What's new in X-Plane 12.1.2?

[@nathanwildthorn6919]

That's a great edition to X-Plane 12! But a very much needed global scenery overhaul would keep long-time X-Plane users like me from feeling insulted every time we look out of our airplane's cockpit. It's 2024. X-Plane 12's default scenery is far behind the curve of what it should be. Improving the scenery will improve X-Plane's user value and flying experience, and will _definitely_ attract more users. X-Plane 12 is an extraordinary Simulator. It would be mind-blowing if it had properly depicted scenery. (X-Plane user since version 9).

[@Gordan1962]

Agree 100%

[@wg.anthony]

+1

[@littlemaster22]

The first 20 seconds of the vid address this.

[@HoriaArabul]

100%

[@nathanwildthorn6919]

@littlemaster22 Actually, it doesn't say _when_ the scenery will _finally_ be equivalent to X-Plane's advanced flying physics. We expected X-Plane 10 to have scenery at _least_ as good or better than FSX and it didn't. That's when a huge number of X-Plane users gave up on X-Plane because it had (and still does) horrible default scenery. The roads still have sharp corners when they should be curved; lakes, rivers and coastlines have ridiculous-looking borders around them that are unrealistically visible from even high altitudes, and it looks like Laminar is still using that much-hated and complained-about "plausible scenery," which places buildings and high-tension transmission lines where none exist in real life. I'm an inactive real-world aviator, so I'm not talking out of the side of my head. If Laminar Research wants to keep calling X-Plane "The most realistic simulator," then it shouldn't have incredible flight physics but substandard scenery. Laminar ought to refer to X-Plane 12 as "The most realistic _Flight Physics_ of any home simulator.

[@toto330neo]

Thank you X-Plane for the way of presentation. I think, this format is great, entertaining and give the feeling of being close to the team! Please keep up that way👍

[@RavensHammer00]

Awesome! I've landed this place numerous times, looking forward to doing it again, soon! Love that you're improving the variety of shipping, always fun to see someone floating along below you!

[@CajunJosh]

Really enjoy the update. The artists did a great job with the new boats & ships. Hope they might circle back and throw in a few cruise ship type vessels, would be awesome to see those colorful beasts out at night over the oceans.

[@LuxPlanes]

Nice and fun update :) looking forward to seeing the future scenery enhancements!

[@DennyAtkin]

I just updated/loaded X-Plane 12 for the first time in a long time. WOW. The visual improvements are wonderful, and the flight models feel even better. Well-done, Austin and crew!

[@alemsah23]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@RobertoGodfrey]

Been glued to MSFS2020, but wow! Nice to see XP12 getting a massive overhaul with the boats. XP12 won't look like it's WW3 all over the World anymore with the only boats being in the simulator being warships, lol.

[@messiaxmessiax6334]

X-Plane 11 is fine, I have absolutely no intention of buying all the ADs, and all the Aircraft, that I bought in X-Plane 11...Which in X-Plane 12...Do not work!!!...

[@louisromero3752]

Super cool Austin. I remember pinging you "back in the day" about more sailing stuff (though I dreamed maybe crazy big about being able to sail simulate in the game). But this is beautiful stuff! Always great to see what y'all come up with next!

[@toddjbradshaw]

What a great boss to send you to such a wonderful place simply to check things out. I know there are others here (me looking at the boomers) but I am one of those people that had X-Plane when it first came out in 1995. I seem to remember paying $200 for the CD and was overjoyed to fly it back in the salad days of my Graphic Design career on a slow day. All this to say, at 53 years old now, and watching Austin develop this over the years has been a huge blessing in my life. I respectfully consider the gripes about this, and that, in regards to what could be improved but that first copy always sticks in my head and heart to remind me, maybe all of us, just how far we've come. Before that folks, it was Sublogic Flight Simulator on my Commodore 64 and let me tell ya. Well.. Congrats to the X-Plane Team. To the rest of ya's, I'm glad I lived to see what the Flight Simulation has become over the decades. And all of us were part of the story.

[@LiftPizzas]

There was a great sim on the TRS-80 CoCo called P-51. That one might even still be fun to play nowadays with an emulator, you could even play 2 players against each other. It used the serial port for multiplayer. (Also had a C=64 but never played flight sims on it. The Atari joystick was just not good for that.)

