The Ultimate Airport Management Game

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Airport Master: Version Change Log: Latest Changes

Please note: Airport Master is currently in Early Access Public Alpha stage of development. Some features described here may (and will) change from version to version as game development progresses. If you participate in early-access public alpha testing, keep in mind that savegames created with earlier versions may become unreadable in newer versions.

This section of Airport Master Changelog lists changes introduced to the Public Alpha version of the game in the latest release. For earlier versions changelogs, please see changelog sections for versions: 0.3.x Public Alpha, 0.2.x Public Alpha, 0.1.x Public Alpha

Airport Master Early Access Public v. 0.4.4 Alpha released SEP 21, 2022

Game workflow

• Added inside workings of Cargo Terminal as per plan to make all terminals in the game fully working and interactive; the new Cargo Terminal has 3 floors with ground floor being main cargo sorting area, the next floor being cargo storage area (those are interconnected with ULD elevators), and the top floor being office space; the entire inside space is fully walkable and interactive; added
• Changed the design, layout (both inside and outside) of Cargo Terminal to high-detail model; changed
• Added the following types of Cargo ULDs: LD6, LD26, PLA pallet; added
• Added following airports to the game: Munsk Intl (JMMS/MNK); Sidneo Intl (JSSY/SDN); Ruo-De-Fevereiro Intl (JBRJ/RUF); added
• Added new Airline - Raduga Air Cargo (RDG), based in Munsk Intl, operates a fleet of cargo version IL-65G worldwide; has flights to Appleton Airport from JMMS, JSSY, JBRJ, JFPO, JGLL, JSSS; added
• Added new Airline - cargomaid (CMD), based in Sidneo Intl, operates a large fleet of cargo aircraft worldwide; has flights to Appleton Airport from JSSY, JBRJ, JSSS, JGLL; added
• Changed how Flight Schedule Slot Editor tracks erroneous input when editing existing slot assignments: previously it was possible to arrange slots in such a way that Departure flight may have become scheduled before Arrival flight, thou not crashing anything, the flights pair would have been considered erroneous data and would have been silently removed from the game without penalties to given Airline's rating of Player's airport - this is now fixed! Current version of Slot Editor tracks changes to both Arrival and Departure flights, either disallowing incorrect arrangements by moving linked flight to appropriate slot or if no such possibility exists (an exploit of pushing Departures back to make Arrival fall beyond editable time slot limit), by forcing Player to cancel such flights pair altogether and suffer a penalty in rating for owner Airline; changed
• Added new implementation of Weather engine to the game: following the convenience of Q-pressure blocks, the new Weather system relies on several key Weather Templates that determine the Normal (or Median) Weather state, typical for Player's Airport. These templates include Temperature curve, Relative Humidity curve, Prevailing Winds, Time-of-Day dependent Weather patterns, pressure fluctuations and over 20 other parameters that define Weather situation; actual and forecasted Weather are generated by solving equations for such Weather Templates (all WTs support operators +, *, OR, XOR, AND, <=>) and any combinations of any number of WTs that describe current or forecasted Weather; added
• Added much more precise Dew Point calculation using Magnus-Tetens formula (Sonntag90) based on Temperature, Relative Humidity and Pressure; added
• Changed how all vehicles and aircraft in the game communicate with various systems: originally a very clever system of regexp-based commands was in use, simplifying initial development, however it was creating unnecessary overhead in memory and in savegame files, so from now on it is binary; actual regexp-based commands still in use, but only to form a request within a given system, from that point on the request is converted to universal bit-masked value, that is then used for communication, in memory, in savegame files etc.; changed.
• Changed how the game checks for whether Time Skip is possible: the first check now happens 5 seconds after loading a saved game; for new game - the first check happens 30 seconds after Player sets any Airport fee configuration value ; after a Time Skip - no new Time Skip is possible for at least 30 seconds in case Wind Direction and Runway(s) in Use have not changed and 50 seconds after if they have; for precision sake all game modules that relied on timing data before Time Skip have their timers reset on Time Skip; changed
• Significantly reworked all lighting inside all buildings; new lighting model is considerably cheaper in both CPU and GPU load terms, provides much better visuals (both from inside and outside cameras), improves shading, illumination of surfaces, all pre-computed and realtime lighting of self-emitting objects (screens, timetables, ATMs, ad-boards etc.), provides much more natural and vivid lighting; changed

