SimAirport news & patch notes

Hello, SimAirport Community! We're alive!! As we've talked about on our live streams, Discord, and on the forums -- we're dying to ship an update for SimAirport, we owe you an update. So, that's exactly what we're working on! We wanted to take some time today to let you know that we're alive, that we're working on a few patches, and provide some insight and a brief overview of what's in the pipeline, and what you can expect to see coming to SimAirport in the near future.

We're Alive!

First off, we're not dead (and no one is dying - as of writing this)! Stuff happened, much of it relatively unavoidable, which unfortunately resulted in this period of downtime. The good news is that we're back at it now, and a SimAirport update is actively in development -- and we're looking forward to being able to release it to you as soon as it's ready! :)

Live Stream

As per tradition, we'll do a fire-side chat live stream coinciding with the patch releases - we always enjoy these and we love to chat with you all. We'll announce date/time of the live stream at the same time the patch is released, which we anticipate will be very soon!

What Are We Working On?

We're targeting several specific points and we intend to break them up over two upcoming updates/releases The first update will consist of general improvements, mainly fixes and improvements to things that already exists, including bug fixes and addressing several major pain points. We're aiming to have an edge patch out as soon as the end of this week, with a public release following soon thereafter. That will then be followed up by a beefier second patch -- which is slated to include a number of actual gameplay enhancements, changes and additions(!!). While we don't have a firm timeline on this larger patch, internally we're hoping to be able to ship it by the end of November, but we'll ship it as soon as we feel it's ready. Keep an eye on the Edge branch, Discord, and the Steam forums -- you can expect a flurry of activity in the very near future! Here's a high-level overview of what we're hoping to be bringing you over the coming days and weeks!

- Patch #1

-- Steam Deck UI/UX Since our input rework several issues and quirks have been noted regarding SA's Steam Deck compatibility - we'll be taking a closer look and resolving these quirks, ensuring that SimAirport can be enjoyed just as well when on the go as it can from your desktop! -- Logic Quirks & Bug Fixes We know the game isn't perfect in regards to bugs and this will be a major point for us for this patch. Whatever we find we'll take a look at! We already have a list on our end of things we need to check out but if you have any bug or weird thing be sure to post or bump it in the Bugs Discussion subsection of the Steam Discussions - we'll check and note whatever we haven't taken care of!

- Patch #2

-- The tale of Bridges, Overpasses and Roads Bridged building and roads going up to floors above the ground floor have been a major ask for a long time. While bridged building has been an option via the Skywalk mod by TBFlash - very well done on that note! - going up with roads is still not possible. This is going to be the main change with this release, and it will allow you to finally build airports with separated - above ground(!) - Departure and Arrival sections, like many (most?) IRL airports use today. -- Baggage Changes The baggage system is not a great user experience currently -- it's challenging, sure, but it's also tedious (some might say it's a PITA) -- there are certainly some pain points, to put it lightly. We'll be working to make some major improvements on this front, and we're currently evaluating some concepts & ideas for expanding it a bit, too! Once the aforementioned rework for bridges and roads are done, it should open the door to allowing vehicles into the ground floor of terminals, - which may not sound like a massive change, but it'll allow for a indoor/ground-floor baggage depots, without having to go below ground -- making a 'starter' baggage system a lot cheaper, and simpler, to get up and running! -- Research / Tech Tree The tech tree is quite short and often completed rapidly - it simply doesn't add more "late game" gameplay, as it was intended to, and that's something we intend to improve upon. It's also visually quirky, at best, and we'd also like to fix that aspect. With the upcoming second patch, we're going to revamp & augment the current tech tree, with the goal of having it add actual gameplay value for mid-to-late game airports. This may include some changes, not locking some things that currently require research, as well as adding some new features that can be unlocked -- and perhaps an additional twist or two, that we'd like to see how they "feel" during gameplay. Fear not -- existing saves will not be (forcibly) impacted. We'll implement logic that ensures you can continue your existing airports as you have been, potentially allowing you to "opt in" to the updated version, but certainly such that your existing saves won't be negatively and forcibly impacted. -- AI This is such a big and broad topic but it's probably also the general area that we hear the most feedback about; it's a non-trivial "problem", and there are numerous types and variants of AI within SimAirport, but we'll be looking to make some positive strides on several fronts: Construction & Worker AI is an area we hear about quite a bit -- from acting weird or inefficiently, to to sometimes seeming to completely ignore instructions and priorities. We'll be taking a deep look, making some adjustments and testing them thoroughly, to make sure it's smarter and that workers finish the job and are never slacking around or requiring you to reload the game. Passenger AI is another area we're going to be taking another look at; we've spoken in-depth about Pax AI, and it truly is a tough cookie overall (for a number of reasons). It's obviously a critically important aspect of the game, though, and it's an aspect that we think we can iterate on and further improvements to -- and that's exactly what we plan to do! -- Quality of Life Improvements: We have a number of items from this category on our list and we're going to try to get as many done as possible; we don't want to hold up a larger content patch for these, but we're going to do our best to tackle as many as we can. -- Performance We always profile code, but we're going to do a bunch more profiling -- we generally do this every so often but over time, as we've looked through the codebase, we've noticed a few things and there are a few areas that have some low-hanging fruit. We'll do our best to tackle those and, if we're lucky, find some more performance wins along the way, too! :)

We ❤ SimAirport

Just to reiterate -- we still absolutely love SimAirport -- we love working on it, playing it, and we adore the SA community. While the time we've had to take away has been difficult, and frankly was suboptimal for us too, the reality is that we truly ❤ SimAirport and we're thrilled to be able to jump back into the code to improve the game that we all love to play. Something you'd like our eyes on? Speak up! Let us know about anything on Discord or over on the Steam Discussions / Forum!

Thank You!!

As always, thank you for your patience and continued support -- and a special thanks to the great community members who are always active and willing to helping others. There are far too many to name everyone, apologies in advance to those we'll inevitably miss, but we want to extend an especially large thanks to: Alo, chick1000 and modair -- and many others on the modding side -- for your continued support of SimAirport, and the LVGameDev team as a whole. We're extremely happy to be able to make this post; and even more enthused for the next one, because it'll mean we've actually released a patch!! Thank you everyone -- we sincerely couldn't do any of this without you!!

It's summer for us and it's really heating up (and probably starting to really get cold for those of you in the southern hemisphere) -- and with the heat on, it's time for an update to SimAirport! In this iteration we've taken an even deeper look into Performance and we have some solid gains for you on that front. We have also brought to SimAirport the same Localization system that we've been using for SimCasino, which will make adding & improving translations much simpler for the community. Finally, we'd like to take a short look at our newly-announced upcoming title and talk a bit about how it came to be! Before we get into the details, we want to make you aware of our upcoming Live-Stream -- planned for this Sunday! We haven't done one in a while but Arthur and Joscha are excited to join you once again to play SimAirport alongside the community and chat with you -- we'll be talking and answering questions about SimAirport and, as usual, it will be a "fire-side chat" style discussion where we'll talk about anything interesting, from gaming & aviation to world news, and anything in between. We're excited to be back streaming with you and playing SimAirport, so be sure to join us!

Live Stream Details

When: Sunday, July 3rd @ 11AM PDT // 20:00 CEST Where to Watch
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Steam - or directly on this page, once the stream begins!

Performance

As we've always said - we're always looking for performance improvements and if/when we find something actionable, we won't hesitate to jump at the opportunity. Sometimes, however, this isn't enough -- and to get a really deep look into how and what we can do to improve performance improve we've been sitting down together in multiple-hours-long calls and delving deep into the profiling tools at our disposal. For a reference, this is one of the reporting tools that we have available and is a good example of what we're talking about: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/27974902/c4f3f4fabaec5466c1318b18e67cc8ce3c6bf586.png Note: This is the Profiling view of our last default build - it helps us see the areas we can Improve on. Since the last release we've been able to find major performance gains in several of the "systems" that the SimAirport gameplay relies upon to function. Notably, agent movement updates & calculations - these are now parallelized, meaning several threads can run these updates at once leading to a relatively substantial improvement especially for those who have robust CPUs with high core counts. The second major improvement comes from improving how we organize and approach the agent rendering aspect of the code - specifically the organization & layout of the data, and how many "indirections" were required simply to update the position or facing of PAX and staff. While the new code may not be quite as optimal from a maintainability standpoint, due to the "hot path" that this code has (translation: extremely high-frequency invocation), making this code more 'direct' (even if a bit less legible) directly translated to a relatively major boost in performance -- and one that doesn't change the underlying results whatsoever, meaning the improvements made here will affect everyone! Lastly, we've improved several aspects related to our "object validation/functional requirement checking" systems -- this handles things like ensuring that objects or zones are functional. We won't dive too deep into the weeds on this one, but suffice it to say that we uncovered several aspects of the system that were substantially slower than they should have been, bordering on egregious even, and much of this code was still nearly "original" from early in SimAirport's development. Suffice to say, after updating these systems and applying better paradigms we were able to make several areas of this system run quite a bit faster! :). Besides these major systems, we've also fixed various issues as we encountered them across them - check out the full change-log below for all the details!

Results - An 18% Performance Improvement!

We've been able to improve performance by a whopping 18% -- and that's on a massive 14k+ PAX airport!! A big thank you to Chick for letting us test on his save! Check out the some of the detailed profiling results we've gathered; this screenshot displays the "before" vs "after" (a comparison between last default and today's default release): {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/27974902/8657df18751b65b8fa47c81094ba529475e0a987.png If you'd like to know more about what, why or how we took care of profiling SimAirport, or if you want to understand the things we talked about a little deeper, then be sure to join us on Discord or join us on the upcoming live stream! :)

New Translation System

As you may know, we "crowd-source" translations via you -- the community -- for both SimAirport and SimCasino. While this has been working really great for SimCasino, we've been using an older and antiquated system to handle collaboration by the community for SimAirport, a system that has been in place since the initial release of the SimAirport localization functionality, and which even predates the existence of the system. The new system is MUCH easier, though, and far more user-friendly -- and so we're now making the switch to Localizor for SimAirport, too! We've been using Localizor on SimCasino since release - it's easy to use for everyone, and now both games can much more easily be translated into many more languages and further refinement/improvement to translations of already-supported languages can continue with far less friction than before. If you'd like to help us translating SimAirport into your language be sure to check out SimAirport on Localizor - If you have any questions or need any assistance you can always let us know on our Steam Forums or join our Discord Server! We've also taken a look at, and fixed, several issues related to translations, language-specific fonts, and fonts/text in general. Some fonts (e.g. the one used for Chinese) were not correctly displaying all characters - this is now fixed for all fonts! We also received and confirmed reports of some font-related issues when playing on Apple M1 systems, where only some text would be displayed while other parts were completely invisible - this has also been fixed!

Newly-Announced Upcoming Title!

Escape: The Endless Dogwatch is the next game from LVGameDev and is a project spearheaded by Michael. It's a new and unique genre for us, a point-and-click adventure set on a creepy ship where you, as the 2nd Officer, have to to uncover a secret that the Captain is hiding from you. Wishlist on Steam: Escape: The Endless Dogwatch

Final Words

You may have noticed somewhat of a downtime from us the last few months, in terms of updates for SimAirport and SimCasino. To be honest, we've all been a little burned out to some extent, or at least close to it. To avoid burnout and stagnation, we have all been on vacation recently, and we've all spent some time working on various 'passion projects' to keep the fire alive (along with new game), all in an effort to continue keeping things fresh and fun. Also, some of you may know, Joscha is still in University -- so, in addition to working on SimAirport, that has added a bit of additional downtime as he (hopefully!) starts to wrap up his studies, too. Luckily, working with ya'll is always a treat - whether on the forums, live-streams, email, or Discord -- we're always happy to chat and discuss how we can best improve SimAirport! Be sure to check out Escape: The Endless Dogwatch and join our Discord server for some chatting! Happy Summer (and/or Winter) To All - the LVGD Team

Changelog for the Hotfix of July 5th

• Disable LRT Sounds until we can either improve it or add a slider for it.
• Fix text settings and make sure we're using the right font in all places.
• Fix setting font in some places - we don't need to set the font, it should be correct from the get-go.
• Fix setting objects constructionstate to finished twice when constructing using instant build which may have caused an issue where the AI would only chose one object instead of spreading out to several of the same type.
• Update TMP package to fix texts going missing.
• Fix mod closing mod status menu using ESC while mods are being downloaded causing the game to be stuck on paused.
• Actually fix fonts being broken - I thought I had fixed this for Chinese and some other Languages but it appears it was still broken; Should now be fixed.
• Fix some text being displayed all scrambled up due to using the wrong Font.
• Fix deleting non-functional queue resulting in non-functional warning being left until reloading the save.

Full Change Log

• Prevent functional object updates from being calculated on threads which could have caused problems. Dev Note: It was probably fine and wouldn't be noticeable but this just makes sure nothing can break while not impacting performance :)
• Improved performance of functional object checks.
• Check up to 20 objects at once for whether or not they're functional (this will result in faster updates if e.g. the secure area is broken).
• Fix PAX being spawned all at once causing a lag spike whenever a bus, LRT or plane unloads.
• Various smaller code refactors to improve performance.
• Improve runtime of some agent tasks.
• Improve performance of updating agent positions (~3.5x faster on our tests, should result in a pretty good improvement overall).
• Improve calls on (smart) objects.
• Fix some objects/elements using the wrong font possibly causing some objects not to display text on M1 Macs.
• Add a system to concurrently update agent movement.
• Fix some texts not receiving the right font when switching language.
• Add Radial menu for tools and UI (two separate ones); these are mostly for controllers but can be used on desktop to; On desktop they're setup for Mouse Button 4 and 5, if your mouse doesn't have any extra buttons check out the keybindings!
• Theme hotkey bindings menu to be in the same look as the rest of the game.
• Update steam integration libraries to prevent possible crash on launch and other inconsistencies with Steam.
• Update translations from github.
• Moved translations to localizor - update about this with a more detailed description to follow soon.
• Fix issue where too many characters in one Font may cause an overflow and all further characters to only show up as rectangles.
• Fix possible issue where pax don't go home after a flight was unable to land.

An Adventure Like No Other

This autumn we'll be releasing a new point and click adventure game set on a creepy ship. January, 1928. The SS Carolina is lost deep in the ocean. There's a deadly chill outside. The captain is hiding something from you. By night 2 you're attacked and the crew is missing! It's a nightmare! You play as 2nd Officer Walton. Explore the ship, use items, find the crew, and try to survive! You must get back to land and not let the ship sink.

Let Us Know What You Think!

Check out our store page! Feel free to speculate in the forums what you would like or expect to see in the game, and if you have any interest in testing in the near future. Please also give us feedback on our screenshots and trailer! Finally, add this game to your wishlist for future updates!

Celebrating the launch of the Steam Deck, we're happy to bring you today's patch containing improvements to Input handling (including full Controller support!), several performance improvements, and a bunch of general bug fixes, too!

Input Rework

To support all inputs of the Steam Deck and to have support for Controllers we've completely overhauled our input system. Previously we've done most of the input stuff ourselves (we're really the people who'd like to do everything by ourselves) but have now upgraded the whole system to use Rewired - a well-known and highly regarded input system for Unity. This rework allows us to not only support the Steam Deck better but also allows basically all Controllers, Joysticks, or other Gamepads to be used in SimAirport - the list of supported hardware is indeed rather long. In addition, it does simplify the code for us by a lot and helps us with any new features or additions requiring input. In addition to what's in this update, we've also got some further improvements planned that didn't make it into this update. For example, having a radial menu (which will be usable from KB/Mouse as well as Controller) makes it simpler to open tools or windows - especially without having to remember the keybindings!

Performance Upgrades

We'll keep this one short as we've already spoken about what exactly changed on our dev-log in the beginning of February; Check it out here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/598330/view/3118182224262686059 In short, however: We've found a good performance improvement that will have a good impact, especially on bigger airports where a lot of AI agents need to check if objects can be reached. We have also improved the handling of 'queue overrun' conditions and how the game handles it to keep the airport running well even on high load (e.g. when first loading a massive save) - check the above-mentioned dev-log for more information on that topic, too! :) Lastly on this topic we've been experimenting with some further changes that may improve performance - we need to test these experiments further to be sure they're actually improvements and more work is needed in general; We'll update you as soon as we have more news on this!

Final Words

As always thank you all for being around! If you have received a Steam Deck be sure to leave some feedback for us on how the controls feel and what games you're playing besides SA :) If you want to see some of the experiments and/or early previews of stuff we work on be sure to join the Discord server - always happy to talk to ya'll! All the best wishes and hopes ya'll are safe from the team!

Full change log

• Add a button to teleport apron vehicles to their hangar in case they're completely stuck without a road.
• Add detection for whether or not a mouse is connected to hide the virtual cursor on launch (The virtual cursor is the one used when you're controlling the on-screen cursor using a controller).
• Add setting for virtual cursor speed.
• Add on-screen keyboard component to input fields for use on the steam deck (this can probably be used on other systems too - let me know if you'd like to use an on-screen keyboard anywhere!).
• Fix RESET startup option not running correctly sometimes.
• Some minor UI improvements.
• Update Steam integration.
• Fix issue in ModLoader possibly causing some mods to not load correctly on new saves.
• Add check to make sure one-way paths cannot be placed on security zones (placement in security zones may cause issues with the zone, you can still place them behind the zone though).
• Fix "Show Non-Secure Path" not being removed after closing the selected object dialog.
• Fix a possible issue that may cause planes to be missing completely instead of showing UFO sprite.
• Fix possible issue where some data is not reset when sectors rebuild causing areas to rarely not show correct status for security availability or reachability.
• Rework automatic slowdown - the game was already slowing down when the job queue got overwhelmed but will now do so in a more consistent manner and will show it in the speed display under the clock.
• Improve several reachability and object choosing algorithms - this should give a boost across the board but especially for big airports.
• Fix some missing mods not correctly listed in the missing mods list.
• Fix build menu overlapping bottom menu buttons when UI scale is not 100%.
• Fix issue with how the game looks at neighboring cells in several places of code.
• Fix issue where agents would rarely overshoot and run out of a secure area re-doing security (this was caused by the above issue).
• Add check to make sure pax can walk diagonally and improve flow field generation (basically how agents move around).
• Fix old save-fix possibly despawning cars that were on a road ramp up causing pax of a flight to go missing.
• Some cleanup of the scene to fix some missing warnings.
• Fix possible scaling issue with notifications.
• Improve animations of new agent sprites standing at or boarding from the LRT Platform.
• Improve default stationary state for new agent sprites.
• Fix runway upgrades working while being under construction.
• Fix "Fastest" quality setting causing mods to render incorrectly.
• Fix mod-loader not taking into account all loaded mods when checking for missing mods causing a lot of mods to show up as missing but installed.
• Add early setup for some user settings to make sure they're setup even on the first launch of SA.
• Fix some sprites of multi-level objects being rendered on the same/wrong floor due to some missing configuration.
• Fix modded sprites being offset by the SpriteManager - now rendered correctly.
• Add a fallback in case a floor goes missing (e.g. when a mod is removed) - the game will now use concrete in this case instead of just having no floor and failing to load the save.
• Add seeding to agent names so saves now get a different set of names for initial agents.
• Fix taxiway not placeable if extrusion is on the spawn road or LRT track.
• Fix mods using auto-foundation visible on all levels but the one the object was actually placed on.
• Fix some input devices randomly scrolling in dialogs/UIs.
• Modding: Fix LRT boarding not using all doors on modded LRT trains.
• Modding: Use SpriteManager for LRT Tracks allowing LRT Track modding.
• Modding: Fix modded sprites pivot calculation.
• Modding: Fix mod OnLoad causing an exception stopping the game to load completely.
• Modding: Add an exception for .pdb files in scripts folder to help debugging mod code/scripts.

To kick February off we'd like to talk about the upcoming SimAirport update - along the lines of a dev-log, so you know what we're currently working on & what you can expect from SimAirport in the near future!

