Veteran developer TFDi has recently updated the community regarding the development status of its up-and-coming projects. The team recaps their PACX (Passenger and Crew Experience) improvements, smartCARS3 updates, and MD-11 progress. TFDi continues to split its focus between Prepar3D and MSFS in their development outlook. 

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PACX

The upcoming PACX update will include a slew of bug fixes among program improvements such as record filtering, refinements and fixes for in-flight announcements. TFDi also focused on improving the general stability and performance of the platform. Testing on this update will begin after the holiday season.

TFDi also plans to attend to a community wish, being that users requested additional voice packs for the program. This expansion will include a plethora of new configurations, including languages and accents from all around the world. 

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smartCARS 3

Development Perspective

smartCARS 3 will also be receiving significant updates shortly, beginning with the new customizable plugin system that will allow Virtual Airline developers to tailor to their unique airline’s experience. This feature will not come at the expense of the other features of the plugin, as it’s designed to be an add-on to the existing platform rather than replacing it. The team has also committed to revamping the user interface, which is still a heavy work-in-progress.

Pilot Perspective

TFDi has also accommodated pilots’ requests with the plugin. Users can expect discrepancies such as the un-resizable window and auto-scrolling chat to become extinct. Flight tracking and logging will also receive some fine-tuning. Lastly, users will be able to review their past flights with much more complexity instead of reviewing their PIREP text a second time. 

Unfortunately, we do not have any new smartCARS 3 media to share with you. Still, TFDi will continue to update the community regarding its progress with the plugin in the near future. 

MD-11

In other huge news, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 has seen some sizable progress of its own. Turbine Sound Studios has partnered with TFDi to bring users a more realistic sound environment to the aircraft. They have also focused on bringing more systems to life as well as getting visual development underway. There is fast progress being made on exterior texturing and liveries - a large variety of which can be expected at launch.

Systems

Since their last update, more systems have become functional, namely engine and flight control computers. The standby display is nearly complete and implemented into the cockpit to accommodate the existing systems. They’ve also improved some of the pre-existing electrical and hydraulic system functionality. Lastly, TFDi announced that they’d begun their development of the pneumatic system. 

Pricing and Miscellaneous Information

As of now, the TFDi MD-11 base price is expected to be $89.99 USD. Expansion packages will be available and priced according to the significance of the work required to develop them. 

For those who are not caught up with recent TFDi developments, we’d recommend starting with their FSExpo post found on their forums.