Aircraft

• Added new aircraft IL-65G (real world prototype IL-62M\Gr Cargo Version) - the pinnacle of ex-Soviet long-range aircraft designs, that served well over 40 years as passenger transport airplane with now only one civil operator of rare cargo version in the World. Best known for tail-heavy 4 engines composition requiring additional tail gear to be deployed when loading, unloading and empty on parking and also its quite unique wing leading edge design to counter parasite drag of tail mounted engines, this beast of an aircraft lives its second life as a roomy long-range cargo transport. This is the first 4-engine aircraft in the game, the first to have two independent gear systems and the first aircraft with bowl-type thrust reverser. Aircraft in the following liveries were added to the game: EX-PTD, EX-PMQ (operated by Raduga Air Cargo), VH-DBK (operated by cargomaid); added
• Changed visual model for V28A type of aircraft as it was one of the first Aircraft models in the Game and required update to more recent standards; changed
• Fixed visual model and physical model discrepancies for aircraft type E30P; fixed
• Changed visual effects for engine fuel-rich exhaust, gear touchdown smoke, some of hot-air effects; the new versions of all said effects produce far less load on CPU and look much more realistic; changed
• Changed how airplane physics works on takeoff: previously an aircraft would become subject of frame rate independent physics only after takeoff, thus calculations of takeoff dynamics accounted only for load of given aircraft and several other factors; from now on the correct takeoff roll distance is calculated prior to initiating takeoff and then the aircraft becomes subject of actual physics calculations regardless of current frame rate - this allows for all physical calculations to take remaining takeoff roll distance into account and thus result in very accurate takeoff roll performances for each aircraft type in game; changed
• Changed how Aircraft Taxi: the new taxiing physical model of an Aircraft produces accurate and very realistic rotation of main gear pair relative to dynamic point of rotational moment as defined by groundspeed, turning front gear angle, inertia, weight and acceleration smoothness; as a result, new taxi operations are much more realistic, fluent and produce the impression as to Player's perception of weight and acceleration depending on Aircraft type, main gear and engines configuration; this new Aircraft Taxi model is fully compliant with the upcoming Weather-affected surface physics (wet apron, water, slush); changed
• Added wheel chocks to the following Aircraft types in the game, namely: V28A, P05T, Z205, VE58, VE20, D170, ZN17, RJ10, RJ5X, E30P, PC13, L20V, CT55, J358, VA32, VE9D, CR22, E193, AN25. Wheel chocks are placed by the service crew or by pilot of smaller G\A aircraft upon engine(s) shutdown; the crew may elect to place only some of the chocks or even none if weather condition and time of turnaround permit; added
• Fixed the way airspeed limitations imposed by regulations incorrectly affected actual airspeed: since the limitations were imposed after all physical calculations of airspeed component while flying, if an aircraft performance for given altitude exceeded limits, the airspeed would have been cut according to limit at strict value (say at exactly 245 knots until FL100), which rendered all previous physical calculations useless; from now on a limitation imposed only affects Captain's judgment of required airspeed, which in turn does not guarantee an aircraft is capable of maintaining said airspeed (for instance, in gusting winds, the Captain will try to conform with 245 knots restriction, but aircraft airspeed may fluctuate from 235 to 255 knots); fixed
• Fixed a bug with after loading a savegame, aircraft may have indicated it has flaps in takeoff configuration, but actual physical flaps never reached that position until as late as on takeoff roll; fixed
• Fixed main gear extension and retraction animations being incompatible with new taxi model for Aircraft types P05T, ZN17; fixed
• Changed airspeed limitations parameters mostly for visual circuits but also for some IFR procedures for almost every aircraft in game for better air traffic flow and more realism; changed
• Changed lighting configuration (beacon, strobe, nav, position, logo lights) for the following aircraft: CT55, AN25, IL65, A21F, CR22; changed
• Changed aircraft configurations (required takeoff distance, required landing distance, engine rotors RPMs) for the following aircraft: Z205, AN25, IL65, A21F, CT55, ZN17; changed

Vehicles

• Changed how Cargo Loader vehicles approach aircraft on parking stands: from now on Cargo Loaders take into account type of aircraft and exact location of cargo doors, preferred loading scheme, delays etc.; changed
• Added capability to un-assign any specific Service Vehicle from any given Customer Aircraft and re-assign it to any other Customer Aircraft; this will result in much smoother GSE operations and more flexibility in determining in which order un-used GSEs can service customers; added
• Changed Large Fuel Tanker Truck fuel delivery rate to 44L/sec for Upgrade Level 1, 58L/sec for Upgrade Level 2 and 76L\sec for Upgrade Level 3; changed
• Changed distances of sound spread for all electric vehicles in game (Baggage Carts and Cargo Loaders); changed
• Changed vehicle lights model to version 2, the new version results in very realistic night- and day-time lights of all vehicles, eliminating inefficient use of lighting especially during nighttime; changed
• Fixed Airport Administration cars that perform ATC relocation during ATC Shift Change sometimes erroneously drive to and from Administration building for the second time after ATC Shift Change had been completed; fixed
• Removed Cargo Loader GSE's scheme of loading involving unloading ULDs first to a spot on the ground and only than to rear platform as this loading scheme is very rare and makes no sense in the game; changed

