Prepar3D v4.0 Features and Enhancements

Release Notes

The Prepar3D v4 release brings many exciting changes and enhancements to the platform. Prepar3D v4 completely changes the simulation landscape with a comprehensive baseline update to a 64-bit architecture. Higher resolution visuals, more objects, increased data precision, larger scenarios, and improved performance are now all possible at levels never seen before in the product's history. The sky's not the limit! Additionally, the release brings dynamic lighting, rain/snow particles, global 3D trees (SpeedTree), increased autogen draw distance, a fully reworked software development kit (SDK), new default vehicles, and an extensive list of other features and improvements.

General Platform Updates

New Features

64-bit simulation architecture
Unicode compatible
Modernized User Interface (UI) design for quick navigation and customization
Updated native virtual reality (VR) support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive
Updated vector data (coastlines, lakes, rivers, roads, rails, parks, streams and utility lines) for:
- Africa
- Middle East (Israel, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and more)
- Southeast Europe (Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Black Sea, and more)
- Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and more)
Updated custom 3D model placement in Athens, Egypt, Israel, Dubai and Hong Kong
Hundreds of new updated generic 3D model buildings in Tel Aviv and Hong Kong
Updated Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 90m digital elevation for Southeast Asia and Middle East regions
Updated native mission gauges to Scaleform
Views and panels can now be docked into any undocked view
Updated multiplayer voice chat codec - higher quality chat audio
Expanded ribbon drawing capabilities in the Navigation Visuals screen including drawing based on vehicle type and the ability to change color per category
Added video recording capability. Can be assigned to a key event in the UI.
Control Tower can now be selected in the Select Airport screen
Custom cameras can now be saved on a scenario or global level
Material temperatures - IR sensor views now react accordingly
3D trees (SpeedTree) integrated into autogen system. This feature can be toggled on and off in the UI under Options - World (Dynamic 3D Autogen Vegetation).
New 3D rain/snow system. This feature can be toggled on and off in the UI under Options - Weather (Detailed Precipitation).
Dynamic lighting support
Support for local SpeedTree wind effects
Support for higher resolution ground textures
Autogen visibility range can now be configured
Updated various textures including runways, taxiways, hangars, and terminals
Added SceneryLodOrigin and TerrainLodOrigin fields to camera definitions preventing terrain paging issues when switching between certain views.
New and updated default vehicles:
- F-22 Raptor (Updated)
- F-35A Lightning II (Updated)
- F-16A
- F-16AM
- F-16C
- Lockheed Electra 10A
- Milviz P-38L
- Sikorsky MH-60K (Updated)
- Sikorsky S-70A (Updated)
- Sikorsky UH-60A (Updated)
- Sikorsky UH-60L (Updated)
- Sikorsky UH-60M (Updated)
- Sikorsky UH-60Q (Updated)
New default avatars:
- Army Infantry
- Navy Male Blue Camouflage
- Rebel Male (1/2)
- Soldier Desert
- Soldier Jungle
- Soldier Spec Ops
- Soldier Swat
- Soldier Winter
- Arab Male Casual (1/2/3)
Steering Set controls can now be set in the UI
Added new white smoke marker particle effect

New Features (Professional Plus Only)

F-16 aircraft has weapons and countermeasures
Specific avatars have weapons
New defensive flare countermeasure
Additional advanced graphics features for low latency training devices

