Quote from Hangar45 Admin on December 18, 2017, 9:08 am

(Original thread started on 10-08-13 by Alan Norris)

The new release of version 2.0 of Prepar3d (due later this year) looks like it's going to be a huge step forward in graphics. Going from DirectX 9 to DirectX11 will make use of the full power of the latest graphics cards that most of us use.  You can read the release note HERE

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 10-09-13)

It is always exciting to read about the new changes in the pipe line. Unlike Flight a few years ago, this is the real deal!

 

I love this statement: "Upgrading the platform so that it can scale to take advantage of modern graphics hardware is a big milestone for the platform, and one we are very excited about."

 

I am also looking forward to the 3D live water, cloud shadows and dynamic fog!

Heck, we might not need REX or something similar.

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 10-09-13)

Actually, you *will* want a 3rd-party weather add-on if you want *live* weather feeds. V2 removes the ability to pull in live weather on its own. There is a new version of REX coming specifically for V2 if I am recalling correctly.

 

Screen shots and a very nice over-all list of things to look forward to can be seen here: http://www.prepar3d.com/latest-news/

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 10-14-13)

What I find interesting about Prepared is the way they are marketing it as a training tool rather than a game, like MSFS. I know they always have but I think it is genius and works in our favor.

 

I guess my point is that Prepared is basically the same thing as FSX but only with the enhancements, tweaks and performance changes Microsoft probably would have added into their FSXI if they were to have made it. The biggest difference is marketing, and oh yeah, price!

 

Which bring up the question, why are we building a sim in the first place? Are we building a game or are we building a training tool? For me, it's neither. It is certainly not a game and I am not building it to teach myself how to fly, although a side effect is learning to fly. I am building a Learjet flight simulator so that I can hop in and fly the world as close to what a real world pilot would expect without ever leaving the house. And I enjoy building really cool things! So I am not sure what category we fall into, and to be honest with you that was probably the problem that Microsoft had with us and Prepared struggles with now.

 

Everything is driven by $$$ and that in itself is enough to explain everything if you think about it. In a nut shell, I think Prepared is going to be incredible and I am very happy to see them taking this on and pushing it forward. I plan on purchasing 2.0 when it is available.

 

(Posted by Will Sasse on 10-14-13)

.. and then there are those of us who wish to utilize it as a training tool as well as a fun thing to do.

 

By pitching it as a training tool it means they should be putting more emphasis on reality rather than 'game play', which is really good for us! This also gives motive to increase the range of modeled functions, a path I wish they follow.

 

From what I understand of MS ESP it was also pitched as a training tool, a souped up version of FSX, although how and where it differed I do not know. P3D is derived from ESP.

 

I will be interested to see the difference in performance between those who've already overclocked for FSX/V1x-P3D, against those who haven't and will rely on video cards (like me). Given the divergence of PC's we collectively have I think we will make an fascinating test-bed!

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 10-15-13)

"ESP" was developed to enable folks to use "MSFS" in a commercial environment. I was assigned to a project development team working to find solutions using simulation for a real-world application that cannot be disclosed due to a NDA, but suffice it to say when we contacted MS' legal team we were advised that FS9/FSX could not legally be used for our R&D, but that there was a product coming down the pipeline. Three to four months later, ESP was announced. Fast forward to some other legal issues, and LM purchased the intellectual property rights to ESP and Prepar3d was born.

 

An interesting note regarding P3D and Full Screen Mode:

"Full Screen:

We have a completely revamped full screen mode for v2. We've gotten rid of exclusive full screen completely and replaced it with custom emulated full screen mode my rendering team referrers to as "The Fullness". The end result is that it looks and feels like full screen but is actually still in windowed mode as far as Windows is concerned. This helps get around the OS and driver limitations associated with full screen mode and using multiple monitors. Here are some of the advantages of the new mode:

 

- Switching modes is very quick now

- window placements coordinates are the same in both modes window and panel placements don't get messed up when switching

- windows can span the monitor border

- If the application window spans more than one monitor, going to full screen will fill both screens (this is optional)

- Plugins and UI windows can work in full screen mode

- etc etc

 

The only drawback is that we forfeit the performance gains of native full screen (6% in the ideal case). On the other hand stretching one view across two monitors performance much better than using two views and you don't need EyeFinity or NVSurround to do it any more. In the end the pros outweighed the cons.

Prepar3D Software Engineer"

 

Source- http://www.prepar3d.com/forum-5/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=3372.9#postid-15265

 

(Posted by Will Sasse on 10-17-13)

Eric, Thanks for the explanation re "ESP".

