PMDG getting their act together

[FLY737]

Thought the same, it's about EUR 3 here ... what a bargain ...

[blueskydriver]

Wondering if they have the download sites setup yet? Not just their own, but other locations. Guessing that first day will be the biggest collective download ever for PMDG...

Anyone with news on DVD's being available the same day as the opening; any vendors have these in reserve, waiting for the first sale date? Or any pre-ordering events being listed yet?

If so, please post.

BSD

[bussgarfield]

Their site was down for hours the other day so they could get the preparations done for the iminent release.

Regarding the DVD boxed sets, they will be out until around 6 months after the download release.
No pre-orders are being allowed.

PMDG will let us know exactly when the downloads will be available. They have said there will be no surprises regarding the release date and they are still aiming for the 4th August.

Gary

[blueskydriver]

Okay, the pricing for PMDG 737-800/900 NGX has been released, and the cost currently is:

(drum roll)

$69.99

Later, 737-600/700 NGX will be released and it will cost:

$24.99

Thus, that is on par with pricing in the past for PMDG 737 suite (fs9).

Finally, the program has not been released yet, but their website is overloaded with members and guest. It's supposed to be today; however, maybe PMDG staff is letting the tesnion build for dramatic effect. Funny thing that'll likely happen is their servers will crash!

Go here for more info:

http://www.flyaoamedia.com/aoa/pmdg-announces-737ngx-pricing/

Okay, so now back to the refresh button on the PMDG site...lol.

BSD

[Joe Lavery]

Errrr, BSD you should follow these threads a bit closer, Gary Buss announced the official pricing on 27th July, including file size and expected delivery... seems like you missed it. 

Joe.

[blueskydriver]

Joe,

You're right Gary did post it, but I missed it...sorry; although, the price he had for the 737-600/700 is not listed at $24.99. As he only has the 800/900 base package price shown.

Besides, just trying to be helpful by providing the extra info and link...

BSD

[Joe Lavery]

BDS,

Only joking with you, I often miss posts and ask questions that someone else has already answered previously. Now if you can tell us when they're going to release the bloody thing, now that would be news.... 
It was supposed to be today but all I hear is silence....

All the best

Joe.

[fly_ebos]

It's releasedatum, but the pmdg server is subject to an attack from China (pmdg statement on facebook). Looking forward to know how we can integrated this beauty into our cockpits.

Thomas

[727737Nut]

It's releasedatum, but the pmdg server is subject to an attack from China (pmdg statement on facebook). Looking forward to know how we can integrated this beauty into our cockpits.

Thomas

LUA or Linda is a very viable option.  I will let you know as I think i'm going to give it a shot!

Rob

[727737Nut]

Well I bought it last night and all I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It flies like the real deal and something I never thought FSX was capable of!!   Well worth the money.  For us guys using SIOC and OC stuff, im sure there will be an interface available soon similar to Leeskon for the LVLD767.

I can't fly anything else now as it all sucks in comparison!!

Rob

[Joe Lavery]

Hi Rob,

I bought it too and it sure is impressive, what fps are you getting?
I'm running a six core AMD Phenom II Black Edition processor, 12 GB Ram, I terrabyte HD and a Gainward Nvidia GTX 465 Video Card. What are you using? And what settings are you using. 

I've set the frame rate to unlimited and screen res to 1920 x 1080 x 32. It works OK but I'm only getting between 13 and 21 fps. Incidentally this is a brand new system optimised for FSX with just about nothing else on it.

Cheers
Joe.

[blueskydriver]

No worries Joe...

You guys are lucky to have it already. Tried to purchase it at 2am CST and the server was down. Although, that is 7am GMT, so Europe and Asia were likely overworking the server.

Will try again today, but with so many people waiting 5 years to purchase it, another 5 days wont matter and that'll give time for the server to catch up.

BSD

BSD

[727737Nut]

Hi Rob,

I bought it too and it sure is impressive, what fps are you getting?
I'm running a six core AMD Phenom II Black Edition processor, 12 GB Ram, I terrabyte HD and a Gainward Nvidia GTX 465 Video Card. What are you using? And what settings are you using. 

