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/images/notams/notams21/p3d0610.jpgPrepar3D v5.2 brings a large number of features and improvements tothe Prepar3D platform. Continual improvements have been made to theEnhanced Atmospherics system offering better visuals while reducingmemory usage. Improved atmospheric lighting and shadows, bettervolumetric cloud generation and enhanced precipitation effects tofurther improve realism and training fidelity. Additional enhancements made to the DirectX 12 rendering systemcontinue to improve performance and stability to enable support ofeven greater detail and scale in training scenarios. Light up thenight sky with the addition of road lights and improved airportlighting. Developers have access to more tools including built-insupport for viewing models and resetting various system states duringprogram execution. Additionally multiple improvements have been made to DIS and CIGImaking large scale training scenarios easier to configure, more robustand performant, and offering greater interoperability across variousother systems. Source

/images/notams/notams20/p3d1029.jpgThe Prepar3D v5.1 Hotfix 1 contains additional fixes for highpriority issues identified after release. Only the Client installer is required for the majority of fixespresent in Prepar3D v5.1 Hotfix 1. Therefore, the Content, Scenery,and SDK installers are optional. Each fix listed below is categorizedper installer. Please note, you must first have Prepar3D v5 installedto utilize any of the standalone installers (Client, Content, andScenery). The Prepar3D v5.1 Hotfix 1 update may require you toreactivate your product, however if you have an internet connection orhave not made any major hardware changes between installations thisshould not be an issue. For more information please view thePrepar3D v5 Download and Installation Directions. Source

/images/notams/notams20/p3d1029.jpgPrepar3D v5.1 brings a slew of new features and improvements acrossthe entire platform. Enhanced Atmospherics is now default withimprovements made to the entire system including better performance,lighting, reflections, and fidelity. The DX12 rendering engine hasbeen further optimized offering additional performance and stabilityenhancements. Developers now have the ability to create panel and UIcontent using HTML5 and JavaScript opening up new possibilities forcontent creation and improving workflow. Multiplayer updates includingvastly improved wingman and AI performance and the capability forheadless mode hosting make multiplayer training scenarios even moreimmersive and scalable. More Info...

/images/reviews/p3dvsxp/p3dvsxplane.jpg Prepar3D v5 vs X-Plane 11 VulkanBy Michael Hayward /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-03.jpgIn recent weeks we have seen therelease of Prepar3D v5 being the next step of the Lockheed MartinESP-based platform, while Laminar Research has just released Vulkanonto X-Plane 11. With both platforms now looking to compete for thenext generation of flight simmers, I thought now would be a bettertime than ever to compare the two simulators to see which now standson top! I will be comparing both simulators without mods in their vanillaformat through a range of different factors. These are the range ofaircraft available, the quality of default aircraft, the worldwidescenery and sky environment of both platforms, the night environment,the simulator stability, the modality of both, flight dynamics andsystem requirements and optimisation for those that may not have thebeefiest of systems. A side note that a lot of this will be based on my own opinions.You may have some very different ideas which I would love to hear inthe comments! /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-02.jpgDefault Aircraft VariationFirst, we will take a look at how many aircraft and variations bothplatforms come with. This section will not take into account thequality of each aircraft, just how many of each are available to flyfrom the get-go, the quantity you get for your money. X-Plane 11 comes with 20 aircraft, a glider and a helicopter foryou to fly at your pleasure for a total of 22 loadable vehicles. Thisis a nice number and gives you a full range from commercial to lightoptions. Prepar3D does however, give you a whole lot more! You may not get apassenger jetliner, but what you do get are 25 aircraft, 10helicopters, 3 avatars, 2 submarines and even a drone! That's a totalof 41 loadable vehicles and not just ones that fly! Prepar3D is soldas a much more in-depth training platform, so having this varietycertainly helps in giving you a choice. With twice the loadoutavailable, P3D gets the first point. /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-15.jpgDefault Aircraft QualityNext, we will take a look at the quality of each