NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Flight Unlimited

Flight Unlimited is the first of the Flight Unlimited series of General aviation Flight Simulator games created by Looking Glass Studios. It focuses mainly on Aerobatics. It was released in 1995 for DOS and in 1996 for Windows 95. Notable features are the pioneering physics system, landscapes and FBO interface. It was one of the first games to use 3D elevation mesh and photo-realistic images to create realistic terrain representing small areas of country in the USA and France. It supplies challenges in the form of aerobatic lessons and hoops courses, where it is required to fly through virtual "hoops" in the sky against the clock. Image File history File links FlightUnlimitedbox. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s. ... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... Virgin Interactive was a successful and influential British video game publisher. ... A game engine is the core software component of a video game. ... See also: 1994 in video gaming, other events of 1995, 1996 in video gaming, history of video games Events The 1st annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo) held Business Frog City Software, Inc. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... See also: 1995 in video gaming, other events of 1996, 1997 in video gaming, history of video games Events DigiPen Institute of Technology receives accreditation, first school in the world to offer college degrees in video game development. ... This is a listing of computer and video game genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ... Interior Cockpit of a modern Flight Simulator A flight simulator is a system that tries to replicate, or simulate, the experience of flying an aircraft as closely and realistically as possible. ... In the early days of flying, pilots realised that their aircraft could be used as part of a flying circus to entertain people or impress others by performing aerobatics. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... For the list, see list of computer and video games. ... Personal computer and peripherals. ... Interference colors. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... Operating a mechanical 1: Pulling the mouse turns the ball. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ... The Flight Unlimited series of flight simulators for home PC were created by Looking Glass Studios. ... General aviation (abbr. ... Interior Cockpit of a modern Flight Simulator A flight simulator is a system that tries to replicate, or simulate, the experience of flying an aircraft as closely and realistically as possible. ... Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s. ... In the early days of flying, pilots realised that their aircraft could be used as part of a flying circus to entertain people or impress others by performing aerobatics. ... See also: 1994 in video gaming, other events of 1995, 1996 in video gaming, history of video games Events The 1st annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo) held Business Frog City Software, Inc. ... For other uses, see DOS (disambiguation). ... See also: 1995 in video gaming, other events of 1996, 1997 in video gaming, history of video games Events DigiPen Institute of Technology receives accreditation, first school in the world to offer college degrees in video game development. ... Windows 95 (codename Chicago) is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical user interface-based operating system released on August 24, 1995 by the Microsoft Corporation. ... ...

Physics system

The physics system was innovative, as it was possibly the first flight sim game (at least in the home) to use the idea of fluid dynamics. Instead of the control inputs directly affecting the plane, the controls affect the control surfaces on the plane, with the flow of air doing the rest. For example, in an older game, pushing forwards on the keyboard or joystick would directly make the plane pitch down (relative to its orientation), as though a 'magic hand' was rotating the plane. In Flight Unlimited, pushing forwards on the keyboard or joystick tilts the elevators, and the flow of air over the tail and elevators causes the planes orientation to change accordingly. Fluid dynamics is the subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that studies fluids (liquids and gases) in motion. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ...

The game also simulates the gyroscopic flow of air over the plane caused by the propellors. Additionally, the game takes into consideration the changing 'angle of attack' of the propellor blades as they rotate, which causes the plane to list to one side very slightly. The rotation of the propellors causes the plane to rotate very slightly in the opposite direction of the rotation. Finally, the game simulates the weight in different parts of the aircraft, with the heavy engine in the nose causing the plane to pitch downwards, requiring correction in flight. The exception to these is the Sailplane glider, which has no engine. The manual goes into greater depth on the effects of the physics.

This more sophisticated physics system allows for realistic aerobatic maneuvers that were just not possible with other flight simulators of the time. The game features an extensive lesson mode, covering everything from level flight and rudder turns, to the most complex manouveres, such as the Avalanche and Rolling Turns. A training instructor flying with the player during the lessons will offer helpful advice and point out where they are making mistakes. If the player scores high enough, they can get a certificate for each maneuver. Aerobatic maneuvres are maneuvers involving aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dog fights or competition aerobatics. ...

The game has a special keyboard control system that allows precise control over the plane, but a joystick allows much more precise control.

Flyable aircraft

Bellanca Citabria 7ECA, manufactured in 1980 AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft design and manufacturing company. ... 1992 Extra EA300S (G-IIUI), racing in England The Extra Flugzeugbau Extra 300 is a competition-level aerobatic monoplane aircraft. ... S1S on the ground S1S in flight The Pitts Special, a series of light aerobatics biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts, which have accumulated more competition wins than any other aircraft since its first flight in 1944. ... GROB Aerospace is a German aircraft manufacturer. ... Sukhoi (Ð¡ÑƒÑ…Ð¾Ð¹) is a major Russian military fighter aircraft manufacturer. ...

