P3D???

This is the place where we can all meet and speak about whatever is on the mind.
new reply
Flyboy 88
Airman
Posts: 20
Joined: 18 Apr 2017, 19:34

P3D???

Post by Flyboy 88 »

Hello All,
I recently got a new gaming computer as a gift from my parents last Christmas and have switched to flying X-plane and over all I have fallen in love! no more crashes stuttering, or flying on rails it also seems to make to make better use of my pc than fsx ever could. My only problem is A2A does not do development for X-plane and there is no atc in x-plane or propliners so I am thinking of flying in p3d on the side.

My question how is p3d different or better than fsx? as from all the youtube reviews I have seen it seems to be just a "pimped" up version of fsx. How good are the physics do you get crashes like you used to in fsx? how much money will I have to invest to make this sim to make it look decent? is there good freeware available (scenery aircraft,etc) is multiplayer available?

Any help will be appreciated thanks :D

User avatar
DHenriques_
A2A Chief Pilot
Posts: 5711
Joined: 27 Mar 2009, 08:31
Location: East Coast United States

Re: P3D???

Post by DHenriques_ »

Flyboy 88 wrote: 14 Oct 2020, 20:15 Hello All,
I recently got a new gaming computer as a gift from my parents last Christmas and have switched to flying X-plane and over all I have fallen in love! no more crashes stuttering, or flying on rails it also seems to make to make better use of my pc than fsx ever could. My only problem is A2A does not do development for X-plane and there is no atc in x-plane or propliners so I am thinking of flying in p3d on the side.

My question how is p3d different or better than fsx? as from all the youtube reviews I have seen it seems to be just a "pimped" up version of fsx. How good are the physics do you get crashes like you used to in fsx? how much money will I have to invest to make this sim to make it look decent? is there good freeware available (scenery aircraft,etc) is multiplayer available?

Any help will be appreciated thanks :D
I have P3D v.5 installed and running with Orbx Global, Vector, and North America. I have also tried the new Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Both are excellent programs. My opinion is that as far as graphics are concerned (the world you get to fly in) P3D v.5 with the Orbx I have installed is equal to the really great graphics available in the new MS sim. I opted to use as my sim of choice the P3D which allows me to fly our A2A products now.
As I said BOTH are wonderful simulations. I would add that in my opinion the new MS sim has wonderful potential and I don't believe you will go wrong with either one.
For me it will be P3D for the time being anyway.
Dudley Henriques

twsharp12
Staff Sergeant
Posts: 480
Joined: 15 Dec 2015, 09:30

Re: P3D???

Post by twsharp12 »

I'm not good at explaining things so I'll just leave this here: https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/5496 ... look-good/

P3D is the only sim I fly right now because it has all the in depth planes I need, including A2A, Majestic, and PMDG. It's going to be a long time before any of that goes over to MSFS, so I think an investment to P3D would be worth it. It's significantly better in every way than FSX. Crashes are few, if any.

P3Dv5 enhanced atmospherics actually takes care of a lot of the visuals that were lacking in v4, but it's in beta and has a lot of glitches. I'm hoping the next patch fixes a lot of this. Main focus on v5 should be ground textures.

Ground textures aren't necessarily cheap. Wait for an ORBX sale and get the global products for best value.

If you want some fun multiplayer, look into the A2A Misfit Squadron weekly flights over on the multiplayer forum.

User avatar
bladerunner900
Senior Master Sergeant
Posts: 1991
Joined: 17 Aug 2008, 14:59
Location: South Wales

Re: P3D???

Post by bladerunner900 »

My opinion.

If you want to fly A2A now, you have to have P3D. A2A have nothing ready for MFS. According to last reports they may or may not port their older stuff to MFS. For graphics I use ORBX, so it's not standard and looks very good IMO. I do have MFS but currently it has nothing that makes me want to fly in it.

Be aware, last I heard, v5 has a new OOM type problem. If you have your settings too high your graphics card will crash. Here's my experience with it.
You can mitigate the problem by turning some settings down and others off. Whether or not they will address this I don't know but for now, I am sticking with v4.5

Steve.

User avatar
Skycat
Senior Master Sergeant
Posts: 2191
Joined: 11 Nov 2006, 16:15
Location: Great Falls Army Air Base, Montana

Re: P3D???

