New Mobile release

  • Now that most FS 2 users have discovered or seen others demonstrate how the nav radios and instruments work it all seems so straight forward that the reluctance to include it in AF2, 1 or even the FSs by now seems more odd. Future updates without nav-aid control will be very empty. I realise that phone touch screens cannot resolve the FS 2 precision but something like the earlier rotary autopilot controls or even an external menu might work. Looking forward to future progress, the mobile versions have fallen behind with FS 2 out and the opposition will be trying improvements too, perhaps even IF!

  • Never worried too much about scheduled or regular dlc updates or releases. Some games that stick to these early made promises just end up releasing broken cr@p with an ever expanding bug list, or severely disappointing their fans with missed dates. It hardly ever works well to announce upfront.

    Plus we have to remember with Aerofly that things we see being developed for PC, can sometimes be brought across to mobile assets, so even if it looks like one platform is being favoured at the time, it all works out eventually.

  • No one is asking for anything to be rushed, all I'm asking for is an idea when the next update will be and what will be included since we have seen teases of three new aircraft as well as some new scenery.
    I've been testing their mobile betas in the past and well aware of what is required to get a suitable release candidate ready.

  • > They rushed the iOS AF 2 upgrade out before Christmas last year and it did not go well.

    How did you come to that conclusion? Sometimes it is really sad that we cannot show the complexity/difficulty to our users that comes with each update we publish. If we could just program for one type of iPhone or iPad and only one platform, life would be easier, but we have to support iOS, Android and many different devices.

    We will evetually update our mobile versions, however right now we focus on our PC version. New features from there will come into the mobile version eventually, as long as it makes sense for a mobile platform.

  • > How did you come to that conclusion?

    Seeing that you want me to explain here goes, I have tried to help the Aero development in any way in the past. It was released without any beta testing so it was either rushed or else it was believed to be ready for the customers and fit for purpose. 5 minutes of beta testing would have revealed intermittent and unreliable nav-aids, supersensitive nosewheel steering, mega torque in the Baron on climb-out, missing magnetic variation which made sensible navigation puzzling and ADFs/NDBs indicating 27 1/2 degrees off the correct bearings. Did it come out on the 23rd of December? Nobody here expects Aero to be perfect and many of us contribute towards helping to improve it. When the Android upgrade was released it had massively benefited from the public debugging in the iOS community (and Android beta testing).
    Perhaps the FS 2 release would have benefited from some beta testing, a user guide or readme.txt might have been prepared and some of the inexplicable functions highlighted avoiding many significant bad initial impressions from outsiders, not sympathetic and supportive as we all are. The program payment would not have ben an issue, I would have phoned a card number or put the Euros (and perhaps an empty USB memory stick) in the post.

  • Well that is exacltly what early access is for: its sort of a beta test.
    And to be even clearer: the Aerofly FS 2 is not fully released yet, its in "early access" where user-feedback is collected and bugs that weren't found previously are fixed to make the final release better.

    We're discussing the mobile client here though. It seems like the mobile will fall by the wayside for the time being while the PC version gets all the love but I would genuinely hope for regular updates for both.

    • Official Post

    We're discussing the mobile client here though. It seems like the mobile will fall by the wayside for the time being while the PC version gets all the love but I would genuinely hope for regular updates for both.

    Oh, my bad, sorry. Well yeah the PC version took long enough. I think the mobile users are kind enough to wait a little longer, we (PC users) waited years whilest "their" version was constantly updated at least. (Even the Mac users got an update for the Aerofly FS including Zurich terminals, that the "we" got very late). I don't know the current state of progress for the mobile version...

  • It's a tricky knife edge balance.
    I'm mobile (Android) only, so would definitely love to see future updates for that platform. Whilst I would like updates, I understand that ipacs are a business and have to chase and develop for whichever platform they see will make them the most profit or expand their reputation or portfolio at the time.
    I'm sure ipacs will revisit mobile as they have said so several times. If not, the product we have already is good, it would just be a shame as we're all so passionate about this because we can see its promise and where it could possibly get to in the future. That's why we all hang about here and other ipacs groups.

    Mobile is an especially tricky market to handle well though. You have to keep interest going carefully, with news and updates via social media, but on the flip side you have to be careful not to over promise or over inform upfront of updates due to some people feeling over entitled. I do think you have to probably have around three major updates a year on average. Any less and your market dwindles and walks away to other products or genres. Once lost, sales are hard to claw back.
    Managed correctly and with a good developing product though it should be huge from a sales point of view.
    Everyone has a smart phone these days, Infinitely more than gaming pc's, and purchase from a playstore is instant disposable purchase. You just have to keep your reputation good, product visible and the market keen to buy your offerings.

  • Most people I know nowadays don't have home PCs. The few that do tend to have a cheapie laptop. Cheapie laptop's tend to have integrated graphics processing. Aerofly won't work on integrated graphics set ups.
    Maybe it's different in different regions or countries.

