Laminar Research has recently previewed  X-Plane 12.1.0 on their blog, which is currently under private testing and set to release as a public beta soon, bringing graphical improvements, flight model tweaks, improved weather, and more.

While the update was initially meant to be a graphics-focused release, Laminar has also implemented new aircraft systems, improved the flight model, weather, ATC system, and a physics-based camera that moves with the aircraft.

The graphics - their primary focus for this update - now feature cloud shadows on water, bloom lighting effects, robust contrast adaptive sharpening, softer ground shadows, MSAA improvements, improved CPU performance, better water opacity and turbidity, and a new screenshot utility with DoF and Exposure controls. It will also bring new particle effects, such as sparks from pavement collisions, ground spray from aircraft wheels and engines, and brown/white-outs while flying helicopters and powered lift aircraft.

The aircraft systems were heavily upgraded, with additions to the G1000 simulation such as ADS-B simulation, stormscope page, traffic map page, airport METAR flags, NDB + VOR pages, WAAS/ Test Satellite Constellation, a boot-up overlay, and plugin interoperability, allowing third-parties to easily modify the G1000 for their specific needs. Glass avionics will now be implemented via plugin, making it easier for developers to integrate them into their aircraft.

The new flight model will bring a manual flap system (and a dial-a-flap functionality, too), electric clutches for helicopters, and single-lever control for turboprops, if equipped.

The weather system will use a new server, and the METAR parsing will be improved, making it closer to real life. Clouds will look less blocky as a direct consequence of better data parsing.

Last but not least, the new physics-based camera, which might come in 12.1.0 or a future update, with camera motion based on the aircraft's acceleration.

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There's no date for the official release yet, but Threshold will keep you updated!

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