Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War
Encyclopedia
Rise of Flight is a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 combat flight simulator
Combat flight simulator
Combat flight simulators are video games used to simulate military aircraft and their operations...

 originally developed by the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n IT Company, Neoqb and currently being developed by 777 Studios.

The game's title in Russia and CIS is Война в небе – 1917. In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 it is published as Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War.

About Rise of Flight

Rise of Flight is a flight simulator depicting aerial warfare over the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

 during the First World War. The time line of Rise of Flight currently covers the years from 1916-1918. The included game map covers over 120,000 km² of the Western Front.

Two well-known flyable aircraft are included in the base game demo (Albatros D.Va, SPAD 13.C1
SPAD S.XIII
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Bruce, J.M. The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps . London: Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0-370-30084-X.* Sharpe, Michael. Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes. London: Friedman/Fairfax Books, 2000. ISBN 1-58663-300-7....

), with additional add-on aircraft from 1916 to 1918 available for purchase online.

Each plane and the simulation of its respective engine and weapons is modeled in great detail. Furthermore, the game renders damage to the aircraft resulting from airframe stress, battle damage, fire, and collisions.

Rise of Flight was created by the Moscow-based game developer Neoqb and is based on the 'Digital Nature' game engine. Rise of Flight's years of development by the team at Neoqb created a combat flight simulation that makes good use of modern hardware, including head tracking devices such as TrackIR
TrackIR
TrackIR is an optical motion tracking game controller for Microsoft Windows, created by NaturalPoint Inc. that tracks head motions with up to six degrees of freedom in later models, allowing handsfree view control for improved game immersiveness and situational awareness...

.

History of the project

The history of the project goes back to the 2004 when a team of virtual pilots and enthusiasts was organised as 'GT' (Gennadich Team).
The team began developing Il-2 Server Commander, a special add-on for Il-2 Sturmovik, providing management and adjustment options of allocated servers for this game. And soon after, more than 95% of all game servers with 'Il-2 Sturmovik' Worldwide worked on it. Il-2 Server Commander allowed users to publish, sort and collect the information from the servers started under Il-2SC
GT and then release the add-on ADW (Air Domination War), which supported multiplayer mode for Il-2 Sturmovik. During the first days of public access the application was downloaded by more than 10,000 players of Il-2 Sturmovik.

In 2006 GT made the decision to develop a new game called "Knights of the Sky" (a prototype World War I Flight Simulator) based on their own in-house engine. Then, in 2007 the team accepted an offer to become a part of the startup company Neoqb, which specializes in game development and Internet services. Knights of the Sky had changed their development strategy, and to reflect this the company changed the name of the game to Rise of Flight and began a new life with Neoqb (Knights of the Sky
Knights of the Sky
Knights of the Sky is a World War I combat flight simulator designed by Jeff Briggs and published by MicroProse in 1990 for DOS and in 1991 for the Amiga and Atari ST....

 was also already the title of a 1990 air combat game).
Neoqb premiered the Rise of Flight project for demonstration at Games Convention 2008
Games Convention
The Games Convention, sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention and abbreviated as GC, was an annual video game event held in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides video games, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware, and Edutainment...

 in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

 (the largest game exhibition in Europe) and at CIS Igromir – 2008 (the largest game convention in Russia and the CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....

). Closed beta testing of the game began in April 2008.

On May 7, 2009, Rise of Flight was officially released in Russia with Russian publisher ND Games. In the USA, Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War was premiered at the 2009 E3 and was officially released on June 25, 2009 in the USA by its publisher 777 Studios. Aerosoft gained publishing rights in Europe, with the game also being offered for download from Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive is an online game store offering PC videogames via direct download. On May 25, 2011, Gamefly acquired Direct2Drive from IGN Entertainment Group .- Competition with Steam :...

.

On June 3, 2010, it was announced by 777 Studios that the game would be re-released in the North American market on June 29, 2010 and branded as the Iron Cross Edition. Eight flyable aircraft (plus one bonus flyable aircraft - dependent on the distributor) come with this version: the Spad XIII, Fokker D.VII
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the summer and autumn of 1918. In service, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft...

, Albatros D.Va, Nieuport 28
Nieuport 28
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Cheesman E.F. Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Letchworth, UK: Harleyford Publications, 1960, pp. 98–99....

