It's been a busy week here at Parallel 42. Some of the things on our plate were product updates, new releases, and MSFS Developer Q&A's…
Let's dive right in.
📢 Shout Outs
I'm excited to shout out a talented community widget creator this week!
wasabidad is the creator of the SimBrief OFP Widget for Flow Pro. This dedication to providing pilots with an easier and more efficient way to view their SimBrief information is awe-inspiring. The SimBrief OFP widget has streamlined the flight planning process and made it more accessible for pilots, saving many of us from launching a browser.
Community widgets are greatly appreciated and have significantly impacted the user experience. Once again, thank you, your efforts have not gone unnoticed by our team.
See Widget
🏆 Achievements
About a week ago I went public with some thoughts about the MSFS Marketplace. I'm excited to say that with the help of all the folks that commented and shared the posts, we've been seen.
In this months MSFS Developer Q&A, Jorg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator at Microsoft acknowledged seeing the uproar and addressed some of the issues raised. We now have confirmation that ~800 add-ons are currently considered backlog and sitting in a queue. That queue contains 5 of ours, with the oldest being a scenery submitted in October 2022.
We did it, we've been heard, and maybe just maybe, we'll see some change in the near future. Thank you!
Watch Clip
🎙️ Hype
Building sceneries is a passion project at //42, when we build on a plot of land we try and capture the soul, the vibe of the place and surrounding areas. Our scenes are small in comparison to a large airport scenery, so details are important.
SimWorksStudios just released a trailer for the Vans Aircraft RV-10 for Microsoft Flight Simulator. To our surprise, it featured our own 42MX Mexican Mountan at about the 1m37s mark! But not only that, //42 Campout made an appearance too, rounding out the vibes at the campsite.
A flock of RV-10's at Mexican Mountain is a beautiful sight, but don't take my word for it, click the button below and see for yourself! This excellent aircraft by our friends at SWS will be out soon.
Watch Trailer
🙏 Asks
N/A
🖥 Products
As stated in the last Dispatch, Fox2 was in Raul's hands for some upgrades. After he cut some holes in the dash he revealed a working GTN750 in the dash! As I flew around testing this new unit in Fox2, Youtube notified me of a new channel upload. Now why the heck did Trent go and add a Car Horn to FreedomFox!?
A Campout update shifts into testing phase by next week, let's just say that with our team, anything is paws-ible.
Our next Scene location has not yet been selected, maybe by the next Dispatch?
BEEP BEEEP!!!
🎯 Strategy
A few months ago we began testing the distribution of //42 Scenes thru Flightsim.to. Unfortunately, after evaluating sales data, we have decided to discontinue and focus on other channels. Discovery is a huge part of distribution, and we've found that to be a weakness of FlightSim.to. There could be many reasons for this, maybe the membership there simply visits for Freeware? Not sure, but let's be honest, if we can't buy a KC Strip steak with a months worth of sales, it's time to question our efforts.
If you purchased a scene there, you can still access your product, but it is no longer visible to those that don't own it. Future scenes (including 42HB Hogsback Ranch) will not be posted.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. Thank you for your continued support.
🏋 Challenges
When we set out to build an add-on, it's with a very well thought out scope, goal and purpose. In the case of FreedomFox, we worked 1 to 1 with Trent Palmer to build the most accurate representation of his iconic aircraft. Vowing to track changes to his aircraft as long as the Sim API and available features allow us to.
So when a user on the official Microsoft Flight Simulator Forums started yelling in caps in the FreedomFox thread about wanting to fly a faster FreedomFox because it was “too slow for my liking”. Then started attacking us for MSFS Marketplace files being protected, I felt the need to step in and set things straight.
What was the challenge here? Holding back. The only person we answer to is Trent Palmer when it comes to FreedomFox. He was part of the testing and development, and we continue to earn his seal of approval with every update.
See for yourself just a few seconds in…
Watch Trent Palmer on FreedomFox
📈 Stonks
The number of active Flow users skyrocketed on a very specific date…after further investigation, it seems to coincide perfectly with the date it appeared on a piracy site. A surprise is inbound for those users...it's not too late to purchase a copy. 🐝
👋 Feedback?
If you have feedback on any of the above updates, please click the button below to drop your thoughts in our #dispatch-feedback channel at the official //42 Discord. Think of it like a suggestion box.
