10 hours ago, Keven Menard said:

We'll have to study the cost of the various options out there but we really want this to be in the standalone version

Nice but also a bit worrying. I am leaning towards buying The Skypark at this very moment but I will never ever (not ever) get a subscription (ever). No way. So I'd be very bummed if it turns out some features I am hoping for are only for subscribers. I don't want to be left with an almost redundant and unsupported app while subscribers are getting all the goodies (yes, I am thinking about the worst possible scenario here LOL). Again, not knowing where this app is going when it comes to features as well as free and paid options is holding me back still.

Then again... the add on is not TOO costly at this moment. I do suppose that when I buy it now I will get all future updates (for the stand alone version) no matter what? Even when the price will double at some moment? For the current price I will be in 'forever'?

EDIT
Never mind. I watched the video that captain420 posted and I am beginning to 'get it'. Think I might buy this. One problem though: it's Orbxdirect only and I don't have a credit card... Bummer.

EDIT 2
Seems you can use PayPal when you buy The Skypark in Orbx Central. Will see if it indeed works tonight.

Edited December 17, 20205 yr by tup61

For those who like to fly airliners (not necessarily exclusively,  but a lot), what sort of contracts does Skypark have? (e.g. take 150 passengers on a charter flight from Dehli to Moscow)

Got it. Like it. 

I can see now it has potential. It's a bit like the basic mode in ETS/ATS where you simply pick jobs and drive them without bothering about running your own company. Simple as it is (right now) it does indeed give a sense of purpose! It also has a few nice little unexpected features like a satelite picture of the departure and destination airport (where the destination might come in handy), an elevation map (even showing the highest peak to expect), a progress bar, runway 'extensions (10 nm long in case someone might wonder), which are very handy with those pesky little grass runways, the altitude of the airports, and so on. I can see it becoming better and more interesting over time!

Two drawbacks right now though:

1. not enough jobs: wanted to do a short one in my home country, the Netherlands, and there weren't any...! None at all! Went to my favorite Norway and there was only ONE short route over there...! Luckily it suited my time. But there really should be more jobs.

2. after finishing a job I expected the job to be gone from the app, after all, I finished it, but I was disappointed to see the job was still there... as if I never flew it! I found that quite immersion killing! It makes flying a job feel fake, as if I never did it! It eliminates the sense of purpose it wants to give! I do wonder what happens when the job expires...? Will there be new ones or still the same ones? (There also weren't new jobs available after finishing the one I did.) The problem here also is that I might lose track of what jobs I did already because the jobs aren't checked as flown or anything, which imho really is a big omission, because you can't remember what jobs you did already and I don't like the idea to start a flight and discover after a while I already did it before.

Hopefully these two things will be looked at in the near future because these two issues really tempered my enthusiasm. But all in all I think (and hope) this might become a very nice add on. If it suits your kind of flying. I don't care at all about managing companies so I think Skypark is a good fit for me.

Edited December 17, 20205 yr by tup61

Interesting ... I’ll probably try it out, but reading the description actually is making me realize some of the things about OnAir (or similar) that I actually, apparently want in addition to just “giving me a reason to fly someplace cool”, with the biggest turn-off being what sounds like, um ... too much freedom.  🙂  I LIKE not just being able to fly whatever plane I want, wherever I want; I love that I have to get ratings to progress to more advanced a/c (and wish it was harder), that stuff is costly, that I have a piloting reputation to uphold and if I overcrank my turn to final and exceed a bank threshold my reputation drops (a lot) ... it’s cool.  I guess I want more structure than some people?

I’d also just remind people that there are lots of ways of playing OnAir as well, and those of us on their Thunder server - where virtual airlines can actually be built - can’t hire pilots to fly for us (it’s not a management game there), so be sure to compare apples to apples when talking about other options ...

Anyway, though, glad to see more competition in this space, will lead everyone to improve their game (except maybe FSE, which is frozen in time ... ;-))

6 hours ago, JeffChrisope said:

Interesting ... I’ll probably try it out, but reading the description actually is making me realize some of the things about OnAir (or similar) that I actually, apparently want in addition to just “giving me a reason to fly someplace cool”, with the biggest turn-off being what sounds like, um ... too much freedom.  🙂  I LIKE not just being able to fly whatever plane I want, wherever I want; I love that I have to get ratings to progress to more advanced a/c (and wish it was harder), that stuff is costly, that I have a piloting reputation to uphold and if I overcrank my turn to final and exceed a bank threshold my reputation drops (a lot) ... it’s cool.  I guess I want more structure than some people?

