Interview im Originalwortlaut
flusinews.de: Hi Aimee. You consider yourself an aviation and flight sim enthusiast – how did you get into it?
Aimee Sanjari: I’ve always had a fascination with aviation, but I really started getting into flight simulation when I helped organize Flight Sim 2013 at the RAF Museum at Cosford whilst working for Flight1 Europe. There, I fell in the love with both flight simulation and its community. After that, I started writing for PC Pilot, and then joined Dovetail Games.
flusinews.de: When and how did you join Dovetail Games?
Aimee Sanjari: I joined Dovetail Games as Brand Manager for flight simulation in January 2015. It seemed the natural next step for me and I’m incredibly excited about having the chance to be so involved in the future of flight simulation.
flusinews.de: Women are still pretty rare in the flight sim business (except in some larger companies like Aerosoft). How do you feel about this?
Aimee Sanjari: The flight simulation industry consists of talented, enthusiastic, hard-working people. That is all that matters to me.
flusinews.de: Dovetail Games purchased the license for Microsoft Flight Simulator X and re-released it via the platform Steam. What was the motivation behind this step and why did Dovetail venture into a sector completely new to the company?
Aimee Sanjari: I wouldn’t say the sector was completely new to the company. Dovetail Games has always been focused on PC simulation since we started out with Railworks in 2009. It’s our passion. Because of the way that people now buy PC-based entertainment, we knew we could bring new people into the world of flight simulation by distributing via Steam, hence FSX: Steam Edition. A big part of that initiative is bringing great add-on content in a straightforward way to the Steam audience. Next year, we plan on releasing our own flight simulator based on some of that Microsoft technology.
flusinews.de: Do you think flight simulation is still thriving and as interesting to newcomers as it is to the virtual pilots enjoying flight sim since ages?
Aimee Sanjari: Yes. At every flight simulation event I have attended, I have seen people of all ages enjoying themselves with the hobby. As a whole, the flight simulation industry is making leaps and bounds in terms of bringing everything up to date, paving the way for a new generation of simmers.
flusinews.de: Some users of FSX:SE claim it performs much better than the “ordinary” FSX. Which lines of Code did Dovetail Games enhance?
Aimee Sanjari: Our goal was to distribute FSX: Gold Edition on Steam which entailed rebuilding some elements of the code. Although it was not a goal of the project, that work brought to light some errors which were degrading performance and wasting memory, and so we fixed those bugs. The key focus areas of our work were: adding Steam support (replacing the need for activation keys and discs), replacing the Gamespy multiplayer features with their Steam equivalents, and supporting a simple method for installing add-ons purchased from Steam.
flusinews.de: At the beginning of May 2015, development of a new flight simulator was announced by Dovetail Games. Why did you decide to take this huge step and deliver a new piece of software to the community in the future?
Aimee Sanjari: Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the longest running and best-known flight simulator franchises on the market, but no update has been made to the product for nearly a decade. We want to create a new simulator that takes advantage of modern PCs while still building on the Microsoft heritage.
flusinews.de: Unfortunately, there are some members of the community expressing their doubts that Dovetail – as an inexperienced company concerning flight simulators – can handle such a large and complex project. What is your answer to them?
Aimee Sanjari: Firstly, we do not plan to do this by ourselves and we are engaged with a large group of people who have worked in the flight simulation industry for many years. Next, we are tenacious – some doubted our commitment to train simulation, but we have gone from strength to strength in the last six years. Finally, given what we have done with FSX: Steam Edition, we are confident in our ability to bring new simmers to the hobby. Our work will speak for itself!
flusinews.de: We asked our readers to send us questions for the interview. In fact, we received a bunch of emails which shows the huge interest in a new flight sim. Do you think it’s time for a change after almost nine years of FSX?
Aimee Sanjari: I find it both incredible and amazing that a nine year old PC simulator has been kept alive the way FSX has. This makes us very optimistic in terms of both FSX: Steam Edition and future projects. I cannot release any further information on our upcoming flight simulator at this time. For the latest on FSX: Steam Edition, visit our website at fsxinsider.com or check us out on Steam here.
Frank Kuhn (Interview auf Englisch) für flusinews.de
