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BluePrint Simulations News
Archive:
June 14, 2008
New pages containing
screenshots have been posted for our soon-to-be-released scenery
SAEZ-SVMI, Buenos Aires and Caracas.
Testing has entered its final stages and release is
expected within the next few days.
June 11, 2008
After enjoying
the great success achieved by
our KCLE, KIAD, KMSP and KMEM
sceneries, we have decided to
give
priority to airports with a more
"Global" flavor over smaller
regional ones. We have
added
Toronto's Pearson Intl (CYYZ)
and Orlando's KMCO to our list
of projects to follow the
two currently under development
CYUL and KORD. This lineup
will take us through the end of
the year.
As most other developers have
realized already, the limited
popularity of smaller
regional airports does not
justify the amount of time
required to complete their
development. Perhaps in
the future we will have a chance
to re-orient our interest toward
a few long-neglected regional
airports like KOAK and KHOU.
For now, however, we feel the
need to offer sceneries with a
wider audience and appeal.
As usual, you feedback is
more than welcome. Please
let us know what you think.
June 11, 2008
The imminent
release of our first "South
America" package is a great
opportunity to once again thank
all our customers for your
continued support. We
would also like to invite you to
experience two airports long
forgotten by the simulator
add-on development community.
Thanks to your support we have
had the opportunity to develop
these two exciting and important
Latin American destinations.
Even though they have been
the subject of some excellent
freeware renditions, we have
portrayed for the first time
SAEZ and SVMI at the maximum
possible level of detail and
accuracy. SAEZ (better
known as Ezeiza) and SVMI
(better known as Maiquetia) are
airports with significant
historical relevance that
continue to evolve and develop.
Ezeiza is clearly the gate to
the southern end of South
America with non-stop flights to
North America, Europe, Asia and
Africa and convenient links to
Chile, Uruguay and
Paraguay in addition to the
whole of Argentina .
Maiquetia continues to be the
gateway to South America and the
Caribbean, with direct flights
to most major cities in Western
Europe and Latin America as well
as the US and Canada. We
hope that you enjoy these two
sceneries, ideal destinations
for those long-haul/wide-body
flights and busy hubs for
regional flights in South
America and the Caribbean
April 10, 2008
Today we
released KMEM, Memphis
International Airport.
Once again, we have chosen an
airport long neglected by the FS
scenery design community. Responding to
numerous customer requests, we
offer this scenery hoping to highlight
KMEM's relevance and
efficiency. KMEM handles more
aircraft operations then any
other airport in the world, and
does it with
very modest resources, i.e.
runways and taxiways.
Being home to FedEx®, the
undisputed leader in parcel and
express mail transportation and
delivery, KMEM will continue to
evolve and grow for many years
to come.
We hope that you will enjoy our
rendition of KMEM. Having
applied the best of our skills,
we are very proud of the result,
thus
renewing our commitment to
improve our products with each
new release. By the way,
our current lineup includes
SAEZ/SVMI, CYUL, KOAK/KSMF, and
KORD.
Finally, we are adding full
64-bit operating system
compatibility. Being a
major change associated with the
installer software, we do expect
a few bugs initially. We
really appreciate your patience
and understanding. Bugs
will be handled as quickly as
possible during the first few
days after release.
Thanks again for your
support!
March 14, 2008
KMEM has entered the final
stages of testing. Release
is expected for the first week
of march.
After clearing the last few
hurdles that were delaying the
release of our South America
package, we are happy to say
that development is at full
swing. It will not be long
before you can plan your flights
to Buenos Aires and Caracas.
Located in the north coast of
South America, SVMI is an
exciting Caribbean destination.
Its location, nested between the
mountains and the sea, make
approach to runway 10 an
interesting one, especially
under low visibility conditions.
Ezeiza, gateway not only to one
of the most exciting cities in
South America, but also
beautiful and challenging
destinations like Ushuaia and
Bariloche. With scheduled
flights from cities in every
continent, SAEZ is definitely a
must when planning your
long-haul flights. Look
for this release in May 2008.
January 20, 2008
We
celebrate our first anniversary
with the release of KIND 2009,
The New Indianapolis
International Airport. We
take this opportunity to thank
our loyal customers for your
support, and for giving us the
opportunity to continue
producing sceneries of
increasing quality, detail and
accuracy. We also renew
our commitment to continuously
upgrading our older sceneries to
match the quality standards of
the newer ones.
