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Captains, It's with a lot of excitement and appreciated patience that we are ready to announce what's to come for IXEG's future! The team chose to let the dust settle a bit and not have too wide of a moving target in the early days of X-Plane 12 so as to not waste development time. The following will serve as a brief summary of what's to come, as well as a bit of a roadmap on where things will go. Things have changed a lot since the last X-Plane 11 update, one of them being that @tkyler is now full time in add-on development instead of juggling between real life jobs and that of our virtual world. This has given us the ability to focus on where we want the 737 to go into the future, and we hope you'll like what you initially see! Cost Back on February 7th, 2022, a little after Laminar Research announced X-Plane 12 was coming, we published on the IXEG 737 product page that purchasing customers would receive a free product update to the X-Plane 12 version. Per that statement, we are honoring this free update for customers who purchased the IXEG 737 on or after February 7th, 2022. For customers having purchased the IXEG 737 on or before February 6th, 2022, the upgrade will be a paid upgrade of $14.95 USD. Why this pricing structure? Our goal is to keep the upgrade pricing within reach of all customers at a fair price, and will ensure continued development of the IXEG 737 into the future. This all said, we also want to provide existing customers with additional value for the upgrade cost, above and beyond just the 'porting' work required to gain Version 12 compatibility. So in order to provide additional value, we decided to develop an all-new 3D cabin, working cabin doors and wing-flex to include in the update and gain momentum towards overhauling the 733 to modern 3D standards. This work has been ongoing for the previous months and is responsible for most of the development time by @tkyler thus far. We've included some pics / links of the interior work in progress below. Background on why this news is only just coming out… Flight testing was delayed slightly while Laminar made alterations that affect certain areas of our models, but also because @Litjan, who handles the flight model, was working towards his 747 Captain rating (now since completed....congratulations Jan!). With the pesky 747 certification process out of the way, Jan has actively resumed flight testing / tweaking things, and if anybody is curious, the team does NOT plan to develop a 747 product . What's to come prior to the initial v12 release? Items to be included in the initial v12 release: All-new, high resolution 3D cabin interior Animated doors Wing flex Ensure satisfactory flight and systems performance Rework our GUI interface to a more flexible, imGUI based infrastructure Once these are complete, we will release the update. A good portion of this has already been completed, and other bits are still in the works. We believe we can do this work before the fall in the USA, and have a solid platform to continue improvements. Once released and stabilized after addressing any bugs or issues, we will immediately continue the work of improving the 733 in several areas. Some items we will be addressing and improving are: FMS VNAV Prediction / Performance Holds Performance / Progress predictions. Swap to XP11 NavData format. FMOD Sound Implementation, allowing us to more easily expand our sound set. New exterior 3D and high-resolution textures Enhanced GUI for accommodating more robust interactions with operations. So that's where we are in the development. The IXEG 733 is being worked on continuously and we're excited about evolving the product as both X-Plane and computer technology / performance evolves, chasing immersion as far as we possibly can. We want to thank you all for being customers and hope we can deliver satisfying experiences through this iterative journey that is flight simulation development. On behalf of the IXEG team, especially @tkyler and @Litjan, we thank all of your for your excitement and patience that has so far driven us to this point. Enjoy the previews! Please Note: All images are showcasing continued work in progress and things, including texture work, are subject to change.

Those are generally custom implementations, many times handled be a dedicated developer. While I am interested in VR interactivity, I view it as a 'interface layer' to be built on top of existing functionalities.....but the functionality development takes priority. That being said, during the course of development on other things, I do take time to peek into solutions towards catering to VR users....so its not completely lost on me Bulva and I will turn my mind to VR issues. -tkyler

This is exciting!!! Thank you guys for bringing one of my favourite little planes into modernity. And my full support behind charging for this update, it’s been bloody YEARS since I originally paid for this, frankly it’s amazing you guys are still maintaining it. Disregard all negativity you might receive from the update charge, you deserve to be compensated for your hard work and love poured into this.