, S.E.5a, Pfalz D.III
Pfalz D.III
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-93385-271-1.* Grosz, Peter M. Pfalz D.IIIa . Berkhamsted, Herts, UK: Albatros Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-94841-425-1.* Guttman, Jon. Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1 ...

, Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...

, and the Fokker Dr.I
Fokker Dr.I
The Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918...

.

On June 28, 2010, it was announced on the official Rise of Flight website that 777 Studios had "acquired all rights to Rise of Flight and the neoqb brand."

Game play

The game scenario takes place on the Western front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

, on a map of 125,000 square kilometers. The 3D map with many towns, rivers and 'aerodromes' was designed according to the historical maps and information from the war years of 1914-1918.

There are a number of game modes for the player to choose from: Quick Mission, Single Missions, Campaign, Career, and Multiplayer.

The game features aircraft from both the Entente
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

 and the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...

. Missions can be very complex because of the special system of triggers that is used in mission design. Users can create their own missions using the provided Rise of Flight mission editor.

Training campaign

The supplied training missions teach a player the basics of combat flight, and the training section also includes various detailed briefings. The player deals not only with plain text-based instructions, but also with a 'live' instructor – a famous ace of World War I, the inestimable Eddie Rickenbacker
Eddie Rickenbacker
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was an American fighter ace in World War I and Medal of Honor recipient. He was also a race car driver and automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation, particularly as the longtime head of Eastern Air Lines.-Early...

. Progressing through the game, the virtual combat pilot is faced with more difficult tasks

Single player: Career mode

Career mode consists of six ranks, which are dependent on the nation for which the player flies. There is a special award system designed for this game mode, where the player will receive medals for their actions. This is the only game mode whereby the player will receive medals for combat operations. The medals will then show up for the player under the 'Awards' menu, where the player can choose to display them if they so choose. Game missions are generated on the basis of historical data about aerial combat operations during the period from September 1916 - November 1918. The user can choose a squadron and a particular date as the starting point for his or her career, along with a semi-customizable pilot biography and starting rank.

Single player: Quick Mission mode

Quick Mission allows the player to generate a mission 'on the fly' with up to 15 aircraft on each side. Players can, among other things, do battle with enemy fighters, attack ground targets, and go one-on-one against the enemy. Friendly and enemy starting altitude (including starting from the ground), targets, time of day, weather, and starting location on the map can all be selected by the player. In addition, all maps currently supported by the game are available in this mode.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer mode is a command game mode, where each side has fixed objectives simulating realistic combat situations. Servers can configure options to restrict what a player can or cannot do before and during the mission. This mode has a united system of statistics, which can be used for various competitive elements. Statistics are displayed for all players during the mission, including spectators and the opposition.
The player's statistics are then uploaded to the Neoqb server to be displayed on the Leaderboards page. To reach a high score, the player should do well in combat, or carry out various special tasks.

Physics and aerodynamics

Rise of Flight features an advanced flight model that simulates the unique handling characteristics of World War I aircraft. The game has a detailed and progressive damage model (each plane is divided into sub-objects, and each smaller part of an aircraft when damaged is calculated separately). The model tracks the trajectory of every bullet and shell fragment.
The simulation contains a model of wake vortex turbulence and a thermodynamic model of the internal combustion engine, with correspondence to the physical and chemical processes of the actual engine cycle.
Aircraft collisions with obstacles (earth or water) are simulated on the basis of collision-physics and hydrodynamics theory. Ballistics of various types of arms are also modeled. There is multi-layered model of wind and turbulence taking into account the influence of the Earth’s surface. Physical properties of the atmosphere are calculated over a wide altitude range, taking into account temperature and pressure.
There is also a type of 'plane fatigue', dependent on previously incurred damage, fuel quality and other things that may influence aircraft performance

Artificial intelligence (AI)

The level of artificial intelligence of the NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...

 pilots of Rise of Flight is based on non-linear decision making methods, making game situations less predictable for the player. This means that there is a difference in flying skill between the novice AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...

 pilot and that for a veteran pilot or Ace. A triggering system allows one to design missions where AI pilots operate independently, or they can be instructed to follow preset scenarios

