NZFF

Right, I might be opening a can of worms here but I am looking at making the switch to P3d. Everybody harps on about how good it is but what I want to know is that is it compatible with VLC or am I going to be back to ORBX? What about aircraft add ons that came out before P3d? This information is probably spread throughout the forums but... well... I'm feeling lazy today.

Great question, I'm also looking to switch, if only for the cockpit shading, and I'm lazy too so looking FWD to replies. We should make this topic sticky eventually and keep the top post up to date with findings and recommendations.

Vector Land Class has a dual installer for P3D. Although I have FTX NZ, I only use this (mainly for compatibility testing) in FSX, I don't have any plans to put it into P3D, so my P3D is VLC-only, although I hardly ever get to see it, except for around the edges of the photoscenery I'm working on.

Other addons are a bit hit and miss, most work in P3D, some have various issues. These days I only buy aircraft with dual installers. If you have some absolute favourites which would need to transfer, you might need to check them out one by one before you commit.

At least I'll have NZ scenery. That was my main concern. Just doing a quick hunt around, the machines I fly mostly seem to work with a bit of tinkering. An upgraded Dodo Bell 206 is in the works now. I've got FSX running reasonably well now on my modest (by todays standards) laptop. What's P3d like straight 'out of the box' as it were? Does it require tinkering?

Gidday mate,

I made the switch a couple of months ago and will never look back. In terms of reliability (ie: crashing etc) P3D is streaks ahead of FSX. In terms of performance, I wouldn't say that P3D is easier on your system; however what I would say is that for given FPS, the graphical quality is far superior. Like anything though, there is never really a time where you're achieving huge FPS with everything turned up.

In terms of addons, I can't speak for VLC but it appears you've been answered by TopRob. But in regards to others, I have seemed to make most work (either by simply installing through the developers installer, or by manually placing the files in P3D - seems to work).

My current addon list is:

REX 4 Texture Direct
Orbx NZSI, AU, Global
PacSim Rarotonga
Aerosoft Airbus X Extended
Majestic Q400
Most of the Carenado models
RAZBAM Metro III

All of these are working fine

Good luck!

chopper_nut wrote:

QUOTE (chopper_nut @ Dec 8 2014,1:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At least I'll have NZ scenery. That was my main concern. Just doing a quick hunt around, the machines I fly mostly seem to work with a bit of tinkering. An upgraded Dodo Bell 206 is in the works now. I've got FSX running reasonably well now on my modest (by todays standards) laptop. What's P3d like straight 'out of the box' as it were? Does it require tinkering?

In terms of "tinkering", I haven't had to do anything stupid like CFG line edits, .dll file adding etc - I simply googled "Prepar3d Settings" and went to this page. which basically recommends the best sliders and has given me great results

P3D is very good. FPS is not such an issue as the sim is much more fluid at lower fps than FSX.
Most FSX add ons work in P3D but I would highly recommend getting the Estonia migration tool for add ons that only have an FSX installer. It makes installation a breeze. Any scenery that has FS9 objects in it may cause issues. Lighting may also be an issue in the odd panel. I would suggest before installing add ons just do a quick Google search to check on compatability. Also there are several versions of P3D now. Just make sure it works in the version you have. Some retailers say a model is P3D compatable but that may only be for 1.4 or 2.0. The PMDG stuff is rumoured to be available for P3D by the end of the year.
P3D does not require any config tinkering although some have added an affinity mask or altered the HDR bloom to make it lighter. All this and more is available via the AVSIM PD3 forum.
I'm using VLC and its a treat. I dont like the elevation issues with ORBX NI and SI (inaccurate mesh). Just dont use the night lights option in VLC or it will bring the best computer to its knees and you will end up with a slideshow, even during the day.

ScottyB wrote:

QUOTE (ScottyB @ Dec 8 2014,2:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In terms of "tinkering", I haven't had to do anything stupid like CFG line edits, .dll file adding etc - I simply googled "Prepar3d Settings" and went to this page. which basically recommends the best sliders and has given me great results

Yes, I'd be surprised if you could get much improvement by tweaking -- I don't think I've ever opened my cfg file for P3D. And those settings you're linked to are very close to how I run mine, after trying out a lot of combos for a few months. The only real differences are that I use full building autogen, and drop vegetation back one notch, and I normally use Terrain Shadows, but I do switch them off when they start to annoy me.

I have just pined this topic will save looking for it in the future

ScottyB wrote:

QUOTE (ScottyB @ Dec 8 2014,1:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<snipped>
My current addon list is:

<snipped>
PacSim Rarotonga
<snipped>
All of these are working fine

Scotty, did you have to do anything special for PacSim Rarotonga?
I haven't installed it, or even tried, since it isn't officially support.
Would be interested to hear your input / advice on that one

jpreou wrote:

QUOTE (jpreou @ Dec 8 2014,5:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Scotty, did you have to do anything special for PacSim Rarotonga?
I haven't installed it, or even tried, since it isn't officially support.
Would be interested to hear your input / advice on that one

I installed it via the installer into FSX, then simply copied the installed files over to P3D and boom, working

Edit: Took a gamble buy buying it and banking on it working in P3D and sure enough it did!

cowpatz wrote:

QUOTE (cowpatz @ Dec 8 2014,2:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Any scenery that has FS9 objects in it may cause issues.

One very useful tool (for those with the FSX SDK installed, anyway) is ModelConverterX. The recent version includes the very handy 'export scenery' button, so you can just load a FS9 library, tell MCX you want a FSX version, and press the button.
It will wreck any tweaked objects, though, such as those with conditional displays, or rotate-to-wind etc.