Pre-release stream - PMDG DC-6

[wim123 763]

2 hours ago, White Panther said:

I don't think I will go for this aircraft. Lately, we seen coming oldies after oldies and I become to wondering if MSFS will be the sim for old aircrafts. I'm not against these aircrafts but when it begins to be "all about", I begin to be a bit worry. We don't see many modern aircrafts, and when one came it was a miserable fake 777. PMDG have all my respect but I was expecting a 787, for example.

tasts differ, i am not at ll interested in new liners, the old ones have much more character, and have to be flown, not some automated programmed buttonbasher thing.

lets be glad both things will be possible in msfs

[Andreas Stangenes 1,628]

Well, not to be cynical, or perhaps someone would even call it navite, I think the reason we are getting ie. the DC6 from PMDG first is because they believed they could get it out the door first. Well, they didnt think that initially, but that's how it turned out. The systems are less complex, and thus require less work than the more complex airliners. It just takes longer to get them out the door in a high fidelity state. 

With that said, it's not going to be much longer before we have the 737 from PMDG in the sim. It's not like you really need a bunch of different 737 unless you need a less complex version. The WT CJ4 is already here and is the best jet available in game. It's been here for a while already and is pretty high fidelity. The FBW is also here, and perhaps sometime this year they will achieve to get the LNAV and VNAV into it so it can fly properly. That will also be a good quality addon when that happens. 

Lastly, it's worth mentioning the 787 from Heavy Division. Even though they are basically working in the blind and hands tied behind their backs, they have already managed to get a pretty good LNAV integrated into the addon. It flies pretty well, but I will admit it is somewhat rough around the edges. However, they are facing extra challenges because of MS ASOBO restrictions on the premium airplanes that the other addon-makers dont. Worth picking up if you like heavy airplanes. 

So no, it's not all lawnmowers flying around 🙂 There are already a few diamonds in the rough available in the sim, and lots more to come! 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Andreas Stangenes

[sd_flyer 6,042]

25 minutes ago, sgreen91 said:

Why not just enjoy both.  I enjoy xplane for the tbm and sometime this year the bizjet by the same creator.  I enjoy p3d for my airliners and MSFS just for sightseeing. Why people here want other sims to die is beyond me.  

If you only enjoy msfs well enjoy.  

Avsim was made for the love of flight simming in all forms not just for one sim.

That is the question for those who comes here and contrast sims all the time 🙂

[JBDB-MD80 1,473]

57 minutes ago, sgreen91 said:

 

Avsim was made for the love of flight simming in all forms not just for one sim.

Ha Ha you go say something over on the XP forum about MSFS and you're asking for trouble. That's how Avsim works  its pretty divided among the platforms to the point of animosity at times . I want no parts of that I will just stay here or log off.

Edited June 16, 2021 by jbdbow1970

[ca_metal 2,024]

1 hour ago, Andreas Stangenes said:

Well, not to be cynical, or perhaps someone would even call it navite, I think the reason we are getting ie. the DC6 from PMDG first is because they believed they could get it out the door first. Well, they didnt think that initially, but that's how it turned out. The systems are less complex, and thus require less work than the more complex airliners. It just takes longer to get them out the door in a high fidelity state. 

That's actually the official statement made by Robert Randazzo himself, on his 22MAY21 update. Here I quote him:

Quote

Our plan is to bring our entire 737, 747, 777 and DC-6 lines into MSFS. This task is currently our highest priority workflow and we have moved resources from around the company to accomplish this task. Originally we felt that 737 would be our first product to hit the release cycle, but this proven not to be the case. There were a significant number of technical hurdles that needed to be cleared before we could push any of our glass flight deck airliners into MSFS. While this has been a painful process we believe that we are clear of the worst hurdles and what remains now is mostly just the work of development required to finish our products properly.

We are fortunate to have a very talented team that works in parallel on multiple projects at one time and it became evident a few months ago that our DC-6 had reached a point where it was ready for testing well ahead of the 737 that was supposed to beat it to release. With that realization we pushed the DC-6 to our testing team a few months ago and they have been putting hours and cycles on the simulation to great effect.

 

[Chock 17,769]

16 hours ago, abrams_tank said:

Does anybody know the backstory of why PMDG gave up on X-Plane? 

Okay, I'm going off memory here, so don't ask me to cite any actual posts or anything, but as far as I recall, when the future of sims was still in a bit of doubt, naturally PMDG took a look at doing stuff for XPlane, and so they decided to make a comparatively simpler aeroplane to dip their toe into the water so to speak. That was their DC-6.

Naturally XPlane users were excited about the prospect of PMDG making stuff for XPlane, and many posts followed concerning their 737 and 774, and when they'd make it into the sim; at that time, PMDG had just made their revamped 747 for FSX, and remarkable it was too, managing to be very detailed but still very good on VAS limitations, so naturally much of the posts were asking when their 747 would be in XPlane since they'd managed to do wonders in FSX. That's when RR posted that their experience with XPlane and developing their DC-6 had led them to the conclusion that there were some features of their ESP-based 747 which could not be done in XPlane as it didn't support them (dunno what those things were, but that is what was said), so they said their airliners would not be making it to XPlane.

That's as I recall it, and it was on the PMDG forums when they were hosted in Avsim, so i guess if you were prepared to search for it, you'd find it in the archives. 

Having recalled this very tale recently, I must admit it did make me a little concerned with regard to PMDG making a DC-6 for MSFS and whether it would result in history repeating itself, but apparently it's just a case of their DC-6 deve team beating their 737 dev team on development progress, and so the DC-6 is the one they prioritised for release.

