Blown away by SI demo

[JYW 2,984]

This post may irritate some, as I'm not saying anything new that hasn't been said by some others recently.   But you know when you experience something jaw dropping within this hobby and you're super excited and just want to share that?

I tried the SayIntentions demo this evening.  First thing to say is that, compared to some addon ATC programs, the set up from clicking the 'try the demo' link on the website, to using it for the first time was unbelievably smooth, easy and hassle-free.   Enter an email and password, put in credit card details (necessary even for the demo as verification), get taken to the download.   Then, run the EXE, start MSFS, choose my PTT button and about 3 other preferences and that was it.  Really impressed with how smooth the process is.

So how is the program in use?  Well, all I'd say is that in my opinion, everyone should try this demo.  Because you'll either be blown away by the immersion (as I was), or possibly not be moved by it.

For me, I set up in the C172 at EGNT on the GA apron. Hit my PTT and talked to it for the first time; "Newcastle Ground, Skyhawk G-WILL is on the GA apron with Charlie, request taxi for VFR departure to the west".  Delay was around 5 secs (not bad at all) then a very convincing British-accented female voice got back to me. The feeling was strange because it is so convincing and immersive, that I had slight butterflies! This continued in the air, where I had the similar feeling to when you're using the radio for the first time as a student pilot IRL. Or even when you fly on VATSIM (with coverage) for the first few times.   I was scribbling down the frequencies, squawks and instructions I was given so I didn't miss them.   I followed a normal GA VFR flight regime, with some additional little extras I tested, such as "Newcastle Approach, do you have the wind at EGNC?! .... The controller came back with a "standby" followed by "Carlisle is currently 220 at 6, QNH 30.06".    When I had first taken off VFR, I'd not mentioned my destination and got an early call; "Skyhawk GLL, what is your destination?".   After I'd replied, there was lot's of specific broadcasts coming from ATC related to my destination airport and the space around it.

In short, I was truly blown away by the immersiveness and versatility. Procedurally, what I did with it tonight was not particularly challenging or complex but it handled the flight (and my expectations) perfectly.  As a result of what was a half-hearted decision to try the demo during a spare half hour I had tonight, I went straight onto Amazon and bought a new headset/mic, and subscribed to SI for the month ahead.  I'm not saying I'll pay $30 per month for the rest of my life, but I am very happy to pay $30 for a month of further playing with this revolutionary immersion addon.

It's an often-used cliche but this truly was a game changer for me.  A paradigm shift even!

[Fiorentoni 4,257]

I'm sure it works fine in VFR because there are no flightplans and descent paths and vectors and stuff. What I've seen from IFR so far (2 videos), is very underwhelming. It literally made one error on every response it gave. It felt (from watching) like talking to ChatGPT which - while generally solid - will always come up with one or two stupid things. That's just not working for something as strict as IFR in crowded airspaces. Not sure how much they can work on it, because after all they decided to do no scripting and let ChatGPT handle all of it. And ChatGPT is ChatGPT after all, really good up to the 80th or 90th percentile, but then when it's wrong it's hilariously wrong.
Anyway I'll keep an eye on it and appropriate videos.

[Purr 125]

I noticed on a video showcasing IFR that the pilot read back the clearance and departure / climb instructions back with some major errors and the AI did not correct or pick up on it. This is immersion breaking where the readback doesn't matter. However, I can see how it is a real step forward into atc that feels alive. I think the tech for this is still in infancy but I am betting as the dev continues and the tech improves and the costs come down and the response times get quicker, this has the potential to be really outstanding. I'll be interested to see where development is at 8 - 12 months from now. Seems promising.

[vbazillio 2,273]

7 hours ago, Fiorentoni said:

It felt (from watching) like talking to ChatGPT which - while generally solid - will always come up with one or two stupid things.

Even in VFR, when ATC is giving you a surprising clearance (sometime really non-sense) it's a immersion killer. And you have the feeling to exchange prompt with chatgpt ending with the famous "oh I'm sorry and thank you for correcting me" ;(

[SAS443 1,727]

Thanks @JYW for the detailed write up! 

Seems like a sound decision if you fly VFR (noted that IFR is still WIP?).

Question, how airspace aware is SI? For instance you are flying in a terminal area when an approach controller drops you below TMA limit for traffic avoidance (which is quite common flying vfr near larger airports) so basically class C to class G (EASA)

"G-WILL, descend to 1.500ft, uncontrolled airspace, remain on the frequency for flight information"

And how aware is SI of Restricted areas? Would it cope with a request permisson to pass? Or better yet, reply if it's active or not? (I mean that info is NOTAMd and public available, A.I might be able to gather those)

So many questions.... 😁

[Rimshot 1,156]

10 hours ago, JYW said:

"Carlisle is currently 220 at 6, QNH 30.06".

Oh dear, that should be read to you in hPa, as that is the unit for QNH in Europe... I sincerely hoped these new advanced ATC tools would at least get this right...

