PMDG 737 Update is out.

[ha5mvo 260]

1 hour ago, G550flyer said:

Yes, beneath the data's zulu date is the altitude. If I am behind the flightplan on fuel, I can load the wind chart and scroll the altitude up or down to check the winds rather than bugging ATC to see if they can get a wind report at different altitudes. I can just request the altitude with the better reported winds. I'm not sure how this works in the GTN series though. You would think this is something that a sim GTN developer could code though. It's just a snapshot of weather so they would just pull from what the sim weather is using. 

ok, will it also provide info on convective weather at different altitudes?

[Moron 64]

2 hours ago, Dillon said:

It's actually the other way around.  This is a PC title that's been ported over to the XBOX.  This series which has been inspired more real world pilots than any other piece of software is older than XPlane and almost as old as Microsoft itself.  I remember my years in MN going to Northwest's old training facility flying the 744 and A320 simulators.  At first people were wondering how I was familiar with the aircraft in the way that I was and when I told them it was FS and PMDG on the 744 side they understood as many of them used FS.  Fast forward to my time in the Navy (VAQ-34, VFA-94), what you see in DCS and the F/A-18 is basically what you get in the real world especially with a VR headset.  So as a real world pilot myself I find it hard to look at this and think of this title, XPlane, and DCS as games.  Ace Combat is a game.  For someone who is a pilot, flown in F/A-18's in real life, and used real world Level-D simulators I can't do it. 

Microsoft has to list it as a game for for the department it's under.  The XBOX department is well funded and for us as simmers it's a great thing as it brings in new users.  But it's far from a game if you've flown real aircraft (even more so if you've flown in different kinds of aircraft). I appreciate the avenue the Flight Simulator team had to task to continue this long running series but it's far from the classification of 'Game'.

Well, I won't argue the realism factor incorporated into the DCS platform; it's unrivaled as far as I'm concerned.   The A-10 module in DCS was actually initially developed as a cockpit procedural trainer for U.S. Air Force A-10 pilots.  

A2A Simulations currently has a U.S. Air Force contract to provide a Prepar3d-based simulation platform for the Air Force's Pilot Next undergraduate pilot training program, utilizing A2A's custom developed T-6 Texan II module for P3D.   A2A's ability to produce a military-grade training package for the U.S. Air Force, based on a desktop simulator, speaks volumes about the capability of the software under the right developer talent.   See photo below: 

Asobo seems, however, to be trying to balance study level simulation features with that of an entertainment-only game and I'm not really sure they'll be able to continue to develop this way into the future.   Microsoft has long maintained a culture geared towards profits above all else, and the entertainment sector is king here.   I make fun of Xbox, but the revenue therein cannot be overstated, and this is likely the ultimate direction Asobo will cater towards at the behest of Microsoft.   I think you'll see Asobo indulge those who want a precisely-tuned study sim, but that indulgence will always have it's limits because investment towards the entertainment-only market will forever be far more profitable.  

Developers like PMDG are stuck in the middle, constantly attempting to accomodate MSFS2020's shortcomings while also trying to appeal to the study-level simming crowd.   Thus, simulations like the PMDG737 will always face uphill battles to incorporate things like weather radar and advanced flight characteristics.   Instead, there will always have to be compromises that end-users will have to accept if they insist on staying with MSFS2020 for 'hardcore simulation'.   I really don't see a way around it in the long run.   

Edited October 14, 2022 by hobart escin

[WestAir 2,530]

3 minutes ago, hobart escin said:

there will always have to be compromises that end-users will have to accept if they insist on staying with MSFS2020 for 'hardcore simulation'.

This topic is a difficult one to have a fair presumption on; We may be forever stuck with assumptions instead. Asobo has stated numerous times that they are committed to the hardcore crowd, and then they make weather radars impossible. A simple solution, if their commitment to hardcore simmers was true, would be for them to build multiple high fidelity weather radars for different popular aircraft types that 3PD's can copy and paste into their sims. No data needs to be made public. Everyone wins. But they're obviously not committed enough to even consider that.

And then they turn around and focus huge dev times on a new friction model with wheels as 3d, movable surface areas, CFD's that take into account the type of terrain and differential heating, and proper wake turbulence.

The closing argument on how committed Asobo is to the hardcore crowd is still undecided, but it looks like it can be quickly described as, "It depends."

[Bobsk8 12,843]

2 hours ago, ha5mvo said:

Indeed there's no level low enough for you to stoop to. a-propose "characters".

Instead of the usual mish mash of cut/paste and links why don't you show some real knowledge of your own? 

and a friendly advice, go slower on the adjectives, they don't reflect on you in a civilized manner

Why don't you  tell us all about your background? I have known pilots for years and years and never met one in real life that acted like a total word no allowed like you do at every chance . 

[ha5mvo 260]

Just now, Bobsk8 said:

Why don't you  tell us all about your background? I have known pilots for years and years and never met one in real life that acted like a total word no allowed like you do at every chance . 

huh? care to explain? elaborate maybe?

