Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
tend to overcontrol the plane when they find that it doesn't respond immediately.
If you want to present a realistic challenge, you can model this problem accurately;
to keep the game easy, treat the plane more like a car.
MILITARY FLIGHT SIMS
In military flight simulators, the player must not only fly the aircraft but also
achieve the mission's objectives, usually attacking enemy aircraft and ground
installations. Modern air-to-air combat, conducted with long-range guided missiles
and often directed by Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes, is a
rather cerebral exercise. Hence the continuing popularity of World War I and II
flight simulators and fictional battles such as those in
Crimson Skies
(see
Figure 17.1
).
These let the players dogfight, twisting and turning through the sky, hiding behind
clouds, diving out of the sun, and blasting away with bullets at short range. It's a
much more action-packed experience.
FIGURE 17.1
A pilot's view in
Crimson Skies.
Note
the very simple instru-
ment panel.
The role of the aircraft being simulated defines the gameplay for military flight
simulators. Fighter planes are designed primarily to attack enemy aircraft and to
protect friendly aircraft and ground units from air attacks; attack planes are
designed to attack moving ground targets; bombers are designed to attack station-
ary ones. Most military flight simulators offer a series of missions, often with
primary and secondary objectives such that achieving either or both of them con-
stitutes victory. Being killed or having the player's plane shot down constitutes a