[Fiorentoni 4,257]

I guess I'll give it a try in the free demo today or tomorrow in an IFR flight. I just want to see how it *feels* being able to talk naturally to ATC (non-VATSIM).

[turbomax 3,287]

12 hours ago, JYW said:

put in credit card details (necessary even for the demo as verification)

what ???  is that AI or ChatGPT at work? what needs to be "verified" for a free demo version? no thanks.

Edited March 16 by turbomax

[JYW 2,984]

5 hours ago, SAS443 said:

Question, how airspace aware is SI? For instance you are flying in a terminal area when an approach controller drops you below TMA limit for traffic avoidance (which is quite common flying vfr near larger airports) so basically class C to class G (EASA)

"G-WILL, descend to 1.500ft, uncontrolled airspace, remain on the frequency for flight information"

And how aware is SI of Restricted areas? Would it cope with a request permisson to pass? Or better yet, reply if it's active or not? (I mean that info is NOTAMd and public available, A.I might be able to gather those)

Good questions!

The answer from my little jaunt last night is, I'm not sure.   I think that's why I'm happy (comfortable would be a better word, as I'd rather it cost less!) paying the $30 for a month to explore things like this.

For people who mentioned IFR, that's the other thing I want to explore. 

I would recommend that people try it though, rather than relying on videos, as it's updated daily and what you see on a video may no longer be relevent.  I dismissed a lot of things too, and found them much improved when I actually tried it yesterday. I'd seen videos where the response time was nudging 15 seconds (on every transmission) - absolutely unacceptable.  Last night for me, I was seeing 4-5 secs which seemed about right.  

I only fly VFR in the real world, so my expectations for IFR in SI are a lot more basic than those with a stronger command of realism in IFR. I have no doubt it won't hit the spot for everyone where IFR is concerned.  My ultimate valuation of SI is as an immersion tool.  For that, it comes in at a score of 120% for me! Technical accuracy will definitely not score so highly at this point. 

The biggest pleasant surprise for me was that every video I've seen so far was in the US.    SI's own videos are already out of date and inform you that you must use a US 'N' number for your aircraft reg.  I wanted to see if the VFR experience in SI in Europe was lesser, or falling behind.    I was able to use a 'G' reg just fine. ATC was correctly naming me. It also gives options for how you want your call sign to be spoken by ATC (with long and short formats).  The experience of using SI to fly VFR in the UK was great. Better than great. IMO.

But it's free to try, so I'd recommend anyone who is even curious about the format, give it a go.

Edited March 16 by JYW

[JYW 2,984]

[Deleted] - odd AVSIM 'lock up' then double post 👍

Edited March 16 by JYW

[JYW 2,984]

11 hours ago, Purr said:

I noticed on a video showcasing IFR that the pilot read back the clearance and departure / climb instructions back with some major errors and the AI did not correct or pick up on it.

As far as I can see from my short trial (I'm awaiting a new headset/mic arriving today from Amazon, before continuing!), this is the key difference between having "Student Mode" selected in SI, or not.   Student Mode is described as being "forgiving" and adapting to the way you are using the ATC, rather than expecting certain procedural standards.   I didn't get to try it with Student Mode off last night.  But I'll be trying that later today. It will hopefully be the case that ATC will prompt you if you miss some required information or make errors.

[JYW 2,984]

2 hours ago, turbomax said:

what ???  is that AI or ChatGPT at work? what needs to be "verified" for a free demo version? no thanks.

It stated on the sign up page that this is a requirement of SI's AI provider, who have a "Know your customer" policy.   I wasn't keen on this either. They perhaps use this to manage the free demo provision though.  Eg. One free 24 hour demo per credit card.   Not sure on that.   But it does make a point of saying that it was a requirement of the AI provider.

[ConairMSFS 28]

4 minutes ago, JYW said:

It stated on the sign up page that this is a requirement of SI's AI provider, who have a "Know your customer" policy.   I wasn't keen on this either. They perhaps use this to manage the free demo provision though.  Eg. One free 24 hour demo per credit card.   Not sure on that.   But it does make a point of saying that it was a requirement of the AI provider.

Was almost going to give it a try, just out of curiosity (I fly mainly europe, small towered and non towered airports, only sometimes IFR), but giving credit card data for a free demo it's a no no for me. Even though I understand maybe they did it to avoid people creating multiple accounts to use demo more than once.

[turbomax 3,287]

1 hour ago, ConairMSFS said:

Even though I understand maybe they did it to avoid people creating multiple accounts to use demo more than once.

can easily be avoided via email check. and what's the problem with downloading a demo version a 2nd time? time limited trial period has nothing to do with credit card. They should learn from Steam, Microsoft Game pass and others. never had to give them my credit card for a free demo version. ridiculous.

Edited March 16 by turbomax

[MrBitstFlyer 3,882]

15 hours ago, Fiorentoni said:

What I've seen from IFR so far (2 videos), is very underwhelming. It literally made one error on every response it gave.

IFR is still in BETA, so errors are expected at this stage.