Fixes and Improvements

Fixed bug where window maximized state could be incorrect
Scenario versioning updated to match Prepar3D release number
Prompt to enter SimDirector and SimOperator now blacks out screen and mutes sound
Fixed bug with axis assignments on certain devices
Fixed issue with X-Grip devices reporting out of range values
Fixed bug where alt-tabbing into Prepar3D would open menu bar
Fixed bug where facility data would not display correct airport runway information
Fixed bug with avatar position after switching to an ISimObject
Improved error messages due to permissions issues
Fixed bug where selecting avatar could cause issues with camera controls
Fixed crash that could occur when having a large number of joysticks connected
Fixed performance issue when operating Fury 1500 tracking camera
Fixed issue that could prevent multiple control devices of the same type from being distinguished when using Raw Input
Made assigning key-up events more clear
Fixed multiple issues with racing scenarios
Fixed issue that could cause the enable add-on prompt from showing when uninstalling Prepar3D
Fixed mouse hit detection issues in Flight Planner UI
Fixed cases where main screen would not black out when loading bar appears
Fixed bug where main screen would render for one frame when opening UIs containing a preview window
Added search feature to Axis Controls assignment screen
Opening the context menu can now be mapped to any key instead of being hardcoded to the "Apps" key
Fixed issue where empty parking spaces were listed in the Select Airport UI
Clarified airport name searching in Select Airport UI
Reduced time to save controls from the UI and during shutdown
Fixed bug that could cause weapons attached to ISimObjects to jitter in some cases
UI screens can now be moved from any point in the window
Fixed bug where rapidly changing views could cause a crash
Fixed misaligned object highlights in the Preflight Walk Around scenario
Fixed issue that caused timestamp on the scenery.cfg to always update on startup when using add-on scenery
Fixed bug that could cause map to not update after changing airports in the Startup Screen
Fixed bug where End Scenario menu would close if the esc key was held down for too long
Active custom camera is now checked in the menu
Fixed crash that could occur when changing vehicles while interacting with the ATC system
Fixed bug that could cause flight plans to have invalid file names generated
Preview window now displays "No Preview Available" instead of being blank for objects with no external model
Preview window now has gray background and correctly renders transparent objects
Fixed crash that could occur on certain multi-touch displays with gestures disabled
Fixed issues that prevented long menu options from displaying correctly in Scaleform menu windows
Improved error handling in ISimObjects
Fixed issue where locked panels could be moved if transparent areas were clicked
Fixed bug where Kneeboard menu would not always close when pressing escape
Fixed issue where certain UI screens would stay open when crashing or resetting scenarios
Fixed issue where the loading screen would show "Playback Loading" when loading a scenario that plays a flight recording
Fixed bug where dashes in vehicle flight numbers could cause crash in the Select Vehicle screen
Fixed issue that could cause Prepar3D to run off of integrated GPUs on laptops by default
Fixed crash that could occur when using the HTC Vive on systems with multiple GPUs
Settings menu can now be accessed through the Startup Screen
Disabling controllers no longer has a default key binding
Mute on Lost Focus setting no longer requires a restart to take effect
Fixed slow search speeds in UI
Fixed bug where weather layers could be out of order if error checks were bypassed
Calibration UI now notifies user if controllers are disabled
Fixed issue causing window sizes to expand when entering full screen on Windows 10
Fixed issue that prevented mouse wheel zoom from functioning correctly in preview windows on Windows 10
Fixed issue that prevented full screen auto fill from functioning properly across multiple monitors with different resolutions
Fixed issue that caused the vehicle select screen to freeze if there were invalid characters in a vehicle's performance section
Fixed bug where time adjusted in the time preview screen would still be applied when canceled in certain cases
Fixed bug that caused other views to black out when resizing a view in full screen
Fixed bug where virtual cockpit view could still be entered on vehicles with no interior by cycling views using the keyboard
Fixed issue in add-ons UI where folder names containing a "." would be truncated
Add-on system no longer removes required entries if a load failure occurs
Fixed issue with GMT time in startup screen when changing locations
Fixed crash that could occur when reloading SimConnect based C gauges
Fixed bug where saving or resetting a scenario could be entered multiple times before finishing
Fixed jitter seen in F-35 when on runway
Default radio system no longer created in vehicles unless specified in aircraft/sim.cfg
Fixed crash that would occur when switching aircraft while using progressive taxi
Fixed issue where camera could not be panned around vehicles in spot view at high framerates
Fixed several cases where pressing Esc would not close UI windows
Fixed cockpit textures in Beech King Air 350
Fixed SpeedTree and land class specular values
Fixed bug with emitter offsets not being respected in some cases
Fixed issue that could cause attach point based particle effects to be spawned twice
Fixed terrain error that could occur when changing airports when using multiple views
Fixed bug that could prevent terrain from correctly reloading when changing weather to and from snowy conditions
Fixed bug that prevented attached effects on user vehicle from drawing correctly when dynamic lighting was off
Fixed bug that prevented attached scenery effects from resetting with the scenario
Improved handling of fog and precipitation in multiple views
Fixed issue that could cause large number of batched objects to flicker or stop drawing in certain cases
Adjusted specular values on SpeedTree trees
Removed "Terrain Detail Textures" option, this is now always enabled
Improved environment map appearance at night
Improved the appearance of curved taxiway markings
Expanded the pop-free autogen feature to include polyline buildings
Improved appearance of airport path intersections
Improved appearance of taxiway transitions
Fixed bug that could cause incorrect night shadows and cloud lighting at certain times
Improved scenery culling
Fixed issue that caused certain bridges to draw incorrectly
Added dynamic lighting to default first party aircraft
Fixed missing texture on industrial buildings
Adjusted lighting in the vehicle preview screen
Adjusted runway, taxiway, and apron reflection values
Scale of SpeedTree models is now factored in to wind effect
Fixed issue where skid marks would appear slightly above surface
Shadows now apply on reflections
Improved star visibility on high resolution displays
Fixed graphics memory leak that could occur when rapidly switching views
Fixed issue where all effects would draw even at extremely far distances
Fixed issue where attached effects would not draw if the parent object was no longer visible

