After the successful launch on the PC in October, AirportSimthe advanced airport ground handling simulator, is coming to Xbox today. Over the past few months, Polish studio MS Games has been hard at work bringing its highly detailed airport experience to console. With the release of AirportSim on Xbox is now in sight: Ben Kobs from Iceberg Interactive sat down with producer Krzysztof Stabryła to talk about their journey so far!
Can you tell us something about the history of AirportSim? How long did you work on it and how did the development go?
We’re working on it AirportSim since late 2021. We at MS Games are all aviation fans, but Mateusz, our CEO, has been an aviation enthusiast since childhood. Not only does he hold a pilot’s license, but he has also been developing software for flight simulators since 2008. The idea of developing a ground handling simulator has been on his mind for a long time and we felt that this area is generally unexplored in the simulation space, so we were keen to start working on a simula tor focused on ground operations.
Development had its ups and downs, but was a lot of fun. We had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with many wonderful people on the development of our game. From ground handling companies to vehicle manufacturers, we were lucky enough to have access to meticulous technical documentation and first-hand insight into the intricacies of airport life, which made the development process much easier.
How exciting is it for you to be able to bring your game to a console like the Xbox?
We are very pleased to introduce you AirportSim and the world of ground handling on Xbox. This will allow us to reach aviation enthusiasts who might not otherwise have access to the game. Bringing our game to a console like Xbox is an exciting milestone for us as it allows us to share our passion for aviation with a larger community!
What role does an active community play in the development of the game? How does fan feedback influence you?
During production, we received tremendous support and feedback from our community. We released a few demos to try out and their feedback was invaluable in refining some features and fixing key issues before launch. The aviation community has always been a huge help in creating projects like this and their insights have been crucial to our development process.
How important was it to you to offer players a realistic experience in AirportSimCan you elaborate on how realistic the game is compared to real-world ground handling?
It was important to us to offer a realistic ground handling experience, AirportSim. We are proud that our mechanics are almost identical to those in real life! We visited many airports and ground handling companies and worked with Welcome Airport Services, LS Airport Services, Warsaw Chopin Airport and numerous others during production. These partnerships have been a huge help to us.
Of course, some procedures may vary from country to country, airline to airline, and even city to city. This means that there may be some variation as certain tasks may be performed differently than some players are used to. That’s why we decided to standardize these procedures. We wanted to keep things realistic, but we also needed to make sure the game was consistent and fun for players.
What challenges did you face during the conception and implementation?
Before working with industry experts, one of the biggest challenges we faced was the lack of documentation and clear and detailed photographs. Creating and recreating these models took a lot of time and effort and it was difficult to start working on accurate models and renderings. We waded through thousands of pages of documentation. It was a tedious and time-consuming task, but essential for the level of realism we were aiming for.
Recording sound was another big hurdle. Airports are incredibly loud! It’s difficult to get clear sound recordings. But our sound designer Łukasz did a great job and made sure everything sounded right in the game.
What’s next?
At the moment the focus is on Xbox! The game was released today and we are excited to see how it goes.
AirportSim
Iceberg Interactive
39,99 $
33,99 $
Praised for its accuracy by real ground handlers, AirportSim is an advanced airport ground handling simulator with lifelike imagery and procedures, licensed aircraft, vehicles and airports, and live weather conditions using the METAR system. Enjoy the varied tasks of an airport ground handler alone or with friends and make it an unforgettable experience. There is always so much to do! Enjoy many of the accurate in-game tasks developed using documented knowledge and interviews with real airport ground handlers: – Follow Me – Aircraft taxiing – Briefing – Securing an aircraft – Connecting GPU – Refueling – Baggage handling – Jetway maneuvers – Catering … – and more Real Airports Four lifelike airports that we have personally captured and carefully recreated, focusing on elements such as floor layouts, aircraft parking, lines and gate numbers, all of which correspond to real life. You can follow real aviation maps to get around! Game Modes There are several game modes in AirportSim, – Scenario: Based on stacked flight plans, predefined weather conditions and tasks that you have to complete one after the other. – Challenge: Feel like you can handle any situation at the airport? Test your skills by landing as high as possible on the scoreboard! – Cooperation: Together you can achieve more and have more fun – invite your friends to join you on an adventure at one of the busy airports. – Free Play: There are no rules here, explore airports at your own pace and do whatever you want. You can watch the planes take off and land or join in, you decide!