Post by Skycat »

Flyboy 88 wrote: 14 Oct 2020, 20:15 My question how is p3d different or better than fsx? as from all the youtube reviews I have seen it seems to be just a "pimped" up version of fsx. How good are the physics do you get crashes like you used to in fsx? how much money will I have to invest to make this sim to make it look decent? is there good freeware available (scenery aircraft,etc) is multiplayer available?
I recently installed P3Dv5 Academic on the new PC I built and I'm running it in addition to FSX:SE. The impression that it is "just a 'pimped' up version of FSX" is understandable; A2A aircraft operate similarly on both platforms for example. But if you consider P3D for what it is--a military training simulator built upon code common to FSX's--you'll have a realistic expectation of what it is and what it is not.

The first major difference you'll notice when launching P3D is that its UI is austere compared to FSX's, and reminiscent of older versions of Flight Simulator. Then you'll notice that most of the civilian aircraft from FSX are gone but are replaced with a fleet of predominantly Lockheed and Lockheed-Martin aircraft including P-38, C-130, F-22 and F-35. Some of the default FSX aircraft were kept, and a few new civilian aircraft were added. Most of FSX's missions and challenges are removed from P3D. Some of the surviving missions have been edited to use different aircraft.

Generating scenarios in P3D is similar to FSX but the dialogue boxes are arranged differently and it takes a little getting used to. The sim itself feels very similar to FSX, especially if you are using the same ORBX scenery in both P3D and FSX. P3D is better optimized though and it has updated graphic features, some which are not available to FSX even with mods.

P3D has native support for VR and makes it easy to toggle between virtual reality and flat screen. I also have FlyInside for FSX and I prefer the P3D's interface. I use VoiceAttack software and for some reason I can make it work with P3D but not with FSX. If you have a VR headset (or intend to get one), I recommend P3Dv5 -- at least until MSFS 2020 implements VR support.

I haven't explored freeware addons for P3D but I know there is a very good A2A P-40 available for P3D right now for the sale price of zero dollars... ;)
Pax Orbis Per Arma Aeria

Flyboy 88
Airman
Posts: 20
Joined: 18 Apr 2017, 19:34

Re: P3D???

Post by Flyboy 88 »

Thanks Guys I tried P3D bought the a2a cub and flew it around but I am not impressed as far as the accuracy of the default scenery and availability of add on aircraft in comparison to fsx. I understand fsx is 32 bit but I ran it for years without crashes so I think I may fly it I also miss flying a2a aircraft.

bullfox
Technical Sergeant
Posts: 898
Joined: 24 Dec 2004, 14:50

Re: P3D???

Post by bullfox »

If you have any Orbx scenery in FSX it will port right over to P3D. Also install Hot Fix 1. Its a big improvement for P3D5.2
Ryzen 7 5800X3D liquid cooled, OC to 4.5 ghz, Radeon XFX 6900XT Black edition, 2 tb M2 drive, 32 gb ddr4 ram, Asus Hero Crosshair VIII mother board, and some other stuff I forget exactly what.

russellwwest
Airman First Class
Posts: 52
Joined: 05 Sep 2020, 13:01

Re: P3D???

Post by russellwwest »

This time last year, MSFS had just released and I was looking for an fsx replacement.
I chose p3d v4 (I also have msfs now), but as Dudley said, P3D is my sim of choice, and you can make it look good, albeit with money.

I regularly choose p3d over msfs because of the aircraft available (A2A, majestic dash 8, pmdg).

Msfs looks great out the box, and some ok default aircraft. But if you want some depth to the flying, in my opinion, it has to be p3d.
I have orbx global, vectors, open lc Europe, south Alaska and Australia.
I also have the FreeMeshX, and rex airport and sky/clouds textures.

With that setup, I am very pleased with p3d.
Image

Image

Hobart Escin

Re: P3D???

Post by Hobart Escin »

Tried P3D v5+ and always had problems crashing because of video memory and various pitfalls associated with DX12. Grew to hate the platform and erased it from my hard drive.

P3D 4.5 works wonderfully, and one can use a host of freeware shader mods like Tomatoshade to equal or surpass the atmospheric effects in P3D v5. All addons work with P3Dv4.5.

rod55
Staff Sergeant
Posts: 272
Joined: 16 Dec 2014, 12:04
Location: Solihull, England

Re: P3D???

