Should I now get P3D for the first time?

[expat]

Long standing FSX Gold Edition user. Have lots and lots of hours spent on custom scenery, AI, paints etc etc. I like most of what I hear about v4 except that I am confused as to how portable, if at all, FSX aircraft and scenery are into P3D v4. If it is mostly not portable, like many are saying, that means a considerable outlay for payware scenery (eg I have FTX Global and Vector) and aircraft, eg. a number of my Carenado planes won't seem to work. Lastly, in FSX I have hundreds and hundreds of FS9 portovers working just fine. If these also can't be used, then P3D seems like an exceptionally limited platform, unless one is willing to start all over again buying the same products, just to work in this different format.

Don't mean to sound negative, I would be delighted for others to convince me!

 

[jmig]

Let's put it this way. Say you have been driving a 15 year old car around ever since you bought it new. Now, it is paid for, mind you, and still works fine, although, it has some quirky issues that you have figured out how to get around. You like it and it's paid for. Can't beat that, huh.

Now, you go by the dealership on a whim and see the new 2018 model sitting on the floor. It is all shiny and has cool features they hadn't even dream of when your model was built. Gosh it looks nice. The salesman tells you it will go faster than you current model and even allow you to see to the horizon.

You buy it. You drive it off the showroom on to the highway. .......... do you think you will go back to driving your 15 year old model on a regular basis?

Yes, you will have to repurchase some add ons, if you didn't buy the earlier PD3 version. However, right out of the box, it is much nicer than FSX in both visuals and smoothness. FS9...forget em.

You could buy a month to month developer's version and test if for a month or two.

 

[falcon409]

Long standing FSX Gold Edition user. Have lots and lots of hours spent on custom scenery, AI, paints etc etc. I like most of what I hear about v4 except that I am confused as to how portable, if at all, FSX aircraft and scenery are into P3D v4.

Generally, FSX Native Aircraft work well in V4. . .however gauges (gau and dll types) are a problem, some work, some don't. Payware aircraft, especially Carenado are hit and miss. I'm currently flying the 185 Tundra in Vietnam (did my own paint for it) and it's excellent, yet the Cessna 337 is a wash. That's what you'll run into with payware.

If it is mostly not portable, like many are saying, that means a considerable outlay for payware scenery (eg I have FTX Global and Vector) and aircraft, eg. a number of my Carenado planes won't seem to work.

Specifically Orbx. . .of course they will and are actually, making the move to get all their scenery up to 64bit standards. The basics are already compatible (ground textures and landclass) but it's the airports and their peopleflow module that are needing the upgraded dll files.

Lastly, in FSX I have hundreds and hundreds of FS9 portovers working just fine. If these also can't be used, then P3D seems like an exceptionally limited platform, unless one is willing to start all over again buying the same products, just to work in this different format.

Forget about FS9 Portovers. I can't speak for every single one of course, but generally speaking, if it isn't FSX Native, it's best to forget about them and move into what has already shown itself to be an amazing Sim.

 

[expat]

Valued advice - thanks guys!