Tower!3D Pro or Tower!2011 SE ?

[Crystal Noir]

Hi, 
I wonder if there is a something that makes Tower!3D Pro better than Tower!2011 SE ? What is the differences ? I know that this Tower!3D Pro is in 3D but after what make this game better ?
I ask this because I love simulator and I never try one like this yet and I am totaly a newbie,  but I don't know if I should start with the 2011 SE or Tower!3D Pro that is some way expensive...

Thank you for your help, 

(PS : Sorry for my english).

[Methos]

Hey,

 

I guess it depends on what you're looking for.  I was thoroughly satisfied with 2011 .. put in MANY hours at KBOS with my own traffic file that I painstakingly made 1 flight at a time from the real schedule.  (You don't have to do that .. I'm just a masochist.  :p )  Tower!3D Pro on the other hand is not just 3D but more realistic in the commands that you give.  For example, in 2011 you might say, "Delta 275 cleared for takeoff" whereas in in 3D Pro you can say, "Delta 275 wind is 240 at 5 knots, runway 27 right cleared for takeoff."  It also "helps you out" by drawing the taxi path right to the gate/runway on the ADIRS so you know exactly how they are going to get there.  This is especially helpful when taxiing to gates, as in 2011 you only know the terminal if you look in the text file and see what airlines are assigned where.  In 3D Pro you see right on the screen which specific gate they want.

 

Another nice thing about 2011 is that it's been out for a while so there are MANY addon airports.  There's also an editor so you can make your own or modify existing ones.  For example, at KBOS I edited the gates so instead of having say, terminal A set for Delta, Delta Connection and Southwest, I split it into terminal_a_delta, terminal_a_southwest, etc. so they would go to EXACTLY and ONLY the gates they're supposed to.  I'm told there will be no such editor for 3D Pro because of the complexity of this version.

 

So again, depends on what you're looking for.  My opinion, 3D Pro is more realistic and more immersive.  2011 has more options in terms of more airports and maybe more beginner oriented because of the simplified commands.  Enjoy!

 

~ John

[Crystal Noir]

Thank you for your reply. I see a little bit more the differences. The fact is that I am a beginner with ATC. So 3D Pro is more realistic but may be to much more complex for a beginner like me to start with ?

May be I should try 2011 Se first so ? In the other hand, 2011 SE misses some informations (we don't know in the ADIR what taxiway's name (A, B, C....). I saw that some players have them, don't know how.

As a beginner, perhaps I should try 2011 SE first...It's a deal, don't know yet.

[Avwriter]

3DPro is more complex (more commands available), but it is not really any harder to play - there is just more to do if you want to.  You do not have to use the more complex commands, but they are there if you decide to use them later on.  The actual basic game play between the two is very similar, but 3DPro gives you something to grow into over time.  Let me put it this way, if you buy Tower2011 and really like it, then you will eventually want to get Tower3D Pro later on.  Both are highly mod-able; in fact Tower2011 is slightly more mod-able.  The only one of these games that I would steer you away from is the basic version of Tower3D, as there is little advantage to it over Tower2011 except for the 3D view.  Let's break things down:

 

Tower2011:  Top-down 2D view, simple commands, but they must be typed (or hotkeys assigned) if you are not using voice recognition, the radar does not have the names of taxiways on and you will need an airport diagram nearby to control effectively, more add-on airports available right now, it is an old product so most bugs are worked out and it will run well even on low-end computers but you can expect fewer add-on ans updates in the future.  Eventually, it will probably be phased out.

 

Tower3DPro:  3D view, simple and complex commands, button control available if (when) you are not using voice recognition, the taxiways are labels right on the radar display so no airport diagram is needed, it is a new product so there are still a few growing pains and bug that are being solved, and only a couple of add-on airports available right now but more are coming soon.  It likely has a longer future ahead of it.  The voice recognition is better.  The visuals are more detailed - the 3D makes a big difference; things like pushback, go-arounds, and the planes themselves are handled more intricately and are more fun to watch.  To put it simply, it is more immersive.

