The Nav Circle in SR1 made it very easy to control rockets in a 2D game. It took me a while to figure out the best way to extend the Nav Circle into three dimensions. I ended up with basically two nav circles: one for heading and one for pitch. The end result is now called the Nav Sphere and it makes controlling rockets in 3D extremely easy.
The blue circle is for controlling the pitch of the rocket and the orange circle is for controlling the heading. You can click and drag the circles to adjust them or you can use keyboard inputs (or a gamepad) to control them. We will probably tweak the visuals a bit before release, but I'm really happy with how they've turned out.
SimpleRockets 2 - Steam Page
SimpleRockets 2 now has a coming soon page on Steam along with a new teaser trailer to entice you to come check it out!
We're still shooting to release on Steam Early Access this summer. We plan to keep adding features and responding to player feedback until we feel the game is ready, at which point we will release the final version on all platforms at the same time. This includes iOS, Google Play, Humble, GOG, and of course Steam (Windows and macOS).
Minor update (v1.7.1.0)
Some of you have noticed that a small update has been released.
Why are we releasing such a small update?
I'm sure a lot of you may have noticed emails from a bunch of companies with updated privacy policies in response to GDPR. We have been doing preparation ourselves and decided to ease the burden by removing non-essential third-party libraries from SimplePlanes, giving us less to worry about. This includes the Facebook SDK, Unity Analytics, and Everyplay (since it was discontinued by Unity).
We also removed the ability to register from within the game and now redirect to the website to centrally locate account creation.
We didn't want to make it totally feature-less though, so Andrew included a few XML modding related items that advanced modders have been asking for.
I know it may be disappointing to see an update come down the pipe with so few features, but rest assured that we will resume working on 1.8 later this year as we've previously discussed.
Official 1.7.1.0 release notes:
Removed Everyplay. Unfortunately, Everyplay is shutting their services down, so we had to remove it.
Removed in-game registration. Registration must now be done through SimplePlanes.com.
Added dragScale, calculateDrag, and diffuseInertiaTensors XML attributes
Speed Build of a Saturn V rocket in SimpleRockets 2 [Teaser Video]
SimpleRockets 2 is currently under development. We are hoping to release on Steam Early Access in June. You can read more about our development here and also read our FAQ here.
SimplePlanes Update 1.7 - Damage Control
The 1.7 update is now available! Here is the trailer showing the new features.
Here's what's new in 1.7:
Parts
Countermeasure Dispenser (Chaffs / Flares)
Torpedo
Unguided Rocket
Cleaver (cruise missile)
Features
Part Transform tool
Improved Damage Model
- Parts can now take damage instead of instantly exploding
- Engines can catch on fire
- Control surfaces, RCNs, rotators, etc can be shot out
- Wings can leak fuel
- Improved look and performance of bullets
Countermeasures
- Chaffs and flares can now prevent and break locks
- Aircraft size and engines also play a role in how difficult it is to acquire a lock
WW2 Destroyer with Flak Cannons
WW2 Torpedo Mission
Number entry on Fuselage Properties
Redesigned Fire buttons
Minor Features
Cycle designer part properties buttons in reverse via right-click
Improved mirroring in the designer
Disable Auto-Sizing of nose cones after it has been manually resized
AI fire countermeasures
Bridge Demolition Mission is a bit harder
Collisions between dynamic rigid bodies now downscale the impact force if the other body has less mass.
Bomb explosions have been updated
Some smoke damage particle effects have been updated
Damage for various weapons has been tweaked as well as the health of the ships. It may take more to sink them now.
AI plane tweaks (dogfighting should work better now)
Bombs and missiles that have been fired are no longer affected by explosions (easier to carpet bomb now).
Bug Fixes
Fixed part menu scrolling
Fixed bug that allowed missiles without cameras to load terrain.
Fixed a couple bugs related to races.
Fixed some issues with wing leveling mode.
Fixed a couple bugs with control surface deflection calculations.
Fixed a bug with the 'Loading...' label getting stuck when attempting to enter a level with banned parts.
Fixed a bug with AA missiles exploding at the wrong position.
Fixed a bug with mirroring scaled parts.
The fuselage rise/run limits have been increased to 5.
Fixed a bug with part property sliders sometimes showing an incorrect slider position.
Fixed a bug with incorrect calculations for control surface deflection.
The propeller engine no longer restricts modded engine power to within normal range when selected.
Made some tweaks to the missiles related to them traveling at their specified max speeds.