[@tfkslinuxgaming]

I really like the water effects around the cargo ships. Very nicely done!

[@VRFlightSimGuy]

Cool video. I hope VR gets some more love soon. Best wishes.

[@therealcyril]

Austin, his coat !!! (private joke) VR improved a lot (i.e. it's now usable !) in recent updates. But I do agree rhe first releases of XP were barely flyable, even in 2D

[@realdroniboi]

Check out Aerofly FS4. Its performance in VR makes me really upset with how poor it is in Xplane12. Overall experience is so much better in Aerofly FS4. Full density cities (can only play with ground objects minimal in Xplane12), fully clickable cockpit, world scenery streaming (similar to MSFS but not nearly as nice looking but much better than XPlane12's textures). The only thing Xplane12 has over it is ATC and live weather. If you mainly fly in VR I can't at all recommend Xplane12 (and that's after 80+ hours in VR in Xplane 12) when Aerofly FS4 exists.

[@piloto_loco]

fun to watch, good work boys. was hoping to see curving boats and their typical water trail, jet skies jumping n stuff lol. how about underwater life? textures, orthos, water surface variances in the distance, submarines, orcas n sharks, this really gets x-plane to life, thank you and keep on, don't stop here:)

[@britfrog]

I just wish Laminar would do something to make the instrument panels visible, they are way too dark , as each month goes by I use XP less and less because of this and yet they have known about it since launch,

[@thardyryll]

NO KIDDING. Just read far enough into the comments to see yours, which should be at the top. I often fly at dawn, dusk or night solely because I can see the damn instruments, and even then all the cockpit lighting is at full blast. Why can’t those clowns at Laminar program some sort of “reality override” to increase visibility? That way users will at least have a choice.

[@jesseordonez5088]

1:13 that cloud formation was unreal.

[@ShortFinal]

frontal boundaries are wild things.

[@robertalan4717]

Thank you Austin and the X-Plane crew for the endless hours of sim flying from X-Plane 8 to now 12 which is in the mail. X-Plane 8 was purchased to practice glider tows.

[@messiaxmessiax6334]

X-Plane 11 is fine, I have absolutely no intention of buying all the ADs, and all the Aircraft, that I bought in X-Plane 11...Which in X-Plane 12...Do not work!!!...

[@robertalan4717]

@@messiaxmessiax6334 - The X-Plane 12 disks do not work. There are 10 disks and if I get one error the installation stops. I will stick with X-plane 11 for now.

[@Erny_Module]

Excellent news! I do a lot of GA island hopping so this update will hit the spot! I used to fly across the North Sea a lot, and on those trips the ships leaving wakes in the sea looked just like aircraft leaving contrails! Love X-Plane, it gets better and better all the time! BTW... if there's an opening at LR for a scenery researcher, I'm currently available!

[@LorettaMonetta]

I would rather the money be spent on general default world scenery upgrades than what looks like a really expensive custom airport with better boats

[@terryt5512]

I loved this!!! It was top quality and a lot of fun to watch while being informative at the same time. One of the most glaring shortcomings of X Plane, and MSFS for that matter, was the barren bodies of water that in real life, depending on the season and location, would be teeming with boats and ships. Huge props to you guys for adding them--they look great! I can't wait until I get a chance to make my first flight with this fabulous update; keep 'um coming! Viva X Plane!!

[@pierro281279]

8:28 Hey X-plane developpers ! The wake angle for speed boats is quite easy to calculate alpha = 1/(2 * sqrt(2*pi) * Fr) Where Fr is the Froude number Where Fr = U/(sqrt(gL)) With U = ship speed, g = gravitationnal acceleratio, and L the hull length. For boats in the Kelvin Regime it's 19.47° constant. BTW Is it possible to see the 3D ocean physics waves in wireframe or something else ? (not the rendered + wavelets etc ) Thanks

[@sammarks9146]

As a lifelong amateur sailor and flight sim enthusiast, I'm so excited about the boats update, and even more excited about the upcoming scenery update. I'm a lifelong resident of the Bay Area, and I didn't realize how much more alive it would feel with power boats and sailboats cruising around the bay (even some of the smaller inlets!), and cargo ships coming in and out of the Gate. Fun to buzz them all, too :) (One scenery request, if I may - There's a Civil War-era fort under the arch at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point. Adding that to the bridge would bring the realism up to 100!)

