So it is no wonder that there was much anticipation in the flight sim community with the development of consumer VR.
VOLO AIRSPORT PLA Y THE GAME UPDATE
TrackIR – a head-tracking update based on IR sensors then arrived and was adopted by flight simmers to allow them to use their head to control the camera view in the ‘virtual cockpit’.
VOLO AIRSPORT PLA Y THE GAME PC
It was in the 2000s that PC flight sims started incorporating ‘virtual cockpits’ allowing users to pan around with keys or a joystick hat switch making it possible for virtual pilots to see all around the inside of the cockpit or flightdeck. Fly into fog or thunderstorms which envelop you all around and you begin to experience a sense of dread. Weather, which for 2D simmers is a factor but never feels intimidating, suddenly becomes much more threatening. Landings become easier thanks to the ability to judge height, and keeping the runway in sight in a circuit is doddle. “I wonder who lives down there?” “Where does that river go?” and “wow what an amazing sunset up here all alone above the clouds.” Looking down you get an almost perfect sense of how high you are above the Earth and you become mesmerised by the same thoughts as when you idly look out of airliner windows. All these fool the brain to think you are actually there and it is all you can do to not reach out and touch the instruments and controls in front of you.
Looking around you can see behind the ejection seats or into the cabin. Little details stand out, like scratches or wear and tear. Suddenly you are aware how tight and cramped some cockpits are. This is virtual reality (VR) and flight simulation today.īut it is extremely difficult to explain the feeling you get when sat in a PC flight simulation cockpit or flightdeck in VR – and 2D screenshots and video really do not do the experience justice. "Jesters dead!” Add ‘G’ and the smell of Jet A1 and my senses would almost be unable to distinguish this Top Gun fantasy from real flight. I’m still wired, triumphant and grinning like a maniac from ear-to-ear. I’m sat in a chair, safe at home and have just beaten the hardest AI in DCS World in a 'MiG-28' (F-5E) in a 1 vs 1 dogfight. I roll level, sigh with relief and take off my Oculus Rift headset.
The F-14 Tomcat bursts into flames and see two parachutes blossom far before. I quickly roll to put my nose on his flightpath – and squeeze the trigger. I pull harder and see the vapour coming off the wingtips and the wings flex, then I spot movement – a speck heading back my way. I grip the seat to peer further around behind my aircraft. I’m twisting in my seat, sweating hard, craning my neck high as the desert looms above me – lost him!!! I twist around the other side, scanning my instruments quickly – still no joy. TIM ROBINSON reports from the cutting edge of consumer flight simulation. Today’s new branch containing the seeds of the next steps we hoped to take with the game is the last addition Volo Airsport will see.Immersive, exhilarating, educational and even emotional – virtual reality is the Holy Grail of PC flight sims – giving the sense of flight like never before. We’ve run out of money, and with it, the time we hoped we might have to bring this project to a fitting conclusion.Īs of today, development of Volo Airsport is on a permanent hiatus. Right now, we’re a team of three, and we simply can’t continue to work on this project we love so much with the revenue it currently generates. Whether you ‘liked’ one of our videos, covered the game, or simply took the time to play it, we can’t thank you enough for your support of Volo Airsport, and our team.Īs we’ve continued to try bringing Volo Airsport to a point of completion, we’ve begun to hit one roadblock after another. And all the while, we were able to rely on you - our community - to guide and support us. We started a semi-weekly show to catalogue improvements made, future plans, and discuss our approach to game development. We improved the game’s graphics and upgraded the engine several times over, adding day/night cycles, a weather system, and more. We added features that allowed you to choose the way you fly, whether in our signature wingsuit, or the new, customizable parachute. When we released Volo Airsport on Steam Early Access in late 2014, we intended for its development to be a journey - and it certainly has been. We’ve thought about it long into the night when we should’ve been sleeping, worked on it weekends and holidays… We love this game, and still find ourselves amazed by the number of players who have come to love it as well. For the past six years, Volo Airsport has been our lives.
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