Following the successful launch of Flow just before the end of the year, Parallel 42 has released a brand new update for the utility tool in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The release was seen as a success by Managing Director, Edson Soriano. “Since launch, we have received virtually no requests for tech support, and the only fix in this update is for something that the MSFS beta broke! This says a lot about the quality our team and testers are pushing to production.“

This update focuses primarily on all-new features based on feedback from the community.

Leading the charge for new features is ‘Smart Nameplates’ that allows you to customise the nameplates within the sim. Choose between showing friends or no one and also see it automatically adjust to day/night. You can change colours, fonts and more. Another neat update is the COM feature, meaning you can see the frequencies your radio stack is set to.

Other changes include the ability to keep the wheel centred, make use of a new notepad feature, and new APIs for script creators (on the Pro version of the tool).

Improvements include a new way to toggle 3D thermals, a new widget for active pause (and additional settings), changes to the weather visualisation, and also changes to the portal widget to make the process smoother.

To get the update, simply open up Orbx Central and run the update.

Flow is available in three forms: Flow (free), Flow Essentials ($15 USD) or Flow Pro ($25 USD).

CHANGELOG

NEW

• Smart Nameplates, a customizable nameplate feature (Essentials/Pro)
• Added Ghost Wheels, these only show in the editor view. (Essentials/Pro)
• Added the ability for Flow Wheel & Otto to always span in the center of the screen (Essentials/Pro)
• New COMs widgets (Essentials/Pro)
• Active Pause fix (Essentials/Pro)
  Disables flight controls and eliminates fuel consumption during Active Pause. Can be disabled in the Flow Settings.
• Added a widget to toggle Active Pause (Essentials/Pro)
• Added a widget to toggle 3d thermals. (Essentials/Pro)
• New Notepad widget via Otto (Pro)
• Fix for disappearing icons in the default toolbar (ours and others). (All)
  We’ve shielded properly created icons from being overridden by poor development practices. Panels causing the issue may now show icon artifacts; please contact those respective devs.
• Added a few APIs for script creators (Pro)
  – command.get_active_pause()
  – command.set_active_pause()
  – weather.get_weather()
  – weather.set_weather()
  – weather.set_3d_thermals()
  – weather.get_3d_thermals()
  Read more at https://parallel42.com/flowdoc
• You can now move the Otto search bar by dragging the Flow logo or title. (Pro)
• Added the ability to always spawn Otto at the center of the sim window (or Flow window in VR). (Pro)
• Added the ability to always spawn the Wheel at the center of the sim window (or Flow window in VR). (All)

IMPROVED

• Improved Portal Widget (Essentials/Pro)
  We have improved the experience of teleportation with Portal. 
  Enjoy new AI-generated works of art while you wait, and accurately position your aircraft on the ground with our new approach to slewing.
• Improved the weather visualization in the Weather panel. (Pro)
• The Toolbox Manager is now easier to use and understand. (Pro)
  To export scripts, select the ones you want to export from any of your wheels and click the export button.
• Better visual indications when a script doesn’t compile properly. (Pro)
  A script with an error will appear faded in your wheel and won’t prevent subsequent scripts from initializing.

FIXED

• Fixed an issue that surfaced with the latest sim update (beta channel)