Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

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robains
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Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by robains »

I didn't think I'd ever create a topic like this for an A2A product.

Some of the issues:

1. VC textures are very low res and poor quality
2. PBR implementation seems very flat
3. Modeling quality of control elements in the VC doesn't feel textured nor well integrated (too low poly count)
4. Hand held radio is a 2D panel, aren't these usually clipped to cub interior (often attached to back of front seat along with a GPS)?
5. The cub j-3 has many variations of panels/gauges, I didn't see any variance (all the same)?
6. No glass gauge reflection

Image

Sorry to be negative, but at $50 I had higher expectations.

Cheers, Rob.
Image

wothan
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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by wothan »

I don´t think the "new" Piper Cub is a direct portover from FSX, but rather an enhancement of the old one, adding PBR.
Personally I´m not disappointed, since I did not expect anything new, except the inclusion of PBR and raindrops on the windschield.
When I like to do basic flying, I turn to A2A Aircraft, cause A2A "basic" flying means "complex" procedures.

MarcE
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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by MarcE »

I agree on the low resolution textures, at least regarding the gauges. In VR they are not readable and a 4k set of at least the gauges would be great, the Cub is so meant to be flown in VR. But all in all I absolutely love the plane. And it's not 50$. It's 30$. For that reason.

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Ron Attwood
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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by Ron Attwood »

MarcE wrote: 10 Jan 2020, 18:03 I agree on the low resolution textures, at least regarding the gauges. In VR they are not readable and a 4k set of at least the gauges would be great, the Cub is so meant to be flown in VR. But all in all I absolutely love the plane. And it's not 50$. It's 30$. For that reason.
I can't complain, with 43 miles(or whatever)discount, it cost me £20. As for $50, it does cost that if you bought the 'Professional' model. Having said I can't complain, I do have a bit of a niggle. The PBR thing makes the paintwork, at least in the yellow one, look like satin. Maybe it's a Cub owner with a load of cash to spare! :)
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curtis72561
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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by curtis72561 »

Ron Attwood wrote: 10 Jan 2020, 19:18
MarcE wrote: 10 Jan 2020, 18:03 I agree on the low resolution textures, at least regarding the gauges. In VR they are not readable and a 4k set of at least the gauges would be great, the Cub is so meant to be flown in VR. But all in all I absolutely love the plane. And it's not 50$. It's 30$. For that reason.
I can't complain, with 43 miles(or whatever)discount, it cost me £20. As for $50, it does cost that if you bought the 'Professional' model. Having said I can't complain, I do have a bit of a niggle. The PBR thing makes the paintwork, at least in the yellow one, look like satin. Maybe it's a Cub owner with a load of cash to spare! :)
Yes with my miles I bought it for $13.00 US. I'm happy with it.
Beeachcraft V35 Bonanza, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Cessna C-172 Skyhawk, Cessna C-182 Skylane, Curtis P-40, North American P-51D Mustang Civilian
North American AT6 Texan, Piper PA-28 Cherokee, Piper PA-24 Comanche, Piper J-3 Cub, Supermarine Spitfire

MarcE
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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by MarcE »

As for $50, it does cost that if you bought the 'Professional' model.
Well... yeaaaah... riiiggghht.. ;)

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Ron Attwood
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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by Ron Attwood »

MarcE wrote: 11 Jan 2020, 07:00
As for $50, it does cost that if you bought the 'Professional' model.
Well... yeaaaah... riiiggghht.. ;)
:D
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Nick - A2A
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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by Nick - A2A »

Rob,

Thanks for the comments - we do our best to take on board feedback whether it's good or bad.

The original Accu-Sim J-3 Cub for FSX was released more than 10 years ago and we've received a lot of requests from customers to make a version for P3Dv4 available. However, now wasn't the right time for us to make a completely new "built from scratch" version of the Cub.

Instead, we chose to adapt the existing version with PBR models and textures and we upgraded various aspects of the 3D model when doing so. For examples of bits which have been completely remodelled, take a look at things like the seats, the magneto switch, the fuel tank, and the wire clip for holding the door on the underside of the right wing. The pilot and passenger 3D models have also been completely redone.

The flight dynamics have had a bit of an overhaul too, and there have been a few other "under the hood" changes. However, the J-3 for P3Dv4 is essentially an upgrade of an older Accu-Sim product which has its own cult following and not a brand new one. "Heidi" is still a unique feature of the Cub—and one we're really proud of—even 10 years later, but because the product doesn't include some of the latest Accu-Sim features such as a maintenance hangar and interactive walkaround, we decided to price it at around 40% less than other "core Accu-Sim" aircraft in the A2A fleet.

When you say "VC textures are very low res and poor quality" it's worth pointing out that they do include mipmaps, so please check that your global texture resolution is set to "Ultra 4096x4096". The gauges themselves should show in rather high resolution as the pics in the manual show. As for the PBR implementation, bear in mind that the Cub is mostly covered in painted synthetic fabric, so a kind of "flat" look is normal for the fuselage, wings, tail and cockpit lining.