Reduced the distance that a piston snaps to its target position, so it's less jarring when looking closely.
Rockets now check the impact force when collisions occur, no longer blowing up if sneezed on.
Fixed an issue with rotators failing to find a joint after being mirrored. It's still not perfect, but much improved.
The tire squeal no longer plays at the camera.
Fixed bug with center of mass being incorrect for bodies with 0 total mass. (fixes 0 mass missile wobble on detachers)
XML Modding
Ability to invert input from XML by placing a minus sign in front of the input
Updated the boolean type inputs for input controllers to return -1 or 1 rather than 0 or 1. This allows the use of the input controllers min/max values to be used in conjunction with the boolean input types.
Add firingDelay XML Option to Existing Weapons
Hidden XML Option for Self Destruct and Burn Time on Rockets.
Add Support for input="Activate1" (that’s AG1) on InputControllers
The “disableAircraftCollisions” attribute on guns can now be used to prevent your bullets from colliding with your plane.
Missile XML now supports a 'maxSpeed' attribute. Existing planes (but not new ones) with low mass missiles will now auto-upgrade to a higher than normal max speed.
Added "invertType" option to the InputController. Defaults to "axis" for most parts and to "output" for rotators.
XML support for scaling bullets (now set with "bulletScale", not the part's scale - old planes auto-upgraded).
XML support for disabling gun muzzle flash ("muzzleFlash" - true/false)
Mod Tools
Added Unity version check to the mod builder window.
Removed warning about multiple mods loading the same exact assembly.
Added load priority for mods to better manage mod dependencies.
Thank you so much to all of the beta testers who helped us squash an insane number of bugs!
1.7 Beta now available
If you're looking for something to do over this holiday weekend, how about beta testing the new version of SimplePlanes? We just uploaded a new version to the beta branch. Version 1.7 - Damage Control. Here's what's new:
Parts
Countermeasure Dispenser (Chaffs / Flares)
Torpedo
Unguided Rocket
Features
Part Transform tool
Improved Damage Model
- Parts can now take damage instead of instantly exploding
- Engines can catch on fire
- Control surfaces, RCNs, rotators, etc can be shot out
- Wings can leak fuel
- Improved look and performance of bullets
Countermeasures
- Chaffs and flares can now prevent and break locks
- Aircraft size and engines also play a role in how difficult it is to acquire a lock
WW2 Destroyer with Flak Cannons
WW2 Torpedo Mission
Number entry on Fuselage Properties
Redesigned Fire buttons
Allow downloading any sized plane on mobile (as long as you are logged in)
Minor Features
Cycle designer part properties buttons in reverse via right-click
Disable Auto-Sizing of nose cones after it has been manually resized
AI fire countermeasures
Bridge Demolition Mission is a bit harder
Collisions between dynamic rigid bodies now downscale the impact force if the other body has less mass.
Bomb explosions have been updated
Some smoke damage particle effects have been updated
Damage for various weapons has been tweaked as well as the health of the ships. It may take more to sink them now.
AI plane tweaks (dogfighting should work better now)
Bombs and missiles that have been fired are no longer affected by explosions (easier to carpet bomb now).
Bugs
Fixed part menu scrolling
Fixed bug that allowed missiles without cameras to load terrain.
Fixed a couple bugs related to races.
Fixed some issues with wing leveling mode.
XML Modding
Ability to invert input from XML by placing a minus sign in front of the input
Updated the boolean type inputs for input controllers to return -1 or 1 rather than 0 or 1. This allows the use of the input controllers min/max values to be used in conjunction with the boolean input types.
Add firingDelay XML Option to Existing Weapons
Hidden XML Option for Self Destruct and Burn Time on Rockets.
Add Support for input="Activate1" (that’s AG1) on InputControllers
The “disableAircraftCollisions” attribute on guns can now be used to prevent your bullets from colliding with your plane.
Mod Tools
Added Unity version check to the mod builder window.
Removed warning about multiple mods loading the same exact assembly.
Added load priority for mods to better manage mod dependencies.
HOW DO I GET BETA?
Open the Steam client.
Right-click on SimplePlanes in your library and click “Properties.”
Click the “Betas” tab.
From the “Select the beta you would like to opt into:” drop-down dialog, select
*public-test**.
Steam should start downloading the public-test version of the game. You can also verify that you are playing the public test by checking the version in the “About” menu from the initial menu: 1.7.0.0
WHAT TO TEST
Test the new features outlined above. Test your existing designs and make sure they still work! Test how the new part damage works. Test the new parts. Test the new WW2 Torpedo mission. Let us know if anything looks whacky. You can reply to this post, or contact us at beta@jundroo.com.
