Tag: Flight control »

The increased resolution of the iPhone 4 has been the point of a lot of conversation from the moment it was first announced. Most of the conversation focusing on if it really is a "retina display," one with such a high pixel density that the human eye can't see the individual pixels. And around that, most of the conversation had to do how great text will look on the display. But what about games? How will the increased resolution impact games? Can they actually approach photographic quality? Wow, that would be staggering -- and I can't wait to see it!

In what I believe are the first games to be approved to take advantage of the Retina Display on the iPhone 4, Real Racing and Flight Control updates are now live. They include increased resolution graphics to fit the new display -- rather than rely on pixel doubled graphics. In addition, Real Racing control has been updated to take advantage of the gyroscope in the iPhone 4. It should provide for even better control of the steering in the game.

Firemint has launched an update to its popular Flight Control game for iPhone. The update, available now, includes a new map, updated graphics, safe fast-forward plus new sound and music settings.

Flight Control is a highly addictive strategy game in which users take control of a selection of airstrips and must guide different planes and helicopters to their destination. While things start off easy, you’re quickly swamped by jets and light aircraft that need to be designated a runway before they crash into others.

First things first, the new map. Windy Airfield brings a new dimension to the already frantic action with runways opening and closing at timed intervals. Users will need to keep an eye on a windsock in the middle of the level that moves around to denote a change in wind direction. The direction of the wind affects which runways are open. Aircraft already on approach will still land but you’ll have to find an alternate runway for the rest.

So far, the new map is generating excitement among players with many uploading their score to the online leader board. A Google map is currently displaying where the high scores are coming from around the world. Check it out here

Flight Control’s graphics also receive a boost in this update with much brighter colors to help you spot those incoming planes quickly.

Another big addition to Flight Control is the safe fast-forward option that was launched in Flight Control HD for iPad. There are now three speed settings from “Off” through “Locked Fast Forward”. “Safe Fast Forward” speeds up the game but alerts players when a collision is imminent and slows the game back down to normal speed so you can avert disaster. Fast forward is sometimes required during the game to speed up the action and get on to higher scores but, use it carefully or you could cause an aeronautical pile up.

As far as settings go, Flight Control will now remember a user’s sound and music settings which can be altered in the app’s Pause Menu so you don’t have to change them each time you play the game.

As an added bonus to celebrate the update, Firemint has also released a free Flight Control wallpaper for iPhone users which can be downloaded from the Firemint site here.

iPad and desktop wallpaper is also available.

This is a great update from Firemint and we look forward to many more soon as well as tweaks to the iPad app. Check it out today by heading to the updates section of the App Store via your iPhone or in iTunes and, if you haven’t downloaded the game already, do it now!

Flight Control is one of the best and best selling casual iPhone games ever created. It started the whole line drawing genre and was one of the first iPhone games to sell over a million copies. It has now sold over 2 million copies and spawned Flight Control HD, it's big brother.

Flight Control HD is more of what you love Flight Control for. It also adds lots of features that you could only appreciate on the iPad. The split-screen 2 player mode sounds like a blast. Firemint have also added a 3D level to the game -- but you need the blue/red 3D glasses to see it.

The iPad is the perfect device to play this game on. It's large screen allows you to see more of the area and not have the planes be as obstructed by your fingers. Some say that Steve Jobs created the iPad specifically so that he would have a larger screen to play Flight Control on*.

Here are the official list of features for Flight Control HD, available now on the iPad.

Flight Control HD contains everything included in Flight Control for iPhone and iPod touch, as well as many additions and improvements for its arrival on iPad:

• More ways to play, including multiplayer modes that take advantage of iPad’s innovative Multi-Touch interface.
• Split-screen “versus” mode: play competitively by sending your planes to capture aircraft from your opponent.
• Co-operative multiplayer on a single iPad: share landing duties with a friend on one of three HD airfields.
• Multiplayer on two devices (selected from iPad, iPhone or iPod touch): land aircraft of your own color, and direct others off the screen for your fellow Controller to land.
• More space to land your planes and bigger airports thanks to the large iPad screen, with three new HD airfields.
• Beautiful high-quality graphics throughout, including an all-new menu and updated graphics for the Classic airfields from the iPhone version.
• New Snow airfield with variable wind direction in addition to the four Classic iPhone airfields (Original, Beach, Carrier and Outback) and three HD airfields, for a total of eight single-player airfields.
• Quirky “3D view” airfield brings Flight Control to life like never before – use red/cyan glasses to see aircraft floating above the iPad (3D glasses not included, widely available from retailers such as amazon.com at low cost).
• Many more enhancements including all-new path continuation, improved collision warnings, a new “safe” fast forward function, and a longer version of the Flight Control song that you just can’t get out of your head!

The Flight Control HD App for iPad is available for US$4.99 from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

* This is a complete lie.

Firemint has just released a 1.3 update for their extremely popular Flight Control game that adds the ability to play cooperatively with a friend over bluetooth. Flight Control has sold over 1,000,000 copies on its way to becoming an App Store classic.

