While we’re still a few hours away from the official release of Prepar3D v4 (64 bit), over the past few days I’ve watched a few videos showcasing the new simulator and even some comparing it to P3D v3.4. Not surprisingly, some people are losing their minds and being critical of Lockheed Martin by saying this release should simply be P3D v3.5 or complaining that some of the same issues which have plagued the software since the days of FSX continue to exist.
As the title of this blog post states, Flight Simulator 11 is finally here (or will be in a few hours). What I mean by this is simple. Everything which has been released by either Microsoft (MS Flight), Dovetail Games (FSX Steam Edition) and Lockheed Martin (Prepar3D v1 – v3) may have pretended to be the next evolution of the wonderful Flight Simulator we have known and loved going all the way back to the subLOGIC days. However, everything since the Microsoft original release of FSX has only been has only been pretending to the next iteration of this flagship product.
Yes, Lockheed Martin did do a wonderful job with the later version of Prepar3d v2.x and with v3.x. But what we’ve been needing since shortly after FSX was released way back in 2006 was a 64 bit version to take full advantage of the hardware. Again, everything else has just been marking time until this day.
While I realize X-Plane was the first to introduce a 64 bit flight sim, for some of us who have had a large investment in add-ons for FSX and which have been almost fully compatible through all the versions of P3D AND for the most part will also be made available for P3D v4 (at no extra cost), plus the general working knowledge of the sim is the same all the way back to FSX….well, it’s been a very difficult bridge to cross.
I’ve speculated time and time and time again on where the future of flight simulation is going and who will carry the torch proudly for us. I’ve felt really good about Lockheed Martin since v2.x, but now…..now this is all new territory and the sky is not the limit.
I can’t wait to purchased, download and install Flight Simulator version 11, errrr I mean Prepar3D v.4. We’ve been waiting a long, long time for this day and the day has finally come.
In less than 24 hours, Lockheed Martin will release the highly anticipated and very long overdue 64 bit version of Prepar3D version 4. With this release, will we finally see an end to the out of memory issues we’ve all experienced with FSX and every version of P3D? Have we experienced the last OOM? Can we once and for all stop worrying about how much (or how little) VAS we have? Are those little ding, ding, ding noises just as we are on final approach after an extremely long-haul flight going to be a thing of the past? I darn well hope so….
If you are an FSX or P3D user and don’t know what the acronyms of OOM or VAS stand for, or you haven’t encountered those ding, ding, ding sounds just before you are rudely presented with the error that says “Too Bad, Too Sad…we don’t care that you’ve just spent 12 hours flying and are in the final 5 minutes of flight, but you’ve run out of memory and we’re about to ruin your fun”, then I suggested you read this post.
Taking the Plunge
Sure…I might as well! While I owe a review of Dovetail Games brand new Flight Sim World FSW (and I’ll get that done soon), in a nutshell I don’t believe (at this time) there is any chance I’ll spend a great deal of time in FSW. Reason being is lack of 3rd party aircraft, scenery and such. I don’t see FSUIPC making its way to FSW anytime soon and without that, it really limits just how much fun I can have in the sim. NOTE: I said it will lack how much fun I will have. Your mileage may vary depending on what you want from a flight sim.
But yes…I do plan to purchase P3D v4. But I’m also doing so knowing it will be some time before some of my favorite add-ons will be made available. Some developers will have content ready on day 1, others will have their content after the first few weeks etc. etc. From what I’ve read, much of the add-ons I currently own will not require a repurchase to obtain the P3D version 4 installers. This is great news…but it’s more or less the commitment that many of these developers made when we all began speculating about a 64 bit version.
By the way, I have been flying lately as I’ve been playing around with both FSW and enjoying flights in P3D v3.4. I experienced what will hopefully be one of my last OOM crashes on Sunday when I was flying from KDFW to KMEM. Just within about two minutes after landing (thankfully) the system just said..”Nope…you’re done” it has used up 100% of the available 4 GB of VAS which is the dreadful limitation of 32 bit applications we’ve all been dealing with. It was a great flight other than that.