Thanks for playing!
Aero Effect and SimplePlanes News
We released a new game today on iOS and Android called Aero Effect. Race an "aero" (with realistic lift and drag physics) through a maze of obstacles. The aero actually uses some of the same lift and drag equations from SimplePlanes, so if you're not careful and you lose your airspeed, you can stall it out! Here's a link if you want to check it out while you're taking a dump.
SimplePlanes News
It has been just over a month since we released the 1.6 update for SimplePlanes and we have already made a lot of progress on the 1.7 update. We are hoping to release 1.7 as early as next month. After the 1.7 update comes out, we will immediately start working on a 1.8 update. Meanwhile, we'are making a lot of progress on SimpleRockets 2, which we are planning to release early next year.
I hope you have the time to check out Aero Effect. We had a lot of fun developing this little game and I hope you enjoy it!
SimplePlanes Update 1.6 - Breaking Wind
We've been quietly working on a new update for SimplePlanes and we just released it today. Here's a trailer showing the new features:
New Parts
Gyroscope - Keep your designs upright and build quadcopters
Sphere - Super advanced ball technology
Hemisphere - Half a sphere, for when you can't afford a whole new sphere
Features
Wind Physics
Wind Settings to control the wind in real-time
Windsocks
New Challenge - Cross Wind Landing
New Stock "Airplane" - Quadcopter
Tweaked the instrument panel user interface to improve the compass and add a wind heading indicator
XML-modding enhancements
Bug Fixes
Fixed bug preventing discovery of Featherfall Squall
Fixed a bug that prevented Mirage Speedway from showing up (or was that a joke that I didn't get?)
Prevent Restart Here from working on challenges
Prevent AI planes from responding to player activation groups
Fixed a bug with drag on initially disconnected parts
Fixed a bug with tournament validation of part scale="1,1,1"
Thanks for playing!
Elegant Engineering Bundle
We are excited to announce that we are now part of an awesome new bundle on Steam called Elegant Engineering.
SimplePlanes is bundled with four other great indie games: Train Valley, Turmoil, Mini Metro, and Poly Bridge.
Oh, also, worth noting, the bundle is 40% off. No biggie.
Update v1.5.3 - Mods & Steam Workshop
Mods Section on Website
This update is focused on Modding. Along with this update, we are excited to announce a new section to the website dedicated to Mods! The mods section will allow modders to get the visibility and points they deserve for all their hard work. It also makes it much easier for players to find mods and show their support.
We are launching this new section with almost 20 mods. The modding community has done some amazing work and we highly encourage everyone to go check out their mods and show them some love.
Steam Workshop
We are officially taking the Steam Workshop support out of beta. Players may now use the Steam Workshop to subscribe to their favorite mods. You can explore the workshop here.
Release notes
Expert achievements for the 6 new races have been fixed.
AA Tanks now have a little spread to their bullets.
Added bindable inputs for 'Restart' and 'Restart Here'.
Fixed a bug with the targeting system that could cause it to spam errors in certain situations.
Fixed an issue where an invalid subassembly file would prevent the designer from loading properly.
Fixed an issue preventing modded engines that require zero air intake from functioning.
Fixed an issue on Android where a mod with spaces in the filename would not load properly.
Fixed an issue on Steam with file associations not working properly in some scenarios
The everyplay SDK issue on iOS should be fixed.
Mod Tools have been updated
Levels can now be targeted as mobile only or PC only.
Fixed an issue with destroyers created via the mod tools not obeying initial hostility settings.
Added support for spawning sandbox AI planes from XML.
Added support for spawning convoys.
Fixed an issue with map plugin objects not spawning in the correct positions.
Fixed an issue with potentially invalid bundle identifiers when exporting Android mods.
Fixed an issue with some materials not loading properly from mods in OSX
Mod tools now generate an spmod-info file to be used when uploading the mod to SimplePlanes.com.
Interested in making mods?
Check out the Modding Wiki on our subreddit for information on how to get started modding.
We also now have a GitHub account with a couple of open source example mods for people to explore. On GitHub, we also have an open source reflection tools package that can be imported in to a mod project to provide more access to SimplePlanes classes and data that are not exposed in our modding API.
Have questions? Need Help? Want to talk with or collaborate with other modders? Check out the modding channel on our Discord server.
