X Plane 12 – Everything we know so far. Trailers, release date and new screenshots.
In September, we received the first official news from Laminar Research. They were busy creating the successor to X-Plane 11, the popular flight simulator. It was no surprise that X-Plane 12 was chosen as the title. The long-running series of aviation simulators still has a lot of loyal fans despite Microsoft Flight Simulator’s stellar 18-month run.
Laminar Research’s X-Plane will never be a pick-up-and-play flight simulator that can be easily transported to the Xbox as Microsoft has done. But what are they planning for the 12th iteration? They will be trying to keep up with FS2020 in some aspects but keeping the look and feel that X PLane is known for. Let’s look at the information we have so far about the upcoming release.
X Plane 12 Release Date
We have covered a lot about the release date on a particular X Plane 12 page, so it is worth always keeping an eye out for any major changes.
We do know that there will be an initial beta for developers. If everything goes well, this will be followed by an early Access phase.
We know the game will eventually be available in digital and physical formats. We expect a PC release at this point.
X Plane 12 Weather
X-Plane 12 will have a new photometric system that allows the sim to create cloud and lighting effects such as the one below, without using bitmapped textures as it did historically. Although we haven’t seen much, the landscape below is stunning, even though it is still early.
If you have 20 minutes to spare, you can find a very interesting blog article from devs explaining what all this means.
Upgrade from X Plane 11 – X Plane 12,
You will be able to access X Plane 12 as soon as it launches in Early Access. During testing, you will have simultaneous access to both versions.
What has been our experience so far with X Plane 12
Laminar has been teasing X Plane 12 content quite often on its Official Twitter Account. Below is the latest screenshot. The weather effects are visible on the tarmac. You also get to see the A320 model. Although it’s dark, you can see the aircraft if you look far enough away.
Which planes are included in X-Plane 12
At launch, Microsoft Flight Simulator lacked any type of military fighter aircraft. Laminar has included the F-14 Tomcat from the Off to get you ready for the new Top Gun movie.
These are the confirmed aircraft.
- Cirrus SR22
- Citation X (own digital flight deck)
- A330
- F-14
- R-22
- RV-10
You can also hear the engine sounds from the Supercub (pictured below) just before Christmas in a tweet.