My Future in Flight Sim
All things being equal, in the past 6 months I’ve been using P3D v3.4, X-Plane 11 and Dovetail Games new Flight Sim World. As I’ve stated many times, I have a large dollar investment in FSX/P3D, so much so that I really can’t afford to seriously look at X-Plane as being a full replacement and still be able to enjoy the hobby in the same fashion. I have many years of experience with the Microsoft Flight Sim family of products and still find the X-Plane way of doing things about as difficult as trying to hammer a nail into the wall using only my forehead.
You can expect to read my first impressions on the 64 bit version of Prepar3D version 4 in the coming days/weeks. I might even record my thoughts and make it available on my YouTube channel. Stay tuned…
Look at the calendar. It’s not April 1st and this is no April Fools Prank. Yes…finally we have the much anticipated news regarding Dovetail Games official entry into flight simulation with Dovetail Games Flight Sim World. I’ve frequently blogged about this very subject for what seems like eternity. From the very early days of learning that Microsoft had authorized Dovetail Games to market and release FSX on Steam, we’ve been hearing about Dovetail’s plan to develop the next generation of flight simulation software. Actually, this is a direct quote from a Dovetail Games press release dated 2014 Dovetail “is currently investigating new concepts in this area and is expecting to bring a release to market in 2015”. OK…so they’ve missed their mark by a few years….but ladies and gentlemen….please sit back, relax (and turn off those darn electronic devices) because things are about to get interesting.
If you are new to my blog site, please take a moment and read an article I wrote back in November 2016 titled “Flight Sim News”. If you are not new to my writings, then you can skip that as you’ve already read it. Yesterday, Dovetail Games announced their new flight simulation platform they have titled “Flight Sim World” (I guess to line up with their new Train Sim World franchise) and I couldn’t be more excited. Now time will tell exactly what all this means, but the one really important element is this will be a 64 bit application. To date, the only 64 bit flight simulation based platform is X-Plane. The old Microsoft FSX (boxed edition), FSX Steam Edition and even all version of Prepar3D is only 32 bit. If you want to learn more about the challenges of trying to run an 32 bit application as complex as Flight Sim built, then read an article I wrote in February 2014 titled “Out of Memory (OOM) Errors”.
Importance of Early Access
Dovetail Games Flight Sim World will be released this month (May) via an early access process. This is also really great news and all the proof is coming direct from Dovetail Games Executive Produce Stephen Hood when he says, “We’re bring Flight Sim World to Early Access, we believe it makes no sense to work in isolation…so we wish to work with the community, engage with them, to shape the future of Flight Sim World over the coming weeks and months”. He further states, “We intend to develop a platform that stands the test of time over the next 5-10 years”.
Under the Hood
With the launch of Dovetail Games Flight Sim World, they have moved away from the old DirectX 9 to DirectX 11 and moved it from a 32 bit to 64 bit platform while also working to rebalance the usage between the CPU and GPU. This is also a very important change as today both FSX and P3D is very CPU dependent and doesn’t take advantage of today’s modern and powerful GPU’s. The hardware technology of today far exceeds what FSX and P3D can do with it. These older applications just don’t touch the full capabilities.
Third Party Opportunities
One of the unknowns from years ago was just how Dovetail Games would work with 3rd party developers. Over time, and as they continued to work with their FSX Steam Edition, we saw evidence that Dovetail Games was serious about working with the various 3rd party developers like PMDG, Orbx etc. Simon Sauntson with Dovetail Games leads up their Third Party division and mentioned Dovetail has actually engaged with many 3rd party developers to develop content which is part of the core application of Flight Sim World.
Simulation, Simulation, Simulation
Stephen Hood, acknowledges the importance of an “As Real As It Gets” experience as he states “As a Pilot you care hugely about the environments around you, it has to be accurately portrayed in Flight Sim World in order for you to fear it”
More Information
Want more information regarding Dovetail Games new Flight Sim World, visit their website, visit the Steam page, visit their Facebook page and watch the video below.