I'm glad they're staying with windowed mode, as it make it easier to push a window out to an iPad or other wireless device, again something I intend to do so an instructor can sit behind the scene and plot .....

 

I have found getting an extra window out from full-screen mode somewhat tricky!

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 10-18-13)

Some further really good comments from one of the LM developers on this (taken from AVSIM)-

"Zach at LM stated two important points:

1) In the best case scenario, an exclusive full screen mode could produce a 6% performance increase in the best case scenario, but in reality the difference is much smaller than that. Sounds like it will hardly make a difference.

 

2) Users who implement two or more screens for multiple views or views stretched across multiple monitors will see a significant increase in performance with the LM full screen solution compared to the traditional full screen mode. I would imagine that many users would utilize a second, or third monitor, so this is indeed very good news.

 

By the way, for reference, below is Zach's posting that I reference above:

As an added side note, I've seen some discussion revolving around the 6% performance figure. What that means is that in the best case, you could get up to 6% higher performance using an exclusive full screen mode. In reality, the difference is usually much smaller than that. With multiple views or views stretched across multiple monitors, the solution that we have implemented offers considerably higher performance.

 

Zach Heylmun

PREPAR3D Software Engineer"

 

(Posted by Randy Buchanan on 10-21-13)

Hey Ron,

The other way cool thing is, as you say, get as close to a real world experience as possible. So we work at making our sims as close to the real thing as possible. By the way don't worry about Lockeed/Martin. They are interested in making money and my guess is the military is interested in their product to teach our guys how to be "the best they can be".

 

I looked at a side be side view of V2 verses FSX showing scenery and I did not see all that much difference. The V2 scenery had more color contrast but not much different in detail. What does make a difference is REX.  I guess we will see.

 

(Posted by Claude on 10-22-13)

I understood that P3D is an independent flight simulator software program, nevertheless, if you want to fly a Learjet45 you can not unless you recover the aircraft file from FSX. Is this right? Same for other aircraft and/or scenery loaded within FSX. Therefore it is necessary to own FSX and P3D correct?

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 10-23-13)

Hi Claude, yes, you are correct and I had indeed forgotten that I ported the FSX LJ45 over to Prepared v1. It is not necessary to own a copy of FSX, all you need is the Lear45 .cfg file which one of us can share with you.

 

If you already have FSX, simply copy the Learjet folder out of the FSX "sim objects" folder and dropped it into the appropriate place in P3D.

 

As for scenery libraries, P3D will have it's own default scenery libraries which are very similar to what FSX uses. Additional scenery addons like Orbix FTX or FlyTampa will need to be purchased separately. Just make sure that whatever addon aircraft or scenery you purchase that it is compatible with P3D v2.0. With that said, you might already have some addon aircraft or scenery that is compatible with P3D v2.0. There is no guarantee that anything you already have for FSX or P3D v1 will work but it will not hurt anything to try.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 10-24-13)

I didn't realize that you had to do that. Do I just copy the LEAR45.cfg file over to the same folder in Prepar3D? Thanks

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 10-24-13)

Hey Alan, if you go to Prepar3d site they have a section on importing aircraft into P3D. Saw it today while taking a look at their site:  http://www.prepar3d.com/add-ons/

 

The information on LM website indicates that they only have the AI (artificial intelligence) Lear45 in P3D v2.0. I don't have P3D yet so not sure but I believe that you will have to copy the Lear45 over to P3D if you want a full working version.

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 11-18-13)

The latest news being reported today is that we should have a release before the end of November and they are planning a release of pricing and other info this week.

 

(Posted by Terry Collins on 11-21-13)

This is great news, thanks Eric!

Here are some screen shots from v2.0.....

http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/67993-first-screenshots-from-prepar3d-v2/

 

Looks like release date is Monday 25th November...

http://www.prepar3d.com/news/2013/11/4648/

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 12-26-14)

If you are running P3D v2, you may want to upgrade to the latest version of FSUIPC. The latest update has been out since Oct 2014 but I somehow missed it. This latest update fixed the mouse macro feature and I can now assign the heading sync feature from Friendly Panels Lear 45 but it will not work all the time. Seems it has an issue with not working if you have closed out the Friendly Panels MIP window.

 

Just an FYI, my heading sync switch is connected to FDS SYS board, the key assignment is thru FSUIPC and the switch is assigned the keystroke thru InterfaceIT. I believe Eric T. had this feature working in FS9 so it might be a P3D issue or an issue with my programming!

 

In any case, you can get the latest version of FSUIPC and WideFS here:

http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html