SimplePlanes News

Building immersive cockpits in SimplePlanes has never been an easy task, but that ends today. The new update brings a whole bunch of new parts and features that make this so easy that even I can build one now. Here's the new update trailer:

Image from Alisuchanka's P-40F-10 Warhawk

[h3]FUSELAGE SLICING[/h3]
Use the new Fuselage Slicing to cut holes in your fuselages. The main purpose is to allow cutting holes for your new cockpits, but players have already found many other creative ways to use this new feature.



[h3]NEW AND UPGRADED STOCK CRAFTS[/h3]
Several stock crafts have been upgraded with new, immersive cockpits. Wasp, Gator 2, Kicking Fish, Bush Plane, Pigpen, Hellkeska, Sea Plane, Twin Prop, and Vertigo all updated. P-51 was updated with two variants, P-51-B and P-51-D.



[h3]SEVERAL NEW PARTS[/h3]
Tons of new parts are available to build your own custom cockpits.

• Gauges – Instrument panel gauges used to display a piece of information (such as altitude or airspeed) with radial indicators.
  
• Artificial Horizon – A standalone artificial horizon which appears to contain a ball, but does not require a cut–out in the panel to show depth.
  
• Labels – Label parts, to add text or numbers to builds. Supports inputs within curly brackets, curvature, outline, gradients, and rich text formatting.
  
• Simple Throttle – a standalone push–pull style throttle.
  
• Fighter Throttle – a standalone slider type throttle with button.
  
• Yoke – a standalone yoke part, with two handles.
  
• Lever – a simple standalone lever that can be bound to any axis.
  
• Control Base – A part that acts as a rotator and a grippable control, grip parts such as the joystick top can be placed on top of it. Each axis it takes an input that is also its output. This means it cannot be an arbitrary FT expression, but can be a flight control or a custom variable name.
  
• Buttons – Interactable buttons that can be pushed to do stuff
  
• Switches – Interactable switches that can be toggled to do stuff
  
• Flight Computer – A 'cockpit' part with no camera that can act as a primary cockpit part.
  
• Modern Joystick – A modern–style joystick grip part with a trigger and buttons.
  
• Basic Joystick – An older looking joystick grip part with trigger and buttons.
  
• Cylinder Grip – A basic grip part in the form of a cylinder.
  
• Refuel Probe – A part that enables the “assist” mode of refueling from a drogue.
  
• Refuel Drogue – Transfers fuel to other craft, designed to be trailed on a winch. Only used on the Tanker.
  
• Seat – A simple seat part with built in camera.
  
• Advanced Seat – A stronger fighter jet style seat. May add ejection functionality in the future.
  
• Cockpit Canopy – A prebuilt glass canopy for 1–seat cockpits. Can open.
  
• Basic Frame – A skeleton for the interior of a cockpit, which everything can stick to.
  
• Modern Frame – Similar to Basic Frame, but with side areas for placing controls and a central divider between the pilot's legs.
  
• Hollow Glass – A hollow glass part with tweaked rendering so the inside is not visible from outside, and the inside can be coloured differently to the outside. Recommend turning down the smoothness in the inside, as strong reflections from the canopy do not reflect the cockpit and can be very disorienting.
  
• Wing Landing Gear Bare – new version of the wing landing gear with a different wheel and no attached fairing.
  

[h3]Air To Air refueling[/h3]
Put a Refuel Probe on your plane and spawn a tanker through the spawn sandbox AI dialogue.



[h3]Variables System[/h3]

• An aircraft now has a list of numeric variables that can be written to from certain sources and read from all FT expressions.
  
• Each assignment to a variable also carries a “priority” which allows you to choose which assignments will override others if multiple attempt on the same frame.
  
• Variables are mainly written from the aircraft’s list of variable setters, which is accessible from a button in the bottom right of the designer. Each row in this isn’t a variable, but represents an assignment to a variable (a variable is automatically created if it’s ever assigned to). This means you can assign the same variable multiple times in that frame, or have it updated from multiple sources. A setter takes in an FT expression and stores its result to a variable. It also has an activator function which can disable the setter but this is XML–only right now and pending a GUI.
  
