A heavy workload combined with the pandemic situation have slowed down the work on completing the Draken 5.1 update and the J-35OE model, which were both planned for release at the end of 2020. Both releases are now targeted for the end of February March.
Sorry about the delay, hopefully you will find it worth the wait.
Hello folks, here are the latest news regarding the Draken 5.1 release, which is a much improved and Prepar3D V5 compatible version that offers the Austrian J-35OE as a separate download.
The 35OE interior and exterior models are now complete and I am currently working on fixing compatibility issues with Prepar3D V5. Lockheed Martin made some significant changes to the dynamic lighting system between V4 and V5, which means that the landing/taxi lights and the interior lights will need to come in two flavors. Apart from this there are no functional differences in Prepar3D V5.
When you install Draken 5.1 you will be given the choice to install for either Prepar3D V4 or V5. The only difference is a configuration file that will point to different fx files depending on the target version.
Stay tuned for more news!
Did a test flight with Draken 5.0.4 in Prepar3D V5 today and everything works like a charm except for the drag chute animation and the cockpit lights (instrument and panel backlighting work fine). There may be some other bugs, will do some more extensive testing later this week.
The upcoming 5.1 update and the new 35OE model will be fully compatible with Prepar3D V5. If you cannot wait and want to try the current version of Draken in Prepar3D V5, just run the installer and select the path to your V5 add-ons instead of the default path.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 has been released and I finally found time to give it a spin (for various reasons I did not participate in the beta program). It is an impressive achievement and surely a landmark in the history of flight simulation games – although like its predecessors when they were first launched it needs some pretty heavy hardware to run properly. I am not a gamer, and the computers I use for development work have very modest specs, so I cannot experience MSFS in all its glory. But even at the lowest setting this game is still very enjoyable.
A bigger problem is the requirement of a high-speed internet connection – not only to download the game but to apply mandatory updates before you can start the game. Downloading up to 100+ GB is not a trivial thing if you rely on a wonky LTE/4G mobile broadband that on a good day will provide 20 Mbps.
So will there be a Draken for MSFS 2020 from Bookmark? Probably not. That would require a complete remodeling and retexturing of the aircraft using new tools and procedures. At the moment it is possible to convert FSX/Prepar3D models and make them fly in MSFS, but the old .mdl format is only barely supported at this time and may not load at all in future updates of MSFS.
The FSX and Prepar3D versions of Draken are modeled in Gmax, which of course is not supported in the MSFS SDK. Some additional parts for Prepar3D were modeled in a 3DSMax version that I no longer have access to. To create a commercial quality model for MSFS we would need to start over using 3DSMax 2016 or later, Blender being a possible alternative. But as we no longer have a license for 3DSmax and very little experience of working with Blender, remodeling Draken is not on the map for the foreseeable future.
As the only permanent thing in life is change, I do not rule out completely the possibility of an MSFS version of Draken in 2021. But at the moment it seems unlikely.
Just another 35OE screenshot to whet your appetite. Feel free to comment.
The OE version for Prepar3D has been delayed due to a heavy workload in combination with the COVID-19 situation. The initial target date range was early summer 2020, but my best guess at this point is sometime in the early fall. The project is however very much alive and moving forward.
Most of the avionics and instruments are now complete. Some final touches and optimizing of textures and code to do after that, then we will start building installers for pre-release testing.
A major update to the 35J version will be released in conjunction with the OE version. This update will contain significant improvements in texturing and functionality that were developed for the Austrian model. I will post details about this update in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned /Thomas
An Austrian J-35OE model for Prepar3D is now officially on the roadmap and development work has begun. This will be a completely separate add-on with a full 35OE cockpit, including a functional RWR.
A release date has not been set yet. Stay tuned for more info.
To access bugfix patches and updates to Draken 5 you must now be logged in with the same user account that you used when purchasing Draken.
If you purchased Draken between the 25th and 27th of October 2019, the transaction was handled through PayPal instead of Stripe. This unfortunately means that your purchase may not be detected automatically by our system. If you have purchased Draken but cannot access the updates, please contact us using the contact form and we will send you a direct download link.
The latest Draken updater is available here.
This is an accumulative update that will apply all changes since version 5.0.0.
Changes in this version:
Changes in version 5.0.2:
Changes in version 5.0.1:
The old static FAQ page has finally been updated to a more useful format, hooray. :)
We will successively add more questions and tips to the FAQ as we get more feedback from users. Please use the forum for any questions or suggestions that you may have about Draken, this will help us build a useful FAQ.
The old Draken 4.x forum is currently closed for new posts, but there may eventually be a new section of the forum for the older models. Not decided yet.