Steam Deck

Valve will soon be launching the 'Steam Deck' and as the release of the hardware nears we've been working on making SimAirport compatible with the new handheld! Luckily SimAirport already runs on Linux, and we have confirmed that both native and Proton options are already able to run on the Steam Deck! Our initial testing on Steam Deck did reveal several issues and some quirks - from screen resolution to controller bindings & even some audio issues. Several UIs required a bit of reworking while others may just need a small nudge in the right direction. For example, the top UI generally fits, unless the fuel HUD is enabled; to solve this the entire top UI now is able to move to the left and "attach" to the Menu button. This is a general change so you'll benefit even if you're not using the Steam Deck but happen to be playing on a smaller resolution desktop monitor or on a laptop! Lastly, we're currently working on making sure the Steam Deck controls can be fully utilized in the most optimal way possible. For this we're reworking a good chunk of our input-handling code which will result in a good default experience on the Steam Deck, and it will also enable the use of controllers on other platforms, too! :) On the whole, we're thrilled to say that SimAirport runs well on the Steam Deck after some tweaks it's fully playable -- including all Workshop content & mods being available on the platform!

Performance Upgrades

We generally strive to find performance improvements whenever possible -- though we're also somewhat limited by a number of factors: architecture & age of the code-base, size/scope of refactoring, compatibility/legacy concerns, engine issues, GPU support, etc. Despite that, we're constantly looking for ways to improve performance -- incremental steps & big leaps alike, and we get especially excited when we're able to find improvements that can positively impact "late-game" & large airport performance. We're thrilled to say we've found a relatively substantial performance improvement related to the agent (passenger) AI -- specifically in how the AI determines whether or not an object can be reached. Previously this reachability check was unintentionally being run on an overly low-level & granular layer of abstraction; as airports grew in size this became an increasingly costly operation and the result was that performance deteriorated faster than expected or intended as agent (passenger) counts increased. While we've faced these same types of issues in the past, and dealt with them, this one was substantially more hidden due to the 'smaller' role it plays in AI decision-making process -- specifically, the issue was with checking distance to "lifecycle" goal. After the fix, reachability is now checked at a higher level of hierarchical abstraction, and overall performance for larger airports is substantially improved. TLDR: Bigger airports run better & more performantly, by a pretty good margin. :) Feedback from players testing out the latest edge versions has been quite positive -- we're hearing frame-rate improvements & decreased CPU load across the board & drastically reduced instances of "overrun"/the game is able to update agent AI without 'falling behind' (i.e. none stopping for calculations) much more consistently, and even at relatively high agent/passenger counts.

Queue Overruns

Queue overruns happen whenever the game is running faster than it is able to handle agent 'AI' jobs/calculations. At some point, these 'jobs' (or sets of calculations) can 'stack up' on the job queue and the queues run "full". When this occurs agents may not correctly update or may stand still waiting for their AI to update, causing them to not be making timely decisions & missing their flight, etc... This update also includes a change in how the game handles these types of 'overrun' scenarios. While the first part of the update is intended to improve the performance of the AI job itself, reducing the time each job takes (and therefore reducing the potential for overruns), our handling for scenarios where 'overrun' state did happen was not optimal. Previously, SimAirport would rarely slow down because it missed jobs on the job queue -- which was the intended outcome but was not working quite right -- this is now fixed, so now all AI jobs are counted correctly and the game will "slow down" if it detects an overrun condition (allowing game-time to run 'slower' so that agents are acting/reacting at the correct pace based on the CPU resources/load available). We've also improved the visual of this slowdown - the game will now show the actual slowdown in the clock as the speed number will be capped; we hope you'll rarely, if ever, actually see this occur -- but the mechanism is there so that the algorithmic complexity is able to scale with the available CPU resources & to do so in such a way that the gameplay itself (ie passenger 'outcomes') is wholly unaffected.

Final Words

If you'd like to help us with this update be sure to check out the edge branch (Instructions on how to switch) - we're always happy to talk on the forums and on Discord about the current cycle, and we're excited to be bringing this update to you in the near future! Be sure to let us know how you like these more "in-depth" dev-log style of posts between updates -- we love to share what we're doing, and so it's helpful to know if you find the content & details interesting (or would like more/less details, etc). We'll continue to do our best to listen to your feedback and utilize it to continually improve -- on every front, from gameplay to the content & format of our updates -- we appreciate any/all feedback, and we thank you for joining us on the journey! =) As always, thank you -- the community -- for all of your help with providing valuable feedback & bug reports, testing on edge, suggestions & ideas, and even just sharing photos/videos/builds. And a special thank you, to those who make mods, too! Thank you!!

Just shy of 2022 we'd like to present you the December update for 2021 - while it took longer than expected on our end we're happy to release this load of fixes and improvements to you all.

Patch Notes - Notable additions

Remote Gate Improvements!

Remote gates have gotten one highly requested feature as well as some general improvements and bug fixes (e.g. not loading a plane if part of the crew is already on the plane while the rest are still on a bus). Remote bus pickups now have three modes, Pickup & Dropoff, Pickup Only, Dropoff Only. By default the P&D mode will be selected which works the same as the previous implementation where the same stop will be used for both arriving and departing passengers. In addition to the modes you can also assign several bus pickups to the same remote gate. The Pickup Only mode - as the name states - will be used to load any departing pax onto the bus that would like to get to the aircraft. The Dropoff Only mode will do the reverse, it's used for any arriving pax coming into your airport being dropped off from the aircraft. In addition, while using the Dropoff Only mode on a remote bus pickup it can be assigned to as many remote gates as you wish meaning you can have a central dropoff area for all arriving passengers.

Steam Integration Improvements

We've updated our Steam integration in this cycle - while the old version wasn't broken it did start to show it's age (e.g. in the missing mods dialog not correctly showing the status). Coming with this upgrade we also reworked the missing mods dialog - it will now correctly show status for downloads and, as soon as all mods were downloaded, will ask if you'd like to reload your game right now. The menu will also include mods besides airlines and aircraft - so any object mod or script mod that may be required for a save.

Modding Improvements

With this update saves will now store all mods you've been using while playing including any script and object mod besides airlines and aircraft. This means you can now safely share your games with friends or on the Workshop an other people can correctly load the game with all objects in place - made even easier with the improvements to the missing mods menu mentioned above :) The update also helps us out - if you run into an issue with this version while using a lot of mods we can debug it with the mods you've been using, so no broken or unusable airports on our end anymore! Lastly, small but notable, the capacity of dumpsters can now be modded.

MacOS Text Issue Hotfix

We just set live the Hotfix for MacOS not having any text, be sure to let us know if any text issue still remains or rendering is now back :) The hotfix is live as of now (January 2nd ~21:20 UTC) - you may need to verify your files if you don't see the update yet.

A few words to you!

Thanks for being patient with us through this year - we're really happy to get this update out to you! I'd like to say sorry for the delay though - many of you know we're a small team, sometimes we underestimate what needs to be done for a release and this was definitely the case with the December update. We would've liked to have it out a week ago right around the holidays but pushed it back a week to get some more issues fixed (check the changelog below for all fixes/improvements). At this point I'd like to mention our discord server - while we're active on most platforms Joscha is usually around to answer questions on discord, if you run into any issue you'd like to discuss or have any questions in general be sure to let us know! Link: https://discord.gg/ShqSSEK And lastly, we wish everyone a happy new year! May 2022 be a good one!

Full change log

• Fix moving the ATC Tower may cause no planes to land until reloading a save.
• Fix "Show non Secure Path" button on objects that require a secure area but are in an unsecure area. It now actually shows the path correctly :)
• Fix runways not being placable close to fences. Fences were already placable close to runways so now both work.
• Rework how aircraft sprites are loaded. Previously all aircraft sprites would be loaded at once, they're now loaded only when required. In addition fleets in airline details will use a smaller image instead of the whole aircraft sprite. This should save a lot of VRAM helping systems with iGPUs as well as older GPUs.
• Fix road reachability sometimes determining a bus pickup cannot reach the gate while the vehicles are using it without a problem (more technical: The reachability check did not include both directions on the apron side, it now does since vehicles on the apron can drive on the road both ways).
• Fix issue where a runway may be removed even through the dismantle project was cancelled.
• Fix tasks to dismantle upgrades from runways and baggage hubs when dismantling the base object not saved/lost after reload.
• Fix upgrades comming up as "UNKNOWN" and in a bugged state if dismantling the base object and reloading the game.
• Fix runways not correctly being detected as usable if it was marked for dismantling, saving the game and reloading the game and cancelling the dismantling again. Previously the game would detect the runway only after another reload, now works correctly.
• Fix notification hover text showing the full text of any object previously hovered over if the cursour was moved from said object onto the notification.
• Add new notification in case a passenger was not able to board a plane in case they're unable to reach the gate door from the gate agent desk.
• Fix "Browse Saves Folder" not actually opening the browser on MacOS.
• Fix possible nullref in mod status menu.
• Overhaul missing mods/mod status menu. The menu now lists all mods (not just aircrafts and airlines) and the download will now run correctly with updates being shown in the list.
• Saves will now store what mods were used at save-time. Sharing a save will now bring up the missing mods screen for all mods correctly and with the overhaul all mods can be downloaded easily.
• Fix the naming convention of some languages.
• Fix remote bus pickup stating it requires a door on the ground floor while working perfectly fine underground.
• Fix PA Amplifiers erroring with "Must be placed in valid electrical zone" in case it's placed facing towards a wall.
• Fix aircraft gate flyout menu (the one for reports/overlays) always being disabled.
• Fix time slot highlighting in master flight schedule ending after ~50 gates - we did not expect ya'll to have that many gates but it will now scale to the window so I dare you to break it again!
• Backported some fonts and the font choosing/updating system from SimCasino - changing language should be a lot more consistent in terms of actually showing the new right font.
• Fix crew boarded state not correctly being set on some remote gate flights in case only part of the crew is on board of the plane while another part is waiting in the second bus. Save fix included :).
• Fix possible issue with objects failing their functionality checks.
• Fix possible issue with apron buses in case a plane doesn't arrive or depart on time.
• Fix maintenance panel not correctly working in case a mod needing maintenance is missing.
• Fix several issues with maintenance trying to start out of window or without actually needing maintenance.
• Fix not being able to change bus pickup assignment if no plane or bus is using the pickup or any assigned gate while a plane was scheduled on any gate.
• Improve runway placement tooltip - now only shows the 5 planes with the longest requirement that could use the currently placed runway.
• Update steam integration (for stability and workshop compatibility).
• Increase max pathfinding length for planes to enable bigger maps (planes could get stuck due to not being able to pathfind on some modded sizes).
• Fix maintenance not correctly finishing in some cases.
• Add ability to connect bus pickups with the terminal using sidewalk and crosswalks (like remote gates already work).
• Add ability to assign more than one bus pickup per gate.
• Add ability to select what mode a bus pickup should run in (Pickup & Dropoff (default), Pickup Only, Dropoff Only) - In Dropoff only mode a bus pickup can be assigned to as many gates as you wish.
• Fix remote gates in walking mode not working if crosswalk is used as last walking part adjacent to the gate.
• Fix objects taken down for maintenance before actually having to be maintained.
• Add warning on metal detectors, body scanners and bag scanners in case one of their usage positions is not in a security zone.
• Fix reception desk is placeable on walls and outdoors.
• Fix maintenance sometimes getting stuck when the task fails due to a nullref exception.
• Fix objects may not be correctly staffed if a worker doesn't correctly get to the object.
• Increase max flight count per airline (mostly helps with modded airlines).
• Fix fuel UI hover showing "Current Reserves" where it should state "Pending Deliveries".
• Fix fuel amount could overflow on the valuation UI (the cash calculation was not affected).
• Fix wander near object task could choose a position to wander to that would end up in the agent having to re-do security.
• Fix wrong detection of when walking through walls is needed - in some rare cases workmen could not path and a construction project might get stuck.
• Fix runway tooltip breaks when placing runway lights using instant build while having the game paused.
• Enable thirst and hunger for arrival passengers.
• Fix gate <=> ticket zone were assigned twice on save load.
• Fix pax may run around on the grass when deplaning from a walking remote gate.
• Fix hover box sometimes loosing its layout when leaving the hovered object.
• Fix missing text on police cars and fire trucks.
• Fix "Z fighting" on the flight scheduler, now the time row is always on top.
• Improve flight schedule entry UI, the line spacing is smaller and it'll shorten the airline name to better fit in the little space available.
• Modding: Fix uploading UI never resetting the tag selection.
• Modding: Fix mod airlines and aircrafts sometimes breaking due to bad ID datatype.
• Modding: Add ability to view local aircraft and airline mods while offline.
• Modding: Make dumpster capacity moddable; attribute "Capacity" was added to the config with type int. The base game one has a default of 10.

As some of you may have heard on our recent live streams, we are actively working on an update for SimAirport!! We've talked about it on our last few streams & we have discussed it quite a bit on Discord (be sure to join!) -- but we wanted to make sure everyone was aware, hence the post today! :)

Timeline: Holidays 2021

The plan for this update is going to primarily be fixes, though (as many of you who know us can likely guess) we'll be doing our best to sneak in some quality-of-life improvements and enhancements as well. :) Specifically, we'll be addressing several issues that have come up over the last year or so, and adding some better contextual guidance for some of the more advanced things that we've heard struggles with. We've also got some performance improvements lined up, along with some changes that we expect will help new players tremendously while also making life simpler for existing players, too. We're working on getting this patch out to everyone by the end of December -- right around the holidays -- with edge deploys to begin rolling out in the upcoming days! Thanks for your patience while we've been working on SimCasino -- we're truly privileged to have such an amazing, dedicated, and awesome community -- working with all of you has and continues to be amazing, and we look forward to continuing to ship new stuff out for SimAirport again very soon! As always, if you have any questions be sure to let us know, either here, on discord, during a live-stream, or wherever you'd like to contact us! Thank you!!

We've posted an interview with composer Jerry Martin in our SimCasino news! Check it out now, and make sure to add the game to your Wishlist if you want to stay up to date!

What is SimCasino?

A Modern Casino Tycoon Simulation in full 3D glory. Build the casino. Set the odds. Expand into a luxury hotel/casino or go cheap & extract max profits. Keep the vault secure at all times, and beware of criminals & cheaters!!

August, a hot summer month and the host for our latest update! Wrapping up this cycle today we're getting out a lot of fixes, stability, and some quality of live additions while we're also working on SimCasino. If you haven't heard of SimCasino yet be sure to check it out over here!

Developer Live Stream

We'll be hosting our typical fire-side live-stream next weekend, to answer questions and just have some fun with the community.

When: Friday, 21st of August @ 11AM PDT // 20:00 CEST Where: YouTube, Twitch, and Steam The Airport: This Airport on the Workshop :)

Patch Notes - Notable additions

Remote walking gates!

Sometimes you may want your terminal to be small and have several gates in front of it - all reachable by walking from the terminal to the gate - just like the low cost airlines often do! This is now possible! Remote gates can now be switched between the bus mode (having a road in front of them) and walking mode (having a sidewalk in front of them). To switch the mode just click the gate and select the "Switch Mode" button. You'll get different requirements for both and the game only displays the problems for the current mode. Once switched just connect the gate's "terminal side" to a door in the terminal. You can use Sidewalk, Crosswalks, and any modded material that is set up for usage in the secure area (check the Workshop and take a look at the flooring mods). One building idea from our side: You can put these walking gates just a little further than you'd usually place a terminal gate and add remote bus pickups. This way you can combine remote bus gates and remote walking gates all on one terminal front! Be sure to share a screenshot of your layout with us!

Underground Roads

Roads can now be placed underground and can tunnel under existing structures. Usually, this would be a small point but we wanted to share that this one is a point where you guys changed our minds! When adding a new feature we try to make it some challenge or add some gameplay relevant aspect to it, it should always be a task to work with but we're not always right on making that "task" fun. With underground roads not being able to tunnel under existing structure we hit one of these challenges that just didn't fit. Based on your feedback, in the forums & during live-streams, we went ahead and removed this restriction completely for both roads and road ramps!

Notification System

We've added some smaller notifications to help you in day to day gameplay or just show you something that may get missed for a veteran player or a new player doesn't know about.
• Transport Capacity: Lets you know when the transport capacity has been reached (and passed) and pax may not be able to get to your airport. Will open the transports and deliveries section when clicked.
• Kitche problem: Sometimes we miss an object or don't remember to get stock into the kitchen, this notification will let you know when an order could not be fulfilled. Will go to the kitchen and open the kitchen's overview when clicked.

UI Improvements

We went ahead and tweaked some of the UI, notably three smaller changes:
• The save game UI will now use your last save name even if you expanded your airport.
• Sections on the grants UI now better fit their content mostly removing scrolling on the track list and the track description.
• The perfect ops detail overview will give more details on why, when and where a plane was delayed or a passenger missed their flight.

A few words to you!

We just want to say thank you! Thank you for your commitment to us, our community and for helping us out with feedback and reports. We're always happy to talk with you - whether it's on the forums, Reddit, Twitter, Discord or on our live streams - you guys are the reason we're where we are today. We'd also like to take a second to get a big thanks out to everyone creating mods in their free time for others to have fun with! We, along with the community, appreciate your efforts tremendously -- we love seeing all the awesome new stuff you guys put out -- thank you! We hope to chat with you on our next live stream, stay safe and keep on building!

Full change log

• Add a new mode to the remote gates, they now support Bus and Walk mode.
• Add crosswalk to allowed walkable space in the secure area.
• Fix several sector reachability <-> error situations that would end up with sectors showing not accessible even though they are.
• Remove tunneling restriction when placing roads underneath existing structures.
• Add option to ignore admin requirements to the sandbox menu.
• Fix instant build not costing money.
• Fix zone texts sometimes ending up bigger than expected.
• Fix garbage trucks sometimes getting stuck when a trash bag is moved into a container while already on the list of tasks for the truck.
• Fix cost display for moving walkways when placing while some material is in storage.
• Fix sandbox menu trying to save the size making the text disappear.
• Fix nullref that could cause issues related to crosswalks (i.e. having 10 dismantle buttons on the selection dialog).
• Expand checks on parking lots to specifically check for spawn/despawn connectivity to prevent stuck cars.
• Fix tooltip not disappearing when right-clicking with some tools active.
• Fix runways possibly placeable off-grid on some occasions.
• Fix road ramp validations - they're now in-line with the road placement restrictions and tunneling works for them too!
• Fix issue where a direction change on escalators would mean no pax use them until the sectors are regenerated.
• Fix cars sometimes spawning underground leading to stuck cars/nothing spawning.
• Limit max interest rate to 50% instead of 500%.
• Improve flight crew boarding (they'll try to get to the gate earlier).
• Fix stat for lifetime revenue is not correctly calculated for terminals.
• Rework grants UI to better show track list and track description without scrolling.
• Fix save name showing "land_expansion" when saving after expanding the airport - now shows your last saved name.
• Add QuickSelect as default keybind.
• Fix pax getting stuck if their flight's gate doesn't exist anymore.
• Fix vehicles stopping on road ramps and trying to pick up pax.
• Add notification in case a vehicle could not stop and pick up passengers.
• Fix standby gates not used in case both gate agent desks are in the same security wing but the origin desk can't reach the standby desk without re-doing security.
• Add the ability to add default airlines to existing games.
• Fix delays when recalculating a secure area in some cases.
• Add notification in case the transport capacity has been reached.
• Fix parking vehicles not spawning in rare cases.
• Lower minimum schedule time for flights to 45min (Note: Use time wisely, 45 minutes will work for small planes but anything from a 737 up will most likely take longer!).
• Fix auto fuel delivery not taking into account pending reserves that should be delivered at the same time.
• Fix bankruptcy giving the accomplished achievement instead of the unaccomplished achievement.
• Add error message for remote gates placed against a terminal and terminal gates placed into the open field.
• Fix remote gate prices (previously all were 20k cost).
• Fix issue where cars would not drop off their passengers leading to some pax never showing up for a flight.
• Fix parking vehicles never resetting their parking start time leading to extreme profits from parking lots.
• When selling a fuel truck fuel is now moved into the system or sold.
• Fix position for when an agent ends up on a conveyor transition.
• Show green color on flight status pax boarded only when all pax have been scanned, otherwise show orange.
• Rework perfect ops details - it now better shows the actual information of interest (for new flights - old flights may not have all details).
• Fix ID Check not taking into account downstream objects when dequeuing agents.
• Fix text in tutorial stating to assign a queue to an object (you can only assign an object to a queue).
• Change stuck message on aircraft in case they're not able to reach the runway (they now state which runway they cannot reach and the direction of takeoff).
• Fix some components possibly re-using an old path renderer leading to UI issues (e.g. staff scheduler not opening correctly).
• Add minimum runway length to master flight schedule entry (shown on hover under arrival and departure times).
• Fix flights shown as delayed when changing gate due to bad ChangeGate flag.
• Add no stock warning to the kitchen overview display.
• Add notification in case a kitchen cannot fulfill orders (due to no stock or missing objects).
• Fix runway upgrades may be placed on level -1 leading to funky rendering.
• Fix parking vehicles not despawning when a lot went MIA in some cases.
• Fix pax not able to exit conference rooms.
• Fix crosswalk cannot be walked on in outside + secure areas when placed directly on the terminal.
• Fix buses possibly getting stuck when they stop in a corner road and their position is not actually on the road.
• Fix instant build failing to correctly construct runway lights.