• Variables can also be written by part modifiers that have designated outputs. Currently the only one of these is a helicopter rotor that outputs its RPM to the variable [code single]RotorRPM

for a gauge, but this may be expanded on in the future.



[h3]OTHER NEW TWEAKS AND FEATURES[/h3]

• Added emission option to paint. Emissive paint do glowy. We assume no liability for exposure to radiation.
  
• Added part hiding feature in the designer. You can conceal parts, show or hide concealed parts, invert the concealed part list, and other things.
  
• Added 5 extra color slots for default themes.
  
• Added support for Slant Angle to all fuselage parts.
  
• Maintain camera orientation when double-clicking to focus on a non-wing part.
  
• CTRL+Click on the Input button in Part Properties to enter a Funky Trees expression.
  
• Changed minimum zoom distance in the designer to from 0.5 to 0.05.
  
• Hold left-shift to pan/rotation/zoom the camera at 10% normal speed.
  
• Changed name of designer categories: "Cockpits" to "Cockpit Basic".
  
• Added XML attribute for the CowlFlaps on the WWII engine to hide the engine cowl (bool attribute is named "hide").
  
• Added support for loading AI aircraft across multiple frames.
  
• Added optional liftScale to Wing.State XML element.
  
• Added optional throttleResponse attribute to Engine.State XML element to override the part type's throttleResponse.
  
• Added "audio" XML attribute to JointRotator modifier so the annoying audio can be disabled.
  
• Added Rpm1, Rpm2, Rpm3, and Rpm4 to the flight data accessible from Funky Trees. These predate the RotorRPM variable and are on a priority based system, supporting up to 4 sources. They can't be remapped manually, but they do support Car Engines as well as heli rotors.
  
• Added collider attribute to Fuselage.State element to allow more accurate colliders on fuselage parts. Possible values are Auto, Basic, ConvexMesh, and NonConvexMesh. Note that NonConvexMesh will still be convex in flight due to physics limitations.
  
• Hold left-shift to pan/rotation/zoom the camera at 10% normal speed.
  
• Added support for custom names for cameras.
  
• Added TargetLocked and TargetLocking variables accessible from Funky Trees.
  
• Made connections more predictable when using the “Add Section” button.
  
• Updated the camera part to optionally support the gun reticle and missile targeting
  
• Updated the cockpit modifier to optionally disable the camera vantage.
  
• Updated the cameras to optionally act like a cockpit camera, using a priority based system.
  
• Updated the first person camera part to support an adjustable 'up offset'. Prior to this tweak, a hard–coded offset of 0.5 was used, meaning the camera would render half a meter above the visual mesh for the camera. This can now be adjusted. With a value of zero, the camera should render at the same position as the visual mesh.
  
• The designer paint panel now dynamically adds colors to match the number of materials defined in XML.
  
• Updated to Unity 2020.3.19
  

[h3]BUG FIXES[/h3]
So many bug fixes. Too many to list here. Check the previous beta posts for a full listing of them.

Welcome to the much-awaited 1.11 beta! We've really had to do our best to bring it to you this month, so some things might be a little rough around the edges but we'll be fixing stuff as it comes up. This update mainly focuses on enabling builders to create immersive and part-efficient cockpits in their craft with much less hassle than before, which will make them far more suited to SimplePlanes VR, releasing alongside SP 1.12 which will contain mostly VR features for those who have purchased SPVR as well.



Image taken by Kennneth in SimplePlanes v1.11 beta (using Reshade for AO and depth of field)

Below is our changelog, do read carefully because there's a lot of interesting new stuff in there.

[h2]Features[/h2]

• Fuselage Slicing. This adds fill percent sliders to the fuselage tool. These can act from either of 4 sides on each end, and each side defines a flat, infinite plane that the fuselage will be cut along. This allows you to create partial fuselages which are handy for cockpit enclosures.
  