Multiplayer Updates

New Features

Added avatar attach/detach support

Fixes and Improvements

Fixed issue with failure systems properly synchronizing
Fixed bug with multiplayer weapon damage after client avatar attach/detach
Fixed issues in multiplayer that could prevent Multichannel users from joining the session
Fixed bug that prevented rejoining a multiplayer session if disconnected due to timeout
Fixed issue where invalid multiplayer state could be entered when canceling while selecting a role
Fixed issues seen when creating multiplayer scenarios in Viewer Sim

SimDirector Updates

New Features

Added support for generic shape objects
AttachEffectActions can now be applied to PlacementObjects
Added Open in File Explorer button
Variables can now be referenced in OnScreenText strings

Fixes and Improvements

Fixed issue that could prevent the main Prepar3D window from reloading when leaving SimDirector
Fixed bug that could prevent exiting out of the backstage menu in SimDirector
Fixed bug where taking a screenshot would not capture the main view if a preview window was open
Fixed bug that could cause logic expressions to be clear out when modifying ScenarioVariable trigger conditions
Fixed bug where avatar could be detached when previewing a scenario
Fixed bug where incorrect camera would be used when launching SimDirector from command line without first running Prepar3D
Fixed issues with Goal objects including preventing negative values and better GroupGoal support
Fixed bug that caused the loading bar to appear in the wrong location
Fixed bug where timing for camera change actions would not be affected when changing the sim rate
EffectName custom template no longer displays or saves effect file extension
Fixed lasso selection bug in SimDirector when using high DPI settings
Fixed bug that prevented date and time from updating properly in SimDirector when changing locations in the backstage menu
Fixed bug where two objects could be created in SimDirector when drag and dropping after a double click
Fixed bug where main window would not be restored after exiting SimDirector in certain cases
Fixed bug that could prevent CylinderPathArea collision from detecting in certain cases

SimOperator Updates

New Features

Kneeboard now available
Added additional hotkeys for common SimOperator operations

