Introduction:

The X-Plane community is a distinctive one of that it is full of collaborators and developers who are willing to put their time, skill and effort to the test in order to deliver free add-ons for everyone to enjoy. Our freeware scenery sector in particular fares very competitively with those who produce payware scenery, and this competitive nature has been the case since the end of X-Plane 10's product cycle. This community spirit is one thing that sets X-Plane apart from other platforms, and althought not immune to the usual politics and drama between developers and vendors, the World of X-Plane is certainly a welcoming one. Regarding airplane development, however, freeware developers as a collective aim to expand and renew existing add-ons, or redesign old ones to bring them up to today's visual standards.

One of the highlights of this effort – to bring developers together and work on an existing file – has been ongoing work by multiple teams on Laminar’s default 737. Originally modelled and developed by XPJets founder and developer Alex Unruh, this 737 is widely considered to be the gold standard in modern flight simulation visuals. That said, some implied it made no sense to reinvent the wheel and develop it further. Alex, now the chief artist at Laminar, developed the 737 to become one of Xp11's primary default aircraft, but he is also responsible for developing new autogen assets that are constantly being added to the simulator.

With this 737 complete, many began to wonder just how deep the systems could be made on what is, when all is said and done, a default aircraft. What would such an effort look like? Well, some members of the community came together and began to offer their own interpretation on what to improve, or what to add to this 737, and one group began to focus on what we now call the 737 Zibo modification. This has grown into a comprehensive system redevelopment for the 737, and work is ongoing.

The Zibo 737 modifications is, by far, one of the biggest undertakings (in freeware development) in X-Plane history, many have compared this project favourably to payware add-ons, even PMDG's version of the 737NG. Yet to others the thought remains: can Laminar’s default 737 be expanded to include other variants besides the -800; a deep revision that includes brand new textures, 3d window cuts – complete with cabin modifications. This second group formed to develop what’s now being called the 737 Ultimate project, or, the 737U. This project gained traction and gathered considerable community support, yet what’sbecome even more interesting is the inner workings of this group, or the work going on backstage, behind the curtain, if you will.

The 737 Ultimate Series:

Daniel, one of the main developers of the 737 Ultimate has informed us the 737 series will be released to the press and livery artists this coming Saturday. While we received this information last week, we held off informing people until we received images documenting the group’s latest progress. The following set of images highlights the -900 version, one of the versions they'll cover in the first release (the others being the -800 and -700); there is no news on a -600 variant, and that seems unlikely due to the littlest 737s unpopularity.

The 737U project, announced on the 4th of August last year, has gained significant attention since then, and the group’s progress has been consistent ever since, too. I've personally witnessed their workflow, and the productivity and degree of collaboration appears unprecedented to me – at least compared to any add-on development I’ve observed. Their main communications channel, one that I participated in, is constantly being utilised to discuss about each member's progress. Zibo is directly involved in the discussion, as well as FMOD sound masterman Ollie (aka Audiobird). The two have worked together to bring out this first release in the most timely manner possible, working to perfect the smallest details and to get the files ready for release.

So, to clarify, this 737U “Ultimate Series” will remain compatible with Zibo's work, as well as Audiobird's 737 FMOD sounds. Two of the other main features of the Ultimate Series are the inclusion of a 3-D cabin and the expansion of the base 737-800 model to include the three most popular variants of the NG series.

Here is the feature list:

Feature List (non exhaustive):