Mission Editor


The supplied Rise of Flight Mission Editor allows the user to create both simple and complex missions and provides an opportunity to use a user's creativity in order to build missions more suited to their desires.
There is the possibility to edit each object's properties like movement, rotation, cloning etc. Objects can be grouped and saved to media, re-imported and further used as separate groups (for example, standard flights of planes or convoys of motor vehicles, standard types of buildings and other infrastructure)
Missions may be imported, making cooperation and possibilities for swapping content between mission designers easier (one can write a plot, a friend can place the needed objects and so on). This 'group, copy, cut and paste' feature helps to speed up the creation of really complex missions.
The system of game cameras provided with the mission editor can also be used for movie creation. Within the game engine, cameras belong to the mission and can be operated as a part of the game process without interruption.

Personal statistics and system of awards

A logging system allows for the creation of statistics for all players. Statistics can be quite detailed and also refer to the player’s role (ex. fighter pilot, two-seater pilot, bomber pilot).
Rise of Flight has a flexible system of difficulty options and customisations, and a system of awards is tied to these options. Thus if the user is playing easy mode, he or she will receive less points than the same user playing in difficult mode. This provides an additional stimulus to help you to improve your skills, with the possibility too of gaining medals and awards that much more quickly.

Login Offline

There has also been a recent addition to the login interface. After much user complaint by gamers a 'Login Offline' mode has been added, allowing a player to play off-line after connecting on-line and synchronized their profile via 'Login Online' at least once.

Game content

In-game content is updated and extended with update and patch files that are downloaded through the game's start-up interface. Players can also make computer-controlled aircraft flyable by purchasing new cockpits from Neoqb's online store.

Belligerents

  • These World War I belligerents are currently represented in Rise of Flight, with additional participants to be added later.


Entente
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...



 British Empire

  French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...



 Belgium

 United States (1918 only)


Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...



 German Empire

Fighters

Flyable aircraft included in the Free to Play Demo:

Flyable aircraft in the Iron Cross Edition:
  • Plus one bonus flyable aircraft which is dependent on the distributor.


Flyable Add-on aircraft available:

Two-Seaters

Flyable Add-on aircraft available:

Bombers

Flyable Add-on aircraft available:

Aerodromes

Rise of Flight has eight airfields created using photographs and other historical materials (Vert Galand, St. Omer
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....

, Roucourt, Léchelle
Léchelle, Pas-de-Calais
Léchelle is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A very small farming village situated southeast of Arras, on the D19E road, just a few yards from the A2 autoroute.-Population:...

, Gengoult
Toul-Croix De Metz Airfield
Toul-Croix De Metz Airfield is a former military airfield which is located approximately 1 mile northeast of Toul ; 160 miles east of Paris....

, Cappy
Cappy, Somme
Cappy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.- Geography :Cappy is situated on the D1 road, some east of Amiens, by the banks of the river Somme.- Population :- History :...

 North/South, Boistrancourt, Bertangles
Bertangles
Bertangles is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Bertangles is situated on the D97 road, just off the N25, north of Amiens...

) and more than 300 of a generic type as follows:
  • Type 1: German airfield (medium)
  • Type 2: German airfield (large)
  • Type 3: French airfield (medium)
  • Type 4: French airfield (large)

Anti-Aircraft & Artillery

  • QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss
    QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss
    The QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss was a light 47-mm naval gun introduced in 1886 to defend against new small fast vessels such as torpedo boats, and later submarines...

  • Thornycroft
    Thornycroft
    Thornycroft was a United Kingdom-based vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977.-History:Thornycroft started out with steam vans and lorries. John Isaac Thornycroft, the naval engineer, built his first steam lorry in 1896...

     Lorry with 13-pounder AAA Gun
  • Krupp
    Krupp
    The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...

    -Daimler Platform Truck AAA
  • 7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.
    7.7 cm FK 96 n.A.
    The 7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 neuer Art was a field gun used by Germany in World War I.-Description:The gun combined a barrel of the earlier 7.7 cm FK 96 with a recoil system, a new breech and a new carriage. Existing FK 96s were upgraded over time. The FK 96 n.A...

  • 15 cm sFH 13
    15 cm sFH 13
    The 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 13 was a heavy field howitzer used by Germany in World War I and World War II.-History:...

