A Massive Thank You

Jet-Pack (IPACS)  admin

Dear IPACS team,

I would like to sincerely note the following:

After nine years of devoted support to various forms of IPACS' simulators, you've finally realised my dream. With KMSP, I can now fly around the globe and back again without compromise. This is a wonderful full-circle moment for me, as my other home airport of Geneva was released with the original Aerofly FS back in 2012. I look forward to countless flights and enjoyment as the result of such a massive gift! Thank you once again for the most wonderful gift that could possibly be made. I am also quite excited to fly the 777F, as it will fit in nicely within the size class of the

777-200ER (same length, of course) and A330. It will be a good improvisation. My expectations were also exceeded during my beta testing, as the amount of spawnable apron spaces and the quality of modelling are on par with the greatest airports that the simulator has to offer.

I would like to repay you for such a tremendous gift. If you require any assistance whatsoever for blog entries/articles, please note that I am available to work, write, format, or perform any other duties necessary. In fact, I would love to aid the IPACS team in any auxiliary capacity, as I have a passion for this field. Please contact me if such an arrangement is possible- I have noticed that some other users created blog entries a number of years ago and would like to fill the same gap. As it is obvious that the team is quite busy, (after all, IPACS work and glider instructor certification may take some time) there could be a place for my services. Additionally, I believe that players would appreciate/benefit from a more regular stream of blog posts, including ones that may not even relate to developments! These could relate to « Did you know? » posts and feature explanations. Such a move could increase player engagement, similarly to how the YouTube channel did in years past.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if this is the case, or even if it isn't.

Kind regards,

Thekingbuji333

Quote from Jet-Pack (IPACS)

Thank you for your post, that's much appreciated.

Right now it would help greatly if you can help to "spread the word" and for example upload high quality videos on YouTube or other platforms for new users to discover Aerofly FS.

Of course. Again, if you ever need assistance with the Blog, I'm always open to that in addition to more publicity.

Perhaps an Instagram or Facebook account would also expand the target audience?

Quote from ThomK

🎻🥁👍🖖

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Quote from Jet-Pack (IPACS)

Thank you for your post, that's much appreciated.

Right now it would help greatly if you can help to "spread the word" and for example upload high quality videos on YouTube or other platforms for new users to discover Aerofly FS.

Once again, what role did drhotwing1 (IPACS) play in blog writing? I'm sure I could create engaging pieces which could pique interest— Instagram account moderation is also not out of the picture with your approval…

Quote from Jet-Pack (IPACS)

Jeff was a moderator in the forums and wrote blogs and announcements for us and also did some work on Facebook if I remember correctly. During the pandemic the priorities shifted around and he left to help out others.

The biggest issue with public announcements is that you have to be very careful how you word things and what you mention or not. Some users will quote texts from you that you wrote years ago and hold it against you. For example: Even though work had been started on ATC back then it was way too soon to announce it. Yet Jeff pushed the idea and we eventually announced that we were working on it and received mixed responses from the community. Till this day we receive comments like "you promised us this years ago", so we learned the hard lesson that it's sometimes best not to announce things, especially if it's a long term project. Overall it's a much more positive experience for users and for us developers if we only start showing something that is actually close to being released or that is coming in the foreseeable future.

It's not easy to find the right wording without being misleading or lying to the customers and in my opinion public announcements also require some insider knowledge and a deep understanding of the company inner workings. This can't be done from the outside and most likely would require a person to be in our offices to do the work properly. It's difficult to express via email what you want to announce and what not, then I can also just take the extra couple of minutes to publish the blog myself, you know.

This is where a video producer would be very helpful or someone who can write product reviews for different flight sim magazines. That takes a lot of work but can be done mostly independently and remotely. We'd only have to check the script and add a few corrections to it.

Yes. Being too vague may be problematic, but mentioning certain products may cause misleading statements which can be reused. Of course, it is important to be clear with the agenda without publishing too much information or creating statements which may be misinterpreted as deliverables.

I agree that the last-minute information releases are beneficial, as it reduces user speculation and creates more enthusiasm for the community. I understand that it would most likely not be feasible to collaborate on a blog, although my writings generally stay short, simple, and direct without disclosing undue levels of information. Confidentiality is key, although limited transperancy is also essenctial.

I am not excellent at understanding IPACS' inner workings, so your analysis there is entirely valid. What to disclose could be simple across email, but that is subjective.

The final point is true. However, more outreach through social media and a "did you know?" blog may reach more individuals than the current interval of information being published. Note that the developer videos from 2023 have amassed over 20000 views per video, so this would be an enormous medium to attract players. Perhaps being featured in aviation magazines (I know Airliner World has a sim section, it is quite popular) could increase interest as well?

Quote from jtp

I would also like to thank the Team for the 777F; what a beautiful airplane; this gives me hope toward a possible passenger version in the future. This sim is so fluid as far as frames per second; and the night lighting is looking so much better, once I launched it last night I saw the update but did not anticipate this surprise which made me late for work this morning but it was worth it. : )

John.

We have a possible passenger version in the form of the 777-300?!?

Do you refer to a 777-200ER?