I've set the frame rate to unlimited and screen res to 1920 x 1080 x 32. It works OK but I'm only getting between 13 and 21 fps. Incidentally this is a brand new system optimised for FSX with just about nothing else on it.

Cheers
Joe.

I have an I5 - 2500K oc to 4.3G, NVIDIA 460GTX OC Fermi, 8gb ram My FPS are on my lock at 34FPS with REX 2048 HD textures and traffic at 55%, all scenery sliders maxed except autogen which is dense. I am running in 2560x720 on two projectors thru a TH2GO. If you search my post I had one on my new PC I built. It rocks and all for 998.00!   A friend of my sent a test program to me and some other flightsim guys to test the speed of our systems and HDD. See I use a SSD drive.  Win7 boots in 7 secs and FSX in about 15secs.  My SSD drive absolutely KILLED a a Raptor Velociter HD and some other high end drives.  I think that is helping more than what some think due to quicker access times.  If i start getting lower FPS i'll just bump the OC up some to compensate but so far all is well.  This plane is better than sliced cheese and bread!

Rob

[Maurice]

I've set the frame rate to unlimited and screen res to 1920 x 1080 x 32. It works OK but I'm only getting between 13 and 21 fps. Incidentally this is a brand new system optimised for FSX with just about nothing else on it.

Cheers
Joe.

Those frame rates do not sound too promising for those of us using 3 undocked windows but then again we don't use most of the goodies available on this airplane anyway since none of the panels are used in a flight deck.

Very curious to see how this will develop for those of us with a flight deck and 3 undocked views. This time, I will not be one of the first ones to jump on a new release...been there...done that 

Maurice

[Joe Lavery]

Maurice, if I simply use the external view, (no panel) then the frame rate hits 40 to 50 where ever I am in the world. So it may be ok for you guys with the undocked views.

I'm going to go through the manuals and see if I can improve on the fsp. Incidentally there are 5 manuals totalling over 3000 pages of information to troll through. 

Joe.

[blueskydriver]

Just finished the over 600Mb download. Started at 2am Friday morning, but it took till now because the download server timed out repeatedly. Imagine looking at 65% done, and then it does a timeout, and have to start all over.

Pretty much said it earlier in this thread that the server(s) would be over run and likely they didn't take into account mirror servers. They probably have some, but not enough for the hoards of 5 year waiting users.

Not a complaint though, just an observation. So many people followed this new product over the years that a documentary or reality show could be made. Imagine the titles?

"PMDG made me do it!"...next on "Police Women of the Nipping Point Task Force"

"My cousin Bertha married a PMDG beta tester"...next on "The View"

"I know what I saw!" this episode reveals the unforseen UFO (unreleased flyable object) product...here on NatGeo.

"He was a former PMDG user, but gave up because he only sees in three panel vision...it's a new uncurable sickness called "MAURICEMYEYEOMIA" "I am Dr Phil and we'll be right back with the beginning of our program".

"President Barack Obama and Congress (who urgently came back from vacation) held an major emergency vote on FAA approval for PMDG B737NGX; however, Congress will not be moving any further forward on the minor issue of the FAA not operating, and thousands will remain out of work" Obama says "PMDG should have known not to release this while Congress was gone because it will delay the votes on the minor FAA issues even longer. Especially, due to all members of the House and Senate waiting for their PMDG download account codes, and then pretending to be pilots, like they pretend to be politicians" This is Anderson Cooper 360, and I am Bozo Barney who is in for Anderson, who is out today due to PMDG fever!"

Okay, okay that's enough from here, but why not make fun of this day and have a good laugh! Let's see what you guys can come up with for movie or show titles. Can be Film, TV, Radio, Print (Newspaper/Magazine), and etc. This is just for fun.


Oh Maurice! We really love you here from Wis-con-nie...you know that's so true! Wait for it, wait for it...okay, Bob give up some of that good humor we know you have...love you too!

