After about half a year since the last update, I’m very happy to announce SimPictures version 1.2 – a new and improved experience packed with features and updates that bring SimPictures to a whole new level.
Shorter Domain for Easier Access
Previously, the site lived at app.simpictures.com
—a bit of a mouthful. Now, everything is unified under a single, clean domain: simpictures.com . Shorter, faster, better.
Revamped Home Page: Layout, Events, Highlights
You’ve probably noticed by now—the homepage has had a major overhaul.
- Highlighted Pictures: The top of the homepage now shows the 8 most recently highlighted pictures, curated by screeners to showcase the best of the community.
- Live Events: Right below, you’ll see a feed of current VATSIM and IVAO events. Click on any event to see more details.
- Where2Fly: In a new tab, powered by Where2Fly.today , you’ll find a list of airports with challenging weather. Hover over the icons for detailed info about each condition.
The picture feed has also been updated:
- You’ll now see a masonry layout that shows more images at once.
- Clicking on a picture opens a full overlay with all details.
- You can switch back to the classic list view anytime using the toolbar icon.
- Use the "Highlighted" filter to see all top picks in one click.
Tip: Make sure you’ve enabled highlight notifications in your settings—you’ll get a heads-up if your shot gets featured!
Picture Page: New Layout, Fullscreen, Likes, and Emojis
Individual picture pages now present information in a much clearer way:
- Cleaner layout for description and info
- A new emoji selector in the comment section
- Click "Likes" next to the like button to see a list of users who enjoyed your post
- Click the picture itself to enter fullscreen view
Discord Integration
I introduce a brand new Discord bot! Every newly published picture now gets automatically reposted to our Discord #feed channel.
Not part of our community yet? Join the SimPictures Discord to share screenshots, give feedback, and help shape future updates.
Thank You for Being Part of SimPictures 🙏
Whether you’re a long-time user or just getting started, I hope you enjoy everything this new version has to offer. This update has been shaped by your feedback—and there’s more to come.
Head to simpictures.com to upload your latest screenshots, explore highlights, and see what the community is sharing today.
Fly safe,
— Nikolai / SimPictures Developer
Full changelog
- Moved app.simpictures.com to simpictures.com, making the domain shorter easier to access
- Updated home page, which now includes:
- Highlights slider
- Blog posts
- VATSIM and IVAO events
- Challenging weather airport list powered by where2fly
- Updated picture component
- Fresh layout
- Full screen view
- Pictures can now be opened in a modal window
- View who liked your picture by clicking on “Likes” next to like button
- Emoji selection for comment field
- New way to view pictures - masonry grid, available on home page and member pages
- Highlighted pictures - moderators can now highlight your pictures, making them more visible on the home page.
- New page on sign up, where you can set up your notification options
- New notification option - submission highlight
- Discord bot, reposting recently published pictures
- Many new UI components and updates to the existing ones, minor color changes
- Blog update - backend optimization, new links, layout improvements & labels
- New horizontal line on image cropping - makes centering the aircraft easier
- Updated newsletter subscription implementation
- Removed “I allow SimPictures to share my pictures on social media accounts without requiring advance permission, even if the picture has All Rights Reserved License.” checkbox because disabling this option is unpopular, updated ToS accordingly
- Updated embeds when pictures are shared on social media - theme color depends on accent color in picture, added author username, link and profile picture
- Mobile menu improvement and other minor layout improvements
- Added footer to the app