Modding changes

• Modding: Fix modded objects with newly added AttachToWall property failing to correctly position on the map.
• Modding: Fix several nullrefs in case mods are missing.
• Modding: Fix security zone not working in case several SmartObject components are on the same placeable config.
• Modding: Fix issue when using several security components on one object.
• Modding: Add exception handling in case a script mod fails to load with a ReflectionTypeLoadException.
• Modding: Fix some possible issues with mod uploading & save game steam_ids to ulong to prevent issues with overflowing ints.
• Modding: Fix modded toilets and sinks not satisfying restroom zones.
• Modding: Fix materials not showing up if any more than one atlas is used for modded floors.
• Modding: Add a configurable mask to bag scanner component.
• Modding: Add the ability to use i18n key as mod name.
• Modding: Add field on construction materials, it can now be set to be walkable outside in a secure area.
• Modding: Fix no error showing up in case an i18n file is failing to load.
• Modding: Fix floor mods having lines due to wrong filtering mode.
• Modding: Fix modded remote monitoring stations that don't require staff won't work.
• Modding: Fix some problems with modded body scanners.
• Modding: Fix arcade mods not satisfying requirements for the arcade zone.

We're happy to announce our next SimAirport live stream! And a bit of an extra treat today, too! ːsteamhappyː Join us in this latest installment of the "fireside chat" dev live-stream! Get your burning questions answered, provide feedback on SimAirport, discuss ideas directly with the dev team, tell us what issues or quirks you've encountered, even discuss the meaning of life -- or just drop in to say hello! We'll even be talking a bit about our next game, SimCasino! ːsteamhappyː

Live Stream Details

When: July 1st @ 11AM PDT // 20:00 CEST Where to Watch
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Steam - or directly on this page, once the stream begins!

SimCasino Announcement!!!

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/27974902/99d9347532fc03d6a76f4ed42699f6264ee8821b.jpg We're happy to finally announce our second game - SimCasino! SimCasino is a tycoon-style management/builder game where you'll be tasked with building a casino/hotel empire. Endless possibilities, like its older brother, though this time in full-fledged 3D & with even more design/customization options! Made by the same team that brings you SimAirport, and with the same enthusiasm and community focus, we hope you'll be excited to build & manage your Casino empire when SimCasino releases later this year! Wishlist SimCasino today! See SimCasino on Steam for details, screenshots, & the trailer! Have no fear! There's still plenty more in store for SimAirport, too! We will continue dedicating full-time resources to SimAirport for the foreseeable future, and there's still more coming -- check out the Official SimAirport Roadmap to see what's in the pipeline currently!

Programming Streams

If you're interested in how SimAirport is made or just want to chat with us while we work on the game we're frequently doing programming streams, usually on the weekend. Those are not announced but following us on Twitch or subscribing on YouTube will notify you whenever we go live!

Welcome to the June 2020 update patch notes! This cycle brings a large selection of quality of life improvements, lots of fixes and behavior improvements, and a few major new features such as parking lots and gate policies. See below for the full details!

Developer Live Stream

We'll be hosting our typical fire-side live-stream this weekend, to answer questions and just have some fun with the community.

When: Saturday, 30th of May @ 11AM PDT // 20:00 CEST Where: YouTube, Twitch, and Steam The Airport: This Airport on the Workshop :)

Patch Notes - The Big Stuff

Parking!

Ever wanted to create a massive plot of asphalt with a couple of squigly lines? You can now do so, and even profit from it! Build modular parking lots around your airport, or even below it underground. Passengers will come in with a car and use the free spots (usually the ones closest to your dropoff) and catch their flights as usual. Later, the cars will be used by arriving passengers to get home -- and they have to pay the fee you've set in order to do so - be careful though, if fees are too high it's likely to discourage the usage of your parking lots!

Gate Policies

As gate control received a warm welcome there was also the question for more fine control, gate policies make it possible. Gate policies replace the gate control system and can either be used as a drop-in replacement with nothing changed, or as a strong fine-tune control mechanism for your specific needs. Custom policies for remote or terminal gates or a specific setup for one terminal - you can choose precisely what the policies do and to which gates they are applied. Small Tip: Policies can be applied from the gate control in the Operations Control Panel & on the selected-object menu after clicking directly on a gate, too!

Notification System

All new in-game notifications; keep an eye on the left side of your screen, just under the main menu button, and you'll occasionally see some icons popping up. This is the new notification system -- it will inform you if anything noteworthy happens in your airports, such as a fire breaking out or flights being canceled. Hovering over the icons will give you additional information, and left-clicking will center the camera to the point-of-interest. Right-click on a notification to dismiss it.

Hiding Airlines from Saves

This one was highly requested, you asked for a way to remove airlines, and we went ahead and implemented it for you! Removing an airline isn't completely possible, there always needs to be at least a reference to it in a save since data for at least 30 days is saved (including flights and airlines), but we now allow you to effectively "perma-hide" airlines from all display locations if desired. You can now hide any airline in a given save; to do so use the flight scheduler and click "Hide" on the airline you want to no longer see or depend on. Once hidden, the airline will no longer show up unless you enable the "Hidden" filter. Additionally, any hidden airline will be ignored if their definition is missing, meaning no "Missing Mods Detected" dialog if you hide them all!

Smaller Notable Changes

• Added a "Random" option for sprites and a message for new players to let them know of the option to choose between "legacy" and "new" character sprites.
• Added a sandbox menu, in sandbox saves it can be used to toggle real instant build, money (on and off) as well as immediately completing all research with a single click!
• Reworked the LRT tracks in regards to pathfinding; agents will strongly try to avoid the LRT tracks and crosswalks can now be placed on the track to give agents a place for them to cross over the tracks.

Full change log

• Fix possible "ghost taxiways" appearing when demolishing an under construction taxiway and add a save fix to remove them on load.
• Fix underground fuel tanks can be placed inside foundation.
• Fix fuel ports not checking if anything is underneath them (like foundation).
• Fix agents possibly getting stuck in unwalkable space in low FPS scenarios.
• Fix object selection distance normalization broken for far distanced objects.
• Fix circles being shown for pax that have boarded an apron bus.
• Fix critical construction bug where piles would not get delivered correctly in some cases.
• Some minor code improvements.
• Fix luggage task using a luggage car that has been sold.
• Fix pax sometimes using wrong security zone ending up in wrong security "wing".
• Update loading screen i18n to better show what the game is doing.
• Fix outdoor luggage task not correctly saving / loading the amount of bags to transfer.
• Fix road rendering above most objects and vehicles on -2.
• Fix XL remote gates would not count towards unlocking airlines that require XL gates.
• Fix sector accessibility warning behind reception zones.
• Fix reception zone not showing error in case the reception desk is missing.
• Fix vehicles sometimes using side-roads that don't lead to the target.
• Fix possibility for pax to get stuck behind a reception.
• Fix pax using id check if the assigned downstream objects are not available.
• Fix pax avoiding crosswalks instead of using them in some cases.
• Fix LRT/Crosswalks block each other for construction.
• Fix emitter reports (environment, info, PA) not updating when rotating the object.
• Fix possibility for pax to get stuck on conveyor transitions.
• Fix pax appearing on wrong floor when boarding an apron bus underground.
• Fix search for languages using accents (i.e. in Spanish searching for "a" will also bring up "á" now).
• Force construction materials to load earlier to not run into graphics issues in some rare cases.
• Disable V2 agent renderer if GPU support is missing, use V1 as default in case only partial support is available & V2 when playing with full support for the needed feature set. Also improves the detection of GPU feature support.
• Fix pax trying to choose close objects and possibly just sitting around when having to re-do security.
• Fix for construction projects not correctly cancelling and leaving workmen stuck.
• Fix edge case de-securing bug in case objects are inside a security zone and the only way to get to the security zone is via de-securing.
• Add sandbox menu to configure some stuff in sandbox mode.
• Add airline hiding system (will hide in airline list and from the "missing mods" dialog).
• Add high penalty to walk over LRT tracks so pax avoid them.
• Add the ability to place crosswalks on LRT tracks.
• Add check to verify having at least one crosswalk on the LRT track (when trying to dismantle a crosswalk on an LRT track).
• Add crosswalk on the LRT track on the starter airport.
• Update gate control UI to allow defining Policies and applying Policies to gates.
• Update all translation files.
• Fix width of clothes display.
• Fix several problems regarding the new sidebar in the main menu.
• Fix non-build retail objects ordering stock.
• Fix LRT station not requiring research to be placed.
• Fix transport capacity graph including the LRT when it's researched but no platform was placed yet.
• Fix security zones caching the same object multiple times (would mean too high numbers were showing on objects regarding assignments).
• Fix loan interest estimate not updating in some cases.
• Fix zoom to mouse.
• Fix apron buses (the way they detect for when they drive to the gate got a rework, should mean no stuck buses anymore).
• Fix remote bus pickups spawning pax on G even when placed underground.
• Fix remote bus pickups working with staff doors.
• Fix remote bus pickup always shows assign button on G.
• Fix agents cannot pass security from one secure area to another secure area.
• Fix zoom jumping when scrolling inside UI and then scrolling to zoom.
• Fix subsectors not regenerating when placing objects.
• Fix scrolling on macOS (and possibly Linux), should feel better now.
• Add random option for legacy sprites and sidebar message informing new players of the setting.
• Fix bug where shadows would not be removed when all buildings on a floor were removed.
• Fix crosswalks not placeable underground and set snapping to 1 for easier placement.
• Fix agents de-securing when trying to walk in a sector that is 'unknown' security status.
• Add temporary fix for pax freezing when too many workmen try to pathfind (we're working on a long term fix in the upcoming cycle).
• Fix LRT not able to spawn staff.
• Add new notification system showing small bubbles for various things happening on your airport.
• Fix fire trucks sometimes getting stuck in idle (they shouldn't get into that state but did so in some cases).
• Fix pax using secure areas between insecure areas, to pass from a secure start to another terminal in case a connecting flight would need them to move out of the secure area.

Modding changes

• Modding: PA speakers now use the angles defined in their configuration.
• Modding: Fix modded PA amplifiers failing to check for a zone.
• Modding: Fix crew chance modifier showing up as high number instead of a percentage.
• Modding: Fix aircraft mod edit UI not showing correct values but placeholders when opening the UI for the first time.
• Modding: Add POConfig_Crosswalk config - it's a crosswalk eh.
• Modding: Fix custom cash registers not working in cafes.
• Modding: Fix hangar vehicles spawning on level G even if the hangar is underground.
• Modding: Fix retail cash register not working without staff even if it's configured to not need staff.
• Modding: Add additional error logging for failed aircraft loading (now actually shows the underlying exception).
• Modding: Fix demo spawn aircraft being below the taxiway.
• Modding: Add sub-folder loading and enable i18n to use sub-folders as language selection.

Note for June 2nd: Small deploy to fix possible crash from logging in some rare cases - same build date, no other changes.

A little more than a month ago, SimAirport was cleared to land -- today we're bringing you several updates and numerous fixes to improve gameplay & increase overall stability for everyone. We're also releasing some new features to the 'Edge' branch today -- and we've got more coming to the Edge branch this month, as well. Read below for the full details on these new additions and check out the Official Roadmap to see what else we have in the works!

Developer Live Stream

We'll be hosting our typical fire-side live-stream this weekend, to answer questions and just have some fun with the community.

When: Saturday April 4, 2020 @ Noon PT / 21:00 CEST Where: YouTube, Twitch, and Steam The Airport: This Airport on the Workshop :)

Default Update - The Main Event.

We actually scheduled this update earlier than tonight but, as you may know, we encountered several stability and platform-specific issues that caused us to run behind schedule. We had two primary code issues: the way we log messages, and our Steam integration code. Both of these are now fixed alongside a number of smaller problems & gameplay bugs that have since been squashed. Check the change-log below for the full change details.

Edge Update - New Today & What's Coming!

We've been working on some new things, some of which are immediately available on the Edge branch -- stay tuned for additional features coming this cycle, too!

On Edge Branch Now:

• Real instant build in sandbox mode.
• Notification System to let you know of important things happening on your airport.
• Coming soon: Additional 'Gate Control' capabilities to give you precision control!

Help us out by testing these features on the edge branch, for a detailed change-log of the Edge deploy see this post.

Thank you!

We'd like to thank you, especially in these hard times, for the continued support and help from you and all of the community. No matter what - bug reporting, modding or helping out other people on Steam, Discord or Reddit, we're thankful for your continued engagement and support! We hope to catch you on stream tomorrow, and hope everyone is & continues to be safe and healthy. -LVGameDev Team!

Default - Full Change Log

Improvements

• Update logos.
• Update and improve Steam integration code.
• Implement new logging system to prevent crashes with the old system.
• Rework zoom levels and mipmap level selection (should significantly reduce tearing on textures).
• Enable auto saves by default.
• Add longer delay and startup argument for switching quality setting (you can now use "quality x" where x is a number from 0=Fastest to 5=Fantastic).
• Add manual check for finding the workshop folder, the game will try to find the workshop folder in offline mode and load mods when found.
• Modding: Added improved error handling for script mods, an exception in a script mod will now be logged and the mod will be disabled to not cause further harm or FPS issues.

Fixes

• Fix issue where objects would never finish repair if they're down to 0% maintenance.
• Fix sort order for underground roads, previously a taxiway on floor G was rendered above a road when viewing floor -1 or -2.
• Fix auto removed planned walls setting is not using the correct initial value starting the game.
• Fix trucks could get stuck unloading on road ramps in spawn blocked condition.
• Fix planes not getting baggage loaded when PA speaker went missing.
• Fix name updates overwriting a file in the Steam directory meaning Steam would always find one corrupted file on verification.
• Fix recurring fuel order not updating the price basis.
• Fix pax sometimes getting stuck when going to a bag scanner that is changing shifts to no workers.
• Fix baggage claim only checking against the first pickup for reachability (now checks for all)
• Fix several issues for old saves, now even more old saves can be loaded!
• Fix time formats and add a new option for the 24 hour clock.
• Fix issue where passengers and flight crew may de-secure and cycle security.
• Fix pax sometimes using a longer path than expected after using a gate agent desk.
• Fix ability to un-assign or remove remote bus stop if flights are scheduled for a gate.
• Fix agents getting stuck outside on the apron in some cases.
• Fix aircrafts sometimes choosing bad takeoff direction when loading in on a taxiway and choosing a different runway after loading vs before saving.
• Fix legacy maintenance objects failing when loading old saves.
• Fix auto foundation when placing objects in negative map space (i.e. west of the main road).
• Fix notable properties for PA speakers.
• Fix fuel UI showing 0% current storage with more than 0% fuel in storage.

SimAirport arrives after spending almost 3 years in Early Access! We are very excited to celebrate the transition to full release with you today!

Developer Live Stream

We'll be hosting our typical fire-side live-stream this weekend, to celebrate and answer questions, and just have some fun with the community.

When: Sunday March 1, 2020 @ 10AM PT / 19:00 CET Where: YouTube, Twitch, and Steam The Airport: This Airport on the Workshop :)

Transition to Full Release!

We have enjoyed every minute of Early Access and we hope you have, too. We undertook some major transformations along the way, doing our best to embody what we felt Early Access should be all about. Although we encountered some turbulence initially, we hope you appreciate the many achievements along the way and that we delivered what you expected. It's truly an incredible difference today versus the game that released in 2017 (if you're adventurous, check out the archived 'beta' branches!). From the size of airports to massively increased passenger counts, new aircraft, the thousands of bugs squashed, hundreds of feature requests delivered, the arrival of multiple floors, Workshop & mod support, and so much more. It's been an absolutely incredible journey, one of international proportions, and we hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have -- and we hope you continue to enjoy it, too!

This won't be the last update!

We started building SimAirport simply because it was the game that we wanted to play; that hasn't changed and there are still things we'd like to add, and it is likely that there will always be more things that we'd really like to add or improve further upon. That said, we feel extremely good about the state of SimAirport today; it may not be perfect, in fact it is not perfect, but overall we feel very good about the state of gameplay today. Speaking More Personally: I've come to face the reality that I will never be completely happy with all aspects of SimAirport. There will always be aspects that I'd like to change, update and improve upon. And that is the plan -- we will continue to add features, release updates with improvements & additional content, and to continue supporting & adding functionality to the modding systems, bug fixes, and the like. There's a lot left that I'd like to do with SimAirport, and we'll do our best to do exactly that -- even if I probably won't ever be fully happy with it, even if it may never be perfect, it doesn't mean we won't strive for perfection regardless! :)

All New: Frequent Flyer Program

Do you want to immortalize yourself in SimAirport forever? Enroll today in the new Frequent Flyer program -- step up to the Platinum Diamond Gold Status and you'll be able to put your name-in-the-game PLUS access to 19 all-new objects and aesthetic variations created by our team. It's also a great way to show your support for SimAirport, and for the team here at LVGameDev. :) Become a Frequent Flyer Today!

Thank You!

Huge thank you to the community and all of the supporters who continue to make SimAirport's development possible, who keep it fun for us, and who have made reaching this milestone possible. While it's a small button-click for a developer, it's a giant and seemingly impossible OnClick event for a new game developer. If it wasn't for you, the community, we wouldn't be able to accomplish any of this -- and we certainly wouldn't have any fun, either. We appreciate you all immensely and hope to see you on the stream this weekend! Thank you!! :)

Hotfix 1st of March 2020

We just deployed a small hotfix that solves issues where the game crashes when placing an escalator or pax have to repath a lot due to changing something (i.e. placing walls or objects).

We're back with another big update to help you continue expanding your airports. As a change of pace, this update even brings the ability to accidentally (or intentionally) burn your airport down, too! We're gearing up to transition to "full release" status very soon -- so if you're on the fence, this is a great time to dive in! And don't worry, we aren't finished yet! We have more in store for SimAirport and you can expect continued updates into the future. :) Huge thank you to the community and all of the supporters who continue to make SimAirport's development possible, and who keep it fun for us. Especially those of you playing the Edge branch, reporting bugs & keeping us on our toes, and just generally being engaged and challenging us. We appreciate you all immensely, and we hope to see some of you on the stream this weekend! :)

Developer Live Stream

As always with big updates, we'll do a live stream so come and join us for questions, suggestions or to just say hello!

When: February 15, 2020 @ 11AM PT / 20:00 CET Where: YouTube, Twitch, and Steam

Patch Notes - The Big Stuff

Fire!

A chef severely overcooked something, machine failure, a passenger throwing something hot into a trash can or you simply having some fun -- these are all possible ways to have a fire start in your airport! If a fire breaks out any work will be dropped and all nearby passengers and staff try to run out (avoiding the fire if at all possible) and they won't go back until the fire is extinguished. No need to fear, however! The local fire department is quickly called and will come out to get your airport back up and running. While on your land fire trucks may park on the public road but can also drive onto the apron side even using taxiways, however they will only park on roads so not to block the air traffic, having a good apron side road system that is connected to the public road system and some staff doors every so often will greatly improve your ability to fight fires! As fires expand in size they can burn things down to bare concrete, and as the severity of the fire increases the fire department will call for additional trucks. Fire begins small as simply heat and smoke, but can quickly increase in strength. We chose a moderate rate-of-spread that is rather realistic, based off of the 'fuel' available to it, but not too fast to overwhelm you. We have also added the ability to mod most of the key fire related elements, meaning the community can create mods to change the dynamics of fire-starting, the rate-of-spread, and more! If you want to play with fire alone you can press either ctrl+4 or F4 and fire will be spawned at your cursor! Have fun burning down your airport! This is the first push towards random events, and if you'd like to have them happen in your save can toggle them in the options!

