PMDG’s Robert Randazzo shared more images of the upcoming Boeing 777 for Microsoft Flight Simulator through their Forums. This time, he shared mainly cockpit images, showing the magnificent flight deck of this long-haul aircraft.
PMDG 777 Cockpit Previews
The following images represent the 777 cockpit in a “work-in-progress” version, and there are still things to change before the official release of the aircraft. The team is currently focused on polishing the texture and model details of the flight deck.
The first image shows the general overview of the flight deck. This shot is focused on showcasing the diffusive quality of the surface paint, as it is in direct sunlight. The team created their diffusing model for the flight deck, making it as realistic as possible in both direct and indirect lighting situations.
From the images, you can also already see some wear and tear that is gradually being implemented in the development. This is mainly visible on the engine cutoff switch guard panel. More wear and tear will be visible on the parts of the aircraft that are usually being touched the most.
As mentioned previously, the cockpit is based on a 12-year-old Boeing 777 that is still in service. For example, the most damage may be visible on the carpet in such aircraft. Despite that, PMDG decided to put a new carpet into their representation of the 777 flight deck. This will especially help the cockpit to adapt to different aircraft registrations of various ages.
On the other hand, foot scuff plates and rudders show a lot of wear from use. This can be visible on all four plates and pedals in the cockpit. Robert also mentioned that on the edges and ridges, we might see crumbs and a little bit of dirt if the sun hits correctly.
The last image shows the flight deck from the door’s perspective. Robert especially points out the 3D carpet visible in the flight deck, as well as animations and sounds. He said that the door can be opened and closed, you can roam around the cabin and the sounds will change based on the camera’s position in the cabin. Closing the door or opening also influences what sounds you are going to hear in the cockpit.
Smaller 737 Update
At the beginning of this update, Robert also spoke about the 737 and the fact that they are implementing some stability fixes on the aircraft, and a new update, 3.00.0093 is now available for everyone to download through the PMDG Operations Center v2 app.
The fixes in this update are related to the mechanism that controls the viewpoint while entering data into the tablet. It is indeed possible to get the viewpoint camera stuck while entering data into the tablet. This might seem to many like the plane froze in place. The PMDG’s development team was able to engineer a fix for this issue, allowing it to “de-capture” the viewpoint easily.