Thanks for all the sentiments and kind words. I myself am happy to be working on X-Plane full time and will strive to continue to do so. I can 'partially' sympathize with those who are...lets say...."on the fence" to put it nicely, regarding upgrade costs for software development, as I myself am one of those old-timers who came from what I like to call the "golden age of software" where it would obviously be great to buy it once and get upgrades forever, but as it stands, I now have at least 4 software subscriptions to software, billed every month, that is constantly evolving and some don't have the 'obvious features' I want and I understand it now as a developer. It used to be we could model a few polygons, slap a photo texture and we're done, because that's all the technology could handle. Now I have to model a few million polygons, slice them up and lay them all out neatly and texture them all and it takes a lot longer than it used to. I never had to worry about detail lighting before because X-Plane didn't have it, now its a whole "lighting pass" by itself. Same for sound engineering, etc. The technology has expanded a lot faster than the market. For those of us who remember playing Sublogic / Microsoft Flight Sim in 1981....we've come a long way technologically and I for one love it! The growth comes with some pains. I'll note that X-Plane dev requires more specialized knowledge now and finding folks with that knowledge and time is quite hard to find so its a challenge to execute what we now have the ability to produce. After nearly 20+ years of messing about with X-Plane, the important thing, I believe, is to keep moving and there've been some 'not insignificant' sacrifices in the background so that we can keep moving on this X-Plane work...as niche as it is. Its defininitely a labor of love and we all have to live with who we are. I figure if I can do what I love, I'll never work a day .....but I do need a paycheck to keep at it. I appreciate everyone out there who understands that. Thanks again. Back at it. -tkyler

First, excuse for my bad english. I'm french. I'm very happy to read this announcement. I love so much this plane and quality of the hard work is wonderful. I think it's normal to pay developper for their work and lots of hours spend to make compatible with Xplane 12 and on enhancement of the cabin. And 15$ is a very honest price. Nobody wants to work for free, me the first. I'm very impatient to fly with one of my favorite plane. Thanks for your work. Bests regards.

Did you read anything that was said above in the initial announcement? Anyone who purchased the product from the date the product page was updated will receive the upgrade for free. That promise has not been broken. We made ZERO announcements about a free update to existing customers anywhere. We did publish on the product page clearly made for new customers they would get a free update for X-Plane 12. There was a reason for that, and this is not uncommon in the software industry when products are in transition. A product page is an advertisement for potential customers. And, we are holding up that promise as was outlined in the announcement. A product page is not a means of communication to existing customers. We communicate by e-mail and forum announcements to existing customers, and always have. You're stretching things here.

Simple explanation. If I were to say, "we won't update the 737 until I have the FMS working like I want to", then I would not be here, I'd have taken another job and the 737 would be retired at Version 11 of XPlane and the IXEG would be done and I would be done with XP development. The workload to address those items you mention exceeds the workload for the items we have chosen to update for XP12. That is why those are getting addressed at a later time. The reasons those items weren't addressed have been explained previously and at this juncture, it doesn't matter whether folks (myself included) like it or not. I have to move forward from today. It is important for me to convey that "later" in todays context, with me working full time on XP, isn't as vague or as far on the horizon as "later" was a few years back when even we didn't know how much "later" we would find time to work on things with our other work schedules. I made a decision to not pursue other jobs and try to make X-Plane development work for me full time... put a plan together with the consult of some other folks whose opinions I respect, and am now executing that plan. The MU2 was a springboard to the IXEG update and the IXEG update will springboard to the 733 upgrade work we all would like to see....and dare I say.... future products. This is the path required to keep my X-Plane development work going and not let these products die out. It was simply a cost/benefit strategic decision that dictated the order of work. -tkyler

I do have my limits Bulva no flushing toilets and opening luggage bins. I'm not modeling the lavatory interior either (yet). Us flight sim folks are a diverse bunch and we each gain our own individual pleasures from elements of the simulation in differing areas. Some folks just like being in and around planes/cockpits and how it pleases their eye, some like "button pushing", some like the cognitive elements of navigation, some like the "visual pleasure" of being at altitude and looking down and others the sounds. There is one particular youTube reviewer who likes to get the camera about 5cm from objects and if the textures aren't high-rez at that distance, he laments it as some kind of product deficiency...so there's all types of consumer prefs. It has always been my philosophy to "evolve towards reality in all areas", except that all areas can't be achieved at once, hence the prioritization based on our experiences with customer feedback. As you point out, adding more and more possibly eats into performance and until we push the limit, we don't know how far we can go. We don't want to leave 'money on the table', if we don't have to, thats comes with risk of falling into obsolescence as others push forward. But we do go into these areas with strategies to address 'what ifs'. Using preferences to kill heavy FPS suckers is one option.....downsampling the textures yet another...providing alternative, low resolution objects another, etc. You can be sure that good performance is high on my list, and we'll have strategies in place to manage that. I'm a huge fan of configuration preferences...and hence one reason we're moving to imGUI. it will allow us to more quickly and easily impelement interface options for users to manage all that stuff. -tkyler

Some information on that here :

Excellent news !! I' am very excited about the arrive of the 737-300 to the XP 12 !! What about a cargo version ? Have you already analyzed the possibility of extending this version of the 737-300 to its variants: 737-400 and 737-500 ? I apologize if my questions are inconvenient and/or too hasty at this momment !! Best regards, Majela

