Laminar Research released another beta build of its upcoming major X-Plane 12 update, numbered 12.2.0.
This is the fourth beta build following the third that was released a couple of weeks ago. It fixes a memory leak that happened with Nvidia graphics, and also comes with further visual tweaks.
We also get some ATC improvements and a plethora of fixes to improve the experience before it’s fed to the masses with a full release.
The full patch notes come straight from the official website.
- Removed the second “S” indicator on the ball compass (XPD-16827).
- Improved ATC course corrections during the early stages of an approach. These now use track rather than heading and trigger at 10 degrees instead of 5. They are disabled for procedure approaches.
- Fixed an issue where the pushback buttons on the Ground Handling Window were not working anymore when pushback wasn’t requested via the ATC system (XPD-16816).
- Opening the IOS Windows will no longer reset the payload and fuel of the aircraft.
- Fixed an issue when loading a customer aircraft (XPD-16767).
- Enabled static aircraft on external visuals for airports loaded during a flight, such as the arrival to a new airport.
- The airport location list will support filtering by local ID from now on (XPD-16830).
- Improved the general logging. The new log rotation system is now disabled for Plane Maker and Airfoil Maker. Older log files are moved from the X-Plane root folder to a new folder called “Output/Log Archive”. Log file names will include the date/timestamp in the filename based on the last modified date/time.
- Improved the error handling in our replay system.
- Fixed an incremental host memory leak with NVIDIA GPUs in system without ReBar.
- Fixed an issue in the texture pager when using orthographic textures.
- Increased the resolution of the cloud noise cubes to increase the appearance of clouds from extreme altitudes (XPD-16818).
- Recalibrated the navigation and position lights of aircraft to be more realistic and less orange at night.
- Jetways now properly sit on the ground without sunken wheels (XPD-16741).
- Enhanced logging for GPS runtime errors.
- Added three new datarefs to override control axis to be treated as force-feedback. This will allow users of high-end yokes to use those without the need to disable trim in the acf file. Those datarefs are called:
- sim/operation/override/override_pitch_trim
- sim/operation/override/override_roll_trim
- sim/operation/override/override_yaw_trim
If you’re unfamiliar with X-Plane 12, available for PC, it’s a flight simulator by Laminar Research.
It has been a major player in the industry since its original release in 1995. According to the latest community survey by Navigraph, it’s the third-most used flight simulator behind Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and MSFS 2024, albeit the gap is very sizable.
If you’d like to get into flight simulation but you’re perhaps a bit intimidated by its apparent complexity, you can read our introductory guide, alongside the second episode focusing on installing add-ons, and another showcasing the basic instruments.
You can also read more flight simulation news in the latest roundup article.