Jerry’s Final Thoughts
Dovetail Games….Just Take My Money and take it now! Honestly, I’ve had my doubts Dovetail could, would create the truly “Next Generation Flight Sim Platform” and not just pickup where Microsoft left off with Microsoft Flight. Which in most everyone’s opinion WAS NOT A FLIGHT SIM PLATFORM, but more of an arcade game. Of course, time will tell and not much else is really known at this time regarding which 3rd party developers are onboard with Flight Sim World. Honestly, I’ve not really done much with X-Plane. Meaning I’ve not spent much money on add-ons and such. I still find that old habits are so hard to break and trying to un-learn the Microsoft way which is still very much engrained in P3D. I’m hopeful that some of the “Microsoft Way” will be a part of Flight Sim World. Of course, not so much of it that it chokes the new application down. But as I have stated many times, some people may not openly embrace Flight Sim World as it will mean (most likely) replacing add-ons which had been previously developed for FSX/P3D (32 bit) with newer 64 bit versions. But this is how we move forward….
I’ll keep you posted on any new news I learn from this.
I want to share with you a solution I found to help with low FPS rates in the X-Plane 11 beta software. First, remember that X-Plane 11 is still very much in beta. It will likely be considered beta for some time. When a software product is considered to be in beta, it means there will be bugs. There will be issues and most importantly…what you see is NOT what the final product will resemble. I’ve spent approx. 2-3 hours in X-Plane 11 beta and initially I was a bit disappointed when I fired up Fraps to check my frame rates or FPS. Now keep in mind that I’ve learned a long time ago that FPS is not the end all, be all. In my P3D setup when flying PMDG 737 NGX my max FPS is about 30 FPS on average. As you can see from my hardware setup, that I have a fairly beefy machine. Well…at least it was considered beefy a few years ago. But as you might can imagine, when I initially launched XP11 and noticed I was getting less than 30 FPS in the default Cessna, I was sort of disappointed. But then I remembered what beta meant and I also remembered my thoughts on FPS.
However, all was not OK. I was experiencing some serious lag when flying around KSEA and in the various preview videos I had watched on YouTube I didn’t see this same behavior and also worth nothing I didn’t hear these YouTubers mention this behavior. So I started to do a little research to see if others had experienced this and what (if anything) they have done to work around it. Again, while X-Plane 11 is very much beta…the stuttering I experienced really was a game changer. I couldn’t play like that. Period!
Thankfully, there is a very active community within the X-Plane world and everyone is very helpful. A quick search and read through gave me something to try, and once I applied this little fix my FPS increased just slightly…but more importantly the stuttering was gone. As I’ve said before, I really don’t care what FPS number is displayed…as long as I have a smooth visual experience….I’m happy.
Here’s the info regarding the fix. From what I can tell this only applies to Nvidia GPU’s. But basically the fix is to turn off “Threaded Optimization” in the Nvidia control panel. When I first launched my Nvidia Control Panel my setting was set to “Auto”. I switched it to “Off” as recommended in this Avsim thread. See image below….
Again, just to reiterate. X-Plane 11 is in beta. There are bugs, there will be many more bugs found and perhaps most important to remember is X-Plane 11 hasn’t been fully optimized. Additionally, this low FPS Fix is not going to give you double your FPS. I was getting (on average) of 25-30 FPS (but with bad stuttering) before I applied the fix and afterwards my FPS has increased to 30-35 FPS with NO STUTTERING! I’m a happy camper.
A few months ago I wrote a blog piece discussing my plan to take a very close look at X-Plane 10. I took that look, didn’t really like what I saw and I promptly requested a full refund via Steam. There are a few reasons why I believe my initial X-Plane (XP) experiment failed. The first, and perhaps foremost reason was my very, very long history with the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise (including Prepar3D). While I certainly understood that these two platforms are as different as daytime versus nighttime, I had hoped things would be a little more intuitive. For example, I spent an extremely long time just setting my my CH Products Yoke and Pedals. While controller setup in FSX/P3D has never been anything to write home about, I found the setup in XP to be even worse. The user interface (UI) in XP10 had the look of something developed way back in the mid 90’s.
