SimplePlanes 2 Confirmed!?!?!?!

So, the community has been in an uproar lately. It seems that the community has decided, 1.4 years after the last update, to start very kindly asking Andrew for another one. Now, everyone seems to forget that Juno exists, and due to this, it’s more likely people will stop posting that they’re leaving than stop asking for another update. And just as many people that want a new update also want SimplePlanes 2, which seems to be touted by them to the same level of credibility as an Illuminati lizard people theory. However, asking for SimplePlanes 2 won’t change it if it’s already in development, and it could already be, despite people’s cries. Here is a very improbable look at what this may end up like, whether or not it comes true.

Early Development

When Juno was first revealed, it looked like this, disregarding that early leaked dev screenshot.

Not this.

If you’re building a house, you don’t share pictures of the lumber pile you use to build it. You wait until the frame is finished. And before you think that Jundroo should share what they’ve done no matter how much (assuming they did anything, which is still unconfirmed), it means committing to what they’ve made and delivering it, leading to disappointment if it is changed much. This means if it’s announced, it will be several months or even years into the future.

Juno

Juno is currently the main focus of Jundroo, like it or not. It has recently released from early access, and is currently at version 1.1. Based on the roadmap and this comment on a recent hotfix, we can assume that the developers will pursue at least 1.2-1.4 before shifting their focus.

Keep in mind that while at version 1.12, Juno is at 1.2. However, Juno has been in early access for several years, and it depends on whether Jundroo considers this at the end of a long update run before starting another project, or at the beginning of a long lifespan. Keep in mind, another game will not kill Juno. Juno and SimplePlanes were simultaneously developed for years. I do believe that Jundroo’s focus will be on Juno for the immediate future, until further notice.

Future Projects

Now for the big question. What is next: a new update, SimplePlanes 2, or another game? They each have their own advantages and disadvantages associated with them.
SimplePlanes update: This is a double edged sword. While this would provide new content to please the community at less of an effort to a sequel, it is also like putting a new saddle on an old horse. This is an aging game, but has a talented community and remains fun through the years. It will not fade away, but also cannot be fully modernized with anything short of a complete overhaul.
SimplePlanes 2: This would take the most amount of work, but would be the most rewarding for the community, if it is pulled off successfully. This option would engage and excite the massive community even more and drive far more sales than an update based off a new product. However, it would be a massive technical challenge, as it would need to run on older mobile hardware and still compete with the modernized graphics of next generation software, while not resorting to immense feature locking to PC, as the route I am concerned Juno is heading down.
New game: This is the least probable in my mind, but I may be wrong. If pulled off correctly, a physics based vehicle builder in a new genre could be an exciting prospect, but if Jundroo strays too far from their usual offerings, they may lose their incredibly loyal community and still have to deal with the community asking for updates.

Rumors and Speculation

Here is the fun part that I can be sure will be reposted, taken out of context, and potentially be twisted into “facts” that will be taken for the truth. So please, take this with a grain of salt. Now, sit back, grab some popcorn, and read my half cooked thoughts.

Juno is currently the main focus of Jundroo’s attention, and it will continue to be for a while. This comment originally read that they will dig into the codebase “this summer,” but it was changed to “this year,” presumably due to the increases pace of Juno updates. Based on the current state of the roadmap, the next Juno update will likely focus on engine exhaust effects, which will presumably take quite some time.

I personally think that while SimplePlanes(2) is not a current focus for Jundroo, they know what we want and are not ignoring us. However, recent comments show that they have been working on some things behind the scenes, and I wouldn’t rule out the fact that they have been actively working on something.

So to sum it up if you skipped ahead to this point, let Jundroo do what they are doing and we’ll see what the future holds for SimplePlanes soon enough.