Copy/Paste from there FB page :
Here is a mock interview to answer most of the questions we received since the Alpha Jet is out there in your hands...
Question : Virga Studio just developed an Alpha Jet out of blue, the community was not expecting it, it arrived as a pleasant surprise, can you tell us more about the birth of this airplane?
Virga: First of all, Virga Studio is a group of few long seasoned experienced simmer. It happens that we are in deep love with the Alpha Jet, as French for sure, and also about the vectoring dream it represents through the Patrouille de France. We had an FS2004/FSX Alpha Jet that was developed back in the days by some well know French passionate (JP Langer, Benoit Dubé, Bee Gee..) But unfortunately the upgrade to FSX and MSFS2020 never happened. We decided to meet Asobo in Bordeaux and ask them this very basic question: How in the hell can we build an Alpha Jet for MSFS2020? Asobo listened to us and answered as simply as the question was asked: “First create a company, second, obtain the right from Dassault Aviation, and third register on the Market place, along the way ask for permission at Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace…”. Long story short, we secured a project with the scrutiny eyes of Dassault 3 years ago, we were the first ever officially licensed by them… Back then, we jumped into the Flight Simulator SDK and there we go. We did not communicate around the project, because the expectations and the standard were high. We waited to achieve a product that would satisfy us as simmer, and also not mitigate the prestige and the great aura of Dassault Aviation.
Question : Alright, you are the new kids on the block, what is your talent and will there be evolutions on your projet?
Virga: Of course, as it was well described on the community first reviews, the Flight Model is pretty decent considering the unpopular Flight Simulator aerodynamics engine. We worked hard, countless hours to close a model as precise as possible, and the result is quite good. Anyhow, as the pilots of the Patrouille de France, we want to achieve excellence, and we will continue to improve everything about this plane, especially the flight model and the engines performances.
Question : Can we talk about the sound package, it seems unfinished, some people even doubt that you recorded sound of the real Alpha Jet?
Virga: That is true, the first version suffers our inexperience in the cathedral that wwise represents. We did our best, but it was not good enough, we can understand that. The good news though, is that we possess all the “pure” recording from static engine trials. So for now, it is just a question of proper settings. As soon as the work will be finetuned, we will release the improved sound package.
Question : what about liveries and some textures who seemed right out of the factory, too polish to be true?
Virga: Well, weathering was not fully included in the gadget (Alpha Jet Nickname). We had some pressure to be ready for Paris Airshow, so our 3D and texturing artist was reluctant to spray some dirt on “his” beautiful plane! But now that the project is out there, it exists, and we can also focus on weathering the different liveries. And by extension, create more of them, of course.
Question : true, why no paint package is available yet?
Virga: It is our goal to provide such templates. The fact is we faced some development problems comparing the textures our 3D design software and the rendering inside the sim. Many lines were badly pixelized for no reasons. To overcome those unwanted issues, we had to “cut” our liveries by patches called “decals”. Basically, it is extra 3D projected on the surfaces to mark the camouflage lines. As an example, my favorite livery is the Million Hours black and Yellow. It is a pure jewel. But inside the sim, it was badly altered. As soon as we will have our decals liveries available, we will work on a free user template for simmers. All the artists will be welcomed to recreate all the liveries possible.
Question : What about developing an Alpha Jet -A?
Virga: This question is often asked. I want to reassure everyone, we will produce soon a pointy nose Alpha Jet to meet the community needs; but it will stay an -E cockpit, with -E performances. Later on, we could imagine going toward a full A model, hence, first thing first, there is still a lot of work coming for us. Again, we are focus on the Alpha Jet, not on producing many models, not variety or quantity, but quality above all!
Question : The pilot seems too small, will you do something about that?
Virga: Well, it is a point of view, we recognized that he is on the downscale. As the engineer Murphy working for the US Air Force and famous for his law, recognized, there is no “medium” pilot that will be fit for every average cockpit…Anyhow, we heard the community, and now is the pilot is on steroid, and is following a growing fitness program. He will come ready for duty on the next hotfix!
Question : Some 3D parts are a little bit underdesigned, will you fix this?
Virga: Yes of course, we will first augment the 3D around some detailed part of the airplane, and soon update the model for better user experience. We put a lot of effort of not having too much polygons on the model. The idea was to make the Alpha Jet fit for aerobatic teams engaging 8 to 10 aircraft in multiplayer. It is a done job, the model is very fluid even when you fullfill the sky with Alpha Jet. But still, we will improve the 3D cockpit (hence the stick…) and the front gear as our priority.
And for the more military oriented simmers, we will gradually add weapon carriage capacity as well as related effects…
Question : Anything to add?
Virga: There are many nice features already implemented in the gadget that will enhance the user experience. For example, for real airstart, you need to achieve 180 kts by windmilling the engine, or if you fly inverted more than 20 seconds, the engine will cutoff for oil starvation. We will detailed all this in the flight manual. For now, go and explore!
Question : Some words for conclusion?
Virga: Yes, bear in minds that for now the Alpha Jet is based for MSFS2020. No support for MSFS2024 yet, because a dedicated version is underway, as well as an XBOX one. As newcomers in the market, we will not put date on paper, but be ensured that it is our PRIORITY, to make it available for everyone, on every platform. We have more to offer, just stay tuned and share your experience with us! You were right our Alpha has a great potential, we will meet the (highest) standard!
Et à la chasse Bordel !
Virga Team