Perhaps the real reason my X-Plane experiment failed was because I compared just about everything to my long history with MSFS/P3D. But who can blame me? My history with computer based flight sims goes all the way back to the early/to-mid 1980’s when I played a version of flight simulator on the Commodore 64. My experience with PC based flight sims started in the early 1990’s and I owned and very much enjoyed every version of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator all the way to FSX. I will even admit how disappointed I was (crushed even) when Microsoft went the direction of MS Flight and then eventually killed off the franchise. While Lockheed Martin has carried the torch now for many years, I’ve always had some level of issue with the whole licensing framework. Some seven years into the P3D experience, and they still aren’t licensing for personal (home entertainment) use. Of course, I also understand the reasons.
Back in 2009, Microsoft sold what was their MS ESP platform to Lockheed Martin. ESP was essentially the commercial side of Microsoft’s core flight simulation business. From the early days of the Prepar3d v1.x release including present day, the licensing has never included “personal consumer entertainment”. Of course, we can stretch the heck out of our collective imagination and make the wording they use in the EULA (Training, Instruction, Simulation, Learning) work for our individual situations. As I’ve lamented time and time and time again on this blog site, legally speaking…the majority of P3D users really shouldn’t be using the software.
In 2014, Microsoft granted the rights to Dovetail Games to develop the next flight simulation and per this arrangement also allowed Dovetail to release FSX on Steam. I’ve heard from many individuals that the re-release of FSX on Steam has been met with a positive experience. Perhaps Dovetail better optimized FSX or they are including a little bit of magic pixie dust….whatever the cause, FSX via Steam does perform slightly better than the old boxed version of FSX. This is a good thing. But, I must remind everyone of the following statement Dovetail made back in 2014. This came from a press release around the same time describing FSX Steam edition and outlining the future of flight simulation and reads as follows: Dovetail “is currently investigating new concepts in this area and is expecting to bring a release to market in 2015”.
No, you didn’t miss it. 2015 came and went….and there was no new flight sim from Dovetail released. Of course the target date moved (as these things do), and Dovetail once again was quoted as saying “Dovetail Games Flight Simulator, built on the foundations of Microsoft’s Flight Technology will be released on PC for 2016”. Now we find ourselves two years down the road after the re-release of FSX via Steam and we still don’t have the new and upcoming flight simulator from Dovetail Games. Oh wait….yea….I almost forgot. Yes…Dovetail did release Flight School in May of this year. While I did see some cool things in Flight School, “like sands through the hour glass”, time is quickly slipping by in 2016. But just last week Dovetail did release a press release basically saying there would be no new flight simulator coming in 2016. Please take a few minutes to review that press release….but here’s my cliff notes version.
First, it wasn’t 2016 when they “announced” the development of their new flight simulator. That was actually in 2014.
Second, they state “based on your feedback, we have been focusing on three key areas: visuals, performance and experience”. Sounds to me like any of their structured plans which they may have come up with in 2014 and 2015 were ripped to shreds when they FINALLY decided to listen to the flight sim community. While I’m not a betting man, I would be willing to bet Dovetail’s original plan was to pickup where Microsoft left off with that crappy Microsoft Flight game. Microsoft Flight was an arcade game and not a simulation. Finally, I also wouldn’t be surprised if Dovetail’s partnership with folks like Aerosoft, Orbx and PMDG also didn’t help shift their focus back towards true simulation.
To be honest, I haven’t really spent any significant time with flight sim in many months. Actually, perhaps the last time I did any sim flying was the few hours I spent messing around in Dovetail Flight School. While I do long for getting back into the virtual skies, I’m also sick and tired of being frustrated.
If you look through my blog archives you will notice that in recent months I’ve written more articles regarding simulation game titles such as Euro Truck Simulator 2, American Truck Simulator and Farming Simulator 15 and 17. While these game titles are not perfect, for the most part they are stress free. You install them and you play them and they work. I get a smooth game playing experience from each of them without much need to constantly tweak the game or tweak the system. Of course, I also am perfectly aware of the vast differences between those games and flight simulation. Sadly, perhaps most of my problems with flight simulation has been with the vast amounts of add-ons I use. While most are quick to blame a dodgy mod for causing issues with ATS, ETS2 or FS15/17….it’s really not the same with Flight Sim. Perhaps a very high 90-95% of add-ons for flight sim (P3D) are payware. I’ll admit, with regards to flight sim…I’m addicted to eye candy. I very much want my eyes to see the same thing at KDEN (Denver International) in P3D that I would see if I visited the airport in person. This perhaps is another reason why I wasn’t impressed with X-Plane 10.
