Any new 3rd party support?

1st Official Post

    I was wondering how things are going when it comes to 3rd party support. I was hoping the release of both Orbx airports would boost things a little but so far nothing has happened. I also read Lionheart has put their Aerofly FS 2 project (bringing FSX planes to AFS2) on hold because of various problems. So... does this mean the future of AFS2 only depends on IPACS and Orbx...? As most of us know the future of a sim usually depends on 3rd party support. I know the Dash 400 is coming soon and also the update of the autopilot but what's next (apart from what IPACS is working on)? I don't expect IPACS to release something new every month or so, not at all, but if the progress of this sim will depend on IPACS alone I do fear the future of Aerofly FS 2 is looking a bit grim... Imho we do need 3rd party support.

    Is there any news that I might have missed about this?

    Again, I don't want to discuss the time it takes for IPACS to get things done, I fully understand their focus on quality, but it simply would help A LOT of 3rd party developers would join in.

    I agree 100%. We FS 2er's are going to need the love of a larger commercial community to thrive.

    Has Orbx been in touch with IPACS about what is next? I thought they had at least implied that an area of expanded autogen was in the works for the Meigs scenery. It is a wonderful scenery, but it is awfully small as it is.

    Keep up the good work!

    • Official Post

    If you build it they will come.

    Please give this some time. Aerofly FS2 is still in early access and still being developed, with that comes further changes, improvements, and additional tools that are still being worked on. Once we have a true release candidate there will be other interest from 3rd party support.

    IPACS Development Team Member

    I'm just a cook, I don't own the restaurant.
    On behalf of Torsten, Marc, and the rest of the IPACS team, we would all like to thank you for your continued support.

    Regards,

    Jeff

    Hi,

    3rd party... well they will join if they make money. They are companies, company exist to make money.

    Did ORBX sold enough of LOWI andMeg? I doubt that,

    BennyBoy. I5 8600K @ 4,3ghz, 16 ram, GTX 1060 6G @ UW @2560 X 1080. Sim: AF2 & P3D V4

    • Official Post
    Quote from Oldar

    Jeff,

    Since you brought it up, ummmm, does IPACS have even a vague feeling as to when that release candidate might be on the horizon? Are we talking years?

    Bill

    The honest answer, and one you aren't going to like, is once Aerofly FS2 has enough of features and the build is stable then it will be deemed as the "official release" of Aerofly FS2.

    It will not however be years away, that I can pretty much guarantee.

    IPACS Development Team Member

    I'm just a cook, I don't own the restaurant.
    On behalf of Torsten, Marc, and the rest of the IPACS team, we would all like to thank you for your continued support.

    Regards,

    Jeff

    Quote from Oldar

    "pretty much guarantee"? That is not terribly encouraging!

    That is all I will add for now. It's been in early development for over a year already.

    To be fair though, there are titles out there that have been in early access much longer than Aerofly.

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    • Official Post

    Just to give you guys an idea of how much work is required for some things:

    1) The Q400 took almost 1 complete year of work. This includes modelling and setting it up. Keep in mind that each single animated screen in the Q400 is 'hand crafted' C++ code that runs each frame.
    2) Innsbruck by its own required around 8 to 10 month of work. This is not counting some of the animations that are in there.

    The detail level we deliver and the shear complexity of airplanes and sceneries is very time consuming. I am sure we can get Lionheart interested again, the way it works things work for Aerofly are different, some people have a hard time adapting to this. But once you understand how it works, the workflow should be a lot quicker.

    If we look back 1 year and compare where we are right now, we are very happy. We have added a lot more content and we have laid the ground work for 3rd party developers to add more stuff.

    If all goes well we might be able to publish an update next week, including the Q400.

    Quote from admin

    1) The Q400 took almost 1 complete year of work.

    2) Innsbruck by its own required around 8 to 10 month of work.

    If we look back 1 year and compare where we are right now, we are very happy.

    1 and 2 are the reasons I was hoping more developers would come on board. ;) As I said I am not complaining about what IPACS is doing, that wasn't the point of my post at all: I was simply hoping for others to add things to the sim, also because that would get more people interested. I am also happy with where we are and I am hoping for a bright future for Aerofly FS 2.

    GREAT NEWS about the update and the Dash BTW!

    I first saw this sim at the ORBX booth where I has a chance to fly in their Innsbruck scenery using VR .... Oculus. I was blown away. So when I got home I bought Aerofly 2. I'm mainly into P3dV4 and DCS but I keep coming back to Aerofly2 from time to time especially when I want to fly something a little simpler for awhile. Looking forward to more add-on scenery and aircraft with a little more capability. This sim is pretty good now and will only get better.

    • Official Post
    Quote from dbw

    Looking forward to more add-on scenery and aircraft with a little more capability. This sim is pretty good now and will only get better.

    Great to have you on board, welcome to Aerofly and the IPACS forums!

    You may have read it somewhere else already: there are updates for the airliners lined up that will improve the autopilot and add other nice features. And then there is the Q400 on it's way as well :)

    Quote from admin

    The detail level we deliver and the shear complexity of airplanes and sceneries is very time consuming

    To be honest, your airplane look wise are better then any paid addon I have.

    I am in love with your sime for so many reason, benn flying over Switzerland only lately.

    Not in love with P3D V4 at all

    Ben

    BennyBoy. I5 8600K @ 4,3ghz, 16 ram, GTX 1060 6G @ UW @2560 X 1080. Sim: AF2 & P3D V4

    What is already here is fabulous. From flying into a big city to flying over the mountains this is an unmatched sim experience. FS 2 is what a "next gen" sim is supposed to look and feel like. P3D v4 is a nice little update, but if you spun me around and placed v3 or v4 in front of me I am unsure that I would be able to tell the difference.

    That is the only reason I am always urging you to hire more core programmers and bring on more 3rd party developers. This is the future of flight simming, and I really want you guys and not someone else to reap the reward. Eventually someone is going to "snipe" the crown from you if it takes years for you to "finish". The customer base is going to go where the finished product is. Customer loyalty, except for a select few, is a myth.

    Now to fly the King Air from Geneva to Innsbruck, one of the best flights in the hobby!