• Air To Air refueling – Put a Refuel Probe on your plane and spawn a tanker through the spawn sandbox AI dialogue. This was added for things to do in VR–only games.
  
• Variables System – An aircraft now has a list of numeric variables that can be written to from certain sources and read from all FT expressions.
  
• Added emission option to paint. Emissive paint do glowy. We assume no liability for exposure to radiation.
  
• Added part hiding feature in the designer. You can conceal parts, show or hide concealed parts, invert the concealed part list, and other things.
  
• Updated Stock Craft – Wasp, Gator 2, Kicking Fish, Bush Plane, Vertigo all updated. P-51 updated with two variants, P-51 Mustang and P-51-B.
  
• New Wright airport, with an improved runway, taxiways, and more buildings.
  

[h2]Parts[/h2]

• Gauges – Instrument panel gauges used to display a piece of information (such as altitude or airspeed) with radial indicators.
  
• Artificial Horizon – A standalone artificial horizon which appears to contain a ball, but does not require a cut–out in the panel to show depth.
  
• Labels – Label parts, to add text or numbers to builds. Supports inputs within curly brackets, curvature, outline, gradients, and rich text formatting.
  
• Simple Throttle – a standalone push–pull style throttle.
  
• Fighter Throttle – a standalone slider type throttle with button.
  
• Yoke – a standalone yoke part, with two handles.
  
• Lever – a simple standalone lever that can be bound to any axis.
  
• Control Base – A part that acts as a rotator and a grippable control, grip parts such as the joystick top can be placed on top of it. Each axis it takes an input that is also its output. This means it cannot be an arbitrary FT expression, but can be a flight control or a custom variable name.
  
• Buttons – Interactable buttons that can be pushed to do stuff
  
• Switches – Interactable switches that can be toggled to do stuff
  
• Flight Computer – A 'cockpit' part with no camera that can act as a primary cockpit part.
  
• Modern Joystick – A modern–style joystick grip part with a trigger and buttons.
  
• Basic Joystick – An older looking joystick grip part with trigger and buttons.
  
• Cylinder Grip – A basic grip part in the form of a cylinder.
  
• Refuel Probe – A part that enables the “assist” mode of refueling from a drogue.
  
• Refuel Drogue – Transfers fuel to other craft, designed to be trailed on a winch. Only used on the Tanker.
  
• Seat – A simple seat part with built in camera.
  
• Advanced Seat – A stronger fighter jet style seat. May add ejection functionality in the future.
  
• Cockpit Canopy – A prebuilt glass canopy for 1–seat cockpits. Can open.
  
• Basic Frame – A skeleton for the interior of a cockpit, which everything can stick to.
  
• Modern Frame – Similar to Basic Frame, but with side areas for placing controls and a central divider between the pilot's legs.
  
• Hollow Glass – A hollow glass part with tweaked rendering so the inside is not visible from outside, and the inside can be coloured differently to the outside. Recommend turning down the smoothness in the inside, as strong reflections from the canopy do not reflect the cockpit and can be very disorienting.
  
• Wing Landing Gear Bare – new version of the wing landing gear with a different wheel and no attached fairing.
  

[h2]Tweaks[/h2]

• Updated the camera part to optionally support the gun reticle and missile targeting
  
• Updated the cockpit modifier to optionally disable the camera vantage.
  
• Updated the cameras to optionally act like a cockpit camera, using a priority based system.
  
• Added support for custom names for cameras.
  
• Updated the first person camera part to support an adjustable 'up offset'. Prior to this tweak, a hard–coded offset of 0.5 was used, meaning the camera would render half a meter above the visual mesh for the camera. This can now be adjusted. With a value of zero, the camera should render at the same position as the visual mesh.
  
• The designer paint panel now dynamically adds colors to match the number of materials defined in XML.
  
• Added 5 extra color slots for default themes.
  
• Added TargetLocked and TargetLocking variables accessible from Funky Trees.
  
