In the first post of the year from PMDG, we have been treated to another teaser of the 737 for MSFS. Along with the new teaser, Robert also gave a little insight about some of the other in-development projects that should see some light this year.
Starting with the PMDG 737 for MSFS, Robert shared a new screenshot from within the cockpit of the narrow-body Boeing jet. He said that the image represents further refinement that has happened over the past few weeks. In particular, he noted that the knobs and annunciators have been re-rebuilt to give even more detail. In his post, he noted that “you will also notice the amount of detail that has gone into the face of the MCP, especially the knobs and buttons. Even down to the odd paint application on the course and altitude knobs.”
During the holiday period, PMDG has been working has been putting a focus on graphic quality, model refinement, lighting and more. During that period of time, the team has continuously been putting the plane through its paces with testing. One element that Robert had been testing is the use of the EGPWS, which is a Terrain Awareness and Alerting system. You can see from the newly released image below that the data function is present and functional, whilst also seeing the profile view of the VSD. You should note that the image is an in-development shot so there may be some issues that will be fixed as development continues.
As for how development is going, Robert said that things are moving along in the right direction. Some elements are now being cleaned up, whilst work on integrating Navigraph charts into the EFB will also start in earnest. Another piece of good news is that Robert has started shooting footage for a few previews and has started mapping out the tutorial videos he plans to release for the 737 for MSFS. What is exciting is that Robert said that some of these items are things they have said: “we’ll get to that right at the end.”
Other PMDG Products
Of course, the 737 for MSFS isn’t the only product or project in development at PMDG. Robert said that there’s still a lot of work going on for other projects that he disclosed in his forum post. First was the fact that there is a significant update for the 747 series on Prepar3D that is being pushed through further testing before being released. Hopefully, this phase of testing results in some positive feedback so that all users can get their hands on the changes being made.
Another area of work is on the Operations Center and how to handle liveries. He said that handling liveries for products on different platforms (e.g. Marketplace) in Microsoft Flight Simulator turned out to be more complex than hoped. That said, work is ongoing to make the process easier and the tools more useful for PMDG customers.
As for future Microsoft Flight Simulator products, Robert said that he will soon layout the product spectrum in a bit more detail. This may even include the anticipated ‘completely new airplane product going forward’ (which could be the 757 teased in a development video last year). So hopefully, we’ll get to see some more on the 777 and the 747 for Microsoft Flight Simulator soon.
For more on PMDG, check out the December update or previews that were shared earlier than that. Hopefully Xbox and Marketplace users will also see the return of the DC-6 after it was removed from sale.
