It’s been a little while since we saw the release of the Fly the MadDogX MD-80, but the development team has been hard at work crafting the next service pack, which has been done to improve the visual rendering, the usability of the aircraft and additional features to further immerse the simmer. In the forum post shared recently, the new features have been outlined, in addition to what the future holds.
As I first mentioned, the first thing that has been improved is the overall appearance of the aircraft. The team has spent a deal of time looking over each texture in fine detail and has fixed any errors, improved the fonts and remapped textures wherever it was needed. A lot of feedback was given regarding the light textures and the team have spent time making further refinements. Different panels now have varying tones, annunciation lights can now be dimmed and spotlight positions have been fixed. Livery painters will also rejoice in the fact that you can now personalise the yoke, registration placards and notes.
Further to texture work, the 3D modelling has also received some attention – both inside and out. One of the biggest changes visually is the upgrade to the Gables G7490 ADS. Animations have also been fixed, and there are now several customization now available via the load manager. Outside, work has been done on the wing-flex model and new chocks, air conditioning units and air starter carts have been added.
Leonardo Software has also included a bunch of effects such as St. Elmo’s fire, tailpipe fire during an abnormal engine start, brake smoke effects and other smoke effects on external power vehicles.
A lot of feedback given to the team was regarding the load manager. As a result, the team have spent time working on them. Users can now enjoy save states for individual airframe. One of the biggest changes comes from a new feature which is all about the life and progress of each airframe and the maintenance aspects. Going forward, your aircraft will start to age. The systems will remember what fluid was consumed, how the aircraft was operated, how many hours it’s flown, etc. Over time, you’ll notice that things will start to become less reliable or worse, INOP.
For example, you’ll be able to conduct a weekly or 100 block hour checks, replace the breaks, service the APU and more. Each airframe will be independent from one another. So if you use one aircraft more than another, you may start to notice the break efficiency may decrease, or the rate of failures will start to increase. To help you, a tech log will be available per aircraft so you can see how things are going and understand what MEL items you’re carrying with you (or you can clear them).
As development continues, the team will build upon this feature to something more complex and random.
There’s also been some general bug fixes for aircraft systems and performance.
As for the future, the team will be releasing service packs for both the P3Dv4.1 and above version of the FlythemaddogX, along with a specific one for 32-bit versions. After that, the focus will be on the 64-bit versions only. As the team believe the future of simulation is in a 64-bit world, they will continue to offer the upgrade price for users wishing to move platforms. After that, work will begin on shared cockpit capabilities.
No word on a release date, but you can pick up a copy now from SimMarket. 32-bit version will cost you 57 Euros, and the 64-bit version is 70 euros.
You can read our review on the aircraft. Even before the update, we loved it!
