Whilst it was formally announced back at FlightSimExpo 2018, TFDi Design has been awfully quiet on progress with their newest product PACX. There have been some teased on their Instagram and Facebook accounts as of late. However, we are pleased to be able to exclusively bring you some brand new information regarding the new product along.
First a bit of background. PACX (Passenger and Crew Experience) has been designed and built to give flight simmers the opportunity to simulate the responsibility any captain would feel when travelling with passengers and crew down the back. PACX will give you the opportunity to pass on messages to the passengers and interact with the cabin crew in a dynamic and engaging way.
(The video above is a very early version of the product and is far from a final representation of the product)
For example, if you’re late to push back and depart, you may find your crew and passengers less friendly than usual – unless of course, you provide them with plenty of information along the way. Passengers and crew will react in real time to what’s going on and the situation you’re in. It will ensure that no two flights are the same.
In terms of control, everything can be done through the clean and non-obstructive overlay menu. It’s super simple to navigate through the options, set certain conditions and make decisions. You can inform crew and passengers of delays, diversions, aircraft technical issues and more. Furthermore, you will be able to issue any menu interaction with voice commands through the Public Address system. Both the crew and passengers will react accordingly.
PACX from TFDi Design will be a product that continues to grow and build as time goes on. Flight reports can be shared with friends or virtual airlines easily through web-based services and users will be able to customise various elements easily thanks to the XML scripting. In terms of integration, PACX will work with various third-party aircraft via various Virtual Cockpit controls, it won’t be restricted to a certain aircraft or developer.
A massive part of the product is sound engineering. We spoke to Brandon Olivo from the TFDi Design team who provided some insight into just how detailed and creative the team have got with ensuring it all sounds as realistic as possible.
“The sounds play an important roll in PACX. As you go through your experience with PACX, you will notice your cabin crew isn’t just a robot. As would anyone, if your day isn’t going so well, it might project into your work! Our flight attendant doesn’t always have the best days, and it will be shown. Ask her for too many refills on your coffee during an already bad day, and she might not be too pleased! We aimed for variety when trying to capture the experience of doing more than just flying a cockpit around the whole time. Listening to the same announcements over and over again may become repetitive thus reducing the awe factor in your flight simulation experience. From notifying the cabin what flight number this is seamlessly, to advising on estimated flight time, PACX will surprise you with every flight!
With our initial release, our flight attendant will provide you 100+ hours of enjoyable/realistic flight time before you really get to learn who she is. Our intentions are to later release packs to introduce you to more flight crews from around the world, but for now, we can’t wait to show you what is to come!”
Whilst the product is still in active development, we can confirm that beta testing is underway. In fact, a few members of the FSElite team are involved and will be reporting some first looks on the product in the near future.
In terms of platforms, PACX will work with FSX, FSX:SE, P3Dv2-4 and also X-Plane 11. Whilst there are plans for it to work with any aircraft type, passenger interaction will be limited to commercial aviation at first, with things like corporate, military and general aviation to come in the future.
No pricing has been set, yet but TFDi Design has assured it will be priced “competitively” to other similar products. As for a release date, so far, the team have confirmed it will be released before June 1st 2019.
As development continues, we’ll be sure to update you accordingly. As mentioned, a few members of the FSElite team have access to the beta and so we’ll be putting together a first look in the near future for the community to check out.
Head on over to the product page on TFDi Design’s website for the full scoop.