Yep, no cockpit instrument variations (other than different colours) I'm afraid, but that's always been the case with this product. Including a 3D model of a handheld radio is actually a pretty good idea, and it's certainly not impossible that we'll add more features with future updates.

Cheers,
Nick
A2A Simulations Inc.

CV60
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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by CV60 »

Nick-I'm very happy with the work A2A did on the Cub. Yes, it would have been nice to have more bells and whistles. But I really wanted a Cub with an accurate flight model for P3d4. Since my FSX imploded it was either your release, or nothing, as the A2A product is the only J-3 that has an accurate flight model. Consequentially, for us "low and slow" flyers, it is the only game in town. In terms of a business decision, you have produced an entry-level aircraft to your line up with an attractive entry price for the consumer. It is how many consumers will be introduced to your product line. Thanks for listening to the soulful caterwauling of myself and others in the community in making this aircraft available again.

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Nick - A2A
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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by Nick - A2A »

MarcE wrote: 10 Jan 2020, 18:03 I agree on the low resolution textures, at least regarding the gauges. In VR they are not readable and a 4k set of at least the gauges would be great, the Cub is so meant to be flown in VR. But all in all I absolutely love the plane. And it's not 50$. It's 30$. For that reason.
Hi Marc,

Just to chime in on your post, I wonder if the mipmaps are the culprit here? We can certainly look at making a non-mipmapped set of textures available, but there's always a trade-off between shimmering textures and blurriness, especially in VR as I understand it.

Also worth checking global texture resolution in the P3D graphics settings too.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words and glad you're enjoying the Cub.

Cheers,
Nick

P.S. Thanks too CV60!
A2A Simulations Inc.

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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by MarcE »

Nick - A2A wrote: 12 Jan 2020, 07:19
MarcE wrote: 10 Jan 2020, 18:03 I agree on the low resolution textures, at least regarding the gauges. In VR they are not readable and a 4k set of at least the gauges would be great, the Cub is so meant to be flown in VR. But all in all I absolutely love the plane. And it's not 50$. It's 30$. For that reason.
Hi Marc,

Just to chime in on your post, I wonder if the mipmaps are the culprit here? We can certainly look at making a non-mipmapped set of textures available, but there's always a trade-off between shimmering textures and blurriness, especially in VR as I understand it.

Also worth checking global texture resolution in the P3D graphics settings too.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words and glad you're enjoying the Cub.

Cheers,
Nick

P.S. Thanks too CV60!
Hi Nick,

I have the no-mipmap-textures for the Bonanza and see no strange effects in VR. In the Cub everything is really sharp in VR except the gauges, that are absolutely not readable from the back seat. However I don‘t know if it‘s possible to change that on your side as the Rift doesn‘t have the best resolution. In normal 4k everything looks beautiful.

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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by Hook »

Nick,

If you do include a 3D handheld radio in the cockpit, please make it optional. I would prefer the cockpit to be as clean as possible and I avoid using the radio when I can. Also, while I really prefer having a clock (pocketwatch actually) as a 2D panel, I'd rather not see it as a 3D object in the cockpit.

Thanks,
Hook

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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by CV60 »

Hook wrote: 12 Jan 2020, 11:30 Nick,

If you do include a 3D handheld radio in the cockpit, please make it optional. I would prefer the cockpit to be as clean as possible and I avoid using the radio when I can. Also, while I really prefer having a clock (pocketwatch actually) as a 2D panel, I'd rather not see it as a 3D object in the cockpit.

Thanks,
Hook
Yeah, a clock or stopwatch would be nice. I use a real stopwatch to time my legs, but a virtual one would be nice.

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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by Hook »

When I'm actually timing my legs I use a West Bend digital kitchen timer, just like real pilots do. :D Well, at least the last time I went flying that's what the pilot used. I had an on screen stopwatch at one time long ago but didn't care for it, preferring the real world digital timer.

I like having an analog clock on the Shift-9 display. The in-sim time might not be the same as the real world clock I use, and it updates according to the time zones. If I have to pause the sim the on screen clock still has the correct time when I go back to the sim.

I currently don't bother to accurately time my legs in the Cub. An eyeball estimate of the time to the nearest 5 minutes is close enough for this type of navigation. On my previous flight, neither Active Sky nor Skyvector gave me anything close to my actual times. I estimated using distance and 20 knots of headwind... Skyvector said the wind was higher than my airspeed. :D

Having an airspeed very close to one nautical mile per minute makes time estimates with winds easy to do in my head.

Hook

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Re: Disappointed with the Cub for P3DV4

Post by bladerunner900 »

Yeah. Mipmaps. The bane of all textures IMO. I could see this gripe coming from day one with the PBR textures. Users have been spoilt with the older ones from A2A, which did not have them. Meaning that without knowing, the highest resolution was always on show no matter how low the setting in-sim. Now, users have to make an informed choice.

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