Fixes and Improvements

Follow button now makes Prepar3D the active tab
Easier to correlate Player Roles and Player Names
Loading scenario now loads scenario to all clients
Fixed bug where user could spawn in an incorrect location after crashing and then rejoining a SimOperator session
Fixed bug where operator's detached avatar would show up on client machines
Fixed bug where previous aircraft's lights would stay visible after loading a scenario
Fixed several vehicle placement issues
Fixed bug where camera controls would no longer work when operator was following a player that disconnected
Fixed issue with failure systems properly synchronizing
Fixed crash that could occur when entering SimOperator with a view group active
Fixed issue where clients could spawn off of the ground

SDK and SimConnect Updates

New Features

Compiler and SDK updated to Visual Studio 2015
Scripting capabilities (Scenery/Model/Material)
Added PDK functions to draw primitive objects
Reorganized and updated SDK Documentation and samples
Avatar object collision can now be configured
Added temperature value and scripting to materials
Specific cameras can be configured to not output sound when active
Custom materials now supported for runways, taxiways, and aprons
Added PDK service for reporting plugin errors
Added IsSelectableVehicle override to Aircraft and Sim configs allowing vehicle to bypass the category based selection filter
Precipitation rate now exposed through ISimObject, Simulation, and Object variables
Added rope visual effect support to SDK
Added detail texture material scripting support including offset, rotation, blend weight, blend mode, and alpha channel support
The PDK is now accessible through the Panels SDK
Panel API now available through the PDK
Added Environment Force Service to PDK
Added IgnorePostProcess entry to camera definition to disable HDR or FXAA on a per camera basis
Added interfaces to play sounds in xml gauges using Lua
Added second UV channel in model exports and files
Exposed Final Alpha Blend material property to material scripts
Weather information now available through RPN and Lua scripts
Added UV offset property to material scripts and shaders
Update materials to support additional Detail Alpha Flags
Updated Material Scripting to support second UV Channel and new Detail Properties
Friendly names can now be added to control events

Fixes and Improvements

Improved performance of XtoMDL tool
Fixed offset bug with AttachObjectToSimObject SimConnect function
Fixed problems with error logging in XtoMDL
Now report error when passing invalid datatypes into the SimConnect RequestDataEntry::DataEqual function
Fixed bug that caused certain instances of PBH to XYZ conversions to be incorrect in external interfaces
Fixed crash and other issues that prevented the RedirectStdOutToConsole SimConnect.ini flag from properly functioning
Fixed issue that prevented the width of polyline buildings from being set in the Annotator tool
Adding menu items through SimConnect now updates the menu bar
Added Content Error Reporting for content attempting to load 32 bit dlls
Improved XtoMDL to better handle large models
Decoupled camera and window PDK interfaces
Fixed export issue in XtoMdl related to international decimal formatting
Fixed bug in VisualFX tool that prevented changes from saving from the menu
Fixed bug where RegisterProperty could generate duplicate event IDs

Multichannel Updates

New Features

Added avatar attach/detach support

Fixes and Improvements

Fixed bug that could cause view groups to load incorrectly when joining a multiplayer session using Multichannel
Fixed bug that could prevent clouds from synchronizing correctly in Multichannel
Fixed bug where attach point based particle effects could be spawned multiple times on Multichannel slaves
Fixed bug that prevented weather from syncing properly in Multichannel
Fixed SpeedTree LOD issue in Multichannel
Fixed bug that could cause Multichannel client machines to hang when changing time
Fixed crash that could occur after loading several scenarios in Multichannel

Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) Updates

New Features

Added DIS Exercise Region allowing only objects within a certain range to be processed
Added defensive flare DIS entity type
Added munition definitions for three phosphorous smoke effects

Fixes and Improvements

Fixed bug that caused avatar to sink into the ground on remote DIS clients when in death state
Clarified DIS connection settings in UI
Improved DIS performance with large numbers of entities