aircraftset. Both are very strong contenders and have massive pros when itcomes to detailing. Both platforms feature aircraft with full 3Dcockpits and functional displays. X-Plane also has four commercial jetliners along with its fleet ofgeneral aviation and these are more than flyable with their cockpitsystems and functional FMS (based on the Boeing 737, but neutral towork on any plane of choice). The default Garmin G1000 is also highlydetailed, working as if it were the real thing through its series ofmenus and navigation options. You do however also get a load of olderaircraft, planes ported from X-Plane 9 and 10 which add variety andchoice, but then lack in system functionality. For the most part,X-Plane aircraft are well-built and you can fly far with them! /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-04.jpgP3D also deserves a special mention of its quality, given that itspredecessor FSX generally saw aircraft that was certainly to bedesired. By introducing planes from leading third-party developers bydefault, it certainly gives it an edge. These aircraft are all verywell built with fantastic modelling inside and out. This gives you alot to play with when flying. Default aircraft in both simulators are really good and can beloads of fun to fly, and for this, I will share the point between bothplatforms in this round. Worldwide SceneryNow we start to look at the worldwide scenery that both simulatorsinclude. /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-08.jpgPrepar3D uses a series of ground class tiles to determine theworldwide scenery below. This allows the simulator to generate a worldthat is similar to real life in terms of building density andlikeness, but does not follow real-world buildings and roadways barmajor highways. While this does look good from high altitude, up closeyou know you are not getting the real deal. The ground mesh is alsocreated to a high level, but nothing that shines outside of mountainranges and some coastlines. X-Plane takes data from OpenStreetMap to determine everything fromroadways to river locations and even individual houses! This is agreat way to recreate the world while keeping everything as close toauthentic as possible. The ground mesh is also of a higher resolution,meaning you can enjoy more details in hilly areas as well as a muchmore defined coastline. X-Plane also does a great job at scaling theworld, making a flight at 5,000 feet look like 5,000 feet, while P3Dmakes you look a lot lower than they are. Airports in X-Plane are alsomuch more up to date and look a lot better thanks to user input,rather than the database used by Prepar3D which is now over 18 yearsold at this point! XP also enjoys contoured non-flat runways. Laminar certainly runs away with this point! /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-06.jpgSky EnvironmentNext up is the Sky Environment. While X-Plane does well insimulating the ground, the same can't be said for the skies, at leastin my opinion, but it is very close. One thing that I do like is how natural X-Plane looks. Colors areclose to real life and this makes scenes look realistic. Clouds, whilenot the best, create a volumetric feel when flying through coveredareas, even if it does kill a few of your frames. I'm not so keen onthe bloom however, especially in morning and evening periods. Here itcovers the ground in a murky blue layer, realistic to an extent, butcompletely kills any view of the ground. Colors in Prepar3D are a lot more vivid and certainly more screenshot friendly. The introduction of TrueSKY has also massively improvedthe sky with fully 3D volumetric clouds now filling the world,something we only saw once before in the cancelled Flight SimWorld. The way the sky interacts with the ground is far better in myopinion. It's for these reason, that I lean towards the P3Denvironment and give it the point. You may, however disagree with whatI have to think, so please do let me know in the comments below! /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-01.jpg Night EnvironmentNight environment is always a fun one to compare, especially as P3Dintroduced 3D lighting, something FSX had missed out on before. Lockheed Martin's world is certainly dark, but the volumetriclighting from aircraft lights up anything in their path, and theresults are rather realistic...to an extent. Highways have cars thatlight up the road ahead and land class ground textures also havedynamic lights that fit within their tiles. It's a massive improvementfrom before and makes flying at night a lot more fun. X-Plane 11 however, is still the king of night flights. The way theworld lights up following real-world roads below, can only bedescribed as mesmerising. The world is dark with stars that follow thepositions of their real-world counterparts. Towns and cities