The Future of Flight Simulation
I’ve never considered myself a predictor of anything. After all, I’ve been predicting the Dallas Cowboys would win the super bowl for the past 20 years. Shhhhh, I’m not saying another word about that. But I’ve often put my thoughts regarding the future of flight simulation into words here on my blog site. I’ve been blogging about flight simulation here since 2010 and in this span of time I’ve seen a lot, heard a lot and experienced a lot. I’ve said that I felt P3D was not the future, and I’ve said that it was. But even though I really wasn’t impressed with X-Plane 10 (and I’m not sure this fact will ever change), I must admit that I am impressed with that I’ve witnessed with X-Plane 11. Yep, X-Plane 11 beta was released recently and it looks pretty darn good. I was so impressed with a few videos I watched on YouTube that I downloaded the X-Plane 11 trial just to test it out for myself.
Once downloaded/installed, I fired it up and within about 10 minutes I had my CH Products Yoke and Pedals fully configured. The only challenge I found was XP11 also detected my Logitech G27 and Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick. Not a problem, but in order to get my Yoke and Pedals working accurately, I had to go in and clear out the settings XP11 thought my G27 and joystick would perform. Once I did this, then all my CH Products gear worked fine. The overall UI in XP11 is 100% night and day difference between what I witnessed in XP10.
Bottom line is I’m really impressed with what I’m seeing from the guys at X-Plane. I’m so impressed that I plan to purchased X-Plane 11 (even in its beta state) just so I can spend more than the 15 minutes the trial allows flying. Plus I really want to be able to follow the progress of XP11 through its beta stages and I’m fully aware what beta means. But I really believe the guys at Laminar Research have finally moved the chains further than anything I’ve seen to date. But of course, this is just my opinion.
I do plan to provide occasional updates as time allows. I’ve already stumbled onto one little fix which has improved both FPS and visual performance and I’ll share that with you tomorrow.
Not only do I blog to help others, but I also tend to write content for my own benefit so I can find things when I need them. The wonderful folks behind AirDailyX.net started compiling a Prepar3D v3.x Compatibility spreadsheet in Google Docs some time ago. The spreadsheet is still updated as new information is confirmed and made available.
While I’m on the subject of AirDailyX.net. I highly recommend you visit their website, bookmark it and return often. AirDailyX.net was started one month after I started my flight sim blog, Position and Hold. Of course, Position and Hold is just an extension of my flight sim hobby and I write when I can. But AirDailyX.net (as the name implies) has fresh new content each and every day. D’Andre Newman has done an outstanding job with AirDailyX.net and our hobby is stronger for his contributions.
In just a couple of weeks, flight sim enthusiasts from across the country (and perhaps around the world) will gather for the annual FlightSimCon 2016 event held at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT. You may remember I wrote about the panel discussion from the 2015 FlightSimCon here and here. The 2015 event was a huge hit and 2016 promises to be just as spectacular. Unfortunately, my work/life schedule will not allow me to travel to FlightSimCon 2016…but I will await all the wonderful news which I hope will flow out in the days and weeks following the event.
The speakers for the FlightSimCon 2015 event were rather impressive and I very much enjoyed the panel discussion which you can view here. The discussion was moderated by Evan Reiter (from Boston Virtual ATC) and included D’Andre Newman (Owner and Managing Editor, AirDailyX), Winfried Diekmann (CEO, Aerosoft), Robert Randazzo (CEO, PMDG), Pete Wright (Frooglesim) Nels Anderson (Founder, FlightSim.com) and Tom Gilmore (Training Coordinator, US Division, IVAO). I wrote a review of this panel discussion with some of my own opinions regarding both the questions asked and the answers given. I truly hope something similar takes place for this years event.
