[05JAN15] FSX:SE Compatibility Update

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Captains,

 

As promised before Christmas, the top item on the agenda today was to see if we can't figure out what is preventing our products from running in the recently released FSX: Steam Edition, by Dovetail Games.

 

I wanted to give you a quick status update, as I know a number of folks are itching to move into that platform.

 

Here is the latest round of information for you:

 

Licensing:

FSX and FSX:SE are, from a licensing standpoint, the same product.  Once we fix the compatibility issue, you will be able to use our FSX products in either version of FSX.

 

 

Compatibility Status:

We have identified the problem that was keeping the PMDG 737 NGX products and the PMDG 777-200LR/F and PMDG 777-300ER products from running correctly in FSX:SE.  We are relatively confident that this item we found is the only item preventing these products from operating within FSX: SE and a simple code update should cure the problem. 

 

This will require an update to both products which was not planned, so we are in the process of prepping both products for a rapid-fire test/evaluation and update process.

 

(For those keeping track, there were a couple of changes made to the structure of FSX:SE that we have to adapt and account for.  It would have been nice to know these things ahead of time so that we could have prepared updates simultaneous with the release from Dovetail Games- but for reasons that are known only to DTG- they apparently didn't feel that communicating these changes to the development community was necessary or desired....  I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions, but I seriously hope their future changes don't result in similar problems...)

 

Update Schedule:

Based upon what we know as of the time of this writing, we anticipate a WORST case that will see us rolling out the updated NGX and 777 versions on/before 16JAN15.

 

The best case (what we are shooting for) is to have these updates (either or both of them) to you in time for this coming weekend, with a release on 09JAN15.

 

In both cases we do have a bit of work to do in order to make our installers recognize the potential existence of FSX:SE and we also have to create the Operations Center modules that allow installation of liveries into FSX:SE.

 

 

How Updating Will Work:

We are still sorting out the details here, because we have a number of potential customer groups we need to address.

 

Specifically we need to determine how to address the issue of customers who want to redownload the product in order to get an FSX:SE enabled installer, and how that will be addressed in line with our existing redownload policy.  We also need to determine if/how we can fairly support CD/DVD customers who wish to convert to FSX:SE, as updating their CD/DVD is obviously not feasible.

 

I anticipate that there will be a range of questions along these lines, and we are working to address them internally.  We will communicate the details once we have made some decisions. 

 

(Please Note:  History has demonstrated that some folks have strong opinions and can become rather emotional about our redownload policy.  We specifically prohibit discussion of our pricing and redownload policies in the forum and I want to throw out a polite reminder of this prohibition so that we don't have anyone get themselves into trouble...  I know some folks like to blame PMDG for everything from hard drive corruption, typhoons, lava flows on Sicily and the Big Island, crop failures and rising sea levels- but we do have a good feel toward balancing fairness with economic feasibility.  We ask for your consideration while we sort out this rather unusual set of circumstances..)

 

Additional Products for FSX: SE:

I have specifically addressed only the NGX and 777 in this update because these are our priority conversions at the moment.  The JS4100 will follow, and then we will evaluate the 400X and the MD-11.  More details will be provided on those as we get the first couple of conversions off of our plate.  I would estimate ETA on those three product lines by the end of January as a worst case. 

 

 

Okay- I think this covers pretty much everything we know as of this moment....

 

Stay tuned- I'll keep you posted.  We are pushing strongly for this Friday....

 

 

 

 

 

[TripSeven 3]

Thank you, Sir.

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

Thank you for the update. I really hope you guys also consider fixing the MD-11's installer. It's one of my favorite aircraft.

[A320FAN 370]

Thanks for update!

[vr-pilot 11]

Much appreciated! :rolleyes:

 

One of the most promising things about FSX:SE is IMO the focus on multiplayer functionality which could/should incorporate shared cockpits (voice + "physical" interaction) pretty soon...

 

Besides that I hope (for my special interest) that a customer friendly and satisfactory 3D vision integration (e.g. Samsung Oculus VR gear) will come into place. Although for that e.g. the complete FSX lights rendering will have to be switched from overlay 2D to real 3D, which is a heavy code change going beyond small optimizations/debugging...

But hopefully Mr. Zuckerberg's "visions for Oculus Rift" and DTG/Steam will be good companions! B) 

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

There is at least one report that the MD-11 is working, here (post #12):

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/458524-fsx-se-incompatibility-thread/

 

Too vague. I haven't tried it myself yet (because I don't want both FSXes installed at the same time).

[bert.laverman 9]

Robert,

for those of us using (experimenting with) the SE install beside (or even on a different PC than) the "normal" installation; are we allowed to install two copies? It is probably buried somewhere in the license text, but might be good to explicitly mention.

[wedgantilles 76]

Great news, thanks for the information. That would be awesome as I've been introducing the sim to a good friend of mine and will get him toward the best products in the end  

[aceridgey 330]

Cheers Rob,

 

Still really on the fence whether to get it as a back up (I like having steam and FSX on two different harddrives, and I also like being able to play steam games in the cruise )

[Aviators 3]

lava flows on Sicily

 

randazzo, with what do you mean? have problems with Sicily or Sicilian?

[riccardo74 36]

Too vague. I haven't tried it myself yet (because I don't want both FSXes installed at the same time).

I installed md11 on fsxse and works perfectly, I have only fsxse installed and not boxed version, pay attention! New pmdg installer is coceived for dual mode fsx+fsxse installed? Why the need of a new installer?

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

Why the need of a new installer?

 

FSX:SE has some quirks about directories and paths that the old installers aren't aware of, which is why you see posts here from people with issues after attempting to use the FSX installers in FSX:SE.

[sidhantsv 1]

Thanks! PMDG for the update ,hope to fly the 77W on Long Haul!  :rolleyes: 

[Sbacchini 15]

This is great news. Thanks for the fast response.

 

Cheers!

[Del57 3]

Cheers Robert ,look forward to the updates, have purchased FSX-SE but not yet 

installed awaiting PMDG direction outcome..