Lockheed Martin Prepar3d V4 *First Look, Compatibility"

[Daube]

I would be interested as well, but it seems the VRS developper(s) are not so motivated by the 64 bits changes.
As far as I understood, this is not only about a 64 bit conversion of the TacPack module. They also have to find again all of the "hooks" they used to manipulate the P3D core in the previous versions.
This will probably involve quite a lot of investigation and testing time, I suppose.

[alpha charlie]

Uuuu... Pity! Why?

The developer has lost motivation. Going payware is not an option, he says, as the income will not justify time investments. Sometimes the life takes over.

[alpha charlie]

So one could tweak in V3 with PTA and copy over the shaders?

That's right. At least that's what they say. Have not tried it yet. (And don't forget to clear shader cache beforehand.)

[vora]

Another essential tool for me would be AICarriers.net
AFAIK the NET version was made by a guy named "Orion" over at the FSDT forum - dunno if he's actually from FSDT or only a forum member.
He had published the source code over at GitHub, looks like a C# code to me, but it makes use of an external tool set for SimConnect which in turn would also require a recompilation/rewrite by another author. Thus I'm not very optimistic.

[hschuit]

Another essential tool for me would be AICarriers.net
AFAIK the NET version was made by a guy named "Orion" over at the FSDT forum - dunno if he's actually from FSDT or only a forum member.
He had published the source code over at GitHub, looks like a C# code to me, but it makes use of an external tool set for SimConnect which in turn would also require a recompilation/rewrite by another author. Thus I'm not very optimistic.

AICarriers.net works fine, just add it to the P3Dv4 EXE.XML file.

[Cirrus N210MS]

has any got there carenado planes working yet

[Dangerous Beans]

has any got there carenado planes working yet

Only the C152, C172N and the C185 so far.
The 152 and 172 work fine but the 185 cant use one of its gauges C1852.gau.

Anything that has .gau or .dll gauges it going to be a problem unless the publisher releases updated ones.

[jeansy]

most aerosoft scenery work fine, with the exception of one or 2 items, fly tampa seems to be fine, flightsim commander 9.8 works despite the dev saying it doesnt

Orbx have just released the new version of FTX Central, it only has regions so far for V4 no vector or airports just yet

fsglobal ultimate works from what I can guess

[jeansy]

both REX HD airports works fine along with REX texture direct

[Dimus]

Matt, for Aerosoft and FlyTampa, I guess you select to install for P3DV3 but point the installer to the P3D v4 folder? Same for REX4?

[jeansy]

correct, I also set my fsx and p3d v3 registry path the my P3D v4 folder, everything seems to be going fine thus far

one other thing that ive noticed and really like is the night sky with the stars, switching between v3 and 4 to me there a huge difference

[gman5250]

Important: Installing Updated Scenery or Airplanes

P3D v4 is using a new interface for installing addon software. Before you install an existing scenery i.e. Flightbeam KSFO HD or FS Dreamteam KLAX, re-download the packages. The new installers will point the scenery to the P3D v4 Add-ons folder. The folder generates an .xml doc that manages that particular scenery or airplane.

In P3Dv4 the Add-ons menu is located in the Options tab. When installed correctly the menu can be used to enable or disable your add-on.

I updated Flightbeam KSFO HD, then installed it. The Virtuali manager then installed all of my other scenery packages correctly into the Add-ons folder.

Failing to use the correct installation syntax might lead to issues further down the road with other installs.

Add-ons Folder Location: Typical
C:\Users\your name\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons

I keep all of my large scenery i.e Mega Scenery Earth on a separate storage device (5TB spinning drive) in order to let the SSD only manage the sim. This causes a slightly longer load time, but vastly improves sim performance.

You can create/edit a small .xml doc for each add-on that will manage communication with the sim.
Once installed correctly, you can access your third party add-ons through either the Options/Add-ons or Add-ons tabs in the sim.

[TuFun]

From what I've read, Orbx is still installing the FSX way and not according to the SDK.

[jeansy]

thats is correct, orbx is using the previous method,

the only problem I can see with the addons folder is that they can not be moved in the scenery priority my PHNL and KFSOHD is fixed in 1st and 2nd place and greyed out to prevent them from being moved, thats fine if you use those airports regularly

I

[gman5250]

thats is correct, orbx is using the previous method,

the only problem I can see with the addons folder is that they can not be moved in the scenery priority my PHNL and KFSOHD is fixed in 1st and 2nd place and greyed out to prevent them from being moved, thats fine if you use those airports regularly

I

The add-ons can be turned on or off in the Add-Ons menu. If they are turned off, they won't show up in your Scenery Library. Only the ones that are turned on will show, but they are grayed out and can't be moved.

The third party developers like ORBX can still create their own proprietary architecture and syntax. The xml in the add-ons folder lets the third party developer determine where they actually place their folders. It's more flexible, but takes some getting used to.

