PMDG and P3D V5 compatibility update (03 May) by RR

[penta_a 428]

https://forum.pmdg.com/forum/main-forum/general-discussion-news-and-announcements/59564-03may20-weekend-update-747-update-pending-and-a-bunch-of-other-run-on-sentences

[03MAY20] Weekend Update: 747 Update Pending and a bunch of other run-on sentences...

Today, 09:28

 

Captains,

I had originally planned to post this update on Saturday morning while sipping my coffee, but when I woke and saw that it was beautifully sunny, 75F/24C and not raining for the first time in nearly 11 weeks- I abandoned my "usual" Saturday morning routine in order to spend some time outdoors working on all those yard projects that come with home ownership... These are normally tasks that annoy me- but it has been so darned long since we saw any true sun around Northern Virginia- even pulling weeds under the watchful eye of the golden retriever was a welcome break from monotony- so please forgive me.

PMDG 747 Updates:
The last few weeks, we have been extremely hard at work wrapping up an major update for the PMDG 747 Queen of the Skies II product line. This update covers a massive amount of ground in terms adding some very nice polish and fitness to an already high quality product line, with new wing and tail structural physics, new lift/drag models, updated performance for the GEnX engine type, update ground physics (huge overhaul that I am now pushing backward to NGXu) updated braking physics (we broke all braking across the 747/737 line a few months back... oops) and a ton of other bug fixes, corrections and improvements.

While all of this was going on, we also decided to fold in the required changes for P5D, which were significant. Updated models, updated VCs, updated textures, restructuring of the EFB and Nav display to be able to read the new scenery file layout, and the changes go on and on.

Some have had questions about many of the new features in P5D and whether we will capitalize on them right away. The short answer is: Not until we get all of the product lines compatible. THEN we will start to work in the changes.

This update for the 747 has taken some time- or, to put it differently- *we* have taken our time with it. We made substantial changes to the product in order to bring it up to the modern standard with which we are working in our code base- and these changes needed very thorough testing to be sure we don't leave any problems behind to upset an otherwise smooth simming experience. I think our beta team will agree that we have put no pressure on them at all and we have been cataloging their feedback, pushing fixes at them constantly, and asking them to be very thorough in their efforts to break this airplane. They have succeeded marvelously in that regard- while also giving us feedback on things that they thought could use improving (steering on the tug during pushback for instance) and we have invested a significant amount of time and energy into answering their inquiries.

The good news is that this code is readily portable back to NGXu- and stomping out the issues now will make it a MUCH easier port over to the 777 code base which desperately needs some of this new technology for refreshing the product line.

We have pushed a new beta to the test team for the weekend. They have reported back with one significant item that I need to investigate- but once we have that tacked down and re-tested we will be ready to push this update out. If all goes well- it should be with you in time for the weekend. <<DANGER: This expectation could go up in smoke if something major bubbles up- but obviously I'm pretty comfortable that won't happen at this juncture...>>

One note one how this update will roll out: This will be a full download/uninstall/reinstall. This is made necessary by a combination of broad-based changes in the product line, as well as the P5D compatibility changes that are pending. The good news is that it will get everyone on the same cycle.

PMDG 737 NGXu Updates:
Once we have the 747 out of the way, we will begin pushing 737 updates to the testing team for them to suss out. The updates for the 737 are **mostly** already completed and waiting for the 747 to clear the testing circuit so that they can be validated. I don't think we should be looking at more than a few weeks of testing on the 737, and that update will also be a full re-download and will include functionality for P5D as well.

Work on the BBJ expansion continues apace and we hope to give you a preview of that in the not-too-distant future. The product is probably preview ready today, but we are so darned busy that nobody has the time to focus on that just yet. Work also continues on the cargo variants- and we'll have more information on that one for you in a few weeks, I hope.

PMDG 777 Updates:
For a while, we had slid the 777 update ahead of the NGXu update, but this reversed itself when we got the P5D release schedule and realized it was sooner than we had originally expected. (Quite a bit sooner- but that was just a bad guess on our part.) I'll be honest and tell you that the 777 update timeline is creating quite a bit of anxiety around PMDG of late, because we are very heavily engaged across multiple platforms and multiple products- and if the 777 update proves to have the gestational problems that the 747 had with these updates- it could really become a drag for all of us waiting for this to get pushed out to you. The good news is that we killed a significant number of problems in moving the new technology into the 747 so that should smooth the path for the 777 a bit- but this is software and things never go smoothly in software...

PMDG Global Flight Operations:
We have been quite hush-hush on this topic during the past few months, but we are preparing to begin expanding the testing realm for this product line. We have collected from this forum and from our interaction with simmers in other locations a list of folks that we think would make good, enthusiastic, critical wide-area testers and we anticipate reaching out to them in the near future in order to bring them into the testing process. The purpose of their testing is to drive users through the back-end customer management process and to get an initial batch of users that is larger than our regular testing team in order to proof-check load balancing and a bunch of boring back-end stuff. We are also interested to see what they think of the project structure and direction, since this is a growing platform that will evolve and grow over time...