We look forward to celebrating
the opening of the new KIND, and
we are pleased to offer you the
opportunity to experience this
event through the simulator.
Thee birth of a new airport is
always an exciting event for all
of us. We hope you enjoy
this event as much as we will.
The new passenger terminal will
not only be quite beautiful and
impressive, but it will
completely transform KIND,
adding to its safety and
efficiency while solidifying its
status as a major international
airport. Soon to be the
newest airport in the US, we
believe that IND should receive
the attention that it deserves.
We hope that our version
enhances you enjoyment of the
simulator experience and brings
to your attention the relevance
and importance of KIND as a
major freight and mail
distribution center, its status
as an aircraft maintenance
center,
and its ideal location to become
a viable alternative for travel
across the US.
January 7, 2008
We
are pleased to start 2008 with
the release of the second major
upgrade for our first scenery,
KRDU 2010. The free
upgrade installers are available
in the "Downloads" section of
this web site. Significant
improvements included in version
2.3.x are:
-
Fixed models eliminating the
possibility of building
crashes in version 2.2.2 for
FSX
-
New ground textures that
blend more smoothly with the
surrounding terrain,
especially in the FSX
version
-
Updated taxiway and ramp
configurations around
Terminal 2 based on the more
recent satellite image used
to generate the ground
textures
-
New spotlight tarmac
illumination effect for both
versions, FS2004 and FSX
-
New, more realistic models
for the hold-short flashing
lights and parking alignment
aid devices
We plan to update the Terminal 2
model in the near future, with
improvements based on the new
building already taking shape in
real life.
November 22, 2007
Fulfilling once again our
commitment to continuously
improve and upgrade our
products, we are pleased to
announce the release of the
second major upgrade for our
KCLE and KIAD sceneries. This upgrades
are available as free downloads
for all BluePrint's KCLE and
KIAD scenery owners. They can be obtained
from the "Downloads" section of
this web site. Major
changes included in the v1.3.x
upgrades are:
-
New ground textures
displaying improved blending with the
surrounding terrain.
The textures were customized
for each specific version of
the simulator.
-
New spotlight tarmac
illumination effect for both
simulator versions
-
New models for hold short
lights (released earlier as
interim upgrades) and
parking alignment aid
devices.
-
Improved AFCAD file with
accurate runway 24R
threshold and approach
lighting system location and
enhanced taxiway and taxiway
signs layout for KCLE.
Note: no changes were made
to the terminal areas and
parking configurations for
either scenery.
We have also posted replacement
files incorporating the new
spotlight tarmac illumination
effect and alternative parking
alignment aid devices for all
other sceneries, KDAL, KRDU and KSDF.
November 6, 2007
BluePrint Simulations is proud
to announce the release of KMSP,
Minneapolis-Saint Paul
International airport. As
usual, the scenery is available
in two versions, one for FS2004
and the other for FSX.
MSP is by far the most complex
airport that we have recreated. With two
terminals and eight unique
concourses, it pushes the limits
of achievable accuracy and
detail. After months of
development, however, we believe
that we have captured its true
look and field.
Our primary goal was to reach
the optimum compromise between
detail and performance, and we
hope you will agree with us when
we say that we have achieved
that goal.
We have also incorporated a few new
features including a spotlight
tarmac illumination effect and
on-the-ground taxiway markings
at all major runway
intersections for both versions.
We have also continued to
improve the ground texture
blending, especially in the FSX
version where terrain elevation
and surrounding default
texturing accurately represent
real life.
We hope you enjoy KMSP, and
thank you for your support!
October 8, 2007
KMSP
development is in its final
stages.
We expect to start testing in a
few days. Release will happen
toward the end of the month.
We will publish some preliminary
screenshots by the end of the
week.
We have finalized the line up
for the rest of the year.
Our next release will be KIND,
followed by the first issue of
our South American series
including SVMI and SAEZ as a
single package.
We will start 2008 with KMEM and
"US Southwest I", the first issue
of our regional series that will
include KOKC
and KHOU. Other products
planned for the first half of
2008 include KORD and "Northern
California", the second issue of
the regional series. It
will include KOAK and KSMF. (This package will
also be part of our reality soon
series because we will highlight
their new terminals still in the
planning and construction
stages.)
