Joel Martinsson 1365065 Posted August 1, 2017 at 01:16 PM Posted August 1, 2017 at 01:16 PM Hi, I have had FSX for very long time now and It works great but when I woke up this morning I got a message saying that a file is corrupt. I do not have my retail code or disks left which means I would need to get a new Flight sim, so my question is which one should I get? P3D, Xplane 11 or anything else? It has to work good with vatsim obviously. Thanks /Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Hadden Posted August 1, 2017 at 07:14 PM Posted August 1, 2017 at 07:14 PM P3D V4 is by far the most up to date sim on the market. Would highly recommend vs the dying FSX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Tyndall 1087023 Posted August 1, 2017 at 07:38 PM Posted August 1, 2017 at 07:38 PM If your system will run them, Joel, and you truly have to start all over from scratch, I also suggest P3Dv4 or xPlane 11, but only because they are the two newest releases. However... I have been "dying" since the day I was born. Everyday I am one day closer. That doesn't mean I'm dead! FSX has been "dying" since the day it was released. FS2004 has been "dying" since the day it was released. P3Dv4 started "dying" the day it was released as did xPlane 11. Your answer was perfect, Chris, until you threw in "vs the dying FSX". While Joel did ask for opinions he did not ask for bias. The written word has no inflection and meaning can be easily misunderstood, but when I saw "vs..." I got the distinct impression you consider FSX foul tasting fish eggs and not "caviar". I could be wrong. If so I apologize. I have used MSFS in every form since the days they were released and subLogic's ATP before that. All were "dying" from that day forward. I still use both the "dying" FS2004" and the "dying" FSX and I have plenty of success with both. They run very well on my system and give me all the realism I need and the options for addons are far greater than for P3Dv4 and xPlane 11. Someday, though, these two "latest and greatest" will also have more options. The focus these days seems to be on making everything bigger and better. It's human nature. What is not human nature is buying a new car every year, although there are some that do. It does get expensive however. Same thing with computers. Developers are using the "latest and greatest" systems. They have to to make sure their product works. I cannot buy the "latest and greatest" and nor can many of the members of VATSIM. So, when people ask for opinions, and they will continue to do so, make them objective and not subjective. Objective opinions help. Subjective ones are like peer pressure at school. Not good. Randy Randy Tyndall - KBOI ZLA I-11/vACC Portugal P4 “A ship is always safe in the harbor. But that’s not why they build ships” --Michael Bevington ID 814931, Former VATSIM Board of Governors Vice President of Pilot Training Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Martinsson 1365065 Posted August 2, 2017 at 09:26 AM Author Posted August 2, 2017 at 09:26 AM Thanks for the replies, I had P3D a few months ago but I did not run very well. I might be able to try it out again and see if I can tweak with the settings. If so which version is for me to get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Tyndall 1087023 Posted August 2, 2017 at 12:45 PM Posted August 2, 2017 at 12:45 PM Joel, If you have the system for it, as Chris said, I would get the 64-bit version, P3Dv4. Before you do, though, be sure and look at the minimum computer spec requirements and the recommended computer spec requirements. Minimum requirements will get you in the air, but may not perform at a level you will be happy with. I tried the xPlane 11 Demo and it simply would not perform on my system, but on my son's it did well. I have a win7 64-bit and he has a win10 64-bit with all the bells and whistles needed for gaming. Whichever version you get, be sure to try and get the one that matches your system and their recommended specs. You mentioned you tried P3D already. Which version and explain "did not run very well"? Randy Randy Tyndall - KBOI ZLA I-11/vACC Portugal P4 “A ship is always safe in the harbor. But that’s not why they build ships” --Michael Bevington ID 814931, Former VATSIM Board of Governors Vice President of Pilot Training Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dawson 1400503 Posted August 2, 2017 at 03:46 PM Posted August 2, 2017 at 03:46 PM Hello Guys, I am a 25 year old aviation enthusiast from the UK. I wish to become involved in VATSIM. 1. What Flight sim is the best to get and the most performance friendly to PC's? (Mine is not epic but is decent.) 2. Are any of those on Steam? 