Neglected aircraft for P3D: The Boeing 757/67

[Nyxx 6,993]

1 hour ago, Wise87 said:

I’m still waiting to see the 80% completed Level-D 757 that they showed at FSCon over two years ago. What a joke. 

Well if it's the same guy, he has passed away.

On 1/22/2020 at 2:10 PM, toucanair said:

IRC there was a post regarding the developer of Level D 767 that was developing an update for P3Dv4. It was a one man show and sadly He passed away quite some time ago, correct me if I’m mistaken.

[Wise87 1,281]

57 minutes ago, Nyxx said:

Well if it's the same guy, he has passed away.

I know Eric passed away in 2018. Why doesn't Daryl who is the last one left just come out and say the 757 and 767 are no more so someone else can take on the project. If you even ask a question on the Level-D forums you will usually get a sarcastic reply. Not the nicest person to interact with. I believe Eric was the talent behind the 767 development. He is still missed in the community.  

[Bob Scott 7,721]

Level-D was more than just Eric Ernst...I remember meeting a few of them at the AVSIM Conference in Reading PA back in 2004.  Wade Chafe, Laurent Crenier, and Pedro Sousa IIRC.  Eric Ernst was the original brains behind the ground-breaking PIC767 (for FS98, remember that?!) and that led to Level-D, with a team of guys that produced the 767 for FS2000/2002 and FS9.  I think Darryl's involvement started with him as a superfan of the project and evolved to him as the face of their PR and support.  The FSX version was a cobbled-together port to the 3D environment, and at that point the shortcomings of stretching low-res 2D graphics over a 3D model became obvious, as was the case with lots of other add-ons which worked great on 2D panels and 4:3 CRT displays in FS9, but not so great in even an early FSX VC.

I revisited the Level-D 767 when they released the patch for P3D v3, and after not having seen it in quite a few years, I was struck full in the face that by any objective comparison with the current state of the art, it's an ugly baby only a mother could love.

It's a memorable part of our history, but it is, unfortunately, history.

 

[Patco Lch 1,465]

Thanks Bob for that historical information on LVLD. Then the 767 should be wide open for PMDG to produce one if there really ever was an understanding between the two.

[Bob Scott 7,721]

3 minutes ago, PATCO LCH said:

Thanks Bob for that historical information on LVLD. Then the 767 should be wide open for PMDG to produce one if there really ever was an understanding between the two.

I think the real question is whether there's demand for it sufficiently large to warrant putting it on the PMDG roadmap, which, after fleshing-out the NGXu line and updating the 777, is probably already full of placeholders for re-engineering everything in their already-popular product line for Simzilla.

Given what I surmise to have been lackluster support for their other out-of-production and out-of-the-mainstream airframe choices (the MD-11 and JS-4100), I wouldn't hold my breath for a PMDG 757/767.  If PMDG held off on a 767 due to some gentleman's agreement back then, there are probably even more compelling reasons to sidestep that one now.

 

[regis9 4,014]

I can’t see PMDG tackling it, they have enough on their plate (happy to be proven wrong though).

Seems like a great opportunity for someone else though.  I’ve always thought it would be a great project for iFly...if they worked on airliners that weren’t duplicates of PMDG they’d have a great opportunity.

Edited January 24, 2020 by regis9

[Wise87 1,281]

Thanks for the background information on Level-D. It explains Darryl's role in the organization and why we probably don't get much answers. I think there is a big market for the 757/767. Look how crazy everyone became when the A330 released by Aerosoft. A PMDG 757/767 or anyone besides CS to make them is bound to make a nice profit from the sales. The 767 is the most wanted by many of the folks I have talked too about a 757/767. 

Edited January 24, 2020 by Wise87