Flight Control is a deceptively complicated game in which you must guide planes and helicopters to their proper landing places by drawing paths with your finger. The game starts out very simply with very few vehicles on screen at a time, but quickly ramps up in difficulty as more planes and helicopters of varying speeds appear on screen simultaneously. If anything collides, the game is over. When Christine reviewed the game, she gave it a perfect five stars.

In previous updates, Firemint has added new maps and online leader boards via the Cloudcell service. Now, in order to utilize the new 3.0 software for the iPhone and iPod Touch, Firemint has added bluetooth play so you can share air traffic controller duties with a friend. No wifi is required, as you simply need two devices with bluetooth capabilities (note: only the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch 2G can use bluetooth).

In this new mode, you and your friend share a cumulative score for a game. Each person has a complete map on screen (you can either use the same map or different maps), but can only land planes of a certain color. If a plane appears on screen that you cannot land, you have to direct it to the side of you screen, which will cause it to appear on your partner's screen. This makes the game even more hectic, as you have to manage planes that both normally appear on your screen and those redirected by your partner all while trying to communicate with your partner.

I got a pleasant surprise in my inbox today, and I hardly slept last night for playing it so much.

Hot on the heals of their great update to Flight Control, Firemint have submitted to the app store a completely different game, Real Racing. Possibly the best racing game we've ever see on the iPhone, it's coming really soon and I've got a final build ad-hoc copy. I've commented before about how great of a game this is. The final version is even better. It has amazing fit and finish and looks even better than the previous versions I've seen. Well done Firemint!

The racing game features 12 tracks, 26 cars, and five different game modes. The most interesting feature, to me, is the asynchronous multiplayer mode. Very well done, and a ton of fun to play.

If you're on Twitter, you can follow the game specific Twitter account, or become a fan of the Facebook page.

No word yet on price, we'll see that when the app goes live. And we'll have a full review ready for when the app goes live. That is if I can stop playing it. For now, check after the jump for the official trailer video, more screen shots, and the official app description.

The once #1 paid application in the App Store just came out with it's 1.2 update today and I have to applaud it in every way, this is what an update should be.

Firemint has added two more airfields to play on with a total of five new aircrafts with that go along with these levels. Both levels add a new spin on the game. The "beachside resort" contains the red plane, the larger red plane, and the helicopters from the previous level but with the addition of a yellow seaplane that lands in a water-runway. This level has two helicopter pads and throws a lot more helicopters at you, changes the game quite a bit.

The "aircraft carrier" level contains all new planes: two different red planes (one of which is

I don't know if this problem has hit your village as of yet, but Flight Control is (still) haunting my dreams. Ever since Christine Morris put five stars on the review I've been hooked. I admit, the day I hit 100, I thought that I was the best in the world... and boy, was I wrong.

My feeling of invincibility was dashed after I was sent a youtube link (watch it here) of a guy landing 6000 planes in a row. 6000! Every morning now I wake up screaming, "6000! No way!", leaving the people I live with in a constant state of panic. In light of this, I am attempting to move on to something that will redirect my focus, in turn giving me a whole new set of nightmare inducing dreams.

Just this morning, I found what could be the answer to my call. The game is called Parachute Panic, and it may just have the slick style/substance that I have been searching for. Parachute Panic, made by FDG Entertainment (known for the Bobby Carrot series), looks fantastic, even in its alleged "early alpha" build. Check out the video, watch it in Hi-Def, and tell me, honestly, if you think my sleepless nights will be coming to an end.

According to the developer, the game should appear on the app store late May/early June. Enjoy!

Firemint Games, the developers of the 148Apps five star rated game Flight Control, have just released their sales figures for the app while it held the #1 spot in the iTunes App Store. The period covered stretches from March 24th to April 25th 2009, which is a sizable amount of time for an app to hold that position.

Here's some of the information from the report:

Flight Control from Firemint has been at the number 1 paid app in the iTunes App Store for an amazing 18 days straight. We reviewed it a few weeks ago and found that it owes it's perfect score to the fantastically sticky game play, originality, and great difficulty progression. A pretty simple game that keeps the players coming back to beat their or others high scores.

Firemint today announced planned updates for the app that includes online leaderboards and automatic save game. That app update is expected to be out by April 24th. Details below from Firemint:

• Online highscores – by far the most requested feature, Flight Control will receive online leaderboards with a simple but clever design, to cater for many of the different ways people are playing. Firemint will use its cloudcell.com technology to go beyond a simple list of names and high scores and offer location based leaderboards and a skill based ranking system. Cloudcell.com has already been used in I-Play’s Fast & Furious game and will also be used in Firemint’s upcoming title Firemint Real Racing.
  
• Save game – if the app exits mid-game (for example, closing with the Home button or receiving a phone call) the player will be able to pick up exactly where they left off.

Firemint also teased us with mention of future updates that might hold new airports and aircraft.

We're looking forward to this update that will let us see some of the amazing high scores out there. Let us know in the comments what your high score is and check out our review of Flight Control where reader Perry has commented with some great suggestions on improving your score.