[@a.nelprober4971]

have you fixed dark cockpits?

[@rudolfmohrmann2112]

what about the cockpit darkness and repetitive boxy cloud patterns?

[@Eructation1]

Using True Earth UK has turned Plane 12 into an invaluable VFR training sim for me. Practise the route, memorise the sights then fly for real the same route, its enhanced my flying ability. Ive just looked at Southampton and Isle of Wight area, the ships now move and are extremely realistic. This sim ( with TE) is good enough for me and getting better all the time.

[@flightvision]

Spectacular. Congrats to the team. And a very nice presentation.

[@svenwd]

Really like the update, the boat update is great. Caribbean looks nice. Really enjoying it already.

[@benshakespeare268]

That's looking promising Austin! Excellent modelling and the bow wakes are the most convincing I've seen in any sim Be great for heli-tours!

[@Aviationlads]

Amazing video, great editing, great storytelling - Thomson your acting skills improved so much since these fun videos! Love it, really enjoyed watching it :)

[@Hypersteff89]

I really like it. Thanks for the update. And with the new update, my beloved BN-2 Islander suddenly works again, match made in heaven :D

[@ifj.kosagabor]

Nevergrin :D I love that! Great update and video guys! :)

[@christopherbazaka1564]

Fun video, love that you guys are putting out content like this about xplane

[@toddel2010]

Spectacular pictures! Good work on the scenery and 12.1.2 so far.

[@positivrteaviation5044]

Cool! Looking forward to trying it!

[@Relics_tv]

Fantastic!! I hope to get to use the new generation scenery to add DEM hight data for airports so they can get super detailed or modify the terrain geometry. I wanna be able to bring amazing scenery to the gateway program!

[@jokerace8227]

Cool. One thing I still think would be great is an option so the pushback tractor could be manually driven.

[@daifuco]

Just bought XP12 in the Black Friday sale. I already know Portland better than my hometown. Loving the Laminar Research vibe. This is the first game I have bought outside of Steam in like 10 years so you can get the full price.

[@N001AM]

Off topic, some of us have full panels that cover the bottom portion of the monitor, it would be greatly helpful if all prompts were moved ont the top of the screen so we don't have to stand up and pull part of the instrument cover off to complete the save or done prompt..

[@gracebyseven]

Thanks guys! So great to see you at it at full power!

[@briangentle5515]

Looks nice and I am sure it will encourage me to spend more time flying around in the Caribbean. I do hope that this won't slow down the more mundane but essential work, in particular the cockpit lighting, which would be still my number one priority.

[@alkhaov]

That's just insane! I love this type of video and the update!

[@johnc.4871]

At first I thought this was going to be a tease, but glad to see some great scenery coming out. The ships and boats look really great. Can't wait to see them in the sim. Austin, somebody at Laminar needs more time off. A tan is a very important health benefit.

[@TH-nc1gj]

We would all love a good Kai tak , especially with the Felis 747 classic .

[@simulatorclubgames]

I'm going to test it today, thanks Austin and the entire Xplane 12 project team. You're doing an incredible job. Simulator getting more beautiful and optimized with each update. Please see if you can make the planes more affordable for us Brazilians. We love the Xplane, but current prices are complicated. All success to you

[@paradoxicalcat7173]

You could look at AIS traffic and have real-time boat traffic based from that? AIS is a ship transponder system. Not all types of marine traffic use it, but most commercial traffic and some private do.

[@cleverlyblonde]

I too find the irony that my MS2020 installation takes so long to patch that I have time to look at a lot of your videos somewhat ironic and amusing ;)

[@RidgeHillCommand]

Is anyone else having issues with the brightness and clarity of the interior cockpit and flight instruments. I cannot see my instruments. Is there a fix for this issue?

[@Erike_Allan]

Great video. Please implement a "Disable mouse scroll Zoom" feature. It's so annoying trying to turn the instruments knobs and the camera zooms in/out.