Post by rod55 »

Hi Pilots

just for the record, first hand experience and right from day 1 of release, P3Dv5.2 HF1 is FANTASTIC; daily flights, over and over again completely reliable; no other 3rd party effects needed

PS and thanks to super-realistic scenery from Orbx & Partners and UK2000.

'Aspiring to sim-fly as correctly as you can' = P3D + A2A + Orbx

Rod (EGBB; just landed T for Terrific T-6, Aberdeen Dyce EGPD; next stop, Inverness EGPE, fancy a bit of mist from an Orbx weather theme)

User avatar
bladerunner900
Senior Master Sergeant
Posts: 1991
Joined: 17 Aug 2008, 14:59
Location: South Wales

Re: P3D???

Post by bladerunner900 »

Just an update to my post last year. P3D v5.2 with HF1 is a lot more stable for me now. No sign of the DXTGI error. With all my ORBX add-ons active it looks very good indeed. As mentioned, if you have any for FSX they can be used in P3D also.

I also have MSFS but do not fly in it at the moment. I've done a few flights and it looks very nice and all, but without my A2A aircraft it's just like old FSX but with better visuals. A bit soulless. YMMV.

Steve

User avatar
Ron Attwood
Chief Master Sergeant
Posts: 3225
Joined: 30 Nov 2010, 10:07
Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK

Re: P3D???

Post by Ron Attwood »

bladerunner900 wrote: 01 Sep 2021, 13:06 Just an update to my post last year. P3D v5.2 with HF1 is a lot more stable for me now. No sign of the DXTGI error. With all my ORBX add-ons active it looks very good indeed. As mentioned, if you have any for FSX they can be used in P3D also.

I also have MSFS but do not fly in it at the moment. I've done a few flights and it looks very nice and all, but without my A2A aircraft it's just like old FSX but with better visuals. A bit soulless. YMMV.

Steve
I'm of the same opinion, pretty much. If only it didn't take so bloody long to get past 5% terrain loading.

By the way, I've just twigged what YMMV means. :roll: I always thought 'What the hell has some obscure Australian airport got to do with anything.' :D
Eva Vlaardingerbroek, an inspiratiom.

GaryRR
Staff Sergeant
Posts: 353
Joined: 26 Dec 2020, 22:32
Location: KSEG Selinsgrove, PA

Re: P3D???

Post by GaryRR »

I fly the A2A Bonanza only in P3D V4.5. I use RXP GTN on my Bonanza and I get CTDs from a conflict with the atioglxx.dll.
I run the Radeon RX 580 GPU. No CTD ever if I install RXP GNS though. And the RXP GTN in other aircraft, specifically the Alabeo C421 and the PA-31 Navajo do not CTD from the atioglxx.dll conflict usually even though event viewer still logs the same errors. I deduce because these Alabeo/Carenado aircraft aren't as demanding on the system.
Interestingly enough I never had this problem in FSX and I never flew long enough flights to insure the dreaded Out of Memory crashes I've heard about.

User avatar
Paughco
Senior Master Sergeant
Posts: 2097
Joined: 30 Nov 2014, 12:27

Re: P3D???

Post by Paughco »

I have flown Cessna 140s and 150s for a total of 13.5 hours back in the '60s. I had a brief opportunity to fly a C-119 while in AFROTC, also back in the '60s. Been flying sims for a long time. I fly for the immersion factor, which, for me, is how much flying the sim airplane feels like flying a real airplane. The closest thing I've found is A2A aircraft, in P3D. I also like the weather we get with Active Sky, and the realistic airports for the Northwest and California by ORBX.

I've got a 2016 Jetline computer, which was carefully spec'd out at the time, but needs a better GPU. P3D v5.2 has been working very well for me. No problem-o flying my A2A Connie from Tulsa to New Orleans with a bunch of pals on our Sunday morning MP flight. I did notice a strange scenery phenomenon on a flight in my A2A P-40 from Arlington (KAWO) to Sequim Valley (W28), which was by the time I got to W28 all the scenery was absolutely flat. I circled the field and absolutely none of my ORBX scenery was there! I landed, saved the flight, then reloaded the saved flight and my ORBX scenery was there. The flight back to KAWO was uneventful, with no missing scenery. The important thing is, the A2A P-40 flew just fine the whole time.

I recommend P3D v5.2 with as many A2A aircraft as you can get.

Seeya
ATB
Image

new reply

Return to “Pilot's Lounge”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazon [Bot], Bing [Bot] and 36 guests