Requested Features and Enhancements Implemented in Prepar3D v2.3

At a very high level, the Prepar3D v2.3 update brings many bug fixes, performance and stutter improvements, as well as several requested features and enhancements to both the core platform as well as the SimDirector mission creation and virtual instruction suite.

The Prepar3D v2.3 update highlights include:

Dozens of rendering and performance optimizations and updates
The inclusion of the v2.2 'hotfix' that caused the Flight Planner to crash
Several new features in the multiplayer system
An update to the 'ultra' 3D water libraries that increase immersion and realism while improving performance
A new panel serialization feature that saves the state of your panels and gauges when you save a flight or mission, so that you can resume training in the same conditions that you left with
Three new tutorial missions that highlight the flexibility and power of SimDirector as a virtual instruction tool
Several new updates to SimDirector to further it's position as the industry leading desktop virtual instruction suite

Reference the full listing of performance improvements, fixes, and requested enhancements broken out below.

Three new SimDirector Virtual Instruction Sample Missions Added

Learn how to properly start up and run through the pre-flight checklist of the Bonanza A36
Next test your abilities with a timed and graded exercise of the A36 startup procedures
Finally, learn how to taxi, takeoff and land with assistance from the Prepar3D SimDirector Virtual Instructor

General Platform Updates

Added a new panel (.PNL) file that is saved when a mission saves. This allows users to save their vehicle's gauge and panel states and settings and is transferable between workstations
Fixed an issue with the value being written to the MUTE_ON_LOST_FOCUS variable in the Prepar3D configuration file

Rendering and Performance Updates

Updated 3D water and terrain and improved performance
Added new higher-resolution textures to the 3D water as well as sea foam
Optimized GPU particles for higher visual performance
Added more show/hide options to camera definitions
Fixed an issue where the Render to Texture (RTT) would disappear after closing and reopening 2D panels
Fixed an issue where specular maps for buildings could become corrupted
Fixed an issue where airport parking detail markings could float off the ground
Fixed a rendering issue related to the context menu causing 3D water not to render
Fixed an issue where ultra water was not updating in certain conditions on AMD video cards
Fixed an issue where anisotropic filter would not respect user configuration settings
Fixed an issue that caused boat wakes to be placed above the water surface
Fixed an issue where the TextureMaxLoad configuration variable was not being respected
Fixed an issue where some library object effects would not appear correctly
Fixed issues with camera views becoming motionless
Fixed cases where attached effects rendered incorrectly in virtual cockpit views
Fixed an issue where particle effects would occasionally render with the wrong texture
Fixed issues relating to scenery objects disappearing across a multiple monitor environment
Improved clouds near camera to make them look more volumetric
Added functionality to allow more than one window plug-in for add-ons
Added bathymetry support to GPU (tessellated) terrain
Fixed an issue where water textures would pop when changing altitudes
Fixed Sea-Tac environment buildings that were covered with environment maps
Fixed several issues with trees rendering on multiple video cards
Fixed the BGL line list and point list from crashing AI aircraft.

Lighting and Shadows

Improved performance and speed with changing the shadow settings
Created consistent lights on aircraft
Enhanced performance related to cloud shadows
Fixed an issue where the lighting page would sometimes display incorrect data
Optimized lighting at airports that improved performance
Improved stability issues with HDR luminance
Fixed an issue where lighting on 3rd party aircraft carriers would not display
Fixed an issue where clouds and weather would not appear on first flight loads
Fixed an issue with shadows being cast on objects that were set to be invisible
Fixed an issue where the shadowing of the sun and moon was broken at dawn or dusk
Added visibility support for cloud reflections
Fixed an issue where landing lights could draw behind clouds
Fixed an issue where airports below sea level could have their clouds appear black
Fixed an issue with light scaling at high zoom levels
Made PreFS9 AI aircraft now cast shadows as model type

Radar

Fixed an issue where Air to Ground radar's cursor would not correlate exactly with the radar image
Fixed radar issues relating to target range and zoom level precision
Fixed an issue where airport surfaces and runways would show up bright on the radar

User Interface and Controls

Fixed an issue where when resetting the flight, locked spot cameras could appear to be much closer to the user vehicle
Consolidated temporary files in the User AppData that is deleted on shutdown and startup
Fixed an issue where loading Prepar3D with a controller connected would reset saved views
Fixed an issue where joystick control and button assignments would not register properly
Fixed an issue where double-clicking an airport from the Select Airport screen would not work consistently
Fixed an issue where drop down menus did not always appear while spanning across multiple monitors
Fixed an issue where control setting changes would not be saved when changing modes, such as entering multiplayer
Fixed an issue where labels would pop when new objects were created
Fixed an issue where if Prepar3D was set to full-screen, the window would span across all available monitors upon restart
Fixed an issue where searching in the Select Vehicle screen would not display all available options

