Dear pilots, it’s time for another developer diary. We’ve got some good progress to share and some announcements to make, so buckle up and let’s go!

Progress is good at the moment. In the past weeks we’ve introduced more refined functionality of instruments, changes to flight models and we’ve added water landings.
The B17 model has been integrated in the game; other models are progressing steadily.
We have added droppable ordnance, ship wakes, VFX and more.

We’ve made some big decisions about models and a few other subjects, which we think will be very welcome - more about that later.

Our EntropyFM is rapidly evolving into a realistic- feeling physics engine, and we have no doubt that the final version will be acknowledged by real pilots to be very close to the real thing. Since this has in fact already happened, we’re confident that we are on track.
Our recent efforts included adding engine exhaust thrust, ground handling, and further development of our work-in-progress stall conditions.

Our CFD rig is running 24/7, delivering us additional data to design our flight models - and it’s been doing that for quite some time now. The results we get are put into each incremental step of the Alpha version. Ace tier Patreons already know the updates are flowing regularly.

As we’ve announced in several places, we will be in Minneapolis to attend the 2026 FS Expo from June 12th through June 14th.
Better still, we’ll be one of the exhibitors to be featured on the Friday livestream!

We will be making several big announcements at the FSExpo, concerning aircraft, flight model, release schedule and more. We are scheduled to take the mike at 12:54 local time.
At the exhibit, we can be found at booth number 505. We’ll be present during the entire expo.
Of course, you will be able to try the latest Alpha version for yourself, so book a ticket right away - and we’ll be waiting at our booth to answer any questions you still might have. We plan to have both a VR and a flatscreen station.
Tickets and info on the 2026 FSExpo can be found HERE.[flightsimexpo.com]

On the Sunday morning of the event we will do a developer Q & A with @Wolfpack345, during which we will answer any questions you might have after the Friday livestream on June 12th.

Special thanks go to our community volunteers and friends from FTC[flyingtincans.com] who will be at the venue to provide support during the FS Expo this year.

We’re excited for this venue, and we hope to see many of you in person or watching the live stream!

We have been making numerous changes to our lighting and rendering system. Some of the Patreon subscribers already know that Combat Pilot will allow you to customise your graphical effects - like god rays and lens effects - on cockpit and external views. Now, we've shifted gears to the rendering and lighting laws themselves.

Unreal Engine 5 uses Physically-based rendering (PBR) which is the modern standard for 3d graphics. However, this does not tell the full story. The way that lighting reflects off opaque surfaces is governed by a BRDF (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function). We've implemented advanced BRDFs which is the best way to cover most real-world surfaces. From shiny metals, to the complex skin appearance on humans. We can now model complex materials to a high degree of photorealism, as well as retroreflective brightening such as what one would see on rough surfaces at grazing angles. Our artists will need to train how to harness the power of the new BRDF as we tweak our models going forward.

We also implemented an improved tonemapper, which makes complex scenes look more vibrant and immersive. With the new tonemapper, we're able to adjust the intensity of the light in almost all conditions, which was a pending item on our to-do list.

You can see the looks of the new rendering changes with the following images.

We have also improved the whole lighting, the ocean rendering and water system, as well as properly adding cloud shadows over the landscape (also Work in Progress).

We’ve solved some VR and flatscreen rendering issues, whilst getting more performance, because we’ve begun properly profiling our visuals as we transition from alpha pre-production state into proper game-ready content.
As promised in DD #21, in which we showed off our Japanese pilot models, we now present their US- American counterparts in the images below.

If you’ve followed us for a bit longer, you will probably know that our Ace and Veteran tier Patreons get to sit in on our lectures on the subject of (WW II) aviation.

Topics like forced induction, flight envelope, refraction and many others are reviewed on a monthly basis.
They are held by technical director Carlos, who recently did the 5th lecture of the series - which was about engines, forced induction and flight envelope. We put some snippets of this lecture on YouTube to enjoy.

Science and actual pilot experience are important pillars to build our flight models on, and we’re happy to share a bit of the knowledge behind this and many other aviation subjects.
If you’d like to take part in our lectures as well, please consider becoming a Patreon.
https://www.patreon.com/c/COMBATPILOT

That's it for now, thanks for stopping by and we'll hopefully see you at (or after) the FS expo!