ORBX 40% off. Shall I buy or not

[Rein2 117]

Hi there,

As you might know ORBX has a summersale going on until the 3th of July. I can't decide if I do right buying some scenery or not for P3Dv5. 

I can't decide because I don't know what strategy LM has. If I was sure there will come a version 5.4 or 6 and backward compatibility is guaranteed, then I wouldn't hesitatie one moment and buy the things I like. Because P3D for me is the number one simulator. But if LM decides to stop development now or in a few months, or year, then I stop buying stuff; it feels like a waste of money then. I just wish LM would communicate a little more about their plans for the future. I think they continue development because they have contracts with the military and professional users, but I am not sure. And will those new versions become available for the flightsim hobbyists? Questions, but no answers.

I read in this forum that several of you still buy stuff for P3D? I am curious to know what your buy-decision is based on. I hope you can convince me. 

I really wish P3D will be further developed for the coming years. 

 

Rein

[David Vega 348]

@Rein2,

Sorry, as an old guy, I don't get these "convince me" posts. Not knowing LM's strategy shouldn't prevent you from making a decision. What are your preferences? Do you want to enjoy flying over ORBX scenery now? If you haven't purchased the ORBX scenery that you're considering to buy now, do you really need it or want it? Setting an LM development window time frame of "now or in a few months" means that you should not buy anything since we don't know exactly how long it will take LM to develop and release a new version. 

Anyway, all indications are that LM will continue development and that the next step increment or version will be compatible with 5.3. The military customers are likely to have other add-ons working with P3D, meaning that if LM where to release new versions that were incompatible with v5, the military customers would have to make a significant investment in having the rest of their P3D ecosystem compatible with the new version. 

Hopefully your post is not only to elicit a reply from LM. 

[windycloud 30]

For a $15 airport or two, does one really need 5-year strategic insights to support purchase decisions? If an airport looks good, pick it up and enjoy flying in and out of it. But hey that’s just my dumb view.

[d.tsakiris 418]

I have 4 airports in my virtual cart. I of course don't know about future backward compatibility, but you can always stay with the newest sim version that suits you best. Furthermore, I'm convinced LM is still developing P3D - it's the add-on developers I'm more worried about. So why not let your wallet talk to show them that the P3D market is still lucrative?

[dave2013 1,130]

This is just my personal opinion based on what I read on ORBX's forum. 

I would be wary about purchasing anything from them for FSX/P3D.  It is clear to me that they have gone full bore with developing for MSFS, and P3D is just a distant afterthought.  I would be concerned about future support for P3D addons.

They've been promising openLC Asia for almost 2 years now and will not give any updates on its status, only saying that it's being worked on.

I just don't think that P3D is a priority for them any more.

Dave

[d.tsakiris 418]

5 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

I just don't think that P3D is a priority for them any more.

Maybe not, but they will only continue developing for it, if they sell for it. Don't get me wrong, I've also been waiting desperately (more or less) for the missing OpenLC parts, but these things take time. I remember first hearing the announcement about OpenLC in 2013...

[Juliett Alfa Romeo 540]

What I'm seeing is that there is no promo/upgrade price for current "customers" with P3D addons in case one day they use MSFS... am I wrong?

I have almost everything!

[Christopher Low 5,353]

I would be shocked if LM decided to give up P3D development simply because the new Microsoft Flight Simulator is more popular with the general population. The general population is not Lockheed Martin's primary target market. As for buying P3D addons, I am still using P3Dv4 because my primary simulation region (Great Britain and the Netherlands) is arguably just as good as the equivalent areas in Microsoft Flight Simulator (and in some cases, it is better). My next purchase will be v2 of RD Presets EHRD Rotterdam airport, because it will be in an area of outstanding natural simulation beauty (ORBx TrueEarth Netherlands). My other P3D purchases this year have been less successful, but that was my fault for assuming that I would be able to find consistent good quality photoscenery for southern Sweden.

I may not have many other options for the future, but I am content to sit on the fence for now and see what happens.......and a powerful position it is

Edited June 22, 2022 by Christopher Low

[F737MAX 5,604]

1 hour ago, Juliet Alpha said:

What I'm seeing is that there is no promo/upgrade price for current "customers" with P3D addons in case one day they use MSFS... am I wrong?

I have almost everything!

There are some promo-priced products that if you've owned the P3D version, give you a discount for the MSFS version.
You'll have to log-in to the website to discover which ones they are. I've bought too many already!
 

1 hour ago, dave2013 said:

I just don't think that P3D is a priority for them any more.

They released LKPR and updated EGPN earlier this year, and there's a huge back catalogue of Orbx products to choose from.
If you have all of them already, some 'Partners' continue to make P3D products, e.g. MK-Studios.
Failing that, there are (some) other developers who are not linked with Orbx who still produce quality add-ons for P3D.
 

2 hours ago, Rein2 said:

I hope you can convince me.

You can only convince yourself. I was buying add-ons for *FS9* right up until P3D v4.0 was released and I decided that was the time to switch.

[Reader 2,021]

2 hours ago, dave2013 said:

 I would be concerned about future support for P3D addons.

Don't be, Orbx continue to support existing products regardless of the simulator they are for.

2 hours ago, Juliet Alpha said:

What I'm seeing is that there is no promo/upgrade price for current "customers" with P3D addons in case one day they use MSFS... am I wrong?

Yes, you are wrong. Any product owned for another simulator attracts a 20% discount if

a) the owned product is in the Orbx Direct account and the same one is bought from Orbx Direct

b) it is the exact same product, ie. the same airfield or airport but not if

c) there is a sale on and a larger discount is available, like there is now for example.

[pinepix62 63]

I am very happy with the current version P3D V5 and my hanger is full of the most populer products. Although there are some issues I think they are mostly related to 3rd party content and at least I can fly without a lightning fast network connection. I will continue to buy stuff for P3D but is seems like the supply of good new products have dried up and many developers have abandoned their P3D user base. Compatibility of my existing products going forward with future P3D upgrades is my biggest concern.

Edited June 23, 2022 by pinepix62

[Tim_Capps 474]

You can thank me. I went on a buying spree with them -- the day before the sale.

[Sparkrite 188]

3 minutes ago, Tim_Capps said:

You can thank me. I went on a buying spree with them -- the day before the sale.

Oh No !!

Hate that.

[Dreamflight767 312]

Just be careful, they are selling a few airports that are very out dated.  Those products should be put on permanent sale.  I don't care for ORBX much anymore because of this...charging full price for an old product at full price they have no intention of updating. 

[ggerolamo 108]

1 hour ago, Dreamflight767 said:

Just be careful, they are selling a few airports that are very out dated

what does outdated mean in your terminology ?
Buggy ? not pretty enough ? ....?