fill theworld below with a variety of street lights, traffic lights, policecars and airport taxiways. Everything is dynamic too and will light upyour aircraft when flying close to the ground (there are also mirroreffects on reflective surfaces). To put it simply, you just won't findanything better on the market right now. X-Plane is the clear winner of this round! /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-10.jpgSimulator StabilityBoth X-Plane 11 Vulkan and P3D v5 have seen massive jumps in theiroptimisation with P3D v5 especially improving on its CPU/GPU mix andRAM usage. P3D in previous versions was limited by a 12-year history of beinga 32-bit platform. By making the jump to 64-bit, it is now morestable, and has (to a large degree) minimised crashes. Whilst they arestill present, it's nothing like how it was before. It also now callsfor the GPU to be utilised as TrueSKY cloud rendering works with yourgraphics card rather than being piled on to the CPU. This has createda better system balance and ultimately takes the sky renderingworkload off of your processor giving it more room to simulate othersystems. /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-09.jpgX-Plane 11 has enjoyed the benefit of being 64-bit from launch,with Laminar Research owning all of the source code. This means theirport to the higher bit system is a lot cleaner and therefore verystable. The Vulkan rendering engine is also a new feature implementedby Laminar which changes the way your system manages memory, spreadingthe workload across all of your cores and not just CPU core 0. OpenGLfalls for the trap of pushing everything onto your initial core whichas a result can lead to longer processing times and therefore a slowersimulator experience. By sharing the workload across multiple cores inVulkan, calculations can be made a lot faster and therefore less timeconsuming. With flight crashes mostly a thing of the past, albeit with a fewisolated cases, it is now safe to say that both simulators are ratherequal in allowing you to make a full eight-hour long flight withoutany sudden freezing or error messages. /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-05.jpgSimulator ModabilityWhen it comes to mods, both simulators give you a lot to playwith. Both have a wide array of developers creating everything fromjetliners and GA aircraft, to scenery packs and utilities. X-Plane holds some very respectable developers in the likes ofToLiss, FlyJSim and FlightFactor to name just a few, while veteranssuch as Just Flight and Alabeo have also made the jump onto theplatform in recent times. Aircraft are of high quality and give you afair amount in the way of system fidelity and flight dynamics. Prepar3D however, does come out top with many respected developerssuch as Flight Sim Labs, Aerosoft and the study-level kingsthemselves, PMDG (Precision Manuals Development Group), sticking bythe simulator through thick and thin. In my opinion, Prepar3D comes out on top when it comes to modding,but compared to three years ago? Things are certainly a lot closernow. /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-11.jpgFlight DynamicsNow we come on to flight dynamics. This is a much easier part tocompare given the massive differences between the two simulators. Prepar3D uses data tables to determine how an aircraft willfly. While it allows for realistic maximum capabilities, it does meanyour flight is not affected by any outside elements and on aircraftwhere this is poorly set, can feel like you're flying on rails. X-Plane uses something called Blade Element Theory which simulatesthe airflow around an aircraft. Here the wind and air moves over andaround the wings and body of your aircraft, reacting to flight as ifyou were in the real thing, or at least very close to it. My only real gripe is sometimes prop drift can feel a little tooexaggerated, but for the most part, flying in X-Plane is more dynamicthan P3D and always enjoyable. /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-13.jpgSystem RequirementsHere we take a look at what kind of system it takes to run eachplatform. P3D is quite happy to run on a minimum of 4 GB of RAM and a further4 GB of video RAM, meaning you don't need a super up-to-date system torun it. Of course, this is not recommended, but it clearly shows thebenefit of running older software on equally old hardware.Unfortunately however, you are limited to Windows 10 due to its formerMicrosoft ties and the requirement of the all-new Direct X 12. /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-12.jpgVulkan is the all-new rendering engine that has been introduced byLaminar Research for X-Plane 11.5. Here the new API helps balance outyour CPU and GPU usage while ensuring each core gets a shared amountof work, rather than depending on CPU Core 