Today third-party developers provided new images and details about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
We start with PMDG, which isn’t yet ready to share pricing and release details of its much-anticipated Boeing 737. That being said, we get a development update and new screenshots from CEO Robert Randazzo.
We also get some interesting details on the audio suite on top of what we can expect in the near future from the developer.
This week has brought us a bit closer to release, but we are still being pretty cautious about setting a date-certain because of a few things that add some ambiguity. The biggest issue we are evaluating is the potential for Asobo’s pending MSFS SU9 to create unanticipated issues with the 737. As you can imagine, consistency in the platform is important for testing purposes, so pushing a release out the door right at the pivot point when a major bug-fix change is coming to the platform requires some pretty careful calculus in order to avoid disrupting the testing process, but also being cautious about not creating a negative initial user experience when SU9 drops.
We have not yet finalized a decision and there is an entire evaluative process taking place. As I said in my 08APR22 update: When we make the date certain, we will let you know.
One other way to make this point so that it is clear: This product is not going to drop unannounced. You will know the day in advance. We may even give you an approximate time of day. So until you see us post this information, the date/time has not been set with certainty.
If we haven’t told you the date/time yet- it means we have not finalized it.
We just want to make it a bit easy on everyone to understand.
Between now and the release, we anticipate it will be quite a bit of fun. We are preparing to release the testing team from embargo so that they can begin telling you what they think of the airplane. Along with this release, we will release some streamers from their embargo hold as well. This should give them some interesting opportunities to show you the airplane from their own perspective and we think you will be excited by what you see.
We are also going to begin giving you far greater insight into the product beginning today, Sunday 17APR22 with the opening of a dedicated PMDG 737 for MSFS video series on our official youtube channel. Look for that a bit later in the day, Sunday. The release of new video content will be relatively steady, provided we don’t hit any major surprises late in testing that pull me out of video production and back into code work. (It happens, sometimes…)
The video series will be introduced tomorrow officially, along with the first couple of productions. The deeper we get into the week, the more in depth we will get into the airplane, so it should be fun.
For tonight, I want to share a few images that Jason prepared for me earlier this evening. I rely heavily upon Jason and Vin having a good eye for the sorts of details that really make this product shine- and when Jason sent me a few images to choose from, I was so taken by these two shots that I thought you should see both.
Jason has been doing some experimenting with the MSFS’s native depth of field capabilities as they relate to the drone camera- and the results are just spectacular. I may need to make this my new desktop wallpaper.
The second image he created in this series uses the same technique- and what I love about the image is that it is so rich in features you can almost hear the sound of the engines as the airplane powers by you on the departure.
Which is probably a fantastic way to transition into giving you a bit of information on the sound package that is coming with the new PMDG 737-700 for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Armen has been hard at work creating a sound-scape for this airplane that is as complex, rich and incredible as MSFS is visually. The capabilities of the Microsoft Flight Simulator engine to create a full sound environment is unlike anything we have every had the opportunity to work with, and Armen has truly risen to the occasion.
All around, this 737 is shaping up to be something spectacular- and we are incredibly proud of the work we have done and incredibly excited to turn it over to you for your enjoyment. Vin and Jason have built upon years of expertise to create an incredibly detailed and visually stimulating airplane model and when married with Armen’s sound work we think you are in for an incredible treat.
Next is AzurPoly, which showcased its upcoming French trainer Socata TB-30 Epsilon.
TB-30 has a unique canopy architecture. Both front and rear ends slide on the same rail, which means the pilot cannot escape unless the copilot allows him to do so ! Well, not really…When rear canopy is locked to the front one, they form a single piece that can easily slide from front to back with slight effort. But when they are unlocked, either pilot or copilot can open their part freely.
Both can be locked from inside or outside the aircraft using their dedicated handles.
Our TB-30 of course implements this particular behaviour as you can see in the pictures below.
TB-30 is fitted with a retractable tricycle landing gear, activated by hydraulic pressure provided by a dual-direction gear electric pump.
In case of hydraulic failure, pilot is still able to release landing gear thanks to an emergency handle located at the front station.
Each gear is forced open and locked thanks to a pressurised jack.
As we did previously on the Fouga Magister, our TB-30 will incorporate simulated hydraulic circuit.
We also take a new look at the LearAvia Lear Fan 2100 by Lionheart Creations.
last, but not least, we move to Japan. Gate15Scenery has started working on the textures of the terminal interior of its Tokushima Awaodori Airport (RJOS).
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