Our weekly live dev-cast in text format.
August 16th-23rd
Hey Pilots,
It's great to have you with us for another Vectors to Final update! This is for those who couldn’t catch our live cast; here’s your quick rundown of everything we covered. We've had a lot of requests to start this as many customers don't have time to tune in for an hour each week. There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s dive right in!
What’s New This Week?
1. Bug Fixes
37 and Counting We’ve had a busy week, with 37 bug fixes pushed out in the last seven days—most of them ATC-related. We’re now getting into more edge cases, which is good news because it means the big bugs are getting sorted. Keep those reports coming, and we’ll keep squashing them!
2. Flight Diversions Are Live
Ever needed to divert mid-flight? Now you can! We’ve rolled out full support for diversions—including rerouting, new STAR assignments, and updated approach instructions. Just request a diversion, and we’ll handle the rest, giving you a new flight path, runway, and all the details you need. It’s all live now, so give it a try!
3. Big Voice Quality Upgrade
We've made a significant improvement to our voice quality. We’ve been focused on delivering the best ATC voices possible, and thanks to some stellar work by Justin McCracken, Speedy Retreat, and the team, we’re back to the high-quality voices you expect. We’ve scaled back on the crowd-sourced voices a bit to keep everything sounding crisp and professional.
4. Call Signs from SimBrief
We’ve added a super handy feature: Call Signs can now be imported directly from SimBrief. Enter your ATC call sign when you create your SimBrief flight plan, and it’ll be automatically imported into the app. This feature streamlines your pre-flight process and ensures consistency without needing to re-enter your call sign. Virtual Airlines are supported too—just set them up in the Pilot Portal!
5. Progressive Taxi Paths
For those who’ve been asking for better ground navigation, we’ve got you covered with Progressive Taxi Paths. Just request progressive taxi from ATC, and we’ll light up a path to guide you. This is especially great for VR flyers and student pilots, helping you navigate without needing to constantly reference charts.
6. Dynamic Bird Activity and Runway Obstructions
We’re bringing more realism into your flight with bird activity and temporary runway obstructions. Sometimes, as you’re approaching the airport, you might hear ATIS or ATC warn about bird activity. If you see them on final, it’s up to you whether you want to go around or continue. We’ve also added the possibility of temporary obstructions on the runway, which could trigger a go-around. It’s rare, but it’s in there, and it adds a whole new layer of immersion!
7. Fuel Trucks and Follow Me Cars
We’re continuing to add those little touches that make your flight experience more immersive. You can now request fuel trucks and follow-me cars. While these features are more about fun and realism than necessity, they’re there if you want to use them.
8. Early Traffic Injection and Dynamic Departures
We’re in the early stages of developing early traffic injection and dynamic departures. These other features are just the first steps toward a more interactive and dynamic ATC environment, and we’re excited to see where this will take us.
What’s Coming Next?
Living World Concept:
We’ve continuing to evolve our “AI Living World” concept. These new features are a continuation of our efforts to create a more realistic and interactive AI environment, mimicking real-world conditions across many different aspects.
CPDLC is Nearly Live - We Need Your Help:
Our CPDLC (Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications) system is implemented and almost ready to go! The last step is having aircraft manufacturers to integrate it. If you’re using aircraft from Fenix, PMDG, or FlyByWire, reach out to them and request this feature! It's just a simple URL swap, and will be extremely easy for developers to implement.
Thanks for your continued support, and we’ll catch you next week with more updates and a spotlight on another member of our team.
Happy flying,
Brian and the SayIntentions Team
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