4 hours ago, d.tsakiris said:

I am not him, but I also find MSFS more clunky to use. In P3D, it's a few clicks to do the settings and set up a flight. It is partially due to more functionality in MSFS (which I don't want, but that's another story), but I also find I have to click more to configure it and set up each flight, and there are functions, especially for the views, that seem to have their own mind. I am a big fan of P3D's simplicity.

I don't remember the P3dv6 interface, but the P3Dv5 was pretty similar to v4 which I know well.

When it comes to creating a new flight, I don't see how it's simpler in P3D, honestly. Choosing a plane is the same as in MSFS, but choosing a departure airport is definitely simpler in MSFS with the map. Same goes with the creation of a flight plan, which is extremely simple in MSFS, using the map again.

Weather and time of the day are pretty much equivalents, but they are on the main screen menu in P3D while they appear in a separate window in MSFS.

Views in MSFS are just "different from FS9", that's all. Describing them as having their own mind is a bit exaggerated.

I've never left P3D and added MSFS a year after it came out and just added MSFS 2024 (again waiting another year for it to mature).  I use them for different reasons.  P3D for commercial work and MSFS, well just because I have had it, but now MSFS 2024 for new escapism/exploring.  It's all good - Happy New Year.

On 12/31/2025 at 12:25 AM, Daube said:

Choosing a plane is the same as in MSFS, but choosing a departure airport is definitely simpler in MSFS with the map. Same goes with the creation of a flight plan, which is extremely simple in MSFS, using the map again.

I am only using P3D v4 having moved from FSX in late 2024. I honestly consider P3D v4 to really just be "FSX11" as I would have liked to have seen it had it ever existed with that nomenclature). And with all the fixes and excellent improvements of P3D versus FSX I absolutely love it and have zero intention of swapping to anything else but have to admit what you mentioned there is one weakness that I find somewhat annoying.

If you want fly an airliner like PMDG you don`t start with a map of the planet, you file a flight plan as pilots do then enter that into the FMC. If you want to fly the scenery then MS is for you.

5 hours ago, G-RFRY said:

If you want fly an airliner like PMDG you don`t start with a map of the planet, you file a flight plan as pilots do then enter that into the FMC. If you want to fly the scenery then MS is for you.

You're missing the point. The comment was about the ease of use (opposite to "clunckyness") of the UI compared to the one of P3D.

When doing IFR flight, the MSFS flight plan is an excellent tool to create your flight plan, as it lets you specify your route starting and ending points with just a few clicks, and you can also directly specify the SID, STAR and approach if you want to. Of course you can ALSO use an additional external flight planning tool to do that as well, and then import it into the FMC of your aircraft, but you don't HAVE TO.

17 hours ago, JonP01 said:

I am only using P3D v4 having moved from FSX in late 2024. I honestly consider P3D v4 to really just be "FSX11" as I would have liked to have seen it had it ever existed with that nomenclature). 

I shared exactly the same feeling at the time.

It's funny to note that P3Dv4 introduced the "avatar" mode which I was really enjoying a lot (it brought a completely new dimension to the sim, in my eyes), and that precise features reappeared in the MS sims only one year ago with MSFS2024 🙂 (I was quite disappointed it was not available in MSFS2020....)

1 hour ago, Daube said:

You're missing the point. The comment was about the ease of use (opposite to "clunckyness") of the UI compared to the one of P3D.

When doing IFR flight, the MSFS flight plan is an excellent tool to create your flight plan, as it lets you specify your route starting and ending points with just a few clicks, and you can also directly specify the SID, STAR and approach if you want to. Of course you can ALSO use an additional external flight planning tool to do that as well, and then import it into the FMC of your aircraft, but you don't HAVE TO.

Yes - anyone serious about flight planning in P3D would have to use an external tool. I actually thought that being a proper training tool it would have at least had SID and STAR functionality built in - it is fantastic that MSFS has it. The inbuilt flight planner is basically lifted straight out of FSX with a few very minor improvements that do not change the "clunckiness" factor! Though to be fair to LM, the improvements elsewhere really are impressive, at least to me(some will opine that I am easily pleased).

I’m still using PFPX for planning all IFR flights. Together with TopCat it remains an excellent set of tools for my flights.

PFPX also works well with FS Labs Concorde which needs waypoints creating by hand to ensure optimum routing to avoid supersonic flights over populated areas.

If it isn’t broken it doesn’t need fixing. My FMS Data subscription is cheap and the wonderful Herv Sors continues to provide updates to the core v5 nav data.
 

The v5 interface is simplicity itself. Select aircraft, enter departure ICAO, weather defaults to that injected by ASP3D and select time. How easy that is! 👍

3 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I’m still using PFPX for planning all IFR flights. Together with TopCat it remains an excellent set of tools for my flights.

PFPX also works well with FS Labs Concorde which needs waypoints creating by hand to ensure optimum routing to avoid supersonic flights over populated areas.

If it isn’t broken it doesn’t need fixing. My FMS Data subscription is cheap and the wonderful Herv Sors continues to provide updates to the core v5 nav data.
 

The v5 interface is simplicity itself. Select aircraft, enter departure ICAO, weather defaults to that injected by ASP3D and select time. How easy that is! 👍

It is really easy and fast to load. Vs msfs. That as well as the DC-8 is why I still use it 😉

1 hour ago, Joshua757 said:

It is really easy and fast to load. Vs msfs. That as well as the DC-8 is why I still use it 😉

MSFS2024 is icon-click to the gate in about two minutes on my system.  Maybe less.

Highly recommend using TOGA projects to tune the environment lighting in P3D v5 … makes a world of difference.

36 minutes ago, SayAgain said:

Highly recommend using TOGA projects to tune the environment lighting in P3D v5 … makes a world of difference.

I have bought ENVTEX and ENVSHADE and whilst I’ve improved things with the help of the author I’d appreciate any help you can provide to further reduce the excess of blue in the atmosphere.

I’m planning to buy the third product that cleans up waves and anything else it’s capable of. Thanks Rob. 😁👍

8 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I have bought ENVTEX and ENVSHADE and whilst I’ve improved things with the help of the author I’d appreciate any help you can provide to further reduce the excess of blue in the atmosphere.

I’m planning to buy the third product that cleans up waves and anything else it’s capable of. Thanks Rob. 😁👍

Yeah, I too need help reducing excess blue. Also I don't know if I should download open shade or tomato reshade ?

32 minutes ago, Joshua757 said:

Yeah, I too need help reducing excess blue. Also I don't know if I should download open shade or tomato reshade ?

They all do a job up to a point. But the skill of the user also has to be considered.

7 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

The v5 interface is simplicity itself. Select aircraft, enter departure ICAO, weather defaults to that injected by ASP3D and select time. How easy that is! 👍

Yes you can do that in the same exact way in MSFS. However, departure ICAO means specifying the name of the airport, but how do you specify which gate/parking you want to start from ? In MSFS it defaults to the active runway. Isn't it the same in P3D ?

Also, that "simple" implies that you actually know the ICAO code and the location of the parkings. On MSFS, you don't need to know, you just scroll on the map, zoom in on the airport and click on the parking spot (or runway) you want to start from. That's simple, and I cannot see anything "clunky" in that.