Default User Selectable Vehicles

Aircraft

Alabeo Extra 300s
Beech Baron 58
Beech King Air 350
Carenado A36 Bonanza
F-22 Raptor
F-35A Lightning II
Fury 1500
F-16A
F-16AM
F-16C
Lockheed C69
Lockheed Electra 10A
Lockheed L049
Maule M7260C
Milviz P-38L
Mooney Acclaim
Mooney Bravo
Piper Cub

Rotary

Robinson R22
Sikorsky MH-60K
Sikorsky S-70A
Sikorsky UH-60A
Sikorsky UH-60L
Sikorsky UH-60M
Sikorsky UH-60Q

Underwater

Submarine Ohio Class
Submersible

Avatars

Army Infantry
Civilian Male

Prepar3D v4.0 Hotfix 1

Client Fixes and Improvements

Fixed an issue in VR views that prevented dynamic lighting in the right eye
Fixed memory leak related to external views and vehicle textures
Fixed performance impact when entering and then exiting VR
Fixed text label size mismatches in VR
Corrected an issue where a scenario saved from the startup screen would not be loaded after a reset
Preventing vehicle sounds from playing during load
Fixed a crash on startup due to controllers using bad port and hub values
Added an unobtrusive watermark for developer licenses
Fix for ICAO entries in the Logbook
Added the Delete Scenario button back to the Scenario user interface
Fixed effect texture orientations being flipped (e.g. coastline waves)
Fixed the Graphics Profile Name not syncing with the correct saved graphics settings
Interface windows will no longer move behind main window when losing focus
Fixed Logbook issue that was preventing logging start/end points
Corrected various issues with the Flight Instructor user interface
Added pitch, bank, heading to the GPS broadcast capabilities for electronic flight bags
Updated various XML configuration file encodings
Corrected a commands binding error with the Steering Set key
Fixed issue preventing the vehicle preview screen from rendering in the Edit Scenario window
Changed the default textbox to ICAO for the Select Airport user interface
Fixed multiplayer crash when using Direct IP connections
No longer instantiating radios if they are not configured for an object
Fixed an issue where the vehicle preview window would not render in certain views
Fixed an issue where View Group selection would be out of sync with the context menu
Fixed scenery.cfg encoding issue after leaving the Scenery Library view
Fixed an issue where SimConnect applications were receiving the wrong event id
Fix for a crash when using index 0 with payload stations
Fixed issue related to the flag SIMCONNECT_CLIENT_DATA_PERIOD_ON_SET not working with SimConnect_RequestClientData
Fixed null terminating string issue when using RequestDataOnSimObject with ATC strings
Fixed an issue where undocking views would not immediately be processed
Fixed an issue regarding minimum temperature in the Advanced Weather view
Fixed an issue where the Scenery Library was not reporting all errors
The Select Airport view's ICAO search box is now above other search boxes
Minor layout updates to the Select Airport screen
Content error reports will now have more detailed XML parse error messages
Fixed an issue where malformed DLL.xml and EXE.xml files would cause Add-on DLL and EXE to fail to load
Fixed an issue where multiplayer settings were not correctly assigned when using the Direct Connect method
Added reverse thrust axis events
Fixed issues with certain locale settings
Traffic settings now save again in Graphics Profiles
Added exception handling for error that would occur when certain audio codecs were installed
Fixed crash that could occur when making modifications to the Scenery Library with add-on scenery
Fixed issue that caused stars to draw in the incorrect order
Added Show Only Favorites button back to Vehicle Select Screen

Content Fixes and Improvements

Corrected the clickable mouse area of the RadarGauge
Fixed the F-16 speedbrakes

Scenery Fixes and Improvements

Fixed errant river feature in ocean QMID 50,31 (West Africa)
Fixed incorrect locations of certain buildings and bridges in Instanbul

SDK Fixes and Improvements

Corrected issues with autogen Annotator building selection that would result in missed or incorrect selections
Fixed unicode issues with Traffic Toolbox
Fixed an issue where second UV channels were not correctly being exported to .X files
Fixed a crash in the Shp2Vec tool when compiling polygons with less than three points

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