Today third-party developers shared development updates about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, including relevant aircraft.
We start with PMDG, which provided an update on the development of the Boeing 777 and the universal flight tablet. As usual, we don't get any dates or images, but things appear to be progressing.
I am starting with the tablet this time, which should tell you that things are getting exciting! We continue to push weekly updates to our beta team, focusing on cleaning up the v1.0 functionality and ensuring that it doesn't have any hard corners against which you can whack a shin. We have not yet signed off on a release date, but that will happen very close-in to the release date anyway. Our beta testers are in the process of error checking performance computations and we are working through a number of refinements that they have recommended. The tablet is being tested in the 700, but we are about to expand testing to the 600/800/900 as well, although in those airplanes it will largely be a matter of ensuring the performance data can be correctly parsed by the tablet- as the core functions are all the same.
In other good news, the tablet was fit into the 777 this week, and testing onboard that airplane will take place simultaneously with the normal beta process, which means the tablet will be present from day one.
Something that has been going on in the background, meanwhile- is that commencing with MSFS SU13, we **finally** have the ability for C++/WASM to communicate with the outside world like a normal C++ program (mostly) and like the script based products on the platform. This capability was locked out of the initial C++/WASM capability and it is incredibly important that we finally have this functionality- so full credit to the devs at Asobo who kept this on their radar, keeping their promise to us from three years ago that it would arrive eventually.
What does this mean for the tablet? Well- we can toss out the Voyager 1 binary parsing language that we had to design for the tablet in order to pass data between the tablet and the airplane. This has already been done in testing and works the treat. This also opens up a TON of functionality that we had in holding because the binary parsing language we had to create in order to facilitate communication between the C++/WASM airplane and the script language tablet had many many limitations. We'll be rolling those functions into the tablet starting right away- with some being implemented prior to release and others rolling out in the continual update process afterward.
All in all the tablet development team is pretty excited to hand this off to you shortly. Stay tuned.
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Work on the 777 continues to go really well. We aren't quite ready to commence beta testing on the airplane, but we have begun to talk about when that might take place. We are close.
In terms of product quality- the 777 leverages a ton of development learning that took place over the DC-6 and 737 cycles- and we think you will notice a tremendous improvement in both performance, resource utilization, visual quality and a more tightly integrated experience with the MSFS platform itself.
I know you are eager to see previews. I'm eager to be able to share them with you. It will all happen at the appropriate time!
If you want to hear more about progress on the 737 updates and miscellaneous details, you can check out the full post by CEO Robert Randazzo over at PMDG's forums.
We also hear from SimWorks Studios, specifically about the upcoming Pilatus PC-12, including a list of liveries and screenshots. It's worth mentioning that the Safari Wings livery is fictional, while the rest is from real-world models.
Yes. That includes OH-FUK and PH-ONE. They're real and their owners obviously have a sense of humor.
Fresh eyes mean bugs are getting ironed out with the PC-12. More polishing is taking place in the 3D model and the textures are receiving one more pass. Some observant viewers noticed that liveries like Tradewind and JEM lacked a metallic finish. The final texture pass has now been done and while subtle makes a big difference when viewed in sim.
We also finalized the list of release liveries:
- 4-Bladed PC-12s
- White | Cargo
- Fly7 OH-JEM | Executive
- Tradewind N881TW | Commuter
- 5-Bladed PC-12s
- White | Cargo
- Safari Wings A2-SWR | Commuter
- Fly7 HB-FVA | Executive
- Fly7 OH-DEN | Executive
- Fly7 OH-PBL | Executive
- Fly7 OH-FUK | Executive
- Private PH-ONE | Executive
The aircraft systems are receiving corrections and improvements and needless to say, a lot of bugs were discovered that were created due to fatigue.
The stick shaker & pusher were found bugged and were corrected to respond at the appropriate speeds. The shaker/pusher is a major feature to get right, as we will need it down the road on the PC-12NG and other aircraft we have planned.
On the sounds front, the 5-bladed sound set is near-finished and there's a week's worth of work left to do on the 4-bladed variant and some adjustments. We will make a short video in the coming days, so you can get an idea of what it sounds like!The avionics are also being fleshed out. The newest addition to the avionics suite is the Thommen DC20 clock, which is 100% custom-made using the real manual, kindly provided by Thommen. The KAS-297B Autopilot Altitude Selector is going to be in the testers' hands next week and this closes out all the major avionics developement. What is left now is to fix some bugs with the EFIS50, which were left for last.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is on PC through Steam and the Windows Store, and on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Game Pass subscribers can also take to the sky without needing a purchase To stay in the loop with the latest news, be sure to keep an eye on TechRaptor as we provide daily updates on add-ons for the simulator.
Furthermore, you can read our interviews, featuring discussions with Jorg Neumann from Microsoft about the Antonov An-225 "Mriya" and with iniBuilds CEO Ubaid Mussa, who light on the activities of this renowned third-party developer.
Additionally, we've got reviews that cover Orbx's Stockholm Arlanda and Oslo Gardermoen Airports, iniBuilds' New York-JFK Airport, and RHDSimulations' Boeing 767-300ER.