Gate Closure Setting

After completing Research, you can now set gates to close at a specific amount of time before departure. Once a gate is closed it will no longer take in any more passengers, even if the passenger is already in the Gate Desk queue -- the plane will depart. If you're the type of person who wants to run the tightest possible schedule then this may come in handy to get planes out on time, even if at the expense of a few hard feelings from your passengers (and Perfect Ops Bonuses!).

Large and XL Remote Gates

This update contains numerous fixes related to remote gates, as well as the two missing remote gate sizes: Large and Extra Large (XL)! The bigger brothers of the 'S' remote gate work the same but can accommodate the larger aircraft & allow more concurrent buses to service the gate, providing an extra efficiency boost to your shuttle bus operations. Make sure to always have enough buses on standby!

Configurable Tooltip Delay

A highly requested feature, you may configure a delay for tooltips in the settings menu.

Outdoor Passenger Relaxation & Relief Areas

Previously passengers would never run outside in a secure area to do stuff, this is to prevent them running around the apron to go from one terminal over to another. This has now changed, from now on pax can go outside into the secure apron side if you lay down some Sidewalk for them, you can use several objects outside and even some mod objects to give your pax a nice outside relaxing area!

Misc. Gameplay Additions and Changes

• Update translations and added missing keys.
• Rebuild base game atlases to 4k and applied compression (lossless) to allow more mods to be used at once.
• Add ability for passengers to walk in outdoors secure areas that have sidewalks (i.e. pax will walk outside if it is secure & sidewalk; they'll not leave the sidewalk in outdoor secured areas).
• Improved search in flight schedule, you can now search for airline and flight number!
• Add on/off toggle for script mods (you can now disable script mods in Settings/ModSettings).
• Added auto-foundation on the current level for conveyor transition and stairs/escalators.
• Game now saves the immediate fuel on/off state.
• Adjusted PA speaker frustration to compensate for more calls; HD amps boosted as well.
• Added second taxiway planning color.
• Improve performance of flight schedule UI, shouldn't be a hit to FPS anymore.

Lots of Bug Fixes!

• Fix issue where the LRT may not spawn pax or only few pax and flights leave near empty.
• Fix order in which pax are spawned for flights, earlier departures are now spawned with a higher priority (previously was more or less random).
• Fix agents sometimes getting stuck on road ramps.
• Fix agents sometimes getting stuck on corners in low FPS cases.
• Fix ability to completely lock out traffic (if all traffic is blocked for some time workmen will spawn without a bus, car or LRT and supplies spawn at the delivery zone).
• Fix aircraft gates cannot be placed on roads even if a road can be placed at the same spot if the aircraft gate was placed first.
• Fix issues appearing with auto-foundation and modded Placeable Objects.
• Fix airplanes getting stuck in some cases while maintenance is active on a runway.
• Fix airplanes not using an available runway while one is under maintenance.
• Fix repair projects not considered finished even though all tasks where done.
• Fix workmen not unloading the supply truck if the truck is partially stopped on a road ramp.
• Fix road ramps sometimes pulling in agents until they're stuck forever.
• Fix baggage depot showing too many gates as possible candidates.
• Fix placement validation if a second level is only partially used on an object.
• Fix runway lights showing up as not build even when they are.
• Fix agent colorization bug, agents are now way better saturated.
• Fix stairs could be placed up and no foundation would be built if there was any material laid down (i.e. sidewalk).
• Fix ticketing desks not operating when there's a connected segment but the desk isn't yet connected to a hub (will fall back to golf carts).
• Fix remote bag scanners working while staff is on its way to the monitoring station but not yet looking at their monitor.
• Fix grant/objective for airline satisfaction would take all airlines into account (should only calc for the ones that you are working with).
• Fix escalator not used/valid when surrounded by security zone.
• Fix loading/deserialize issue on some older legacy save game files.
• Fix cash registers with one shared queue accepting only 1 passenger for the combined lot.
• Fix baggage tutorial not correctly passing step 1.
• Fix cafe objects capacity being shared over all objects of the same type.
• Fix PA tutorial stating PA must be assigned to gates though it's now outdated.
• Fix build menu not sorted when playing on any other language then English.
• Fix apron buses sometimes waiting too long instead of driving off.
• Fix road nodes not rendering when too many are placed on one floor.
• Fix meetings getting cancelled due to late zone validation.
• Fix crosswalks penalization, crosswalks are now favored over roads.
• Fix planes sometimes ending up with negative pax spawned which lead the game to think it'd have to spawn more pax than needed.
• Fix planes may show 100% boarded with some pax not boarded.
• Fix conference rooms claimed with too few seats.
• Fix cash register not showing up as required in cafes.
• Fix airline interest using all airlines, now only shows airlines you serve.
• Fix pax satisfaction including slight discomfort, now ignores slight discomforts in overall calculation (should increase rating on all airports slightly).
• Fix runway light upgrade can be placed while another light upgrade is already queued.
• Fix clothes display C was not working as product display.
• Fix buses and LRTs may get stuck on really old saves.
• Fix second bus for remote gates sometimes failing to come out and run the task.
• Fix missing jewelry display C.
• Fix edge scroll options On/Off were reversed.
• Fix switching language may leave some objects on the old translation.
• Fix current stock jumping to the next line when hovering over an object button in the build menu.
• Fix endpoints of some objects (e.g. conveyor transition) could not be placed on belts in some cases.
• Fix rare autosave and land expansion failure when the save folder doesn't exist
• Fix fuel tanks sometimes not move/sell fuel when dismantled.
• Fix pax would get stuck in walls in some cases when trying to get unstuck from a wall.
• Fix underground roads can not be placed under placeable objects.
• Fix lights on some gates have wrong position/size.
• Fix information and environment emitter position issue on right facing objects.
• Fix bags not deserializing correctly removing them on save load.
• Fix zones outdoors loosing their text when switching to a higher level.
• Fix aircraft may get stuck on a remote gate when a bus aborted its deplane task.
• Fix maintenance sometimes stuck when partial repairs did not complete.
• Fix remote bus pickup sometimes failing to detect doors due to floating point issues.
• Fix remote bag scanners showing no staff when scheduled but not currently present.
• Fix office zone and store zone could be used with no objects present.
• Fix inconsistency when dismantling an upgraded object; upgrades will now dismantle too.
• Fix conference room may not display an error when in insecure area but reachable by a reception zone.
• Fix pax may get stuck when their fix position task ends up in a position that is not useable for a passenger.
• Fix agents may get stuck if they stole an item inside the secure area and then left the secure area, *stealing is actually just a side-effect.

Modding related changes

• Modding: Added new setting values: Checkbox, Dropdown, Label.
• Modding: Added stepping and value format for the slider setting.
• Modding: Added sort order for settings.
• Modding: Fix creating an airline may overwrite an existing airline if the same random ID was rolled.
• Modding: Fix security zones not working with modded Placeable Objects.
• Modding: Fix transfer flow animation on baggage depot not using the baggage cars level.
• Modding: Fix baggage cars driving into modded baggage depots.
• Modding: Added scale and position to digital ad board so custom ad boards can be made, custom ads coming soon.
• Modding: Fix OnRoads not working for underground roads.
• Modding: Fix slider setting defaulting to show 1 instead of the actual value.
• Modding: Implemented new SpritePacker, from now on the new sprite packer is used which can generate more than one atlas!
• Modding: Fix missing reference for aircraft modding.
• Modding: Fix modded hangars not working on -1 or -2.
• Modding: Fix underground roads not checking for OnRoads property.
• Modding: Fixed hangar menu to take up to 20 vehicle slots.
• Modding: Added ability to save data using OnAirportSaving and OnAirportLoaded, be wise what you save as it is saved in the save and saves may get pretty big!
• Modding: Fix construction materials not correctly saving and missing on load.
• Modding: Fix construction materials not correctly rendering.
• Modding: Fix VDF file failing to load paths on linux that contain windows directory separators.
• Modding: Fix issue where the game state is cached and appears to always be on the loading screen.
• Modding: Fix ATC Tower component not working with modded ATC Towers.
• Modding: Fix staff limit not affecting how many staff one can schedule on an object.

We're happy to announce our next live stream! Join us in this latest installment of the "fire-side chat" style dev live-stream! Get your burning questions answered, provide feedback on the game, discuss ideas directly with the dev team, tell us what issues or quirks you've encountered or are driving you crazy, even discuss the meaning of life -- or just drop in to say hello! ːsteamhappyː This one is going to be special though! As you may have seen on the store page, we're collaborating with Green Gemini for some much-appreciated video content. And, on this upcoming stream, we're going to be live alongside Green, to give you some great content and answer as many questions as we possibly can! We look forward to seeing you then! Check out Green Gemini on YouTube Green Gemini's YouTube Channel

Live Stream Details

When: December 27th @ 11:00 AM Pacific Where to Watch
• YouTube
• Twitch.tv
• Steam - or directly on this page, once the stream begins!

Happy Holidays from the LVGameDev Team! From the entire team here at LVGameDev, and on behalf of everyone who is working on SimAirport -- we wish you all a wonderful, safe, fun, and magical holiday! Happy Holidays!

Friendly reminder that we'll be live-streaming today starting at about 11:30AM Pacific! Join us in this latest installment of the "fire-side chat" style dev live-stream! Get your burning questions answered, provide feedback on the game, discuss ideas directly with the dev team, tell us what issues or quirks you've encountered or are driving you crazy, even discuss the meaning of life -- or just drop in to say hello! ːsteamhappyː

Live Stream Details

When: November 27th @ 11:30 AM Pacific Where to Watch
• YouTube
• Twitch.tv
• Steam - or directly on this page, once the stream begins!

We hope to see you on the stream and we are looking forward to chatting with you while we try out some of the latest community mods! :) Thank you!

Tons of great new features, content, and of course many fixes have arrived -- with the latest SimAirport update which we're releasing now! ːsteamhappyː

Developer Live Stream - 11/27/2019 @ 11AM

We will continue the live-streaming tradition to coincide with this big new update -- come and join us next week to ask questions, provide your suggestions, or even just to hang out and talk! :)

When: November 27 @ 11AM Pacific Where: YouTube, Twitch, and Steam

Patch Notes - The Big Stuff

Remote Gates

Remote gates are a new type of Aircraft Gate that can be located remotely, away from the terminal, and served by buses. Several new objects and vehicles have been added to accommodate the new functionality; here are the details of this new feature:
• To start off you'll need an Apron Bus in a Hangar of your choice (it must be connected to the road or taxiway network still!).
• Remote gates can be placed anywhere and do not require the usual terminal door, buses will drive onto it from the taxiway and will drive off using the taxiway or a road on the normally terminal side of the gate.
• To transfer passengers you'll need a remote bus pickup, a structure that handles arrival and departure passengers for a remote gate, it'll need a road connection on one side and terminal on the other.
• The bus pickup can be used with one or two doors, if you use two you can select which one will be used for arrival and which one for departure passengers.

Full Modding Support - Objects, Graphics, and Code!

It took a bit longer than expected, and there will almost surely be some additional APIs requested, but we're extremely excited to be releasing major new modding capabilities which have now tested for quite some time over on the Edge branch.
• 'Placeable Objects' mod support. You can create new in-game objects, add your own graphics, and do pretty much anything you want -- from simple "copies" of existing objects to objects that create entirely new mechanics.
• Custom Code mod support. You can now load your own code and take advantage of APIs to run your own logic -- create new mechanics, give yourself unlimited cash, modify existing gameplay, and much more. Tons of possibilities!
• Graphics / Texture Overrides support. It is now very easy to bring your own graphics and artistic creations directly into the game; you can quite easily replace any existing art to customize your experience.
• All With Workshop Support! All of the mod functionality, both what was existing and all of the new stuff added in this update, is compatible with the Steam Workshop! You can easily share your own mods with the community, and play mods created by others!
• Head over to the modding repo on GitHub where you can learn the basics and dive right in. We're always here if you have any questions or requests, too!

Multiple Dropoff & Pickup Zones

You can now place up to 3 dropoff and pickup zones; all zones will get their own bus. This means you can completely separate the two, without buses re-spawning if they only reached one zone. You can even add completely separated terminals with their own pickup/dropoff zones! Note: Upgraded buses do not spawn two buses per interval anymore! Make sure your transport capacity is high enough with these changes!

Queue Tools: Major UI/UX Improvements

• Draw full queues in one "drag" -- no longer does it restrict you a straight-line per draw!
• Queues now show "Head" and "Tail" as well as their length at each piece while drawing, should remove any confusion regarding where the start/end of the queue is.
• Shift+Click with the 'Remove Queue' tool now removes the whole queue; no more following piece-by-piece anymore.

Full List - All Additions, Changes, and Fixes

• Added a hint when hitting the maximum ownable area
• Added several missing translations
• Improved quick-select to be able to pick in-construction floor.
• Added ATC callouts for landing and takeoff.
• Added small remote gate and bus pickup.
• Added warning for conference room to be behind a reception zone.
• Airlines will now have a minimum trust unless their facility needs are not met.
• Improved queue tool, you can now drag in any direction while making a new queue or extending an existing one.
• Added shift+click on queue removal to remove the whole queue.
• Modifications to entertainment/boredom effects for Electronic vending to make it more popular. Default price slightly reduced to also help.
• PA Systems no longer need assigning to each gate, and announcements will be made to every speaker. They still require assignment to amplifiers.
• Up to 3x dropoff and 3x pickup zones. One bus will be spawned for each of the zones, and pax will be much more intelligent in deciding which to get off that. This includes LRTs. May cause far away LRTs and dropoff zones to become unused. The distance is worked out based on how far away the nearest security zone is.
• Upgraded Buses still doubles the capacity to 150, but no longer spawns a second. However, with the higher zone count you'll see up to 6 buses at once!
• Improved escape mechanisms so stuck pax are less likely.
• Added text to show speed of moving walkways.
• Security zone error messages improved.
• Limit the maximum number of passenger cars that can be spawned at once to help avoid endless traffic congestion.
• Improved purchase chance on all products to increase sales, and balanced the attraction of them better to avoid rushes on candy and book stores.
• Trains spawn pax up to twice as fast to improve traffic flow.
• Improved pathfinding algorithm accuracy - you should see more pax using crosswalks and avoiding slower obstacles!
• Fuel tanker trucks from the outside world are sped up when unloading at fuel depots. They also only spawn the amount of fuel needed for all *connected* fuel tanks.
• LRT Station now shows "Requires Ground Floor" as a requirement when placing.
• Distance calculations (which should include Dropoff-Terminal distances) take into account moving walkways as being faster or "shorter distance".
• Schedule-staff objects stop using staff when they are no longer functioning.
• Added an additional tooltip for the remote bag scanner. Advice: they work at their most efficient with up to 5 scanners connected.
• Today's & yesterday's earnings
• Today's & yesterday's staff expenses at that till
• Many timed events end when they are supposed to more accurately. This makes a bigger impact at higher game speeds.
• Increased the movement speed of all agents to 1.25x.
• Added option to invert the mouse zoom and scroll direction in general settings.
• Added new option for edge scrolling "Inbound only", when used, scrolling on the edge will only happen inside the game window, not when on another window
• Disable shadow on high zoom level to improve FPS when overlooking a big part of the airport.
• Added mipmap levels, this reduces the quality and increases the performance when looking onto your airport from a higher zoom level. We currently enabled up to 5 levels, let us know if you see any issues especially on the highest zoom!

Fixes, all the fixes

• Fixed pax may end up on Fuel Pipes
• Fixed and improved deboarding of the LRT, it's still crowded but pax will actually deboard towards the station
• Fixed zones on level 2 could be selected from level 3 when no foundation is placed on level 3
• Fixed in-construction objects not using the grey scale setting
• Fixed maintenance projects would not repair the object when loading from a save
• Fixed placeables could be placed on underground roads
• Fixed baggage carousels (from above) having wrong connection position for left/right facings
• Fixed tutorial window getting stuck in minimized mode when finishing a step of some tutorials
• Fixed "Airport Efficiency" grant would not complete in some cases
• Fixed "Overloaded Operator" achievement was not achievable with >= 30 days of perfect ops
• Fixed resizing a flight in the flight manager from the left would have the arrival jump back to the original value
• Fixed baggage carousels not getting a number when constructed
• Fixed several spelling mistakes
• Fixed pax sometimes trying to wander outside and getting stuck
• Fixed slowdown due to queue calculation for some objects placed outdoors
• Fixed baggage loading task may not run outdoors when baggage unload would
• Fixed foundation placeable near runways while the runway is under construction.
• Fixed objects could be placed on baggage carousels on their "other" level.
• Fixed crash when expanding airport while construction is going on.
• Fixed auto-foundation for conveyors would place concrete over conveyors.
• Fixed queue line visualization is visible on all floors.
• Fixed security bins would not be correctly sorted on remote bag scanners.
• Fixed some placement indicators would not update when not in the current viewable area.
• Fixed remote bag scanners would not slow down when too many are assigned to one monitoring station.
• Fixed LRT wouldn't allow boarding when another LRT was departing the station while the arriving one was entering it.
• Fixed "Scientific Method" achievement would not fire even when everything is researched.
• Fixed flight crew walking to the end of the queue instead of directly going to the gate desk.
• Fixed several issues with security bins and missed flight pax that may slow down bag scanners.
• Fixed an issue where a stuck pax may get stuck forever when the gate he should've used is removed.
• Fixed conveyor transition being zoneable in some layouts.
• Fixed flights may get stuck when delayed for a long time.
• Fixed inside-inside windows would be rated the same as inside-outside windows for environment.
• Fixed maintenance would not finish in some cases even when the object is fixed to 100%.
• Fixed save dialog hanging when opening with a lot of saves.
• Fixed: PA amplifiers would not play sound when placed vertically.
• Fixed: Airlines with low first class percent don't care for first class lounges in negotiations and shouldn't ask for it.
• Fixed: In the flight scheduler, auto-increase size of flights on hover if they are very small. Allows to drag easier.
• Fixed: Text formatting for "Pax Flow" so that it no longer goes outside of its hover box.
• Fixed: Aircrafts with high minimum runway requirements might land delayed or with too high separation.
• Fixed: Foundation could be placed over outside objects without removing them first.
• Fixed: Storage shelf's would show an error when placed in deliveries.
• Fixed: Fading between standby and normal gates.
• Fixed: LRT only picks up pax in some configurations.
• Fixed: Using the clone tool you could create some objects without foundation on another floor.
• Fixed: Gate stairs where not placeable when a road was placed first.
• Fixed: Pax would try to use LRT stations that where not finished building.
• Fixed: Pax sometimes leave the secure zone and have to go through security again.
• Fix uncommon error in clean floors janitor tasks
• Fix conveyor sometimes not invoking auto-foundation properly
• Fix road ramps errantly able to be placed near taxiways in certain configurations
• Fix road project construction indicators not persisting after loading save game
• Fix null reference issue inside certain repair object tasks
• Fix runway lights not correctly aligning/placing
• Fix quick-select usage on floor transition objects
• Fix dismantle runway not working when runway is being repaired
• Fix transport capacity graph quirks & handling of EAM wrap-around flight pax
• Fix issue with busses and trains not spawning pax in rare airport situations.
• Fixes for moving flight entries in the manager. Now the left-half of the flight cannot be moved, it must be picked up from the right side where the PM time-slot is. Note: it can still be dragged to extend or reduce the time.
• Building an escalator or staircase into a security zone should not cause problems with access anymore.
• Planes shouldn't get stuck in certain large, complex one way taxi systems.
• Food displays and cash registers no longer function in non-functioning zones.
• Fix a rounding issue with the airline satisfaction grant objective.
• Pax can no longer use auto-kiosks if they have a bag to check.
• Fix passengers leaving behind trays at the bag scanners, causing them to get stuck.
• Fix meetings may get stuck when no host is available.
• Fix an issue of the auto-hiring system adding and removing staff rapidly in rare cases.
• Fix bag count is wrong when saving/loading mid-unload.
• Fixed dumpsters not saving their trash amount.
• Fixed zone toggle not toggling the base pattern of zones.
• Fixed tutorial saves were the tutorial was finished.
• Fixed agents sometimes getting stuck when leaving a gate and saving/reloading in a specific moment.
• Fixed outdoor objects not de-zoning when placed.
• Fix maintenance objects using only the global schedule and not checking for their object settings (anytime etc.).
• Fix issue were pax would target a bad position after loading a game (e. g. when on a moving walkway).
• Fixed bag booster placement on right facing baggage hubs.
• Fixed major slowdown when rebuilding the security status after construction or a direction change on a moving walkway or escalator.
• Major fixes to the reachability checks, sectors should now correctly show when they're not accessible or cannot be exited at all. Let us know if you find anything wrong!
• Fix baggage hub upgrades can be placed on any floor.
• Fix conference rooms falsely showing missing conference table error when any other error was occurring to the room.