I’d also just remind people that there are lots of ways of playing OnAir as well, and those of us on their Thunder server - where virtual airlines can actually be built - can’t hire pilots to fly for us (it’s not a management game there), so be sure to compare apples to apples when talking about other options ...

Anyway, though, glad to see more competition in this space, will lead everyone to improve their game (except maybe FSE, which is frozen in time ... ;-))

The SkyPark isn't trying to be an airline simulator or a virtual airline. While there are plenty of long distance, airliner contracts available in The SkyPark, it really shines for those of us who want to actually fly an airplane into cool new grass strips, navigate mountainous terrain, and deliver supplies to remote villages that need them.

The progress comes from gaining a solid reputation by successfully completing jobs which lead to more lucrative contracts.

It's a fun experience and the future is very, very bright.

Just got the xmas email from ORBX and it says SkyPark can be "purchased" for the equivalent of 42 AUD , meaning there would be no subscription. Is my understanding correct?

12 minutes ago, DAD said:

Is my understanding correct?

It’s a stand alone one time purchase with an optional subscription service to add additional features in the future is what they say.

10 minutes ago, Cmcollazo71 said:

It’s a stand alone one time purchase with an optional subscription service to add additional features in the future is what they say.

thx though that would be misleading then, just scanned https://orbxdirect.com/product/p42-the-skypark and I did see no hint to any additonal subscription required.

EDIT just found this https://orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/203081-the-skypark/?do=findComment&comment=1731562 and I find it difficult to buy something for a one off fee not knowing what does and will come as a subscription on top, makes it a no go for me at this time

Edited December 18, 20205 yr by DAD

32 minutes ago, DAD said:

I find it difficult to buy something for a one off fee not knowing what does and will come as a subscription on top, makes it a no go for me at this time

It was a no go for me too (see posts above) but wish-listed it before and elves in my household ordered for it me for the holidays, so I’m giving it a try.

It does what it does well, but has no challenge in its current form. It’s just a less random random flight generator, since you can pick the region to fly from.

But earning money and xp mean nothing since you can fly anywhere in any plane.

There’s no feedback on how well you flew/landed! Cargo and passenger loads aren’t represented on the plane load out so no performance impact.

So right now it’s a pretty somewhat random flight generator...

I hope all the features I wish it had (as noted above) are not only part of the subscription service or those elves will have wasted my, err, their money! 

Is it work in VR mode? Will I see this tablet in VR too?

1 hour ago, YoYo said:

Is it work in VR mode? Will I see this tablet in VR too?

It runs outside of the sim, but has an always on top feature. 

I don’t know anything about VR so don’t know if it will show I. The googles or not...

I bought it because i believe in the idea of the developers and also that it looks well developed already. I agree that I also expect more for the "final" product , the GUI is already near perfect for me but in way of challenges, different kind of missions. I do believe by giving them a push now by investing and even more important  giving them feedback, ideas to work on etc...they can make a great product.   If they prove me wrong (which i don't think they will), I might have lost some money but even then, SKypark made me fly out and in of places i might not have visited otherwise . And for me that's already worth the money. I think the criticism is also in it's place ito ensure we get the best product for our buck.  So please keep up the coding and programming and try to amaze us simmers with a great add-on to the game which can grow with us in the next years. 

Is there a demo/trial version available?

21 minutes ago, Ricardo41 said:

Is there a demo/trial version available?

Negative, but there should be.

5 hours ago, Mickyaussie said:

I think the criticism is also in it's place ito ensure we get the best product for our buck.

I send feedback almost every flight, sometimes during the flight as things occur, using the feedback button on the app.

No direct response yet, so time will tell.

Biggest issues I’ve seen are all short trips, which I have time for, are all grass field to grass field as though small municipal airports with paved runways don’t exist.

And I’m making money, racking up XP and Karma almost 100% positive... but it appears for not since none of it has any effect on the system, yet.

Edited December 31, 20205 yr by Cmcollazo71