P3D questions

[Joseph29]

I just got my new computer Wednesday and I have P3D v4 installed and now I have a few questions

1. What is the best P3D lighting settings? I left them at the default levels, but I was wondering if there are better settings that make things more real.
2. I started to install AI tonight and I installed a few MAIW planes. I know the scenery will not work, but will the AFCADs and waypoints work?
3. I want to install some of the MAIW packages (like the ANG packages), but I know some of the planes will not work in P3D. How should I handle this? Should I not install that kind of package? Or just install the planes that work?

[Greg]

Here's what works for me:

1. If you have a little extra cash, I really really recommend PTA. It looks absolutely fantastic. You can get it here. I also use an external preset called thopat which you can get here. The preset comes with recommended light settings.
2. Waypoints will work since they have no visual elements. AFCADs will not always work. I find it best to tweak them with ADE. In most cases, simply adding an airfield background poly will do the trick. You can follow my tutorial for v3 which is still valid for AFCADs, with the addition that P3D fixed the apron and taxiway draw detail flag along the way which was ignored by FSX. If an AFD dev set this flag to "no", the taxiway or apron still showed up nicely in FSX due to the bug, but in P3D it will be invisible (as intended). The best way to fix this is to use the FSXtoP3D tool at AIG or reset all draw flags in ADE (there's a button in the apron and taxiway list windows that will do it automatically for you.
3. What I did was separate my v4 compatible models and old FS9 models into two different folders. The former is always activated in my addons list while the latter is only activated when I'm installing new AI so AIFP can find the aircraft. I still install all textures for non-compatible aircraft even though I'm not going to see them, but I hope the models will get converted some day and then it's a simple matter of moving them to the other folder.

I hope this helps.

[John Young]

Greg, that's very interesting. Thanks.

What do I do with the 4 files in the thopat download and how do I select the preset please?

John

[Greg]

Hey John.

Apologies if that wasn't clear, but the preset is for PTA. You'll need to load the preset into that proggie.

[John Young]

Thanks Greg, I wrongly assumed the thopat was an alternative to PTA.

John

[Joseph29]

Thanks for the tips Greg.

And yes I have heard of PTA. But this new computer cost me almost $3,000! So I don't have the money for payware stuff now. I have to stick with freeware for the time being, and from what I can see there is hardly any freeware for P3D.

[Reggie]

Hello Joseph,
I'm in to P3Dv4 about a month now and am slowly building my platform through trial and error. For lighting and shading, there is a freeware called Ultimate Realism Pack and can be found at http://www.ultimaterealismpack.weebly.com.

For AI aircraft, the folks at Apha-India Group.net have started native FSX conversions of AI aircraft. Some military and and some civilian. Look for the section called "P3Dv4 compatible AI models". And the great developers here are working hard to bring things to life in P3Dv4 as well. It's just going to take some time as it involves all new coding.

You may have already found out, but only "native" FSX aircraft and AI aircraft work in V4. I have not found a port-over vehicle yet that will. Someone may have a different opinion on this.

I hope this helps get you started.

Cheers,
Reggie

[Joseph29]

Thanks Reggie.

I have another question. What folder do waypoint files go in?

[Greg]

Anywhere you want.

You'll probably have noticed that the "Addon Scenery" folder is gone. It's actually been gone since v3. LM wants scenery developers to install scenery outside the main P3D main folder. It makes updating P3D much easier.

I have made an addon scenery folder on the same drive as P3D but outside the P3D folder. I called it "P3D Scenery". In this folder I have several subfolders for my scenery addons and "MAIW Waypoints" is one of them. This folder then has a "scenery" subfolder with the waypoint bgl's. There's no need for a "texture" subfolder in this case.

Then you simply add the "MAIW Waypoints" folder to your scenery library. That's it.

[Joseph29]

Thanks Greg, I did not know that about the Addon Scenery folder. I installed my first P3D scenery last night (Lakenheath) and I made a Addon Scenery folder (put it inside the main P3D folder) and put the Lakenheath scenery in there. I do have a folder in the Windows 10 documents folder named Prepar3D v4 Add-ons (it was put there when I installed P3D). I guess that is where the Lakenheath scenery should have gone.

About the waypoints. Will it work if I make a scenery folder inside the Prepar3D v4 Add-ons folder I mentioned above and put the waypoints in there?

Edit: there is a folder named Prepar3D v4 Files. I am going to try put the waypoints in there.

[Greg]

"Prepar3D v4 Files" in the Documents folder is an option, but personally I have a separate SSD for P3D and I want to keep my C: drive for Windows only. If I had to move all my scenery to the Documents folder then my C: would be too small.

The "Prepar3D v4 Add-ons" folder is new in v4 and goes with a new add-on installation philosophy from LM. It works with xml files for so-called add-on packages. If you want to learn more about it, I suggest reading the v4 SDK documentation (go to "SDK" -> "Add-ons"). There are also a couple of threads about it on the AIG forums.

[Joseph29]

"Prepar3D v4 Files" in the Documents folder is an option, but personally I have a separate SSD for P3D and I want to keep my C: drive for Windows only. If I had to move all my scenery to the Documents folder then my C: would be too small.

The "Prepar3D v4 Add-ons" folder is new in v4 and goes with a new add-on installation philosophy from LM. It works with xml files for so-called add-on packages. If you want to learn more about it, I suggest reading the v4 SDK documentation (go to "SDK" -> "Add-ons"). There are also a couple of threads about it on the AIG forums.

Thanks Greg. I will just do what you suggest and make a P3D Addon Scenery folder on the same drive as P3D but outside the P3D folder. And I will do what you did with the waypoints.

[Greg]

You'll see that it pays off later. Unlike FS9 and FSX, P3D is a living product and gets regular updates and patches. The less stuff there's in the main P3D folder, the easier it is to update.

[Joecoastie]

Can you put Sim Objects outside also, after changing the SimObjects path, similar to FSX ?

[Main]
User Objects=Airplane, Helicopter
SimObjectPaths.0=SimObjects\AI Aircraft
SimObjectPaths.1=SimObjects\Airplanes
SimObjectPaths.2=SimObjects\Rotorcraft
SimObjectPaths.3=SimObjects\GroundVehicles
SimObjectPaths.4=SimObjects\Boats
SimObjectPaths.5=SimObjects\Animals
SimObjectPaths.6=SimObjects\Misc

Joe