I know, if its made by Rowan, you have your doubts. And if
you are a serious virtual pilot, those doubts are justifed.
Rowans previous graphics engine suffered from compatability
limits, and their flight model was awful. BUT....times are
changing! Rowan has written a completely new graphics
engine to back up a completely new simulation.
Rod Hyde is not only Managing Director at Rowan Software
Ltd, he is also involved in Research, Games Design and
Coding.
Here are some excerpts from an interview with Rod Hyde:
Q: As gamers become more experienced flight sim pilots they
require more of a challenge. How realistic will the flight
model be?
A: The flight model has been upgraded so that many of the
idiosyncrasies of WW1 aircraft can be experienced. Here is
a short list:
Gyroscopic effect
Slipstream
Torque
Adverse yaw: Roll to the left and get an unwanted yaw to
the left. Most noticeable on the SE5.
Wind: Cross wind landings are difficult, a ground loop is
easy to achieve.
Moving CoG: At the beginning of a patrol, on the Camel,
forward pressure was needed on the stick to avoid climbing.
Later in the flight the fuel used would result in the CoG
position changing and so the aircraft could be flown "Hands
Off".
The aircraft will stall and spin. It will be possible to
steer the aircraft on the ground using aileron (due to
adverse yaw effect) as well as rudder.
Pilots will be able to take advantage of the different
aircraft performances during combat. For instance, aircraft
with higher top speeds can zoom higher than lower powered
aircraft.
We showed the model to Andy Sephton who is the Test Pilot
at the Old Warden Airfield. The Old Warden Airfield is the
home of the Shuttleworth collection which includes a number
of WW1 aircraft that are still airworthy. You can still see
these aircraft fly during the summer months.
Anyway Andy was impressed with the model and suggested a
few improvements which I am attempting to implement now.
Q: How good will the enemy AI be in Flying Corps, and have
any improvements been made in this area?
A: The AI has been completely rewritten to reflect the
realities of combat during World War One. In the past we
have relied on a generic set of enemy aircraft AI.
In the past we have produced flight models that were very
forgiving. Aircraft stalled gently and nosed downwards
without the hint of a spin. Also for many years our flight
models have included an automatic trim which was activated
as soon as the player returned the stick to the central
position.
Over the past few years the number of computer flight sim
pilots has grown enormously. We think that the number of
skilled flight sim pilots is now large enough for us to
develop a more accurate flight model. There is no doubt
that the Sopwith Camel is one of the most difficult
aircraft to learn to fly, and so we are concentrating on
producing as accurate a simulation of the aircraft as
possible. Many will find it too difficult to fly. For them
a more forgiving model will be available. However, for
those who persevere, there will be the satisfaction of
using the idiosyncrasies of the camel to their advantage in
combat.
Rowan is also working on a sim based on the Korean war
titled MiG Alley... Check out this page of development notes
, then head to Rowan's
site to check it out for yourself!!