Multiplayer

Enhanced functionality of shared cockpit
Improved overall functionality and capability of the multiplayer UI
Added functionality to allow checkpoints during multiplayer missions. Users will be able to select roles at a checkpoint and load in a synchronized state
Renamed Scoring Categories to Entity List since it now holds additional multiplayer player names and container titles
Fixed an issue with switching roles or vehicles in multiplayer sessions
Fixed an issue with multiplayer panel serialization
Fixed an issue where missions were not being cleared when selecting Free Flight mode
Removed duplicate data that displayed in the multiplayer UI
Fixed an issue where multiplayer incorrectly swapped SimObjects of different categories
Fixed an issue where default fake airport objects would cause a crash during multiplayer sessions

Professional Plus Weapons Capabilities

Fixed an issue where the time on rail property is not respected when a missile was guided
Fixed an issue where buildings and trees were unable to be targeted via mouse clicks
Improved performance issues with the first weapon hit
Fixed an issue where weapons hitting auto generated buildings do not trigger a hit effect
Fixed an issue where the positioning of weapons would be incorrect when the aircraft loaded
Fixed an issue where weapons would not fire when first loading a mission
Fixed an issue that would not allow weapons to fire immediately after reloading
Fixed simulation variable issues

Flight Recording and Playback

Fixed an issue where "Reset Weapons" did not work correctly in the flight recorder
Fixed an audio issue with engine sounds during playback
Improved speed and functionality of the load recording screen
Improved overall performance with playing back multiple AI objects
Improved flight segment recording and playback performance
Fixed an issue where the time preview window would not automatically close when starting a new recording

SimDirector

Updated general SimDirector UI with new options and appearance
Overall performance improvements when loading large missions
Several improvements and enhancements to object interaction in the mission visualization window
Added capability to tab through mission objects, scenario file editor, catalog, and visualization
Added extra validation capability to improve mission creation experience
Added capability to save and load missions in all three SimDirector modes
Added a prompt that asks to save before exiting
Added the ability to create focal points on 2D panels
Improved zooming capability while using the Mission Visualization window
Fixed an issue where play animation actions would not work with Mobile Scenery objects
Fixed an issue where recording a new flight segment while in SimDirector would continue to record while you exit SimDirector
Enabled the settings menu during Flight Instructor Mode that allows you to enable and disable failures while recording flight segments
Allowed the start and end times for flight recordings to be automatically set when a (Flight Segment Recording) FSR is selected
Fixed an issue where AirplanePlaybackAI would not be resumed when saving during flight recording playback
Fixed an issue with renaming Virtual Instruction sessions
Fixed an issue where the conditional logic operator could change when switching modes
Fixed an issue where actions were being bidirectionally referenced and added a validation warning to help further clarify this issue
Added capability to reorder references in any object reference list
Fixed an issue with the main Prepar3D window resizing incorrectly when exiting SimDirector
Fixed an issue with the simulation rate slider not being in sync with the simulation
Fixed an issue where some invalid property data would save in your mission if changed in SimDirector
Improved Flight Recording graph capabilities and performance
Fixed an issue with setting the pitch, bank, and heading of objects
Added sorting to the comprehensive failures list in a FailureAction
Improved performance with loading a large amount of Flight Recordings and Flight Segments
Fixed an issue with centering after adding and removing mission objects
Added extra editing options for recording options in Virtual Instructor
Added abilities to enable and disable focal point and view change properties
Added a mission state status in the status bar
Updated the reset mission option to include drop down to select which kind of reset the user wants
Updated logical conditions to ensure correct windows are enabled and disabled at the correct points
Added a settings file to the SimDirector options file
Added specific settings to ensure Virtual Instructor options persist
Added the zoombox as default when entering Mission Visualization
Fixed errors in controls, mouse clicks, and scroll wheel
Fixed maximization issues upon startup
Fixed OnScreenText position offsetting error
Fixed an issue where creating a new scenario while in a mission does not reset the mission state
Fixed several mouse scroll and dragging issues

SDK and SimConnect Updates

Fixed flickering issues when changing weather through SimConnect, most noticeable when using 3rd party weather add-ons
Fixed an issue with the METAR string of temperature without altitude not setting correctly
Fixed an issue with the SimConnect_ChangeVehicleWithExternalSim that prevented legacy ExternalSim simulations from working

Resolved the Following Crashes that Could Occur

Fixed a crash when entering SimDirector when a Flight Segment is playing in Prepar3D
Fixed a crash that occurred in SimDirector when deleting objects with the same name
Fixed a crash in SimDirector that would occur when un-grouping a large number of objects
Fixed a crash in SimDirector with ViewChangeAction on exit
Fixed a crash that would happen when using a vehicle that implements HelicopterAIService

Learning Center Documentation Updates and Additions

Added extra documentation relating to Air Traffic Control
Updated and improved SimDirector tutorial documentation
Fixed attachments.cfg in the Learning Center

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