I apologize as well if my response came out as confrontational.
I guess I’m very passionate about keeping this project as true as it can be.
The 80P was more of a passion project for the whole team and allowed us to have our “freedom” to develop something we all want.
I’m hoping this passion is seen as a good thing. That our team is spending the time, research and details into getting this accurate.
Also, thank you so much for supporting us. Our fanbase and customers are very important to us. I’m sure there will be add-ons available after release that will upgrade avionics, customize performance, and more. We have done replacement modifications in the past with other projects, like the GTN750 mods. We have no plans to do something like that on this project, but never say never. Our team is very open with the public and will take every consideration.
I owned (and still do) multiple airplanes in real life. I want to say that authenticity is matter of perspective. Yes there is a charm to keep airplane in the same state as in rolled out of the factory in 1970th. However, modern times demands modern approach.
When I instructed 10 years go we didn’t have many GPS approaches as we do today. If ILS went out of service you stuck with none precision approaches like VOR wich were just slightly better than flying with marginal VFR weather . Nowdays, nearly every airport in vicinity have one or more GPS approaches. The airport I flying out has three GPS approaches ! So as soon I could afford I immediately retrofitted my 1984 built airplane with dual Garmin G5 (attitude indicator and HSI) I have replaced by old (none WAAS) GNS430 with Avidyne IFD440 touch screen GPS . And now when ILS goes down I can shoot GPS approaches with almost the same precision and minimums as ILS.
Just for the past few years fleet of aging aircraft I have been instructing in all got renovated with modern equipment Garmin, Aspen, Avidyne, Dynon you name it. For us it rather necessity than exotic! LOL
The bottom line I’m not trying to sway developers from what they have already decided on. I nearly pointing out to keep a mind open. I’m very excited about Wilga coming in MSFS and can’t wait to try it out!
P.S. Here is an example of cockpit of US registered Wilga N7777X
With the 35A, 80, 80H, and 80P, we are taking a “lifetime” approach. I’ll include some “rough draft” photos with each variant so everyone can better understand our approach. In conclusion:
Wilga 35A: Off the Factory Avionics
Wilga 80/80H: Mid-Avionics Upgrade
Wilga 80P: Full-Avionics Upgrade
Similar to the post earlier on what to expect, this time I’ll included more details:
Also, that picture mentioned in the post above is a Wilga 2000 Series, we don’t plan on fully modifying the 35A/80 Series that heavily.
PLEASE keep in mind, the 80/80H/80P Varients may change slightly or heavily as they are still very much a work in progress. Currently we are in Alpha Stage #1 where our trusted testers are only testing the 35A.
Hey everyone! It’s been a great week so far! If you are not aware, we have finally kickstarted Alpha Testing! This is a pretty inclusive testing enviroment with a small group of individuals. Usually we go into Beta and prepare for a public release. However, going into Alpha allows our team to get critical feedback about the flight model, 3D model and textures as we are working sound design.
Our group of Alpha Testers have been great help so far. They are very thoughtful individuals and aren’t just having fun, but putting the Wilga through rigorous testing. Many of our testers have real world experience or are extremely enthusiastic about the Wilga 35A and her history.
These last two weeks have been huge for our team. We started work on the amphibious variant (Wilga 80H), laid some groundwork for the new realism settings, introduced 3 “lifestyles” of avionics to the project, started sound design, kicked off alpha testing, and finally started recieving critical feedback outside of our team.
Everything is sailing smoothly! We have hit a couple small snags from issues arriving in Alpha, however, we are confident that they haven’t slowed down our progress. We are taking all comments and requests seriously and doing our best to ensure this aircraft remains a classic in your hangar for years to come.
Currently, we are in Stage #1 of Alpha Testing. There will be 4 Stages; each stage testing a new variant. After Alpha Testing is concluded, we should have Beta Kickoff with the new soundpack, additional scenery and other goodies we have planned.
For now, please enjoy this fairly large lot of previews taken directly by our Alpha Testers! Lot’s of great adventures are already happening over at Got Friends and we can’t wait to show you more!
Good news ! Put the Zubrowka bottle(s) in the fridge, we’ll need it for a toast on release.
But only if the Wilga don’t burn !
I’m not sure using a petrol lamp under the wing tank is a pretty good idea…
Is a tent-cockpit-view also planned, similar to the passenger wing view but this time the view from sitting inside the tent?
Maybe with a glowing campfire in front of the tent.
P.S.
This is a tent, right? I think it is a tent under the wing.
Just use the drone camera. Works great with an XBox Controller. You can walk around your plane with that, climb on top of it, crawl under it, sit in tents. Everyhing!
First thing I’ll be doing is setting a custom view for it, wouldn’t hurt them to include one so I can be supremely lazy, but it’ll also only take me a few seconds
Gurt Tractor, our Sound Engineer is off to record sounds today at Forwood Farms! Hopefully we will have some awesome photos (IRL) to share with everyone! Thanks for all your support!
UPDATE: Sound Recording Delayed until Monday (Due to Weather)
Small Update from our Alpha Testers and our Sound Engineer, GurtTractor.
Alpha Testing is now in version 0.0.2. and we’ve crossed some major milestones! Here are some nice photos from a rainy morning. Special thanks to @rafikst for the awesome photos.
GurtTractor has arrived at Forwood Farms and is currently having an amazing time exploring the Scenery (Which will be included with the Wilga on Release), and of course enjoying his time recording sounds on the ground and in the air with their Wilga!
This is a very important time where we sincerely thank the community for supporting our small team.
There is only 5 of us on this team and without your support with the Gee Bee R3, Edgley Optica, and Discus-2c, we wouldn’t have been able to purchase sound equipment, travel, and inclusive hands-on sound recording sessions and flights.
From everyone on the Got Friends Team, we sincerly thank you for being part of a great community and financially giving us the ability to increase our production quality…
You are all amazing and we can’t wait to share more!
This looks like it is going to be one of the must-have airplanes. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. Especially the sound recording, which is for me and I know for many people a REALLY important aspect to capture the feel and essence of an aircraft. I do not buy airplanes that use stock sounds that “sort of fit” (except for military and historical aircraft that are almost impossible to find and record).
Unfortunately, it is a big detail that many small developers don’t have as a luxury. Once again, we thank everyone for our ability to now do so. Our past projects all used default Asobo sounds. The Gee Bee R3 was default, Edgley Optica was default, and the Discus-2c was heavily modified with sounds from the community. Having hands-on recording equipment is a game changer and it will increase all our add-ons (future and past).
I understand your decision when it comes to aircraft purchases and sound design.
Just remember, all small development teams have to climb the “development ladder”. Sometimes not supporting a great aircraft with default sounds may be hindering their ability to produce even better content for years to come. When most developers start out, it’s a small hobby that grows into a part-time lifestyle. Most will need to save up for proper equipment and/or recording sessions/travel.
Luckily we are now over that hump and are reaching for the next step thanks to everyone supporting our default Asobo sounding aircraft in the past.
Understandable. It’s still a bit of a problem. Take the Boeing 247 for example. It’s a beautifully modelled aircraft with standout features at a seemingly fair price. But the soundset is so bad that I’ve barely flown it since it was released and by now I don’t use it anymore at all. I simply don’t enjoy it.
I basically made a donation instead of a purchase on that one, and all that work that has gone into the model and features is now just a lot of wasted effort and potential, as far as I’m concerned. Kinda sad.
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