0. You can also get awaywith running it on less than 8 GB of RAM, and any Direct X 11 capablecard, with Vulkan being especially good to AMD cards, pushingperformance to a much higher and stable level. X-Plane is alsocompatible with OSX and Linux, allowing it to be a universalsimulator. X-Plane will certainly get the point for this round! SummaryOverall, things are certainly close between the two platforms! BothPrepar3D and X-Plane 11 have both come a very long ways since theirfirst release, with just about every update benefiting the widemajority of users. /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-14.jpgWhen it comes to choosing what simulator is right for you, itultimately comes down to what you want to achieve. One person'sgeneral aviation setup may be a whole lot different to another'scommercial jet trekker. We also haven't mentioned other simulators onthe market too, such as DCS World, generally being agreed by all, asthe "go to sim" for warplanes and dogfighting. Things are also changing all the time with both platforms seeingupdates regularly, but with the pending release of an all-new platformsoon set to take the flight simulator world by storm, who knows wherethis comparison may draw out in six months time. /images/reviews/p3dvsxp/t/p3d-vs-xplane-07.jpgThe Technical BitX-Plane Minimum RequirementsOS X 10.11, Windows, Microsoft Windows 10, Linux Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 CPU with 2 or more cores, or AMD equivalent8 GB RAMDirectX 11-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with at least 1 GB VRAMPrepar3D v5 Minimum RequirementsMicrosoft Windows 10Quad-Core @ 3.0 GHz4 GB RAMDirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with at least 4 GB VRAMReview PC SpecWindows 10 Professional6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 6700K Processor16 GB RAMNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660X-Plane 11 Web Site Prepar3D Web Site

/images/notams/notams20/p3d0623.jpgThe Prepar3D v5.0 Hotfix 2 (5.0.31.35253) is now available. It canbe downloaded immediately from the Purchased Downloads section of theweb site. The Prepar3D v5.0 Hotfix 2 contains additional fixes for highpriority issues identified after launch. Only the Client installer is required for the majority of fixespresent in Prepar3D v5.0 Hotfix 2. The Content, Scenery, and SDKinstallers are optional. Each fix listed below is categorized perinstaller. Please note, you must first have Prepar3D v5 installed toutilize any of the standalone installers (Client, Content, andScenery). The Prepar3D v5.0 update may require you to reactivate yourproduct, however if you have an internet connection or have not madeany major hardware changes between installations this should not be anissue. For more information please view the Prepar3D v5 Download andInstallation Directions. The newly posted Prepar3D v5.0 (5.0.31.35253) Full Download on thePurchased Downloads page includes Hotfix 2 and Hotfix 1. Please be aware that some third party developers might have toupdate their add-ons to be compatible with this hotfix. Please contactthe third party developers directly for any compatibilityquestions. Client Fixes and ImprovementsImproved Dynamic Texture Streaming performance.Fixed issue causing Scaleform elements to flash including the menu bar and ATC window.Fixed issue causing invalid wind aloft direction values.Improved startup load time.Fixed crash when switching views in PBR vehicles on various AMD graphics cards.Fixed issue causing effects to lag behind attach points in some cases.Improved effect rendering performance.Fixed issue causing invalid particle lighting in multiple views in some cases.Fixed issue causing emitted extrusions to be invalid at certain rotation angles.Fixed issue where flashing textures could occur in some cases with Dynamic Texture Streaming active.Fixed crash that would occur on startup if add-on description was blank.Fixed issue causing kneeboard and scenario briefing pages to be blank.Added chroma key support to Varjo XR-1 headset.Fixed issue where startup screen preview window would stop rendering after location change.Fixed issue preventing Dynamic Texture Streaming from disabling in some cases.Search boxes in relevant UI screens are now focused when opened.Fixed issue where preview window would not work in structured scenarios.Fixed crash seen when changing between tower and pilot roles in some cases.Fixed weather theme sync issues between the startup and weather screens.Fixed issue preventing Wingman AI Behaviors from saving offsets correctly.Fixed issue preventing SimDirector OffsetXYZ control from accepting negative values.Fixed issue where role type box would not size correctly in the multiplayer UI in some cases.Fixed issues with SimConnect BeginVideoStream.Improved reflection performance.Fixed