Has it really been a month since we last chatted!? So much has happened that it's all just become a blur.

Let's catch up.

📰 NOTAMS

Here are some critical posts / product updates you may have missed...

📢 Shout Outs

This shoutout goes to Jeppeson2001, a //42 team member who has gone above and beyond time and time again. From pushing the boundaries of scenery design to meeting aggressive deadlines, no matter the challenge, he's always succeeded in delivering top-quality work.

You can often find Jepp lurking the halls of Flight Simulation on Twitch. If you see him around, please take a moment to thank him for the works of art he created for Parallel 42. These include Bush Plane Campout, Hogsback Ranch, and many more. The "best friend" update for Campout was his latest project, but he's also found time to release a show-stopping scenery for Victoria Falls independently.

The pack includes dirt strips & 30 heliports based on real-life data, none of which are included in the default version of MSFS. I highly recommend it!

Visit Simmarket

🏆 Achievements

A little over a month ago, we formed a "Flow Makers" team comprised of talented widget creators. This group is led by Keven Menard, Technical Director //42 and exists to empower developers and developer-types to solve problems using the Flow platform. What started as a "what if" has become a powerhouse of talent. Members have created multiple new widgets almost ready to go public in an upcoming Flow update. I'll provide more information once they go into testing at Area 42!

We take great pride in creating opportunities for fresh talent, so this is quite an achievement for us as a company. The addition of development talent has enabled Keven to focus on much larger projects such as The Skypark.

🎙️ Hype

We are nothing without users that love our products. Today I want to highlight a community member who has contributed significantly to the number of users learning about and embracing FreedomFox, Campout, and Flow. On any given day, you can find oohcando and his "Candonians" causing chaos in the virtual skies bush flying around the globe. His love for //42 started with our FreedomFox / Fox2 aircraft bundle and grew even more with recent scenery releases.

His appreciation is always noticed and most definitely reciprocated.

"One of...the coolest things that we could get in the sim. I don't even know what to say..." - Oohcando discussing //42 Campout

Watch Clip

🙏 Asks

We're looking for additional testers that own an Xbox Series X or S. This opportunity will focus on public release testing/bug reproduction but may also require pre-release testing.

REQUIREMENTS:

- Own an Xbox
- Be OK signing an NDA
- Familiar with drone mode/slewing
- Detail oriented

Email: area42@parallel42.com and explain why you should be chosen.

🖥 Products

The Skypark is a virtual tablet with OS and Application like layers. The very core, SkyOS, continues to be rebuilt from the ground up for a MAJOR update later this year. The most recent achievement was Keven rewriting the route-finding algorithm. I believe his exact words were: "it's sooooooooo much faster!"

Flow is everywhere and support tickets for it are virtually nonexistent. Some new widgets are in the works by our Flow Makers team; these will eventually make it into the core product. The core code stays frozen and stable, pending Microsoft Approval for Essentials to hit Xbox.

As the previous Dispatch email teased, we recently released the "Best Friends" update for Campout, which introduced 17 popular dog breeds to choose from and place in the open world. The next DLC pack for Campout will remind you that there's snow place like home.

Today I made the call to shift our newest Scene into the user testing phase at Area 42. 42HV High Voltage will take center stage in the coming week(s) as it prepares for public deployment! It's an exhilarating strip that will begin winding down the Norcal area as we shift gears into a new region!

The latest FreedomFox / Fox2 Complete and Fox2 Base updates just went live on the MS Marketplace. They are now in a code freeze state until further notice to enjoy the tranquility of code parity across all distribution platforms.

🎯 Strategy

Along with lots of new hurdles, the introduction of SU12 kicked our ass timing-wise; it delayed updates, a scene release, and entirely halted new development. We focused on deploying product updates to fully support users wild enough to get on the beta while maintaining compatibility for those on production builds of MSFS2020.

That set us back about 2wks out of the month, so we fully reset internal due dates and will work on catching up at a pace that works for the mental health of our team members.

I also see that we ended up rocking the boat enough at Microsoft that there's been an announcement about a change in ingestion procedures. Our software undergoes ruthless wave of testing by the Area 42 team, so a process like this is a non-issue for us. I don't have much more to say about it at this time, but that may not be the case after it goes into effect. So let's just wait and see shall we?

🏋 Challenges

SU12 brings a slew of challenges on the console side of things. We're working on Campout Utility actively with the goal of full Xbox/WASM compliance ASAP. The first test didn't go too well, but we're hopeful that the updates that are currently pending at MS will be different.

📈 Stonks

The community embraced price reductions of FreedomFox / Fox2 Complete and Fox2 Base. Adding an upgrade path on the Orbx side shows increased sales/upgrades to Complete. We're happy that Orbx can accommodate such features and hope that MS follows.

👋 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.

DISPATCH: March 3, 2023