This is an intermediate, but logically complete build where the full ground behavior of the aircraft has been implemented. This was necessary in order to smoothly approach loading areas and prepare for cargo operations. At this stage, cargo loading into the Scarab and testing flight physics with a loaded aircraft are not yet implemented. However, […]
New Loading Screen Subsystem I completely rewrote the level loading subsystem.The new system now works on a separate thread instead of the main game thread, which allowed me to remove a huge amount of old loading code, widgets, hacks, and temporary workarounds. The biggest improvement is that the game window now stays hidden until the
New CollisionComponent I wrote a new CollisionComponent to track aircraft collisions with obstacles. It handles detection, processes the impact, calculates the hit normal and force at the contact point, and passes all of that to JSBSim. From there, JSBSim takes over the physics calculations and produces a much more realistic aircraft response. New CrashController I also added
Hi pilots. First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the project and kept testing the builds. This has been a long phase. There were countless rewrites, endless hours of engineering routine, and honestly, a lot of doubts along the way – wondering if I was doing
The entire Input System has been completely rewritten from the ground up. I moved away from Unreal’s built-in RawInput system and switched fully to JoystickPlugin. This gives us much broader hardware compatibility and significantly deeper customization options. This was a massive task. I iterated on the architecture multiple times to get it right. It took
Airbrake Pitch Behavior Previously, deploying the airbrake caused a strong nose-up reaction, almost like an extra elevator.This happened because the aerodynamic effects behind the brake weren’t modeled correctly. The drag values have been corrected for the actual brake angles, and the airflow behind the brake now properly affects the tail. Result: The airbrake still feels
This build is essentially a beta version of the prototype. The full flight physics are now implemented: all aerodynamic coefficients have been calculated and integrated. What remains is tuning and balancing. Airbrake implementation Added an airbrake on the X key (keyboard) or B button (controller). The aerodynamics now respond properly to it – you can
Focus: This update is entirely focused on the flight model. My goal here wasn’t to trick you with “fake” aerodynamic data or arcade-style tweaks, but to calculate the coefficients based on the actual 3D geometry of the Scarab. I wanted to keep the Scarab agile and light as originally designed, but I also need to
What’s New: Multiplayer is Here The biggest addition in this update is multiplayer.Players can now create listen servers, host sessions, and fly together. To use the online features, an Epic account is required. What I’ll Be Working on Next Now that the complex networking part is in place, I’ll be focusing on polishing things: Compared
I’ve just finished another stage of the refactoring process. This time, the HUD has been completely reworked to fit the new architecture. The old UI system was simple but had a major flaw: it constantly polled variables every tick to update the on-screen data, which created unnecessary overhead. The new system takes a completely different
