Well here we are again - with our first major report of 2024. It seems that the quieter we are, the busier things have been behind the scenes. I can only apologise for the lack of update on our part, as a team we've all been working away on both personal things, and our projects here... here's what we have been up to:
Prestwick:
Due for release in the next few weeks, Prestwick is another amazing scenery created by Ally, who is unable to leave out any details... however small.
Initially, you might think this scenery has been designed for train simulator. Ally has worked exceptionally hard on creating realistic, Scotrail trains (I don't know the exact model - he'll kill me if he finds out). Along with this, the realistic station and the fact that we will be seeing animated trains just creates a fantastic sense of immersion.
Fortunately, this eye for detail hasn't stopped at the railway. We have purchased high-quality, recent ortho imagery for the surrounding areas and airport.
This, tied in with the fact that Ally has visited the airport for research, and I have personally flown light aircraft into here on several occasions means that we have collected an amazing library of information and HD photos which we are using in the project.
We are really excited for Prestwick and we hope you enjoy these previews of the work-in-progress scenery as it stands.
North Weald:
Now in the very final stages of testing, North Weald is due to be released for XP11 and XP12 in the coming week (subject to test results).
Matt has done a phenomenal job of recreating not only the details of the airfield, but also capturing the feel of the place. It really does immerse you in the friendly (sometimes slightly chaotic) world of general aviation and interesting UK airfields.
UK Helipads Pack 2:
Due to be released imminently, the UK Helipads Pack is in the final day or so of testing. With 5 brand new helipads from around the UK, this will prove to be another popular package for the rotary lovers out there.
Full details will be available with the upcoming product release.
Product Upgrades:
We're not that far into 2024 but so far, we have released two full product upgrades with added XP12 optimisation (all for free we should add).
Both Pembrey and Southend have received some love over the last couple of months, bringing them both into line with the standard of our most recent releases. Going forward, we are anticipating another big year for product upgrades. Let us know which airports you'd like to see updated next!
Boundless Library:
We are working away on updating the Boundless library to v1.5.
It has been a year since our last upgrade to the library, which added some XP12 features and assets. This new upgrade will reduce the file size by using some much more clever optimisation, as well as giving us a chance to improve current objects, which will instantly upgrade in all airports which use the library. We are looking to add various new objects too, which will give us more freedom to quickly improve scenery.
We have no release date on this yet. With almost all sceneries relying on the library, you can imagine that the testing job around this upgrade is going to be huge. We will need to check and crosscheck how every individual scenery interacts with the new library before we even think about releasing - so bear with us!
Lewis