BSD Team 

[blueskydriver]

dot...dot...beep...beeeep...dot...dot....beep.

...We interrupt this program for a Special Weather Statement from NOAA...

A Emergency Heat Warning has be issued for the midwest United States, where temperatures have risen up to record levels of 117 to 120 degrees in some states. NOAA Scientist agree that the rest of the World is in jeopardy and Global Warming will began faster than forseen. They also say the quickest way to advert this disaster is for the thousands of PMDG users, who have been clicking Refresh or F5 or Ctrl R keys continuously, over the last 7-10 days, to take their hands off the mouse and keyboard. The friction heat has caused a 10-20 degree influx to the surrounding air, and that on-top of the external sweating, heated eye tears, and furious pounding on the desk has caused the humidity index to reach unsustainable levels!

...dot...dot...beep...beeeep...dot...dot....beep....

this has been an Emergency Broadcast and not a drill!

...dot...dot...beep...beeeep...dot...dot....beep....

[fsaviator]

I see I haven't been the only one to notice the hysteria over the NGX...  what will everyone do now?  What is there to look forward to now?

I did buy it last night though.  Hope to get a chance to install it next week.  Way too busy this weekend.

Warren

[blueskydriver]

At this very moment, got it installed and projecting it. The FPS in 2D view standard (not 3 panels) without 2D panel displayed is awesome, 60-120 fps unlimited. Will try 3 panel view later...

If anything the sound is unbelievable! Way better than any add-on we own here at BSD Team...

Okay, that is our first 30 second impression, will give a better one in a month or two.

Now, the big question, how to win the over $100 million Powerball Lottery tonight in the USA?

Anybody? ...crickets chirping...

(got to stop having Ice Cream so late here...slap happy, as well as PMDG happy)!

Alright, the second big question is, how will this work with Project Magenta or SimA? Hopefully, it'll be just as easy as removing the data in the cfg(s). Or, maybe PM and SimA will not be needed any further... Any word on SDK's?

BSD

[727737Nut]

SDK will be release shortly to anyone and anybody as stated by Ryan at PMDG just yesterday.  It will allow full access to the plane.  In a nut shell, Sim-A, PM, PS, and others are in trouble!  Good for us, bad for them.  I have put a couple of hours on the new plane both stock and modified to use Prosim737 and all I can say is, i'm deleting all my other planes!!   

[jackpilot]

Seems to me you are a bit fast on the trigger Guys
I suspect some bias, induced by years of frustrating wait and an over enthusiastic response to (so far) hypothetical compatibility with our fairly complex hardware.

More seriously...I flew some complete DSTD with all bells, whistles and visuals  at FDS (and Maurice), and I can attest that they are overwhelming enough for a solo pilot to learn and operate, wether with PM or SimA.!!
I must say that I have a hard time understanding why, in this hobby, we always tend to scrap all the knowledge and experience we painfully acquire over the years to embark on the next unproven and glittering cheaper wonder-soft.
Most of us have already invested many thousands of dollars if not tens of thousands, so it cant seriously be for the sake of money. One thing is certain, going to a new platform and relearning whatever SDK , coding and debugging will set you back many months if not years .
When you have most components nearly ready to put together, do you want to do that?
It all depends on your own priorities but for me, flying a Sim like Mau's is much more exhilarating than playing with new bits or Bytes! (being challenged in that matter!)


Last minute on the PM forum:
http://www.projectmagenta.com/forums/topic.php?id=82

[Maurice]

Very funny Blueskydriver but I'm afraid you have just proven once again that flight deck builders are mostly insane. How else can you explain the mass hysteria about the release of an add-on for flight simulator? You would swear there was a famine and that everybody was waiting for some magical supplement to smother the starvation effects.

On the positive side, maybe the buying frenzy will revive the stock market. All these frustrated would be flight deck builders who up to now were perfectly happy with a desktop simulation will now see themselves behind a full flight deck instead after PMDG releases their SDK.

