Warplane Quest
Update Notes for Alpha 12
this update contains a hotfix for the Le Prieur mission that allows it to be completed. Thanks to everyone who reported this bug!
Martin
Update Notes for Alpha 11
Warplane Quest Playtest - Alpha 11 is now available on Steam!
This update adds a reworked mission Death from Above (now called "The Four Horsemen"), a destructible chemical factory, improved visual effects and more.
Make sure to join the Playtest on our Discord to try out this update: https://discord.gg/32SQtMFUzd
New Content
- Added a destroyable chemical plant to The Four Horsemen mission and the Free Flight mode
- Some missions now have their own unique theme music tracks that play in the main menu
New Features
- Added tutorials across multiple missions to gradually learn controls instead of showing the whole control scheme at the beginning
- It is now possible to control the cursor in menus with a gamepad
Campaign Changes
- The Four Horsemen (formerly Death from Above) is now the first mission in the campaign as it shows some of the best game features and it acts as a prologue
- Slightly reduced fog in the Secret Messages mission to improve visibility
- Added a short animation with information about date/place of the mission
Death from Above - Renamed the mission to "The Four Horsemen"
- The main objective is now to drop bombs on a chemical plant in Ludwigshafen
- The player now controls the plane and bombs, the AI controls all the guns. This way new players can practice flying without worrying about shooting guns
- Updated the mission description
- Added dialogues between the plane crew members using AI generated voices
- Added an airship over the airship hangar. The player needs to fly through the hangar to hide from it.
- Added ambience sounds to increase tension
- Observation balloons start spawning later in the mission so that player has enough time to learn controls
- Reduced hill height in the beginning of mission so that the player won't crash before learning the controls
- Added a short animation with information about date/place of the mission
- Increased wind and lightning/thunder intensity
- It is no longer possible to damage the fuel tank of the player plane
- Added a cliffhanger ending
Balance Changes
- Made hit boxes for FlaK and A7V smaller so that infantry close to them can be hit with bullets
- Made FlaK model smaller so that it better reflects real life size
- Increased FlaK hit points
- Reduced frequency of spawning ground enemies in the Free Flight mode
- Increased the range of friendly AI gunners
UI Changes
- Added badges to the hangar screen which show how many new planes, weapons, skins and ability points have been unlocked
- Made button design flat to match other UI elements
- Removed "Options" title text to save some space in the Options dialog
- Improved look of the Load Game dialog
- Added wishlist buttons to the main menu, pause menu and quit dialog
- Added discord, feedback and report a bug buttons to the main menu
Other Changes
- Added new particle effects and sounds for bullets hitting grass, rock, metal, flesh, fabric, brick, wood, glass and mud
- Weather in the main menu now corresponds with the weather in the last unlocked mission
- Made section length distances more consistent in the free flight and missions (e.g. forest, cave, pass)
- Free Flight button in the hangar is now hidden until the first mission is completed
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug which made it impossible to collect all pigeons in the Secret Messages mission
- Fixed a bug where leaking fuel would "hang" in the air after destroying a plane
- Fixed a bug where outpost would sometimes spawn already destroyed
- Outposts are no longer spawning on steep hills
- Fixed a bug where bullet hitting terrain rocks would result in a grass impact sound and particle system
- Fixed a bug where multiple ground enemies would spawn on the same spot
As always, thanks for playing Warplane Quest!
