Smoky942

P3D 3.3.3, W7, 368.22 DSR works as advertised for me. /Russell.

I'm assuming you mean the debris thrown up when moving over grass etc. If so, look in the aircraft.cfg and look for this line under Effects. Change it to look like this ... dirt=// fx_tchdrt (just add two forward slashes after the = Do the same for every aircraft you want to lose the effect on. If it's the spray on wet runways you want to lose, do the same for water=//fx_spray. /Russell.

Well Elaine, if you look on page 6, you'll see one who says he pays $200 instead of $60...just to get rid of the watermark. But maybe he was joking. /Russell.

Yes, unticking Show Notification Text does remove the watermark in P3Dv3 academic. But why anyone would be bothered about the watermark is beyond me. It is so insignificant I can honestly say I never ever notice whether it's there...or not. /Russell.

That's strange. Click Start, then type simobjects.cfg in the "search programs and files" box. That should tell you where it is. As I said, it SHOULD be in C:/ ProgramData/ Lockheed Martin/ Prepar3Dv2 along with a load of .cfg files and other stuff. Note that this is NOT the same Prepar3Dv2 folder where the Prepar3D.cfg resides. /Russell.

The SimObjects path doesn't go in the P3D.cfg now. It goes in C:/ ProgramData / Lockheed Martin / Prepar3D v2 In there you'll find the simobjects.cfg Put your AI_Aircraft entry in there. /Russell.

Thanks for that Rob ...especially about deleting the temp VisualFXTool file. I've never been too happy with the results I get using the tool, and usually finish up manually adjusting the actual file, then firing up P3D to see the results. A bit of a long winded method, I know, but I usually get the result I'm after...eventually. /Russell.

Thanks for your answer Vic, very much appreciated. I should have explained better about the deleting. I didn't delete them as such, I moved them out of P3D so I could put them back if necessary, so as far as P3D was concerned, they were deleted. The reason being that P3D wouldn't save a flight as default no matter what. Also VisualFXTool kept loading the last fx file I'd worked on, instead of the one I WANTED to look at. I found all the flights in the usual place ... Documents/Prepar3D v2 files. So when I found a default.fxml and an effects folder with the last fx file I'd used in VisualFXTool in a different location where normally I'd only ever known the Shaders to reside, I moved them to see if that was the problem. It wasn't, so I asked the question that you kindly answered. Fact is, I wasn't too bothered if it did diss P3D as I don't have much installed yet, so no big deal for me to totally uninstall-reinstall. Thanks again for assuring me that the locations are correct. /Russell.

Who informed me of this ? No one. Trying to out guess LM developers ? Where did that come from ? I've used P3D from day one, and have never seen default flight and wx files in that location. Neither have I ever seen an effects folder in that position, so I asked to find out if this was a new thing in P3D v2.5 as I know they have altered the file structure some what. All I wanted was a civil answer to know if that was correct, or a fault on my end, not some high handed nonsense from you. /Russell.

I understood that in P3D v2.5 only the Shaders folder is kept at C:/ Users/ Myname/ AppData/ Local/ Lockheed Martin/ Prepar3D v2. In mine, as well as the Shaders folder, I have a P3D default.fxml and default.wx files and an effects folder which, if I use the VisualFXTools will contain the last fx file that I opened. Surely this isn't right. If I delete them, they are replaced next time I start P3D. /Russell.

Whenever I use instant replay, when it ends, I get a ball of what looks like smoke appears in the sky, which sometimes spreads across the sky making it very dark, then disappears after around a minute. Other times it spreads all over the sky and scenery and the fps drop from 30 to 8. I have to close the sim to get rid of it. Anyone else seen this ? /Russell.

C:/ ProgramData /Lockheed Martin /Prepar3Dv2 /Russell.

Thanks Maarten ...you're a star. That's worked perfectly. Many thanks, very much appreciated. /Russell.

Hi, trying to install the switch panel on new PC. Used the installation CD that came with it, and have the correct entry in the exe.xml. When that didn't work, I installed the latest software from Saitek. Still nothing. If I try to start the SaiPanels.exe manually, I get the message "the application has failed to start because it's side-by-side configuration is incorrect." Side-by-side with what ?. It worked fine on my previous PC. When you download the software, it asks if operating system is 32 or 64 bit. I choose 64 bit, but notice that, whichever you choose, you get the same Saitek_Pro_Flight_Panels_7_0_34_109 which is 32 bit. Would'nt think that's a problem as my previous PC was 64 bit. Anyone have a clue as to what I'm doing wrong ? /Russell.

In C:/user/myname/Appdata/Roaming/Lockheed Martin I have two folders containing the P3D cfg, Prepar3D and Prepar3D v2 One is for version 1.4 and the other for version 2.3, which is correct as I have both versions installed. /Russell.

