy the scenery.xml file across.

What about the 3TB of OrbX stuff ?

[kevinfirth 1,394]

7 minutes ago, Gabe777 said:

What about the 3TB of OrbX stuff ?

I copied all my orbx stuff straight over, no issues, just go through Orbx Central and verify files...

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

6 minutes ago, Gabe777 said:

Thnx all.

I use Lorby scenery organiser so presumably I can just copy the scenery.xml file across.

What about the 3TB of OrbX stuff ?

Regarding ORBX you need to tell it you have v5. Then run Verify Files for each product. I did it for FTX Global, AUS v2 and the Australian airports, not all of them.

This is a helpful post if you get the scenery blocks in Australia.

https://forum.orbxdirect.com/topic/192402-fix-for-blocks-or-night-textures-in-the-orbx-scenery/

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

12 hours ago, Afterburner said:

You also have little things like dark cockpits (in some cases) and fewer parking spots at default airports. While v5 is improving with each update/hotfix, it's still not at a point that would make it viable for me to suspend v4.

Dark cockpits are caused by HDR - a byproduct of EA being on. HDR can be turned off in the cfg leaving EA on. It’s then a subjective thing as to whether you like EA or not.

The fewer parking positions can be cured by copying APX files from v4 or v3 into v5. Best to backup the v5 ones first though. It does bring back plenty of parking positions but the downside is some Ai are parked inside buildings and there are terrain issues at low lying airports like Rotterdam.

If you don’t fly into default airports it’s not a problem but the upside is AIG will inject more aircraft into the sim. Typical example- v5 LPPR has 9 parking positions, v3/4 has nearly 40.

There is a decent performance boost in v5 and as you’re a Concorde fan like me Andrew said it would look best in v5 with the PBR effects they’re using.

[simfan1983 185]

I moved from 4.5 to 5.3 fairly soon after 5.3 was released. I was initially disappointed with the stuttering issues as it seems that LM don't properly beta test with people who have complex addons, but I managed to work around most of the issues using Process Lasso. I'm hoping that the latest hotfix will resolve most of the remaining problems.

At the present I'm happy that I made the switch, I have the DC-6 and 737 NGX working fine, and all of my v4 scenery is working in v5 with only limited intervention. But it does take a bit of work and you have to be prepared to tweak a few things. 

I recommend a fresh Windows install (I went to Win 11) if you have an old 4.5 installation. It's just easier to know that legacy stuff isn't causing any of the issues you may have.

The lighting (especially at night) is far better in v5 compared with v4 and performance will be much better once the stuttering issue is resolved.

[Afterburner 374]

12 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

There is a decent performance boost in v5 and as you’re a Concorde fan like me Andrew said it would look best in v5 with the PBR effects they’re using.

At the pace that FS-Labs keep us informed about the progress of the new Concorde, we may as well see a P3Dv6 😁

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

59 minutes ago, Afterburner said:

At the pace that FS-Labs keep us informed about the progress of the new Concorde, we may as well see a P3Dv6 😁

Have you seen the website recently? References to FSX and FS2004. Not a mention of Prepar3D. https://www.flightsimlabs.com

And mention of Microsoft Flight Simulator is very confusing. 🙄

Copyright is dated 2020. The really do need to up their game.

Do I expect an announcement about Concorde before Christmas? No, and probably nothing until it’s ready to buy.

[Nocturnal 117]

If you are going to fly in this sim for quite a while, I would highly recommend upgrading to v5. While there are some things which I liked in v4, the performance of v5 beats v4 by miles with DirectX 12. Moreover almost all the aircrafts/addons have a free upgrade from v4 to v5. So you literally have to spend $0 in that sector other than paying for the base sim.

[micstatic 4,319]

agree.  Only reason I can see for not updating to V5 is if one has a graphics card with low vram.  