Martin
Update Notes for Alpha 10
New Content
- Added new mission: Air Support
- Added new enemy type: A7V Heavy Tank
- Added main theme composed by Lufus
New Features
- Added authentic airspeed and fuel indicators for the Sopwith Camel and Handley Page Type O
- Player can now perform an emergency repair by holding the E key on the keyboard or the A key on a controller. Duration of the repair can be decreasead by learning the corresponding ability
- Bullets can now damage plane fuel tanks which causes a fuel leak. Player can increase the probability of fuel tank damage by learning the corresponding ability
- Implemented save slots which allow to save progress for multiple playthroughs
Ability Tree
- Added an ability tree which replaces plane upgrades. Following abilities are currently available: Roll Maneuver, Loop Maneuver, Emergency Fuel, Emergency Repair, Fuel Tank Damage, Gun Efficiency
- Added Ability points which are used to unlock abilities. They can be earned by by playing missions or ranking up
- Added rank system based on experience points. Experience points can be gained by killing enemies or completing mission objectives
- Added new console commands: Add ability points, Add experience
World Changes
- Trenches start spawning after 3000 meters instead of 1000 in the Free Flight mode
- Added patrols, heavy tanks and outposts to the Free Flight mode
Balance Changes
- Reduced the damage of the Vickers and Lewis guns
- Fuel pickups now add fuel based on the plane's fuel capacity to make them useful for planes with very large fuel tanks (e.g. bombers)
- Flak shells now can burn down observation balloons. This helps in situations where an observation balloon is right above the Flak
- Reduced shooting urst duration for all AI planes
UI Changes
- Changed main menu look and layout to make it look less like a mobile game
- Changed pause menu look and layout, added replaced Exit button with Hangar and Main Menu buttons
- Moved missions and the free flight button to the hangar screen
- Current and completed missions are now displayed in the same tab
- Completed missions are marked with stars depending on whether only required objectives were completed or all
- A simple loading screen is now displayed while the game is loading after launch
- Credits appear on screen faster
- Reduced size of UI elements in the hangar
- Reduced size of the font used for obejctives in game
- Renamed "Challenges" to "Optional" when displaying objectives
- Tutorials now display input prompts only for the currently used input device
- Start Mission button is disabled when required weapon for the mission is not selected
Other Changes
- Finishing the ring or pigeon challenge in the free flight mode now gives player experience points
- Collecting coins will now add 1 experience points when flying normally, 2 when doing roll
- Removed plane upgrades which are replaced by the new ability tree
- Removed in game currency as it was only used to purchase plane upgrades which were removed from the game
- Removed pouch and chest pickups as they were only spawning now unused coins
- Enemies are no longer spawning coins after getting killed
- Removed repair pickups which are replaced by the new emergeny repair feature
Bug Fixes
- Fired projectiles now inherit plane speed which fixes the issue where the front gun on the Handley Page Type O wouldn't follow the aim line when aiming lower or higher
- Hit points bar will now disappear for the plane which started free fall (e.g. when running out of fuel or hit points)
- Fixed an issue where the Secret Messages mission wouldn't end when flying fast past at least one pigeon
As always, thanks for playing Warplane Quest!
Martin
Alpha 9 Now Available - Heavy Bomber, Dynamic Weather and More!
Warplane Quest Playtest - Alpha 9 is now available on Steam!
This update adds a heavy bomber plane (Handley Page Type O), dynamic weather system and much more.
Many thanks to our community member Jure Račnik who contributed a great looking model of a heavy bomber hangar to this update.
Make sure to join the Playtest on our Discord to try out this update: https://discord.gg/32SQtMFUzd
Update Highlights
Handley Page Type O Heavy Bomber
A fully playable Handley Page Type O has been added to the game. This flying behemoth was once the largest aircraft in the UK and one of the largest in the world. It is equipped with five Lewis guns and sixteen 112lb HE bombs.
The player controls the front Twin Lewis Guns, which can be aimed using the mouse or the controller's right thumb stick. The AI-controlled rear gunners take care of the chasing planes and help with the ground enemies.
Since the old hangar was too small for the bomber, our community contributor Jure Račnik modeled a new one, which is now the main hangar for player aircraft.
The plane can be unlocked after completing the new mission "Death from Above".
Dynamic Weather System
To make each mission unique and each Free Flight playthrough different, a dynamic weather system powered by Ultra Dynamic Sky has been added to the game. This allows for many different weather types, such as clear skies, cloudy, foggy, rain, thunderstorms, sandstorms and snow.
This package also includes volumetric clouds that bring the sky to life. If you prefer the old sky box, you can turn off the volumetric clouds by setting the effect quality to low and restarting the game.
In each mission, a weather forecast is now displayed in the mission briefing, indicating what the weather will be like in the mission. In the Free Flight mode, the weather can change randomly at any time.
New console commands allow you to test any weather type at any time. Note that snow and sandstorms are not fully implemented yet.
Enemy Infantry
Until now, the trenches in the game were empty and served no purpose. With this update, that changes, because now enemy infantry equipped with Gewehr 98 will appear there and try to take you down. Don't forget to use the rolling maneuver to dodge the bullets when flying the Camel. The Handley Page Type O machine guns are especially effective against this enemy type.
