Project Magenta: Poorly Documented

[N242AM]

I have no idea what IS provided in the PMRJ as opposed to what the real displays offer.

One way to get an idea of what is provided is to download the documentation file from the PM site. The Key Command section explains much.

From memory, I believe all the PM software is included in the one doc file.

Also, I seem to recall that there is no difference in the Private vs Commercial versions. Both are identical. The Commercial License just gives you better (?) technical support.

[Kennair]

As mentioned earlier, all the PM suites can be downloaded and run with full functionality. They are time limited to about 20min and apart from a couple of interruption messages every 5min or so, it works fully.

I had a go at both the Boeing and the RJ software after hearing lots of complaints about the unfinished products, and while this may be true (I don't profess to have tested everything), I must say it is very sweet. Very easy to setup and very smooth graphics even at large scale. I can see why these guys have little rival currently.

As a matter of interest I also tried demo's of FSXpand and Flight Deck Software. FSXPand was a pain to get going and I eventually gave up due to the incredibly slow response to any configuration changes. Perhaps my lack of understanding but never the less not easy to work with. Graphics weren't as good either. Flight Deck Software proved similiarly tricky to configure and it also proved less flexible with gauge placement. I also couldn't get the full EHSI to show up. All these problems could well have been due to my lack of experience with the software but I must say I had no problem getting PM up and running nor making gauge changes afterward. Very intuitive. I followed the instructions in the associated manuals in all case and while I found all the manuals lacking to varying degrees, getting one working while others didn't is indicative of the effectiveness of the manual. I would liked to have tried the Ellie Avionics packages also but they don't appear to offer demo versions, and I wasn't about to shell out $60 just for the exercise!

The cost of each package of course sets them apart (although the FDS packages aren't all that much cheaper than PM). I am looking at a viable RJ package also, and would seriously consider the PM version (particularly considering there is NO alternative!). It would be nice to have a little faster response to updates and fixes however.

Just my thoughts,

Ken.

[XOrionFE]

I guess I should expand a little also.

I love the ease of use of PMRJ. I have 5 instances of it running on one computer for various displays. In addition I also own PM GAIFR which is pretty awesome. I actually run an instance of GAIFR for my standby guages on my Learjet 45 pit. Speed is great. Ease of use is great. Very intuitive to modify and adjust size, position, etc.

Back to the RJ though, you dont have a bunch of pages you can cycle through like the real thing. You could not emulate all of the PFD/ND button functions in a real learjet for instance. I have the Friendly Panels Learjet and the panels are awesome. However, would be a pain to try to run with any performance using multiple monitors on a single PC. I tried that before giving in and purchasing PMRJ. So in a nutshell, PMRJ offers the best ease of use and performance and looks almost perfect but does lack the functionality found in real panels (unless I have completely and blindly missed something of course).

Scott

[Kennair]

Yes you bring up a very important point Scott and one that is central to purchasing a package such as PM, and that is the speed increase it releases on your main FS PC. I found when testing the PM gauges with each panel I turned off (and there were only two, but fairly complex) I gained an extra 7 to 10 FPS in performance. In high detail airports this resulted in the difference between stuttery movement and smooth realism.

Ken.