Fun with Multiplayer

By Larry Nussbaumer

28D (Cessna 180 Towplane), Piper PA-11, Schweitzer 2-32 (Yellow) And Schweitzer 2-33 Just South Of Albuquerque, NM At Valencia Airpark In 1976.
Photo Copyright 1980 by Larry Nussbaumer

Mike Keller and I are both real pilots. In the 1970's, Mike ran a flight school, glider operation, sport aircraft paradise, etc., and I towed sailplanes and instructed for him. We have been friends for many, many years, and still keep in touch through email and Freetel, an Internet "telephone" program. This information might be irrelevant, except that it helps explain why we get such a kick out of using Flight Simulator 98 multiplayer mode.

We fly formation, both locally and on trips, put on airshows for each other and, occasionally, go sightseeing in (usually) similar aircraft. A typical local formation session might go like this:

Whichever of us is first to get on the Internet fires up Freetel, sends mail to the other, including our IP address, and waits until the other shows up on a Freetel connection. We chat for a bit, then fire up FS98 in multiplayer mode, connect the session, then one of us will CTRL-SHIFT-T (to "find" the other) and CTRL-SHIFT-F to move in behind him, all this being coordinated via voice on Freetel. We usually start at Jeffco airport (northwest side of Denver, Colorado).

If I am lead on this flight, Mike will get behind me. I'll say, "Here we go," slowly advance the throttle(s), and off we go - formation takeoff! After gear up and initial climb established, I reduce power a little, to give Mike a maneuvering edge; after all, he has to play the throttle to stay in position, and may need a bit of extra power to catch up.

Mike And Larry Playing Chase Around Downtown Denver
Picture Copyright 1999 by Larry Nussbaumer

As lead, I keep all my turns and other attitude changes slow and gentle, even more so than I would have to in real life, due to the reduced perception ability in FS98 over that in real life. Also, the Internet delays (sometimes visible as jitter) play a part, though it is rarely a serious problem.

In order to avoid the mountains just a few miles west of Jeffco, I'll gently start a turn, left towards Standley Lake, this time, heading for downtown or for the old, abandoned Stapleton Airport - a favorite place to play. Approaching downtown, I'll start a gentle descent, which we maintain until a mile or so away. "It's time," I'll say.

Full throttle, nose down more steeply, we chase each other among the buildings, swooping and soaring over, around, occasionally even through the buildings. "Brrrrrpppp!" I shout! I'm at his six, he breaks sharply to the right, around the next building, then up into a loop - whoops, it's a half-Cuban 8... Lost him!

Tiring of this, after a while, we head for Stapleton, Mike well ahead. He hugs the deck as he traverses 08R, reaching the far end just before I get to the near end. Up he goes into another half-Cuban. We're both about 20 feet off the deck, now, racing towards each other, slight pullup, rolling madly as we pass - beautiful, I think - then I say it aloud. He laughs with joy!

Opposite Direction Low-Level Passes At Stapleton
Picture Copyright 1999 by Larry Nussbaumer

We continue a while with more of this madness, then he lands on 35L and shifts to tracking mode (his view tracks me, wherever I go). I aim straight for him from 6800 MSL (about 1400 AGL), easing into a slight climb as I pass him on the deck, then rolling, rolling, up into a half-Cuban, and back for a slow pass. Gear and flaps extended, hanging from the prop, "Pretty aircraft, that Corsair," he chortles.

Loops, hammerhead, rolls, wingovers, slow passes, high-speed passes, then I land and switch to tracking mode. He takes off and puts on quite a show for me.

After his airshow, we do another formation takeoff, Mike in the lead this time, headed back to Jeffco. After landing, we discuss the flight or whatever else comes to mind, perhaps the handling of a new aircraft we've downloaded, and what changes it might need in FDE to make it handle right. Perhaps we've flown a Corsair, a Super Cub, an F-15 and a Helio Courier during this session.

Next time, we may start at Barber's Point, Hawaii, in Dotcom's marvelous Seneca, and just go sightseeing, flying formation for a bit, then splitting up, each exclaiming, "Look what I've found," to the other. Or perhaps explore the new Alaska scenery we just downloaded.

Mike (Wing) And Larry In Dotcom's Beautiful Seneca
Picture Copyright 1999 by Larry Nussbaumer

In order for you to enjoy multiplayer and formation flying as much as Mike and I have, you need to be aware that in order to get aircraft in the sim that behave as would real aircraft (and therefore close formation becomes possible), we have spent considerable time with FDE (and ADE before it) tweaking aircraft for proper handling. This does NOT necessarily mean changes in performance (though it happens sometimes when we add drag), but it DOES mean a major difference in how they behave and in ease of control. We eliminate sideways flight, instant (or nearly so) pitch changes, and do many other tweaks to get proper behavior.
We hope to be able to do an article one of these days on the characteristics we most often must change.

And yes, the screenshots here were taken (PRINT-SCREEN key) during actual flight -- they were not set-up shots.

Mike (Lead) From Larry's Cockpit in Shlomo Hakim's Gorgeous Twin Beech
Picture Copyright 1999 by Larry Nussbaumer

Larry Nussbaumer
lnuss@flightsim.com

For more on multiplayer flight, see the FS98 FAQ

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