Prepar3D v3.4 (MS FS) now w/ built in VR support

[Cr4ckm0nk3y]

Just a heads up to anyone using flight sims with the Rift or Vive.

Lockheed Martin added built in support for the Rift and Vive in their Prepar3d (P3D) flight sim. This is the spiritual successor of MS Flight Sim but has been revamped. You can change between the monitor and VR HMD with a simple mouse click.

Originally we only saw it on the Dev/Pro licenses but the academic licenses now have it too.

With the other performance updates in P3D 3.4 I have had no issues staying around 60-90 FPS with all my addons. Only downside is some gauges, mainly turbine aircraft, are still hard to read like in DCS.

P3D v 3.4 is definitely worth checking out with the Vive. I spent 2 hours last night buzzing around in the Cub and not a single hint of motion sickness.

http://prepar3d.com/news/2016/09/113700/

 

[noko]

Great stuff, a little bit expensive though but maybe worth it. Seems like a rather complete simulation.

 

[RazorWind]

Great stuff, a little bit expensive though but maybe worth it. Seems like a rather complete simulation.

As I understand it, this product is meant as a training tool for real aviators first, and is sold as an entertainment product basically as an afterthought. I get quite a bit of exposure to general aviation at work, and I seem to recall having a conversation about this or a competing product recently with one of our pilots.

 

[noko]

As I understand it, this product is meant as a training tool for real aviators first, and is sold as an entertainment product basically as an afterthought. I get quite a bit of exposure to general aviation at work, and I seem to recall having a conversation about this or a competing product recently with one of our pilots.

Yes indeed, it has F22 and F35 for some of the planes - loved to get trained on those . Plus being Vive ready makes it even more enticing. Now only if it was SLI with the Vive, it supports SLI but does not state SLI for the Vive.

 

[Cr4ckm0nk3y]

The licensing from Lockheed is odd since to get the rights to MSFS code LM had to promise never to sell the product for "entertainment." Dovetail has the entertainment rights but the code is the original MSFS code. P3D is way more tweaked.

Pro and Pro Plus is aimed at Corp/Gov use to train pilots and crews. Our sister company uses this license in the mission ready sims for aircrew training. I have a Pro copy for this purpose. Very few addons work with Pro.

Academic is pretty liberal and requires no student verification. I know dozens of pilots who bought this license so their "kids" (undergrad and below) could experience flight sim. It is also the only license that addons "work" with. My 7 year old flies around with the vive and loves it. For $60 it is worth the academic license.

 

[bobzdar]

How much does this differ from MSFS with latest addons? I believe it's $20 and you can get full Rift/Vive support in it (including leap motion for hand tracking) through flyinside. Just wondering how it stacks up vs. prepar3d.

 

[Cr4ckm0nk3y]

How much does this differ from MSFS with latest addons? I believe it's $20 and you can get full Rift/Vive support in it (including leap motion for hand tracking) through flyinside. Just wondering how it stacks up vs. prepar3d.

Performance wise it is night and day over FSX and FSX:Steam. With Rex, AS16, Orbx and several aircraft like PMDG 737 I prefer the visuals on P3D too! Especially when you start to crank up the settings. I am holding steady at 60 fps while running extremely high settings and 45-90 when I lower them slightly for the vive. P3D takes more advantage of CPU/GPU than FSX due to the new coding.

Flyinside still offers more functionality since it is more mature VR product. I like being able to load up my EFB and have my plates in VR.

For quick flights or just buzzing around VFR the built in VR is very nice. If you are going to do longer flights or flights in heavier equipment, 737NG, I would pick up Flyinside and the Leap just for the ease.


One big thing I forgot to mention. There is no UI in the standard P3D VR.