X-Plane 12.1.0 New Article & Features

[Inu 60]

A larger update than expected, what should have been mostly a graphics update now has new systems, better flight model & possibly a new camera system.

Well done LR!

https://www.x-plane.com/2024/02/whats-new-in-x-plane-12-1-0-oh-boy/

 

Edited February 23 by Inu

[Daube 353]

The list of improvements is quite pleasing to read. I just hope I can get some performance improvements also on my aging hardware 😕 Ah well, we will see, when it's released.

[tonywob 4,769]

That's an impressive list of changes and it's great to see the graphics finally getting some love.

 

[Malaromane 422]

I'm quite enthused about the incoming improvements to the G1000. Especially pleased to read that they are making it easier for 3rd party developers to customise the G1000 via an interop plugin.

Very excited for this upcoming Beta release.

[Bjoern 1,157]

Too bad they didn't flesh out the ATC bugfixes and improvements a bit.

Anyway, looking forward to 12.1.0, although I guess that all CPU performance improvements will be eaten up by the improved shadows and anti-aliasing.

[peroni 541]

Excellent news. Hopefully it will not be a long wait

I'm also hoping autoOrtho gets updated with the latest ortho4xp improvements. 

That new camera system is similar to what XP realistic does?

 

[Murmur 3,944]

58 minutes ago, Bjoern said:

although I guess that all CPU performance improvements will be eaten up by the improved shadows and anti-aliasing.

Anti-aliasing is all done on GPU, CPU plays no part in it.

[jcomm 5,939]

Graphics wise, at least in as far as AA is concerned, XP12 pleases me more than enough, but I am glad it can get even better...

Looking fwd for the flight model changes.

ATC is probably one of the aspects in which I felt more disappointed with XP12 so far... I really hope it get's into a better state of development and coherency, coverage and functionality...

But surely Great News overall !

Edited February 23 by jcomm

[tonywob 4,769]

1 hour ago, Malaromane said:

I'm quite enthused about the incoming improvements to the G1000. Especially pleased to read that they are making it easier for 3rd party developers to customise the G1000 via an interop plugin.

Looking forward to synthetic vision, although it appears that one is coming a bit later than this version.

[Franz007 497]

Very promising news! And also great to read « X-Plane Team is growing faster than ever« . That’s why they will be able to bring so many new things and improvements for the next version. 

Edited February 23 by Franz007

[efis007 885]

From the site... https://www.x-plane.com/2024/02/whats-new-in-x-plane-12-1-0-oh-boy/

Physics-based Camera – shipping in 12.1.0 or another upcoming release
This new in-cockpit view option moves the camera based on the acceleration of the aircraft
In real life, the pilot viewpoint is not locked at single point because their necks are not locked in a single position. Thus the pilot’s view moves as a damped spring.

Oh my God, now we also missed the "physics-based camera" !!! 🤦‍♂️🤢 
This craze for "excess realism" is causing damage after damage.
I hope this new camera feature in 12.1 can be disabled in the options menu. 🙏

I have already tried to fly with these "physics cameras" (XP-realistic plugin, example), but the experience was very short, I immediately deactivated them because it is impossible to control the avionics of the plane.
In fact, the "vibrating camera" doesn't just make the head move, but it makes the entire image on the screen move, therefore it is no longer stabilized.
Let's remember this word: stabilized.
When I tried to control the avionics with XP-realistic I could no longer keep the mouse pointer on the knobs and buttons of the cockpit because the mouse - due to the wobbling of the display - continually loses its position on the avionics instruments! 😣
If the image on the screen constantly wobbles (and consequently the mouse also wobbles) how can I center the knobs and buttons correctly?!

Furthermore, the concept expressed by Austin according to which in reality our head is similar to a spring, and consequently the image on the screen MUST wobble and vibrate, is total nonsense. 🤦‍♂️
In the real world the head moves but our brain always carries out constant and powerful image stabilization which allows us to see the world as still and stable as possible!

In the real world I don't see the outside world "wobbling" as I walk down the street.
In the real world I don't see the outside world "wobbling" while I drive the car.
The head may move as Austin claims (which is true), but in the real world the perceived visual effect is NOT remotely similar to the "XP-realistic" plugin or any other crazy "sickening shaky camera" effect.

Understand LR?
Ok the "realism".
But there is a limit between common sense and madness.
Please stop this madness of imitating the behavior of cameras !!!
Our eyes and brain are not cameras and do not behave like cameras !!!

Austin wants to implement a nauseating new camera effect?
And so be it.
The important thing is that that effect (far from realistic!) can be optioned and deactivated from the menu, the user must have the ability to turn it On or Off.

------------------------------------------

Before finishing I will also add a further note.
Xplane12 wants to imitate cameras.
But has anyone on the LR team ever noticed that modern photography-filmography is increasingly oriented towards image stabilization? 
Today almost all modern cameras are stabilized, they make use of gimbal stabilizers, processors with stabilizing algorithms, optics with stabilizing mechanics, and any other type of device designed specifically to AVOID shaky representations like those that Austin would like to offer us on XP 12.1.
That old-fashioned way of making the image shake on the display is something that should be avoided, it resembles the old black and white films of the Lumière brothers from 1895 who used old non-stabilised cameras (and the films shown in theaters were all shaky because it couldn't be done otherwise).
But today we are no longer in 1895.
Today the world has changed.
Today, professional aeronautical videos are not produced by making shaky shots, but rather by making shots that are as clean and stabilized as possible because (1) they are more beautiful, (2) the customer doesn't have to feel nauseous when watching the video.

So here's the Austin paradox.
If Austin in XP12.1 wants to imitate modern cameras (i.e. stabilized) he must paradoxically leave the images still and stable exactly as they are now in v12.0.

------------

However, as I said before, if Austin wants to put the sickening camera in v12.1... so be it.
As long as it is optional, and never the default.

[mjrhealth 820]

Wow, now we dont want realism. Xprealisitc works perfectly fine, if you set it up properly. But it does need some fixes for 12. Apparantly developer has had didcussions with Laminar about it.

[tonywob 4,769]

12 minutes ago, mjrhealth said:

Wow, now we dont want realism. Xprealisitc works perfectly fine, if you set it up properly. But it does need some fixes for 12. Apparantly developer has had didcussions with Laminar about it.

Also doesn't work for us Apple Mac luddites... hence any graphical improvements are a bonus 

[mSparks 2,086]

20 minutes ago, efis007 said:

hope this new camera feature in 12.1 can be disabled in the options menu. 🙏

yes its a view option.

Austin has been throwing around new builds with it every few days for a few weeks now, it's the most excited I've seen him get about something. 

It was part of his presentation in montreal, but he didnt have anything to show then.

Understandable to, having tested a few of them rather than a novelty I think it ends up being a setting we dont know how we ever did without.

But time will tell. At the very least its already shown him that turbulence was overdone and runways were to bumpy.

[Murmur 3,944]

I like dynamic camera if well done and I find it increases realism, although I reckon it's something subjective.

I'm pretty confident it will be optional though, also considering that there are multiple use cases where it's not to be used. Most obvious one: professional flight sims (one of XP markets) don't use a dynamic camera, of course.

So no need to get so upset over it. Something similar is already implemented in XP, it's called "cinema verite" and it's a sort of dynamic camera, reacts to accelerations but in a very subtle way. It's of course optional.