With the excitement of Prepar3D V4.4 now starting to die down, developers are starting to pour development efforts into seeing how they can use the new PBR technology in their products. Leonardo Software has already began showing their progress with their MD-XX series, and FSDreamteam with their upcoming Chicago O’Hare. Today, LatinVFR contacted me to inform me that they have been working on updating their current P3DV4 scenery library to include the new PBR texture set.
The first product to be upgraded to include the new textures will be Santiago SCELv2. The product was originally released earlier last month to positive community reviews. The team has since been working on how they can implement the new technology and have given us the first glimpse into how it looks. Developer Ricardo described Prepar3D V4.4 as a “game changer” and is “very surprised they added this on a current version of P3D.”
The below screenshots offer a direct comparison between PBR materials being used and the legacy version. The difference is pretty staggering, especially during the low-sun shots where the light is bouncing off of the floor.
Further to the preview shots above, the team gave us a short timelapse video of the technology at work. It’s still work in progress and some things such as jetways and airport clutter don’t have the PBR textures yet applied.
We asked LatinVFR when people can expect the new version of Santiago SCELv2 to be released. Their response “hopefully this month”. They’re just working on a few other parts of development for the conversion, but otherwise, they’re confident it will be soon. The next question: “will there be an upgrade fee?” The answer: no! All Prepar3D V4 airports that LatinVFR will be upgraded for free. That includes Miami and Barcelona.