From the looks of both the list of sponsors and exhibitors, I believe FlightSimCon 2016 will be a huge hit. The list of exhibitors include Orbx, Jetline Systems, A2A Simulations, FSFX Packages, QualityWings, IVAO, VATSIM, HiFi Simulations, GoFlight and JustFlight. The list of sponsor attendees is also rather impressive including Aerosoft, REX Game Studios, Dovetail Games, FlightBeam, FlightSim.com, AirDailyX.net, PC Pilot Magazine and LiveATC.net.
While the list of sponsors and exhibitors is rather impressive, the full schedule of events is what has my attention. On Saturday, Austin Meyer, President of Laminar Research (X-Plane) will present and the panel discussion will focus on the benefits of Flying Online. But Sunday….Sunday is the big day when Stephen Hood, Creative Director of Dovetail Games will discuss “Dovetail Games Flight Simulator – My Vision”. Perhaps we’ll finally know what Dovetail Games plans are with regards to the future of flight simulation beyond FSX.
It’s all unclear what BIG news will come out of FlightSimCon 2016. I’m confident the folks covering it will ask all the right questions and relay those answers to us all. Until then…we just have to wait patiently.
The highly anticipated Dovetail Games Flight School arrived on Tuesday via Steam just in time for summer. If you are new to the world of flight simulation, during the summer of 2014 Dovetail Games obtained the rights from Microsoft to distribute Microsoft Flight Simulator X and more importantly develop the next flight simulator in the series. Dovetail Games released Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition in December of that same year.
During the lead-up to the release of FSX Steam Edition, we had been hearing about the plans Dovetail Games had for the future of flight simulation. In a press release Dovetail Games stated they were investigating new concepts in the area of flight simulation and expected to bring a new release to market sometime in 2015. Well…the ball dropped in Times Square and no “new concept” in the area of flight simulation from Dovetail was produced. But we all know that software developers often make plans and then delays occur.
Anyway, the Dovetail Games Flight School is actually a good sign (and a good thing for our hobby). First, it proves that Dovetail Games is capable of developing something of their own related to flight simulation and Second, I’m hopeful the success of this product will further convince them of the popularity of our hobby.
I’m traveling on business at the moment and won’t be home until this weekend. But I have purchased Dovetail Games Flight School and will spend time with it in the coming days/weeks and will further review it. From what I’ve seen on various Twitch live streams is the product is good for the price. Dovetail Games Flight School is available from Steam for $14.99 USD.
During a few of these live streams I saw comments from viewers complaining about the level of detail in the ground textures etc. Folks, this is a $15 piece of software. The purpose is to teach you the fundamentals of flight. You can’t expect Dovetail Games Flight School to include Orbx level of detail. Also, some were complaining that the airports featured in Dovetail Games Flight School were out of date. Well…most likely the airport textures are a copy/paste from FSX. Again, this IS NOT A BIG DEAL! Again, from what I’ve witnessed in several Twitch streams, Dovetail Games Flight School is value for money.
In closing, what are my expectations of Dovetail Games Flight School? After all, I’ve been flying computer based flight simulators since the early 1980’s. Well…I want to learn more. I want to further polish my skills to further enhance my realism through simulation efforts. I’ll be sure to provide an update, “First Look” type blog posting in due time.
Well…I must turn in now. I have an early start tomorrow. Remember, if you enjoy flight simulation and are interested in joining a mature and relaxed virtual airline, please visit virtual Air Logistics. virtual Air Logistics is a virtual airline I started back in 2013. virtual Air Logistics, a different kind of virtual airline for a different kind of virtual pilot.
Yes…you are reading this correctly and NO it’s not a delayed blog posting which should have been uploaded on April 1st (April Fools Day). I’m actually starting to consider purchasing X-Plane version 10.
For the sake of bringing everyone up to speed, I’ve been flying computer simulations since the early to mid 1980’s. Yes…I said 1980’s. It all started with the Commodore 64. As I moved into the world of PC’s in the early 1990’s, I began playing the Microsoft Flight Simulator version and owned each version up to FSX.
A few years ago when Lockheed Martin came onto the scene with P3D v1.0 I passed on it. I didn’t actually take the plunge into P3D until version 2.3. I moved up to version 2.4 and finally version 2.5 as they were each released. During this timeframe, I was mostly using P3D, but still had FSX installed and would occasionally fire it up.
