A few days ago, TFDi brought us their latest development update. The main topics being Passenger And Crew Experience (PACX), the MD-11, as well as MSFS. New features and compatibility are being introduced in PACX, a new HUD, moving passengers, cabin layouts, and much more. The MD-11 is the second aircraft addon of the team after their 717.
PACX
MSFS Compatibility
With help from the community, PACX HUD and PACXBridge were made compatible with MSFS 2020.
Cabin Layouts and Passenger Simulations
After many requests, TFDi decided to add moving passengers within the application. Whether during boarding, going to the toilets, or looking for their seats, you’ll see a dot representing a passenger moving around.
Moreover, the cabin layout is not static, meaning you can customize it. For any aircraft you can create and save your own cabin layouts. The passenger simulation, created to be as smooth and realistic as possible, allows your passengers and crews to behave in a realistic and efficient way. You can also click on individual passengers, and their color will change according to their level of satisfaction.
PACX features have been adjusted to be based on the passenger simulation, meaning all operations now have more significance in the cabin.
You can purchase PACX from the TFDI Website for $29.99.
MD-11
While all the work has been done in the background, the MD-11 still is very much in active development.
Model
The external model is nearing completion and the cockpit is still being worked on. As of september 14th, the remaining elements of the external model were: probes, lights and APU exhaust. Once done, work on the Paintkit and overhead panel will start.
FMS
The Flight Management Systems have had significant progress made to them. The FMS is already capable or creating a flight plan based on navigation data. SID and STAR programming is nearing completion. Moreover, VERT REV and LAT REV pages are in internal testing.
Being a major portion of an airliner simulation, and necessitating a huge amount of work, the FMS saw a lot of attention. As it moves toward completion the development of the rest of the systems will speed up.
Systems
When it comes to electrical systems, recent work has been on the emergency power logic, support for external power, smoke switches and APU bus tie relay.
The core functionalities of the power systems have been mostly completed.
The hydraulic systems have been started, including the overhead panel lights and switches. The original logic has been reworked to make it more functional and realistic.
Platforms
As of today, TFDi announced full compatibility with Prepar3D v4 and v5. They did not officially comment on MSFS as of yet. They are evaluating the possibility to offer compatibility with FSX, FSX-SE, and P3D v1-3 after release.