X-Plane 12
X-Plane 12.1.3 Released: New Weather Engine and Multi-Core Enhancements
By David Marlson · · 2 min read
Laminar Research has released X-Plane 12.1.3, featuring a revamped weather radar, improved cloud rendering, and enhanced multi-core performance. The update also includes a new 'Enhanced Runway Awareness and Advisory System' for default aircraft.
Laminar Research has pushed out X-Plane 12.1.3, a substantial update that focuses on refining the simulator's weather and performance. The update introduces a new weather radar model that better simulates attenuation and reflectivity, providing more realistic returns for pilots flying through convective weather. Cloud rendering has been improved with a new volumetric lighting algorithm, creating more dramatic sunrise and sunset scenes.
Multi-core performance has been enhanced through a new task distribution system that offloads more work to available CPU cores, which should benefit users with high-core-count processors. The update also includes a new 'Enhanced Runway Awareness and Advisory System' for default aircraft, which provides aural and visual alerts for runway incursions and unstable approaches, similar to the real-world system on Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
For users of third-party aircraft like the FlightFactor 777 and ToLiss A340, the update brings compatibility fixes for the new weather radar API. ToLiss has already released a small patch for their A340-500/600 to take advantage of the improved weather data.
The update is available now through the X-Plane installer. As always, we recommend backing up your preferences before updating, but we have not encountered any breaking issues in our initial testing.
Tags: X-Plane 12, Laminar Research, Weather, Performance