Full Change List
New Content
- Added new plane: Handley Page Type O (Heavy Bomber) equipped with five Lewis Guns and 112lb HE bombs. It can be unlocked by completing the "Death From Above" mission
- Added a heavy bomber hangar made by Jure Račnik which is now the primary hangar for player planes
- Added new mission: "Death From Above"
- Added new enemy type: Infantry equipped with Gewehr 98 which spawns in the far side of the trenches
- Added new primary weapon for Sopwith Camel: Twin Lewis Guns. It can be unlocked by completing the optional objective in the "Vendetta" mission
New Features
- Added speed boost that can be activated by pressing the SHIFT key on the keyboard or the left trigger on a controller
- The game now performs a hardware benchmark after the first launch and configures optimal display options
- Added an Auto Detect button to the display options which runs the hardware benchmark
- Added new display option: Vertical Sync
- Added option to turn off the music
- Added new cheat console commands: unlock all planes, add money, damage immunity, increase weapon damage, zoom camera, trailer mode
- It is now possible to close a modal dialog (e.g. options, missions) with the Escape key on the keyboard or the Back button on a controller
Dynamic Weather
- Added new weather types: clear skies, cloudy, foggy, rain, thunderstorm, sand storm, snow. Only some of them are used in the level at the moment
- Each mission now has a weather forecast in the mission briefing that indicates what the weather will be like in the mission
- In the Free Flight mode, the weather can change randomly at any time
- Added console commands to change weather. Type 'help' in the console to show all available weather types
- Added volumetric clouds to improve the look of the sky. They can be turned off by setting the effects quality to low
World Changes
- Made the aerodrome and main hangar larger so that heavy bombers can use them
- Made the caves larger so that heavy bombers can fly through them
- Observation balloons are no longer spawning directly above trenches
Balance Changes
- Twin machine guns (Vickers, Lewis and LMG 08/15) are now shooting from both barrels simultaneously
- Increased the damage of the Parabellum MG 14 (Albatros C.III) and Luger P08 (Fokker Dr.I) to match increased damage output of twin machine guns
- Increased the fuel tank capacity of the Sopwith Camel to 168l (37 imperial gallons) and increased the fuel consumption
- Sopwith Camel now carries 4 Cooper Bombs instead of 3 and drops 2 at once instead of
- Increased the probability to spawn a repair wrench after killing an enemy
Other Changes
- Disabled dynamic shadows for pickups, grass and some other objects to reduce GPU load
- Changed layout of the mission dialog to make it look less cramped
- Removed the anti-aliasing option as it has no effect. The game uses Temporal Super-Resolution (TSR) which doesn't require additional anti-aliasing
- Removed contact shadow from grass on the aerodrome
- Slightly adjusted the layout in the main menu
- Added category labels to the help widget of the cheat console
- Updated ground texture of the fighter hangar to match the bomber hangar
- Removed the gem pickup which is replaced by the new speed boost feature
- Removed the fuel tank upgrade as it is not intended that player runs out of fuel under normal circumstances
- Added maneuverability stat to the hangar UI
- Replaced chest and ring collect sounds with less childish ones
- Removed the message pickup as it serves no purpose
- Added triangle above ground enemies for better visibility
- Hit points bar is no longer displayed after hit points reach 0
Controls
- Mapped secondary weapon to the right shoulder key on a controller
- Mapped air brake to the left shoulder key on a controller
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the game would crash with a Fatal Error if the Options menu was closed repeatedly in the pause menu
- Fixed an issue where the in-game UI would display 0 instead of the current mission progress after pausing and unpausing the game
- Disabled shadows for the aiming reticle, hit point bars and name tags
- Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally crash when flying backwards for some time and after that forwards
- Fixed an issue where the Le Prieur rockets would fly through enemy planes
- Fixed an issue where an enemy plane which was chasing the player would fly to the top of the screen and then crash to the ground
- Fixed some sounds still playing after turning them off in the options
As always, thanks for playing Warplane Quest!
Martin
Update Notes for Alpha 9
Warplane Quest Playtest - Alpha 9 is now available on Steam!
This update adds a heavy bomber plane (Handley Page Type O), dynamic weather system and much more.
