My thoughts on the TBM850 atfer a few days
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Over the past few day, I've enjoyed the TBM 850. Overall, very well done. Whilst I have no TBM/Turbine experience, there are a few areas I would like to see improved
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Improved sound - Default sound does not do the aircraft justice. No beta prop sounds, reverse etc.
Flying model does not feel right at certain points. P-factor too mild. There is a strange pitch change after take-off. (I've not had the issue of floating on landing VREF 80-85 kts)
Better method of selecting reverse (this may be a MSFS limitation).
Better lighting (external) - Custom for the aircraft rather than default Asobo - Currently some lights do not have volumetric effects and the landing lights area look wrong when viewing from outside.
Does the AMP metre work? After a battery start, there does not appear to be sufficent increase in AMPs when the start is complete and the generator is on
Is hypxo possible? I dumped the cabin pressure at FL310 and did not have any effects. Oxygen was off.
Improved overhead back lighting. Switches are not readable at night.Nice to have
Exhaust to continue to shows signs of heat after shutdown (like the TBM Hotstart X-Plane)
Main door - Need to hold button to close the door. Then turn handle to lock. Currently it's all one animation after a short press on the button.
Visible inflation of de-ice boots
Headset plugin (noise reduction)
Wheel chocks and coversReally nice to have
Tray table and window blinds that functionOverall, great work BlackSquare. Looking forward to the updates.
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@pedwards Here's a reply direct from the developer for you. This should cover all of the points and suggestions you have raised in your post.
Improved sound - I am considering this for a future update. As the TBM 850 was originally conceived as another Steam Gauge Overhaul, all the sounds were done by the time we decided to make it a full aircraft. The Turbine Duke will require a suite of PT-6 sounds, so it will likely come after that. There are beta and reverse sounds in the current implementation, though.
Flying model - There will be a major update to this in the coming week. The current performance is within 2% of the book numbers, so this will be an update predominantly to the "feel" of the aircraft. The propeller torque will be increased. There should be no reason for a pitch change after takeoff, but I will look carefully for it today.
Better method of selecting reverse - The current method is used for every other aircraft I have ever tested for MSFS, which is the native reverse binding. If you have an idea for an improved system, I am all ears, and I can attempt to create it.
Better external lighting - I have increased the brightness of the exterior lights, and I have a new strobe system that I'm testing out that will necessitate turning them off when in low visibility. The new strobes are volumetric. The reason the landing light emissive mesh does not look excellent is a limitation of the renderer regarding small objects that are culled at greater viewing distances. If we find a solution for this, I will be the first one to include it.
Does the AMP metre work - This is one of the headlining features of Black Square aircraft. It very much works, and the current draw is calculated for every system on the aircraft, as well as the resulting heat. If the charging current is not significant after starting, it simply means you didn't drain the battery very much.
Is hypxo possible - This is something I have long wanted to implement. If you have an example aircraft for which this works in MSFS, please let me know so I can look into how the effect works!
Improved overhead back lighting - As far as I'm aware, there is no backlighting on the TBM 850's overhead panel, which differs from the later models. The overhead panel is illuminated by the post lights on the ceiling, which are controlled by the INST LIGHTING knob.
Exhaust to continue to shows signs of heat after shutdown - Do you mean the exhaust shimmering visual effect? This is theoretically possible, but it is a little above my current skills, as I believe the heat shimmer effects in MSFS are hardcoded.
Main door - This was done on purpose, unfortunately. I make very few compromises for realism in my aircraft, but I had images of how many streamers/YouTubers would not know this nuance, and think the pressurization system was non-functional because they did not properly latch the door.
Visible inflation of de-ice boots - Already done. Next update.
Headset plugin - This would require a custom sound set. I will look into this for a TBM update, and the Dukes.
Wheel chocks and covers - Wheel chocks are done, because they serve the purpose of keeping the aircraft still while the brakes are off. I will consider covers, as well.
