Progress Update 1

Since Aero Empire takes place almost entirely in the air and has some similarities to flight simulators, realistic flight physics were added to the game. This includes the four forces of flight: Lift, Weight, Thrust and Drag. For lift, two forces were added - airfoil force, which is the upward force provided by a wing, and buoyancy force, which is the force caused by displacement (and allows lighter objects, like balloons, to float).

Additionally, a procedural windmap is generated for every scene, which sets the wind direction and strength at each position in the scene over time. The windmap is fairly smooth over distance and time, however it’s roughness can be increased by a turbulence parameter. Except for the few structures planted to the ground, nothing in Aero Empire is static. Everything is moving, floating, falling, flying and being blown around in the wind.

Here is a video which shows the various forces at work:

Here are some additional still images taken (however, to see the world in motion, it is recommended you view the video):

While the physics engine and code is progressing, there is also a lot of progress in concept art and models. As can be seen above, the Gyro is currently being modeled, although it is not yet complete, and is untextured.

Concept Art for Gyro (see above for model):

GninjaGnome has also rendered a short animation (offline - not in AE’s rendering engine) of the Turret Class airship that he is modeling. It is also incomplete and untextured.

Animation Video (of the High Poly version, which will be used to create a normal map):

Image of the Low-Poly version (which will go in game) and the original concept art:

There is still quite a lot to do, but we are progressing smoothly. I am just starting to get into actual gameplay code, so there should be several intriguing updates and videos to come.

Look forward to future updates.

Lead Programmer and Designer of Aero Empire
- David

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