Pay no attention to the model and texture of the helicopter, it's all being upgraded and is temporary. This is another test flight after I changed the sensitivity of the helicopters controls. I also was able to get it to take off smoothly. Before it felt like the helicopter was stuck to the ground, and I had to power up the helicopter to high levels just to get it unstuck, then it would shoot in the air really fast.
I used to have the visual body of the helicopter "physicalized" so that you could collide with it and click on it. It was only temporary. But I found that physicalizing the complex mesh has a great effect on the physics in the engine. So I finally made a dedicated collision proxy (unseen collision mesh) that is physicalized, and has way less polygons, and the helicopter flies way more smooth and takes off from the ground way easier.
I also added in a temporary "horizon indicator" made completely of text characters. -- -|- -- It is really simple code and only takes up hardly 5 short lines of script. This allows me to fly the helicopter easier by knowing the angles of my pitch and roll. I also added temporary vertical speed indicator which is text and shows ho fast you are ascending or descending. And of course a temporary visual reference to the current collective control position to show much much power I am giving the engine to go upwards, or fall down. These controls, in the future, will be more visual and I hope to make them look like real controls on a helicopter control panel. Temporary, simple, and very helpful when flying.
I also messed around with the start up animation of the blades. Not perfect yet, but they start slow and speed up. I also created a motion blur effect on the rotor blades. The transition form non-blur to motion blur blades still needs work though, and it appears to jump from slow to fast, however, the speed never changes, the motion blur just makes it look like it does.
I still need to do some work on stabilizing the helicopter. It still feels like you are flying in outer space (once you get a stable altitude), and any flight corrections you make need to have equal and opposite corrections. I was able to make a "Hover Help" mode which I didn't show in this video, but right now all it does is help maintain a selected altitude. Later it will help keep the helicopter upright so you can land easier.
I was able to land on the landing zone in this video, but it wasn't that easy. I will be able to make it easier though.
It is fun as heck to fly though. Feels almost like a simulator. It's not arcade style helicopter controls, it's more realistic. You have to worry about momentum... If you lower the collective and start falling from the sky and you build up momentum, you just may start to fall faster than the helicopter can counter act. So you may hit the ground if you are too careless. This got me to think about an "autorotation effect" that real helicopters encounter when the upward rush of wind spins the rotor blades and makes it fall slower than free fall. I think I may add it. However, the "hover help" mode seems to be powerful enough to save you from becoming a meteorite.
www.bluemars.com
Loading...
2:33
Blue Mars - Helicopter Test Flightby 0ne1111391 views
As a BM user, flight sim fan and a person generally interested in game physics, I am impressed. Good work. Keep it up.
pilotmonkey 1 year ago