We are underestimating the value of P3D

the versatility and practical use of its engine is far more important than we think 

just look at fs genesis ortho scenery, although not cheap,the results are better than FS because it’s locally stored but $$$ pricy 

if they’re selling it someone is buying it I guess 

And if msfs is going this way P3D might outlast it !

 

I see Ray, although I've given up, probably because I didn't spend much on the platform but the last sad notice about Hervé no longer supporting it left me with serious doubts about ever being able to use his precious magvar updates as well as the many airport and navaid updates...

Without it and since LM never does much about it, even when v7 was release still with rather outdated data, keeping p3dv5 current will not be possible an option for  me 😕

Edited January 21, 20251 yr by jcomm

@jcomm, justifiable concerns. Herve hasn't given up completely. He said it's a lot of work to produce monthly updates. But he may well produce them a few times a year. If he uses P3D it would be in his own interest too.

We should still be able to amend ILS and runway data shouldn't we? Data can be sourced independently and P3D updated with his software.

I created a missing airport in V4 using AFCAD collecting data on the internet headings ILS Freq, this not difficult with default airports. Adding parking with airline coding. And have made changes to third party airports.

I also still use 5.4, mainly for the "big iron" (Boeing, Airbus, Dash 8). While I do also use FS20, it's mainly for smaller planes (general and business aviation).

In P3D I also have hundreds of high-quality airports, the aforementioned aircraft, and the tried-and-true combination of PF3 and MCE for simulating scheduled flights with a capable FO. I love the no-nonsense GUI and the independance from online services.

In FS20, it's single-pilot VFR and IFR ops, for the most part with SayIntentions (although I am very much looking forward to what BATC, FSHud and eventually VoxATC will bring to the table).

13 minutes ago, d.tsakiris said:

I love the no-nonsense GUI and the independance from online services.

Absolutely. Providing your SSDs work you’re guaranteed consistent performance. And the interface is clean. Aircraft, Location and Time. As simple as it gets.

Not forgetting a mature SDK that is so helpful to 3rd party developers. Will there ever be an ADE for streaming sims? When you don’t have your own set of data it’s impossible.

4 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

And the interface is clean.

I can fully agree with the criticizing of the MSFS2024 interface. However, the MSFS2020 one is pretty clean as well. Many people have criticized the interface simply because it was not the same as FS9...

4 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Aircraft, Location and Time. As simple as it gets.

One could argue that the free flight creation map in MSFS2020 is much more intuitive than anything we had in FS9->P3Dv6, though 🙂 And it's simple too (and makes more sense).

4 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Not forgetting a mature SDK that is so helpful to 3rd party developers.

This is a strong point indeed. I cannot speak about XP, but the MSFS (2020 and 2024) SDKs were a mess upon release.

4 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Will there ever be an ADE for streaming sims? When you don’t have your own set of data it’s impossible.

Well, that didn't prevent 3rd parties to create both payware and freeware airports and airport enhancements. Not sure about MSFS2024, but at least in MSFS2020 the basic scenery keeps on your harddrive. It's just the ground textures that are downloaded. In MSFS2024 it's more than that, though...

5 minutes ago, Daube said:

However, the MSFS2020 one is pretty clean as well.

 

5 minutes ago, Daube said:

One could argue that the free flight creation map in MSFS2020 is much more intuitive than anything we had in FS9->P3Dv6, though

Not in my opinion, not by a long shot. Especially the free flight page in FS20 drives me nuts. I have to do many more clicks to select an airport or input data into any of the fields than in P3D. If I load a flightplan that originated from another tool (Simbrief), very often that locks up a number of fields (for example, I can't change the starting position from the active runway to a parking position). Sometimes half of the lower options disappear. Sometimes the "Go fly" button simply won't work. Of course, being able to pick a starting position (if it works) via a sat picture in FS20 is nice. But overall, I seem to have to do a lot more clicking in FS20.

What if 2020 was stemmed from P3D instead ofFS10 ?
And what would be if LM were able to do just that (they did it before)

The Orbx module scenery format and look works great for IFR and VFR

Put some good old horses back in the stable and you’re back in business 

Probably a “lot” less expensive than 2024

7 hours ago, d.tsakiris said:

 

Not in my opinion, not by a long shot. Especially the free flight page in FS20 drives me nuts. I have to do many more clicks to select an airport or input data into any of the fields than in P3D. If I load a flightplan that originated from another tool (Simbrief), very often that locks up a number of fields (for example, I can't change the starting position from the active runway to a parking position). Sometimes half of the lower options disappear. Sometimes the "Go fly" button simply won't work. Of course, being able to pick a starting position (if it works) via a sat picture in FS20 is nice. But overall, I seem to have to do a lot more clicking in FS20.

Define "make much more clicks to select an airpot" ? You just have to click once on the airport field, and once on the input field... And that is, only if you didn't select your airport simply by scrolling on the map. And you can see exactly where the parking spaces are located. It couldn't be simpler and more visual than this. The P3D free flight creation, in comparison, is obscure at best.

 

I use P3D as well and I am more than happy with it. It works generally well, and I like how realistic it feels...

I have also invested a decent amount of $ in terms of aircraft and scenery...so I feel like I can't just move on from P3D.

My only "problem" is that there are only a few developers left/there are no more updates. P3D will become more and more outdated as we go along...

Overall, P3D suits me fine.

In P3D you can make any aircraft and airport and parking spot your default loading point. Also cold and dark aircraft loading in the sim.

9 hours ago, G-RFRY said:

In P3D you can make any aircraft and airport and parking spot your default loading point. Also cold and dark aircraft loading in the sim.

This is a good example of a feature that we lost in MSFS unfortunately.

In MSFS you just keep the aircraft that was selected in your previous flight. As for the cold&dark, it depends where you start: if you select a runway to start your flight, then the aircraft will be already running and ready to fly. But if you select a parking space instead, then your aircraft will be cold&dark.

And in XPlane, the aircraft selection is similar, but you simply have a checkbox to decide if you want your aircraft to be cold&dark or not, no matter where you start from.

Edited January 24, 20251 yr by Daube