PMDG HQ is clearly going through a busy period right now. With liveries dropping left and right for PC and Xbox users for their 737, a number of pushed updates for their product line, and the introduction of Mathijs Kok joining the team, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind. All that aside, the news hasn’t slowed down from the team with a somewhat detailed update from head-honcho Robert Randazzo.
737 Updates
The first round of updates in Rob’s post was all about the 737 and the various performance improvements the aircraft has seen. In particular, the performance updates are most beneficial for lower-end PCs and those on Xbox. Although, the update is not just limited to improving the performance on the system, but also the realism of engine spooling and further adjustments to AFDS roll mode. The recent round of updates were summarised as follows:
- Improved memory use for older PC / XBox S users
- Improved memory use on all hardware for users who do not run in ULTRA settings.
- Improvements to initialization sequence to reduce tendency for platform to “kick” the WASM module during initialization.
- corrected engine spool behavior in low RPM ranges
- adjustments to engine windmill start behavior to compensate for platform deficiency
- further adjustments to AFDS roll mode control law
- various back-end changes related to tablet->airplane communications in preparation for tablet release.
A quick note: due to some technical issue, PMDG is advising that users download the latest installer via their PMDG account, rather than through the micro-updater in the PMDG Ops Center.
Tablet
Internal discussions are now happening about releasing the long-awaited tablet. Testing continues, with the latest round of testing seeing PMDG making changes both functionally and visually to the tablet.
PMDG continues to remain quiet in terms of previews and release dates until the they get closer with the final build.
Boeing 777
Robert has made good on sharing frequent progress updates on the 777 for Microsoft Flight Simulator over the past few months. Whilst typically those updates are somewhat lacking in detail, this week’s update had a bit more meat on the bones.
According to the post, the team is “deep into adjusting the fly-by-wire system on the 777,” and collecting the data to make sure that it matches the real-world aircraft performance. Robert said that “far testing is going exceedingly well, and the refactoring that took place over the past year has lead to exceedingly positive results and a 777 that flies appropriately, like a 777.“
As system implementation continues, so does integrating the flight deck. Fine detail work is now complete, but switch movement, system control, and other refinements are now being worked on. Another area that has seen extensive work is how displays have received an entire rewrite, allowing PMDG to take full advantage of MSFS’ far more capable rendering engine.
Modeling has also been given some love lately with new animations being used on all exterior model animations. The cabin has also been given plenty of details, with Robert saying that the “interior is beginning to look exquisite.”
Whilst it is not clear how long we still need to wait until we see the PMDG 777 in Microsoft Flight Simulator, the team has been discussing beta testing internally. There are still items that need completing, but this is a positive sign indeed.
Closing
Robert said that the team continues to work hard on a range of products at PMDG HQ. The growth allowed by Microsoft Flight Simulator has meant the team can grow, deliver products faster, and provide updates at a pace faster than seen before. Whilst not everything will be immediately visible, we will be able to see them when things are a lot more cooked. We saw a small peak of this with Kok joining the team in an undisclosed role.
As usual, we’ll continue to follow the latest from PMDG and update you.