[@juliashenandoah3965]

Wow sometimes I wish I would fly something else than huge airliners so I could actually see this stuff only low and slow flyers can see... the scenery is getting more beautyful patch after patch! Lots of interesting boats in harbours are so fascinating to look at and truly brings harbours to live. What would also be cool is finally getting an old X-Plane problem solved which is the way too low density of trees. There should be 3-4 times more trees than are actually present in forested areas to give the visual impression of very dense woods with only the tree canopys but not the ground being visible. Otherwise I am very satisfied how far flight simming has come in the last few years :)

[@fsprimo]

Hope VR performance get some love too!

[@AI.Operater]

i use xplane 11 for vr full settings on 3070 gaming laptop

[@Hypersteff89]

For me, it improved vastly with v12.1.

[@a5cent]

​​@@Hypersteff89 How so? I wish X-Plane handled VR as good as Aerofly FS4. Interactive cockpits that can be operated with hand tracking. Native support for DFR. Also just better performance.

[@Hypersteff89]

@a5cent VR used so much Vram before 12.1 for me that playing was straight impossible. Now the Vram usage is drastically reduced in VR (at least ob my system) and the VR experience is back to where it was in XP11.

[@a5cent]

@@Hypersteff89 Ah, got it. Thx.

[@DolioFoilio]

Can't wait for the scenery update

[@MegaSunspark]

Does XP 12 have multiple windowed views of outside, instument panels and maps, etc. like FS? I have XP 11 and that feature is lacking.

[@Omarencarnacion1]

Amazing video! welcome to the caribbean...greetings from Dominican Republic!

[@CessSim]

love your work Austin. Big fan........

[@DougAdomatis]

You guys make me laugh. Wife asks: What are you watching?

[@frysimulation]

Love to see the progress

[@piper0428]

Can ground points be flagged when approaching landing for 28 from x wind 28, downwind, base and final.

[@Azorean77]

Thanks for the update,let’s keep them coming please.

[@YUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-k6u]

2:20 The PF is badass 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@TheWorldtoTravelin]

How does the dual jetway work. I can't figure it out.

[@mcshiggitypilot5901]

did you put in cruise ships?

[@gabrielepierattelli3948]

Austin! The Living Legend ❤

[@ammarbader3068]

09:44 Does X-Plane 12 come with a vision insurance?

[@dustinreft23]

Maybe you guys can make a default Twin Otter..??!

[@williamj.b.9351]

There is a serious aliasing problem in Xplane 12. Please provide a solution to this problem now. The MSAA method is a performance killer and does not provide any benefits.

[@Dredlocks131]

do we get the option to sail these ships? would be awsome

[@stevenbond2891]

Amazing. Great attention to detail.

[@VirtualAviationAviator]

Awesome. Gonna check out St. Barth now. X-Plane Rocks!

[@SimPilotSky]

Great work austin

[@mzaite]

This will really liven up Burke in Cleveland during the summer.

[@weok-doing-things]

Awesomes video. Really give us joy, keep up positive vibes!

[@reneavaliente1232]

There is a problem with zooming. I cannot get to zoom out so I can see the full instrument panel. The zoom in seems to work great because it works like a telescope. We need to fix this

[@darthhell4234]

Wow great work, thank you for this great Sim

[@ArtanisPolskiPilot]

Waiting !

[@ed.mil.5029]

Nice video and the boats look great. Well done! 🏝 🌤 🛬 ⛵🚢👏👍

[@raymondjackson6069]

How do you keep it from crashing all the time?

[@CESSNA1149]

Good afternoon, since the last update I am experiencing problems with Vulkan, what is the reason for this please, after flying for 15 minutes the flight closes and the Vulkan error appears, I appreciate any support in this regard. Thank you.

[@BekoPharm]

I lost it when the Nevergrin ships came into view 🤣

[@alimsh2680]

Will these boats and ships be all over the world? or in one particular area

[@Glenj48]

The one thing that is pushing me towards MSFS is that I can use charts in the G1000 in MSFS and I can't in X-Plane. A pluging for navigraph charts would be my number 1 priority for things to add instead of some obscure airport somewhere.