Hotfix patch notes for the 26th of November:

• Fix agents getting stuck behind escalators and stairs.
• Fix pax getting stuck on the LRT platform in some rare cases.
• Fix text on retail placeables, now shows correct text and revenue again.
• Fix fuel station not working.

Five by five, loud and clear -- yes, we are still here!! ːsteamhappyː We want to provide everyone with a brief update -- it's been a while since we provided an official update and although we've had a few live streams & are easily accessible via our various channels, we're still long overdue for an official status report! :) We've definitely been quieter on the public announcements front, and our overall development pace has slowed compared to what we previously had been able to maintain, but we want you to make no mistake about it -- we're still here every day, working extremely hard, and there's still a tremendous amount going on -- both behind the scenes and in the code, as evidenced by the latest Edge branch updates. For those of you who haven't had a chance to check out Edge lately or if you've missed any of the live streams, here's what's been going on!

Dev Cycle Status - On 'Edge' Right Now

• FULL MOD SUPPORT! Custom code, custom graphics -- the sky is truly the limit. We're just now beginning to see some of the stuff that we expect modders to be able to create; we expect to see awesome stuff as the API continues to mature.
• Remote Gates. One of the top most-requested features, your ability to expand operations grows dramatically with this new mechanic.
• Multiple Pickup/Dropoff Zones. Another one that was highly-requested by players -- it required some new Pax AI 'smarts' but opens up new possibilities & some new transport-related challenges, too.
• Game Speed & Balance Improvements. Agents now move faster and 'timings' have been adjusted, which is especially impactful when playing at high speeds or with lots of passengers.
• And More, Including... Individualized cash register reporting; Pathfinding improvements; Dynamic air-traffic control audio; and hundreds of bug-fixes, balance adjustments, and general quality-of-life improvements.

Overall Status & Timeline

As mentioned in previous posts, we had aimed to transition to full release by end of Q3 2019 -- perhaps not surprisingly, we've missed that target, though we are making great progress towards that goal. 'Full Release' Transition Target: by EoY 2019 Of course, we could simply hit the big red button now -- but, as those who have followed closely likely already know, that really is quite simply just not how we do things. Since the beginning we've done our best to do things "the right way" -- even if we were perhaps a bit naive at times, we have always done our absolute best to be extremely transparent with you, and to generally just do things correctly. Whether that meant facing technical challenges head-on, putting in the time to debug and fix bugs, or the undertaking of large-scale projects like 'performance' overhauls, 'multiple floors' mechanics, or 'full modding support' -- and to be honest about the time/dev impact they would have. Similarly, to "do it right" and be in a position where we feel the game is sincerely ready for transition to 'full release' means that we want to meet specific gameplay/feature/UX goals that we have for the game -- once we hit those goals and we've had a chance to polish up the player experience and fix any lingering bugs, that's when the transition will occur; we're hopeful that will be by EoY, but we intend to do things the right way. If that takes a bit longer, then so be it, but that's our goal and it has remained the same since day one -- to make a great game!

LVGameDev - Growing Our Small Team

We're a very small team here at LVGameDev, as many of you know and evidenced by the fact that many refer to us directly by name. Despite being small, we have been making a steady & concerted effort to grow over the past year or so -- to improve our capabilities and bandwidth, maintain development pace, avoid burnout, and begin gearing up for another game -- and to do so while ensuring we're able to not only get SimAirport to the finish-line but also continue to support it well into 2020, as long as we can really! One of our primary goals in increasing the team size is to ensure that we can continue to support SimAirport -- with both bug-fixes and content -- well into the future, to allow us to face the economic realities & work on the 'next game' but without stealing resources away from SimAirport. It's certainly a tricky balance, and the reality is that new additions to the team actually causes temporary slow-downs (somewhat counter-intuitively), simply due to the required ramp-up period with the code and team workflow dynamics. I'm happy to say however, we anticipate being able to support SimAirport long into the future -- while also facing the economic reality that is the business of making games!

One More Thing: 'Dev Therapy'

We're going to do a short series of dev-blogs over the next few months -- perhaps for our own purposes more than anything and, as a result of that, we're going to call it "Dev Therapy". We've tossed around the idea of doing something like this before, on the update videos & live-streams, but essentially it's going to be an outlet for us to reflect on the development process, and will provide a venue for open and candid introspection. We'll be talking about the good & the bad, the mistakes we've made, the successes we've had, the things that we'd do differently, and providing insight into the day-to-day challenges and stresses -- technical, emotional, physical, personal -- and looking look back at how we tackled the challenges and the effectiveness of those approaches, and probably ranting about some of the failures, too! ːsteamhappyː

TLDR Summary

SimAirport - Release & Support
• At least TWO 'Default' patches before exiting Early Access
• Transition to 'Full Release' by end-of-year 2019
• Continued SimAirport support -- bug-fixes and content -- into 2020+

Coming Soon from LVGameDev
• Dev Therapy, a short series of 'behind-the-scenes' dev-blogs
• All-new title from the team slated for release in 2020!

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27974902/2e204ec14ee27a824650861fb3123ee93f9a5eaf.png Grow your airline relationships, negotiate deals, lease office and lounge space, and try to grow your airport empire. Beginning today, you can even turn your airport into a 24/7 international powerhouse -- new high-efficiency worker scheduling capabilities, janitor patrols, you can even negotiate and schedule highly-requested 'EAM' flights! Brand new mechanics add even more depth along with numerous QOL and UI/UX improvements, TONS of content, numerous bugfixes, and a little bit of everything in between. Dive in and let us know what you think!

Developer Live Stream - July 2 @ Noon PDT

We'll be hanging out and live-streaming on Tuesday -- stop by and say hi! When: Tuesday, July 2nd @ Noon PDT Where: On Steam, YouTube, and Twitch! Thank you for your continued interest and support, and especially to those of you helping us test & iterate over on the Edge branch. Thank you!! :) And now, the full patch notes... Hotfix - July 2, 2019: This morning we became aware of a bug that could cause errors to occur in the background, causing log-file writes that might slow the game down. A hotfix was prepared and has been released to address this issue. :)

Airline Deals & Negotiations

Negotiate custom deals with airlines! Airlines now have new needs and desires, and you can work with them to build a partnership that helps you both. Charge them higher runway and terminal fees, or even negotiate flat-rate daily fees! In return, you may offer them exclusive Flight Crew Lounges, First Class Lounges, Offices, Gates and more!

Key Highlights

• New Tutorial Added: 'Airline Needs and Negotiations'
• New 'room value' mechanic added to Negotiatiable Zones, based on: size, open space, window view, ease of access, and environment (click negotiable zone to view)
• Airline Needs: Trust, Communication, Service Reliability, Passenger Satisfaction, Fuel Satisfaction, Facilities Quality

  New 'Sales Rep' Staff Type!

  Sales reps (and administrators) can be assigned to airlines; both improve communication with airlines, raise interest, and are a catalyst for fruitful negotiations!

  New 'Conference Room' Zone!

  Host meetings with the Airline Executives in conference rooms to further improve communication and overall airline relations. Leased conference rooms will host daily meetings.

  Negotiation Mechanics

• Negotiables include: Cafes, Cafe Profit Share, Stores, Store Profit Share, Fuel Satisfaction, Conference Rooms, Guaranteed % of Pax per Flight
• When offices are leased, airline executives will use them along with your facilities, providing additional profit potential
• Sales Reps are less expensive than administrators, but admins have negotiation abilities & skills that can have a bigger impact on your bottom line. Use both to nurture relationships most efficiently
• Take multiple rounds to negotiate, and see how offers progress via the negotiation history tab

  Airline Executives

• New 'Reception' zone & Reception Desk object. Reception desk must be staffed by a security guard & creates a secure area behind it
• All executives must use a reception desk to access the secure sector and cannot use regular security zones
• Facilities beyond a reception zone cannot be used by passengers
• Executive facilities, such as airline-offices and conference rooms, must be built in a secure sector

New Government Grants Mechanic

Six different 'tracks' in total, each a series of grants with unlockable rewards. Rewards include EAM Flights, objects, pricing abilities and more.

Airport Basics Helps provide boost for starting on new map, only available on 'blank-slate' starting maps.

Passenger Experience Expand the airport's number of passenger facilities and improve the environment.

Airline Services Make your airlines happy, provide fuel and baggage, and more!

Investments It takes money to make money! Invest capital and hope to see a positive rate of return.

Airport Efficiency The region's gateway to the world economy must not be held back by inefficient management!

Maximizing Profits This government cannot afford to bail out this airport. Ensure healthy & growing profits to appease the taxpayers.

Staff Scheduling Improvements + Janitor Patrols

• Staff Scheduling improved to allow creating distinct schedules per staff type
• Janitors can now be scheduled & you can assign them to areas / create patrols for them

Timelapse Capture

Create high-quality timelapse captures of your airport's construction without any third party software. Access via the 'Timelapse' tab of the in-game Preferences menu, or setup a custom keybinding to toggle recording. Utilizes a high-performance video capture via GPU, though is not supported by all hardware/drivers combos (is unfortunately unsupported on OpenGL/Linux).

Added 15 New Steam Achievements

Accomplished -- Win a scenario

Unaccomplished -- Lose a scenario

Environmentally Friendly -- Environment rating of 85% (min 200 pax)

The Open Road -- Have 5,000 cells of road

A* -- No missed flights in a 24-hour period (min 200 pax)

Local Airport -- Board 2,500 passengers in a 24-hour period

Regional Airport -- Board 6,000 passengers in a 24-hour period

National Airport -- Board 8,000 passengers in a 24-hour period

International Airport -- Board 10,000 passengers in a 24-hour period

Good luck, we're all counting on you -- Have an aircraft land in harsh weather

Oilgarchy -- Make $1,250,000 in profit selling fuel

Scientific Method -- Unlock all technology in the research tree

Sellout -- Sell your airport for a minimum of $25MM.

Beginner Operator -- One day of perfect ops

Overloaded Operator -- Ten consecutive days of perfect ops.

More Notable Additions

• Adds ‘Use Legacy Sprites’ option to Gameplay tab of preferences menu (near bottom)
• Adds new ‘Crosswalk’ object
• Escalators now allow you to ‘Switch Directions’
• Adds maintenance to moving walkways & can now set walkway speed; higher speeds require more upkeep to prevent breakdowns
• Adds new Agent Render Mode setting to preferences, allows you to use the most efficient rendering method that your hardware/GPU supports. Included render modes are 'V2' and 'Legacy' and a 'Aggressive Culling' version of each. Experiment to see if your GPU supports 'v2' and see which provides your system with the best performance. When supported, we recommend 'V2+AC'.

GAMEPLAY

• Adds new Security Zone validation for UI/UX purposes via multiple inquiries: if at least 1 security object is staffed within a security zone, require that at least 1 object of EACH TYPE has staff. Types: 1) ID Check; 2) Bag Scanner; 3) Metal Detector / Body Scanner.
• Tweaks to passenger pathfinding costs to not avoid one-ways & security exits as harshly
• Maintaining a runway will now take down crossing runways
• Reworked animation of vehicles entering and exiting hangars
• Changed airport vehicles "road priority" vehicles will now prefer a road that is on a gate over a taxiway
• Slightly increased cost for taxiing on runway vs. entering a runway to cross it
• Optimized maintenance of runways; planes will be blocked from taxiing on or crossing runways under maintenance.
• Pax now attempt to exit if they become stuck behind an area they shouldn't be able to access
• If AI latency becomes too high, the game will slow itself down automatically until the AI requests catch up. Should mitigate issues where construction in busy airports could cause delayed passengers; further work is being done to optimize this to make it less likely that this slowing occurs
• Janitor schedule mode now auto-moves & zooms to the garbage zone; is for convenience & to help new players figure out where janitors are 'based' when applying custom schedules.
• Tweak arrival pax Leave Airport need urgency (increased)
• Adds new Bag Carousels with network ports on 'same level' & 'from above'
• Can now hire/fire staff directly from the Staff Schedule Overlay
• Game now auto-pauses while the scheduler is on
• Picking up multiple dirty areas/floors now causes garbage bags to be spawned
• Steam Achievements no longer available in tutorials
• Adjustments to subsector partitioning and pathfinding weights to prevent pathing through objects on long-distance traversals
• Scenario Play Mode: no longer allows selling airport or importing additional airlines. You can still add custom airlines inside the scenario editor, but not while actually playing a scenario -- to ensure they're played as intended
• Tutorial no longer allows importing additional airlines until all objectives have been completed

UI/UX, OPTIMIZATIONS, AND MISC.

• Adds over 30 new base Aircraft models, courtesy @ThomseN -- HUGE THANK YOU!!
• Adds 'Mod Preview' feature back for custom aircraft / airlines
• Optimizations to state machine routines & janitor task assignment algorithm
• Updates to latest Unity game engine version and enables updated incremental GC feature; should any issues/crashes arise via this change then we have a hotfix standing by, fully ready to go -- it contains everything listed above except this item.
• Performance improvements for agent movement
• Update all translation files to/from i18n repo
• Optimize 'need update' routines and make multi-core capable
• Adds 'Agent Render Mode' dropdown user preferences
• Adds Clone Tool hotkey action (binding is 'V' by default)
• Optimizes all agent renderer modes & agent appearance/render controllers
• Adds distinct icons for each type of pax highlight viewed via aircraft/gate/pax flow overlay
• Aesthetic improvements on gate sprites, ramp, and adds blend feathering
• Optimizes sprite lookups and path-following routines
• Flight schedule UI improvements to better accommodate wrap-around EAM flights
• Quick Select Improvements: Deselect with second keypress; is now rotation aware; now works on construction-in-progress objects
• Adds hotkey action for 'Timelapse Capture Toggle' (no key set by default)
• Adds some simple non-rectangular visual flair to roads/taxiwys, runways, and gates
• Hovering level selector on HUD now allows scroll wheel to change levels
• Changes sector re-generation sequencing to greatly reduce the number of map-state generation cycles that are required for terrain/tile construction. Improves performance during construction.
• Most agents now actively avoid pathfinding through areas with ongoing construction
• Changes to agents detection of outdated map state, improves responsiveness & performance
• Zone text now appears above agents/objects when zone has warnings to display
• Pax hover now using a tighter absolute zoom before showing full verbosity
• Optimize 'path renderer' used for queues, patrols, and similar
• Consolidates pathfinding 'rules' for various agent types across all types of pathfinding systems
• Optimize allocations on some zone validation & text display routines

BUG FIXES

• Fix reachability checks, zones and sectors will again check for reachability to pickup/dropoff or an LRT station
• Fix and re-work bus and LRT hover texts
• Fix rare kitchen storage bug when containing legacy 'donuts'
• Fix long-named objects in build menu causing overlap
• Fix build menu UI not saving size setting
• Fix timing issue when deserializing tasks to empty trash bin
• Fix issue with workmen picking up tasks a bit too early
• Fix several kiosk marker positions for better aesthetics
• Fix vehicle pathfinding failure/error in certain scenarios where no target exists
• Fix and improve floor transition object load balancing
• Fix LRT platform usable before construction is complete
• Fix taxiway/runway reachability & distance calc bug related to one-ways
• Fix pax wander behavior not avoiding roads by default
• Fix and improve 'Rest Object' usage behaviors, movement & aesthetics
• Fix bug that allowed creating 'split' two-way conveyors, bypassing the validations
• Fix stretching image issues in the research screen
• Fix more dropdown 'scroll speed' UI issues
• Fix scaling on assignment dialog not always scaling with zoom
• Fix passenger hover on top HUD causing large framerate drops
• Fix maintenance tooltip not translating properly
• Fix assignment mode bug when switching between objects & floors
• Fix pax able to go through one-way objects in the wrong direction
• Fix ATC Tower lights & gate numbers not respecting underground opacity slider
• Fix pax boarding even when GAD not staffed
• Fix Pax AI consideration requests not correctly prioritized
• Fix underground level 'greyscale' and road visibility issues
• Fix zone overlay slider to be parabolic impact on color
• Fix conveyor connections not always visually 'connecting' correctly
• Fix passenger hover text not in translation files
• Fix and improve "adjacent ... already considered secure" warning message
• Fix Build Menu UI 'resize' cursor inverted
• Fix some reports inconsistently named ('Heatmap' is now 'Overlay')
• Fix pax standing at info screens in weird/awkward positions, facing wrong directions
• Fix Rest need activation threshold set too high
• Fix FCrew & First Class not using their respective lounges enough
• Fix wrong dialog text shader usage; should fix issue with dissapearing font/text
• Fix issue with retail supply orders sometimes failing to load & preventing retail deliveries
• Fix rare null reference in Food Display queue size heuristic
• Fix tutorial unintentionally able to be closed with ESC
• Fix fuel price change not getting exclusive keybindings
• Fix some debug-related allocation occurring in public builds
• Fix offers sometimes not being cleared for certain airlines after selling airport
• Fix high object-density areas having too much weight & causing poor path selection
• Fix numerous UI & presentation/spacing issues & non-translatable texts -- including:
  • Janitor not showing the cost in the Staff Hub.
  • Research text not fitting on the research tech tree screen
  • Keybinding dialog screen overlapping a lot.
  • Clock not formatting AM/PM correctly in languages that don't use AM/PM
  • Transport Operations titles heavily overlapping
  • In-game mod status menu now translatable
  • Passenger analysis screen UI converted to translatable text
  • Overlay titles are translated reusing tooltip names
  • Timelapse options screen now translatable

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27974902/27de5c58e7f715ea20f0334e3f2267252c344b92.png Hope everyone had a great month and is as excited as we are for the summer to really be getting under way! We wanted to take a moment tonight to provide you with a few updates, and to let you know about an upcoming dev live-stream this weekend which you're all invited to attend! :)

Dev Live Stream: Sunday, June 2 @ 11AM Pacific

Join us here on Steam, over on YouTube, or on Twitch this coming Sunday for an afternoon of gameplay, chatter, and gameplay discussion! Hope to see you there!

The 2019 SimAirport Survey

The results are in and the response has been really impressive; we thank those of you who took the time to provide your thoughts, it was very helpful and the overall turnout surpassed our expectations by far. We'll be talking more about it during the live stream this coming weekend!

The Lifecycle of SimAirport

Don't worry -- we aren't finished quite yet!! The game has come a very long way already, and while we really aren't finished yet, we have started to plan for the transition to full release. You don't have to worry though, that will not mean the end of Edge and it won't mean the end of patches -- there are still a number of things we want to get implemented, even if some of them are delivered via post-release patches. The roadmap breaks it out pretty well, and we'll be talking more about the transition on the live-stream, too!

Summary - SimAirport Release Transition

• SimAirport will transition to full release by end Q3 2019.
• Expect the price to increase upon release.
• Default & Edge patches will continue -- this will NOT be the end of patches!

The Current Dev-Cycle

It's deja-vu all over again. This one already feels like it's been a long one, and I have the seemingly omni-present feeling that we didn't get enough into it; but upon looking over the notes & roadmap, I'm pleasantly surprised & relieved. Tonight marks the official 'feature complete' point for this cycle; we actually reached that point a little earlier, but as always there has been more that we really wanted to get into this cycle. I'll admit, there are still a few things really close that we may try to slide in but for the most part this one is a wrap. We've still got plenty of debugging to do, so tonight really marks the beginning of the bug bash for the cycle -- nonetheless it's a good milestone to reach each time around. :) Curious what you have to look forward to? Here's a sampling of what's on Edge right now and that will be coming to Default in June!

