Other Aviation Games

Absolutely agree with you Matyi. I’m happy to confirm that I’m not sharing this information with the intent to lambast the other developers (who, after all, have done something I can’t and never will do - make a video game!).

I think it’s quite interesting that, after going for many years without an airport management/tycoon/simualtor game (I’ll exclude Airport Simulator for obvious reasons) we’re seeing three aspirational titles released (potentially) in the space of a few weeks. It’s interesting to compare and contrast the vision of the three development teams, and to see how the games do.

But u never know, the SimAirport developers may update the game in future. And it may start selling.
If the developers bring in more details, then Airport CEO will have a rival in place. But I think Airport CEO will eventually cover the gap (if any).

I do believe that SimAirport has potential only if the developers decide to keep updating it. But for them matching the details of Airport CEO will take lots of time. Airport CEO has details integrated since it’s birth. Where as SimAirport Devs have taken a different path, a more casual one.

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I think they do. They have mentioned they are thinking on working on multistory levels, car parks, terminal to terminal connections. Would be interesting to see how both perform.

… and a nice, friendly, yet competitive environment is always good to have :wink:

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I think Ill just get both :smiley: APCEO and SimAirport :smiley: #Solved

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I think I’ll be buying both - SimAirport should satisfy my airport building desires until Airport CEO is released. I’ll be quite interested to compare the two - I’ve had a thought about building the same airport in both games (as much as is possible, anyway) and comparing the two.

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I am not gonna buy SimAirport: Short on budget😓
Also I really don’t like it in the current stage.:smirk:

Edit: Typo

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I feel like SimAir is a PA mod, lacks the proper depth AirportCEO will hopefully do provide.
Airport Master looks interesting when it gets proper development, won’t buy in its current stage.

The only issue AirportCEO has is that its just two guys working in their free time, it’s not a full studio developing the game. I hope development will be faster when the game releases so we get more content added frequently.

Edit: fixed typo

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I would love to have something done more frequently by the developers but I can fully understand their position. Its more or less a hobby they have and share, nothing really more at this point. It involves a lot of risk hiring developers and create your own business where you have the responsibility to get the others paid. Yet again, I would also love if things would go quicker but I also understand that it doesnt :slight_smile:

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They have to be a company in order to sell the game.
And if they make money on the early acces they can put more time in it because they can work less on their part time jobs and more on the game.

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Absolutely. The devs have a company (Apoapsis Studios) which is a legal requirement for their plans to sell the game. It’s actually quite easy to set up a company - I briefly had one for tax reasons when I had a freelance job.

Doesn’t change the facts that at the moment it’s two guys working hard in their spare time. I’m sure they have ambitions to expand and perhaps in time we’ll see their studio expand as they refine Airport CEO and branch into other games. For now, it’s two hard working guys from Sweden working on a labour of love that has yet to generate any revenue. And from what we’ve seen, the attention to detail is second to none.

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Having a company and being responsible for just yourself (and maybe your friend/business partner) and other employees is a complete different story! Don’t forget that. I know (and I did that also) that a company is set up within a few days/weeks depending on the authorities and requirements in your country but having the responsibility for others… thats actually not that easy to deal with (at least for myself).

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My thing with SA is that, honestly, I don’t trust them. I’m not saying because of any firm proof or anything like that, but from the things I’ve seen I’m very leery. Here’s why:

  1. This game seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. I’ve read some of their PR material and some of it truly seems a little dodgy when they’re answering and/or dodging questions. Which leads me to…
  2. The evident PR blitz. It seems like their facebook, reddit, etc. popped out of nowhere and when I started searching the game all of a sudden there were articles about it?
  3. Even when you look at their outward/fan facing platforms, they don’t really seem to engage fans, which really worries me because it might turn into whatever they see/want and fans come second.
  4. The gameplay seems basic and uninspired.

Don’t get me wrong: I would love for them to prove me paranoid, burnt-out complainer, but I truly think that everything I’ve seen and read seems to be a forced version of what the Airport CEO devs have done. I feel like the Airport CEO guys put a lot of time into the minutae with the intent/hope of making a game that they can be proud of and the fans love.

Their efforts are really evident in just the effort they put into coding a BAGGAGE system. Baggage is probably the best example of something that is really just tangential to actual gameplay, but the work they do will pay dividends when this game finally launches.

I feel like the SimAirport team is looking for a quick payday and are cashing in on Apoapsis’ insistence on taking the time to make a good game and for that reason, I’m going to stick it out and wait for Airport CEO.

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I agree, as for myself i know what it is to run a company (restaurant) with 40+ employees.
And it’s time consuming but a lot of joy when everthing goes as planned. And when you see people enjoying it.

But you have to imagine that these two people, just two people are doing everything in their spare time and still have to go to school and make money to pay everything in life.
I think if we help as a community this game has the potential to be as big as Prison Architect.

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Ive never usually been one to slate a game too much openly, especially when its not even released (apparently in an hour) its infact a little crazy to put a position on a game when we don’t know what its like…

However from the videos it doesn’t just look like prison architect or ‘inspired by’ as they keep saying, its like a carbon copy of it, even to the position of the icons. Im not sure how this is even allowed…

I agree with some of the comments above and i have seen there release price point, at 19.99USD for an early access game it does seem a little on the steep side. I earlier said I would buy both, however I will no longer be getting SimAirport until I have seen a number of reviews or its developed further.

Fine to have a game at 19.99USD, but for a few weeks an early access game should be cheaper for those who are out to test it than those who buy the ‘complete’ game.

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I would agree that SimAiport’s price is little high but they have been working on the progress of the game at a consistent pace. I’ve lost some hope in Airport CEO since it’s taken a month for them to release a simple gameplay video. If the game was in good working order that should only take a day or two, don’t forget this game is supposed to launch end of march!!!

For an early access games, I really want to see progress at a consistent pace. Weeks and months with little progress or communication tells me we won’t be receiving the updates we want in a timely manner. I was really hoping AirportCEO would be special, but the competition is heating up.

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Uh-huh… have u read the tweet thread?? In the new tweet, the Devs have said that they have been working on the game… not the video. They are probably making it better for the video. Video should have ideally taken 2-3 days at max. Even I was disappointed but now that Devs have clarified, I am being optimistic.

They are probably making some changes that will be visible in the video.

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At least they’re doing a hell of a lot better than Airport Master. They are really throwing themselves in front of a bus at the moment…
In case you missed it… they hit Youtuber Jim Sterling with a DMCA notice to take down his critical video of the game on trademark infringement… which is utter BS. They’re digging a hole too deep to get out of

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If anyone hasn’t seen the Jeff Sterling review I recommend it. Demonstrates that Airport Master has nothing to offer at the moment.

SimAirport has released to mixed reviews overnight, I’ll try and give it a shot today.

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So here are a few comments on the ACEO topics in this thread:

Apoapsis Studios is not a real company - yet. We do not yet have the financial infrastructure to form a company since it in Sweden requires that you have a capital 50k Swedish crowns. Apoapsis Studios is however a conceptual organization, an indie studio, made up by me and Fredrik, working every day on this title when time allows. Roughly, between us, we’re putting in about six to eight hours each day. Me and Fredrik have been running another company before, so this is the smallest “problem”.

Why won’t we take on any capital? Because it changes the relationship between us, the product and the community. This is not a smash-n-grab quick money scheme, this is an art project with the ambition to build a really good airport tycoon and management game. We’re doing fine without any financial input as of yet, for example, this forum is running on an old server in my dorm room closet. Almost feels as if you’re in my home, lol. Yes, the electricity bill is a bit larger but nothing we can’t manage. Essentially, we have everything we need except time and time is the only thing we can’t acquire more of at this stage. When the game is ready for its first iteration you’ll be invited to partake.

I’d also want to remind you that this is an ACEO forum and while we of course will allow a thread to discuss the fact that there are other titles out there (the more the merrier, right?). However, detailed discussion on any other game cannot be allowed here at this point. Not because we don’t want to, transparency is the shit according to us, but because we need to maintain the integrity of the the forum and make sure that topics stay on the topic of the forum. At least until we introduce a category in the style of “Other Airport Games” which of course could happen further down the road.

Lastly and most importantly, thanks for the motivating comments! The video will drop really, really, really, really soon. Like, really soon (not shitting you).

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