In what company officials are calling “one of its most ambitious updates ever,” Infinite Flight has released version 21.1 with 3D buildings and clouds.
Until now, the Infinite Flight tablet- and smartphone-based flight simulator has featured global 15m/pixel satellite terrain imagery, along with multiplayer flight with ATC.
“The focus has now shifted to an even more immersive experience with 3D objects and updated atmosphere,” company officials said in a prepared release.
Life In 3D
In the first version of 3D, objects such as buildings, jetbridges, vehicles, and fences will be static. Developers plan on gradually bringing them to life for even more immersion in the 3D world, company officials report.
3D airports will be denoted by a symbol on the map, airport info screen, airport search, and on the ATC status page for multiplayer. A small collection of 3D airports have been released in 21.1 including Los Angeles, John F. Kennedy Interational, San Francisco International, Dubai, and London Heathrow.
Cirrus Cloud Layer
Version 1 of clouds have made their way into Infinite Flight for 21.1 in the form of a user-controlled cirrus layer. Clouds will react to atmospheric conditions, such as winds aloft and light, however users will control their altitude and coverage in version 1.
It was important to Infinite Flight developers that the first iteration of cloud cover reacted properly to the environmental elements, company officials noted.
ATC Improvements
Airports in the Infinite Flight multiplayer environment are sometimes subjected to unrealistically large volumes of traffic, especially during community events. It’s important, especially during those times, for ATC to control the flow.
New in 21.1, controllers can use speed assignments such as “Maintain 160kts until 4 mile final” to help pilots arrive on time at their destination, company officials explained.
Other new features include:
- ATC debrief page when closing a frequency
- ATC commands such as outside of center airspace warning, and back taxi for tower
- “Show Username in Flight” can now be changed while in session on select servers
- 15 new liveries for various aircraft
“The Infinite Flight community has historically been a great source of help and instruction for new pilots,” officials noted. “In addition to this, users can now reference a set of user guides that range from launching the app for the first time to in-depth instructions on how to use instrument procedures.