[@frankbyte]

Just be aware that you are probably the only user that wishes a navigraph-plugin in XP12 as priority number 1. Good luck with MSFS. I am happy I deleted it because I was missing to much stuff that XP offers.

[@DestructZero6471]

When XP12 was released I bet someone that it would take a bite out of MSFS. I lost that bet. Whether or not you agree that graphics are an important factor in flight simulators, they’ll always be a long way behind MSFS until that’s resolved.

[@frankbyte]

@@DestructZero6471 you must be very naive then. They will never compete with MSFS graphics with their endless ressources and possibilities. But on everything else, as they already do.

[@marcokavcic]

curious: is that meant to create traffic or would that enable us to create watercraft? what tool is involved here? and finally: can waterwakes be modified? thanks.

[@Niplanespotter333]

Was this filmed back in October

[@Simulanderson]

those videos are really amazing! jajajajaja cheers from brazil.

[@Simulanderson]

7:00 iconic austin moment! hahahahaha amazing job with this update! respect!

[@tomc1380]

What's new for me is that this beta crashes when trying to startup a flight in VR. Rolling back to non-beta 12.1.1 and all's well again. Sent in a crash report so hopefully this will help.

[@CyberSystemOverload]

Wonderful video, really enjoyed it. More like this please! The ship names. Evergrin, Nevergrin 🤣😂 I CAN'T Love the Laminar team!

[@AVIANCASAMACES]

Why the cabin textures and textures in general become blurry after a few minutes. I have a high end pc . And I can’t deal with that any more

[@josiahjackson3757]

Feature request: the ability to split the audio within the sim to different devices would be awesome. That way I could send the ATC to my headphones and the rest of the audio to my speakers.

[@ETHAN12492]

Do I have to buy any thing I m download it rn

[@tomdchi12]

I am utterly appalled that Austin would abuse his poor employee like this!

[@xzxmm2091]

I have a problem every time I try to open the game with steam it tells me not responding

[@ES457]

Can there be a 'Nevergrin' stuck onto the suez?

[@fintancostello_ok]

Hi austin, I have a super issue with x-plane. Now this feature is something that nobody used but I really want it fixed- anyways its the eject feature. When you eject it plays the animation of u ejecting but then after that you cannot switch to any other camera views. Its such a small detail but it would be rlly cool to see this fixed.

[@Bruce-y4j]

Laminar pushes its beta issues and that’s great, while at the same time it cautions us about having more than one X-PLANE version in our active system. This makes it difficult for volunteer WED airport artists to enjoy the betas while we’re forced to build airports (and a slew of needed inland marinas) within the latest full version of X-Plane. Can this problem be alleviated? (Food for thought.)

[@mileshenessey]

MSFS has bing maps, imagine X-Plane becoming partners with google for its scenery... gonna be the definitive flight sim, because the default X-Plane scenery is outdated for a modern flight sim.

[@serlingdavis8840]

Love Austin ❤

[@flywithkrish]

funfact i met austin at the beach in sint maarten and had a good coversation with him and swiss001 video

[@BruunMedia]

Thanks Austin & Co.

[@aviatortrucker6198]

Need to get a few more planes like the PA-28 series. Should also upgrade navigator to a GTN650 and GTN 750. Would be nice with Pipers STEC-30 or STEC-50 Autopilot.

[@waltoncates]

Want some crab with that dip? Rofl! I'd love to see Laminar include a DeHavilland with the install airframes. A boy can dream...

[@Kollektivtrafikensutsikter]

Hey there, I've purchased X-Plane 12 off of Steam, but when I try to launch it, nothing happens. This seems to be only happening wit XP12 tho, XP11 works just fine and I've been flying a lot of VATSIM with it. Any fix?

[@tomstravels520]

Please ask the support forum. Here will not help much

[@Kollektivtrafikensutsikter]

@@tomstravels520 Of course, I will. But I'm trying here to see if other people are having similar issues

[@aportman58]

I think the most paradox is the heavy cargo tankers in midst of all the luxury boats! And get the water action and color correct!

[@FlightSimmerX-Plane]

When an aviator also are an aviation enthusiast, a simmer and Traveller travels, the documentation speaks.

[@novemberecho71]

Perfect evolution!!! Its a shame my old serial pfc console is not supported though.....