[Jeff Nielsen 1,386]

24 minutes ago, Chock said:

Okay, I'm going off memory here, so don't ask me to cite any actual posts or anything, but as far as I recall, when the future of sims was still in a bit of doubt, naturally PMDG took a look at doing stuff for XPlane, and so they decided to make a comparatively simpler aeroplane to dip their toe into the water so to speak. That was their DC-6.

Naturally XPlane users were excited about the prospect of PMDG making stuff for XPlane, and many posts followed concerning their 737 and 774, and when they'd make it into the sim; at that time, PMDG had just made their revamped 747 for FSX, and remarkable it was too, managing to be very detailed but still very good on VAS limitations, so naturally much of the posts were asking when their 747 would be in XPlane since they'd managed to do wonders in FSX. That's when RR posted that their experience with XPlane and developing their DC-6 had led them to the conclusion that there were some features of their ESP-based 747 which could not be done in XPlane as it didn't support them (dunno what those things were, but that is what was said), so they said their airliners would not be making it to XPlane.

That's as I recall it, and it was on the PMDG forums when they were hosted in Avsim, so i guess if you were prepared to search for it, you'd find it in the archives. 

Having recalled this very tale recently, I must admit it did make me a little concerned with regard to PMDG making a DC-6 for MSFS and whether it would result in history repeating itself, but apparently it's just a case of their DC-6 deve team beating their 737 dev team on development progress, and so the DC-6 is the one they prioritised for release.

The bottom line was; that there was a lot going on at the same time and decisions had to be made.  They're no different than anyone else when it comes to the marketplace, their own company internals, etc..  It's called life. 🙂 

It always cracks me up when I see posts about ASOBO or MS hiring people and everyone thinks they didn't do something right.  People come and go, just like everything else.  It's not a big conspiracy...lol.

Edited June 17, 2021 by Jeff Nielsen

[ThrottleUp 617]

Is it a Track IR he is using to get views like that? I also read about a phone app that uses your smartphone cam to deliver similar functionality.

[orchestra_nl 931]

7 hours ago, ThrottleUp said:

Is it a Track IR he is using to get views like that? I also read about a phone app that uses your smartphone cam to deliver similar functionality.

He is using a TrackIR indeed. There are a number of free or low cost alternatives that can get close, but the real thing is still the most fluent and hassle free to set up.
I recommend to buy the standard version without the trackclip pro though, since there are better trackclip alternatives without the need for a wire and more sturdy. The Hat clip that comes with the default version works fine as well, but you'll need to wear a cap to use it.

[RichUK 474]

21 hours ago, White Panther said:

I don't think I will go for this aircraft. Lately, we seen coming oldies after oldies and I become to wondering if MSFS will be the sim for old aircrafts. I'm not against these aircrafts but when it begins to be "all about", I begin to be a bit worry. We don't see many modern aircrafts, and when one came it was a miserable fake 777. PMDG have all my respect but I was expecting a 787, for example.

Have to agree somewhat. I took a break from FS and came back to find another Spitfire. Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Spitfire. It is in fact one of my favorite aircraft, but I wonder if we need so many. It seems all about the single engine prop (or at least prop variants) and not much else lately.

I am looking forward to PMDG getting the DC out of the way so hopefully they can get the 737 out in relatively short order.

I haven't purchased it yet, but I have to give a little kudos to Aerosoft for the CRJ...at least it isn't the same aircraft wrapped in a different skin deal (and I am not necessarily talking about CS).

[ThrottleUp 617]

3 hours ago, orchestra_nl said:

He is using a TrackIR indeed. There are a number of free or low cost alternatives that can get close, but the real thing is still the most fluent and hassle free to set up.
I recommend to buy the standard version without the trackclip pro though, since there are better trackclip alternatives without the need for a wire and more sturdy. The Hat clip that comes with the default version works fine as well, but you'll need to wear a cap to use it.

Thanks for this info 🙂 I would like some head tracking as the hat switch on the stick is getting annoying. I do a lot of low and slow bush flying and constantly need to lean forward to see where the airfield is during a turn etc, I have set up useful hotkeys for camera modes but a head tracker would be great!

[orchestra_nl 931]

34 minutes ago, ThrottleUp said:

Thanks for this info 🙂 I would like some head tracking as the hat switch on the stick is getting annoying. I do a lot of low and slow bush flying and constantly need to lean forward to see where the airfield is during a turn etc, I have set up useful hotkeys for camera modes but a head tracker would be great!

Especially for low and slow flying, TrackIR is great. As you can see from some of the he DC-6 previews it is also convenient for looking up at the overhead panels etc.
If you need to keep your head still for a longer period you can assign a button to pause TrackIR, which disables tracking and the view remains fixed until you unpause. I use that when changing a flightplan on the G1000 for example.

 

 

[Krakin 5,765]

Looks like Fabio will have someone from PMDG on his stream tomorrow to answer questions.

[Flying-Hare 218]

I have already prepared $ 100. I hope this is enough.

[jarmstro 2,402]

16 hours ago, ThrottleUp said:

Thanks for this info 🙂 I would like some head tracking as the hat switch on the stick is getting annoying. I do a lot of low and slow bush flying and constantly need to lean forward to see where the airfield is during a turn etc, I have set up useful hotkeys for camera modes but a head tracker would be great!

Have you tried Smooth Track (with Open Track). It actually does work quite well!😀 And it's cheap. All you need is your mobile phone.

Edited June 18, 2021 by jarmstro