Firstly, apologies. I know it has been a very long time for any progress with Aquila. Both work and health conspired against me with regards to coding, and as Aquila is just me it has been difficult. However the new Oculus version is nearly there, and I'll then be able to bring these changes over to SteamVR.
The main thing is the flight physics. I could never get the flexibility out of the flight physics engine that I wanted, and I could never get it truly doing what I wanted. It was while working on a Raspberry Pi project that I reached a point where I realised I could start over with my own physics for the bird, and have ultimate control over how things work and move. The main area where this works is with motion controllers (i.e. Vive wands and Oculus Touch), and can do the following:
- Still the same control method in roll and pitch by twisting your arms, and autopilot aids if required. When you flap, the thrust is immediate and does not lag like before.
- When you bring your hands towards your body, your profile drag, induced drag and stall speed are adjusted accordingly. This means you stoop in, either partially or fully, or dive with increased speed. You can, with practice as it is a challenge, land with precision on any spot even on a slope creating substantial lift. It doesn't allow for bringing just one wing in, but that can be done. If anyone has 3d modelling skills, I'm struggling with being able to animate this wing motion, i.e. full stretch to a stooping pose.
- If you bring your hands all the way in, you'll fold your wings and fall.
These changes are not no dramatic with the other control methods, but hopefully in time I'll find ways to make them better. For now they do work at least.
Other changes:
- New bald eagle model... it has quite a high poly count, but it does look nice.
- All bird flapping animations are synced to your arm flapping frequency. The flapping technique is simplified now, you simply flap your arms up and down. A bit less realistic, but easier to grasp. Flap strength is calculated by how hard you flap, and how far apart your controllers are.
- TrueSky now being used for the sky system. There's a definite advantage with the general sky, but the night sky just looks amazing. The downside is the original thermals used don't match, so I've disabled their visual for now. If you bumble into one, it'll still work, but for now you can't see where it'll be.
- The motion controller tutorial has spoken instructions now. I'll do the same with the Xbox and Headset steering tutorials, once I can find a plan for recording narration when our budgies are not making an absolute racket! All the tutorials start airborne, and run through the absolute basics of control. Take off and landing techniques, along with the more advanced flying with motion controllers, I am hoping to cover in YouTube videos that I'll narrate with video showing in-game and what I do with my controllers.
Anyway that's what's done for now. Of course I'll update with an eta when I have a better idea.
For the future:
- I have loads of assets for grasses, trees, rocks, etc, and a copy of World Creator Pro. Naturally I want to use these to improve the landscape quality. Satellite imagery isn't for everyone, and I want to move towards an optional survival simulation. If you have a scenery compatible with Unity that you would like to see in Aquila, please get in touch. I'm no artist, so I find these things very challenging!
- Tree's, nests, etc... for a survival mode, having 'safe' zones to rest, recover, and overnight is an option.
- Multiplayer. Of course I'd love to have this. I originally did lots of work to network this game for show purposes. As all of that is done through one PC and a second screen, I want to redirect that work to multiplayer.
There's so much I want to see in Aquila. If I could win the lottery, and not worry about work, it would be awesome!!
The IET were kind enough to host the motion platform version of Aquila at the Royal International Air Tattoo 2019, the third time Aquila has been there. The first time was simply my PC, an Oculus Rift DK2, a gamepad, and a monitor for other people to watch what was going on. This year, with the motion platform and completely overhauled motion feedback, the amazing feedback from people (including aviation professionals) saying how it felt like flying just blew me away. Anyone wishing to donate a Birdly motion platform? I'd love to integrate Aquila with that. *nudge* *nudge*
Anyway I've gone on far too long, again. Here is a video of the new physics in action with the bald eagle. This is from July, so more has happened since then of course:
Once again, if you have been awesome enough to purchase Aquila on either Steam or Oculus, I can offer you a key for the 'other' version so you don't have to buy both. Just contact me with your proof of purchase.
If you have an unusual SteamVR setup, or hardware I don't have, and want to test Aquila, please let me know. I can provide you a key! I merely have Oculus DK2 and Oculus CV1.
Thank you for reading this long scrawl. Feedback and suggestions are always welcomed... oh yes someone wanted to be able to attack waves of Drones! ;)
All the best;
Graeme