I retired almost seven years ago after working for the best employer in the UK for the last 26yrs. I drove an articulated truck with a specialized semi trailer working an average 8hrs on the early shift, and usually around 6hrs on the afternoon shift. Even though the truck grossed out at 25 tons, the boss insisted on getting big engined 40 ton tractor units (said it was to make our job easier, less gear changing),a very generous fixed salary, which went in my bank whether I was at work .. or not, AND a brand new company car every three years, with all running costs paid by the company. This, and the fact that my second, much younger wife is still earning good money, allowed us to get money in the bank and pay off the house. That, I think is one of the crucial points in whether you enjoy retirement ... financial peace of mind. I've never felt bored for a single moment. My wife did say I was getting out of condition (oh, not tonight sweetheart, I have a headache)so I reluctently agreed to her suggestion to get a dog. Glad I did, she's fabulous (Italian Spinone)and we now roam farmland for hours at a time. I absolutely love retirement, and I know I'm a very lucky man. There is a downside though. Every time I look in the mirror, I think ... "Bloody hell ..whatever happened to that young lad that used to look back."

Hi AviatorBob, Assigning a button to the brakes, when pressed, the brakes are applied fully... either ON or OFF. With a registered copy of FSUIPC you can assign the brake pedals to an axis, one for the left brake, one for the right. On the setup page you will see a button marked SLOPE. Pressing the down arrow flattens the response curve (makes the pedal less sensitive in the initial press) Playing with that to what suits your setup, you can get very smooth, progressive braking, from gentle to full on, depending on how hard you press (just like your car) Personally, I had great difficulty in getting both pedals to apply the same pressure at the same time (maybe a fault with my pedals) so, as I have no need for differential braking, I assigned the left pedal to the left and right brake... and the right pedal to the right and left brake (are you still with me ?) which means, whether I press the left, right, or both together, I get smooth progressive braking...in a straight line. /Russell

With the Saitek Cessna pedals, I have the rudder sensitivity set full right and null zone full left. The brakes are set direct to FSUIPC, and flatten the response curve by using the down arrow in the slope function to 5. This gives me very smooth, graduated braking. /Russell.

As an enthusiastic flightsimmer, I always considered myself a bit of a "pilot," untill that is, I took my first ever flight in a real aircraft. A RAF Dominie T1 (won 2nd prize in a raffle) I took the controls at 20,000ft and flew a zig zag course practising turns from Lincolnshire before moving into the jumpseat (nav. took the right hand seat) for the decent, arriving at Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth at 500ft to practice a low level bomb run to a target on the Spadeadam Range. That one flight made me realize that flightsimming on your desktop gives you absolutely no idea of what it's like to fly a real aircraft, it's as different as chalk and cheese,unless you are also doing real flying as well. For the majority (like me) it's just a very enjoyable, immersive game.

When assigning a button to apply the brakes ... make sure you have the repeat slider fully right. Sounds like that's your problem. If your pedals have toe brakes, they need assigning to an axis to get differential braking.

Excellent posts by ADamiani and JeffH, and very true. The fact is the vast majority of people buying P3D are flightsimmers, coming from FS9 / FSX. LM knows that, as do the addon developers. In the whole scheme of things, only a tiny few will possibly buy it as a true training tool...airlines, flight schools, military ? I believe that this whole pricing thing has, once again, shown that of all the creatures on this planet, humans are way and beyond the most gullible. Stick the word "Professional" on, and the gullible will pay whatever is asked.

Yes, sure, V2.0 Also the same in 1.4 I've never seen a logo as such, only the words. That's why I've never understood what the fuss was about. Honestly, for me, totally unnoticeable. Could they have been advertising movies ?

The words "Academic version" stamped on the top right corner of the screen is so small and unobstrusive, I can honestly say I never even notice it. In fact, after reading this thread, I had to fire up P3D to check if it was still there.

Ted, As far as I'm aware, it's the DirectOutput.dll that communicates with the MFD. If you have a registered version of FSUIPC, it MAY be possible to get the MFD to do what you want through a LUA. script ... if you can find someone to write one (I can't) There are a lot of smart guys out there. I can't even try anything as I don't have the X52 or FSX on my computer now, only both versions of Prepar3D and the Warthog. Russell.

Happy new year to you too Ted. You'll have to excuse my memory (not what it used to be) but now I vaguely remember. A guy going under the name "BlackSwift" wrote a little user interface plugin which allowed you to use the MFD in the manner you would like. He got to ver.1.3 but his site is long gone. Whether his plugin was ever incorporated into later Saitek drivers, I've no idea. I remember that, if you could'nt get it to work, they told you to rename DirectOutput.dll to DirectOutputx86.dll and it would work. Worth a try, I suppose. You could google BlackSwift X52 and see if you can get hold of the plugin. /Russell.