I read some interesting comments about the quality and variety of MSFS freeware add-on quality, and also the variety of MSFS freeware lately.  I thought I would double check these comments with the MSFS community here at Avsim to see if this is the case.

The first comment is from the PMDG forum and implies MSFS has more freeware and better quality than P3D:

Quote

There is a huge (!!) amount of freeware available in a quality that puts P3D payware to shame. Both as mods for default aircraft and scenery. Get the freeware, enjoy and never look back.

The second comment from Reddit implies MSFS even has more freeware add-ons and is better in quality than XP:

Quote

And for some reason the freeware scene in MSFS is producing far more and far higher quality than generally seen in XP.

I myself have looked for a website that lists all the P3D add-ons (ie. the flightsim.to version of P3D) but I have yet to find something like a flightsim.to for P3D so I can't evaluate the first comment.  For the second comment about MSFS having better and more freeware add-ons than XP, I am skeptical of that comment. X-plane.org has a lot of add-ons for XP and XP is also much older than MSFS, so a lot of add-ons have been created for XP over the years.

Anyways, I just wanted to check these two comments and whether they are valid.  Hopefully, this doesn't result in a nasty sim vs sim thread, and I get objective answers that stick to the topic and things stay civil. Just looking for some civil and objective answers on this without the nastiness and uncivility of the typical sim vs sim debates.  Thanks!

Edited August 20, 20223 yr by abrams_tank

6 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

Just looking for some civil and objective answers on this without the nastiness and uncivility of the typical sim vs sim debates.

Sure, after the way you posed the question.. troll bait. 😟

6 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

Hopefully, this doesn't result in a nasty sim vs sim thread, 

You're baiting for that exact thing.  Let's see how it goes.

34 minutes ago, Bert Pieke said:

Sure, after the way you posed the question.. troll bait. 😟

<sigh>

If posting something like this just to find out information can result in a huge flame war, then that's unfortunate. I'm honestly here to find out information.  Like I said, I can't verify the first quote about P3D because I can't find the flightsim.to version of P3D.

For the second comment about XP, I don't agree with it on the surface, because XP is simply just older than MSFS.  But I am double checking to see if the author of that comment is batsh*t crazy, or if the author of that comment actually has a point.

In the 2 years I have used MSFS, I have never once considered that MSFS has more freeware add-ons that P3D or XP, and I don't think I have made such a comment in the past either, simply because MSFS is so much younger and newer than the other simulators, and it takes time to accumulate a library of freeware add-ons.  So it's natural that I am double checking the validity of those comments because if those comments have a point, that would be a watershed moment for MSFS.  But maybe those comments are wildly inaccurate and like I said, those comments are "batsh*t crazy" - I don't know until I ask about it.

But if the mods see threads like this as "troll bait," the mods can lock this thread up.  The sad part is, I come away without knowing the answers to the questions I asked and whether the authors of those comments actually have a point, or whether they are exaggerating.

Edited August 20, 20223 yr by abrams_tank

5 minutes ago, Mace said:

You're baiting for that exact thing.  Let's see how it goes.

No, refer to my reply to @Bert Pieke. I am genuinely interested to know the answer to my questions.  Like I said, I can't verify the answer to the first comment because I can't find the flightsim.to version for P3D. For the second comment, it doesn't make sense because XP is much older than MSFS and there has been that much more time to create freeware add-ons for XP.  But sure, the mods can lock this up if it's going to result in a nasty flame war.

That would be sad though, because we are self censoring and I walk away without knowing the answer to my questions.

6 minutes ago, abrams_tank said:

Like I said, I can't verify the first quote about P3D because I can't find the flightsim.to version of P3D.

https://www.rikoooo.com/

https://simviation.com/1/front-page

https://library.avsim.net/

 

These are all sites I've used for P3D/FSX Freeware

9 minutes ago, Tuskin38 said:

https://www.rikoooo.com/

https://simviation.com/1/front-page

https://library.avsim.net/

 

These are all sites I've used for P3D/FSX Freeware

Thanks for the links! I was aware of the Avsim library for P3D.  I didn't know about Rikoo or simviation.com though for P3D.  I checked Rikoo and I think there are a maximum of 16 pages for add-ons for P3D: https://www.rikoooo.com/downloads/all?tag=5&start=285.  For simviation.com, they go up to 370 pages for P3D: https://simviation.com/1/browse-Prepar3d-143-370.  So I would say simviation seems to have way more add-ons for P3D, although I don't know if they are all compatible for P3D v5.

So it seems if you add Rikoo + Simviation + Avsim.net, the selection of freeware add-ons for P3D isn't that bad.

Edited August 20, 20223 yr by abrams_tank

I’m going to put this one to bed now as it’s a tinder box that will likely turn ugly.

@abrams_tank I don’t think it’s necessary to “check with the community” to see if those comments are true. Is it true to you? And if it is, that’s all that matters.