Finally, we are working on new
and improved ground textures for
KCLE and KRDU. Free
upgrades will be available
before the end of the year.
August 29, 2007
We are no longer
considering the development of KATL. Requests and
suggestions regarding the next product after KMSP are
more than welcome. The options are still wide open, so
feel free to voice your opinion in our forum or via
support@blueprintsimulations.com.
August 20, 2007
We
are pleased to announce the
release of KSDF, Louisville
Standiford Field. KSDF is
by far the most understated
airport in the US, largely
unknown while being of paramount
importance in the mail, parcel,
and cargo distribution business
in the country and the world.
Standiford Field has the
distinction of being not only
the home base of the second
largest cargo airline in the
world, but also ranking #2 in
the US and #10 in the world when
it comes to the amount of cargo
that transits though it every
year.
As usual, we have looked into
the future and have portrayed
one of the largest cargo sorting
facilities as it will exist by
decade's end. Once again
we have included as much detail
as possible without sacrificing
simulator performance. We
have also significantly improved
the ground texture blending with
the surrounding environment both
in FS2004 and FSX.
We invite you to explore KSDF,
where everything is about heavy
metal flying to and from
familiar as well as exotic
destinations worldwide.
August 10, 2007
KSDF
is ready! For
strategic reasons, release is
being delayed until August 20th.
In the meantime, we have posted
screenshots for both the FS2004
and FSX versions. Large
scale images are also available
for download. Please visit
the KSDF product page for
details by clicking on the KSDF
icon on the left.
KMSP
development is progressing well.
We plan to release 3 more
sceneries before the end of the
year. We would like some
feedback regarding the next
scenery after KMSP. We are
considering the development of
KATL ahead of KIND. If you
already own a copy of a
previously released KATL scenery
and you would like an updated
version, please let us know via
our forum or via email.
Finally, the public forum has
been removed, as we were unable
to stop or even reduce the
amount of spam being published
there. The only reason to
require registration for the use
of the support forums is to
filter adds and other extraneous
material. Obviously, most
of you prefer using email to
obtain support and assistance.
Please feel free to email us at
support@blueprintsimulations.com.
June 20, 2007
Version upgrades are now
available for ALL
BluePrint sceneries. Please
visit our downloads page or
click
here
to get your upgrade installer.
The upgrades are free for all
BluePrint customers.
What can you expect from the
upgrades?
-
Enhanced FSX compatibility,
including DirectX file format
for all FSX model textures.
KCLE, KDAL and KRDU models were
rebuilt using the FSX SDK and
now display improved
transparency and reflective
textures in all terminals and
concourses. Extrusion
fences replaced modeled fences
in all FSX sceneries.
-
Improved performance for all
sceneries as a result of
additional Gmax model and
texture optimization, especially
the older KCLE and KDAL.
-
Improved AI mapping files for
all sceneries, now including GA
parking spots and re-worked
airline gate sizes and
assignments.
-Realigned summer ground
textures for KRDU
-Autogen trees and airport
beacons added to KCLE and KDAL
-Corrected ILS frequency for
runway 1/19 at KIAD
May 25, 2007
BluePrint Simulations is pleased
to announce the release of KIAD,
The Washington Dulles
International Airport. As
usual, the scenery is available
in two versions. The
FS2004 version pushes the limit
of detail and accuracy without
sacrificing performance and
incorporates numerous changes
and improvement projects
currently underway at Dulles.
The models used in the FSX version
were built from
the ground up using tools
provided in the FSX SDK.
Both versions include highly
detailed custom-made models of
all major buildings on the
field. High resolution
textures applied to all models
were customized for each
version. Reflective
effects that were only available
for aircraft models in previous
versions have now been
implemented in FSX scenery
models. Please make sure
to wear you sunglasses when
taxing around the glass laden
Concourse B, especially when the
sun shines from the south during
spring and summer.
As usual, high-resolution ground
textures reflecting seasonal
changes have been included with
autogen vegetation to match.
We hope you enjoy this scenery
as much as we enjoyed making it!
April
9, 2007
Implementation of Windows Vista
compatibility for all FSX
products has been completed.
All installers available for
download from BMT Micro are now
compatible with Windows Vista.
The lineup of airports to be
developed in the near future
includes: KIAD,
Washington-Dulles International
(to be released in May); KSDF,
Louisville International
Standiford Field, UPS's main hub
in the US (to be released in
June); KIND, The New
Indianapolis International; and
of course KLAX, The Future ...
