In a lengthy video on YouTube, Milviz’s own Colin and D’Andre discuss many of the ongoing projects and future plans the company has.
PC-6 Porter
Milviz is very happy with the release of the PC-6 Porter. However, the team is not done with the plane yet. Since the release of the first stage of the plane the team has been working hard at the second stage. This second stage will bring an older version of the plane to our sim with an analogue cockpit. Stage 2 will also feature tundra tyres and floats for amphibious operations. The team anticipates this stage to release in Q2 of this year.
Alongside the Porter Stage 2 the team has several other projects going on. The status update on these was rather brief but it’s good to mention them nonetheless. The team is hard at work on the Beaver DHC-2T and anticipates a release in 2022. There is also the A-1H Skyraider which the team announced in September of last year. The video also briefly mentioned the Huey which is anticipated for Q3 or Q4, and the SR-71 Blackbird. Colin and D’Andre did not comment much on the status or progress of these planes.
ATR-72
One of the more anticipated projects by Milviz and also one that has previously caused a lot of debate is the ATR-72. In the video, Colin states that progress on this plane is still on-going, but other (commercial) obligations tend to take away some of the resources.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
One of the larger topics of discussion in the video was MSFS as a platform. Though it features absolutely stunning visuals the team is also running into a fair share of limitations that the simulator has. The gist of the story is that MSFS does not allow the same kind of freedom that Prepar3D does. At the same time MSFS is also lacking certain features that Prepar3D provides. This requires the team to do a lot of custom coding of things. It’s also appearing to be a barrier for the developer to release all of their planes on the in-game marketplace. Especially the need to custom code Milviz’s own avionics suites appears to be a barrier for this, as well as the limits of the MSFS SDK weather features.
Milviz Rebrand
Though many customers have become quite accustomed to the Milviz name and brand, it appears that all of this will be changing in the future, as Milviz will be rebranding its entertainment side. Though the developer is not yet ready to share the new name or brand, the video does explain that going forward the name Milviz will be used for its commercial and military side.
Prepar3D
Though for Milviz Prepar3D holds a special place in their heart, there is no denying that for the time being it does not look like this simulator has the future. Especially not with sales for this platform being reduced to extremely low numbers for Milviz. Although the team does keep the door open for a future version of Prepar3D, provided Lockheed Martin can pull some kind of rabbit out of their hat, Milviz has therefore decided to stop development and support for Prepar3D. No current development projects will be coming to Prepar3D anymore, nor will the team update any of their existing products for the platform. The team considers MSFS the future and aims to bring as many of their “legacy” products to the new platform as possible. Products for Prepar3D can still be purchased and used as long as they are compatible and Milviz is now selling all P3D products with a permanent 50% sale.
King Air
Last but not least Colin discussed the King Air. This product was pre-ordered by quite many people quite a long time ago. With the pre-orders Milviz also promised people to give them access to the original KA300/350, without the Pro Line avionics suite. However, the team is not sure it will be able to bring these versions of the plane into MSFS. To cover that promise, Colin stated in the video that customers of the initial pre-order will be eligible to a free Milviz product of choice. This offer is only available to the customers of the pre-ordered version of the King Air.
There were a few other mentions in the 50 minute long video, such as that of a C-130 that’s currently under development for commercial partner for Prepar3D and might make its way to MSFS once this plane has been delivered. We will keep you up to date on Milviz ongoing projects as the developer shows more previews or releases more information about them.