Tray table and window blinds that function - This would take a significant change to the model, unfortunately. This was because of the Steam Gauge Overhaul origins of this aircraft, again. I will consider it, but I promise you a working table in the Duke.
Thank you for all the feedback! While I apologize that I cannot get to every request, I think you will be very happy with the next update this week. The changelog is already two pages long!
Hope that helps and answers all of your points.
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Many thanks for taking the time to reply, it is appreciated. I've replied to your points below.
@voice-of-reason said in My thoughts on the TBM850 atfer a few days:
> Flying model - There will be a major update to this in the coming week. The current performance is within 2% of the book numbers, so this will be an update predominantly to the "feel" of the aircraft. The propeller torque will be increased. There should be no reason for a pitch change after takeoff, but I will look carefully for it today.Thank you. As I mentioned I have no TBM/turbine experience so my feedback is based on experience on lighter aircraft but I was surprised how sensitive the BS TBM was in pitch, especially after takeoff (120kts and accelerating)
> Better method of selecting reverse - The current method is used for every other aircraft I have ever tested for MSFS, which is the native reverse binding. If you have an idea for an improved system, I am all ears, and I can attempt to create it.
As a longtime simmer I found XP11 far better than MSFS for assigning controls so this is a current MSFS limitation
> Better external lighting - I have increased the brightness of the exterior lights, and I have a new strobe system that I'm testing out that will necessitate turning them off when in low visibility. The new strobes are volumetric. The reason the landing light emissive mesh does not look excellent is a limitation of the renderer regarding small objects that are culled at greater viewing distances. If we find a solution for this, I will be the first one to include it.
Thank you
> Does the AMP metre work - This is one of the headlining features of Black Square aircraft. It very much works, and the current draw is calculated for every system on the aircraft, as well as the resulting heat. If the charging current is not significant after starting, it simply means you didn't drain the battery very much.
I've checked the POH and also this 850 video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joC6LHhEL_g&t=42s and I still believe the BS is not displaying correct AMPS. In the video you can see the draw is stronger during the operation of the starter and the charge rate is greater too and for longer. A start in the BS the max draw is 150 amperes for approx 2 seconds , and the max recharge is approx 10 amperes and then quickly reduces to approx 0-1 amperes
Is hypxo possible - This is something I have long wanted to implement. If you have an example aircraft for which this works in MSFS, please let me know so I can look into how the effect works!
I've read Flying Iron has simulated hypoxia, however, I cannot verify as I do not own any of their products.
> Improved overhead back lighting - As far as I'm aware, there is no backlighting on the TBM 850's overhead panel, which differs from the later models. The overhead panel is illuminated by the post lights on the ceiling, which are controlled by the INST LIGHTING knob.
The video I link to above also confirms the overhead has lighting limited to the gauages and landing light switches. Wow!
> Exhaust to continue to shows signs of heat after shutdown - Do you mean the exhaust shimmering visual effect? This is theoretically possible, but it is a little above my current skills, as I believe the heat shimmer effects in MSFS are hardcoded.
Perhaps in 2024!
> Main door - This was done on purpose, unfortunately. I make very few compromises for realism in my aircraft, but I had images of how many streamers/YouTubers would not know this nuance, and think the pressurization system was non-functional because they did not properly latch the door.
My vote is for a more realistic door closing!
Visible inflation of de-ice boots - Already done. Next update.
Headset plugin - This would require a custom sound set. I will look into this for a TBM update, and the Dukes.
Wheel chocks and covers - Wheel chocks are done, because they serve the purpose of keeping the aircraft still while the brakes are off. I will consider covers, as well.
Tray table and window blinds that function - This would take a significant change to the model, unfortunately. This was because of the Steam Gauge Overhaul origins of this aircraft, again. I will consider it, but I promise you a working table in the Duke.Thank you
Your dedication is clear to see, and from an avid simmer, it's great to see.
All the best.
Paul
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@voice-of-reason
Great response, it's already a fantastic aircraft in my opinion, so I'm excited to see how it develops - thanks to Black Square for his hard work so far
