Development

When did you start developing for flight simulators and what got you interested in it?

Zinertek first started developing products for Flight Simulator way back in the summer of 2005, but had been developing freeware add-ons for a year or so before that. Our first payware product 'Ultimate Night Environment Pro' was released in September of that same year. Back then (fall of 2005), the FlightSim.Com Pilot Shop was set to officially launch and open for business. In fact, we were one of the very first developers to come on board, as our product was among fifty or so other products available on the opening day. At that time we had no idea how big the Pilot Shop would eventually become. Ever since then we have been developing products for FS2004, FSX and now Prepar3D.

Tell us about the nature of your designs and what you do?

At Zinertek our main aim is to create add-ons that enhance the visuals of the simulators we develop for. Flight simmers usually want the best of both worlds; an experience that is as realistic as it gets but without frame-rate drops, and that's what our products do. We create quality add-ons that are realistic, frame-rate friendly and affordable.

What do you consider your best or most popular work?

One of our best and most popular products is 'Ultimate Airport Environment X' - an add-on which enhances all the default FSX airports around the world by using much more realistic ground textures, buildings, jetways, hangars and other improvements. It was well received when it was first released and to this day remains a favorite with our customers.

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of a project?

I would say that the most challenging aspect of a project is creating a product that suits everyone's tastes. For example, our latest product, 'Natural Tree Environment X' was quite challenging in that we had to accurately balance the color, the hue, and the brightness of the trees. In products like these, the colors play an important role; you have to make sure that the trees don't look too dark, too bright or over saturated. It's quite difficult considering that not everyone has the same display and settings. Some users have displays with higher contrast ratios and saturation than others, so you have to test the trees with different displays in order to ensure that the colors and contrast are just right for everyone.

Your new product, Natural Tree Environment X, looks like a really interesting product; how did you manage to model all the trees?

Nowadays, the most successful developers have turned to photorealism when it comes to delivering high quality textures. Our trees are no different in that they were modelled based on high definition photography.

Because of this, it was one of the hardest and most difficult projects we've ever worked on. We had to take pictures of different types of trees and then isolate the trees from the rest of the picture by erasing the background, thus leaving only the tree itself, the branches and the leaves. It's easy to cut out objects from pictures but when it comes to trees it's a painstaking process because you have to deal with so many fine details such as individual leaves and branches. Even when that is complete, you then have to create five different versions of the same tree, so as to cover all four seasons, plus a hard winter variant. Once you are done with that, you have to adjust the color, the hue, and the brightness for all five versions of the tree so that it looks right during every specific season. That's what made this project so challenging, but so rewarding at the same time.

What have been your favorite projects?

Developing the High Definition Virtual Cockpit for the Level-D 767 has probably been our favorite project so far. In our opinion, the Level-D 767 is still one of the finest aircraft to fly in FS2004 and we wanted to enhance it by adding HD textures and backlit gauges. Many of our customers have been so pleased with the improvements we have made, that some of them have requested that we create more HD cockpits for other aircraft. That's something we may explore in the future. Regrettably, we weren't able to release an FSX version of the Level-D 767 HD cockpit. This was due to technical issues and the way the cockpit lighting is rendered in the FSX version. Sadly, we couldn't find a way to add backlit gauges and instruments to the cockpit like we did with the FS2004 version.

Who would you consider to be your mentors or inspiration in the development world if you have any?

For me personally, it hasn't really been a specific person that has been a source of inspiration or mentor, but rather the flight simming community as a whole. Before I became a developer, I remember logging in every day to FlightSim.Com just to see what new freeware add-ons were available to download. I would just sit there looking at all the new aircraft, airports and modifications ready to be downloaded. It was like being a little kid in a candy store except that all the candy was free. It was difficult to know where to start, and you had to choose carefully because back in the days of dial-up connections, you couldn't just download everything.

In fact, back in the early 2000's I remember trying to login on Saturdays and Sundays and hoping to get connected. In those days FlightSim.Com had a limited number of users who could be logged in at the same time. You would login on the weekends only to see a message saying that the number of connected users had reached its limit. I remember constantly trying to login hoping someone would log out or disconnect. Finally, after many repeated attempts you would see the main page and then the file library. Success!

It sounds funny looking back, but logging-in to FlightSim.Com on a weekend back then wasn't easy eleven years ago. Now it totally blows my mind knowing that there are over 100,000 freeware add-ons available to download from the file library and that FlightSim.Com offer all this for free. That in itself is inspiration to me.