Okay- I think I am forgetting something that I was planning to tell you- but for the life of me I cannot remember what it was. <ticks items off on his fingers, mumbles about an MD-11, laughs hysterically>>

Have a great weekend- and I hope you all continue to be safe and healthy... and don't forget to maintain a sense of humor, too. If you stop laughing- you aren't having any fun.
 

[steve howlett 137]

is it me or am i the only one  who's a bit angry with PMDG.they got V5 before everyone else it seems and they are still two weeks away from updating the NGXu to v5.they are not adding any extra features,just making it work in V5.

must be lockdown getting to me,normally i keep quiet.

 

 steve

[FlyingBubbles 15]

No you're not the only one. I usually never post anything and we are most likely to get censored but I am also getting angry at PMDG. Not only for their rip-off prices but mainly for that JS41 Beta for P3D they teased more than a year ago. This is turning out to be one very long Beta test..... I used to be one of their biggest fans but now doubting.

For the moment, I am having A LOT more fun with Zibo Mod in X-Plane. It is free and a lot more immersive and just feels a lot more like flying a real 737. This is subjective of course but just my feeling.

And yeah, they seem to be privileged to a lot of things, such as v5 before anyone else and probably MSFS 2020 but somehow always come out more expensive and not better quality.

Sorry for the rant but I feel that something is just not right with them...

 

MJ

Edited May 3, 2020 by FlyingBubbles

[Sethos 4,335]

2 minutes ago, FlyingBubbles said:

No you're not the only one. I usually never post anything but I am also getting angry at PMDG. Not only for their rip-off prices but mainly for that JS41 Beta for P3D they teased more than a year ago. This is turning out to be one very long Beta test.....

For the moment, I am having A LOT more fun with Zibo Mod in X-Plane. It is free and a lot more immersive and just feels a lot more like flying a real 737. This is subjective of course but just my feeling.

And yeah, they seem to be privileged to a lot of things, such as v5 before anyone else and probably MSFS 2020 but somehow always come out more expensive and not better quality.

Sorry for the rant but I feel that something is just not right with them...

Rip-off prices, X-Plane better, all the quality talking points to a PMDG thread. 

[Nyxx 6,993]

34 minutes ago, steve howlett said:

is it me or am i the only one  who's a bit angry with PMDG.they got V5 before everyone else it seems and they are still two weeks away from updating the NGXu to v5.they are not adding any extra features,just making it work in V5.

must be lockdown getting to me,normally i keep quiet.

 

 steve

I seems the 747 will come first then the NGu, am still on 4.5 and will stay there until AS/PMDG NG/FSL are all up and working.

I will not name them but there are people on this forum that put down MSFS with every chance they have with " there going to be be a lot of disappointed people" etc and "it will take ages before it works" etc etc. 

I will remind them off how v5 was released etc, I find it pathetic and there is no reason that we cannot enjoy every flight sim out there if we wish to do so. It's all a win-win in my eyes.

P3D v5 is going to take time and i will at the right time use it and i will buy on day one MSFS and enjoy that also.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Nyxx

[FlyingBubbles 15]

Ok, my apologies, this might start getting out of hand... so I withdraw what I said. Lockdown is getting to me too.

Still disappointed about the JS41 though 😞

[steve howlett 137]

I know it's complicated software,so i should keep my trap shut.just miffed that it's still weeks away.

 steve

[steve howlett 137]

normally i would have posted on the pmdg pages,i just don't go there.can't stand one of there mods.

 

steve

 

[Claudius_ 326]

And... what about the DC-6?

[DavidP 1,410]

1 hour ago, steve howlett said:

is it me or am i the only one

Just you...

[n77737 14]

Yes, what about the DC-6? It's, by far, my favorite PMDG aircraft.

[steve howlett 137]

5 minutes ago, DavidP said:

Just you...

your sarcasm is all over the forums..maybe you have a think aout how you respond to most of the posts you answer.anyway i blame lockdown.

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by steve howlett

[micstatic 4,319]

747: I hope they don’t screw the taxiing up like the 737. Some may like it but most don’t. In fact I thought the 747 was fine before.  
737:  I realize this is their biggest seller. To me my dislike of this plane in real life biases me. 95 percent of the time I pick the fslabs, tfdi 717, or maddog x md80 from my hangar when given a choice.  So I’m not chomping at the bit

777:  this was supposed to be on final approach or so I thought  even saw the pbr pics of it already  I hope they get this out sometime soon

 

 

[Nyxx 6,993]

1 hour ago, steve howlett said:

normally i would have posted on the pmdg pages,i just don't go there.can't stand one of there mods.

 

steve

 

If it’s who I am thinking he got kicked last Dec

[fluffyflops 1,858]

Now who was it who said the 744 would be released first to get some sales going.... Ahhh yes it was me 😏