FSUIPC and PMDG 737NGX

[bussgarfield]

Hi Pete,

I have been avidly watching the PMDG forums for the now 'very soon' to be released Boeing 737NGX.

I have FSUIPC and Wideview for FSX and other software for my current system and setup.

I asked PMDG whether I would have any issues - when the NGX is released - with it being compatable with my set up. One of the most important issues for me is FSUIPC as I am building my own cockpit.

Ryan form PMDG replied thus,

There's some misconceptions going on here with respect to what the SDK is:

The SDK does not allow X piece of home cockpit hardware to magically work with the airplane right out of the box. That is impossible. The hardware needs to have drivers written that allow it to interface with the NGX - that's what the SDK is, it explains to the makers of the hardware drivers how they can read from and talk to to the airplane.

We can't code drivers ourselves because 1. in most cases we don't have any of this very expensive hardware to test with, and 2. it would be incredibly time consuming to do and we need to keep developing new airplanes after this releases. What we're doing is giving the people who write these drivers the information and software framework they need - it is 100% up to them whether or not they choose to write drivers. What you need to do is contact these manufacturers and ask them to develop compatibility for the NGX using our SDK once it's all released.

The question I have for you Pete is this, will the current version of FSUIPC for FSX be workable with the NGX or are you planning to contact PMDG and obtain the necessary information for an upgrade.

Kind regards

Gary

[Pete Dowson]

The question I have for you Pete is this, will the current version of FSUIPC for FSX be workable with the NGX

I expect it will be similar to the other PMDG aircraft in this regard. There are no specific facilities in FSUIPC for any specific aircraft -- why should this one be an exception?

The PMDG SDK would no doubt be suitable for someone to produce a comprehensive FSUIPC interface, using offsets I can assign, much as Nico Kaan wrote the FSUIPC interface for Level D using their SDK.

Whether I might or might not be such a someone to do this I can't say. If I took it upon myself to use this aircraft for my cockpit, I might get interested in doing that, but since I'm using Project Magenta for all my instrumentation and systems it doesn't seem very likely. Even if I did, the problem for me is that it would set a precedent. Folks would be saying "why not the iFly 737NGX" too, and the host of other aircraft. I'd prefer third parties provided applications.

My interest in the PMDG and iFly 737 efforts would be in the flight modelling and, to a lesser extent, the exteriors. I'd see in these areas whether it beats what I'm using now (which is derived from the PMDG FS9 version of the NG). Nothing of any of the cockpit stuff is used when you have a real hardware cockpit.

Regards

Pete

[bussgarfield]

Thanks for the update Pete I appreciate you taking the time to explain that.

I did wonder whether or not it would be similar to the current PMDG aircraft but just had that little niggling thought in the back of my mind.

Gary