Many thanks to our community member Jure Račnik who contributed a great looking model of a heavy bomber hangar to this update.
New Content
- Added new plane: Handley Page Type O (Heavy Bomber) equipped with five Lewis Guns and 112lb HE bombs. It can be unlocked by completing the "Death From Above" mission
- Added a heavy bomber hangar made by Jure Račnik which is now the primary hangar for player planes
- Added new mission: "Death From Above"
- Added new enemy type: Infantry equipped with Gewehr 98 which spawns in the far side of the trenches
- Added new primary weapon for Sopwith Camel: Twin Lewis Guns. It can be unlocked by completing the optional objective in the "Vendetta" mission
New Features
- Added speed boost that can be activated by pressing the SHIFT key on the keyboard or the left trigger on a controller
- The game now performs a hardware benchmark after the first launch and configures optimal display options
- Added an Auto Detect button to the display options which runs the hardware benchmark
- Added new display option: Vertical Sync
- Added option to turn off the music
- Added new cheat console commands: unlock all planes, add money, damage immunity, increase weapon damage, zoom camera, trailer mode
- It is now possible to close a modal dialog (e.g. options, missions) with the Escape key on the keyboard or the Back button on a controller
Dynamic Weather
- Added new weather types: clear skies, cloudy, foggy, rain, thunderstorm, sand storm, snow. Only some of them are used in the level at the moment
- Each mission now has a weather forecast in the mission briefing that indicates what the weather will be like in the mission
- In the Free Flight mode, the weather can change randomly at any time
- Added console commands to change weather. Type 'help' in the console to show all available weather types
- Added volumetric clouds to improve the look of the sky. They can be turned off by setting the effects quality to low
World Changes
- Made the aerodrome and main hangar larger so that heavy bombers can use them
- Made the caves larger so that heavy bombers can fly through them
- Observation balloons are no longer spawning directly above trenches
Balance Changes
- Twin machine guns (Vickers, Lewis and LMG 08/15) are now shooting from both barrels simultaneously
- Increased the damage of the Parabellum MG 14 (Albatros C.III) and Luger P08 (Fokker Dr.I) to match increased damage output of twin machine guns
- Increased the fuel tank capacity of the Sopwith Camel to 168l (37 imperial gallons) and increased the fuel consumption
- Sopwith Camel now carries 4 Cooper Bombs instead of 3 and drops 2 at once instead of
- Increased the probability to spawn a repair wrench after killing an enemy
Other Changes
- Disabled dynamic shadows for pickups, grass and some other objects to reduce GPU load
- Changed layout of the mission dialog to make it look less cramped
- Removed the anti-aliasing option as it has no effect. The game uses Temporal Super-Resolution (TSR) which doesn't require additional anti-aliasing
- Removed contact shadow from grass on the aerodrome
- Slightly adjusted the layout in the main menu
- Added category labels to the help widget of the cheat console
- Updated ground texture of the fighter hangar to match the bomber hangar
- Removed the gem pickup which is replaced by the new speed boost feature
- Removed the fuel tank upgrade as it is not intended that player runs out of fuel under normal circumstances
- Added maneuverability stat to the hangar UI
- Replaced chest and ring collect sounds with less childish ones
- Removed the message pickup as it serves no purpose
- Added triangle above ground enemies for better visibility
- Hit points bar is no longer displayed after hit points reach 0
Controls
- Mapped secondary weapon to the right shoulder key on a controller
- Mapped air brake to the left shoulder key on a controller
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the game would crash with a Fatal Error if the Options menu was closed repeatedly in the pause menu
- Fixed an issue where the in-game UI would display 0 instead of the current mission progress after pausing and unpausing the game
- Disabled shadows for the aiming reticle, hit point bars and name tags
- Fixed an issue where the game would occasionally crash when flying backwards for some time and after that forwards
- Fixed an issue where the Le Prieur rockets would fly through enemy planes
- Fixed an issue where an enemy plane which was chasing the player would fly to the top of the screen and then crash to the ground
- Fixed some sounds still playing after turning them off in the options
As always, thanks for playing Warplane Quest!
Martin
Update Notes for Alpha 8
Warplane Quest Playtest - Alpha 8 is now available on Steam!
This update fixes collisions with rings and observation balloons that didn't work correctly in certain circumstances and made it impossible to finish some missions. It also fixes other recently reported bugs and adds more display options.
