Posts by Nik Barbour

  • No communication or support for mobile!

    I think you guys really messed up with how you have handled the mobile market.
    Mobile guys generally want regular updates, at least 4 per year, with new aircraft or scenery dlc, I'd personally say aircraft being the preferred by the crowd. They have huge purchasing potential, but you largely ignored them and made them feel set aside for pc version. Now each new announcement, you're just getting bombarded with negative comments regarding mobile status.

    You had the potential to sky rocket ahead of the competition and really push mobile simming, but just didn't carry it through.
    If you look at the Android market figures, AF2=10k downloads XP10.5m=1mill+
    You guys really goofed on this. I still love the sim, but you should have had interactive cockpits. I fed you that idea 6 months before Laminar added them, and it is awesome having manual obs control, etc.
    I'm sad it didn't get where I thought you were headed. Maybe AF3.

  • Release the Android update?

    There can't be many Android users left having gone over 12 months without update, and with the last released market build having broken navigation. I would personally advise that you either cut the older devices loose and move forwards, or just end your support for the platform.
    It hasn't felt supported for a long time now.

  • Nvidia Shield K1 V 6.0.1

    Quote from Overloaded

    It's android 7.1.1 on my Pixel C. No word on when they will release android FS2. They are busy on PC it seems.

    And whilst Ipacs have been neglecting the mobile version for PC, Laminar have not. Xplane10 mobile has pulled ahead in mobile sim market with their last update. The new cockpit manipulators and full nav instrument functionality and operation is really good.

  • Red Bull acrobatics course.

    I was just watching some youtube clips and wondered if it had been discussed to add an acrobatics course (layed out cones) either somewhere in region (wouldn't have to be somewhere there really was one) or as an add on Region, or even as an option in settings to make it appear / disappear in the FS2 region?

  • Nvidia Shield K1 V 6.0.1

    Re Shield K1.
    The original ota to Marshmallow gave no problems with either AF1 or AF2. Neither did the subsequent update to MM6.0.1.

    The Latest nvidia OTA update to version 1.3, which is still MM6.0.1 but includes the June Android security patch has prevented AF1 from running.
    AF2 is fine though.

  • New Mobile release

    Quote from Overloaded

    Every tablet and 99% of phones have a webcam/selfie camera and the camera software often analyses the faces in a shot for various smart shot controls. Could a sim calculate the posture and position of a face to mimic trackIR functions and offer the 6 degrees of freedom sensing? The eyes could keep looking at the screen but partial head movement could pan and shift the virtual eyepoint.

    This Android app here tries to achieve what you were talking about.
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/det….headtracking3d
    Doesn't work with my device to try it out.

    Your idea wouldn't work theoretically though, due to tilt control. As you tilt the device to control Aileron or elevator, the device would think your view angle had changed.
    That's the reason I suggested using a 2nd device to feed gyro position info back to the primary device via Bluetooth. Don't know if it'd work, but theoretically it should be a better idea.

  • New Mobile release

    Quote from Overloaded

    I have a google cardboard in the post. Being cardboard it is easily modifiable and can be adapted perhaps to allow a finger tip to intrude into the 3D world! I imagine an otg cable would allow joystick control of IF but who would want to look around their disgusting dead cockpits? If mobile Aeros had 3D and joystick control it would be nice to zoom in a bit to have clear instruments and have smooth easy viewing of the greater 'virtual screen'. I wonder if the quality smartphone's linear accelerometers are sensitive enough to implement 6 degrees of freedom, i.e. head height and leaning forwards and sideways. Just looking left/right and up/down would not be enough and what use in a flight sim is rotating one's head in the roll (longitudinal) axis?

    Can't stop laughing at the thought of this beautifully crafted 3d experience with your finger poking about through its glory hole you've cut in the side :)

    When using the joystick on IF, I use the hat for panning the view left right up down, and the 3 buttons underneath for zoom in, out, and recentre. It works quite well and is sufficient for basic control.

    Head tracking by wearing the device in a vr head fitting, like Google cardboard or Samsung gear vr would just about be the ultimate mobile powered experience I'd imagine. It would be cool to fly with a USB joystick with full head tracking.

    I wondered about using 2 devices as an alternative and non vr option. Tablet being the main software driver and screen, phone paired to the tablet via Bluetooth fastened to the users head feeding back head rotation and movement info to the tablet, and the tablet processing the movements and accentuating the movements like TrackIR does. Flight controls could be either tilting the tablet or by plug in usb joystick. Just an idea.

  • Free alternative to TrackIR - using your Android phone.

    And I'm already wondering if this could be added to the mobile AF2 build for head tracking on mobile devices too.

    Imagine playing on your tablet, whilst your phone is tie wrapped to a baseball cap giving you full head tracking in cockpit cam whilst you fly on your tablet in cockpit cam. That'd give pan, tilt, zoom, peek around.
    Phone fixed to your head could be bluetooth paired to the tablet running AF2.
    AF2 app being suitably modded to work with this input.
    I've got loads of old droids knocking around.

  • Free alternative to TrackIR - using your Android phone.

    Don't know if this is actually any good, but I just found this app for Android which allows you to attach your Android phone to your headset, and it performs wireless headtracking via a pc app called FaceTrackNoIR or open track. Basically sending gyro info back to your pc.
    It's confirmed working well in the reviews, in several flight sims including Aerofly.

    App = Head Tracker by Lawrence Simmons

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/det…con.headtracker

    Just thought you guys might like to try this out. (I'm mobile only).
    Shout up if it works.

  • New Mobile release

    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.

  • New Mobile release

    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.

  • New Mobile release

    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.