It's either the viable path, or no path. We chose the viable one. Should you change your spending habits over a less than $15 charge, I don't know what to really say. Farewell, I guess? Considering the upgrade costs many other developers on a certain other store charge, I don't find this a major issue. We kept the pricing low and in check for a reason. I'm also not really sure which promise you're referencing, but Jan has always had a very open and honest topic about what's not in the IXEG 737 at each patch. His message has always contained the following words: "We are trying to be as upfront about the shortcomings of our model as possible. I have myself bought many aircraft for flight-simulations boasting great things, only to be disappointed. I want to avoid that for everyone, so if you find a "must have" feature on this list, I encourage you to hold off on purchase until we added your feature in a later patch." The X-Plane 12 work alone is hundreds of man hours due to major changes in the code interaction with 12, so the upgrade fee would have come about one way or another (and probably much more expensive) had we considered IXEG a feature complete and done package in X-Plane 11 before this upgrade. It will be available at release of the update. All current customers will receive a discount code.

This will not happen.

Nope. We gave the X-Plane 11 upgrade for free. There's been zero financial gain since initial release in 2016 till now.

I bought this marvel of simulation back in 2016 for XP10 I think, I don't remember if I had to pay for the upgrade to XP11, I definitely would have, and paying $15 for the upgrade to XP12 still seems like a gift to me. It's one of the planes that I have most enjoyed ever flying by hand, I am not a pilot in real life and I cannot speak with knowledge of the facts, but I have been in flight simulation for many years, I started with a Spectrum 48K and Spitfire 40, and the feeling that you are flying a machine that weighs many tons and has a lot of inertia, I have not achieved it with any other aircraft of its class. Perhaps I do not know how to explain well what I mean, English is not my language and I have to use a translator ,sorry. In short, if you have it and have enjoyed it, $15 dollars is nothing and if you don't have it but you like these monsters of the air, don't hesitate, you would be missing one of the best, if not the best in its category.

I think now is a good time for a reminder that regardless of any state IXEG was in, X-Plane 12 broke existing functionality to the point the product literally doesn't work. You can't even use flaps in X-Plane 12. Because of code changes necessary to get it working again, a fee was bound to happen after 6 years of being on the market with no upgrade fees prior to this. As a whole, X-Aviation has always been overly fair with upgrade pricing, most of the time not charging any. We simply do not believe in this type of gouging when it's not warranted and the work to update something was very little on our end. At $14.95, it's a bargain to the work being invested on the porting front alone, and realities are people need to be able to live to produce. You're looking at this the wrong way. These new additions are intentional and designed to show commitment going forward. You're paying for the port to 12. We just happen to believe that we should also show good faith in improving the product along the way rather than just ship the port with a charge. Giving free upgrades to new customers who purchase products during transition phases (like X-Plane 11 becoming X-Plane 12) is very common in software. It is a way to retain customers who are uneasy about purchasing a software product when the next major version is so near. In our case, Laminar had already announced X-Plane 12 and new customers needed a reason to purchase a v11 plane rather than wait it out for v12, and thanks to Laminar announcing 12 so early, the time from announcement to release of 12 was over a year. That means a year of market uncertainty for consumers looking to buy things, which keeps us in business. The data we had showed sales were slumping in the market across the board for this reason alone, and by letting new customers know they could get the upgrade free, the confidence was instilled to make a purchase and also help keep food on our table. Heck, even Apple does this with some of their hardware, surprisingly. Most of the products in your install there have already had announced roadmaps for 12. Islander, TBM, and your two SR20's will be free of charge. If you have v2 of the MU-2, it too will be free of charge.

I fully support Cameron and tkyler when it comes to paying a price for an upgrade. I cannot understand the negativity expressed by some members when it comes to paying a small amount for the XP12 version of an aircraft they bought many years ago for XP11. I do not understand why someone would assume a free update when the developers need to do a lot of work for enabling the use of an aircraft on an upgraded platform. I would suggest these members to refrain from the 'costly' update to XP12. I also would support quality-developers opting for offering a subscription-based model: Customers paying a small amount yearly would receive updates and upgrades for free. Other customers will receive bug-fixes but need to pay for updates and upgrades. I am sure not everybody will be in support. This model may have pros and cons, but I see it as a viable basis for continuous development and improvement.

Hello and congratulations for this exceptional aircraft that I have owned since 2019 and which for me is the best addon in the range. What was my surprise to see that you are not making a simple port, but a global overhaul of this monument... I can't wait to test this new version and introduce it to my subscribers during a live. It's going to be an exceptional evening.