New Features
- Added new display options: Anti-Aliasing, Post Processing, Textures and Effects
Balance Changes
- Reduced random deviation of the Le Prieur Rockets to make them a bit more accurate
Other Changes
- Renamed "Epic" quality to "Ultra" in display options
- Added new console command: Show/hide the UI
Bug Fixes
- Fixed the target reticle turning black when flying in the opposite direction
- The target reticle, hit points bars and name tags are no longer blurred
- Fixed an issue where a wrecked enemy plane would occasionally appear in mid-air
- Fixed the Le Prieur Rockets shooting upwards above the plane when flying backwards
- Fixed collisions with certain objects (e.g. rings, observation balloons) not working when game was running at low FPS
As always, thanks for playing Warplane Quest!
Martin
Alpha 7 Now Available - Unreal Engine 5, Airship Hangar and More!
Warplane Quest Playtest - Alpha 7 is now available on Steam!
This update adds Unreal Engine 5 lighting features, a massive airship hangar, a cheat console to unlock weapons and missions, and much more.
Many thanks to the community member Jure Račnik who contributed an epic airship hangar model to this update.
Make sure to join the Playtest on our Discord to try out the new features: https://discord.gg/32SQtMFUzd
Update Highlights
Upgrade to Unreal Engine 5
I decided to upgrade the project to Unreal Engine 5 to take advantage of the latest lighting features and ensure that the game will continue to receive engine patches in the future.
In addition to the Virtual Shadow Maps, which improve the quality of shadows in the distance, the game now supports global illumination and reflections powered by Lumen, which add more depth to the look of the game.
Check out the screenshots below to see the difference.
Of course, it is possible to disable the new features thanks to the new display options.
Airship Hangar
Our community member Jure Račnik contributed a massive, 260-meter-long airship hangar model that replaces the pillar obstacles.
Even though the hangar is empty at the moment, it's already a lot of fun to fly through it and dogfight inside. More gameplay possibilities will be added in the future.
Observation Balloon Destruction
Until now, observation balloons were static, indestructible obstacles. That changes with this update, since they can now be burned down with the Le Prieur rockets. This change also increases the usefulness of the weapon, which was previously only effective against ground targets.
Cheat Console
The game is still in alpha phase, which means that significant changes are made in each update and the save game is not compatible between different versions. In order to test features without unlocking them by playing the game, I've added a cheat console that allows you to instantly unlock weapons and missions.
The console can be opened either by clicking on the version number at the bottom of the screen or by pressing SHIFT + C (only while flying). The list of all currently supported commands can be viewed by typing "help".
Be sure to request commands you find useful and I will include them in the next update.
Full Change List
New Content
- Added airship hangar model made by Jure Račnik which replaces the pillar obstacles
New Features
- Added "Invert plane controls after roll" option which enables to fly backwards without inverted controls
- Added more display options
- It is now possible to destroy observation balloons with Le Prieur rockets
Cheat Console
- Added cheat console which makes it easier to test certain features
- It can be opened by clicking the version number at the bottom of the screen or by pressing SHIFT + C (only while flying)
- By typing 'help' you can show all currently supported commands. Feel free to request additional commands you think would be helpful
Upgrade to Unreal Engine 5.0
- Enabled global illumination powered by Lumen for higher lighting quality
- Enabled Virtual Shadow Maps for higher shadow quality
- Enabled DirectX 12
World Changes
- Added holes to the old mine to enable switching tunnels
- Increased the size of the tunnels in the old mine to make plane rolls easier
Campaign Mode Changes
- Added Continue button to the Mission Completed screen, which brings you to the briefing screen of the next mission
- Hangar screen will now be displayed after starting a mission from the briefing screen which lets you prepare for the mission
- Added new easier mission to the beginning of the campaign: "Le Prieur"
- Moved the "Vendetta" mission to the end of the campaign due to it's difficulty
- Simplified Mission Failed screen
"Secret Messages" Mission
- Made mission longer to prevent too much happening at once
- Added fuel pickups to prevent running out of fuel before finishing the mission
- Reduced pigeon count from 8 to 6
Other Changes
- Optimized fire and smoke particle effects to reduce GPU load
- Reduced level of detail of distant 3D models to reduce GPU load
- Renamed "Settings" to "Options"
- Created separate tabs for controls and display in the options dialog
- Removed "Joystick on the right" option which doesn't have any function in the Steam version
- Made messenger pigeon brighter to improve it's visibility in the old mine
Bug Fixes
- Fixed game not registering first click after launching the game
As always, thanks for playing Warplane Quest!