Cameras

• Added an event notification processing upon Object Camera switching between targets; it is now possible to execute specific commands, request UI redraw, data exchange etc. in between Object Camera stopping tracking Object 1 and switching to tracking Object 2; added
• Airport Overview Camera free wander area increased to allow for better views of Cargo Terminal and Heliport; changed

Environment

• Significantly increased detail draw distance for Higher setting for all non-airport buildings (City houses, Appleton Expo, Factory, Stadium, tall buildings etc.), keeping best optimization values for lower-end GPUs and allowing high-end GPUs to render much more distant details when Player selects detail draw distances closer to High setting; changed
• Added roadside object - Automotive Fuel Station; currently 5 fuel stations operate in vicinity of Player's airport); added
• Reworked roadside corner of Apron West near Flight School and road branch to Hangars West thus completing this part of Airport-to-City contact zone; changed
• Fixed Hangars East doors opening and closing animations not blending correctly resulting in mismatch of logical positions of hangar doors and actual depiction in game; fixed
• Changed Ground Radar animation from full-circle to recursive arc scan, which is much more typical for ground radars in airports, thou full-circle mode can still be used and may become part of Ground Radar upgrade in future versions; changed
• Added Pier One on Eastern shore of Lake Intahoe; added
• Added first watercraft - a sailboat (real world prototype Ecume de Mer), those can be seen on flybys of Lake Intahoe cruising down the lake or berthed at Pier One near Intahoe Resort; added
• Fixed lighting of greenhouses and several other agricultural objects around airport; fixed
• Added missing light post on cargo apron between stands U2 and U3; added
• Added 2 new helipads: one near Lake Intahoe Resort and another near the summit of Mount Fluvio; both to be used for local helicopter flights as part of Airport Tier 2 Upgrade mechanics; added
• Added several new types of city building on eastern side of the airport; added
• Added ILEA Market building on the eastern side of the Airport; added
• Added several groups of objects to General Manager's office and Cargo Terminal; added

Quests and NPCs

• Added 35 new female and 35 new male avatar segment definitions; added
• Added 3 new NPCs: Dr. Ted Russ MD, Chief of Medicine, St. Pantaleon Hospital - giving major MedEvac related quests in the game; Dr. Elliot Ryan MD, Chief of ER Wing, St. Pantaleon Hospital - informing the Player of all upcoming MedEvac operations (Airplane and Helicopter); Jane Rosenthal, Head of Meteorology, Appleton Airport Meteorology Station - giving all the quests related to upgrading Meteo Station, key figure in quest Going International; added

Sound

• Fixed sound range bug that would sometimes incorrectly load values of Dynamic Sound Spread Range from Aircraft Atlas for both the aircraft type and particular aircraft variants, this in turn may have sometimes caused the aircraft type controller to report correct audial dynamic range on save game loading but be overwritten by incorrect Aircraft Atlas value in the process resulting in whole variety of dynamic sound ranges to be lost; fixed
• Added sounds for IL65 engines (recorded and re-mastered from real D30-KU engine in hangar); added
• Added sounds for TA-6A APU (recorded from real TA-6A unit in hangar); added
• Added sounds for IL65 flaps and gear motors (recorded on real world analogue units and re-mastered digitally to accurately resemble the original motors sounds); added
• Added numerous sounds for inner workings of Cargo Terminal; added
• Changed Ground Radar operation sound to a more precise version, also it is heard faintly in Control Tower East (more like quiet buzzing of motors); the outside camera sound spread has also been reduced as such unit in question does not produce as much noise; changed
• Changed Dynamic Audial Range parameters for the following aircraft types: CT55, VE58, J358, AN25, VE9D, CR22, ZN17 to correctly represent engine sound spread in current (fixed) dynamic sound range model; changed
• Changed sound of clicking in-game UI buttons to quieter and shorter version; changed