• Airline Relationships Nurture the relationship with rich negotiation mechanics, desire for leased offices, lounges and other facilities, new conference rooms & sales rep staff, and more.
• Timelapse Video Capture Smooth capture features tailor-made for sharing your creations.
• Old Passenger Sprites Re-Implemented! Ask nicely and thou shall receive! Switch between the new & the old sprites any time at the flip of a switch! They're both great, but the old sprites are awfully cute we admit! =D
• Government Grants System If you need a little 'push' to help get your airport going in the right direction, these government grants are just what you were missing. Kicks the gameplay up a notch. Oh yeah, allows you to earn EAM Flights too!!
• Steam Achievements If you think you've been there or done that -- then try these on for size! A total of 15 new Steam Achievements to earn, running the gamut from beginner to hardcore difficulty, there's something for everyone.
• Janitor Area Patrols & Scheduling Tired of having your janitors roam the airport inefficiently when the trash leaves it proverbial calling card? This is the answer, and it'll save money on staff wages, too!

There's more of course, those are the key highlights. We've got more in the works, including: no-limits mod support, more performance, transit improvements, new aircraft, and more.

Thank you! Join us on Sunday @ 11AM!

Hope to see you during the live stream this Sunday @ 11AM Pacific -- if you're around definitely stop by and say hello, we'd love to have you! Thank you everyone -- still more to come! :)

Are you ready? Today we bring you SimAirport latest update -- featuring new 'Scenario Mode' gameplay, multiple new features including one-way passenger routing objects to play with, upgraded security process realism, and a metric ton of quality-of-life refinements and bug-fixes. We've got a few other things for you, too -- let's dive in!

Developer Live Stream - April 20 @ Noon PDT

We had so much fun with the live stream that we're going to try our best to make it a much more regular occurrence! We'll be live-streaming tomorrow -- stop by and say hi! When: Saturday, April 20th @ Noon PDT Where: On Steam, YouTube, and Twitch! We will add live stream links to this post ~10 minutes before we go live!

SimAirport Survey - THE 2019 EDITION

Our third survey since release, these have proven to be priceless in helping us keep the aircraft aligned on the glide path. Of course it all depends on you to help keep us on course -- so we ask you to take a few minutes before and head over to the survey -- help keep us stay on course! :) Take the SimAirport Survey - 2019 EDITION >>>

Default Patch Notes - April 2019

Finally, here's the full list of what's new in today's patch!

• Scenario Mode & Scenario Editor

  • Create scenarios & play them
  • Workshop support for sharing & playing contributed scenarios

• Adds 'One-Way Path' Placeable Object

  • Yep, not kidding! :) Finally, the 'one way door' type object!

• Improved Security Process Overhaul

  IMPORTANT COMPATIBILITY NOTE: This change is fully compatible, but you will want to re-arrange your security to best suit the new more realistic passenger flow! :)
  • More robust AI-driven pax behavior & distribution at security
  • Pax now do: ID Check, 'drop' at bag scanner, then metal detector/body scanner, then 'grab' at bag scanner
  • Improves responsiveness to staffing changes & slower queues in security zone
  • Improves throughput for security objects
  • Optimizes performance and multi-core usage for security related behaviors

• Adds 'Quick Select' Build Feature

  • Default is 'Q' key. May require manual key assignment if you have custom keybindings.
  • Hold & release 'Q' when hovering an object to quick-select object for placement
  • Hold & release 'Q' when hovering a floor to quick-select it; if hovering no floor Foundation tool will be selected
  • Hold & release 'SHIFT+Q' when hovering a zone to quick-select that zone type

• Construction Tools & 'Auto Foundation' Features

  • Adds 'auto foundation' on multi-floor objects, satisfies 'existing foundation' requirement
  • Logic & visual improvements to underground road drawing
  • Aircraft Gates allow roads under but them only sides/edges
  • Dismantle - remove objects but not flooring; also removes utilities
  • Demolish - remove foundations, sidewalk/ramp, roads, taxiways, runways
  • Adds new 'Concrete' floor type to remove indoor flooring back to concrete

  GENERAL & GAMEPLAY

  • Clone tool now selectively removes zones as needed on placement
  • Update all localization strings to/from github repo
  • Error handling adjustments / improvements
  • Minor changes to the way build version data is handled to aid with retroactive save analysis & debugging
  • Clean up repair project cancellation routines
  • Add keybind action for hiding UI (no key assigned by default)
  • Boost effect intensity and distance on many decor objects
  • Increase number of tasks issued for dismantle jobs for faster projects
  • Increase throughput of coffee & drink retail objects
  • Hangar vehicles now prefer to traverse on roads vs taxiways
  • Hangar vehicles can transition directly from roads when driving to gates
  • Environment report distinguishes minor differences better via non-linear colors
  • Tweaks & balance adjustments to multiple decor & retail kiosk objects
  • Flight Crew now report to GAD & board flight even if desk is unstaffed
  • Slight balance tweaks to boredom need attenuation
  • Increased speed that bags become available on baggage carousel
  • Clone tool now ignores objects it can't handle instead of invalidating drag
  • Slight increase to info object effects / advertisement
  • Add 'auto-hire' feature to Staff UI, off by default
  • Mega Rich achievement disabled in Tutorial and requirement increased by x10
  • Add 'resize' capability to main build menu
  • Optimizes assignment mode UI
  • Optimize passenger AI routines a bit (CPU)

  BUG FIXES

  • Fix pax AI's LCDistance heuristic not handling security exits properly
  • Fix rare stuck workers when project canceled with deliveries zone full
  • Fix ATMs not used after deserialization
  • Fix a subset of agents stuck that occurs near walkways & escalators/stairs
  • Fix staff management overhead mis-categorized as taxes
  • Fix sector partitioning bug that confused pax AI on some layouts with one-ways
  • Fix for legacy saves with runway stuck in construction when bordering land perimeter
  • Fix duplicate hover handling of in-progress object construction
  • Fix subset of supply piles from cancelled repair projects not being freed & returned
  • Fix reward not being correctly deserialized in scenario mode
  • Fix aircraft stuck after deserialize if their gate gets destroyed
  • Fix scroll speed on scenario objectives UI
  • Fix Bonus UI inaccuracies on # missed-flight pax & delayed flights
  • Fix delayed/canceled flight counts being delayed in scenario mode
  • Fix cache bug that lead to problems when installing mods
  • Fix pax going to Idle/wander when they should be selecting an object
  • Fix gate-distance being too heavily weighted in passenger AI heuristics
  • Fix Gate Desk not being selected if passenger is too bored
  • Fix stuck luggage vehicles which in turn could cause stuck aircraft
  • Fix aircraft gate validation incorrectly interpreting one-ways as inverted resulting in inaccurate validation warnings
  • Fix environment need increasing when if cell has green env. rating
  • Fix bug that lead to Bars and Coffees to affect hunger instead of thirst
  • Fix ghost details entry was sometimes visible in perfect ops bonus UI
  • Fix bug with queue distribution specific to Gate Agent Desk objects
  • Fix unable to return supply pile to storage when dropped off map
  • Fix achievement identifier mismatch on tutorial completion
  • Fix store browsing not providing any satisfaction
  • Fix able to build 'overhang' structures via clone tool bug
  • Fix retail object selection causing error/unsatisfied pax
  • Fix food display usage task save/load related bug
  • Fix unintended interaction with underground & ground floor sprites
  • Fix toilets display render order
  • Fix bag carousel luggage animation offset slightly
  • Fix retail / goods deliveries not being carried to final destination
  • Fix maint. duration slider allowing inputs over 24 hours
  • Fix Runway/Gate directional reachability when roads/ramps are used
  • Fix pax sometimes being inexplicably transfixed on objects
  • Fix multiple object-agent interaction bugs, cleaned up legacy code
  • Fix agents getting stuck in cafe after deserialization
  • Fix repair projects not releasing supply piles to storage (includes save fixing code)
  • Fix agents not reporting to GAD unless it is staffed
  • Fix bug that could cause incorrect retail supply deliveries
  • Fix staff schedule bug that caused over-removal of schedules
  • Fix 'Browse Saves Folder' not working on Linux
  • Fix task cancelation bug that could result in undefined state
  • Fix construction task enqueue/priority issue
  • Fix several taxiway light / light related visibility bugs
  • Fix underground opacity preference slider
  • Fix depth/sorting for Escalators when placed next to each other
  • Fix existing un-removed retail supply piles
  • Fix depth/sorting for fuel tank vs road ramp
  • Fix bug allowing duplicate retail inventory orders
  • Fix old/legacy save fuel truck issue, may require manual 'jumpstart'
  • Fix hangar vehicle bug that could cause some tasks to not complete, sometimes requiring 'force departure'
  • Fix several construction project related deserialize errors
  • Fix retail delivery not occurring in certain situations
  • Fix Perfect Ops Bonus UI, 'day 0' erroneously displayed & arrow should open 'details'
  • Fix Small Gate Stairs sorting order versus passengers
  • Fix land expansion needs to check for administrator present, not fired & has office
  • Fix bug that allowed more than 1 dismantle project in a given cell
  • Fix incorrectly being charged more than once for administrator wages
  • Fix Gate Agent Desk usage position inconsistency, now in 'front' of desk
  • Fix bug that allowed two admins of same type to be hired
  • Fix sector partitioning issue with road ramps causing undefined pax behavior
  • Fix dismantle of placeables located on map boundary to become stuck
  • Fix camera & save-game preview image related bug
  • Fix agent appearance hideLegs routine not working properly
  • Fix several staff scheduling related bugs
  • Fix screen resolutions sometimes appearing more than once
  • Fix cafe wait time heuristic, several adjustments and improvements
  • Fix Chef not leaving airport due to staff scheduling bug
  • Fix objects/roads able to be build on top of LRT track
  • Fix path planning/following related issues with Road Ramps
  • Fix multiple issues related to starting funds & funds tracking with scenario editor

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27974902/4dddc1914e510fc354c2559afdf0fd905a6f41ab.png HUGE. Seriously, this patch release is massive in both scope and volume -- it covers an extremely wide coverage area that touches on so many vastly distinct aspects. There's truly a bit of everything; lots of all-new features & objects, new systems, tons of refinements, and an absolute plethora of fixes. Usually we'd have a bit more substantial message alongside the notes, but this one really speaks for itself so we're going to be extremely brief. Plus we'll have plenty to say over on the live stream anyways!

Dev Live Stream Tonight!

We'll be live-streaming for the next few hours tonight -- we'd love for you to join us! Ask us your burning questions, provide gameplay feedback, laugh at our airport construction skills, or just hang out and have a good time! Live stream has ended for tonight -- we'll be back & streaming again tomorrow though and will update this post accordingly!

• Here on Steam
• via YouTube
• via Twitch

And now the good stuff, the meat & potatoes -- following are the full patch notes for tonight's default release. Thank you! :)

MARCH 2019 - RELEASE NOTES

Hotfix - March 10, 2019

• Fix intermittent black screen when beginning tutorials
• Fix vehicle spawn not prioritizing supply truck appropriately

Six Tutorials - Learn by Playing

• Adds SIX different playable tutorials covering progressively more advanced topics
• Earn 1 Steam Achievement by beginning any tutorial
• Completing each respective tutorial earns 1 Steam Achievement

Staff Scheduling & Management

• New 'Staff Hub' UI separates Staff/Administrator, hire/fire management for each
• Control costs by Scheduling Staff at only specified operating hours
• Mass Hire/Fire: add/remove 10 with CTRL+CLICK, 5 with SHIFT+CLICK
• Staff paid hourly wages when at airport, leave when not scheduled
• New daily overhead charged for hired/on-payroll staff, regardless schedule
• Staff types that can be scheduled are: Staff, Security, Retail Workers, Chefs
• All staff now arrive & leave via transport

Clone Tool - Copy/Paste for Airports

• Adds Clone Tool that allows you to copy/paste segments of your airport
• Requires Foreman Administrator and is restricted to indoor areas
• Certain objects cannot be cloned (walkways, stairs/escalators, queues, zones)
• Rotate your copied selection with the rotate key or mouse button (default is 'R')

Retail Overhaul - Stores, Food, Objects, etc

• Adds 'Store' zones that can be renamed like Cafes
• Pax purchase products from various displays & pay at cash registers
• Pax browse displays before purchase; varied displays increase chance of sale
• New Store Objects:
  • Clothing Display
  • 2x Candy Display
  • 2x Book Display
  • 2x Makeup Display
  • 3x Souvenir Displays
  • 2x Shoe Displays
  • 3x Pharmacy Displays
  • 3x Jewelry Display

Underground Roads! Construction & Repair Updates!

• Adds 'Road Ramp' transition objects, ability to draw/build underground roads
• New system that provides capabilities not available previously
• Maintenance project improvements; reliability & new per-type config options
• Improved handling, performance, data integrity for Supply Pile related logic
• Area Sell now provides per-type sale price breakdown
• Can now zone over pending construction
• Most placement & build validations no longer blocked by pending construction, validates based on 'future' state
• Dismantle button now validated 'live', prevents untimely dismantles
• Construction tasks now more responsive and workers 'think ahead' (head to project while supplies are carried by other worker)
• Adds agent tool animation back, displays when worker is actively constructing
• Improves handling of multi-change construction on a single tile, primarily Foundations & underground roads

GAMEPLAY - Retail & Cafes

• Adds 'Chef' staff type. Cooks food in the kitchen & stocks up food kiosks, food displays in cafes.
• Cafes now accept all chair types except office chairs
• Cafe min size now 6x6; kitchen min size now 4x4
• Cafes zones can be renamed for aesthetics
• New build menu category for kitchen & cafe objects
• New Hot Plate item added to the kitchen
• Chefs now wash up at kitchen sinks for food safety purposes
• New items: Food Warmer and Food Cooler for the Cafe; these are food displays for your passengers to pick food from & take to the cash register
• Food kiosks & displays now require food to be produced by the kitchens
• Workmen now stock up kitchen storages and refrigerators with ingredients
• Bars and coffee kiosks require stocking with drinks by workmen
• Each food has its own cooking process, meaning that having multiple appliances will help the efficiency of your kitchen; chefs perform each step
• Pax have a preferred food (including drinks), and will only eat or drink at places that serve it. Vending machines are used by everyone but with less effectiveness
• Kitchens have a new 'Kitchen Overview' screen (click any kitchen zone to access); shows how each food is cooked & which steps you are missing
• Retail workers are allocated directly to cash registers in the cafe, no more running back and forth to the kitchen to finish orders
• Cafe zones now get assigned to kitchens (previously individual cash registers)

GAMEPLAY - General

• Multiple staff can be allocated to work on some objects to improve effectiveness
• Kiosk Scheduler removed & replaced with Staff Deployment; includes a paintable timeline feature to organize schedules
• Bare concrete now has negative environment impact
• Staff hire/fire now exclusively via staff hub UI
• Add zone validation 'requires adjacent road that can reach spawn/despawn'
• Add ability to construct up to 3 LRT platforms (1 train each, round robin style)
• Lowest LRT interval reduced to 7 minutes
• Improved speed of LRT boarding/unloading routines
• Fuel truck now visually drives on/off aircraft gate
• Pax now have slightly more urgent desire to leave after missing flight
• Dumpsters now allowed indoors to accommodate underground garbage zones
• Tweaks to defined queue movement behavior for higher efficiency
• Adds all-new aircraft liveries/textures for all built-in airlines/aircraft
• Adds Thirst pax need -- applicable retail objects now satisfy thirst
• Improve error handling & recovery on agent task runners
• Fuel trucks now willing to refuel themselves even if network cannot fully fill them
• Vehicles re-attempt when zone target goes away instead of giving up
• Improved save version tracking for better player warning capabilities
• Welcome text shown on new maps
• Any camera movement key-press now stops camera 'follow mode'
• Cash register sprites updated
• Numerous decorative flooring tile sprites updated
• News Stand & Apparel Stand now require retail workers instead of vendor workers
• Revises all non-vehicle agents to unified task-based system
• Fuel Depot now using road-adjacency system, requires direct-adjacency
• Improve 'can reach spawn' and 'can reach despawn' checks; now checks for primary de/spawn points OR Pickups/Dropoffs (can be improved further still; setups that do not produce warnings could rarely have the potential to be logically problematic)
• Adds validation warning if no lighted runway but night flight scheduled
• Runway light placement now force-refreshes applicable validations
• Multiple minor improvements & adjustments to agent sprites, offsets, colors, etc.
• Adds gate validation warning if no reachable runway has lights & night flight scheduled
• Object placements now force-refresh applicable 'related object' validations
• Improve road placement tool validation error messages to include specifics on the offending “nearby blocker” object/structure
• Find 'nearest zone' lookups now accurately account for floor deltas
• Changed certain path following routines, less likely to 'cut corners' through objects
• Add validation to aircraft gates to help prevent them from being placed backwards
• Balance adjustments on all Fuel Tank types
• Flight schedule resolution increased; can schedule on per-minute basis
• Add ability to configure maintenence priority & choose 1 of 3 'settings' for when repairs take place on that object type
• Object 'repair override' now simply allows out-of-window repairs
• If object hits 0% override automatically is switched on; override is automatically disabled upon repair completion
• Workers can now abruptly stop working on a maintenance project when window closes, override turned off, or settings changed
• Construction project 'options' menu now accessed via standard left-click
• Can now set construction project priority to Urgent/High/Normal/Low
• Rough balance adjustments to maintainable objects via MTBF adjustments
• Add BClaim validation: 'requires valid path to Pickups'
• Add 'door must be reachable from desk' warning validation to Gates, existed previously but now distinct from 'requires assigned desk' message for confusion avoidance

PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION - Areas Addressed

• Implemented staff task pooling - RAM
• Multiple extremely commonly used position enumerations - RAM
• Commonly called appearance lookups - RAM
• Functional object manager - RAM
• Vehicle movement & node find/recall - RAM
• Zone periodic validations to be more allocation friendly - RAM
• Pax 'need display' tooltips - RAM
• Core passenger AI loop - RAM
• Long-distance & local-area path following routines - RAM
• Build menu button requirement / count checks - CPU
• Find 'nearest walkable area' now threaded - CPU
• Agent identity logic & setup routines - CPU+RAM
• Road graph generation performance - CPU+RAM
• Objects in zone find & cache mechanisms - CPU+RAM
• Object selection - CPU+RAM
• Assignment mode data structures - CPU+RAM
• Agent 'carried object' handling routines - CPU+RAM
• Object pool CPU usage when pooling/de-pooling certain objects - CPU+RAM
• Rendering of: Trash Bags, floor dirt, Supply Piles, Roads & Taxiways - CPU+RAM+GPU
• Attach to wall visual render - CPU+RAM+GPU
• Vehicle transfer animation visual render - CPU+RAM+GPU

MISC.

