Classic British Flight Sim

I'm suffering huge frustration at the moment, over the controls.

I have 5 controllers set up for each of my flight sims, so it takes some doing to get everything set up just how I want it. That's why I like having the option to save configurations. DCS World is excellent at this.

Prepar3D isn't!

I saved the assignments for my 3 'button' controllers and my G940 HOTAS to an xml file, as is recommended for P3D. But now I want to import them after the reinstall, it doesn't want to know. It goes through the motions - to the point where my joystick twitches as the assignment xml is imported - but actually, nothing changes from the default config.

So I thought I'd be clever and replace the "Standard" xml with the one I'd exported for my controllers and then simply set P3D to the default config.

Nope. Doesn't work with that, either.

So, having spent an hour trying to sort that out, I can now look forward to about an hour to 90minutes actually manually configuring it all again tomorrow. In fact, double that, as I also need to do it for my Thrustmaster HOTAS, too (as a back-up) - as that xml also won't install.

I think P3DV2 has lots of potential and they are working on it, but since my graphics card upgrade at Christmas, FSX has been largely flawless and that's were I'm doing my flying at the moment. I'd never have upgraded the card for FSX, but just did it for P3D, however I wish id done it earlier for FSX.

Funny you should say that - when I did my last major upgrade, 3 years ago, I expected it to make a big difference to FSX, but was very disappointed when the sim struggled in the same areas it had with the old kit.

I'm not saying it ran poorly - I have been very lucky with FSX in that I've never had any major performance issues with it. But there was no noticable improvement in performance at all, despite a more powerful, quad-core cpu and a much better graphics card (E6850 and HD4870 to i5 2500k and GTX560Ti) which showed huge improvements with everything else I did with it.

I've got FSX installed and running, too, now, so I'll see how well it does with the new card and extra RAM (though the cpu is running slower, as my new MoBo isn't as good an overclocker as the last one).

Im still flying in FSX atm due to the SLI side of things. I really like P3D looks but it doesnt run well on one card compaired to FSX on both... Im going to hold out upgrading the GFX card to the Asus 4gb 770 untill after the SLI version comes out.

I refuse to let this thing wind me up!

Well, okay, maybe just a little bit...

I've spent the day so far, after doing the same all yesterday evening, trying to get P3Dv2 to accept my controller inputs. It just didn't want to know. I've tried moving and editing xml files, config files, pulling my hair out - not enough of it already - and generally cursing extremely loudly at my pooter screen. Even my wife knew what to expect, as soon as I mentioned "that ******** controller set-up in P3D" - she remembers from last time.

It's not that I have to set everything up from scratch, now for the fourth time in less than two months, I don't mind that. It's that, for some arcane reason P3D just will not recognise certain buttons on my MFDs.

Doesn't happen with my BU0836X, doesn't happen with my G940 or my Warthog HOTAS. Only with those blasted Thrustmaster Cougar MFD bezels. All they are is 28 buttons on a controller - so what's the problem?

I want "Carb Heat" on button 2 - but regardless whether I select "New Assignment" or "Change Asssignment", it won't recognise me pressing button 2. I press button 11 - yippee! it accepts button 11. But I don't want to use button 11 - I have made up "MFD-style" title cards for my controllers, and button 11 is meant to be "Aircraft Labels tog". So I go to Aircraft Labels tog in the control options and select that, then press button 11.

Nothing.

So I press button 2 - ah, there it is! Are you freakin' kidding me??!!! I think the P3D devs are having a big laugh at all the sim enthusiasts around the world, pulling their hair out and grinding their teeth away as they try to configure their control assignments.

So, after years of 'making do' in FSX, and persuading myself continually that I can manage without it, thank you, today Lockheed Martin finally put some more money in the pocket of one Pete Dowson as I finally gave in and bought myself a registration for FSUIPC4.

It'd better be good!

(PS - I am actually laughing as I write and read this - so please take it in that way)

Yourll find FSUIPC better than FSX controller options... Just dont forget to remove all the control axis/button assignments that you dont need.

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P3D V2.1 patch is now available.

Cheers for the hu George. Unfortunately I sitting in a no expense spared Travel Inn in London at the moment, but I'll pick it up in the next few days. How big is the patch?

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133Mb. Downloaded but will install it tomorrow.

I didn't delete the recommended files but installed the patch.

No problems