P3D V5 to be released April 14

According to LM the new dx12 Prepar3D V5.0 will be released on April 14th.

Vic

According to LM the new dx12 Prepar3D V5.0 will be released on April 14th.

 

Vic

No word though, about retro-compatibility.

Not rushing to dump P3Dv4.5 here...

I'm sticking with v4.5, spending extra money on hardware only, and waiting to see how MSFS2020 turns out.

Too definitive for me: Wait `til 4.5 is out, THEN decide.

Until you have more information, HOW can you make a decision?

MSFS 2020 might have compatibility with 4.5, or even 4.4 for all we know...

Allow me kindly to quote:

"MSFS 2020 might have compatibility with 4.5, or even 4.4 for all we know..."

I'll believe that when I see it, not before. Same goes for FSX compatibility.

Jorgen

Allow me kindly to quote:

 

"MSFS 2020 might have compatibility with 4.5, or even 4.4 for all we know..."

 

I'll believe that when I see it, not before. Same goes for FSX compatibility.

 

Jorgen

Same here: Believe it when I see it...

All of Microsoft's Flight Simulators are for ENTERTAINMENT. Prepar3D is NOT for ENTERTAINMENT. Lockheed-Martin couldn't make it any clearer, therefore there'll NEVER be any backward compatibility since P3D went 64-bit, and MSFS2020 (or whatever) probably uses all-new code which isn't backward-compatible either, as was the case with FSX and FS2004 for example.

And now P3D v5 uses trueSKY, which everyone hated when it was introduced in Dovetail's Flight Sim World, remember that? It's not compatible with any other weather add-on, it's not based on the FS weather engine. Talk about Karma - what goes around, comes around.

All of Microsoft's Flight Simulators are for ENTERTAINMENT. Prepar3D is NOT for ENTERTAINMENT. Lockheed-Martin couldn't make it any clearer, therefore there'll NEVER be any backward compatibility since P3D went 64-bit, and MSFS2020 (or whatever) probably uses all-new code which isn't backward-compatible either.

And now P3D v5 uses trueSKY, which everyone hated when it was introduced in Dovetail's Flight Sim World, remember that? It's not compatible with any other weather add-on. Talk about Karma - what goes around, comes around.

That's pure bullshine, driven only by poor misunderstanding of the EULA.

The sim gains advantage from backward compatibility, and I HOPE that it is retained.... a good proportion of the user base do not have access to flight training in the real world, with even fewer now... nothing to do with the user base! I know of several ex-pilots who have hung up their flying helmets and David Clarks, and now their real-world experience is solely sim-based!

P3D v. 4 (64-bit) is not backwards compatible with everything, but with a good deal. I can fly the FSX Beech King Air 350 just fine in v. 4.5 HF2, for example.

And the AI flight plans are completely the same as FSX. There might be issues with AI aircraft, though.

Jorgen

And now P3D v5 uses trueSKY, which everyone hated when it was introduced in Dovetail's Flight Sim World, remember that? It's not compatible with any other weather add-on, it's not based on the FS weather engine. Talk about Karma - what goes around, comes around.

Not correct. HiFi is working to integrate their weather program with V5 and TrueSky. Should be available shortly.

Vic

That's pure bullshine, driven only by poor misunderstanding of the EULA.

 

The sim gains advantage from backward compatibility, and I HOPE that it is retained.... a good proportion of the user base do not have access to flight training in the real world, with even fewer now... nothing to do with the user base! I know of several ex-pilots who have hung up their flying helmets and David Clarks, and now their real-world experience is solely sim-based!

 

 

I'm one of the ones that hung my David Clarks up a few years ago. Flightsimming is my fix for now. Hoping to get back in the skies again someday. Flightsimming can be expensive, but nothing comparable to the real thing.

That's pure bullshine, driven only by poor misunderstanding of the EULA.

 

The sim gains advantage from backward compatibility, and I HOPE that it is retained.... a good proportion of the user base do not have access to flight training in the real world, with even fewer now... nothing to do with the user base! I know of several ex-pilots who have hung up their flying helmets and David Clarks, and now their real-world experience is solely sim-based!

 

 

I'm one of the ones that hung my David Clarks up a few years ago. Flightsimming is my fix for now. Hoping to get back in the skies again someday. Flightsimming can be expensive, but nothing comparable to the real thing.

 

Another ex-pilot... tell me: Do you treat P3D as a game, or something else. EVERY ex-pilot I know refuses to accept the `game` notion, and I know several pilots with updated copies who treat it as a near-simulation for complex scenarios, regardless of Tim Wrongs's aspiration for `entertainment`...

Can P3D4.5 coexist with P3D5 on the same machine?

Yes...