[Paladin2005 442]

13 hours ago, Mike T said:

https://forum.pmdg.com/forum/main-forum/general-discussion-news-and-announcements/169846-19apr22-pmdg-737-development-update-let-s-talk-about-early-adopter-and-continued-maintenance-phases

Maybe someday they will invent some sought of tool on the Internet that would enable searching by keywords, and then it would pull up links to webpages which would allow seamless access to information. If they do, I hope they call it something cool like "Google". Can't wait for that technology to come someday. Oh well, until then I'll just share the link above (hint: you click on it)

Maybe someday some people will read all posts related to a discussion to understand the context. Can't wait for this to happen. Oh well...

[CombatCustard 75]

On 10/13/2022 at 7:08 AM, rka said:

Other developers seem less challenged. Just saying...

it's always the same with PMDG, it's not our fault, it's the other guy. It's a stupid flight tablet so you can control the add-on... never heard a company word not allowed so much about how hard they work without having a whole to lot to show for that hard work. 8 Updates in this plane is exactly the same as it was when they launched it. 

[VBHB 298]

Ah I love the PMDG threads great popcorn moments.

[pmplayer 9,608]

1 hour ago, CombatCustard said:

it's always the same with PMDG, it's not our fault, it's the other guy. It's a stupid flight tablet so you can control the add-on... never heard a company word not allowed so much about how hard they work without having a whole to lot to show for that hard work. 8 Updates in this plane is exactly the same as it was when they launched it. 

Oh man you soooooooooooooo right, those PMDG guys are realy anoying me, they write a lot, page by page, and if you look closely they don't even get the most important things fixed and say we have to wait for Asobo ect., ect. Holy, i can't read it anymore, it's killing my brain.

 And PMDG doesn't have to wait for Asobo, but vice versa, it's a bit of a frenzy with these Dev's - professional Team, you hear me laugh..

They should take an example from newer and beginner devs who do mutch more efficient work than PMDG !

Sorry have to..

cheers 😏

[threexgreen 3,156]

I think some people would live a healthier life if they just stayed away from anything PMDG, judging by how many people seem to be close to suffering an aneurysm every time PMDG posts something. 🙂

[badgenes 125]

PMDG is PMDG.  IMHO they haven't changed so much as the community / society and associated paradigms have changed.  Historically R can and has been at times pompous, long winded and generally self absorbed...In my experience this typically masks a lack of productivity / expertise / insecurity OR is a hallmark of a strong leader.  Not to say all strong leaders are long winded of course...😇

🤣🤣

[VBHB 298]

PMDG are just like Boeing - money over their people. They haven't changed in years and never will as the zealots put up with it.

[badgenes 125]

I'd like to think that PMDG and Raz do have a love of what they produce and at the end of each day value their products and clientele more than they do the money that results from the transaction but I admit their motivations are not easy to discern at times.  They do appear to have a definite plan they are following to get to where they've told us they will be.  If they follow through on their MSFS products with all that they have promised regardless of their timeline I'll believe it isn't just about the money, time will tell.

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by badgenes

[G550flyer 1,029]

On 10/14/2022 at 2:52 PM, ha5mvo said:

ok, will it also provide info on convective weather at different altitudes?

Keep in mind that I am talking about a system in the real world jet I fly(G550). I was mentioning that this system could be modeled in sim with GTN series since they have the capability to display weather. My jet uses xm weather and I believe the GTN series real world does as well. It may be easy to simulate a weather download and have the GTN show the weather data at different altitudes.

[Alpine Scenery 1,609]

On 10/14/2022 at 8:26 AM, lwt1971 said:

and what sim(s) and aircraft they think does the job best/better (hint: it's probably a legacy sim that moves aircraft on imaginary rails in the sky), etc etc but no, nothing.
 

In the old discontinued Microsoft Flight, when I was landing at Hawaii, I had some REAL serious turbulence that felt more real than any other sim to date. So that is the SIM I would reference for wind turbulence, but it could ALSO be that because back then I had lower expectations that it just felt that good compared to all the ancient software options we had back then.

SU 10 seems slightly better with wind turbulence, so far, but I'm still not getting that "MS Flight" effect I had before. I agree without being a pilot it's hard to equate what something should feel like, but I can also say, that a lot of pilots get things wrong in the sim because the sim is not moving like a real plane. Hence you are sitting still. So now it becomes trickery of the eyes without the feel of flying that they are used to, so a lot of pilots also give invalid input about the sim as well, because BIAS exists no matter what (pilot or not). 

That said, I can surely tell what any mid-sized or large plane feels like with real turbulence, since I've flown in them so many times (not as a pilot but a passenger of course), and all I can really say is that it's hard to simulate turbulence without movement (Asobo kinda "word not allowed" if they do, and "word not allowed" if they dont)...

 

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by Alpine Scenery