• Add Spanish language support (THANK YOU!!)
• Update all translation files to & from Github including new Tutorial.xml
• Add numerous new translation keys and re-implemented localization on some UIs
• Add stroke/outline to agent sprites
• Add graphical post-processing stack (anti-aliasing & color grading)
• Increase max zoom distance slightly for a given map size
• Add slight color variation to some tiles to improve aesthetic
• Foundation tool now shows tiles that are to-be-walls visually for better UX
• Minor tweaks & improvements to Flight Schedule UI
• Multiple minor improvements & adjustments to agent sprites, offsets, colors, etc.
• Revise thread-based state systems into unified state manager
• Improved save game screenshot previews

BUG FIXES

• Fix 'X' button on main menu settings UI not opening the primary menu screen
• Fix Flight Crew arrival & boarding routines that were using legacy code
• Fix Gate Desk using legacy pax handling code, more robust & may speed up slightly
• Fix 'Circle Flight Pax' not circling newly spawned pax
• Fix environment pax need impact not taking window effect into account
• Fix zone HUD alert/notifier showing repetitive messages
• Fix camera settings sliders rounding to whole number values causing unexpected setting changes when resuming a gameplay session
• Fix Perfect Ops bonus showing negative days
• Fix several bag hub registration / de-registration bugs
• Fix moving walkway build cost bug
• Fix material ordering & disallow project cancel for runway/walkway extension projects
• Fix runway validation bug when attempting to place on right or top edge of map
• Fix weather dialog showing "Inactive due to weather" when runways are down for non-weather related reasons
• Fix memory leak and errors due to leftover adhoc queue upon object dismantle
• Fix UI selected object hover box being rotated incorrectly on non-rotated objects
• Fix error on some rare short-distance agent pathfinding requests
• Fix PA Speaker not unregistering when deserialized in a pending dismantle state
• Fix maintenance projects started via override while outside of window
• Fix duplicate state-set bug that could cause projects to be left in undefined state
• Fix piles destined for non-walkable underground (fuel tank), were being dropped in poor locations resulting in very long walks
• Fix runways able to be built half off-map, causing numerous downstream issues
• Fix placeables sometimes not populating translated name/description during init
• Fix luggage cars can get stuck when depot is in certain orientations relative to the nearby road(s)
• Fix supply pile not preferring against being dropping on existing escalator/stairway/walkway
• Fix multiple Workshop & mod related bugs
• Fix departing bag count incorrectly displaying arrival bag count
• Fix pause toggle action sometimes getting stuck on pause
• Fix wind UI text display, update it to show 3-char direction
• Fix supply pile project re-allocation not seeing all piles correctly causing price mismatch vs display price
• Fix flight schedule UI bug for certain flight time
• Fix middle mouse scroll not taking into account zoom level
• Fix ticket kiosk logic may have been able to errantly allow usage when not in gate-assigned zone
• Fix agent state bug that could cause failed agent startup on some very old saves (circa 2017)
• Fix pooled path data structures rarely not being fully reset if canceled late
• Fix thread safety issue, maybe caused boarded pax to very rarely be 'missed flight'
• Fix vehicles running traffic-aware paths before being stuck in traffic
• Fix Perfection Bonus showing all days, should only show prior 30 days
• Fix staff not getting floor change on last waypoint during path-following
• Fix road node reservation bug during runway construction/dismantle/expand
• Fix pax spawner only looking at “Today” in prep for EAM flights
• Fix extremely delayed passengers unable to despawn due to archived flight data
• Fix several UIs need to check if game is quitting before cleaning up
• Fix zone removal not always cleaning up scheduled staff tasks/allocations
• Fix Fuel Truck reachability check which could cause failed fuel requests
• Fix Fuel Truck distance heuristic returning inaccurate distance numbers causing failed refueling or poor/distant vehicles to be assigned
• Fix performance 'leak' during when initializing & configuring certain agents & objects
• Fix sub-task tracking issue that mostly impacted retail workers
• Fix target selection bug that could cause retail staff to attempt to path-find to a wall
• Fix aircraft being visible and 'floating' after takeoff on some large maps
• Fix pax rarely becoming stuck mid-security process when objects are deleted
• Fix multiple save/load issues related to zones, revised zone references to use primary GUID & assignments system
• Fix roads unable to be placed on outdoor gates
• Fix Needs UI not showing 'fully satisfied' for Environment/Frustration
• Fix taxiway & runway light sprites not respecting underground opacity
• Fix flight spawn curve shifted towards being too late
• Fix attach-to-wall objects not not always causing wall sprite to refresh/update properly
• Fix luggage using wrong material when on conveyors
• Fix object selection dialog 'Follow' mode not providing state feedback
• Fix fuel one-time purchase input too small
• Fix object warnings flashing too rapidly
• Fix Luggage Vehicle checking one-way path instead of bidirectional
• Fix sector generation thread safety issue, could cause corrupted sector state (stuck & clumping pax, strange behaviors, etc)
• Fix sector data pooling bug that caused RAM usage to continually increase
• Fix lighting 'flash' each day at 20:00
• Fix road reachability matrix & caching when using one-way taxiways
• Fix rain appearing off screen when zoomed out
• Fix several bank loan text/translation related issues
• Fix gate name dropdown visual quirk
• Fix mod status menu not being sorted alphabetically
• Fixed duplicate floor types (removed Floor09, dupe of Floor12)
• Fix PAPI not being blocked by other objects
• Fix and update several aspects of Hangar submenu; adds money validation text
• Fix wall tiling/bitmask not visually treating all doors the same

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27974902/f2ad0353d92f1be17953fef4a8d485e4370a940e.png Happy Birthday! SimAirport turned 2 years old today and to celebrate we are doing something a little bit different this time around. Instead of an update video, this time we're going to be PLAYING it with you LIVE!

This Saturday -- March 9, 2019 -- Celebrate with us!

You're all invited to the celebration! The patch will go live on Saturday, March 9th at 10PM US Pacific. The developers themselves will then be live-streaming, taking your questions, and discussing your feedback & ideas late into the night! We'd love for you to join the celebration -- we'll be talking about all kinds of things, and we'll be happy to answer any questions you might have about the game and what is to come in the future.

• When?

  Saturday March 9th, 2019 at 10PM US Pacific. If you're across the pond from us, that's 07:00 CET (GMT+1) on Sunday morning!

• What?

  • Developer Live Stream Interact directly with the devs, ask questions, learn about the game, provide feedback, and share your ideas. We'll be talking all things SimAirport!
  • Default Patch Release! The latest update will go live when we begin streaming on Saturday!

• Where?

  We'll be streaming directly to the store page here on Steam and simul-casting to YouTube. We'll be playing late into the night, so stop by and join us for some fun!! Links to the streams will be posted with the patch notes, on the forum, and this post will be updated to include them.

See you this weekend!

We hope you will join us this weekend and we're definitely looking forward to it -- and to having a chance to sit back a bit, talk about the game that we're so passionate about, and to have some fun building an airport ourselves, too! :) See you this weekend!

Happy Holidays from the LVGameDev team! We're just shy of two years into Early Access as this year comes to a close and we begin to look towards 2019 and what it has in store for SimAirport. We're incredibly excited about the contents of the next default patch, and we really couldn't be happier with the state of affairs right now -- gameplay has evolved tremendously, even just this past year, and we're extremely well-positioned to really start pushing content out & hitting home on quality-of-life desires.

Upcoming Patch - Highlights & Status Update

The next cycle is well under way, and it's already shaping up to be an awesome one -- it's absolutely packed full of new content and several incredibly impactful new gameplay systems. Substantial improvement to the continued desire for 'depth', numerous new objects, and a renewed attention to visual fidelity all combine to make the upcoming release one of the most anticipated since the Multiple Floors update went live just under a year ago! Here are just some of the highlights:

Tutorial - Several of them!

Long requested and finally delivered -- multiple tutorials to help players of all skill & experience levels. New players can start with the basic tutorial while those who have the basics down can play through more advanced tutorials to help master game concepts such as Baggage Systems and multi-floor construction.

Staff Scheduling

No longer will your staff be working 24-hours shifts, unless you want them to! Staff up to handle the travel rush & scale back during the sleepy overnight hours. Airport operations efficiency taken to a whole new level.

Complete Overhaul of Cafe/Retail & New 'Shops' Zone

Long needed & finally delivered. No longer will your retail workers be running confusingly between the kitchen and the cafes -- now your Chefs will work the kitchens & do their best to keep food flowing to their respective retail establishments. Pax are smarter too, with quicker & more realistic interactions that won't bog down your airport. True retail corridors are now possible; a wide array of new shop related objects & new sellable merchandise options will keep pax happier & increase your profits.

Clone Tool

Yep! Restroom placement just got a whole lot less tedious, and it's a very welcome change. Copy an area, rotate the entire thing, and 'paste' it with the new Clone Tool. Previously-annoying placements instantly become satisfying again!

Enhanced Visual Fidelity - Renewed Focus

While we've never focused heavily on graphics it's become more clear, especially as gameplay quality & depth has improved so substantially, that the game visuals have started to become the weakest link. Our focus remains gameplay, but the visuals must not be allowed to detract from the overall experience. We've already upgraded flooring textures, redone several sprites, and we're almost finished with completely revamped aircraft/airline sprites as well. You can also expect some technical art improvements -- namely anti-aliasing and color grading improvements -- to be coming, too!

Is it ready yet? When is the next DEFAULT Update?!

Several of the headliners above are publicly available now over on the edge branch -- though it's not quite stable yet. -- and the rest will make their way to Edge in the next few weeks. Once the cycle is complete & the builds are stable we'll move towards default; we'd currently estimate that to be late January 2019 or early February 2019, should we run into any hurdles between now and then. As always we'll do our best to get things stabilized and ready for Default as quickly as we can, but most importantly we want to ensure that the Default branch remains stable. In the meantime, check out the 2019 SimAirport Roadmap or, if you're anxious to try the tutorial or do some staff scheduling (and you're not afraid of some new bugs), then hop on over to the edge branch and give it a whirl right now!

Thank You & Happy Holidays!

We appreciate your continued support and patience, and we hope you're enjoying the exciting evolution of SimAirport just as much as we are! Thank you for being such great members of our community, and for being as passionate about the game as we are -- your support & feedback continues to be instrumental to our success and we can't thank you enough. Happy holidays & safe travels to all!

Tonight we are deploying a small set of fixes for some of the more common and severe issues that have been brought to our attention on the Default branch over the last couple of weeks. Still a ton more coming this cycle, this is more of a 'hotfix' of sorts, for general airworthiness improvements -- but we wanted to go ahead and get these fixes out to default sooner than later. We'll have more for you soon -- and, as always, if you have any questions or feedback for us we'd love to hear it via any of our channels! Post on the forum, over on our subreddit, or even tweet at us if you prefer! :) Thanks everyone!

Patch Notes - November 16, 2018

• Increase max zoom distance slightly for any given map size
• Fix cancelling a piece-wise construction project could sometimes cause stuck workers
• Fix luggage task enqueue checking directional reachability instead of bidirectional
• Fix workers getting stuck trying to get to suspended-in-air supply piles
• Fix workers sometimes not falling into 'get unstuck' routine due to being 'sent home' too quickly
• Fix object warnings flashing too rapidly
• Fix sector generation thread safety lock-run, was allowing >1 re-generations at once which rarely caused corrupted sector state (stuck & clumping pax, strange behaviors, etc)
• Fix sector data pooling bug that caused RAM usage to continually increase
• Fix road reachability bug when road targets are shared by >1 object
• Fix lighting 'flash' each day at 20:00
• Fix road reachability matrix & caching when using one-way taxiways, optimizes same
• Fix several minor null references
• Fix rain appearing off screen when zoomed out
• Fix several needless RAM allocations within Pax AI routines
• Optimize nearest zone lookups
• Find nearest walkable area routine now runs on background thread
• Find nearest zone lookups now more accurately account for floor delta
• Revise thread-based state refresh systems into a shared state manager

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27974902/313a09aae2a68cd0887d9ce8b152f6a00b9aa34f.png Massive performance gains and a ton more all arrive tonight on the default branch! We are extremely excited to release the update to you tonight as we close out this long cycle. We hope you find the wait to have been well worth it -- improvements abound with nearly every aspect of the gameplay receiving attention along with the true focus, the main event of the cycle, being the long awaited performance optimizations. See below for the full change logs. :)

Update Video

Check out the latest video: SimAirport - October 2018 Update Video

What's Next?

We will be getting back to more rapid cycles now that we have taken care of the key foundational concerns that had hampered performance. We still have more performance gains ahead, and we'll continue to make incremental strides, but we're really ready to knock out some new content and additional gameplay systems! Next cycle you will be seeing: Tutorial, Cafe / Retail Overhaul, and Staff Scheduling. As usual we'll slide in a few features, QoL improvements, and fixes too -- but the focus will primarily be on these three areas. You'll be seeing the tutorial hit edge this coming week even! :) Don't forget the Official SimAirport Roadmap to see the whole picture of what to expect!

Thank You!

We want to extend a special thank you to the players on edge & experimental who have been instrumental to making this cycle a successful one. This was the longest cycle to date, and definitely one of the most challenging; we really appreciate the continued testing, bug reporting, and the overall patience that the community as a whole has & continues to extend to us. Your collective support continues to be incredible and is truly second to none. Thank you!!!

NOTABLE ITEMS

• Performance - Many Overhauls & Optimizations

  • Rendering systems & key data-structures completely revised
  • New Pax / Agent Sprites via fast agent display code
  • Tile draw & refresh routines refactored
  • Background thread controller and runners re-architected
  • Baggage System and luggage simulation & rendering overhaul
  • Overhauled all Sector generation, construction, and reachability matrix code
  • Substantially improved object pooling efficiency
  • Road graph, vehicle reachability/distance generation overhauled
  • Pax 'AI context' removed from saves, reduces RAM & save file sizes
  • Numerous existing UIs optimized & improved for efficiency

• A Real Main Menu!

  • Can start new game with custom set of airlines (and disable the defaults)
  • Steam Workshop UIs substantially overhauled & improved
  • Adds a Steam Workshop 'Browse' view with 1-click "Play" on Airports & better UX
  • Adds full featured Airline mod creation & editing tool
  • Adds a new in-game 'Mod Status' screen to display mods in the save and provide download/update functions

• Land Expansions in ANY Direction!

• Fuel System Improvements

  • Adds new Refuel Station which Fuel Trucks use to get refilled before returning to hangar
  • Recurring Order now a toggle, orders amount needed to fill tanks each night
  • Spot Order now separate UI, allows optional immediate-delivery
  • Fuel trucks will top-off from the fuel port after aircraft refueling at gates with a port
  • Usability & aesthetic improvements to Fuel UIs

• MORE HIGHLIGHTS

  • Financial: Bank Loan Systems

    • Loans always available via pre-application; rates vary on credit/amount
    • New Credit Reporting research and new Credit Report UI (Finance Hub)
    • New "Perfect Ops Bonus" UI (Finance Hub) breakdown on why/not receiving "100% bonus"

  • New 'Pax Flows' overlay

    • Activate from the right side of main UI/HUD toolbar
    • Multiple modes to analyze & slice/dice the pax data - press TAB to switch modes when active
    • View Satisfaction, Time-in-Airport, Arrival/Departure, and more!

  • New 'Pax Hub' Reporting UIs

    • Access via clicking Pax Satisfaction on top HUD
    • "Passenger Needs" displays breakdown of needs by satisfaction level
    • "Pax Timings" displays total time spent by passengers in your airport; allows for viewing today or yesterday, aggregate & filtered by flight. Only shown per gameplay-session (not serialized/saved).

  • 'Departure/Arrival Runways' Display Tool

    • Activate via 'Show Departure/Arrival Runways' button of Gate menus
    • Displays runway candidates based on selection chances for that gate
    • Hover a runway to view detailed heuristics for that runway-gate combo

GAMEPLAY

• Adds several new planning mode options & colors
• Tuning adjustments to fuel system & fuel market
• All luggage on conveyors is now fully representative of checked/deplaned luggage
• Bag hubs now have a maximum number of bags sorted per game-minute
• Hangar Vehicles (bag & fuel) now eligible for tasks while returning to hangars
• Objects now 'in inventory' when in Supply Pile & not already allocated
• Aircraft request refuel & bag load/unload much earlier
• Aircraft will now be in 'Initial Approach' until landing is imminent
• One-way taxiways can no longer allowed on gate-adjacent taxiways (caused no-paths)
• Baggage claim zones now allowed in secure & non-secure areas
• Hunger object tweaks; cafes decreased, most kiosks increased; bar slightly decreased in attractiveness/fulfillment
• Fuel Tank tweaks: capacity + cost + build time (balances small vs large tank)
• Tweaks to sector division to better accommodate pathfinding to/from LRT
• Runway numbering scheme improved for accuracy & realism
• Loan payments taken from balance regardless of available cash (can bankrupt you)
• Removed Ramp Agent from Staff Hire UI
• Increase queue entry speed for improved efficiency
• Now begin with same airlines/mods as previous airport after selling your airport
• Improve responsiveness of pax LRT boarding behavior
• Reduce max pax wait time on luggage to 4.5hrs
• Reduce vehicle road occupancy node requirements for tighter fit
• Adds hangar vehicle true distance heuristics, used for some task assignments
• Allow slightly larger airport sizes via slight increase to land expansion max size
• Revises 'reachability' systems to be more robust and performant
• Pax spawn tweak: now fully spawned for flight by earlier of 3hrs before arrival OR 2hrs before departure
• Improved workmen task immediate-chaining for more efficient construction
• Adds new 'Booster Panel' upgrade for Baggage Hub; provides increased throughput (requires research, max 2/hub)
• Improved runway selection heuristics; now incorporates actual distance directly

PASSENGER & CREW AI

• Improved latency when under high load (i.e. 10x game speed)
• Revised idle behaviors and their invocation conditions
• Decreases fancy chair rest need effects to be more in line with regular seating
• Passengers now generally avoid walking on roads & prefer sidewalks when possible
• Crew: spawn 3hrs pre-departure with lounge, 2hrs without
• Crew: boarding desire now based off inbound flight's arrival time instead of departure time
• Pax leaving via LRT no longer first walk to right-side of the road first
• Arrival pax now less attracted to non-LC needs
• Pax now consider LRT vs Pickups via AI; can change mind & self-balance
• Logic adjustments to handle seeking zones in secure/non-secure areas
• Pax trash bin selection now chooses best bin without randomness

USABILITY / INTERFACE / MISC.

• Adds Czech language pack (HUGE thank you @max.vanca)
• Updates all translations to & from the repo on Github
• Object placement now waits until mouse-up before creating next object
• Slows down required double-click speed on the clock, to open Lifetime Stats
• Warns when no valid maintenance zone exists & small objects require repair
• Pax satisfaction (top HUD) hover changed: "X passengers very un-satisfied"
• Improvements to Pax hover display visual
• Airline Index UI filtering now filters the Airline detail/contracts listing display too
• Revises passenger need & lifecycle config
• Environment & Info reports now show primary objects in bright pink
• 'Highlight Passengers' is now regardless of floor (transparency based on floor delta)
• Force Departure button now prompts for confirmation
• Revise Flight Status UI, dramatically improves UI's performance impact
• Immediate validation refresh for target/source objects upon assignment change
• Add 'underground transparency' setting to preferences (gameplay tab)
• Upgrade text render library to latest version
• Overhauled internal translation file tools allowing faster future updates
• Adds padding to right side of flight scheduler, improves PM flight UX
• Adds '# Flights Scheduled' column to the Airlines index UI
• Agent sprites updated and movement animations added
• Add tooltips to conveyor ports to prompt & provide context for right-click port changing
• Revised reports & overlays code
• Adds a hotkey to compile hardware summary to assist in debugging
• Aircraft mod editor displays fuel capacity in liters instead of milliliters
• Improved ESC handling for consistency & compatibility with confirm / modal dialogs
• Flight Schedule UI: viewport size, allow scroll during hover, etc
• Tooltip placement changed to be less likely to obscure mouse/cursor position
• Fuel UI spacing, word wrap, and misc. text formatting issues