  • Canon de 75 modèle 1897
    Canon de 75 modèle 1897
    The French 75mm field gun was a quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Matériel de 75mm Mle 1897. It was commonly known as the French 75, simply the 75 and Soixante-Quinze .The French 75 is widely regarded as the first modern artillery piece...

  • Maxim MG 08/15 (anti-infantry)
  • Hotchkiss M1914
  • Maxim LMG 08/15 (anti-aircraft)

Vehicles

  • Crossley
    Crossley Motors
    Crossley Motors was a British motor vehicle manufacturer based in Manchester, England. They produced approximately 19,000 high quality cars from 1904 until 1938, 5,500 buses from 1926 until 1958 and 21,000 goods and military vehicles from 1914 to 1945.Crossley Brothers, originally...

     4X2 Staff Car
  • Daimler Truck
  • Jeffery
    Thomas B. Jeffery Company
    The Thomas B. Jeffery Company was an American automobile manufacturer in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1902 until 1916. The company manufactured the Rambler and Jeffery brand motorcars. It was preceded by the Gormully & Jeffery Manufacturing Company and it was the parent company to Nash Motors, thus one...

     Quad cargo truck
  • Leyland 3-tonne Cargo truck
  • Mercedes Simplex
    Mercedes Simplex
    The Mercedes Simplex was an car produced from 1902-09 by the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft . It continued the use of the Mercedes name as the brand of DMG, rather than Daimler....

  • Thornycroft
    Thornycroft
    Thornycroft was a United Kingdom-based vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977.-History:Thornycroft started out with steam vans and lorries. John Isaac Thornycroft, the naval engineer, built his first steam lorry in 1896...

     Lorry

Observation Balloons

  • German Drachen
  • German AE type
  • English Caquot
  • French Caquot
  • French Parseval

Trains

  • G8 Steam locomotive
    Prussian G 8
    The Prussian Class G 8 locomotives were eight-coupled, superheated, freight locomotives operated by the Prussian state railways. There were two variants: the G 8 built from 1902 with a 14 tonne axle load and the "reinforced G 8" built from 1913 with a 17 tonne axle load...

  • Closed carriage
  • Lowry (open freight carriage)
  • Tank-wagon
  • Passenger carriage
  • Platform carriage

Tanks

  • Renault FT-17
    Renault FT-17
    The Renault FT, frequently referred to in post-WWI literature as the "FT-17" or "FT17" , was a French light tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history...

  • Mark I
    Mark I tank
    The British Mark I was a tracked vehicle developed by the British Army during the First World War and the world's first combat tank. The Mark I entered service in August 1916, and was first used in action on the morning of 15 September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, of the Somme...

  • Mark IV
  • Mark V
  • St Chamond M1917
    St Chamond (tank)
    The Saint-Chamond was the second French heavy tank of the First World War.Overall an inadequate design born of commercial rivalry, the war ended before it was replaced by British heavy tanks.-Development:...

  • Schneider CA1
    Schneider CA1
    The Schneider CA1 was the first French tank. It was inspired by the need to overcome the stalemate of the trench warfare of the Great War.-Caterpillar development:...

  • A7V
    A7V
    The A7V was a tank introduced by Germany in 1918, near the end of World War I. One hundred vehicles were ordered during the spring of 1918, but only 21 were delivered. It was nicknamed "The Moving Fortress" by the British because of the shape of the hull...

  • Medium Mark A Whippet

Towns

There are eleven French towns (Toul
Toul
Toul is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Toul is located between Commercy and Nancy, and situated between the Moselle River and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin....

, Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...

, St. Quentin
Saint-Quentin, Aisne
Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....

, St. Mihiel, Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....

, Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

, Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

, Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...

, Arras
Arras
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...

, Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...

, Cambrai
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...

), and more than 300 smaller towns and villages.

Controls

Rise of Flight has 14 different complexity settings that can be configured by a player. The game supports most joysticks, pedals, yokes, and also TrackIR
TrackIR
TrackIR is an optical motion tracking game controller for Microsoft Windows, created by NaturalPoint Inc. that tracks head motions with up to six degrees of freedom in later models, allowing handsfree view control for improved game immersiveness and situational awareness...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK