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you have bought any add-ons for Flight Simulator or Combat Flight Simulator,
or even downloaded freeware aircraft, there is a high chance that you have used
an aircraft developed by the Terry Hill and Jim Rhoads team. Their most recent
achievements have been the extremely popular Abacus products, Private Pilot
and Corporate Pilot, packages which set the standard for flightsim development.
At FlightSim.Com we feel it is important to keep readers in touch with the people
behind our hobby, and in this interview Jim and Terry were kind enough to answer
our questions and to give some insight into what the future holds.
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Terry Hill
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Jim Rhoads
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1. How long ago did you both get started in the FS world?
Jim - I started getting serious with FS5. I dabbled with the early versions but did not give it a lot of time until 5 came out. The main reason I got serious was that I wanted something to supplement training in real aircraft. This may not have been as realistic as is possible now, but it did teach me the fundamentals of navigation and hand and eye coordination.
Terry - My first dive into the FS world was with FS4. I purchased FS4 and a number of add-on products on a single trip to a major software retailer. I was not aware of the announced release of FS5 and did realize this was a close out sale of FS4 stuff. I happily made my first model for FS4 and uploaded it to an FS forum. I made 3 aircraft for FS4 before FS5 started taking hold.
2. What was the first project you each undertook? How did the difficulties
you faced then differ from the ones you face now?
Jim - The first project I took on was a personal one. I started designing scenery to enhance the experience. FS was void of most of the airports in my native area (Indiana) so I started to learn how to develop scenery. I look back and really can't believe the hoops we used to jump through to design scenery. I met my good buddies Dan Barnes and Tim Dickens. Dan, Tim, and I spent a lot of late nights on the phone hacking and stabbing at scenery design and I look back and really cherish those times of learning and discovering. That's the mystery of FS. Why do grown men spend enormous amounts of time on this unique hobby? Easy. Challenge. Although things are so much easier today than in the early years.
Terry - I made a Cessna Stationair for FS4. I went to school with a family member of the Wallace family (grandson of Clyde Cessna) and always had a special interest in Cessna aircraft. I wanted a more powerful single to fly in FS4 so the decision was pretty easy. I was amazed at the e-mail I received as a result of this aircraft. I have known since then that a collection of general aviation aircraft would please a lot of people.
3. What brought you together, and what was the first project you did together?
Jim
- Actually I had been a big fan of Terry Hill planes for a long time. It was
when I began officially at Abacus as the Project Manager that we formally met.
I was trying to secure a high quality author for the Pacific Theatre package
for CFS. I found out quickly that Terry was one of the most dedicated aircraft
designers I had ever met. And as quickly as I found that out, I also found out
that we are amazingly alike in a lot of other ways. That has fostered a great
friendship as well as being business partners.
Terry - Our first interaction was a bit of hardball negotiation. Jim called me and introduced himself. He asked me if I would be interested in participating in a combat sim project that Abacus was producing. Specifically, he was interested in my B-24. I did not agree to the offer but did agree to make a few of the fighters. In the process of building Pacific Theatre, we found a lot of common interest in aircraft and became personal friends in a short time.
4. How do you split yours skills when you take on a project?
Jim - I guess I am the information gatherer, sometimes idea guy, and grunt boy. Since I have a lot of contacts in the real aviation world, finding planes, data and amazing opportunities is probably one of my strong points but also which I consider a blessing. What I do is nothing that is magic, I am just surrounded by very capable and influential people that love this hobby and have the same level of passion as I do. When I say grunt boy, I don't find it demeaning at all, I love going on a treasure hunt to find the things I need to make Terry's job a bit easier or any other of the authors that I work with. It does take tremendous amounts of time and energy sometimes but the end result is usually worth it. Terry provides the magic.
Terry - I work and Jim plays. Seriously, Jim spends a lot of time making sure that my models are properly researched and flight tested and checked and re-checked. He does the damage profiles for CFS aircraft and written documentation and all of the stuff that brings the models to the level of professionalism required in a commercial product. In truth, I play and Jim works.
5. What was the most interesting project you have undertaken? What did you learn from it?
Jim
- That's a tough call. I think we really try to get as absorbed into any project
with the same level of dedication and interest but of course some seem more
natural. Terry and I wanted to do a General Aviation project for a really long
time and finally after much persuasion we did Abacus Private Pilot. FS2000,
FSDS, and Aircraft Animator were all very new and presented a lot of new challenges,
more so for Terry than myself but again, late nights on the phone hacking and
stabbing at new ideas and concepts. I think I also view the CFS projects with
great interest and have developed a much broader understanding of WWII. More
so than anything I ever learned in school. It has also given me a much deeper
level of respect for the guys that piloted those great airplanes and the challenges
they faced.
Terry - Without a doubt it was Private Pilot. I wanted to do a collection of General Aviation aircraft even if it was not a huge commercial success, and Abacus was willing to gamble on unproven territory. I began the project using AF99 and while I was working on the fourth aircraft, Flight Sim Design Studio reached a working beta stage. I was a dedicated beta tester for FSDS while working on Private Pilot. The early versions of FSDS had a size limit on the model and I had to develop a very lean technique with a tool that generates tremendous numbers of polygons very quickly. At the conclusion of Private Pilot, FSDS broke the size limit of models. As I began Corporate Pilot, polygon count was not really a factor, but I still used the lean polygon techniques I had to live with Private Pilot in order to enhance frame rate. I am sure that graphics cards and cpu's love me as they render my models.
6. Private Pilot is an extremely popular package, that delivers a large collection of light planes at a bargain basement price. What were the challenges you faced when you collaborated on it?
Jim - It was quite challenging providing that many planes and trying to do a good job with them and all the other elements in a given time frame. I think overall, PP is a very nice package with a good value and emphasis on General Aviation. I think Terry and I are both proud of PP.
Terry - The challenge for me was sticking with a decision to forge ahead. The tools were evolving faster than the production of the collection, and the temptation to go back and re-work finished models was extreme. Jim put my feet back on the ground more times than I can remember. We did not have an absolute deadline, but Abacus was not in a position to wait for me to re-work completed models. Sales orders were on the books and e-business orders were stacking up. Private Pilot is therefore a collection of AF99 models, FSDS models and FSDS-pro models.
7. Can you tell us something about Corporate Pilot?
Jim
- The CP series includes the following aircraft: Beechcraft Starship, Rockwell
Turbo Commander, Cessna 441 Conquest, Citation X, Beechjet 400A, FalconJet 2000.
It is a different theme in the sense that CP allows the user to participate
in what might be a typical day in the life of a Corporate Pilot. It includes
Radar Contact audible ATC adventures as well as compatible detailed Round Robins,
written by Al Pelletier. The panels are very adequate and Tim Dickens had programmed
most all of the gauges on the panels, which are taken from real photographs
from the actual aircraft. Graphic artist, Scott Nix provided the base bitmaps
for the project, which are excellent as per his normal style. CP also includes
a full working FMC and moving map on some models, provided by Tom Main of Flight1
software. Steve Small had a big hand in assisting us with the flight modeling
and as anyone knows, Steve is very dedicated to his work. The CP aircraft are
Terry's best yet. Terry constantly amazes me with his attention to detail and
his need to advance his techniques more with each project. It is a pleasure
and an honor to work with someone as dedicated to the hobby as him.
Terry - I think we raised the bar in CP. I developed a few new window techniques and interior lighting features. I think the panels are on a par with the aircraft. Fixed view bitmaps are included and there are in fact bells and whistles. It is also worth noting that Jim brought added value to Corporate Pilot by including demos of great products. The round robin adventures are the frosting in the cake.
8. What do you see as the future for flightsim? We are seeing some really good quality freeware releases out there, like Fred Banting's and Yannick Lavigne's Beaver, and the J3 Cub by Flightsim Developers that have had many thousands of hours lavished on them. Yet the majority of flight simmers buy boxed products rather than downloading, which means the commercial developers will always have a solid user base - how do you think they should exploit it and how do you think they will exploit it?