BUG FIXES

• Fix aircraft sometimes showing "NaN Boarded"
• Fix pax sometimes getting stuck at GADs during boarding when no queue was assigned
• Fix aircraft being unable to pushback & depart when aircraft gate was at 0% maintenance
• Fix runways not exempt from proximity checks when they're under construction
• Fix stuck passenger when only exit from security zone is escalator
• Fix stuck vehicle and/or janitor caused by trash bags that made it ever-so-slightly off map (garbage zone on map edge)
• Fix dismantling roads not completing until reload game
• Fix hover box sometimes not working on newly placed objects
• Fix buttons missing on some selected dialogs (assignment, etc)
• Fix placement indicator ruler/measurement text sorting
• Fix vehicle selection dialog showing 'Fire' button
• Fix Aircraft showing 'Break Deadlock' button which is no longer needed
• Fix janitors/garbage trucks getting stuck periodically until reload
• Fix to discourage agents sometimes walking through objects
• Fix placement indicator text sorting, improves sizing when zoomed out
• Fix custom aircraft sometimes requesting very low amounts of fuel
• Fix "Follow Mode" not disabling when changing object context
• Fix garbage truck doing 2 tasks/dumpster even if they're empty
• Fix pax wandering near Gate Agent Desks with queues that cannot service the agent type
• Fix research UI sometimes being incorrect after loading until un-pause
• Fix large object repair projects ordering excessive number of supply piles
• Fix workmen stuck due to bad target selection over right boundary of map
• Fix staff getting stuck & appearing on all above-ground floors when they become marooned on a demolished upper floor
• Fix dismantle Dumpster null reference
• Fix passenger stuck on walkway start to nonsecure destination when end of walkway is surrounded by security zone
• Fix toolbox handling and visual representation
• Fix network-capable gates from requesting indoor luggage due to congestion
• Fix aircraft turning around on runway too eagerly
• Fix pax AI lifecycle proximity heuristic considering only a single goal target (ex: GAD) when multiple exist
• Fix multiple Foundation tool pricing & allocation related issues
• Fix Pax AI background thread stop routine for cleaner exit
• Fix runway selection on map layouts with extensive one-way taxiway usage
• Fix idle tasks sometimes allowing pax to sneak thru security
• Fix crew repeating security in some scenarios
• Fix invocation order of pax AI when no sector exists, avoiding stuck
• Fix multiple pax behavior/display issues when using Info objects
• Fix Flight Crew not using security when GAD queues restricted to First/Coach
• Fix luggage load/unload bug that could cause task to fail, golf cart to be orphaned
• Fix fallback 'leave on foot' to be AI selection based based on global timeouts
• Fix zone tooltips using up too much screen real estate
• Fix pax unable to finish security when ID Check positioned on security zone border
• Fix saves w/ LRT not used when placed on wrong floor due another (resolved) bug
• Fix rare aircraft taxi clearance failure resulting in stuck aircraft due to thread-safety
• Fix fuel port save/load related bug, could cause non-clean exit
• Fix & improve runtime font switching (non English language fonts) to be more scalable and less bug-prone
• Fix having LC needs unintentionally contribute to satisfaction scores
• Fix several janitor & trash related task bugs
• Fix refuel task distance heuristic using aircraft position vs gate position
• Fix numerous clipping / sorting issues when pax using small objects
• Fix error in Wander behavior that could cause undesired pax actions
• Fix sprites being unnecessarily reloaded into RAM between game loads
• Fix spacial lookup rebuild causing large RAM allocation/churn every frame
• Fix road placement guide sprite mis-config that caused visual artifacts
• Fix airport value modifier, don't include cash when evaluating EV
• Fix conveyor transition placement validations, allow use on H2H
• Fix conveyor functional validations, only allow H2H when using 2-way conveyors (warning shown if invalid connections exist)
• Fix Airline resolution during loading; always uses local version if two copies exist (order: SteamID, GUID, then name)
• Fix numerous mod & workshop related bugs
• Fix multiple issues with secure area & reachability lookup inconsistencies which were causing stuck & lost/bad pax behaviors
• Fix aircraft not re-selecting departure runway when chosen runway is is unreachable
• Fix object warning incorrectly showing up underground for outdoor objects
• Fix Supply Truck hover display of supply piles onboard
• Fix flight bag carousel selection, filter to pax-reachable carousels (same wing, or non-secure)
• Fix stuck vehicle condition when roads completely diverge at the spawn point
• Fix foundation wall incorrectly clear-able when on map boundary
• Fix multiple hangar vehicle reachability matrix bugs
• Fix luggage vehicle distance checks using aircraft position instead of gate position

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27974902/608a1a46a1fc3eb563f93a5c1926144f5d67e27d.png Long time, no see! We are getting anxious (and excited) for the next patch to hit Default, and we thought you might be too! With October rapidly approaching we wanted to take a few minutes to provide you with a brief progress report to update you on the status of the current, and massive, dev cycle -- and provide you with an idea of what you can expect from the upcoming patch, and our plans for the next few updates.

Current Cycle

Wow! This cycle has been a long one, the last Default patch was in June, but it's for good reason and we believe the the improvements will have been very well worth the wait! A lot has changed, a whole lot -- here are just a few things that are currently on Edge branch, which will be making their way to the Experimental branch next week, and finally to Default in October. Here are a few highlights:

• BIG Performance Gains Edge players are reporting massively improved performance.
• Luggage Tracking & Mechanics Change port types on Hubs, upgrade hubs, and watch each individual piece of luggage during its journey.
• New Pax Graphics Rich new animated agent graphics for a more immersive & less cartoony experience.
• More Data & Reports - Needs & Timings reports, Perfect Ops breakdown, 6+ new pax/agent overlays, and numerous reporting & data improvements.
• Bank Loan Overhaul - Completely updated bank loan system with credit ratings, bigger loans, and larger interest ranges for a more realistic fiscal premise.
• Expand in ALL Directions - By popular demand, you can now buy more land in any direction! Even across the street!
• A Real Main Menu No longer will you be dumped into a default airport when you open the game!
• Construction Improvements Better supply pile positioning, fast inventorying of dismantled objects, lower performance impact.
• Pax AI Update Smarter pax, more maintainable code, and better performing AI.
• MANY BUG FIXES and LOTS MORE Of course we fixed a ton of existing bugs, along with the new ones created along the way. Lots more, too! Check out the Edge change log if you want to see what else we've got for you in the upcoming October patch, or check back here when in drops in a few weeks!

What's Next?

We are currently in burn-down mode on this cycle, and we're already starting to look towards the next cycle a bit. We've still got a lot more planned and much of it already in the works -- here are the key items that we you can expect to see in the cycle following the October patch. Be sure to check out the SimAirport Roadmap for the complete view of what's to come though! Planned for the Next Cycle

• Tutorial. Finished! Will hit Edge same day the October patch ships!
• Staff Scheduling. Under way! Hits Edge the first few weeks of cycle.
• Cafe Overhaul. Under way! Hits Edge the first few weeks of cycle.

As always, plenty more will sneak its way into the next cycle too -- but generally we expect it to be a bit smaller, and more rapid, as we move back towards the rapid & iterative development cycles that you were used to.

Thank you!

We want to extend a huge thank you to the community who continues to support us; especially those of you who are playing SimAirport and providing feedback, bug reports, and save game files to us in the Edge forum on a daily basis -- we truly couldn't do it without you. Our most sincere thanks to you, and to everyone in the community! In closing, here's a quick screen grab to give you an idea of just how truly MASSIVE an undertaking this cycle has been -- we're as excited as you are to see it hit Default, and we're even more excited to dig back in on the next cycle! https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27974902/119b7b23ebe2aaea7b8a14f92e85e6364c030c6b.png

Today is the longest day of the year and we wanted to get a jump on it with a small cleanup patch! The small update being released today makes a few improvements and addresses several notable issues that came to our attention shortly after the June 2018 patch went live. There won't be an update video since this is a small update following the prior release, however we are going to be trying something new over the next few weeks - we will be doing a bit of live streaming directly from the Steam Store page. We don't have dates/times set in stone yet, but we'll announce it on the forum and on our Twitter as soon as we do! We're still new to the video updates, much less live streams and while developer live-streaming may not be the most entertaining we will certainly try our best to make it a fun experience for everyone that stops by! :) Thank you to the entire community for your unwavering support and for the awesome level of engagement we see on a daily basis! We hope you all have a fantastic summer!

CHANGE LOG - June 2018 Cleanup Update

• Fixes multiple bugs that caused object selection hover to alternate rapidly
• Fixes vehicles potentially being duplicated in spawn queue when loading saves, could cause stuck vehicles and other undefined behavior
• Fixes Pax AI utility heuristic giving too much value to low usefulness objects
• Fixes poor object selection / distribution for Pax selecting scanners within a security zone
• Fixes startup splash screen aspect ratio and adds LVGameDev logo
• Fixes mouse pointer 'hot zone' position being wrong when switching from Windowed to Full Screen mode when using a resolution that doesn't match the native resolution's aspect ratio
• Fixes stuck aircraft condition when loading game with aircraft very near destination gate
• Fixes a reservation check that could prevent runway maintenance from taking place
• Taxiway 10-tile border now properly respects 'exempt' objects that are under construction
• Ensures graphics settings window always remains centered in the viewable area, always
• Demolish action now always placed last on selected object dialogs
• Idle janitors now help load garbage when idle in garbage zone (even when >15 tiles away)
• Fixes functional warnings sometimes not updating properly for object presence checks that require road-connectivity, some specific build orders were avoiding cache/re-check logic
• Graphics setting tweaks for less pixelated visuals
• Disables the 'stuck' message for aircraft that are waiting at the gate for a reasonable path
• Removes the 'Pax Timings' button from Aircraft dialog (functionality was removed)
• Improvements to agent spacial refresh rate and timing

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27974902/eb4ec43e3b707b503feb5da1bf2e07b8ee8cdbc2.png The Default update is here and this one has in many ways been a long time coming! Aircraft pathfinding, once an ongoing cause of frustration, will no longer cause problems for any of your airports! Accompanying this major milestone are numerous additions and improvements including a new 'Sell Airport' mechanic, connecting flight passengers, AI improvements, and the addition of the Russian language pack. There are a handful of new objects and multiple balance-related changes including several research additions & removals, plus more than 50 bug fixes too!

Update Video

Watch the SimAirport Update Video - June 2018 Edition for some hands-on insight into the update. You'll also be able to learn more about how the aircraft pathfinding works under the hood and how to use that to your advantage, some initial thoughts on retail/cafes, and what we're planning in the future including further insight and an update on our progress with the latest performance improvements which are coming to Edge soon!

What's Next?

Check out the SimAirport Roadmap any time for the latest updated information about what's coming, and be sure to vote on your favorite items & make comments to provide ideas or details about what you'd like to see in the future! As a high-level summary, we think these three key aspects need the most immediate attention right now -- and numerous system improvements & additions, which we'll then be coming back to, after we get these three addressed:

Performance

Tutorial

Retail / Cafes

Thank You!

We continue working hard to bring you enhancements and additions, fixes and performance improvements, and to continue evolving SimAirport every day. We couldn't do this without the continued feedback and the unwavering support from you, the players -- the engagement, loyalty, and the patience that we observe from the community on a daily basis is truly second to none. We can't even begin to tell you how much we appreciate it -- Thank You!

NOTABLE CHANGES & ADDITIONS

• Aircraft Pathfinding v2 -- No more stuck aircraft!
• Sell Airport mechanic added; begin new airport using funds gained (Finance —> Valuation report)
• Connecting Flight Passenger; up to 10% arrivals now catch a departure
• Bank Loan mechanic updated, loan availability & interest rate now use credit rating
• Russian (RU) language pack - Thank you @Ursus on Discord!
• NEW OBJECTS & ZONES
  • Adds 'Drink Vending' machine, 'XL Flight Info Display' and 'Flight Info Kiosk' objects
  • Adds 'Arcade Zone' and 4 new arcade game objects, improves pax boredom
  • Adds 'Digital Ad Display' object
    • Generates revenue for your airport based on nearby foot-traffic counts
    • Amount generated per passenger increases with volume, determined per display
    • Has a negative impact on environment
    • Revenue is paid just after midnight each day, for the previous day
    • Loads the advertisement PNGs dynamically from: INSTALL_DIR/StreamingAssets/ad-displays/* (add .png files here, then click 'reload sprites' or restart SimAirport)
• PASSENGER AI
  • Object selection within a single security zone improved substantially
  • Distance & wait time heuristic adjustments (weighting and exponents)
  • Pax now properly take into account distance-to-gate when pre-security
  • Improved object selection & overall pax distribution when identical or very similar object scores
  • Reduces occurrence of pax choosing distant objects when nearer options of the same object are present
  • Multiple improvements & changes to Pax AI report too l
  • Far less likely to choose objects that will require re-doing security (both generally & specifically when object is secured but one-ways/escalators would force insecure path to gate)
  • Improved 'scoped lookups' (within security zone) to use more relevant subset of heuristics
  • Departures pax now focus solely on lifecycle at ~30min to flight (even earlier when PA System 'hits' them)
• RESEARCH CHANGES
  • All research now requires applicable administrator to complete (exception: 4x root nodes to unlock each admin)
  • Research in each tree can now happen in parallel per tree
  • Adds progress bar to bottom nav UI button that displays the soonest-finishing research item
  • Adds new research: "One Way Taxiways" and "Escalators"
  • Removes research: "Road Building", "Pricing", and bank loan related research
• NEW BUILD HOTKEY ACTIONS Three new hotkey actions added, defaults are listed and can be changed in options menu:
  • X - Demolish Tool toggle. Second press goes back to prior-selected tool
  • C - Clear Tool toggle. Second press goes back to prior-selected tool
  • Left Shift - Build Modifier. When held down, switches to the relevant 'removal' option for the currently open menu; only active while build menu is open & active.

GAMEPLAY CHANGES

• Taxiways now require a minimum 10-tile distance from structures & objects (exception: runway upgrades, gates, hangars, baggage depot)
• Adjustments to LRT boarding routines for faster/improved pax boarding
• Escalator and Stair traversal speeds increased
• Airport Valuation now includes fuel
• Phone charging station changes: enabled queueing, increased concurrency, lowered upkeep burden, decreased desirability
• Runway Lights and Gate Stairs upgrades now display visual indicator of required placement position
• Foundation tool no longer removes walls & prevents "double-walls" in more situations; improves tool consistency & performance
• Prevents staff from getting assigned new tasks after being flagged as Fired, allowing them to de-spawn in a reasonable amount of time
• Aircraft now have a stronger preference to avoid runways when taxiing
• Actual arrival time now recorded after aircraft rollout instead of on final
• Runway lighting updates for aesthetics and slightly improved rendering performance
• Construction of floor finishes requires fewer tasks for faster construction
• Adjusts stack size & task duration for a number of materials (wood, carpet, stone, etc)
• Tweaks to money range on vending objects that allow price setting, resulting in more sane default AI interactions
• Updates the approach used for Bus passenger Dropoffs to be the same as LRT, prevents build-up issues
• Adding gate stairs upgrade to small gates now validates & requires 2nd floor already exist before allowing placement
• Minor improvements to vehicle parking and lane choice preferences
• Aircraft more likely to go straight after landing rollout instead of turning around
• Aircraft now begin attempting to arrive a bit earlier
• Info objects now have angle-based impact cones; XL display is one-sided; tweaked info distance & intensities

UI & MISC

• Adds 'Lifetime Game Stats' recorded in each save; double-click clock to view (for future Steam Achievements support)
• Loading a saved game will now always start Paused
• Airline detail UI updated to use consistent color & scheme for easier flight selection
• Improvements to the top HUD money hover tooltip, now more accurate & detailed cash flow estimate based on scheduled flights & actual pax counts
• Aircraft gate build button tooltip now shows the required level
• Top UI HUD money area now turns progressively darker red when bankruptcy timer is ticking, alert icon pops up with 12 hours to go, blinks faster as bankruptcy looms
• Game startup now shows 'New Game' following interstitial; is intended to assist new players who may not realize sandbox mode & larger maps exist
• Improvements to flight crew info on Aircraft tooltip
• Improved validation warning on objects that require zones ("Requires $ZONE_TYPE" instead of "Requires Zone")
• Adds a nav button tooltip warning when reaching the 10 flight/day limit, prompting you to build an ATC Tower
• Adds a rough count of 'objects that need staff type' number to staff report UI
• Removes the 'Passenger Timings' report on Aircraft (performance reasons -- requires a different approach)
• Translation pack files all updated from repo on Github (thank you!)
• Minor optimizations to build menu UI
• Optimizes the save/load game UIs
• Minor performance improvements to satisfaction score & spacial lookup calculations
• Improves consistency of all confirmation dialog UIs
• Adds Arcade Games to maintenance control panel, updates code to auto-add objects for future additions
• Save-fix for a dumpster that never finishes construction properly
• Minor optimizations to the Flight Scheduling UIs
• Minor rendering improvements & optimizations
• Adds some metadata to saves save files which allows fast retrieval of some save info prior to loading it
• Top HUD Weather hover now reflects runway status inclusive of maintenance downtime
• Enables sprite tiling for construction indicators to improve their border appearance
• Adds 'noaudio' custom launch option for assisting with troubleshooting game startup problems

BUG FIXES

• Fixes Information objects being blocked by walls/objects in frustrating and seemingly random ways
• Fixes moving walkways preventing environment effect from spreading
• Fixes a bug that sometimes let pax slip through security without being checked (or without tickets), causing them to miss their flight
• Fixes a pax AI nullref bug that could sometimes incorrectly rule out objects
• Fixes weird overlay bug when importing Grass material (affected older existing saves)
• Fixes security zone not showing “cannot be vacated” warning when applicable (e.g. resulting in no passengers using it)
• Fixes airline custom mod BaseRefuelPercentage not serialized (previously required reimport each game load to fix)
• Fixes agents potentially becoming stuck when drawing exclusive lounges on/near them
• Fixes aircraft sometimes not selecting an alternative runway when their selected one enters maintenance
• Fixes crash when disabling save & mod dialogs
• Fixes agents leaving secure areas because a non-secure path exists which is "shorter"
• Fixes Runway Tool hoverbox display while dragging, should only display aircraft imported in current game
• Fixes valid/invalid colors not updating on the Flight Schedule UI hover tooltips
• Fixes being able to draw objects on top of conveyor segments
• Fixes being able to place baggage hubs on invalid conveyor segments (if the segment is not yet built or otherwise not attached to anything)
• Fixes custom airline refuel percent not serializing
• Fixes 'Demo Aircraft Spawn' functionality used for testing aircraft mods
• Fixes a rare bug when pax needed to abort boarding their flight due to construction cutting off their path
• Fixes dumpsters sometimes not finishing construction when supply pile is on same tile & garbage truck comes while in-progress
• Fixes being able to circumvent the 12-hr pricing lockout period via saving & reloading game
• Fixes aircraft unable to leave gates that require maintenance
• Fixes unable to schedule flights to gates that need maintenance
• Fixes vehicles not properly trying to navigate around stopped traffic
• Fixes administrators failing to re-pick offices when appropriate
• Fixes cursor not reset when closing flight schedule editor while dragging
• Fixes runway placement should de-zone tiles
• Fixes vendor workers not handling “no path” when showing up for work — could result in “working” from invalid map positions on Ground floor
• Fixes zone requirements ‘non-secure area’ inverted formatting
• Fixes janitors not finish clearing immediate area when quasi-“nearby” jobs exist above or below them on other floors (could result in throughput degradation)
• Fixes janitors not prioritizing emptying garbage bins vs cleaning floors at all (could result in throughput degradation)
• Fixes top UI HUD wind direction indicator sometimes disappearing, re-adds color based on wind intensity
• Fixes older saves with supply piles containing deprecated objects that could result in terrain drawing tools always failing to validate
• Fixes being unable to sell supply piles containing certain objects (e.g. gate/runway upgrades and utilities)
• Fixes infrastructure cash change descriptions not formatted correctly
• Fixes ‘potential blockers’ not being invalidated every time after editing one-way taxiway markings
• Fixes a few edge cases of staff/object assignments that could lead to situations where equilibrium is not achieved promptly. This could lead to staff running around the airport more than necessary and leaving objects temporarily unmanned (due to incorrect consideration of en route agents that will soon take their spot).
• Fixes agent sector frontier not prohibiting traversal from nonsecure to protected areas
• Fixes dismantled roads not clearing the sprite index cache (and sometimes later reappearing)
• Fixes LRTs being able to spawn on top of each other & go through each other
• Fixes ‘Browse Filesystem’ button on save/load game UI
• Fixes worker pathing bug when building or adding runway upgrades near edge of map
• Fixes precision for wait times specified in game seconds when at 200+ game days
• Fixes vending object currency rounding display inconsistency
• Fixes a bug that caused text to intermittently not show up or to be noisy & illegible (macOS)
• Fixes sprite lighting and over-exposure, few other graphic/render setting tweaks
• Fixes a bug related to transport Dropoffs causing late passengers due to queue build-up
• Fixes Staff UI portraits not showing up, optimizes their loading/display substantially
• Fixes Save Game UI so that clicking a save pre-fills the text box & overwrite dialog shows which filename
• Fixes P&L report expansion of categories when viewing previous days data
• Fixes bug in game reset that could sometimes cause performance degradation
• Fixes pricing not showing up for a few terrain tools
• Fixes a security reachability related bug that could cause passengers to use the wrong security areas and generally get confused about their surroundings (primarily affected more complex layouts that made use of security exits and escalators). Specific change was to ensure that reachability did not allow a passenger to cross a Security Exit into a "Secure" area from a "Protected" area.
• Fixes road vehicles so that distant traffic no longer considered when choosing a route
• Fixes dumpsters being emptied prior to construction being completed
• Fixes condition that caused aircraft to end up on roads and stuck