Aquila Bird Flight Simulator
Graeme Scott · 2020 · Simulation, Casual, Flight, VR, Life Sim
PC
Mostly Positive76% · 29
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About Aquila Bird Flight Simulator
Have you dreamed of what it would be ... to soar like an eagle?
Aquila Bird Flight Simulator lets you experience soaring bird flight using virtual reality. It was originally designed for the Oculus Rift, but has now been modified for OpenVR. You embody one of three species of eagle flying over either Northwest Scotland, a part of Colombia, or Graham Island in British Columbia. This is designed as a relaxing soaring flight simulation, and is not arcade-style flight, and as such you can make use of ridge lift and thermals. If you want a work out try flapping with motion controllers! My Fitness tracker always thinks I'm jogging...
Proceeds from this project go towards a major bird of prey centre in Hampshire (UK), where I do voluntary work. Supporting this project helps towards vital conservation, rehabilitation, and education schemes throughout the UK and overseas. So on behalf of the birds, and the staff, thank you!
Main Features:Simulates an 8kg bird with a 2.5m wingspan. (cosmetic difference only at present). Multiplayer! Currently under test. The official server status is on the Forum. Experimental: See your arms as wings in VR! Select "Controller mapped wings" in the game settings. Steer your bird using: Satellite photography scenery for: Steam Achievement support. Day/Night cycle using Enviro. You have thermals and ridge lift to make flying easier, and trees to land in. All birds are fully animated. Configurable wind direction and speed, shown as 'dandelion seeds' in-game. Free looking in VR, along with selectable views on the birds back and a chase view. You can land and take off, and walk around on the ground. Options to start in the air, on the ground, or in a random tree. Catch fish from some of the lakes in Scotland and Canada, along with the river on the Colombia map. Catch by holding triggers, and you'll carry your fish as long as you hold them. ;) If you crash hard enough, you'll go splat and respawn in a random tree. You can also press T to reset to a tree top. Narrated tutorials for all control modes. Comfort mode: This levels the camera, and limits your pitch and roll to produce a more comfortable experience. It is on by default, but can be turned off. Some relaxing music to go with the flying. Observer mode: The in-flight menu allows you to select a view that is displayed on your main pc screen while you play in VR. This can impact performance, but allows people not playing to watch your flight. AI birds that fly randomly around the map trying not to hit things. Non-VR ... the game will run without a VR headset connected, and defaults to a chase view, but it's just not the same as VR! Next Level V3 motion platform support is working, but is not included in the Steam or Oculus Home versions because of the SDK's involved. Contact me if you are interested in this feature.
Current issues:
Future plans:
Final note:
It's a start point of what to expect, and an opportunity to report back with bugs. Please do report back with any issues you encounter; it helps me make it better!
Also note that, due to the SDK's involved, Next Level Motion platform support is not included in the Steam or Oculus Home versions. Contact me if you are interested in this feature.
Thank you again for your support, and thank you for looking!
Graeme
Aquila Bird Flight Simulator lets you experience soaring bird flight using virtual reality. It was originally designed for the Oculus Rift, but has now been modified for OpenVR. You embody one of three species of eagle flying over either Northwest Scotland, a part of Colombia, or Graham Island in British Columbia. This is designed as a relaxing soaring flight simulation, and is not arcade-style flight, and as such you can make use of ridge lift and thermals. If you want a work out try flapping with motion controllers! My Fitness tracker always thinks I'm jogging...
Proceeds from this project go towards a major bird of prey centre in Hampshire (UK), where I do voluntary work. Supporting this project helps towards vital conservation, rehabilitation, and education schemes throughout the UK and overseas. So on behalf of the birds, and the staff, thank you!
Main Features:
- Dude you're an eagle! Featuring three species of eagle:
- Bald eagle
- Golden Eagle
- and the Harpy eagle.
- Motion controllers - Oculus Rift, Quest 2, S, and HTC Vive have been tested.
- Your VR headset
- An Xbox360/One controller
- 14km x 14km flyable areas for Northwest Scotland, Colombia and British Columbia.
Current issues:
- Satellite photography is best experienced with a bit of height. The illusion will not work when you're near the ground, although I'm working on ground details.
- If you look behind you, the game will try and adjust your view so you look down your side. However, ultimately, if you intentionally move your head to defeat that compensation, you can look through yourself! I can't stop you.
- You can't currently 'trim' in pitch, although you can fly just fine without.
- Observer mode does not output sound to your normal pc speakers, if you are using the Rift headphones. You need to change your settings on the Oculus software (or equivalent) to enable sound mirroring, or whichever output option you wish.
- Oculus Touch and HTC Vive are prone to problems with bright UV light, and requires a solid sensor setup. The flapping motion required with Oculus Touch requires your sensors to have a good view of your complete motion, or it may not work correctly.
Future plans:
- More dynamic landscape with things to do of course (challenges).
- More detail within the existing terrains, and prey to catch (currently the fish only).
- Possible survival simulation including weather, defending your territory, nest provider, etc.
- Special needs access (head steering is the start of this).
Final note:
It's a start point of what to expect, and an opportunity to report back with bugs. Please do report back with any issues you encounter; it helps me make it better!
Also note that, due to the SDK's involved, Next Level Motion platform support is not included in the Steam or Oculus Home versions. Contact me if you are interested in this feature.
Thank you again for your support, and thank you for looking!
Graeme
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Aquila Bird Flight Simulator is a very mediocre "flight sim" with a twist... you're controlling a bird. This is an unusual concept that might even work well if implemented well... and here, it isn't. Before we get into just how terrible the flight controls are, it's important to note this is a kind of "sandbox" game with no real objective or reason to want to play it. Let's talk about how terrible the flight controls are... thankfully there's options to change the control axes but they're still somehow both over and undersensitive at the same time. You'll find yourself erratically plunging into the ground, flying upside down (yeah, birds can't do that). The controls and game handling are notably very clunky and unsmooth here. It's janky and unsatisfying to play... and any experienced gamer will tell you, the handling, responsiveness and general gameplay feel of the control scheme must be well polished for this kind of game to succeed. Unfortunately, this is something the developer seems to have phoned in, with little to no apparent gameplay testing. They dropped the ball on this one. From a technical perspective, the game doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most …4 found this helpful
This game is great fun for anyone that likes the idea of gliding around like a bird for a while. The controls have a bit of a learning curve, but the experience has been well worth it to me. My arms are tired after a few hours of flying today, but I'll be back again another day.3 found this helpful
Very cool and immersive. Actually feels like you're an eagle. You flap your wings with the Vive controllers and it's actually a workout too! I like centering the camera slightly behind the bird for more of a 3rd person view because the model for the actual bird looks awesome. Amazing feeling being perched in a tree...as a bird.2 found this helpful
Flying in VR sounds like a dream, but unfortunately this is just clunky enough to be more frustrating than uplifting.1 found this helpful
Stars received: 1.3/10 _ Note: v.5 [0.0 to 1] = personal impressions [0.3] Controls & Training & Help [0.2] Menu & Settings [0] Sound & Music [0.1] Graphics [0.2] Game Design [0] Game Story [0.1] Game Content [0] Completion time (level/game)? [0] is it Enjoyable & Fun? [0] Could it hold a spot in Favorites? (& if the Game can be repeatedly played again) [0] BONUS point: Multi-Player related [0.4] BONUS point: Review for VR [N] - if Registration is required with providing PII Game description key-points: Bird flight Simulator Overview: nothing to see and admire, a bird over a muddy landscape game only accepts a Gaming controller! feels easy to play, but no benefit in VR1 found this helpful
please make joystick T16000M available for this game!!!!!!
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