After reading your response and other posts in this thread I realise that I misinterpreted the information posted on the X-Aviation website regarding free upgrades. I apologize for my previous post and thank you for your comments. The $15 upgrade charge is reasonable and I look forward to purchasing the 737 Classic upgrade so I can have this aircraft for X Plane 12.

Yes, just as it is now. It's honestly irrelevant since had the IXEG even been feature complete in our eyes, it would not have worked in 12 at all. Literally not flyable. As it stands, because we felt things weren't feature complete where we wanted them, this mostly worked in your favor here. Had we considered things fully feature complete, this upgrade price would be much higher. We took that into account when thinking about the pricing. It really was a gesture, because what you're really paying for here is the port to 12 cost. Think $34.95 or more had it been the other way around. So, you can be sour if you want, but my personal opinion (and it's only mine), is that's rather petty given the situation and development cost involved.

Wonderful news! Thanks for the update. The upgrade price is good. As a 'lazy user', will there be an option to start with engines running and systems on?

Excellent answer and summary of the flight sim diversity in terms of what people are looking for in a product!

Performance is still something kept in the mind, and the kill object feature will still be in use in scenarios where you're not actively in an area with high detail. You can still expect good performance going forward.

I think 15 USD is more than fair for an update to X-Plane 12. I paid a similar price for the ToLiss A321 upgrade and it was worth it. Lets face it, 15 USD is more or less the cost of a lunch meal and this plane will provide me lots of enjoyable hours.

Thank you for sharing the good news and I’m fine with paying for that upgrade. Well deserved.

I need this in my life take all my money

I am so looking forward to paying the little extra cost for such an amazing upgrade. The team have done the old girl proud. I have had many hours of enjoyment in v11 and can't wait now for my first flight in the old girl in v12. She looks so good dressed up to go flying. Thanks to the team for what they gave us in the past and the future is just looking so good. I hope this message finds everyone, and loved ones safe and well Yours Faithfully Steve

Can't wait, I still have Mike Ray's 737 for the aircraft. Jeffg

The plan going forward will be to make all functions available in the X-Plane pull down menus. Some code changes have been worked on for this, but I'm not sure if it will make it into the initial release yet or not. As a whole, the GUI is getting re-worked to new, modern XP standards though.

Excellent news, was waiting for the announcement, finally here!

In fact, the cockpit is very beautiful, but there is always room for improvement. I will buy it at launch. Thanks!

No, the cockpit is not re-done. It's really not necessary with as much detail went into it to begin with. It may get small enhancements here and there, but it certainly is not in a dire state. The cabin was.

I will probably pay the $15 to upgrade my 737 but that is not honoring the promise, only partially. I understand the reason but will have to consider if I will be upgrading any of my X-Aviation aicraft for X Plane 12.

I am very interested in the Entegra avionics, but I am unfortunately on Linux. Could it be added again without official support (just as Laminar does it for X-Plane with OS Support: Linux: Varies?)

If I can learn to fly this aircraft anyone can. I know that sounds glib but it's true. Before I purchased the CL650 the only jets I'd flown were the Phenom 300 and the Citation Mustang. Heck, I couldn't even program the FMS. I considered myself strictly a low & slow GA sim pilot. But I had to have the CL650. Since I've gotten it, I'm am now comfortable with the Collins FMS, and can start the aircraft C&D. I've cut the amount of time it takes me to get going from 2 hours to about 40 minutes, and that includes going through all the pre-start checks. I enjoy full flights in the aircraft. The Reflected Reality and Foxtrot Alpha videos (mentioned in the linked threads above) were all I needed to get me started. Foxtrol Alpha has taken me deep in to the world of a Challenger pilot. This aircraft is my #1 favorite to fly.

A freighter version for the -400 has potential because the workload to produce that is "relatively" light. The -500, being a shorter variant would require a much more laborious effort to change both the 3D and the flight model, being geometrically disparate...and the return on investment in that, I believe, probably would not justify the efforts. While I think a freighter variant would appeal to a statistically smaller set of customer use cases, I recognize that there is still a place for it...and so I do want to do a -400 freighter at some point. ..and yes, I'm still working on the 733 every day...my carpel tunnel and "tennis elbow" remind me constantly. I think I can safely say at this point that we'll definitely put out a more informative report this week on whats going on with the development. -tkyler

MSFS WHEN?

Really, Cameron ?... This screenshot should refresh your memory... @jfwharton is right. It is written : "X-Plane 12 update will be free" What about the other "Free" updates ?... How many will they cost ?! Now, we know what your word is worth. And we can judge a person by his word. You have $$ in the eyes ; that's the real and only viable path (your path) ! Customers ? It's secondary, you don't care.