Laminar Research has completed the beta and release candidate cycle of update 12.1.3 for X-Plane 12, and the patch is now fully released.
Dubbed the “ATC Update” it indeed brings significant change to ATC in the simulator, which you can find in a brand-new manual.
We also get plenty of improvements to weather, AI traffic, user interface, and various aircraft. Of course, there are also plenty of fixes and tweaks to improve stability and the overall experience.
A custom airport has also been added, or more precisely a heliport, specifically Downtown Manhattan Heliport (KJRB).
Another interesting change is the optional introduction of the X-Plane Identity system, which allows you to create a user account and link your product key to it.
This is a stepping stone toward the planned launch of the official store for the simulator. You can find the full patch notes on the official site.
Incidentally, we also get a tease of the next patch, which will be smaller. 12.1.4 will be titled ‘The Flightlessons Update.’ I guess what it may include isn’t too mysterious, but we’ll have to wait and see to be fully sure.
If you’re unfamiliar with X-Plane 12, it’s the latest version of the flight simulator by Laminar Research. It’s currently available for PC.
If you want to enjoy the simulator with a free airliner, you can check out the Boeing 737 family by LevelUp, which was released just a few days ago.
Earlier today, we also see the announcement of the Diamond DA40-XLS by COWS, albeit we still don’t know when it’ll be released, as it’ll first come for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and 2020 in early 2025. The X-Plane 12 release will follow at a later date.
