Hi Captains,

I wanted to properly introduce our new product "SimPassengers v1.0.1" developed by ACE Solutions and now live for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

I've been a simmer for 20+ years, and all the boomers will feel me because even my company's name comes from "Ace of Aces" game back in the Commodore 64 days.

I was actually looking for some immersion in the cockpit. Because we're all using extremely well developed aircrafts but no one has developed anything for the virtual-souls that we carry. So I decided to create this add-on first for myself but this thing became huge, so I decided to make it a product. The idea was simple "The aircrafts that we fly are already simulated in crazy detail, why not the people inside it to feel alive too?" 

This addon's idea actually came from our good-old FSPassengers addon. But with a simple catch. This is not a career-mode grinding app where you are forced to unlock aircraft or fly routes you do not care about. You fly what you want, where you want, with the airline you want. (Just like I do)

SimPassengers adds the cabin and passenger layer around that flight.

Passengers react.
Cabin crew works.
Announcements happen.
Service starts, progresses, or fails.
Events unfold.
Your decisions affect the outcome.

That is the core of it.

Let me give you some more information about what SimPassengers does.

During the flight, SimPassengers tracks tons of data, including the cabin state like:

• passenger happiness
• passenger stress
• turbulence impact
• weather impact
• in-flight entertainment
• cabin service
• seatbelt compliance
• abnormal g-force discomfort
• event handling
• final checks and arrival flow
• (there are more but I'm not gonna tell you now, you have to explore)

Stress does not just magically disappear. If passengers are unsettled by turbulence, they may recover gradually as the flight stabilizes, entertainment becomes available, service continues, or the landing reassures them. So the cabin has a kind of memory. It reacts to the flight instead of just sitting there as background noise. And also you can always check your current status on our website and mobile apps (more on this later)

SimPassengers also has a dynamic PA system.

The announcements are context-aware and processed to sound more like aircraft PA audio instead of clean studio voice. There are pilot and cabin crew announcements for different phases such as boarding, welcome, cruise, service, final checks, arrival, safety, and cabin events.

The goal is not just to play the same soundboard every flight. I wanted the cabin flow to feel less repetitive and more connected to what is actually happening. Just imagine this, if you landed on London, the PA will tell you to try the local "Fish'n chips" or maybe you landed on TNCM, you will hear a PA saying the beauty of the Maho beach for all aviation crazies like us.

Another topic, Cabin Service.

This is dynamic too, for example, in every flight SimPassengers creates a flight timeline and understands the surrounding conditions like, time of the day, if it is day or night, or if the pax is about to sleep and etc... A short morning hop should not behave like a long overnight sector. Service can start, progress, complete, or remain unfinished depending on how the flight goes.

A smooth touchdown always helps but it does not automatically mean the whole flight was perfect. "Because you have to be robust and perfect" (This is aviation right?)

And let's talk about some events... Because SimPassengers has many.

This addon includes cabin events, but they are not meant to be simple random popups like "Accept, Reject" 

They are there to create judgement moments. For example, get your self ready for medical events, or connecting to MedLink via Satcom for a passenger who is having an early labor, or somebody having a heart attack or maybe some dude vaping in the toilet... (It's so hard to stop my self to tell you all the events but I really don't wanna break down the hype)

And some event can branch or chain depending on what happens. While we're planning this product there were only one thing in our mind and that was "Good intentions do not always mean good operational decisions."

And the best part comes now... SimPassengers Telemetry ability. After every flight we generate a report including.

• final score
• pax count
• stress peak 
• landing rate
• max bank
• max G
• fuel usage
• safety metrics
• scoring events
• cabin incidents
• flight highlights
• and much and much more

Just be advised, a smooth landing will always matter but the full passenger experience matters too. 
 

You can land beautifully and still lose points if the cabin was not handled well.
You can also recover a rough flight with a calm landing and clean arrival flow.

That is the kind of balance I wanted. As you all know A perfect landing is not always a perfect flight.

[WARNING NERD DATA STARTS BELOW]

SimPassengers uses a custom made bridge that operates between the simulator and our servers. As you all know FPS is the king when it comes to simulation. So that's why we did some real bare-bone development with this addon. The whole bridge was coded using C, C++ and Rust programming language which helps to run bridge with min memory and super super high level speeds. If you don't believe me, when you install SimPassengers look for "simpassengers-bridge" binary and check the memory usage. Tops at max 12MB but usually runs around 6/7MBs of RAM. This is the art of programming guys. 

[WARNING NERD DATA ENDED ABOVE]

Anyways... There are lots to talk about SimPassengers, but there're some final stuff to be talked about before I end this post and wait for your comments and feedbacks. 

Yes we support GSX! If you have GSX all the boarding is done in sync with GSX
Yes you need to file a simbrief flight plan for SimPassengers to work
NO for now we don't support GA airplanes and freighters. (but it's on the pipeline, coming real quick)
NO for now we don't support MSFS2020 due to SimConnect and some various technical problems but the team is working super hard to create a MSFS2020 version too

Finally... What is coming next?

