My FS2004 has competition... :(

[Lionheart]

I now have a sim that is competing against FS9...

Prepar3D.

It is running as well as FS2004 on my rig. I cant get enough. I am addicted!

I feel... like... Im cheating on someone I love. :(

[Cees Donker]

Screenies?

Cees

[full]

LOL thats funny Bill glad its working well for you.

[JDTinballs]

Screenies?

Cees

Cees,

it looks just like FSX. Because it pretty much is. Microsoft released ESP which is a development release and Lockheed-Martin have used this to create prepar3d (pronounced prepared), which is FSX but it works, lol. Plus it's being developed further.

http://www.prepar3d.com/

thinking about it myself, but it's been a while since I was a student, lol.

Jamie

[nigel richards]

...and just $199.00 a ride too.

For the free version, all you have to do is place an order for a baker's dozen F-16s (any block) and you're in business.

(I had to pay a full darn 40 euros for FSX!!)

Okay, so I don't get it...


Does this now mean there's more cash to be made selling sims than bashing tin into F-16's and the like for the world's airforces?

Corr! Can't wait to see the Panavia version, or the Boeing and Airbus Industries' civil versions.

Certainly explains why there's a rumour going around here in Greece, that the next generation of combat aircraft for the good old HAF are now confirmed as firm orders placed with a company bearing the initials MS (Shhhhh!...Hush-hush)


And when are companies gonna get back to putting freebies back in cornflake boxes like in the good ol'days?...


Na - na - na, na - na - na, na - na - na - na - na, and the times they are a changin'....

[JDTinballs]

Nigey-babes,

cynics abound, lol. Just a thought, with the amount of UAV's increasing along with their capabilities, maybe L-M see this as a training device for cheap labour?

Jamie

[nigel richards]

Nigey-babes,

cynics abound, lol. Just a thought, with the amount of UAV's increasing along with their capabilities, maybe L-M see this as a training device for cheap labour?

Jamie

You may be on to something there;

"spring chicken to ****e-hawk in one easy sim."


The world's airforces get staffed by our motley band of joystick bashers.
We're all so far gone, we'd do anything for nothing. Free!

Maybe developers get extra egg on their caps and one by one, our brave circle of model-makers get secretly spirited away to create 'Next Generation' stealth fighters.

Tomorrow morning will greet LM recruiting officers with every simmer who can afford the ticket to get there.



Bet our Matt is already en-route...just imagine him: "Right you lot, I'm finally here, oh nothing special... just put me down for Demo Pilot!" "piece of cake!"

Scenery Designers will get cream positions advising each country on the layout of their entire list of bases

Texture Artists, with so many real aircraft to paint, will be measuring their garages to make sure that new Ferrari will fit next to the Beamer.

And yours truly will become Chief of production at Pratt & Whitney, where from now on the only kind of engine allowed to be stuck on an airframe, will be big round buggers with an R- and bristling with cylinders.

...off to sign up. Other way, this isn't the time for silly buggers


Edit: So this is what they mean't, all those boy-scout years ago (or was it the cubs):
A lot of dib-dib-dib-bing, a bit of dobbing, then Dang! 'THE MOTTO'; Be Prepar3D.(!)

[Wing_Z]

I feel... like... Im cheating on someone I love. :(

I've defended FS9 for years against those who would not see the Emperor had no clothes.
LM did see it, and good on them for deciding to open P3D to the larger flightsim community.
The likes of ORBX have seen that FSX is (mercifully) dead in the water, and will produce ever more P3D stuff.
And by every account, it deserves the attention.

As soon as I have finished with FS9, I will migrate to P3D.

Except I bought REX at a bargain price the other day (always wanted to see what it looked like, compared to my other 8 texture-enhancement sets already installed) and then there's this Avia, and.. and...

Probably I am representative of why MS quit the flghtsim business.

[EMatheson]

well there goes hope for the skylark for fs9...

[Sunny9850]

The student version is only $49 but carries a semi transparent logo in a corner...with a ringing endorsement by Bill, maybe I will give it a try...if it really works then upgrade to the full blown version.

They did include the Connie's right out of the box, being Lockheed and all, so that's one thing they have certainly gotten right. A good sim must have Connie's.

Cheers
Stefan

[stuartcox]

No thanks!
I'd rather spend my hard earned cash on something I love - My beloved, and my beloved FS9!

[Naismith]

Oooops from what I can gather at the LM forum, live weather is not included (yet). Why on earth do we suppose was this either taken out of the original MS package or not included whn LM bought it.

[Lionheart]

Sorry guys. Ive been busy. Didnt see the interest in my 'cheating' on my loved one, FS9...


Screenshots.

I love this. I have bump mapping, better water, better trees, nice clouds, and NO STUDDERING! No more slow 5FPS frame drops, no planes hopping up and down on the tarmac trying to get me to turn off the sim, no blinking out of sight clouds that return 1 to 2 seconds later. It just RUNS and runs and its smoooth....... I like.

I dont care if you guys think its too much, I dont care if you think it looks like FSX, I just dont care. All I know, is this thing performs, and for me, performance is everything. If it cant rev up, its junk. If it is going to cost me $10.00 USD a month, or $200.00 for a 'forever' sim, so be it. I 'need' this or my blood goes transparent! ack... I dont know if I will look good Bleached!



Bill

[Lionheart]

Some more screenshots.

Note the airplane selection center is quite different. You are given only names of manufacturers and you click on one, it opens to a plane type, then you select that and it shows you the JPG screenshots on the right to select from, showing 2 at a time. Much faster to look through.

The blue PrePar3D is the opening screen during bootup.


Bill

[Lionheart]

Some basics on the sim...


When you first get it, you will boot up at the yards in Florida. They did some extra ground texture work, enlargening the size limits of ground terrain to 4096 square. You will also boot up in the Mooney from FS2002 days. ACK!!!! That will freak you out. Just change into the stock Maule (or what ever you like) and click Save Flight, Save as Default, and that nightmare will not show up again.

(Mind you, Mooneys are great planes, but the old FS2002 unit was a bit dated and now scary compared to advanced models these days).

Next, you boot up into a flight, no 'entry' screen. So from there, you then load or create a flight.

The sim loads faster then FSX.

The planes selection screen is different and faster (boots up faster, not as colorful, but more hard core in a sense of being a training sim instead of a entertainment sim).

No live weather presently. They are working on that. MS gave them components and not all of them are in there, this is one. I do miss active weather and I am sure LM will have this in the future sometime.

They now have 'normal' Multi Player. (yayyyy). Just like in the old FS2004 days, you can link to a buddies IP address and just FLY!



So, thats your 'for starters' on the new Lockheed Martin 'flight training sim'. Its hard core, some things look exactly the same as FSX, alot has been improved, its smooooooooth in frame rates like FS9, and that is such a great feeling in a flight.


So, its up to you. Its here. I do still love FS9. This thing is really nice though...



Bill