Say Intentions

I’ve been using SayIntentions primarily for offline ATC in X‑Plane 12, and I want to start by giving credit where it’s due: the core ATC engine is outstanding. In terms of phraseology, responsiveness, flexibility, and overall immersion, the ATC component alone is easily a 5‑star product. It stands shoulder‑to‑shoulder with the best options available outside of human‑controlled networks like VATSIM, PilotEdge, or IVAO. If this review were limited strictly to ATC performance, I would have no hesitation giving it a full five stars. However, this review is for SayIntentions as a complete ecosystem, and that’s where my rating becomes more nuanced. SI has expanded far beyond ATC, building a suite of companion tools, integrations, and features that enhance the sim experience. The challenge, from my perspective, is that the majority of these additions are developed for Microsoft Flight Simulator first, and in many cases exclusively. Some features do make their way to X‑Plane when, I believe, the porting effort is relatively straightforward, but it’s clear that MSFS is the primary development target. To their credit, the SI team is transparent about this. They don’t pretend that all platforms receive equal attention, and they openly acknowledge that MSFS drives most of their development focus. But transparency doesn’t change the practical reality for X‑Plane users: we pay the same subscription price as MSFS users, yet we only receive full value from the ATC portion and partial value from the broader ecosystem. The extra tools, visual integrations, and new features showcased in streams and announcements often don’t apply to X‑Plane at all. Because of this, my engagement with SI has naturally narrowed. I still use and appreciate the ATC, but I no longer participate in the community aspects — the Discord discussions, weekly YouTube streams, or the ancillary products — because much of that content simply isn’t relevant to my platform. This isn’t frustration; it’s just practicality. As an X‑Plane‑only pilot, the ecosystem beyond ATC doesn’t offer the same return on investment. So while I continue to enjoy and rely on SI’s ATC, I can’t give SayIntentions as a whole a 5‑star rating. The ATC deserves it, unquestionably. But the overall product, as experienced on a partially supported platform, does not. For that reason, a 3‑star rating feels like the most honest and accurate reflection of my experience. MSFS users may very well find the full package closer to five stars, but X‑Plane users should be aware of the platform disparity before subscribing.