The Team

How many people work with you or your team?

Our core developing group consists of eight people, including myself, but we have other members helping us with beta-testing as well.

Do you or your team have any experience in real aviation?

I myself don't have that much experience in real aviation, but a couple of our team members are private pilots and work with us in their free time.

What started your interest in aviation?

My interest in aviation was born in my youth back in the early 90's. Flying has always fascinated me but I became really hooked when my uncle (who is a helicopter pilot) gave me Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0 as a Christmas gift in 1991. Ever since then I've had a passion for flying, whether it be virtual or real.

Do you or your team have any memorable flights in real life?

Well, this is a funny story. I remember the time I was flying as a passenger on a commercial flight from Dallas to Seattle. At one point we were passing through a thunderstorm and the airplane was shaking heavily due to the turbulence. Everyone on board was very tense and some people even started crying. Whilst everyone was panicking I just sat back and relaxed knowing that it really wasn't that big a deal. An elderly lady sitting beside me asked, "Young man, how do you manage to be so calm at a time like this? It feels like the plane is about to fall apart." I replied, "Don't worry, I have a lot of experience of this! You think this is bad? I have flown in worse weather conditions than this and landed safely every time!" She replied, "Well, that's a relief!" I then said to her whilst grinning, "Keep in mind that those experiences were on a simulator, though." At that point she almost jumped out of her seat; not knowing if she should laugh or be afraid.

Future

How do you choose your next new design or project?

We sit down as a group and start brainstorming ideas. At Zinertek we always aim to release products that are original and that can appeal to everyone. Once we have an idea, we start working on prototypes to see if the idea will be able to be implemented in the simulator.

If at any point we feel that the idea can't be fully realized as we intended it, then we discard it and move on to the next idea. We also take into account our customers suggestions when choosing to work on our next project.

What simulators do you design for now and what ones do you plan to develop for in the future?

As of today, we develop products for FS2004, FSX, and Prepar3D. In the future we also plan to develop products for X-Plane 10 if there is enough demand. We wanted to develop products for 'Microsoft Flight' but unfortunately, Microsoft hard-coded everything in the simulator making it impossible for third party developers to add or modify content. Sadly, the end result at this moment in time, is a simulator that is dead in the water.

What would you like to see from P3D and X-Plane in the future? How could the developers help you?

We would like to see them continue supporting not only the platform but also the developers. I think it's terrific that Lockheed Martin is offering developer licenses that include the 'Professional Plus Client' and the software development kit. This gives developers the resources and the additional help needed to understand, expand and integrate our ideas into P3D.

In what ways do you see development changing in the future?

I don't really see much of a change happening in the future in terms of development, as there will always be companies, as well as individuals, developing add-ons for simulators. Perhaps in the future there will be more competition, which in turn will mean that developers will have a harder time trying to come up with a product that is better than the rest. In the end, more competition is good for the consumer because it means more choices and better quality.

What can sites like FlightSim.Com do to support you and the hobby better?

FlightSim.Com and similar sites must continue to publish articles, reviews, announcements and interviews (like these) as well as maintaining forums and having contests. This sort of thing keeps the interest in flight simulation at its highest levels.

How do you feel about the future of flight simulation in general?

In general, I'm very optimistic about the future of flight simulation. It was a big blow to hear that Microsoft had discontinued development on their Flight Simulator franchise but it was nice to see Lockheed Martin pick up the ball and run with it. I think the improvements that Lockheed Martin have done with Prepar3D are remarkable and I'm very excited to see how they will keep improving it. Also, let us not forget that Microsoft did not say that they would never release another edition of the simulator in the future; they are still open to developing a new edition of Flight Simulator. It's just not high on their list of priorities at the moment. I am confident that one day we will see Flight Simulator 11.

That being said, I commend Microsoft on their effort in releasing 'Microsoft Flight.' They wanted to expand this hobby beyond the hard-core enthusiasts. Clearly, with its simplicity this sim was aimed to appeal to young or casual gamers. In my opinion, this is what this hobby desperately needs; more young people to start entering the simulation arena, and to create a new generation that carries this hobby forward into the future.

What would you like people to know about you or your team and work?

We would like everyone to know that we are very grateful for the support we have received over these past eight years. We are always glad to receive comments and suggestions. Without our customers feedback (whether it is positive or negative), we wouldn't be able improve on our products. Most of all though, without their support we wouldn't be able to continue developing new products! Thank you all and happy flying!

Zinertek

Purchase Zinertek products at the FlightSim.Com Store

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