Parallel 42’s The Skypark is due to release very soon as early access and I was lucky enough to sit down with both Edson and Keven who took me on a developer walkthrough of the product. During our hour-long conversation, the duo shared their development insights into the product, why there was a delay between announcement and release, and how Microsoft Flight Simulator impacted the whole development cycle for the team.
Not only did we discuss some of the obvious questions, but Edson and Keven both gave some insight into how the software works, the expansion plans for the future and also a deep look into using the application in the simulator. Plus, we got an exclusive look at an upcoming mission which has been created in collaboration with Ben Lomov. This mission, which all players will get the chance to fly soon, will see you flying the Pitts S-1S cross country exactly as Ben flew it, along with commentary and check-ins from Ben himself. We’ll be putting together a very special look at this content very soon just for you.
Some key points were discussed during our hour-long conversation:
- A release date isn’t yet confirmed, but hints were made for it being in time for the holidays.
- Whilst the product is in a polished state, it’s being released as an “early access” product whilst P42 understands user habits, makes adjustments and adds features still in progress. This isn’t a buggy “early access” product, but one that simply needs refining after masses of people have used it.
- The pricing, as confirmed a while back, will see The Skypark releasing initially as a standalone, single-time purchase. The Skypark Live will release in the future as an optional subscription for those who want a much more alive world.
- Microsoft Flight Simulator is the primary simulator right now for The Skypark with development work for other platforms being looked at once this release is stable.
- User experience and feedback is at the heart of The Skypark, and the team will listen to any feedback delivered to them after release to continue to improve it further.
- Be sure to enlist on The Skypark’s Discord group to start seeing things in action.
As soon as we can, we’ll be producing a first look video of the product in action using our own experience and flights. Of course, we’ll be sure to keep you informed of a release as soon as we know.