[Methos]

You can find just about any airport map by going to https://www.airnav.com/airports/ and entering the IATA or ICAO of the airport you want.  Scroll down the page and on the right, there is (in MOST cases) a .pdf you can download that has the airport map with all taxiways labeled.  Come to think of it, I think they were included with 2011.

 

You can also check youtube for videos.  There aren't a lot out there with voice recognition (I just posted a short series with 3D Pro, http://forum.simflight.com/topic/83307-tower3d-pro-video-showcasing-voice-recogntion/ - cheap plug.  Lol - and I know Jeff Favignano has several videos using 2011).  That should give you a pretty good idea what it's like.  And you can always adjust the amount of traffic in each version so if it's too much, just dial it back.  I WILL say that 100% REAL traffic at KLAX in 3D Pro is FAR more intense than the same in 2011.

 

[Crystal Noir]

That's why I posted this here, it's because I watch a lot of videos and I don't know what to think. I find the Tower3D! Pro version a little expensive for me. To reply it seems (that I've read from official answer somewhere) that the SE version of 2011 has the improvements of the voice recognition in the 3D Pro version. To complete my research, I've seen that the manual of 2011 is more detailed (a good tutorial at start of the documentation on St Thomas). After it's pretty the same things. A discount should be cool for this pro version.

To say the right, I bought the first version of the 3D version, but refund it because of bugs and frustration (no voices commands). Now I have two difference versions with and a choice to make. If the price of thisi 3D pro version was cheaper may be the choice should have been more easy.

However, I am a beginner (or a noob lol), do you think the 3D pro version could be ok to learn or may be it will be too complex for a first contact ? (want to use the voice command that's why I talked only about pro and 2011 SE.

(sorry for my english).

Edited May 13, 2017 by Crystal Noir

[Dan1994]

On Sat May 13 2017 at 2:56 PM, Avwriter said:

3DPro is more complex (more commands available), but it is not really any harder to play - there is just more to do if you want to.  You do not have to use the more complex commands, but they are there if you decide to use them later on.  The actual basic game play between the two is very similar, but 3DPro gives you something to grow into over time.  Let me put it this way, if you buy Tower2011 and really like it, then you will eventually want to get Tower3D Pro later on.  Both are highly mod-able; in fact Tower2011 is slightly more mod-able.  The only one of these games that I would steer you away from is the basic version of Tower3D, as there is little advantage to it over Tower2011 except for the 3D view.  Let's break things down:

 

Tower2011:  Top-down 2D view, simple commands, but they must be typed (or hotkeys assigned) if you are not using voice recognition, the radar does not have the names of taxiways on and you will need an airport diagram nearby to control effectively, more add-on airports available right now, it is an old product so most bugs are worked out and it will run well even on low-end computers but you can expect fewer add-on ans updates in the future.  Eventually, it will probably be phased out.

 

Tower3DPro:  3D view, simple and complex commands, button control available if (when) you are not using voice recognition, the taxiways are labels right on the radar display so no airport diagram is needed, it is a new product so there are still a few growing pains and bug that are being solved, and only a couple of add-on airports available right now but more are coming soon.  It likely has a longer future ahead of it.  The voice recognition is better.  The visuals are more detailed - the 3D makes a big difference; things like pushback, go-arounds, and the planes themselves are handled more intricately and are more fun to watch.  To put it simply, it is more immersive.

so when I play tower 2011 PHNL, the passenger terminal are all on left side of 8L/26R RUNWAY, BUT when All A/C arriving flights landing on the runway 8L it Is turn right off 8L, but it suppose to turn left and taxi to terminal, so any command and what is the command to choose the exit of the runway in tower 2011. thank you.

so this mean any command to specify a particular taxiway or direction to vacate the runway in tower 2011?

[crbascott]

Posting the same question in three different threads isn’t going to change the fact that there is no command to vacate a runway in a particular direction with Tower!2011. 

[Sky King]

On 5/13/2017 at 6:58 AM, Methos said:

You can find just about any airport map by going to https://www.airnav.com/airports/ and entering the IATA or ICAO of the airport you want.  Scroll down the page and on the right, there is (in MOST cases) a .pdf you can download that has the airport map with all taxiways labeled.  Come to think of it, I think they were included with 2011.

 

Airnav only has US airports.