Countless vendors will come out of the woodwork and start creating even more software add-ons to take advantage of the new features. After all, seeing a drop in pressure of the water supply when the toilets are flushed is what we have all been waiting for in our sims. I assume PMDG must be modelling this feature as well.

But wait a minute....isn't Microsoft planning to give us even more choices hopefully sooner than PMDG's marathon like development cycle? And what about X-Plane? What are they cooking in the background to take advantage of sim addict's fantasies?

Seriously now, out of all the people in these & other forums as well as those building quietly and not participating in any discussions, how many actually have a fully functional & completed sim with all the features currently available? My guess would be less than 1% since it seems we are never happy and keep adding more & more useless functionality instead of just enjoying the flying part which was the original goal for most of us.

When do we say enough is enough? I guess never and that is the one sad part about all of this. And I'm not just talking about other people. I too have been afflicted by this insidious virus and it's only now that I am beginning to see the foolishness of it all now that I am able to actually fly my sim instead of being in a perpetual building cycle. And I'm still not even finished yet since the overhead is not in place yet. I need more new 'functionality' like I need another kidney stone.

So, to conclude, I'm still glad people are excited about PMDG's new offering. Anything that makes this hobby more exciting is a good thing, But we all need a reality check from time to time to remind us that the sky is not always bluer on the other side. Sit down and smell the jet fuel from your current setup instead of dreaming that you will magically end up with a CAE simulator in your basement just because someone released a better sim trap.

Yes, I will almost certainly buy the NGx as well if it offers a better flight model that I can actually use with my current hardware & software. But if it needs totally new add-ons to make use of the improved flight model, then I will stick with what I have and enjoy poking holes through the beautiful FSX clouds.

I totally agree with Jack. The cost of the NGx software is totally irrelevant for me compared to what I have already spent. The cost in new unnecessary headaches will be the only deciding factor for me.

And yes Blueskydriver...there will likely be new reality program like the one you mentioned : "PMDG made me do it!" or perhaps PMDG destroyed my sanity. One thing is for sure, the world will never ever be the same now that PMDG released us from the FSX bondage. 

I must say though that your evaluation of the new 737 sounds may well be the deciding reason I buy the program even if I use nothing else. Killer sounds really make a huge difference in my opinion and I'm still not happy with all the sounds modules I have tried so far. So I may be doomed after all 

Maurice

[saabpilot]

Hi guys,

I fully agree with Maurice and Jack.
PMDGs new bird was never intended to be a solution for those of us having a hardware flightdeck.
The flight model is reported to be mediocre when the program is stripped of the things we do not need.

It is however a beautiful and interesting sim - for the desktop pilot.
No questions about that.

But when it needs to be integrated in a hardware flight deck your headaches will start.
Our friend Ian in Wales had unprecedented success with his FS9 PMDG737, but has now changed to a more dedicated solution that drives his gauges and glass.
Others who has taken the Level-D (767) route sits with a sim that is virtually impossible to "upgrade" as well as it is a huge frame rate eater when you detach all glass screens necessary.

A FS sim solution will need the possibility to be spread out in a network as well as having dedicated support when you run into trouble.  I do not believe PMDG support will cater too much for the very tiny profit segment cockpit builders are in the FS world.

When NGX is stripped of what we do not need I cannot see any benefit at all over what we have - PM, ProSim or Sim-A.
It does not rework your flight deck, it does not add any meaningsful "features" but it will certainly will give you a reason to stay in the hangar for a couple of more years 


Of course I might be wrong, but I do not believe so 

My 10 cents,
Bjorn

[Joe Lavery]

Just to add a little fuel to the fire

The sounds from the NGX are awesome, particularly on takeoff, the turbine whine is better than any other I've heard, (other than on board a real 737 that is).

Well worth the investment even if it doesn't interface with my pit.
Incidentally I don't have any involvement with PMDG, in case you;re wondering.

Joe.

[jackpilot]

Neither do I !