0.3.0: Dogfighting Foundations Update


This is a huge update to the game featuring the beginnings of a lot of the core systems I want in the moment to moment flying and combat. New features for this release:

  • New Map: The new island is much bigger than the original demo island and has interesting terrain to fly around and through.
  • Sensors and Radar: Use your “eyes” to spot targets that get close, and the Basic Air Radar, on the planes that have it, to identify distant targets.
  • Heat Signatures: Critical to IR related systems, objects have heat signatures on them that IR seekers can detect and react to.
  • Infrared Seekers: Missiles use IR seekers to guide in, which has all sorts of fun consequences in effective use of missiles.
  • Flares: They spoof missiles, but they don’t magically work. Their effectiveness depends on the geometry of the shot.
  • AI Aircraft: Finally the planes fight back! Different planes with different skill levels are flying around the map. Beware the aces.

There’s many, many more changes beyond that, but these are the most important ones. A full changelog can be found below.

Thank you all for the support, it’s been invaluable in keeping this project going.

Features

  • Brand new, much larger, island map with mountainous terrain
  • Added new plane, the F-20, meant to represent the capabilities of the best fighters in the game
  • Aircraft sensors
    • Situational Awareness: Anything within a certain range gets a marker placed on top of it
    • Basic Air Radar: Used on MiG-21 and F-20, detects aircraft at long range
    • Targeting of objects to get more information of them
    • Different sensors have different rules for detection/tracking
  • Omniscient IMGUI labels replaced with markers generated by the Situational Awareness sensor
  • AI fighters along with very basic (read: prototype) dogfighting ability with guns and missiles
  • Heat signature and IR seeker system
    • Aircraft generate heat
    • Apparent temperature depends on distance and aspect angle
    • Missiles now use IR seekers to detect and track targets
    • Each missile has unique parameters for its seeker
  • Flares (for player and AI) to spoof IR missiles by creating bright heat sources
  • Ability to cage/uncage missiles to see exactly what the seeker is tracking
  • Flyby sound effects
  • Material system affecting how well planes can move off-road
    • E.g. Jaguar can easily roll and take off without a runway
  • "Scatter" system to provide map clutter such as trees and grass
  • Right mouse button can be used to pan the map by clicking and dragging
  • Missile warning when a missile is fired at the player
  • Pedals should automatically bind to yaw

Improvements

  • Banked planes will induce a yawing moment to the ground
  • Sound effects for bullet impacts
  • Rolling when using Mouse Flight is more precise and should not overshoot anymore
  • Visibility dots easier to see and applied to more units
  • Replaced AIM-9M with AIM-9L
  • All AIM-9 models recolored
  • Double rail AIM-9 launcher for F-20
  • Landing gear touchdown effects
  • Effects for when taxiing off-road
  • Built in 32 bit for slightly broader compatibility
  • Panning around the map screen significantly smoother
  • Photo mode camera and MouseFlight camera no longer clip through terrain

Bug Fixes

  • Super Gunboat turrets no longer fire after being destroyed
  • MouseFlight camera initializes in the same direction as the aircraft
  • Flight controls now inactive while the game is paused (e.g. fire a missile while paused)
  • Mouse sensitivity for MouseFlight should no longer be sensitive to framerate
  • Map cannot be scrolled while flying

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