PMDG has taken to the forums to share the latest development update on what is happening behind the scenes. In the latest post, Rob shares
737-600 for MSFS Release Update
Those of you who are waiting on the 737-600 for MSFS will be sad to hear that the plane has been pushed back. In his post, he said that the addition of the new PMDG Lateral Flight Path Model (LFPM) being added to the 737-600 means that a few extra weeks are needed to get everything wrapped up. We’re told that more guidance on the release schedule will come soon when the next version goes into testing.
If you’re waiting for the plane to pop up in the in-sim Marketplace, PMDG said that the time between being sold on the PMDG store and the Marketplace will get smaller with future releases. There is a discussion going on internally to see if the release of the -600 can happen concurrently, but some items need to be finalised before going ahead with this idea.
Lateral Flight Path Model
The new LFPM (previously known as the LNAV update) “encompasses the entire lateral flight path process, including the flight director logic in order to give a far more accurate, more true-to-life lateral flight path model that has been sorely needed in our entire product [catalogue] for some time.”
The 737-600 is, as mentioned above, currently testing this new system. It will be added to the 737-700 on the same day as the -600 for MSFS is released. It will also be present in future products.
For those using Prepar3D waiting on the update, Rob said the update will “inevitably” roll backwards through their entire product line. He said there is “no defined schedule” at this time due to being committed to Microsoft Flight Simulator development. He said, “it is likely we will pop it into the P3D product lines in intermediate update cycles along the way. It is hard to predict a schedule for this until we get clear of the 737 release cycle at least.”
737-700 for MSFS Update
A new update is in the works for the PMDG 737-700 for MSFS. This update focuses on tweaks and fixes along with an emphasis on the “flight deck visual fidelity and improvements in animation algorithms that have proven problematic for many users.” The team has made good progress on resolving these issues thanks to the community pointing it out to PMDG.
What is interesting to learn from the forum post is that the trim wheel animation is now resolved for the future update. There was an issue prior, which I’ll let Rob explain using his own words:
“We spent a ton of time getting the trim wheel animation correct in the 737 prior to release- and then along the way someone (who shall remain nameless because he signs the paychecks ) accidentally reverted that section of code to “original source” which then took the 737 trim wheel animation back to a version that was implemented in the 737NGX in 2010.”
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That sums up everything worth noting from the lengthy topic. If you want to, you can read the full forum post over on the PMDG forums.