3. How do I get started when I get a Flight Sim? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Board of Governors Simon Kelsey Posted August 2, 2017 at 04:14 PM Board of Governors Posted August 2, 2017 at 04:14 PM Thomas, FSX Steam Edition would probably be a very good start for you. It is well-supported with various add-ons and is quite often on sale, so you can dip in without investing large sums in the base platform. Lockheed-Martin's Prepar3D (aka P3D) version 4 is based upon the MSFS engine and has a number of improvements -- notably unlike previous versions and FSX, it is a 64-bit application, which means that certain limitations on the amount of memory the sim can access are removed -- however, as a professional-level platform it is rather more expensive than FSX and there are certain issues around its EULA. In the long term P3D may well 'replace' FSX as the mainstream sim platform, though this is not entirely certain because Dovetail Games (who have taken over the consumer side of the MSFS platform) are in the process of developing a sim called Flight Sim World, currently in Steam Early Access. Like P3D v4, this too is a 64-bit platform, but at present cross-compatibility of FSX addons is extremely limited to non-existent and it is not yet supported (as far as I know) by any of the VATSIM pilot clients. One to watch for the future, however. If you have a reasonably modern PC (i.e. i3 onward or equivalent CPU) with a reasonable graphics card, you should be able to run FSX (and P3D) acceptably provided you are sensible with the graphics sliders and with addons. To give you a general sense, I have been running both FSX and P3D very acceptably indeed with various add-ons for the last seven years on my 3Ghz i5-760 with Nvidia GTX570 graphics card and 4GB RAM, so you do not need a supercomputer! As for how to get started -- what is your base level of aviation experience? My suggestion would be to seek out a VATSIM Approved Training Organisation (ATO) via https://ptd.vatsim.net/atos and look to progress through the various pilot ratings that are available. These are not required to fly on VATSIM, but if you are coming at this with little or no aviation experience then you will find much of the information essential, if not very useful indeed as a good training organisation will teach you in a structured way how to fly and navigate, as well as how to use VATSIM ATC. Hope you find that helpful! Vice President, Pilot Training Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dawson 1400503 Posted August 2, 2017 at 05:04 PM Posted August 2, 2017 at 05:04 PM What is P3D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dawson 1400503 Posted August 2, 2017 at 05:11 PM Posted August 2, 2017 at 05:11 PM Thomas, FSX Steam Edition would probably be a very good start for you. It is well-supported with various add-ons and is quite often on sale, so you can dip in without investing large sums in the base platform. Lockheed-Martin's Prepar3D (aka P3D) version 4 is based upon the MSFS engine and has a number of improvements -- notably unlike previous versions and FSX, it is a 64-bit application, which means that certain limitations on the amount of memory the sim can access are removed -- however, as a professional-level platform it is rather more expensive than FSX and there are certain issues around its EULA. In the long term P3D may well 'replace' FSX as the mainstream sim platform, though this is not entirely certain because Dovetail Games (who have taken over the consumer side of the MSFS platform) are in the process of developing a sim called Flight Sim World, currently in Steam Early Access. Like P3D v4, this too is a 64-bit platform, but at present cross-compatibility of FSX addons is extremely limited to non-existent and it is not yet supported (as far as I know) by any of the VATSIM pilot clients. One to watch for the future, however. If you have a reasonably modern PC (i.e. i3 onward or equivalent CPU) with a reasonable graphics card, you should be able to run FSX (and P3D) acceptably provided you are sensible with the graphics sliders and with addons. To give you a general sense, I have been running both FSX and P3D very acceptably indeed with various add-ons for the last seven years on my 3Ghz i5-760 with Nvidia GTX570 graphics card and 4GB RAM, so you do not need a supercomputer! As for how to get started -- what is your base level of aviation experience? My suggestion would be to seek out a VATSIM Approved Training Organisation (ATO) via https://ptd.vatsim.net/atos and look to progress through the various pilot ratings that are available. These are not required to fly on VATSIM, but if you are coming at this with little or no aviation experience then you