Jim
- I think that we can see an ever-increasing sense of realism being applied
to products. Users are smart and understand much more about aviation than I
think some people give them credit. People want new innovation, good quality
product and not rehashed outdated stuff being peddled to the masses. There are
many good quality freeware authors and the above mentioned are doing a great
job and have my highest respect. Remember, Terry and I both began as freeware
authors. I believe the hardest thing for people to understand is that commercial
projects have a timeline and must be finished within a reasonable time frame.
It is the reality of business. Every effort on our part is made to deliver a
high quality product to the consumer within a given time frame and I believe
we are doing this. We do not have the luxury to take 4 months on one panel or
6 months on one plane and expect to be able to put food on our table so to speak.
Terry and I both work full time (I mean full time) as flight simulation developers.
I believe that most people want something tangible. Something that has substance,
feels and looks like $25.00 or $30.00 bucks. I personally would rather have
a physical manual in my hand than read a PDF or HTML manual. Not all people
are that way but I think many are. Yet I believe that E-commerce is the big
and upcoming way to buy. Store shelves are tighter, smaller and harder to get
into. I don't think it will go away but I do think that with the advent of faster
Internet access and more secure processing, E-commerce is the way of the very
near future.
Terry - As in every endeavor of life, there is a point of diminishing return. We cannot spend thousands of hours on a single aircraft, but with all due respect, I work very quickly and I don't think I could spend thousands of hours on a single aircraft even if I had the time. I don't think I have to apologize for the quality level of my models with or without time restraints. Our boxed products are hopefully balanced and offer added value demos and printed material that make them a tremendous value. I don't really think in terms of commercial success or exploiting a market. I believe that if Jim and I are excited about a concept and find a way to bring it to the flightsim community, it will find a number of enthusiasts that will be as excited as we are. Even though this is my full time job, flightsim models remain a passion not a business.
9. How do you see the FS world changing in the future? There is a noticeable drift towards more realism (real ATC, procedural sims, real weather etc.) - that is bound to make projects more complex and difficult to take on. At least one industry insider has said that this will ease out the amateur designers in the end.
Jim - Realism is a good thing. After all if we are just playing a game than this whole thing makes no sense. As I stated earlier, I believe it is the ever-present challenge that FS affords us that is one of the driving forces behind its success. That's why pilots do what they do. I don't know if I agree with the amateur statement. We all began somewhere and I believe that there will always be new and existing freeware authors out there. Even though I am involved in the commercial arena, I do believe freeware is a necessary and welcome entity of the hobby.
Terry - One of the beautiful things about this hobby is the way enthusiasts can bring together individual freeware uploads and build their own projects. Most advanced flight simmers are also advanced computer users and have little trouble mixing and matching aircraft panels and scenery to their own personal liking. The same tools that we use are available to everyone and that has to bring a lot of pleasure to freeware designers. I expect that the quest for personal satisfaction will keep freeware modelers active and happy.
10. What are your plans for the future?
Jim
- My plans? Well currently I have left Abacus Software and am now onboard with
Flight1 Software. I am excited about this
new venture and look forward to some new and interesting projects ahead. Nevertheless
even if the future changes, I believe Terry Hill and I will be involved in something
together. We are certainly a compatible team that shares both in our passion;
success, failure and aggravation with each other, but most of all we are good
friends as well as business partners. In closing, I must add that this hobby
has allowed me to work with some of the most respected people in the business.
As I look back, I would have never thought that I would be able to work and
become friends with people like Laemming Wheeler, Tim Dickens, Louis Sinclair,
Chris Steele, Konstantin Kukushkin, Steve Small, Peter Jacobson, my #1 tried
and true beta monkey-Ben Beverly and the many other wonderful people that influence
and participate in this unique business/hobby. Thank you.
Terry - Ditto!
Interview by Andrew HerdRead our review of Corporate Pilot.
Read our review of Private Pilot.
