Modded aircraft and skins now fit into the core gameplay by being available for purchase at checkpoints and collectible in the garage.
This is the final planned modding addition in the pre-release update cycle.
Identities
This part is important for modders.
Aircraft identity
The game can now keep track of owned aircraft and skins. It can do that based on data that should be unique for each entity.
For an aircraft, the game uses 3 things to keep track of it's identity:
Name of the aircraft
Name of the creator
Repository Origin (is it a local mod, or is it from the Steam Workshop)
Any changes to the aircraft or creator fields in the config will lead to the player losing the aircraft.
Skin identity
Skins are tracked through their index in the "extra_skins" array in the config. Changing the order of the array will lead to the player owning a different skin, based on what was at that slot when it was purchased.
The Shop
Aircraft and skins now have a price and can be purchased from the Shop in the Checkpoint Menu. The starting aircraft is the Ultralight. In Free Flight mode everything costs 0 credits.
How to set a price?
For aircraft, you can add a "cost" property to the mod aircraft config. It should be an integer value. If not set, the game will place a default price of 10000 credits.
For skins, you can also set a "cost" property to any object in the "extra_skins" array. The value should be an integer. By default, it's 1000 credits.
The Garage
After you purchase plane/s and/or skin/s, you can activate them in the Garage, which is available at home or at airfields.
Other Changes
There's a new propeller animation and texture.
Suspension physics have been improved a bit.
The "example" mod folder has been removed from the base game as it makes the shop very messy. It will soon be up on the Steam Workshop.
The debug aircraft select has been removed.
Earlier v2 release plans
I originally wanted to add more features to v2 before doing the full release. However, I feel like the game is already much better than 1.4, and I also have some new ideas for improving the input system that can make the core experience significantly better for some players.
So, I'm reducing the scope a bit, with the aim of releasing a more solid v2 a bit earlier. The targets are now:
Sidegrades
Cross-Platform Cloud Saves
HOTAS Support and Input System improvements
Landmarks and Missions are no longer planned for the full v2 release.
Thank you for all the support!