I've been running both now for a few days. All in all, I like what LM has done. There's an overall brightness and smoothness that wasn't there before. Altho I don't care about fps I noticed an improvement in similar situations. Cannot effectively test the effect of weather as HiFi is still working it out.

All in all - I rate it a good release.

I'm another ex-pilot and I do not consider P3D a "game". To me, a game indicates some sort of contest - whether it's you against the clock or some opponent - I don't see P3D that way. Personally I mainly fly IFR just to keep my skills sharp. Sometimes I take a pure sightseeing trip that I can no longer do IRL - I wouldn't call that entertainment per se but I do enjoy it.

Vic

No. And not compatible with v. 4 either.

Jorgen

Really about the only thing from FSX sceneries that doesn't work in P3D v4 are the old FS2002 style groundpolys. Those would need to be converted to P3D-native groundpolys and you need the source files to do that so it's something the developer would have to do. Also ADEX files made with earlier versions of ADE are usually missing the drawSurface="TRUE" flags so you'll see taxiway lines but the asphalt is missing. Those can be fixed easily however. The main problem with many FSX sceneries is that they use a lot of FS9-native models and those don't work in P3D anymore. All those runway12 and EZ scenery objects are FS9-native so any scenery built with those will have problems. FSX-native models work fine.

No Idea about v5, with the new sloping runways chances are none of the prior ADEX's will work, no idea. I haven't made it to v5 yet.

Really about the only thing from FSX sceneries that doesn't work in P3D v4 are the old FS2002 style groundpolys. Those would need to be converted to P3D-native groundpolys and you need the source files to do that so it's something the developer would have to do. Also ADEX files made with earlier versions of ADE are usually missing the drawSurface="TRUE" flags so you'll see taxiway lines but the asphalt is missing. Those can be fixed easily however. The main problem with many FSX sceneries is that they use a lot of FS9-native models and those don't work in P3D anymore. All those runway12 and EZ scenery objects are FS9-native so any scenery built with those will have problems. FSX-native models work fine.

 

No Idea about v5, with the new sloping runways chances are none of the prior ADEX's will work, no idea. I haven't made it to v5 yet.

Jim, if a scenery file works with P3D V4, is it pretty likely it will work with V5? If not, what changes were created between V4 and V5?

Jim, if a scenery file works with P3D V4, is it pretty likely it will work with V5? If not, what changes were created between V4 and V5?

Completely different. DON`T use any FSX scenery for P3dv5.

On v. 5, ONLY install scenery (and aircraft), whether it be freeware or payware, that says they are compatible with v. 5.

Even then, install it so you can uninstall it easily in its entirety if you run into problems. And if you do, in case of payware, demand your money back.

Jorgen

On v. 5, ONLY install scenery (and aircraft), whether it be freeware or payware, that says they are compatible with v. 5.

 

Even then, install it so you can uninstall it easily in its entirety if you run into problems. And if you do, in case of payware, demand your money back.

 

Jorgen

FSX has a completely different install method. DO NOT attempt to install ANYTHING from FSX into P3dv5.

You have been warned!!!!

Jim, if a scenery file works with P3D V4, is it pretty likely it will work with V5? If not, what changes were created between V4 and V5?

I have no idea between v4 and v5, I'm guessing the sloped runways have changed the "afcads" but there must be some legacy support otherwise LM would have been required to update ~24,000-ish airports worldwide for v5 which I highly doubt they've done. There are some threads about it in the ADE forum over at fsdeveloper and Jon has updated ADE to work with P3D v5 but I haven't been following. I think I remember Jon mentioning there's an altitude attribute associated with taxiway and maybe runway nodes now, I don't know how v5 deals with an older afcad where those altitudes aren't set, maybe it somehow applies the altitude of the airport reference point to all the those nodes effectively making the airport flat? Dunno.

I only upgraded to v4.5 a couple months ago after a 3 year hiatus. Since then I've built most of an airport (FA40) for FSX and P3D v4 strictly using the FSX SDK and I've found nothing yet that doesn't work in v4.5. Haven't gotten to the groundpoly though, so far just photoreal, autogen, ADE, some gmax models (FSX gamepack), some SBuilder flattens/roads/freeway traffic, and some AI acft traffic.

I have the airport active in both v4.5 and FSX and I see no difference (except it looks a little better in v4.5 because autogen trees can cast shadows on buildings and such). My plan if I were to release the airport would be to compile an FSX version using the FSX SDK and another for P3D using the P3D SDK but that's just a matter of passing the source files through one SDK or another.

Completely different. DON`T use any FSX scenery for P3dv5.

In your infinite wisdom as a scenery developer maybe you can tell us what works and what doesn't or at least tell us how adding something to the scenery library, testing, and removing it from the scenery library if it doesn't work causes harm to the base simulator installation?