• Made connections more predictable when using the “Add Section” button.
  
• Added support for Slant Angle to all fuselage parts.
  
• Maintain camera orientation when double-clicking to focus on a non-wing part.
  
• CTRL+Click on the Input button in Part Properties to enter a Funky Trees expression.
  
• Changed minimum zoom distance in the designer to from 0.5 to 0.05.
  
• Hold left-shift to pan/rotation/zoom the camera at 10% normal speed.
  
• Updated to Unity 2020.3.19
  
• Changed name of designer categories: "Cockpits" to "Cockpit Basic".
  
• Added XML attribute for the CowlFlaps on the WWII engine to hide the engine cowl (bool attribute is named "hide").
  
• Added support for loading AI aircraft across multiple frames.
  
• Added optional liftScale to Wing.State XML element.
  
• Added optional throttleResponse attribute to Engine.State XML element to override the part type's throttleResponse.
  
• Added "audio" XML attribute to JointRotator modifier so the annoying audio can be disabled.
  
• Added Rpm1, Rpm2, Rpm3, and Rpm4 to the flight data accessible from Funky Trees. These predate the RotorRPM variable and are on a priority based system, supporting up to 4 sources. They can't be remapped manually, but they do support Car Engines as well as heli rotors.
  
• Added collider attribute to Fuselage.State element to allow more accurate colliders on fuselage parts. Possible values are Auto, Basic, ConvexMesh, and NonConvexMesh. Note that NonConvexMesh will still be convex in flight due to physics limitations.
  
• Hold left-shift to pan/rotation/zoom the camera at 10% normal speed.
  

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed a bug where blueprint data would be cleared when not in use.
  
• Fixed a bug where FT would fail to compile a zero–length string.
  
• Fixed rotators playing audio when they are set to Floppy and their input is not zero.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause the wind audio to not be centered on first person view cameras.
  
• Cockpits should no longer blast off into oblivion at ludicrous speeds.
  
• Fixed some color bleeding on some of the icons and textures in the game.
  
• Slightly raised the USS Beast launch location to prevent some craft from falling through the deck.
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause some craft to be incorrectly positioned at the start of a level.
  
• Fixed a bug where Jet Engine Nozzle Flaps responded directly to Throttle regardless of engine input.
  
• Prevent long expressions from spilling out of Input button in Part Properties.
  
• Fixed fuselage normals appearing to show a "zig zag" pattern
  

[h2]Performance[/h2]

• Improved performance and fixed memory leaks releated to painting crafts.
  
• Many peformance and memory optimizations related to craft loading. High part count crafts, particularly those with many fuselages, should load quicker and with less memory consumption.
  

[h2]Visuals[/h2]

• Switched to linear color space
  
• Atmosphere visual tweaks
  
• Improved reflections in water from far away
  
• Removed the 'SP Classic' and 'Static–Low' craft reflections settings. 'Static–High' is now 'Static'.
  

What is even better than flying an airplane in SimplePlanes? How about flying an airplane with screens strapped to your eyeballs? SimplePlanes VR is coming this year to Steam and Oculus Quest. Wishlist it today on Steam and join our mailing list so you'll be the first to know when it's released.

Watch the announcement trailer here.



We're also working on a big update for the original SimplePlanes that will include some awesome new parts and new features to make it easier to build fully immersive cockpits with fewer parts. Some players are already building amazing cockpits, so I'm really excited to see what they will come up with when they get access to the new parts, such as the new gauge part.

Here's a small FAQ if you're interested in learning more about SimplePlanes VR:

What is SimplePlanes VR?

SimplePlanes VR will be a new, standalone game with full VR support and redesigned user interfaces where you can download airplanes from SimplePlanes.com and fly them. If an aircraft has a virtual cockpit, then you will be able to reach out and grab the virtual controls with your hands. If it doesn't have a virtual cockpit, then you will still be able to fly it in first or third person camera views using your VR rig's physical controllers. If you are playing on PC, then you can also use a joystick connected to your PC.

