What's going on....

[tkyler]

I'm not sure why I feel compelled to give an update today....probably because I'm optimistic about the future and I'm "coming out of the fog". The fog in this case is "X-Plane Developer Documentation", which I've been crafting for over 2 years now and getting close to deploying for a soft-launch/preview/feedback/evolve phase.  What end-customers probably don't see,  is that there is a major rework going on within X-Plane....the kind where we (Laminar) say to ourselves,  "we need to plan and retool for the next 10-15 years".   X-Plane has been stretching old tech for a long time....and a deep introspection and plan had to happen.   Being that I've been around since 1999, and have worked for Laminar in the past, I thought I might could help ....and in doing so, protect IXEG/Togasim's future in the process, but at the cost of taking time away from overhauling my own products and giving that time to Laminar for the remodeling effort.

So my part in the Laminar overhaul,  is in the simplest terms to "train developers" how to make awesome add-ons for X-Plane....doing so through better documentation and tutorials...and make development a lot more fun and satisfying for folks who want to try it.  Developing is a fun hobby...if we can remove the pain and friction of having to hunt for sparse information.

You may recall a major challenge I've had with my products was converting all my source code from Gimzo Lua to C++ so we could be less dependent on 3rd party tech.  This is like building a RV-7 experimental airplane...and then saying, "I want to turn my RV-7 into an RV-8".   I mean....better to start form scratch.   Another reason I'm optimistic is because of AI.   In the last week, we have successfully used AI to convert my MU-2 source code from Lua to C++.....BUT....this is incremental, not just a 100% compatibility swap, there are some fringe functionalities we are still working through...and in addition,   we are learning how to better use AI along the way and of course we have to check ..every....single....corner of the code to make sure it works.  Further, we have to 100% understand what AI did in the conversion.

As of today, I'm quite excited about getting back to developing add-ons and participating in helping others improve their add-ons.  AI is really making quite the change for the better, and a lot of the initiatives we've been working on internally are fast approaching internal testing and getting closer to making their way to the community.   

So as far as my own add-ons go.....we are steadily working through this conversion from Lua to C++ and starting to see some quite impressive success.  It won't look much different to end-users obviously, but for our part, this is a major, major milestone.  Mind you once this AI conversion is done and we have the workflow.....coding will no longer be the long straw in aircraft development.  We will be able to focus on 3D quality and systems accuracy and not get burdened down in compilation and coding syntax and the physical time lost to typing.  It really is an exciting time, and I know its been a bit of a burden having to wait for AI  to grow up to enable this point.   First up will be the MU2....probably around late September or October if our current success is any indicator. ....it will be our prototype test case for leveraging AI.   Then we'll take that experience and expertise and apply it the 733 and get it ready for another decade of service....and with no upgrade charge to existing customers.  

On the one hand, I'm bummed its taken this long, and on the other, I really couldn't see any other path, as annoying as its been.  This is just the nature of technology evolution...and taking the time to retool was the wiser and more prudent path for long term sustainability.  Ben Russell's Gizmo Lua opened the door for incredible products and enabled really creative folks to execute their visions and for this I am very grateful.  As with anything in life though, it comes in seasons and we need to look to the next one.

-tkyler

 

Edited 23 hours ago by tkyler