I was only thinking about Flight Control[0] the other day and how I wish there were more modern takes on it! There was Mini Metro[1], but that was released over a decade ago.
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I was only thinking about Flight Control[0] the other day and how I wish there were more modern takes on it! There was Mini Metro[1], but that was released over a decade ago.
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In 2022 [0], Jan David Nose (jdno) released a game / programming challenge called _Auto Traffic Control_ [1]. Rather than controlling airplanes with UI interactions, the simulation is a GRPC server that expects the player to construct a game client that issues flight paths.
I tried to make a game client for jdno's ATC [2]. My client was deficient, as I tried to treat the movement as a fixed interval, by only submitting flight plans that moved in cartesian directions. Only by cheating, modifying the simulator, could my greedy algorithm land any planes [3]. I suspect I was supposed to continuously model and poll the future positions of airplanes when developing a flight plan.
I suspect that I won't have much competition on the leaderboard, despite the asterisk, as jdno eventually archived the project [4]. Originally, the project was self-publication while looking for work. The Rust Foundation hired him a little while afterward.
[0] https://jdno.dev/auto-traffic-control/
[1] https://auto-traffic-control.com/
[2] https://github.com/Nzen/hircine-anise-okkoz
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czsSjy1Uqyk 1.5 minutes
[4] https://github.com/jdno/auto-traffic-control/commit/b5972dfb...
I think about this game quite often and would love to eventually pick it up as a project again. I was only able to scratch the surface of what I had in mind, and I’m sure there’s so much to learn from players about what makes a good programming game.
Imagine how cool it would be if something like this was based on the actual FF-ICE / FIXM flight plan format.
I have to admit that I have exactly zero knowledge about actual flight plans or anything else related to air traffic control. Just loved playing Flight Control and used it as inspiration for this game.
Having said that, I think there are tons of interesting ways to build on the idea. :)
Flight Control was one of my favorite iOS games of all time. Simple, polished, quick to play. Sucks that there is no way to play it on iOS again, seems it is still available for purchase on Steam, but it was really well suited to the phone format, not really something I'd sit down to play at a desktop.
See this post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48980062
Flight Control was very closely remade as "Planes Control" [1] and gets regular updates with new levels, etc. Not sure if the developer acquired the assets of the original, but it's very close to what I remember playing as a kid
[1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/planes-control/id1015114550
Heathrow ATC (for the ZX Spectrum) was one that I played extensively back in the day: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/10530 I wonder if there are earlier examples of popular ATC games? They're simpler than flight simulators so you'd think there would be more of them.
Edit: playable version - https://archive.org/details/zx_Heathrow_International_Air_Tr...
The BSD Games collection has an ATC Simulator as well from around 1985:
https://github.com/vattam/BSDGames/tree/master/atc
Kennedy Approach was published around the same time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Approach
Wikipedia search turns up this game from 1982: https://www.mobygames.com/game/52384/controller/ Quite graphically advanced for the time.
United Airlines offers the game for entertainment while you're flying.
https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-air-traffic-contr...
Mini Airways - ATC simulator comes close in base mechanics but adds some complexity
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2289650/Mini_Airways__ATC...
It's looks like they literally cloned the UI and graphics from the Mini Metro/Mini Motorways games (not just the map style).
Yes, they did, which is unfortunate, as the game is very good in itself. They gave a nice twist to the formula.
There’s an open source ATC sim called OpenScope that’s a bit more complex and is mostly keyboard based. I think HN would appreciate it.
https://github.com/openscope/openscope
Flight Control HD was one of the first iPad games I had. I under-appreciated how much easier this game was with a finger than a trackball.
OptiFlight is similar to mini metro for planes
https://www.krishsuchdev.com/OptiFlight
I missed Flight Control so bad that I sent Claude on a wild goose chase to decompile the IPA in ghidra and rewrite it in Swift 6. Still working through it, obviously will never get released, but it's been cool to watch.
You should release it though.
I love both of those and actually only started playing Mini Metro this month. Such synchronicity(!), although mediated by whatever is probably happening on the Play Store, this is less surprising then it would have been 50 years ago.
There's a VR version called Final Approach that's quite fun
https://store.steampowered.com/app/380670/Final_Approach/
There's also the simpler 'atc' from BSD games. Text interface only.
Yes so long Flight Control : Look at this recording : the proximity alert and the music
[0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qti2ffpu2k&t=42s
On Android there is Endless ATC. It also appears to be on Steam.
I'm quite surprised it's available on Android, this specific take on air traffic control games doesn't really strike me as mobile-friendly game. Good to know - I played it a lot on Steam back in the days.
Yeah, it works really well on a tiny screen, surprisingly enough.
I was reminded Mini Metro too. It has a fun sequel on PC, mini motorways.
Oh, it's from an ATC point of view. I was expecting simulations of actual airports, for example to simulate Heathrow you wander around a construction site, to simulate LAX you stand in an endless queue that never moves, and to simulate Munich you get something like the backrooms but with more glass and less pits.
After trying this one, I'd agree it seems mechanically identical to Flight Control but with a sort of stylistic low-res pixellated 3d look.
Gameplay from 2011:
https://youtu.be/WLHI5Fu--0I?t=48
Did planes take off in Flight Control? I don’t remember.
That was one of my most played games of all time. SO PERFECT for the iPhone and on the go play.
I... don't think so but it's probably been over a decade since I last played it. Completely agree that game was tailor-made for touchscreen interfaces.