When P3D launched version 3, that was around the time that I also decided to move from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and in doing so I decided to do a complete rebuild of my gaming system. When Windows 10 came online, I installed P3D version 3.0 and never touched the FSX disks. They still sit in my bookcase to this day.
More than just an investment
My history with FSX and P3D is more than just a financial investment. While it is true I probably have several thousand dollars invested in hardware and software (add-on aircraft, airport scenery, weather etc. etc.) it is also about what I’m truly used to. Since P3D for the most part is just a enhanced version of FSX, the functional aspects of the application (and my experience) goes back a long time (almost 10 years). Making the move from FSX/P3D to X-Plane is (in my opinion) would be a financial sacrifice, it also will very much be a mental sacrifice. But why would I even want to consider this move?
Looking for stability
While it is true LM has made significant advances in controlling the memory beast that comes with a complex 32 bit application like P3D. Especially when factoring in some of the beautiful add-on scenery and complex aircraft systems, but P3D just remains so darn fickle. After you spend hours and hours and even more hours installing P3D, all the add-on airports, add-on airports etc. there just are no guarantees that some future Microsoft Windows update won’t cause everything to explode. Ok…perhaps not literally. But you understand what I’m saying.
Many (even including myself) were disappointed to learn that P3D v. 3 was not 64 bit and even more upsetting to learn that Lockheed Martin may not even have any plans at all to develop a 64 bit version of P3D. But is 64 bit the end-all, be all? No, but it does go a long way. But as I stated last year, IF Lockheed Martin developed a 64 bit version of P3D…this will cause a ripple effect throughout the flight sim community and would most certainly require all 3rd party add-ons to also be re-developed into 64 bit versions. As there is no magic 32 to 64 bit conversion process…the simple fact that I purchased (as an example) an Orbx scenery 5 years ago for FSX and have since enjoyed a P3D v2.x AND a P3D 3.x version (with no additional cost) would most certainly be a thing of the past. Said in another way, the day a 64 bit version of P3D releases…that is when we all start over.
800 Pound Gorilla
Yes…there is an 800 pound gorilla in the room which we all just tend to ignore. If we don’t look at it, then it really isn’t there. Right? What am I talking about? Well…I’m talking about those four letters that make up that very nasty word. NO….not that word. I’m talking about EULA. The vast majority of P3D users are breaking the EULA each and every day. Most of the “famous” YouTubers and Twitch streamers are doing it in plain sight. Yes….even yours truly is breaking the law according to those four letters EULA. By the way, EULA stands for End User License Agreement. It basically is a legally binding document which tells us just how we can use the P3D software.
It should come as no surprise that I would bring this up. I’ve been talking about the P3D EULA since the days of v1.x. It was the EULA which kept me from purchasing P3D until version 2.3 and then I knew I was in the wrong, but there was nothing stopping me. With version 2.x I only owned the academic license. With version 3, I did plop down the $199 and went with the professional license. But as I’ve said over and over and over. I don’t fit into any of the license categories and as previously stated, most don’t either. The EULA clearly states that Prepar3D is not to be used, offered, sold or distributed through markets or channels for use as a personal/consumer entertainment product.
We’ve been fortunate. At this very moment you can visit the Prepar3d.com website and you can purchase P3D v3 (or even v2.x) without the need to prove you are a student, professional or developer. Try to do this with any other form of software which offers discounts for students? Yea…I think you are starting to get my point.
Actually…while I’m not lawyer (and I didn’t sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night either), Lockheed Martin is actually in violation of their agreement with Microsoft by even allowing a non-student, non-professional and non-developer to purchase the software. I suppose there may be some small gray area where Lockheed Martin isn’t actually marketing P3D for personal use. Also, the reason why I purchased the professional version of P3D v3 was based on the following “Acceptable uses for Prepar3D include Simulation, Learning and Training. While I’m not using P3D to train, I do firmly believe that flight simulation is “not just a video game”, so I’m simulating the activities of a professional pilot and I’m learning the proper and correct procedures required to simulate the aircraft I enjoy flying. But this is a HUGE play on words. Does the glove fit????
