You've done it again with another fantastic update.
I'm running out of nice things to say about this game. Even if the actual playable content in this update is largely the same as the previous one, it still feels like a distinct step up in quality. The game already felt stable, and aside from one bug (that I'll mention later) I ran into no issues with this version either. Performance-wise I don't really know whether this demo really changed much (I got a couple of drops below 60 fps that I didn't notice before, but on the whole it was still very smooth at max settings), but in general I really liked this update just like all the ones before it. Great work!
First touching on the positives: I like the changes to conquest mode. The unified hangar with the scenarios is a big plus, as well as adding proper mouse support to the Conquest menu. Shifting it to air-to-air only makes sense, because honestly I only ever went for the air targets in the previous version anyway since the ground targets were so spread out. If you do add multirole modes to Conquest in the future, I would recommend grouping the ground targets up in bases and outposts that are actually worth the time to fly to and destroy, or maybe convoys of vehicles moving around the map would be cool. I'm sure you have plenty of ideas on that front. Also, the change to the final boss feels good IMO. I tried soloing the final Conquest mission a couple of times in the previous version and the virtually aimbot hitscan railguns nailed me with their entire volley both times no matter how hard I dodged, so the slowdown to the projectiles was a good call I think. They might even be a tiny bit too slow now, since I have yet to be hit by them after the change, but I haven't done a solo run yet so maybe they're actually good enough as is (plus, as soon as they spawned I was looping like a maniac, and I was using the Hornet, so I might not have given them a proper chance). Also, I like the updates to the sound design: The pings of bullet impacts are a very good touch.
Biggest plus for me: the guns. Just yes. I've only actually been hit by an AI fighter's gun one time, but from an aesthetic perspective alone they make a world of difference. Dogfights feel more dynamic and exciting, and it makes things look really cinematic sometimes when you look into a big tangle of fighters and see tracers going everywhere. Really glad you added this.
Now for cons: not much really. The only bug I ran into was a case of a fighter diving a few thousand feet underground on Operation Blackout (but it came back, so it's not a full game-breaker). Otherwise, I don't really have anything to complain about in this one (aside from maybe the same comment on the AA guns that I mentioned last time; they still don't feel like a very big threat). The only suggestion I would really make is one that was mentioned already by someone else: A more defined jet roar when other fighters pass you would really add to the immersive feeling of the game, as well as being able to hear the enemy's gun when they do a close pass.
That's all I've got. Great work again to you and your team, and I will be eagerly awaiting the 1.0 release in May.
As a parting note, here's a little montage I made as a bit of a tribute to the new demo. Keep up the great work!