Martin
Update Notes for Alpha 7
Warplane Quest Playtest - Alpha.7 is now available on Steam!
This update adds Unreal Engine 5 lighting features, a massive airship hangar, a cheat console to unlock weapons and missions, and much more.
Many thanks to the community member Jure Račnik who contributed an epic airship hangar model to this update.
Be sure to join the playtest on our Discord to try out the new features: https://discord.gg/32SQtMFUzd
Full Change List
New Content
- Added airship hangar model made by Jure Račnik which replaces the pillar obstacles
New Features
- Added "Invert plane controls after roll" option which enables to fly backwards without inverted controls
- Added more display options
- It is now possible to destroy observation balloons with Le Prieur rockets
Cheat Console
- Added cheat console which makes it easier to test certain features
- It can be opened by clicking the version number at the bottom of the screen or by pressing SHIFT + C (only while flying)
- By typing 'help' you can show all currently supported commands. Feel free to request additional commands you think would be helpful
Upgrade to Unreal Engine 5.0
- Enabled global illumination powered by Lumen for higher lighting quality
- Enabled Virtual Shadow Maps for higher shadow quality
- Enabled DirectX 12
World Changes
- Added holes to the old mine to enable switching tunnels
- Increased the size of the tunnels in the old mine to make plane rolls easier
Campaign Mode Changes
- Added Continue button to the Mission Completed screen, which brings you to the briefing screen of the next mission
- Hangar screen will now be displayed after starting a mission from the briefing screen which lets you prepare for the mission
- Added new easier mission to the beginning of the campaign: "Le Prieur"
- Moved the "Vendetta" mission to the end of the campaign due to it's difficulty
- Simplified Mission Failed screen
"Secret Messages" Mission
- Made mission longer to prevent too much happening at once
- Added fuel pickups to prevent running out of fuel before finishing the mission
- Reduced pigeon count from 8 to 6
Other Changes
- Optimized fire and smoke particle effects to reduce GPU load
- Reduced level of detail of distant 3D models to reduce GPU load
- Renamed "Settings" to "Options"
- Created separate tabs for controls and display in the options dialog
- Removed "Joystick on the right" option which doesn't have any function in the Steam version
- Made messenger pigeon brighter to improve it's visibility in the old mine
Bug Fixes
- Fixed game not registering first click after launching the game
As always, thanks for playing Warplane Quest!
Martin
Update Notes for Alpha 6
New Content
- Added new hangar model made by Discord user Jure Račnik
- Added music written by Discord user Mirage (Estyx Music) which plays after player completes a mission
New Features
- Added an aiming aid in form of dots to make aiming with the machine gun and rockets easier
- Added credits with a list of all contributors and playtesters in alphabetical order to the main menu. Let me know if I forgot you or if I should use another name
Balance Changes
Sopwith Camel
- Increased the fire rate, damage and bullet deviation of the machine gun
- Reduced the pitch acceleration to make aiming easier
Fokker Dr.I
- Increased the damage of the pistol
FlaK
- Increased the radius and damage of the flak shells
World Changes
- The game logo now disappears after a take off
- Extended foreground terrain so that the bottom is no longer visible when camera zooms out
- Improved models behind the aerodrome
- Added more hangars and planes to the aerodrome
- Improved the look and collision of the observation balloon
Other Changes
- Reordered buttons in the main menu
Bug Fixes
- Fixed the machine gun shooting backwards when flying past a crashed enemy plane while the aim assist is enabled
- Fixed the aim assist working only while flying straight
- Fixed the rotation of the Sopwith Camel's machine gun which caused an aim offset
As always, thanks for playing Warplane Quest!
Update Notes for Alpha 5
- Added screen resolution to the settings menu and moved the settings button.
- Added aim assist for bombs: Press and hold secondary weapon button to aim, release to drop bombs
- Added screen shake
- Improved weapon sounds and effects
- Reduced hit points and damage of enemies, added more enemies