Update: To clarify, X-Vision's free key applies up to v11.25. From v11.26, Users are required to purchase a key ($18 USD) Due to incoming changes to the shader code in v11.30.

Everyone in the community was dissolving into acrimony for a tool that brings even deeper modification to how X-Plane looks. In that time, we have two options: Reshade, which is unstable and unoptimized and MAXX-FX, which brings optimized post-processing effects.

Nothing surfaced until the developers behind PTA unwrapped their latest creation, which most of you will already know about, to the X-Plane community: X-Vision.

Wrapped in a clinical-looking GUI, X-Vision has answered many users' prayers, bringing direct access to shader tweaking much like PTA for Prepar3D. Users can customise and tweak the shaders and pack the settings up as “solutions” to share with others, with the packages supporting three inter-related parts: textures, Lua scripts and shader tweaks. Or if you’re not the type to tweak, you can enjoy two pre-developed solutions to instantly beautify the simulator’s graphics. The plugin is also an “mod-organiser” of some sort, allowing users to quickly and conveniently control the textures, script, and shader tweaks without manually editing or dragging and dropping the files.

Unfortunately, for X-Vision in its current form, the phrase “All good things must come to an end” cannot be any more relatable with the incoming release of X-Plane v11.30. The upcoming update introduces massive changes to the codebase which will render the product disposable. Because of this drastic change, the developers behind the tool (which also the original PTA tweaking mod for P3D) has decided to release the tool for free as a token of thanks to the X-Plane community shortly before it stops being usable.

While it lasts, the least we can do is to highlight the developer’s effort in bringing users an easy-to-use interface that provides even more opportunities to personalize their sim.

Here’s looking forward to seeing the developer’s plans for X-Vision’s payware phase in the future when v11.30 is shipped!

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