[jimcarrel 688]

The last 2 weeks, I've not flown MSFS 2020, strictly P3D v5 + this weeks hotfix (and yesterdays patch- requires only Client change)Don't pretend to have a defining reason why, except to say I have a lot invested in P3D, and at this time I find it way less boring, (not at all, really) I have found I can run a lot higher settings, and personally, I think it is comparable to MSFS graphics, only different. I'm running ASP3D along with EA (volumetric clouds off) and using Envishade. I find graphics quite convincing and am enjoying it. Why else would I fly it exclusively, lately.

[micstatic 4,319]

I had about a month of nothing but msfs.  But the lack of immersion brought me back.  And i must say I've been very happy in p3d lately. 

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

6 hours ago, micstatic said:

I had about a month of nothing but msfs.  But the lack of immersion brought me back.  And i must say I've been very happy in p3d lately. 

What I am finding using P3D v5.3 HF1+1 (light fix Client) is that I still had some micro stutter in MSFS (latest) and also in every prior version of P3D.  Very small, stop/starts/pauses, but still a valid immersion wrecker.  Now, with the aforementioned, I have what I can now call 'butter smooth' flight animation.  I was in the 737, over mid Michigan on my way to Phoenix, and looking out over a wing shot...the ground below me was animating as forward movement, with NO...no animation interruption of any kind or description.  It so elevated the visual cues that I was indeed actually flying inside a commercial flight...that I have never experienced honestly, since day one of FSX. 

That's why I wrote in the forum that this is the BEST P3D I have ever run on my system.  P3D now gives me the best (of any other flight sim as well) the 'visual cues' that I am indeed flying in real life.   L.M. has really KICKED this over the goal post...for a game win!   I am so impressed by P3D v5.3 HF1+1 on my system. Butter smooth...clear graphics, no morphing or coming into or out of terrain focus.   I am amazed...and tells me that P3D is no way, a casualty of MSFS...nope. Not at all...life in the franchise still!  The developers that ran from the franchise should (my opinion) think again, after P3D v5.3 HF1+1 was released today....again, my personal opinion....

[DonMuskopf 32]

3 hours ago, Sesquashtoo said:

It so elevated the visual cues that I was indeed actually flying inside a commercial flight...

For me too completely fluid motion is the most immersive flight simulation element. I have flown 300 ft above ground at 250 mph with not a single micro stutter, did a sharp left bank, got some motion sickness!  I flew above mountain peaks, looked straight down, the motion was so real that I got vertigo.  This has never happened to me before. This version to me is hands down the best simulator on the market ( and yes I own the other one too).

[Afterburner 374]

One thing that shouldn't be underappreciated with P3D (regardless of whether it's v4 or v5) is the reliability, consistency and knowing that things work as expected. Here are some examples:

- Using Active Sky, the weather is almost always consistent, believable and provides correct temperature- and pressure data. How many times do I see new threads in the forum for the other simulator popping up with users complaining that the live weather is not working or that it's incorrect?  Personally, I have experienced sudden and erratic changes in pressure every now and then, and you don't have Active Sky that could come to rescue.

- GSX gives you a feeling of attention to your flight before departure and after landing. Everyone is waiting for GSX for the other simulator, but right now, there is no alternative.

- The default ATC. I know that it's rudimentary, but in all of my flights, it has never sent me to weird altitudes and never let me collide against a mountain, even on hilly airports like Innsbruck. Also, the voice doesn't make me cringe (like in the other simulator).

- If you use AI traffic from AIG (or even UT), you have believable traffic by real-world airlines. It's true that AIG is now also available for the other sim, but in P3D, you can better interact with them (by right-clicking and selecting the airplane to watch them)

- The road traffic was subject to performance degradation a while ago, but it has been solved with the recent hotfix. In P3D, you have denser road- and boat/ship traffic than in the other simulator, which gives you a more realistic immersion. (I love to see road traffic when you approach an airport)

- If the internet connection breaks up, it's no big deal (and Active Sky will preserve the current weather until the connection is reestablished).

[psolk 3,040]

I'm going through the process of 4.5 to 5.3 right now.  I did a fresh Windows install and started from scratch which did complicate things for me.  Had I used my old OS the pointers to all my add-ons would have remained valid.  As it is with drive letter changes it became a process of copying, changing .xml files, load, tweak, try again etc etc.   I finally decided to just blow it away and start from scratch. 

