Licensing

[dhazelgrove]

Just wondering which is the license of choice.

Dave

[falcon409]

Just wondering which is the license of choice.
Dave
I think most have opted for the Academic License. . .it's the least expensive in terms of a "one time" purchase. The Developers license is a variation in that you can pay a monthly fee of around $9.00 and can drop at any time if you feel the need. The other license options increase of course and the Commercial License is probably the most expensive.

[zswobbie1]

Guys, we really should not be discussing anything to do with licensing. This topic has been discussed ad nauseum &, in fact, most other sites ban any discussion.
The correct choice is the one that suits each individual.

[Naismith]

Don't see any reason why not.

[falcon409]

Don't see any reason why not.
Neither do I, we're not debating anything. He asked a legitimate question about which one to purchase that's all. No reason to make more out of it than that.

[DaveQ]

I've been contemplating going over to P3D for a while but been put off by the website. Until now I've had no real idea whether the 'academic licence', aimed at school and college students, would be the right one - the cost of all the others is prohibitive for me. At last I have some answers. So, a useful thread....

DaveQ

[dhazelgrove]

Well, I've done it.

I now need to figure out if any FSX scenery and AI will work in P3D. Deep joy.

Here's a thought: If FSX is known as "The Dark Side", how is P3D known?

Dave

[Daube]

I call it the "Darker side".
FS9 users called FSX the dark side because it forced them to forget about some FS9-format addons which were not compatible.
In P3D, no FS9 addons will work at all. FS9 planes will display perfectly, but their virtual cockpit will not be usable anymore. So unless you're a 2D flyer, FS9 aircrafts are gone.

[falcon409]

Well, I've done it.

I now need to figure out if any FSX scenery and AI will work in P3D. Deep joy.

Here's a thought: If FSX is known as "The Dark Side", how is P3D known?

Dave
I don't use any AI in P3D so I can't speak to that side, but payware scenery from FSX in most cases moves over pretty well, while freeware might have some glitches. Some default objects used in FSX scenery are actually FS9 related and you'll find blank spots where those should go in some sceneries. There's no hard and fast rule though you just have to try it and see what works and what doesn't. Orbx is an exception in that they are working on P3D_V2+ installers for all their scenery and it's the smaller individual airfields that are lagging behind. For their scenery you'll just have to go to their website and find out what you have and what they've converted.

P3D. . .unofficially "The Bright Side".

[Daube]

The standard freeware AI packages work quite well in P3D. I've been using the GAIT traffic until now.
Freeware AI packages have a fairly simple structure: they are mainly a bunch of aircraft folders, and a set of BGL (scenery) files that define the traffic itself. Transferring them from FSX to P3D is not too difficult, and you can easilly lure the installer to target the P3D folder instead of FSX.

However, I've read that some payware AI traffic packages are using some specific modules or programs that require some specific installation. These ones might be a bit more problematic, so you'll want to ensure the P3D compatibility is explicitely mentionned.

[zswobbie1]

Guys, we really should not be discussing anything to do with licensing. This topic has been discussed ad nauseum &, in fact, most other sites ban any discussion.
The correct choice is the one that suits each individual.

Sorry about this, I came back from another site that bitches. Not meant to be a policeman.. Anyway.
I'm still using P3Dv1.4, as my laptop has not got DX11 (sniff!)
The Academic is the most cost effective version, as it is the same as the others.
Even with v1.4, I've found it smoother than my now dumped FSX. But, such a pity it's the only version I can run.
Not too sure about FSX:Steam at this stage. It's still a slightly tweaked 7-8 year old game, compared to P3D, that has been updated/upgraded so many times by now.

[Daube]

As you guessed, FSX-SE is still the same as the good old FSX. They just fixed some bugs in it, but there are no new features.
From a graphical point of view, only products like DX10 scenery fixer could bring new things, but I'm not sure about the status of this.
P3Dv2 remains the most advanced graphic engine for Flight Simulator right now.

Concerning the licences, you were absolutely right on your first post. But to be more precise, it's the discussions about the nature of the licences which are banned. Discussing about why we should take the Professionnal or the Academic licences based on their official description is not allowed anymore, because these discussions had no end and no reliable final answer. The licences descriptions are mainly for legal purposes, these are a bit "out of reach" for us simmers. That's why discussing about them is a bit useless. And to prevent these discussions from spreading everywhere on any topic, it was decided to ban this topic. A very wise decision, in my opinion :)

That being said, when a new simmer comes and asks which licence he should get, a quick answer is not problematic, as long as there is no debate later on ;)