will find much of the information essential, if not very useful indeed as a good training organisation will teach you in a structured way how to fly and navigate, as well as how to use VATSIM ATC. Hope you find that helpful! Well, Flight Sim X looks a bit outdated, not sure on the Graphics, Flight Sim World has a lot of bad reviews. Not sure how to get P3D and what it's about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Hawton Posted August 2, 2017 at 07:01 PM Posted August 2, 2017 at 07:01 PM Thanks for the replies, I had P3D a few months ago but I did not run very well. I might be able to try it out again and see if I can tweak with the settings. If so which version is for me to get? I'd strongly recommend you read the EULA to ensure compliance as they are straight up prohibiting uses that 90% of VATSIM users would fall in to. Given the extremely deep pockets of LM (and the source of income they get through the Government), it's a civil issue to definitely steer clear of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Hawton Posted August 2, 2017 at 07:02 PM Posted August 2, 2017 at 07:02 PM P3D uses FSX's engine for very specific uses. Most VATSIM users do not fall within the allowable uses in the EULA of P3D. Your choices with VATSIM, for most uses of the users here, are pretty much X-Plane or FSX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dawson 1400503 Posted August 2, 2017 at 07:16 PM Posted August 2, 2017 at 07:16 PM P3D uses FSX's engine for very specific uses. Most VATSIM users do not fall within the allowable uses in the EULA of P3D. Your choices with VATSIM, for most uses of the users here, are pretty much X-Plane or FSX. I have decided for FSX, I am thinking of buying the Steam version, is that alright and will it work on windows 10? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Hawton Posted August 2, 2017 at 09:58 PM Posted August 2, 2017 at 09:58 PM Yes it does work on Windows 10. I use it myself. A few add-ons don't work on 10 but most have updated or are updating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent Hopkinson Posted August 4, 2017 at 02:56 AM Posted August 4, 2017 at 02:56 AM If you have many (payware) addons, like PMDG Boeing/MD11 Aerosoft A320, Leonardo MD80, etc and want to still use these, then I'd suggest FSX Steam Edition, purchasable through Steam, and when the steam specials come out, can be as little as $4 to purchase. That way you can reinstall your PMDG aircraft without re-purchasing them for P3D. If you don't have these/have decided that it's time to move on anyway because it looks like the future is in 64bit sims (it is) and the FSX development community is starting to move on (give it a few more years, but it's going to happen eventually) then the obvious answer is Prepar3d version 4 (the first 64 bit version) Many addons are compatible between P3D and FSX, but some are not. Some will give you a discount on purchasing the new versions, some do not. I believe TFDi's 717 is a single purchase for both versions. PMDG are a "purchase again". Some aircraft are likely to never make it into P3D, for instance the PMDG MD11 has been confirmed as a product that will never be released for P3D, Leonardo MD80 have gone all quiet and may have stopped developing anything, Aerosoft A320 have confirmed their upgrade to P3Dv4 will be a new purchase required etc. The other Sim of Choice is Xplane. But the controls and products for XPlane are a completely separate ecosystem and you will find the keyboard, menu system and the interface as a whole bears little resemblance to what you will have become familiar with compared to the Microsoft/Lockheed products. Trent Hopkinson YMML. www.youtube.com/musicalaviator WorldFlight 2002,2008,2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Hawton Posted August 4, 2017 at 04:50 AM Posted August 4, 2017 at 04:50 AM If you don't have these/have decided that it's time to move on anyway because it looks like the future is in 64bit sims (it is) and the FSX development community is starting to move on (give it a few more years, but it's going to happen eventually) then the obvious answer is Prepar3d version 4 (the first 64 bit version) Unless, of course, your use is against the EULA.. which most VATSIM users fall under. Less obvious than you think. Be wary recommending P3D to people, because Lockheed has a rather strict EULA regarding its uses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Cardone 1323915 Posted October 1, 2017 at 03:01 AM Posted October 1, 2017 at 03:01 AM I moved to P3D a couple of years ago. Couldn't imagine having to go back to FSX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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