Bottom line….while I have a huge investment in FSX/P3D which I’m utilizing in P3D v.3.x. There are no guarantees I’ll continue to enjoy this. What scares me the most? While Microsoft could have forced Lockheed to tighten down their selling practices, it is Dovetail which makes me more nervous. After all, Dovetail purchased the rights to redistribute FSX via Steam AND what ever Dovetails “New” entry into the Flight Sim world will be, could suffer a financial impact due to P3D.
Change is Good????
Finally, I suppose I’m intrigued by the element of change. Some suggest that X-Plane has a much more realistic flight dynamics as compared to FSX or P3D. For me, this is not really as important. While I appreciate the “As Real As It Gets” experience with FSX/P3D, the fact it may lack slightly to X-Plane isn’t enough reason to make the change. But having access to different aircraft types which may not be available for P3D v3.x could interest me enough to make the move. While I absolutely love my PMDG 737NGX, I also very much miss flying my MD80, Boeing 727 just to name a few. From what I’ve found in my initial research, X-Plane has a very serious following of aircraft developers who are doing their part to keep these old birds flying in the virtual skies.
Next Steps
At this point in time I’m giving X-Plane some really serious thought. I more than likely will purchase via Steam so I have the option to apply for a refund if I find it doesn’t live up to my expectations. I’ll be certain to keep you all posted on my decision and my progress should I decide to pull the trigger. If anything, it will be good for me to try X-Plane for the sake of my simulation blogging efforts. After all, X-Plane (for Windows) has been around for as long as FSX and it is very much still in active development.
I would truly love to have both the talent and time to do more YouTube and/or Twitch video content. While my time is rather limited, I also find it really difficult to fill the space of 45-60 minutes of excellent content AND most importantly attempt to do something (anything) others may not already be doing. That’s the thing really…just about all the popular maps are being covered by more than one YouTuber and Twitch Streamer. They are planting, they are harvesting, they are tending to the cows and they are washing the vehicles. While some don’t take the same approach and effort in “Realisim through Simulation” they all have their audience. The good news for me is the website visits, the number of RSS subscribers etc. all continue to rise. This tells me there are individuals who enjoy blog style content based on many of the simulation games I play and the discussions I have about them.
At the present time, I’m spending much of my gaming time playing Farming Simulator 15. I’m really enjoying it now that I have both my Logitech G27 and Logitech Joystick configured. I recorded a short video on how I accomplished this.
Anyway, at the present time I’m farming on three different maps (soon to be four). Graceland is getting the most attention, followed by Coldborough Park Farm and finally as I was somewhat late in purchasing the FS15 Gold Expansion…I’m also spending a little bit of time playing Sosnovka. Of the three maps Giants have produced for FS15 (Bjornholm, Westbridge Hills and Sosnovka), the Sosnovka map is by far the most impressive from a vanilla map. This gives me some hope…that FS17 will feature better maps as well. At least I sincerly hope FS17 will include different vanilla maps and not just recycle the same old ones. But I’m getting off track…The fourth map is a brand new release called Smokedown Farm. Much of this map game play will be done in a multiplayer environment.
What I will occassionally do, is release blog posts titled “A Farmer’s Life” documenting through text and images some of the activities I’m doing on the various FS15 maps I’m playing. I’ll share the mods I’m using, why I’m using them and even how I’m using them to improve my game play all while doing my best to preserve “Realism through Simulation”.
But I’ve often put my thoughts regarding the future of flight simulation into words here on my blog site. I’ve been blogging about flight simulation here since 2010 and in this span of time I’ve seen a lot, heard a lot and experienced a lot. I’ve said that I felt P3D was not the future, and I’ve said that it was. But even though I really wasn’t impressed with X-Plane 10 (and I’m not sure this fact will ever change), I must admit that I am impressed with that I’ve witnessed with X-Plane 11. Yep, X-Plane 11 beta was released recently and it looks pretty darn good. I was so impressed with a few videos I watched on YouTube that I downloaded the X-Plane 11 trial just to test it out for myself.
