Laminar Research has made a blog post summarizing what is planned for X-Plane 12's recent future, including a new versioning scheme, engine model improvements, improved landing gear physics, and more.

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With the recently shipped 12.07, Laminar included three months' worth of rendering engine improvements, new cirrus clouds, lower VRAM footprint, improved cloud rendering, and OpenXR integration. For the next update, they have already laid out most of the futures that will ship with it.

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The upcoming patch will bring a new naming scheme, giving Laminar "more numbers to play with," as the previous two digits could only go so far and, therefore, limit the number of patches they could potentially churn out.

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They expect a beta build to be ready in a week or two, focusing on improving the flight model, networking/multi-monitor, and tools for using X-Plane with projectors: projector warping/blending will be available for X-Plane Professional license owners.

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With data from Pratt & Whitney and Phillip Ringler, Austin Meyer has improved how the platform simulates engine performance, with jets, turboprops, and reciprocating engines following real-world figures more closely.

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The landing gear physics was also improved, with better wheel inertia, weld modeling, and ABS revisions, making sure it stops the wheels from locking realistically.

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Last but not least, jet aircraft in X-Plane 12 will now accurately simulate how jets use their fuel to cool their oil, with the oil heating the fuel and its consequent dissipation through the wing's skin, operating as a radiator.

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They have also laid out plans for 12.1.0, bringing real weather improvements, cloud shadows on the water, better bloom lighting effects, robust contrast adaptive sharpening, softer ground shadows, MSAA improvements, improved CPU performance, and better water opacity.

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They finish with a price hike announcement, from $59.99 to $79.99, allowing Laminar to expand its team and warrant its future development.

Stay tuned to Threshold for more flight simulation news!

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