Interface

Rather unusual (for the time) is the FBO interface. It allows the player to walk around a room in 3d and select objects to access functions in the game. For example, a whiteboard allows access to the lessons, while a world globe allows the player to go to other world locations. A Fixed Base Operator (also known as Fixed Base of Operation), or FBO, is a service center at an airport that may be a private enterprise or may be a department of the municipality that the airport serves. ...

The game has a demo recording facility very similar to that in the X-wing space combat simulator. Recordings can be saved and played forwards or backwards, at various degrees of speed. Camera views can be changed, as in normal flight, and at any time, the player can 'eject the tape', and play the game from the current point of the recording. The game comes with several recordings, some of which show a range of manouveres, while others show how 'not' to fly a plane. The X-Wing computer game series is a series of space simulation computer games set in the Star Wars universe that attempts to, faithfully to the movies, simulate the fictional experience of starfighter combat. ...

There were two versions of the game released, for MS-DOS and Windows 95. The DOS version features a rather innovative easter egg in its credits screen: A 3d mini-game of sorts where the player can bounce a cube of coloured Jelly/Jello on a plate. The faces of the developers are on the sides of the cubes. Dropping one will result in a new cube with the next set of developer faces appearing. This mini-game is somewhat reminiscent of the early Nintendo GameCube technology demo Super Mario 128, shown at SpaceWorld 2001. Microsofts disk operating system, MS-DOS, was Microsofts implementation of DOS, which was the first popular operating system for the IBM PC, and until recently, was widely used on the PC compatible platform. ... Windows 95 (codename Chicago) is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical user interface-based operating system released on August 24, 1995 by the Microsoft Corporation. ... Look up jelly in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jello can refer to different things: The gelatin dessert Jell-O The Jello compiler Jello Biafra This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The Nintendo GameCube (Japanese: ã‚²ãƒ¼ãƒ ã‚ãƒ¥ãƒ¼ãƒ–; originally code-named Dolphin during development; abbreviated as GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the Sixth generation era; the same generation as Segas Dreamcast, Sonys PlayStation 2, and Microsofts Xbox. ... A technology demo is a prototype or an incomplete version of a product, with the primary purpose of showcasing the performance, methods or features of a particular technology. ... Super Mario 128 is a video game reportedly under development by Nintendo, the next game in the Mario series and is being called the true sequel to Super Mario 64. ... SpaceWorld is a video game trade show hosted by Nintendo. ...

The game was followed by two sequels, Flight Unlimited II and Flight Unlimited III, athough these were general civilian aviation simulations without the aerobatic focus of their predecessor. The second game of the Flight Unlimited series, known for their sophisticated physics. ... Flight Unlimited III was the third and last of the Flight Unlimited series of General aviation flight simulators created by Looking Glass Studios, released in 1999. ...

External links

Categories: Flight simulation computer games | 1995 computer and video games | 1996 computer and video games | Looking Glass Studios games | Windows games | DOS games Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s. ... Ultima Underworld is a series of two computer role playing games published by Origin Systems in the early 1990s. ... System Shock is a computer game developed by Looking Glass Technologies (later Looking Glass Studios). ... System Shock 2 is the 1999 sequel to the 1994 Looking Glass Studios computer game System Shock. ... Thief is a series of mainly first-person computer games where the player takes the role of Garrett, a thief in a steampunk world resembling a cross between the Late Middle Ages and the Victorian era, with some primitive technology thrown in. ... Thief is a series of mainly first-person computer games where the player takes the role of Garrett, a thief in a steampunk world resembling a cross between the Late Middle Ages and the Victorian era, with some primitive technology thrown in. ... Thief is a series of mainly first-person computer games where the player takes the role of Garrett, a thief in a steampunk world resembling a cross between the Late Middle Ages and the Victorian era, with some primitive technology thrown in. ... The second game of the Flight Unlimited series, known for their sophisticated physics. ... Flight Unlimited III was the third and last of the Flight Unlimited series of General aviation flight simulators created by Looking Glass Studios, released in 1999. ... The Flight Unlimited series of flight simulators for home PC were created by Looking Glass Studios. ... British Open Championship Golf is a golf video game for the PC by Looking Glass Technologies. ... Cover of Car and Driver from age of psychedelic lettering Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. ... Command & Conquer is a real-time strategy series of computer games released by the game developer Westwood Studios, now a part of Electronic Arts. ... Destruction Derby is a 1995 video game published by Psygnosis and developed by Reflections, the latter of which would later develop the successful Driver series. ... The Dark engine is a computer game engine, comprising code to produce graphics, sound and control input. ...

Contents

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Flyable aircraft

Interface

External links

Physics system