I've already written xml for my four WIP sceneries and the F7F Tigercat. I located the sceneries outside the sim and the Kitty in the usual spot.
All are working smoothly in P3D v4.

[TuFun]

This maybe useful for those who want to move their Document folder to another drive.

Windows 10

[Dimus]

Gordon, you mention to re-download the installers. How would this help if the developer has not updated them and they are no different than the ones we have?

[roger-wilco-66]

Guys (and gals, of course),

I decided to stick this thread because there are quite a few issues that concern the new version. I would like to ask the participants to stay on the issues as much as possible to keep this streamlined for further reference.

Daube, I shortened the original title a bit because there seems to have been a cut-off. I hope you don't mind!


Thanks,
Mark

[patful]

This maybe useful for those who want to move their Document folder to another drive.

Hmm...didn't know you could do that through Windows 10. I used mklink and moved all of the applicable P3D folders from Documents, ProgramData, and Users. Your way sounds much simpler.

[gman5250]

Gordon, you mention to re-download the installers. How would this help if the developer has not updated them and they are no different than the ones we have?

From what I can see, the scenery packages do not need any major changes, but the installer/add-on managers now install a bit differently than before. If the devs have updated those installers, the scenery should be good to go in V4.
I've checked out SFO, LAX, LAS, PHX and KDEN...all check out fine.

Workflow:
I went to Flightbeam first and confirmed that their airports were going to be upgraded. The home page had all of the info. I re-downloaded KSFO HD and checked that the installer included P3D v4. That was an affirmative.
I installed the updated SFO into P3D v4. BTW...the update is free if you already own the previous version.

The installer also updated the Virtuali manager, which then checked all of my other packages from Flightbeam, FSDream Team and Aerosoft. I had saved out my old installation files from v3 and placed them in V4 root folder.
I re-booted the computer and the sim after the SFO install and the Virtuali manager then recognized, and activated all of my scenery locations automatically. One shot deal...that was a bonus.

I noted the addition of the Add-ons xml management system when I looked around under the hood. The xml is a straight forward code that only wants to know the name/description of the airport and the file locations.
After looking at the new syntax, I created xml's for my WIP sceneries and airplanes as well and integrated them via the Add-ons folder.
Everything worked smoothly, even the monster HD ground textures for KMMH and KBIH.

All in all I think the transition should go off very well. I give it all a two thumbs up.

Just waiting for the FSUIPC5 upgrade to go live and I'll be a happy man.

[hae5904]

Nice, but it doesn't work if you want to install a scenery of FSDreamteam alone. Their latest installers are not yet updated to include v4.

Hank

[jmig]

...

Just waiting for the FSUIPC5 upgrade to go live and I'll be a happy man.

Same here. I am really disappointed with SimMarket and their delay. It has been over two days since Peter Dowson released FSUIPC5. The non-activated version is worthless to me.

On another note, I ported the Real-Air SF-260 over to V4. It seems to be working just fine. I was able to tune one of radios but didn't try it. I don't often use the radios or transponder when flying, so I can't affirm that they are working. I just like the aircraft for VFR flying. It is faster than many GA aircraft and the visibility is great.

[roger-wilco-66]

--> FS Global Real Weather: doesn't work anymore. The devs state that is has to be re-written to make it work in 64 bit. That's a bummer for me.

--> Accufeel also has to go 64bit. It's on the back burner, because the porting of the Accusim products have priority. So we'll also have to wait for that one.

--> I could get my saitek switch panel, autopilot panel and radio panel to work with the original drivers only. SPAD doesn't work anymore. Can't connect to FSUIPC 5.


Checking the aircraft now.


Cheers,
Mark

[vora]

...

--> Accufeel also has to go 64bit. It's on the back burner, because the porting of the Accusim products have priority. So we'll also have to wait for that one.

...

Hmm... AccuFeel is a default addon of FSW as far as I know, so it should already be 64bit in a way. I certainly hope it doesn't take too long.

[docjohnson]

Been playing around with the Professional Plus version. V4 loaded much faster than V3. I was amazed how smooth the sim was with the sliders pretty much maxed out. Granted I was flying the default F-22 out of the default Eglin AFB. The take off and transition to flight was smooth, no stutters, no left yaw in the SimObject, and the ground had much more detail than I am used to. In V4 the leaves in the trees move with the wind. There was more sensitivity to the controls. FS-Flight Control worked. TrackIR was fine. Plan G would not connect. FSXWx would not connect. I probably need to get FSUIPC updated to v5 on the latter. Plan G was supposed to use SimConnect, but I guess I'll try to FSUIPC 5 option there too.


V3 Setting were about mid way on most sliders. V4 maxed out almost all. So I flew default V3 (but changed to 94th FS F-22) and V4 (94th FS as well) and did a couple of screen captures:


V3


V4


V3


V4


There is so much more that I don't have the time to comment on. Least of which as a developer, I'm impressed with V4.