Other airports in our list
include KMCI, KMSP, KPIT, and
KHOU.
Please feel free to submit your
wish list via our
support@blueprintsimulations.com
e-mail. We will set our
priorities according to the
number of requests we receive
for any given scenery.
Feel free to include other
airports not listed above.
We have also begun development
of our South America series to
include the first
highly-detailed representations
of SVMI, "Simon Bolivar"
International Airport (Maiquetia)
serving the city of Caracas,
Venezuela; and SAEZ, "Ministro
Pistarini" International Airport
(Ezeiza) serving the city of
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
April 1, 2007
KRDU2010 v.2 is finally here. KRDU2010 has been
completely redesigned to represent the Raleigh-Durham
International Airport as it will exist in the year 2010.
All currently existing buildings are represented
accurately by re-designed Gmax models with
high-resolution textures. The model for the new
Terminal 2 was improved to increase realism.
The field layout was modified to represent more
accurately the real airport, including runway and
taxiway locations. High-resolution, photo real
ground textures were added in and around the airport The scenery is available in two versions for
maximum compatibility with FS9 (FS2004) and FSX.
March 31, 2007
BluePrint
Simulations is pleased to announce that the
implementation of full FSX compatibility is underway.
Future FSX sceneries will be designed from scratch using
FSX tools, taking full advantage of enhanced texturing
that will significantly improve the look and performance
of Gmax models in FSX. Windows Vista compatibility
will also be implemented for all FSX sceneries including
those already released. Of course, we plan to
continue to produce FS9 versions for all our products,
as we expect FS9 to continue to be the flight simulator
of choice in the near future.
March 9, 2007
BluePrint
Simulations is pleased to announce the release of KDAL,
Dallas Love Field. The scenery is available in two versions for
maximum compatibility with FS9 (FS2004) and FSX. It
features highly detailed, custom made Gmax models and
textures of all buildings in the airport including the
terminal and three concourses as well as GA and
other service facilities. It also features
high-resolution photographic ground textures in and around the
airport reflecting seasonal changes.
March 1, 2007
The KDAL and KRDU
sceneries are nearing completion! We expect
release of the Dallas Love Field scenery in the next few
days, and the Raleigh-Durham scenery shortly thereafter.
The full version of KDAL will feature the terminal
building and all three concourses, parking garages, and
about 90% of all buildings in the filed at the highest
level of detail and texture resolution available in
MSFS. It will also feature photo realistic
high-resolution ground textures in and around the
airport including seasonal changes.
February 16, 2007
BluePrint
Simulations has released a free preview of our next
product: KDAL, the Dallas Love Field. Follow
the link on the left to the KDAL product page to
download the free preview. The files can also be
downloaded from Avsim.com and FlightSim.com. The
preview depicts the West Concourse (Southwest Airlines
Hub) and the Continental Express and American Airlines
gates on the East Concourse as well as the main terminal
building. We hope you enjoy this preview. The
full scenery depicting the entire airport, including the
surrounding area with photographic high-resolution
textures, will be released
for purchase in the very near future.
January 30, 2007
BluePrint
Simulations is pleased to announce the release of our
first professional scenery add-on for Microsoft Flight
Simulator: KCLE, The Cleveland-Hopkins International
Airport. The scenery is available in two versions for
maximum compatibility with FS9 (FS2004) and FSX. It
features highly detailed, custom made Gmax models and
textures of all buildings in the airport including the
terminal and four concourses as well as GA, cargo and
other service facilities. It also features
high-resolution photographic ground textures around the
airport reflecting seasonal changes.
January 18, 2007
BluePrint Simulations is pleased to
announce the imminent release of our first professional
scenery depicting the Cleveland-Hopkins International
Airport. The new scenery will be available for
purchase from our web site. It
will be available two
versions to ensure maximum compatibility with both FS9
and FSX, as either a download or in a CD. Please visit the KCLE
product page for details and screenshots.
January 18, 2007
BluePrint Simulations is
officially launched with the opening of our website and
the re-release of our KRDU 2010 scenery in two versions,
one for FS9 (FS2004) and another for FSX. This,
our first release, is free for download. We look forward
to joining the scenery-design community in providing the
highest quality add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
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