How much will it cost?

$9.99 USD on Steam and Oculus Quest.

Can you build airplanes in SimplePlanes VR?

No, SimplePlanes VR will not have a building mode. All crafts are built in the original SimplePlanes on desktop and mobile.

Why don't you release it as DLC on Steam?

If we released it as DLC, then it would be more expensive for new players since they would need to buy SP in addition to SPVR. Some players might only be interested in the virtual reality experience.

When are you going to release it?

We're not sure yet, but sometime between now and the end of 2021.

Thanks for playing!

-The Jundroo Team

[h2]Features:[/h2]

• Added Glass Fuselage part. This supports transparency, as well as hiding its front and back faces when connected to other glass parts. The glass will also shatter instead of exploding like other parts do. For some info on how to tweak its material to make it look nice, check the part's description text by clicking/tapping on it in the parts list.
  
  
  
• Added "Smooth Front" and "Smooth Back" options to fuselages. This alters the surface normals to make the shading of the joint appear seamless, without changing the actual shape of the parts. For this to work, there has to be another fuselage connected to the front or back connector and lined up.
  
  
  
  
• Added an explosionScale XML attribute to bombs and missiles (inlcudes torpedos). Default values are:
  
  • Boom 25: 0.8
    
  • Boom 50: 1.6
    
  • Torpedo: 0.8
    
  • Inferno : 1
    
  • Cleaver : 1.8
    
  • Guardian: 1
    
  • Interceptor: 1
    
  
  
  
• Added 4 input expressions (Funky Trees) variables:
  
  • TargetSelected, true if there is a target selected, otherwise false.
    
  • TargetHeading, the heading to the selected target in degrees.
    
  • TargetElevation, the vertical angle to the selected target in degrees.
    
  • TargetDistance, the distance to the selected target in metres.
    
  
  
  
• Added a setting on iOS to change the framerate limit. (vSync already overrides the framerate limit on all other platforms)

[h2]Tweaks:[/h2]

• Upgraded to Unity 2019.4.8 (LTS).
• Turned down physics update in the designer (there's not even any physics in the designer, so hey) for a small-ish FPS boost.
• By popular demand, allowed blueprint images to be shown while taking craft screenshots for an upload.
• Added Toggle Fast Forward input.
• Added support for the iOS Files App.
• Added a fuseInput parameter to cannons to set shell fuse on FT.

[h2]Bug Fixes:[/h2]

• Fixed an issue with connections that could lead to craft not loading in the designer - if you have any saved craft that would fail to load, try loading them again now.
• Fixed bug with using the rate of the speed of the aircraft in input expressions.
• Air-to-Air cannon prediction now disables when predictor quality set to off.
• Fixed string comparison in input expressions on mobile platforms.
• Orthographic keybind (default "C") disables when control is held, so it is not activated when trying to Ctrl+C.
• Casting from number to boolean in input expressions is now consistent across platforms (now it evaluates to n>0).
• Fixed some FT values on scaled cockpits - this could affect existing craft, if they have active stability programs and squashed cockpits.
• Using speed variables in input expressions on AI craft now return correct values.
• Fixed a bug in overload with default part scales.
• Fixed a bug where the magnet would stop working when the aircraft fired a weapon.
• Fixed a bug where the magnet may not work when set to AG 8 and within close proximity to an object on start.
• Fixed FT = operator not working on mobile (SelectedWeapon, boolean comparison).
• Fixed "MultiRole" attribute not working on missiles.

The 1.9.205 update is now available. It includes a lead indicator for the guns and cannons, tracer rounds for the cannons, and a big update to Funky Trees. Also, we've upgraded Unity to a newer version and if you also play on Android, you will hopefully see some performance improvements.

Zeus Dive Bomber/Fighter MK1 by Galland

FEATURES

• Several Funky Trees enhancements
  
• Added air-to-air lead predictor for guns and cannons
  
• Added Tracer Rounds to Cannon
  
• Performance improvements for Android
  

You can read the full release notes here.