This way I was able to use all the relevant installers for V5, get any relevant registry settings etc etc.  Then I just took my FSUIPC.ini, scenery.cfg and add-ons to compare and verify they all matched.  

Right now I am struggling with horrible texture drawing times and blurries.  Today I will finalize all my keystrokes in V5.3 and try to tweak the blurries and slow drawing textures away...  With that being said, yes, V5 looks very different to V4.  It's certainly not the other sim but it is a vast improvement an V4 from what I can see.   The big question for me is going to be stability.  I have not had a crash in V4.5HF3 for as long as I can remember.  Just rock solid.   I am "hoping" the stability carried over as well or this was all for naught.  I have V4 sitting on it's old drive "just in case"  

 

As for the post above:

1.  Tons of posts about cloud/weather depiction in P3D as well and that is "years" into the weather engine.  EA, Fog, popping clouds, waffle clouds, V5.3 and yes, weather depiction is "still" an issue to get "perfect"   There are more cloud popping threads even this morning with the latest HF.  If you want to be accurate, P3D has a better SDK for weather implementation right now, at least it's open...  Someone could easily say they come to the P3D forums and see issues with weather as well.  People don't tend to come and post how well things are working... 

2.  Default ATC?  Not even going to comment.  Not sure what the issue is with the voices in the other sim that make you "cringe" but default ATC in every FS release has been horrible.  First thing we do is try to get RC, PF3 or a replacement AI engine in place.  I use PF3 in the other sim so ATC is the same for me in both.

3.  AIG is available for both, the fact you can right click on one and watch them isn't something I've ever even noticed.  I wouldn't count that as a differentiator for a "flight simulator" that's a nice to have if you want to sit and watch traffic.  

4.  How do you figure on denser traffic?  AI ships package is available for both sims, road traffic is in both with the slider adjusted I can't see a difference.  Again, not a differentiator.  

5.  I would have led with this....   THIS is a differentiator.  

Honestly, I use both (Do you or are you going based on what you read?) and there are some very valid differentiators for both in terms of pro's and con's but the things you listed in points 2, 3 and 4 while I respect they are your opinion are not big differentiators in my opinion.  Just my personal opinion.  It's point 1 and 5 that are the bigger issues for some although even with that being said the weather depiction in MSFS is stunning by default even with it's shortcomings "when" it gets it right LOL.  

 

Oh and PS.  I happen to really enjoy MSFS, the graphics are incredible and yes, coming back to P3D is sometimes difficult from a visuals perspective but the same reason I still use P3D is the reason I used FS9 for years after FSX and P3Dv1 were released.  Add-on maturity.  This is still the only place I have my PMDG heavies, my QW787 and the sceneries I personally rely on for my sim experience.  I'm just "comfortable" with what I already own in P3D HOWEVER, if the other one fixes the weather, gets the P3D add-ons moved over and I have parity between what I can use in both sims P3D will be relegated just like Fs9.  In an equal add-on world the streaming requirements of MSFS would not be an issue and I would wholeheartedly go MSFS.  The issue is we do NOT have that parity and when we will get it remains to be seen...  Based on RSR's latest post it sounds like Asobo are working to get the 737 and DC6 back into the Marketplace AND they are honoring the pricing commitment from 2+ years ago so they are "working" on it.... 

I am personally rooting for them not against them, if they fail I doubt we would ever see another group try to produce a flight sim from scratch.  If they fail, flight sim fails in my opinion...  Just look at the new control and HW options since MSFS, do we think those new yokes and controls ever get developed without MSFS? Boeing partnering with Thrustmaster?  I don't see any of that without MSFS... 

I think MSFS has brought flight simulation to the forefront, I don't care if it's gamers or not any coverage of our hobby is a bonus and not something we have really seen prior to MSFS.  So yes, I am rooting for them because to root against them is shooting off your nose to spite your face... 

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by psolk