Flight Unlimited III

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Flight Unlimited III

Developer(s) Looking Glass Studios
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Engine ZOAR
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release date(s) September 1999
Genre(s) Flight simulator
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution CD-ROM

Flight Unlimited III is a 1999 flight simulator video game developed Looking Glass Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to Flight Unlimited and Flight Unlimited II. The game includes ten user-flyable aircraft in total, and several new features. Flight Unlimited III was re-released in 2005 as 'budgetware', under the 'Sold Out' label.

Gameplay

A Lake Renegade in flight near the Rocky Mountains.

One of the most significant new features was the new weather engine. Before a flight the user could generate and manipulate weather fronts, which would then change dynamically while flying. The simulator also included the Raytheon Beechjet 400A. In previous versions, only small- to medium-sized propeller-powered aircraft were included. The Beechjet added a fast jet to the line-up, with a glass cockpit, GPS, an autopilot and a working weather radar using the new weather engine.

The Lake Renegade added a unique seaplane, which had a fuselage shaped like a boat's hull on the bottom, and unlike the 'Muskrat' could taxi directly between land and water. The Stemme S10-VT motorglider has a propeller which could be retracted into the nose cone, allowing it to take off under its own power, and then stop the engine to become a glider.

There are now many more aircraft available than when FU3 was first released. These have been created by individual developers and made available via various websites. Examples include: DC3, 747 (and SP), GeeBee, DHC-6 (Twin Otter), Dash-8, various gliders and other small aircraft.

As with Flight Unlimited II, the simulator concentrated on one small but highly detailed part of the USA, in this version Seattle. It was once again sourced from USGS satellite photos and real-life elevation data. Outside of the Seattle area, covering more of the Pacific Northwest, was a less detailed area called the outer terrain region.

AI controlled aircraft would populate the airspace and displayed all phases of a flight, from taxi and takeoff to landing. There were a large variety of aircraft, meaning the user could see airliners at larger airports as well as small private aircraft flying the traffic pattern at local private airfields.

A Trainer 172

Air Traffic Control was also programmed into the simulator and was much more advanced than any other home flight simulator at the time, such as Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 which had none at all. The user would build up a message from options and transmit it over the radio. ATC would then reply with instructions. These were accompanied by voices speaking the messages. The many various computer controlled aircraft flying in the airspace were also taken into account.

Other features from Flight Unlimited II include 3d cockpits (although still without working dials), more realistic crashes, water landings, challenges and flight lessons.

If the user had Flight Unlimited II, the high-resolution San Francisco scenery could be installed, making flights between there and the high-resolution Seattle area possible.

The simulator also came with a program called the Flight Unlimited Editor (FLED), which allowed the user to edit the simulator's scenery. This is still one of this simulator's great strengths - it has a free, built-in scenery editor. Anybody can create their own airport, scenery package or just place a few model objects wherever they want. If saved as a scenery 'package', users can upload to the internet (via Avsim.com or similar) and other users can share in the experience. One user (Chris Low from the UK) has created huge super-sets of packages covering entire regions. These substantially improve the flying experience. There are also currently hundreds of extra models available for users to experiment with.

Some features were also removed, such as the FBO airport interface used in previous versions, which was replaced by a standard menu.

Aircraft

The simulator included ten user-flyable aircraft, with the five from Flight Unlimited II being carried over and updated with new external visual models. Some of the names were changed, possibly due to licencing issues.

New:

Carried over:

Add-on aircraft by other developers:

  • Boeing 747 and 747-SP (by Ansgar Avermeyer)
  • Douglas DC-3 and XC-47 (floatplane version) (by Ansgar Avermeyer)
  • De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver by Markus Brunner, DHC-6 (Twin Otter) and DHC-8 (Bombardier Q300) by Jon Point
  • Gee Bee R2 replica (by Jon Point)
  • Blanik LET L-13 glider (by Jon Point)
  • Grumman Goose amphibious transport
  • Beechcraft Baron - various models and repaints by Hennie Van Rooyen, Ansgar Avermeyer and Hans-Petter Roverud.
  • Various Microlight aircraft (various developers)

Note: this list is not complete and aircraft are still being built for this simulator.

Development

Following the release of Flight Unlimited II, the team at Looking Glass Studios was split between developing Flight Unlimited III or Flight Combat. The company decided to develop them simultaneously, and then created a survey to get feedback from customers on issues such as the city in which Flight Unlimited III was to take place.[1][2] In May 1998, it was announced that Flight Unlimited III would be published by Electronic Arts, as part of a multi-game contract that also included System Shock 2. Under the terms of the agreement, Electronic Arts was to be responsible for the marketing and distribution of both products.[3] According to project director Tom Sperry, the team's goal with Flight Unlimited III was to reproduce "the true joy and sensation of flight in the most realistic environment available".[4] The company first showed it at the MicroWINGS Conference that August, where it was revealed that the game would take place in and around Seattle. A real-time weather system based on physics, and the addition of moving objects on the ground and new planes, were discussed as well.[5]

Reception

Notes

  1. ↑ Ocampo, Jason (February 16, 1998). "Input wanted on Looking Glass sims". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. 
  2. ↑ "What's up in the Looking Glass Flying Circus?". Looking Glass Studios. Archived from the original on March 24, 1998. 
  3. ↑ "Electronic Arts and Looking Glass Studios Form Co-Publishing Partnership; System Shock 2 and Flight Unlimited III Are First Games in Multi-Title Agreement". Business Wire. May 29, 1998. 
  4. ↑ Hjalmarson, Leonard (February 16, 1999). "Flight Unlimited III Interview". Combatsim. Archived from the original on April 29, 1999. 
  5. ↑ "Looking Glass Reveals First Information About Flight Unlimited III at MicroWINGS Flight Simulation Conference" (Press release). Orlando, Florida: Looking Glass Studios. August 21, 1998. Archived from the original on May 19, 2000. 

External links

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