Mobile apps are right in testing phase, (iOS and Android and both support tablets too)
Social features around flight logs like (adding photos and videos to your completed flights, following system, like and comments)
Expanded leaderboards 
Custom VA and Community reporting (yes we're planning a white label version of SimPassengers for VAs)
and so on... and more on this topic later. 

BTW I've created a Developer Preview Video but please don't kick me for this, because I'm not good at art related stuff because I'm a technical guy. You can watch it if you want but a better professional version is coming right up with the mobile apps' release.

If you are interested we're live now and accepting payments at our website and soon in the marketplaces.

https://simpassengers.com

Thanks. And I'm really really waiting for your comments about this. 

 

Edited May 6May 6 by anilcougar
typo

The premise looks very good indeed Anil! Passengers are indeed a huge part of the whole sim experience... we have the visual models by GSX but no feedback other than some clapping or scary screams as in FS Realistic... 

This sounds like a great idea... not sure about the video as only really cabin announcements... will there be country specific accents (i fly in NZ all the time and Australia)...

Looking forward to some feedback form others too

Keep up the good work!

Hi Doug, thanks so much for the kind words!

You nailed exactly the gap we wanted to fill. GSX does a great job on the visual/ground handling side, but the cabin itself still does not really have much of a living feedback layer. Existing passenger reactions in the sim/add-on world are usually quite limited, so we wanted the cabin to actually have a brain that reacts to what you're doing up front.

On the voices — we have a voice library system right inside the launcher (within SimPassengers). Once you install SimPassengers, you can browse multiple PA packs (different cabin crew voice profiles, different pilot voices) and download/select the ones you like per flight. So you can mix things up between long-haul and short-haul, or just pick the voice that fits your airline of choice.

For country-specific accents: honest answer — right now we have a few English variants but no dedicated NZ/AU voice yet.That said, the voice pipeline is fully built for new packs, so this is more of a "we need to record it" than a "we need to engineer it" problem. If there's enough demand from the NZ/AU community I can prioritize a regional pack — I'm logging your request right now to our dev-team.

About the video being mostly PAs — yeah, fair feedback. That was a quick developer preview. The cinematic showcase is coming with the mobile app launch and will cover the cabin events, the live telemetry layer, and the post-flight reports too.

Really appreciate you being the first one in here mate, means a lot.

/Anil

Let me be second then, Anil. 
I like what I see. Having owned FSPassengers (for - well what - FSX?) and remember I liked it this could be for me. Adding some real life sounds like a plan. Never got into GSX since I spend too little time on ground but passengers are all around- well behind - me when flying my tubeliners. 
your website looks sleek and pricing also. Will seriously consider this. Will there be a trial version like 2 flights or 60mins free usage?

This looks like it could be a purchase for someone like me that only flies airliners, but I do have just one query. 

I usually only fly mid to long haul, all in 1x time, sometimes overnight (where I get to cruise level before going to bed and then wake up before decent and landing. 

My question is - what happens if a passenger event onboard occurs while I'm off having a snooze?

Hey Phil, thanks so much — especially for the website compliment, we put a lot of love into making it feel right. And really glad to hear the price feels reasonable to you too.

Quick FSPassengers note: if you enjoyed the original back in the day, SimPassengers should resonate. Same DNA in spirit, modern engine, and no locked-in routes/aircraft. You mentioned you spend most of your time in the air on tubeliners — that's exactly where the cabin layer kicks in hardest.

About the trial — fair question, and honestly we thought about this a lot during planning.

For v1.0.1 we decided not to ship a public trial yet. The reason is that SimPassengers is not just a local gauge or sound pack; there is a live backend behind it for activation, telemetry, live tracking, reports and other connected features. So a trial system is something we want to design properly rather than rush out and create support/licensing/abuse problems in the first release.

Instead, we deliberately kept the entry price low for what is included. We wanted simmers in, not blocked out by a heavy price tag.

So for now the honest answer is: no public trial yet. If feedback strongly leans that way, we can revisit a limited demo/evaluation mode later, but for the first live version we chose a low entry price and a stable release path.

Really appreciate you jumping in brother.

Hi,
SLC already does many similar things, what is the real difference?

22 minutes ago, verbal said:

This looks like it could be a purchase for someone like me that only flies airliners, but I do have just one query. 

I usually only fly mid to long haul, all in 1x time, sometimes overnight (where I get to cruise level before going to bed and then wake up before decent and landing. 

My question is - what happens if a passenger event onboard occurs while I'm off having a snooze?

Hi Verbal.

Actually, you can always go to sleep. But if anything major happens, you'll miss it and system will punish you. But you gave us a great idea. About "Audo-Decide" feature can be added to SimPassengers. Minor and Medium events can be handled with the crew and the backup airmen but if a situation comes up and requires you to divert. That's nothing we can do about it.

Thanks for the idea tho.

21 minutes ago, vjeanmarc said:

Hi,
SLC already does many similar things, what is the real difference?