visual issues with distance remaining signs.Fixed issue where loading flight plans would not update the map in startup and multiplayer screens.Map screen now supports heading and airspeed changes while moving the user.Adjusted sun and moon sizes in Enhanced Atmospherics.Fixed issue with TexturePlugin providing render targets with state data.Fixed DIS enumerations for F-22 and F-35 aircraft.Fixed terrain cracks that could occur in reflections.Fixed issue where location text could be cut off in the Startup and MiniChooser screens.Improved map UI loading times.Improved transparent object sorting with Enhanced Atmospherics.Fixed issue causing missing autogen in some cases when using add-on.xmls.Fixed issues with additive effects sorting incorrectly with clouds.Fixed multi-GPU crash with Dynamic Texture Streaming.Program and Environment simvars can now be set in XML gauge code.Updated attenuation for PBR and non PBR dynamic lighting.Updated falloff exponent for non PBR dynamic lighting.Fixed issue where high cockpit LOD configuration setting would be reverted to 0 when settings were reduced.Engines are now started for helicopter AI entities that spawn in the air.Fixed issue preventing tooltips from displaying in map UI screens.Added VR setting to disable Hidden Area Mesh.Fixed issue where SimConnect menu events were not being processed.Fixed issue preventing PDK add-ons from adding menu items to the "Add-ons" menu.UI search boxes no longer handle the escape key when empty and immediately process the search when pressing enter.Improved SinglePass VR latency fixing issue where dynamic light positions could be one or two frames behind.Fixed issue preventing Scaleform RTT elements from rendering.Fixed issue that could cause the SimDirector UI to become unresponsive if an error popup occurred when selecting an object.Entries in the Facility Selection screen can now be double-clicked.Fixed issue that could prevent AI Behaviors from activating at scenario start in some cases.Improved error handling when reading sim object configuration data.Fixed crash that could occur when running multiplayer and changing scenery library settings.Fixed crash that could occur when using the multiplayer autostart command line option with multiplayer autostart configuration settings enabled.Fixed issue causing differences in reported wind direction in some cases.Fixed issue that could cause visual errors with runway edge lines at sloped airports.Fixed crash that could occur when loading third party AI vehicles in some cases.Fixed error when comparing property name strings in recording/playback in some cases.Fixed shutdown crash when using Varjo headsets.Fixed crash when changing Varjo VR view options.Content Fixes and ImprovementsAdded landing light fx file.Updated tail number geometry and material on various default vehicles.Scenery Fixes and ImprovementsFixed issue with jetway decal textures turning asphalt aprons white.Fixed various water, terrain, coastline, bridge, and various other data issues.Fixed issues with St. Paul and St. George islands, Victoria Falls.Fixed issues with Washington DC scenery objects, San Siro Stadium, and Generali Tower.Updates to various airports including LFMV, KOFF, KGGG, EFHK, SBSP, EDDH, EDVK, KAKR, KPIT, RJBB, EDDS, EGPF, KBUR, PALR, VOTR, KVPD, LIMC, PASI, and EGGW.SDK Fixes and ImprovementsAdded OpenGLTexture sample back to SDK.Added 3dsMax 2020 and 2021 support.Source

/images/notams/notams20/milv0608.jpgWondering when your MV aircraft will work in v5? As soon as LMrelease v5 HF2 we can begin work. Unfortunately, we will have to charge for the updates (KAexcepted), based on the work involved. PBR will be added to productsthat don't have it already. Source

Review: Prepar3D V5By MrYorkiesWorldIntroduction /images/reviews/p3dv5/t/prepar3d-v5-05.jpgHello there everyone, my name isMrYorkiesWorld and it's been a while since I last posted any contentin terms of videos, reviews or anything like that either on my ownYouTube channel or on FlightSim.Com. I decided to make a comeback anddo a little review of Lockheed Martin's new P3D V5 (with Hotfix1). I first heard about P3D V5 coming out towards the end of April 2020- until then I'd essentially been absent for quite a few monthssorting out a few things in my own life. Family and loved ones had totake priority, as did my job working for the NHS in such uncertaintimes with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, I decided to give P3D V5 a review, and I'm extremelygrateful to my friend Dom Smith from FlightSim.Com for contributingtowards the cost of P3D V5 - I'm extremely grateful for his support onmaking my return to YouTube and to my reviews here on the site. As with all my reviews, I like to keep things short, to the pointand easy to understand - I don't believe in going too