PMDG recently published a development update justifying their recent "silence" of sorts. An illness got in the way, and part of the team was on vacation, but that doesn't mean their work stopped: there's progress on the 777 lineup update, new information on the 737NG, and two previews from the upcoming 747 Classic!

Their 777 lineup has been updated to build 121 on MSFS 2020/2024 (Marketplace), with 2024 taking a bit longer to be on build 121 due to an issue with texture streaming. On the other hand, the website customers are already on build 130. A new build will be released sometime next week, with the Marketplace version to follow soon after the intake process.

The aforementioned texture issue still hasn't been fully mitigated, but PMDG and Microsoft are investigating the cause to try and come up with a solution. It manifests by randomly displaying odd textures on the wings and "other places." The only way to fix it is by going on the tablet and replacing the tires. They are not exactly sure why it fixes it, but they suspect it's because MSFS 2024 does not like the methods they use to reflect tire wear.

The long-awaited sound update for the 777 fleet is in its final approval stages. It will completely rebuild and upgrade the airplane's sound environment based on hundreds of new recordings, code magic, and audio engineering wizardry. Although some roadblocks were encountered during the development process, they have been overcome, and they think the wait will be worth it.

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Furthermore, in Randazzo's words, the new sound environment "sounds like it sounds on the airplane", "not simply serving as a mimic the high-frequency-distorted sound you hear in most YouTube videos". "If you have an opportunity to sit on the flight deck in flight, the audio environment is far more broad-spectrum than what can be picked up by the average consumer grade electret microphones, so we not only had to make a heavy investment in studio grade equipment, we had to then make the investment in studio grade processing and expertise in order to ensure the sound sampling and mixing was done in such a way that you will experience the entire broad spectrum of sound as if you were sitting in the airplane".

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The 737NG's port for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has progressed into fitness and cleanup, and they are already looking at the calendar to plan a release date, albeit cautiously, as they are still not entirely happy with the product's state.

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Once the 737-800 goes into final testing, they will shift their attention to the -700, then the -900, and -600, respectively.

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They have also shared an image of the upcoming 747 Classic, which still isn't quite ready for previewing. For the time being, they have shifted their development focus to the 737NG for 2024. They have also not clarified whether it's the 747-100 or the 747-400, leaving it to the audience to find out.

PMDG's product lineup is available on their website, with prices ranging from $34.99 to $74.99.

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