Robert Randazzo has unusually taken to the PMDG forums on Monday this time, covering progress on the PMDG EFB, updates for the 737 and liveries for Xbox releases of PMDG 737 and DC-6.
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PMDG 737 Updates
The PMDG 737 series received an update this weekend, updating the aircraft to version 3.0.70. It is a structural update for changes that need to take place for the Universal Flight Tablet. In the coming weeks, we are going to see only such minor updates, and the next exciting updates with many features to come is going to be the one which includes the EFB.
Currently, the next update is wrapping up its testing process. This one is going to include some smaller adjustments, texture corrections and refinements to the flight director control law, as well as spool rate corrections that Robert already spoke about in the previous development update.
Short Word on Adjusting Spool Rates on 737
The PMDG team aims to balance proper engine acceleration rates. They try to apply some tricks to overcome this issue to recreate a proper spool behaviour model, and balance the spool up, spool down and ability to re-lit in altitudes. From Randazzo’s words, it seems that it is difficult to recreate each of those phases realistically due to a sim limitation, and are trying to improvise to get the aircraft to behave as realistically as possible.
Progress on the PMDG EFB
The tablet is now in the final stage of testing in preparation for rolling it out to the 737 users. According to Robert, the beta team uses unusual techniques in order to circumvent obstructions that exist between C++-coded aircraft and JavaScript-coded EFB, so they’re able to communicate with each other correctly.
PMDG Liveries on Xbox
The team pushes out packages of liveries for the DC-6 and 737 on Marketplace for Xbox users to enjoy. Unfortunately, the PMDG team has to charge $0.50 for livery in packages of 10. According to Robert, this wasn’t the team’s choice and it was the only way to get liveries fully available for Xbox users. For those on PC, liveries remain free.
Lastly, Robert spoke about the PMDG 777, which as previously progresses fast in development, and there is not much to say about it at the moment.
