Lockheed Martin – Prepar3D 6 Released

Lockheed Martin has unveiled Prepar3D 6, the latest iteration of their cutting-edge simulation platform. Prepar3D offers students and professionals a multi-domain environment where they can experience scenarios before they happen, enhancing their effectiveness and reducing response time. With Prepar3D, users can learn, test their knowledge, re-create scenarios with operational data, and experiment with different variables, all within the same immersive environment. This platform serves as a comprehensive learning lab, imparting science, technology, engineering, and math principles in an interactive and engaging manner.

One of the remarkable features of Prepar3D is its compatibility with Microsoft Flight Simulator X, while simultaneously advancing the development of Microsoft ESP™. This compatibility allows users to utilize thousands of add-ons within Prepar3D, offering endless possibilities for customization and expansion.

Prepar3D 6 caters to a wide range of learning scenarios, including vehicle procedures training, cockpit familiarization, flight planning, air traffic controller training, and emergency response preparation. As a cost-effective commercial-off-the-shelf product, Prepar3D evolves with technology, providing an up-to-date and adaptable training platform for professionals and enthusiasts alike. It’s time to elevate your training experience with Prepar3D!

Key Features of Prepar3D 6:

1. Virtual Cockpit Capabilities: Enjoy exact replications of 3D cockpits with fully interactive displays and functioning physical switches, providing an authentic training experience.
2. Enhanced Atmospherics: Bring the sky to life with user control over real-time weather, time of day, seasons, and various lighting effects. Immerse yourself in a dynamic and realistic environment.
3. Realistic Lighting: The HDR lighting system in Prepar3D 6 offers dynamic lighting and shadowing based on the time of day, ensuring a visually stunning experience for virtual cockpit, terrain, clouds, and more.
4. Adjustable Weather: Customize fog, volumetric clouds, 3D precipitation with accumulation, and wind based on weather station data, creating realistic and challenging training conditions.
5. Customizable Models: With a fully expandable vehicle library, users can create data-driven graphics and models to simulate a wide range of aircraft and vehicles.
6. Whole Earth WGS-84 Model: Prepar3D 6 incorporates over 24,000 airports, landmarks, coastlines, lakes, rivers, roads, rails, parks, streams, and utility lines based on high-quality vector data, providing exceptional realism.
7. Sensor Cameras and Views: Enhance training scenarios with night vision and infrared sensor camera colorizer options, allowing users to explore different perspectives and develop crucial skills.
8. Virtual & Mixed Reality: Seamlessly integrate with popular virtual and mixed reality headsets, offering an immersive and lifelike training experience.
9. Microsoft DirectX 12: The rendering engine in Prepar3D 6 takes full advantage of the increased performance, realism, and control provided by modern-day graphics cards.
10. Flight Planner: Create realistic scenarios by planning flights from one airport to another, selecting different types of routes and flight plan options.
11. Artificial Intelligence (AI): Experience a realistic virtual world with non-user entities, including highway vehicles, air and maritime traffic, roaming livestock, and wild animals, adding depth and authenticity to training scenarios.
12. Underwater Simulation: Coastal areas come to life with real data from the U.S. Geological Survey and accurate bathymetry data, delivering an immersive training experience both in the air and underwater.
13. Realistic Scenery: Prepar3D 6 accurately represents the urban environment with millions of square kilometers of the Earth’s surface.(12cm) content is included for specific locations.
14. Multiplayer : Train with others across the globe inin formation flying patterns, shared cockpit scenarios or joint missions. 
15. Multiple view : A single machine can output multiple views on multiple devices that can be quickly saved and loaded.
16. Air Traffic Control (ATC) : Communicating with ATC in Prepar3D mimics the way pilots and controllers communicate in the real world.
17. 3D dynamic trees and vegetation : Flora reacts to to wind and rotor wash.
18. Accurate topography : Regional specific scenery textures all around the world.
19. Third-party HW Integration : Easy and realistic hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) integration. Prepar3D is fully compatible with almost any Windows supported controller or device.
20. Hardware Agnostic : Setup of hardware across laptops, desktops and multi-monitor systems where a single baseline can be deployed across various hardware devices from a tablet to a dome.
21. Extensively configurable : Settings and options give full control on what and how Prepar3D performs and simulates to ensure optimized environments for varied uses.

Lockheed Martin has made significant updates to the license types and pricing structure for Prepar3D 6, their popular simulation platform. The Academic license has been replaced with a Personal license, allowing individuals to use Prepar3D 6 within their personal residence. The Personal license requires internet connectivity during use. For business, military, and college/university use, the Professional or Professional Plus license is still required. The prices for Prepar3D 6 licenses have been adjusted accordingly. The Personal license remains at $59.95, while the Professional license costs $350, and the Professional Plus license is priced at $2,750. Developer licenses are available for $9.99 and $50 per month for Professional and Professional Plus, respectively. Previous versions of Prepar3D will also adopt the new pricing structure upon the release of Prepar3D 6.

These updates aim to provide more flexibility and accessibility to users, expanding the user group beyond academic institutions while ensuring appropriate licensing for different user groups. Prepar3D 6 offers a comprehensive and affordable simulation experience for individuals, professionals, and developers alike, with a range of features and tools to enhance virtual training and simulation experiences. Lockheed Martin’s commitment to improving Prepar3D demonstrates their dedication to delivering a top-quality simulation platform for a wide range of users.