far in depth -it's always fun to find certain things out for yourself as well, justlike I have with this new version of the simulator. InstallationInitially, the interface for P3D V5 is very similar to that ofprevious versions, albeit with a new logo and splash screen which, inmy opinion is a huge improvement on the old, tired-looking visuals ofprevious P3D versions such as P3D V4. Within 24 hours of me initially installing P3D V5, Hotfix 1 cameout, and so I had to download everything again and update it manuallywhich was a bit of a pain, however I can certainly say it was allworth it to be able to check out this new version of P3D which, in myopinion is very exciting to review indeed. The installation was self-explanatory - it was quick and easy on myparticular system, and I didn't really notice, apart from the visuals,much difference in the process at all compared to previousexperience. The time taken was around the same, and the whole processof choosing which directory to install to was pretty much the same aswell. Interface /images/reviews/p3dv5/t/prepar3d-v5-04.jpgSeeing as this is a new version of P3D, I expected to see a new andimproved user interface within the simulator, and I haven't beendisappointed. The color scheme, I have to say suits the simulator alot better and helps to make it look a lot simpler. The start-upwindow itself looks to be a little smaller than before, and it mightbe confusing at first if you're used to previous versions of P3D,however you should quickly get used to the new layout, and it onlytook me a few minutes to feel right at home again. One of the things that interested me is that the "Weather" sectionin the options menu now sits inside of the "World" section, which Ifound a little confusing at first, but later realised it made sensefor everything related to the world, atmosphere and weather to comeunder the same umbrella. /images/reviews/p3dv5/t/prepar3d-v5-06.jpgThe settings screens also seem to have a few new features such asthe option to enable Variable Refresh Rate, Dynamic Texture Streamingand Enhanced Atmospherics (Beta). I did eventually decide to enablethe Enhanced Atmospherics (Beta), and was quite impressed howdifferent it made the clouds look in the sim. It takes away theability to manually customize some of the cloud options, but it seemsto work really well and add more detail and realism to thesimulator. Visuals - Weather, Scenery, Etc. /images/reviews/p3dv5/t/prepar3d-v5-01.jpgOn my first try with the simulator I decided to go "bare bones" interms of add-ons or scenery. I wanted to see what the simulator lookslike straight out of the box. The only add-on aircraft I had installedwas myA2A Simulations Cessna 172so that I could have a look around and see what things look like upclose in terms of the visuals. I started off looking at some stock airports around the world suchas Dubrovnik (LDDU), Heathrow (EGLL) and Stockholm (ESSA) to see whatthings look like straight out of the box, and I was reallyimpressed. Compared to P3D V4.5, V5 looks so much better. We've got the newatmospheric effects up and running, and it really helps to make thesimulator look realistic and eye-catching. The scenery itself doesn't look massively different, but somehow itdoes still have some obvious changes. It looks a lot better in termsof resolution, and even sharper than usual - even with FXAA turned on,and I did notice things felt a lot more fluid and easy to work with,with very little in the way of stutter or lag - we'll get more ontoperformance in just a little bit. /images/reviews/p3dv5/t/prepar3d-v5-02.jpgThe ground textures look a lot better in my opinion, although itmight just be my terrible memory (it's been a while since I did aflight at all really in the simulator). The textures look moredetailed on the buildings, the ground scenery, the grass and therunways - everything just looks better in my opinion, and I think youcan get away with turning up those in-sim sliders a little now withoutthe constant worry of major performance difficulties. When I first started testing out V5, I made a P3D V5 settings videoon my channel. Since then I've decided to tweak things even more andchange some of the things I previously did in that video, and I'm soglad I enabled the atmospherics! I'll probably end up making a revisedsettings video similar to what I did when V4.5 was released. The weather has changed quite a bit too. The clouds look a lotnicer in V5, and that's without the need to install any third-partycloud add-ons. They work great right out of the box and they bring anextra level of immersion that I don't think we've really seen in P3Dwith the old stock clouds. I'd say it's an update that has beenwell-overdue for some time. I like how the sim now has more realistic time zones as well - Ipreviously had to use a third party