Every complex project eventually reaches a point where its foundation must evolve to support new ambitions. For this flight simulator, that moment has arrived.
I’m excited to share the results of a major architectural overhaul – transforming the project from a functional prototype into a dynamic, modular, and future-proof core.
Focus: From Monolith to Modularity
The original architecture served well, but it was monolithic – a single, tightly interwoven structure.
The new design philosophy embraces radical modularity and full decoupling, taking advantage of Unreal Engine’s component-based nature.
The goal was to build a true plug-and-play system, where new flight modes, aircraft systems, or control schemes can be added as independent modules without touching the core.
The “Digital Soul”: A Persistent UObject State Machine
One of the most important changes is the separation between the aircraft’s physical presence (APawn) and its persistent identity.
At the heart of this lies a new core UObject — ULetadloInstance — which acts as the aircraft’s digital soul.
It functions as a state machine that dynamically swaps in different UFlightModeLogic objects.
This is what gives a single aircraft multiple “personalities”: smoothly transitioning from VTOL physics to conventional flight dynamics on the fly.
Context-Aware Controls with Enhanced Input
Player input is no longer a simple direct command.
Built on top of Unreal’s Enhanced Input, the new system is context-aware.
When a player moves the stick forward, that input isn’t hardcoded anymore – it’s interpreted by the currently active UFlightModeLogic.
As a result, the same control action can have completely different outcomes: in VTOL mode, it commands forward thrust; in flight mode, it pitches the nose down.
This creates an intuitive and immersive control experience that truly adapts to the aircraft’s state.
Data-Driven by Design
To streamline development and speed up iteration, the entire architecture is now heavily data-driven.
Instead of hardcoding behavior, new aircraft and flight modes can be configured directly in the Unreal Editor – empowering creativity and making experimentation much faster.
A Note on This Milestone
This refactor touched nearly every core part of the simulator.
While the main systems have been tested thoroughly, some secondary features may still need polish.
Your feedback is invaluable – if you spot any bugs or something feels “off,” please report it on GitHub Issues or share your findings on Discord.
This new architecture isn’t just an update; it’s a launchpad.