X-Plane Story: Working 16-Hour Days At Apple Headquarters

[MacRumors]

Laminar Research, the developers of X-Plane 9, have posted about their intense experience porting their popular flight simulator from within Apple's headquarters in the days leading up to the "Let's Rock" media event held on September 9th.

X-Plane 9 [App Store Link] was recently released for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and the $9.99 game has received a very positive review at TouchArcade.com. The simulator currently holds the number 6 spot amongst all paid applications on the iPhone.

The developer recounts that on September 1st, he called Apple to see if the company thought it was possible to port their flight simulator to the iPhone. The response was enthusiastic "yes" with hopes that the app could be ready for Apple's upcoming Let's Rock media event. The developers packed up and flew to Apple headquarters in Cupertino almost immediately to start work on the port.

Within 2 minutes, our contact at Apple came down the lobby to get us and bring us to the office that would be our home for the next 7 days as we cranked out the iPhone version of X-Plane on an absurdly tight schedule. Here is the deal: Apple had a Keynote coming up in about 10 days, and wanted to have X-Plane ready to present there, and neither Ben nor I had ever tried to program anything for an iPhone before. Could we get X-Plane into an iPhone in only 10 days? Steve Jobs himself, Leader of Apple, wanted to have a suite of programs ready in only 7 days to present at the keynote, and we had NO PROOF AT ALL that the job even COULD be done... in ANY time-frame! The next 7 days were, to say the least, 'interesting'. Ben and I had an office right in the middle the 'hive-mind', right alongside all the engineers at Apple.

The entire account is a very interesting read and gives readers a unique glimpse into the company. In the end, while the app was completed in time, it was cut from the presentation since Steve Jobs felt it wasn't "fast-paced" enough for a Keynote demo.

Still, the developers are quite pleased with the results and the application is selling very well in the App Store.

Article Link

[pismodude2]

I always wondered if it was just hype over the whole 'easy to learn' coding process for the iPhone/iPod Touch. This amazing account really opened my eyes to what the iPhone really is: one of the most versatile mobile devices on the market. Sweet.

[EricNau]

Pretty interesting. Odd that it wasn't picked for the keynote, however. X-Plane looks more interesting than the games that were previewed (plus, it was actually available).

[daddywags214]

Very cool . . . what a story! That must have been an incredible experience.

[dolphin842]

Wow, all that pressure and effort to make the port on time, only to have the app dropped from the keynote.

Still, I suppose the developers can console themselves with all the money coming in at the moment .

[boer]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

The simulator currently holds the number 6 spot amongst all paid applications on the iPhone.

... in the US. Remember that the app store is specific to countries where available just like the music store.

[pimentoLoaf]

Programming a simulator in a week -- utterly wow!

[effer]

Kinda makes the whole game seem rather... rushed. And obviously it was, which I'm not sure is a good thing to boast about.

Yes, a patch is now out for X-Plane, which improves fps among other things, but it highlights the whole issue of selling apps that should still be in beta testing.

[dizastor]

Originally Posted by pimentoLoaf

Programming a simulator in a week -- utterly wow!

It's not like they had an idea for a flight simulator and some sketches on a napkin... they had a fully functional app that ran on a different platform.

Still amazing though.

[dolbinau]

Originally Posted by effer

Kinda makes the whole game seem rather... rushed. And obviously it was, which I'm not sure is a good thing to boast about.

Yes, a patch is now out for X-Plane, which improves fps among other things, but it highlights the whole issue of selling apps that should still be in beta testing.

There weren't really FPS issues in the first place, It's just an improvement, that's all.

[Detektiv-Pinky]

That sounds like last minute panic to me.

Apple not aware 2 weeks before the event that they had to prepare a Keynote!

Hopefully that is not their normal software development process

[Pippen Man]

But I wonder if Apple will think of this article as a "breach" in how they operate. This article has opened up so many things that go on inside of Apple that I never thought of before... but the real question is, this article was based off of one of the apps that wasn't previewed at the event, what about other ones that were denied/approved? I wonder what there story is behind them

[deannnnn]

Yeah, because the two-hour keynotes are totally "fast-paced."

[GreyHare]

Originally Posted by EricNau

Pretty interesting. Odd that it wasn't picked for the keynote, however. X-Plane looks more interesting than the games that were previewed (plus, it was actually available).

Flight simulators are boring for the same reason commercial airline flights are supposed to be boring: it's a good thing. X-Plane doesn't support much in the way of weaponry. (EDIT: and only the desktop version supports weaponry or networked flight.)

Originally Posted by pimentoLoaf

Programming a simulator in a week -- utterly wow!

It's a port, and a very chopped-down one at that. The full version lets you do things like edit terrain and aircraft; the iPhone version lets you choose from a list of four aircraft and has only one region (not the whole world, which would be some 66 GB more). The full version has things like fuel management, lights, and radio navigation; the iPhone version has none of that.

The iPhone version is really just a tech demo for the real one.

Originally Posted by deannnnn

Yeah, because the two-hour keynotes are totally "fast-paced."

So, 10 minutes of takeoff & flying around like a tourist, then 20 minutes of trying to land intact? (Remember, no radio navigation, so "landing" means "go to the menu and have it put me on final." The Austrian Alps are great for pretty pics but rough when you're trying to visually locate an airport.) That's a half hour they're not looking at Steve. ^_-

[bobbleheadbob]

Very cool story and a great read. Thanks for sharing: well done!

[NewSc2]

Nice read, but CALM DOWN on the UNNECESSARY CAPITALIZATION for EMPHASIS in the ARTICLE.

I mean,

"What should X-Plane do if the PHONE RINGS?"

[maokh]

Originally Posted by NewSc2

Nice read, but CALM DOWN on the UNNECESSARY CAPITALIZATION for EMPHASIS in the ARTICLE.

I mean,

CAN you BELIEVE we are USING the SAME internet USED by CELEBRITIES and THE PRESIDENT? I mean, WOW. This network MUST be running at 100000% FULL THROTTLE.

... that article was extremely difficult to read, and extremely comical. The author seems easily impressed. wait.. i dont think there's a word for it.

I still love iphone x-plane and thank the author dearly for his contributions. I never would have thought we'd be lucky to have even one flight simulator for the iphone, let alone one of the best engines available. I can't wait for more airports, locations, and .. well .. airplanes maybe.

[GreyHare]

Originally Posted by NewSc2

Nice read, but CALM DOWN on the UNNECESSARY CAPITALIZATION for EMPHASIS in the ARTICLE.

Seriously, everything Austin writes is like that. The guy is that excitable. Too late to fix it now.

[queshy]

Wow, I wish my life was that exciting!

[BigD58]

Man! That must have been an incredible experience sitting in the heart of apple! I'm so jealous....

[SFStateStudent]

That is totally awesome! I think they should have added to the keynote...

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

He does not lie about the cafeteria. That place is incredible!
The food is delicious and it is extremely affordable!

[penter]

i thik he at LEAST deserved some mention in the keynote. his story was VERY enviable!!!

Hope i work for Apple some day....

[Diode]

Originally Posted by dolphin842

Wow, all that pressure and effort to make the port on time, only to have the app dropped from the keynote.

Still, I suppose the developers can console themselves with all the money coming in at the moment .

Ehh they still got a free trip to San Fran to develop a app that's making them money.

I don't think the developers care too much.

[Peace]

Originally Posted by deannnnn

Yeah, because the two-hour keynotes are totally "fast-paced."

He was referring to the app itself. If you ever fly planes in a simulator you will find that often it's just a plane flying. No scenery really. It's not fast paced.