  • I can confirm how well FS 2 runs on a cheap PC. I got an anniversary edition G3258 pentium CPU, 8GB memory and cheap H81 m-plus motherboard combination to upgrade an old PC. With a Gtx 950 strix graphics card I have been doing my first overclocking and so far have the CPU running at 4.3 GHz and the graphics card on over 1500 clock frequency. All the gear is from the cheapest side of the spectrum and FS 2 is as smooth as silk running with every graphics option on the maximum ultra setting. I am a beginner at all this and with help from the internet it was straightforward. I had intended to go for a Gtx 1080 4k2k setup in the future installing steam FSX but Aerofly FS 2 is so nice and has so much promise for the future that I might stick with it instead.

  • Hi Nik, laptops can have detuned proper graphics chips but their problem is that the cooling in a laptop is very limited. They have a single small fan blowing over a tiny heatsink with copper strips running to the CPU and the graphics chip. A good flight sim run can permanently ruin the graphics chip. I burned out my i7 based laptop with FSX and PDMG and now it is permanently throttled back in setup and is only good as a slow back up machine.

  • We've kind of wandered away from the original post topic point here, but to continue in the direction it's gone...
    The PC version isn't going to be a casual purchase for your average PC owner. For starters - flight sim game control. Just say you did have a PC capable and you had a steam account. If you don't own a joystick you can't can't fly a sim game. So that precludes your common average gamer purchase.
    Most existing PC owners will also be laptop owners not desktop owners. This just isn't going to sell to your average pc owner bored of an evening. It's going to be a sale to an existing flight sim fan with existing hardware, or possibly someone with a bit of cash progressing from mobile.
    This won't convert the masses to flight sims. At best it will sell to those who already PC Sim.

    Mobile devices are everywhere. People spend £600+ every two years in the UK without batting an eyelid, in American markets it's even more and more frequently. The platform possessing gyroscopic sensors is ideal in standard form to play and control a flight sim, and store access and price makes it essentially a disposable purchase.

    The only flipside is that whilst almost everyone owns a mobile device, not everyone owns a mobile device capable of doing justice to AF2 which joyfully pushes the boundaries.

    My point is, is I'd be surprised that PC is more profitable than mobile long term, if mobile is done professionally, exploiting media and new technologies like wearable VR etc.. This could still make a fortune for ipacs, they already possess the best mobile sim, they just need to grasp how far this could stretch.
    I'm already thinking about cheap bundled VR headsets like Samsung Gear (occulus rift) with a plug in joystick control.
    They have already missed the boat on initial rollout here.
    Even the really badly developed Pinball app I've previously helped develop have grasped this and are one of the first companies out in the initial launch of the occulus store.

    • Official Post

    I don't know, to me the mobile platforms feel too full of advertisements, trying to pull each penny out of the users nose... To me the mobile market is lacking solidarity and consistency. It feels to fast moving and developers are moving on from one game to the next to make enough money I guess. All apps that I ever had on my smartphone had no real "depth", its always been a simplified, truncate version of desktop websites or software...

    In terms of simulation depth, Aerofly FS 2 can now finally do more advanced things compared to Aerofly FS 1, has clickspots in the flightdeck that allow unlimited amounts of different user inputs and you can program everything now at least in theory already. If you would then take it back to the mobile versions then the small screen is a limiting factor, also your fingers hide the knobs and buttons that you want to switch, its just not ment to be on a small tiny screen I think. One possible solution for that is to implement automatic checklists or a simulated copilot that handles the entire aircraft status for you and still somewhat keeps you in the "loop" by talking to you what he is currently doing.

    Concerning VR: IPACS have announced that they will implement support for virtual reality devices. They already support TrackIR, so basic head movement is already done im some sense. It would be great to also support VR for mobile devices, like for the Google Cardboard as an example. But then how are you flying the airplane, you would need a joystick...
    Even more awesome would be if you could do motion capturing of your hand and then set the switches with your own finger! But I am already getting even more off topic here :D

    Cheers,
    Jan

  • I personally wouldn't over complicate the mobile version, it's pretty close to perfect now in terms of complexity.
    It would be nice to figure out a means of adding manual tuning for the nav instruments, obs etc. Shouldn't be impossible as X-Plane9 mobile had it years ago. And it's being added to XP10m now allegedly soon to be in beta.
    As far as control of every cockpit lever? No that would be too fiddly for mobile and should really stay the preserve of PC.

    I would like to add joystick support for AF2 mobile builds. It's great for at home when you want a little more control. It's already in Infinite Flight, and is being added to XP10m after this next beta phase.

    Other than that - mobiles already awesome. (few bugs aside).
    I'd keep adding saleable content, on a regular basis or at least several times a year like new aircraft and scenery if possible. This would keep fans happy and generate regular income for ipacs.