tool to get the time zones to workproperly, but from what I can see - things are a lot better in V5. /images/reviews/p3dv5/t/prepar3d-v5-03.jpgI did notice how beautiful the sky textures look out of the box aswell, especially during the morning and evening time (see images). Iwas simply in awe at how amazing things look now in the simulator - ahuge improvement over previous sim versions! PerformanceSo, finally on to the most important aspect for many people -performance. I'm happy to say I was extremely impressed with how wellthe simulator performed on my system straight out of the box. It feltvery smooth and fluid without the need to change anything in theconfig files or use any external tools like Nvidia Inspector forexample. The only time I did notice some lag and stuttering was actuallywhen I enabled the Godrays. I suspect this is my GTX 1080TI telling meto tone things down a little (time for an upgrade soon I think!), butthe sim still looks and performs great when this option is turnedoff. It's important to note that, at the time of this review, theadvanced options such as Godrays are still in Beta, so there's a goodchance improvements will be made in the future and performance issuesthat are brought on by this option may indeed disappear. If you do have a newer GPU such as a 2080 or 2080TI, I would assumeit might be fine to have Godrays on without too much of an impact,although I'll leave that for the community to decide, should anyoneout there wish to point that out. Again, when it comes to settings, my settings depend on what typeof flight I'm doing, and what time of the day that flight will be, socertain situations might be more demanding than others, and you mightfind even with a similar setup to mine that V5 works better for youthan it does for me or vice versa. Issues / BugsIts important to bear in mind when considering this review that Ihave a fresh installation of P3D V5 with Hotfix 1 installed. A lot ofpeople have slated this hotfix and said that it brings about moreissues than good, however I somewhat disagree with this statement. Having initially installed the base V5 and tested that for a whilebefore the hotfix was released, I have to say there have been someimprovements. For example on my own system I was suffering fromcrashes to desktop as soon as I entered the sim, problems with certainaircraft, issues that caused the sim to freeze or crash when changingthe time of day, etc. None of which have happened since the update toHotfix 1. I was going to completely uninstall the entire simulator, formatthe SSD and do a fresh install with Hotfix 1, but I found upgradingeach component individually was actually OK and it worked great. The majority of crashes that I've experienced since installingHotfix 1 have been caused when I've been using third party aircraft orscenery, and so in terms of blaming P3D I can't really get away withthat. A lot of people are publishing tutorials and guides on how toforce P3D V5 to work with add-ons that aren't natively compatible, andto those people who get it working - great, but for the majority ofpeople I would say the best bet is to simply wait until those add-onshave been made officially compatible with V5. Most add-ons that are being updated to support V5, will work a lotbetter once they finally get released, because they won't be trying torun "in compatibility mode" (if you can even call it that). They willbe natively supported and will therefore run better. On the other hand, some developers have said their products willwork fine in P3D V5 natively, but the majority will probably bereleasing updates, so my advice is to wait. Maybe go back to V4.5until V5 is fully supported like some people have done already. Overall / Final VerdictSo as with all my reviews, I like to keep things quick and easy. Iwould say P3D V5 is definitely worth the purchase, simply because it'squite obvious a LOT of work has been done to make it better thanprevious versions. It performs better, looks better, feels better, andworks pretty well without much tinkering (at least for me). No doubt there could be some more updates to V5 coming soon,especially with the atmospherics currently being in Beta, but we willhave to wait and see what Lockheed Martin has in store. If you're looking for a great simulator to stick with, or even ifyou're just wanting something to tide you over until the new MicrosoftFlight Simulator comes out, I would say it is definitely worth thepurchase, and worth the wait for add-ons to become compatiblenatively. Some people might have issues, especially if your GPU isn't up toscratch and you're wanting to use advanced atmospherics, but overallyou should be able to run the sim pretty well and get a goodexperience out of it on mid - high end computers. Happy flying everyone! MrYorkiesWorld Prepar3D Web Site