ATC

• Added Dual-Runway use mode to ATC: it is now possible for aircrews bound for parking on Apron West (and capable of landing shorter Runway 17-35) to request said runway on arrival and for departure in order to save fuel on taxi; keep in mind, that since Appleton Airport does not possess required 2km distance between runway centerlines, no simultaneous operations would ever be possible; added
• Added runway change due to wind, prevailing wind conditions per time of day, prevailing winds per climate observations, sudden change of wind conditions; runway change for now can only happen during Time Skip (i.e. when no previously cleared traffic is a factor; added
• Enabled Ground Radar both in UI (available by holding G on keyboard) and in Tower East control room screens; the radar displays dim blue markers for idle aircraft on ground, bright green markers, trailing and flight info box for taxing aircraft, bright amber markers and flight info box for runway operations (lineups, takeoffs, landings and vacation of runway); Ground Radar does a passive sweep over Airport territory and is capable to display ADS-B data in flight info box if transponder is operational on aircraft in question; Ground Radar tracks targets up to 10m of altitude; added
• Changed how ATC manages Runway Approach segment (from Aircraft fully established on ILS to landing) and Visual Approach segment (from Aircraft obtaining visual approach clearance on downwind leg to landing) - since no parallel operation on runways is possible, the following actions will be enforced by ATC: if Aircraft A is established on ILS Runway 1 and Aircraft B reaches FAF for Runway 2, ATC will clear Aircraft B for ILS approach followed by request to orbit on ILS Runway 2 for traffic resolution; if Aircraft A obtained landing clearance for Runway 1, Aircraft B may proceed with ILS approach for Runway 2 and will expect late landing clearance; if Aircraft A is finishing its landing roll and is about to vacate Runway 1, Aircraft B will be cleared to land on Runway 2; this kind of sequencing may allow Sidestep for Aircraft A from Runway 1 to Runway 2 (but not vice versa, of course, due LDA of Runway 1 is insufficient for majority of aircraft using Runway 2); if Aircraft B is cleared Visual App for Runway 1 and Aircraft B is approaching FAF for Runway 2, Aircraft A will be asked to either 1) fly an orbit on downwind leg or 2) extend downwind; changed
• Fixed helipads visible on Radar screen while Player's airport has not yet been upgraded to Airport Upgrade Tier 2 (Heliport is not yet established at Player's airport); fixed
• Fixed ATC operational display not updating active runway information as soon as there are changes, thou other fields updated correctly; fixed

User Interface

• Added Ground Radar UI overlay, available by holding G on keyboard; added
• Changed the layout of upper info bar to allow Active Runway indicator to display both active runways numbers in dual-runway configuration; changed
• Fixed Flight Strips sometimes not displaying accurate SID\STAR information for inbound IFR flights; fixed
• Changed Flight Strips information layout to a more informative variant: for aircraft idle on ground parking stand is shown on its Flight Strip; all runway operations are now correctly marked; redundant information blocks removed; taxi ops indicate target runway or parking stand; approaches and departures indicate both SID/STAR and runway; font changed for better readability of Flight Strips; changed
• Changed Help Screen (Keyboard Commands) to reflect changes in current version of the game; changed
• Changed New Game screen: available avatars are now randomly shuffled on entering New Game screen + some cosmetic changes to UI; changed
• Fixed pressing F12 key to hide UI sometimes may have perform an inadvertent camera change; fixed
• Changed how all mono-space fonts are depicted in game UI; previously when Player set screen resolution with aspect ratio other than 16:9 or 16:10, some fonts may have become garbled in several screens, this is now processed correctly; changed
• Added click-zones to the following game world objects: Hangars West and East (clicking displays Service Contracts Screen); Power Substation (clicking displays Electrical Power Management Screen); elevator call buttons in Cargo Terminal (hovering over a button displays a popup indicating floor to which travel is possible from by pressing given button; clicking it takes Player to designated floor; added
• Fixed Airport Admin - Finances screen to accept larger values of grow\shrink percentages as on day 1, percentages may reach +1000% and the field would not accommodate text correctly; fixed
• Fixed hovering over a Ground Service Vehicle may have rendered incorrect Vehicle information in popup Info window; fixed
• Changed anti-aliasing setting for all in-game logos on all UI screens, some logo versions were changed to higher-resolution versions; changed
• Fixed Game World camera not fading when selecting Load Game from in game menu, missing sound effect is now again audible too; fixed

This section of Airport Master Changelog lists changes introduced to the game in THE LATEST Public Alpha Version 0.4.4a. For earlier versions changelogs, please see changelog sections for versions: 0.4.x Public Alpha, 0.3.x Public Alpha, 0.2.x Public Alpha, 0.1.x Public Alpha