avantime

Hi Jan, Many thanks for your continued support on the forums, I just got a few questions with regards to the v1.1 patch, however I couldn't post over at the "Update Xplane 11 Final" thread since it's locked. 1) Since you stated so many times that it's a XP10 product, wouldn't it be better to just release v1.1 for XP10 only and leave the "XP11 ninja fixes" in a later update, say v1.2? Gizmo for XP10 is still working perfectly fine. 2) Any chance we could have a look at the patch notes, as you said that "The patch is ready to go out"? 3) What's the long-term plan post-v1.1 patch? The LES guys mentioned that there will be a major paid XP11 upgrade to the Saab, after their own "ninja fix" XP11 compatibility patch. Will IXEG go the same way? I don't mind paying extra for a major XP11 upgrade, but the XP10 base aircraft must be feature complete and mostly free of bugs beforehand - say PMDG type of polish. -400/-500/Cargo/QC would be nice as a paid expansion. 4) Can you please open a sticky thread for users to post their own "ninja fixes" after v1.1? It would help tremendously if there's one single place for customers to share their own XP11 fixes. 5) Any comments on these 2 issues: F/O instruments (I fly on the F/O side due to restrictions in my hardware setup, but it's less functional) and cabin night lighting?

FYI The final version of XP11 has now been released on Steam.

Coming from FSX, I can see that it's very prevalent for X-plane developers to release unfinished addons, but at full price. It's business practices like this that turns away returning customers, because people are left stranded waiting for patches for months, if not 1+ year, with no ability to get a refund. $75 is a lot of money for an addon and customers are right to expect patches in a reasonable timeframe. For me it's the the lack of cabin night lighting (it's like flying a ghost plane at night), PROG page and FMC crashes that really bugs me.

Please make sure cabin night lighting is implemented. No cabin lights is a major turn-off for me when flying at night. Also did you manage to fix the "no instrument approach causes Gizmo to soft crash on short final"? Also the "switching STAR has a 50/50 chance of a soft crash" (as mentioned by Yofi) is a major problem as well, if you're not planning to fix VNAV in v1.1.

That actually looks a little bit like the iFly 737 from FSX. It has that 'feel' to it although it might as well be an internal XP development.

I'm looking for some sort of stopgap measure until the makeover is complete. For all we know we might not see an updated cabin for at least another year, given how low the priority is. My background's from MSFS and I was thinking if the there io some little tricks that could make it light up. For example in FSX there are night textures, and you can put fx effects that can light up areas of the aircraft. IIRC in one of the older IXEG development videos they did have a lit cabin, but it was scrapped for some reason in the release. Secondly I question the value of a detailed cabin. I'm sure there are people who like to fly from the passenger's seat but I don't, and rendering a detailed cabin is a waste of computer resources. But cabin lighting is a basic requirement - again practically all freeware aircraft have it. I know it's SOP to dim the lights but the IXEG cabin is pitch black and I can't suspend my disbelief. Finally in FSX payware development there are usually separate people handling 3D modelling and gauge programming. IIRC Samdim handled 3D modelling of Majestic's Q400 on a contract basis. I don't know how IXEG works but I think there might be some 3D modelling people with a little bit of free time on their hands, now that most of the work is done. Which system breaks your immersion? the PROG page, enroute winds, VNAV descent calculation and FO instruments are the only big missing pieces I can think of for normal operations, and time/fuel predictions only need to be 'somewhat accurate' for most people. Failures are another thing but most don't use it. The biggest concern I have is that IXEG will never finish the updated cabin, if it's so low priority. From my 10 years of experience in FSX payware developers lose motivation very quickly once they got everyone's money, and many leave their products unfinished. Examples include Airsimmer, Captainsim, Razbam, Milviz, BBS etc. I know X-plane users are much more tolerant of unfinished products (Flightfactor, SSG, Rotate, and this product) but cabin lighting is a really basic requirement.

If you fly, chances are you'll use an external view to occasionally look at things and admire at the aircraft. I do it quite a lot on the ground and in cruise, it's instinctive and I can't help myself. With the IXEG however whenever I switch to an external view I get a reminder that this addon is unfinished, and I'm flying a ghost 737. It really breaks the immersion. How difficult is it for IXEG to simply light up the cabin? Practically all freeware aircraft (discounting the unfinished ones) have cabin night lighting. A $75 payware addon should have one too.

Just checking in to see if the cabin will be updated in the next update. The lack of any cabin lighting is really driving me nuts to the point where I can't fly this at night. Also working doors would be great. If you're doing a full revamp of the cabin it might be worthwhile to do the cargo/combi variant as well.

Any information regarding the next update? Is it going to be another Gizmo Hotfix or will it be a traditional patch?

I think people are mostly interested in the exterior 3D model and less about differences in systems, which is already very complex. Captainsim for FSX has product extensions for their base package aircraft, which mostly consist of only the exterior 3D model, and additional custom freight animations for freighters. X-plane is a bit different with airfoils so I'm not too sure how much extra work will be needed. I know I'll pay for the -400/500 (Although I definitely want the -400 more), and definitely cargo. The last of the 737 Classics will finish their service as freighters and I think IXEG should definitely do it.

Thanks, I was having problems searching as the results I got all have something to do with ground spoiler logic.

Is it just me or are the spoilers simply not very effective? At around 50t at 30,000ft I can barely descend at 2500ft/min with spoilers at flight detent, without the airspeed increasing.

Well people from FSX don't often follow developments in X-plane, apart from a few news snippets on Froogle's Youtube channel. The IXEG blog has been active since 2012.

Yeah I know, but that's the mindset of most newcomers from FSX - they see the $75 price tag and they immediately start comparing it with $75 FSX addons. However I must say that once the -300 is all patched up I would have no hesitation in recommending this product to everyone. I had no regrets buying this because I'm a fan of the 737 Classic and I've followed your blog for more than a year now, but others may be less forgiving.

Sorry to awake an old thread but is it possible to have (or perhaps mod) an always-active altitude alert, similar to what Shifty described? I flew a lot of payware aircraft and find it most unusual to not have any form of altitude alert (chime and/or light) when autopilot is in command.

As a very recent FSX convert, I can honestly say congratulations on creating such a fine aircraft, given the resources you have. Hand flying the IXEG 737 is a real joy, it just 'feels right' compared to the best FSX aircraft like PMDG, although the Majestic Q400 do come close. However it's systems and polish wise it's a bit "Ugh.." and it still needs a lot of work, and there are also some features that PMDG has, but IXEG don't (e.g. saved panel states for saved situations, which IMO is important for training purposes). And then there are stuff that even freeware aircraft has, but not the IXEG 737 in its current form (e.g. cabin night lighting). The IXEG 737 still needs a lot of updates, and it's somewhat difficult for me to recommend an unfinished product. At $75 that's PMDG money and people expect PMDG levels of polish. Finally I hope you'll consider expanding the line to the -400/-500/-Cargo variants, as me and many others are willing to pay extra for them (Just like Captainsim for FSX) even if they're just exterior 3D models.

Some airlines (e.g. Qantas) only operated the -400s, so it' normal for people to want the -400 in order to simulate operations of their favorite airline. Also the -400s are very popular as converted freighters, and this is how many of the surviving 737 classics will serve out the rest of their useful lives. I'm quite happy to pay more for the -400/500/Cargo variants, with the -300 as the base package. PMDG split the NGX into 2 packages.

IMO it would be a waste if IXEG doesn't do the -400, -500 and the cargo variants as well.

Can someone please make a livery of this (rather iconic) 737?