Hi vjeanmarc,

To be honest, that's a fair question that really needs to be answered. SLC is definitely in the same broad category and I have no problem saying that but the main difference between SLC and SimPassengers is mainly the direction and architecture we're building around it.

We are not trying to be only a local cabin sound/reaction tool. We are mainly focused on these features:

- in-sim cabin state and decisions
- dynamic PA flow
- passenger stress / happiness / recovery over time
- time-aware cabin service
- branching and chained events
- post-flight scoring with detailed event breakdown
- live telemetry and web flight logs
- XP, levels, achievements and leaderboards
- upcoming mobile apps (With AR support, imagine, you are spotting in an airport and one of your friends is landing in SimPassengers, just fire up your mobile ap tap on AR and watch/record your friend while landing on that runway)
- future social / sharing layer around completed flights
- possible custom / VA / white-label reporting

I would say the simpliest difference is this:

SLC simulates cabin/passenger intercation
SimPassengers is trying to build a living cabin + telemetry + report + progression + web/mobile ecosystem with social integration around the simulation.

Also, SimPassengers does not lock aircraft or routes behind a career grind. You fly what you want, and the cabin experience builds around that flight.

With best.

/Anil
 

10 minutes ago, anilcougar said:

Hi vjeanmarc,

To be honest, that's a fair question that really needs to be answered. SLC is definitely in the same broad category and I have no problem saying that but the main difference between SLC and SimPassengers is mainly the direction and architecture we're building around it.

We are not trying to be only a local cabin sound/reaction tool. We are mainly focused on these features:

- in-sim cabin state and decisions
- dynamic PA flow
- passenger stress / happiness / recovery over time
- time-aware cabin service
- branching and chained events
- post-flight scoring with detailed event breakdown
- live telemetry and web flight logs
- XP, levels, achievements and leaderboards
- upcoming mobile apps (With AR support, imagine, you are spotting in an airport and one of your friends is landing in SimPassengers, just fire up your mobile ap tap on AR and watch/record your friend while landing on that runway)
- future social / sharing layer around completed flights
- possible custom / VA / white-label reporting

I would say the simpliest difference is this:

SLC simulates cabin/passenger intercation
SimPassengers is trying to build a living cabin + telemetry + report + progression + web/mobile ecosystem with social integration around the simulation.

Also, SimPassengers does not lock aircraft or routes behind a career grind. You fly what you want, and the cabin experience builds around that flight.

With best.

/Anil
 

Thank you Anil for this detailed response.

Personally, I like SLC because I'm French and the cockpit dialogue and ground services are in French, as are the passenger announcements in French and English.
Is this in your future plans? Is there also communication with the ground?

Hey Jean, 

That makes complete sense. If you are French and you already get French cockpit/cabin/ground flow from SLC, I understand why that is important for immersion. We decided to be on the safe side, because as you know, the international language for aviation is English.

For SimPassengers, the PA/voice system was designed to be expandable through voice packs. Right now dedicated French cockpit/cabin announcements are not live yet, but French and bilingual French/English packs are absolutely something we can add to the roadmap. This is more of a localization/content task than a core engineering limitation. But we have tons of voice packs already bundled and ready to be downloaded within SimPassengers. 

About ground communication: today SimPassengers can integrate with GSX for parts of the boarding flow, but we are not trying to replace GSX ground handling. Our focus is mainly the cabin/passenger layer. That said, more connected ground/cabin communication around boarding, delays, departure readiness and arrival/gate flow is definitely possible in the future.

So: French voices are not live yet, but yes, this is in the direction we want to support.

Thanks for the feedback
I’m logging the French/bilingual pack request.

/Anil

Will the passenger manifest be region-customized according to the departure/destination airports? By this I mean the passengers names mostly (well if your app includes pax weight, maybe make them fatter in America and leaner elsewhere 😄). For example if I fly in or into, say, Japan, will they have Japanese names (or a mix of Japanese and wherever the other airport lies)?

5 hours ago, iborg1979 said:

Will the passenger manifest be region-customized according to the departure/destination airports? By this I mean the passengers names mostly (well if your app includes pax weight, maybe make them fatter in America and leaner elsewhere 😄). For example if I fly in or into, say, Japan, will they have Japanese names (or a mix of Japanese and wherever the other airport lies)?

To be honest brother never thought of that 🙂 but you gave us a great idea. Right now the names were generic but I've already told the team to put this idea in the pipeline. Believe when it's ready I will personally inform you about this 🙂 LOL

How are you making sure the app / procedures / result etc. do not break due to the user not doing everything in a specific order (also because SOPs vary a lot), or by aircraft addons not sending (default) simvars etc.? That's what in the end has always broken every addon that tried to go that deep (like SLC). Aircraft addon does not use the seatbelt simvar? Great, user turns seatbelt on but for the app it's still off. So the user has to do it manually in the app and gone is a bit of the immersion and so on.

Can you turn off the random events, or modify them?

For example, if I get some weather diversion, or a diversion because of an unruly passenger, well beyond ATC simply can't handle diverts, so I don't want them to be a feature.