6 ms·

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

by sarreph 3mo ago

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. -- [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_Control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_Control [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Metro_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Metro_(video_game)

rwmj 3mo ago
Heathrow ATC (for the ZX Spectrum) was one that I played extensively back in the day: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/10530 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_Traffic_Control_1985_Hewson_Consultants https://archive.org/details/zx_Heathrow_International_Air_Tr...
- s-macke 3mo ago
  Kennedy Approach was published around the same time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Approach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Approach
  - rwmj 3mo ago
    Wikipedia search turns up this game from 1982: https://www.mobygames.com/game/52384/controller/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/52384/controller/ Quite graphically advanced for the time.
- s-macke 3mo ago
  The BSD Games collection has an ATC Simulator as well from around 1985: https://github.com/vattam/BSDGames/tree/master/atc https://github.com/vattam/BSDGames/tree/master/atc
bakies 3mo ago
I was reminded Mini Metro too. It has a fun sequel on PC, mini motorways.
leetrout 3mo ago
OptiFlight is similar to mini metro for planes https://www.krishsuchdev.com/OptiFlight https://www.krishsuchdev.com/OptiFlight
jstummbillig 3mo ago
Mini Airways - ATC simulator comes close in base mechanics but adds some complexity https://store.steampowered.com/app/2289650/Mini_Airways__ATC_simulator/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2289650/Mini_Airways__ATC...
- nacs 3mo ago
  It's looks like they literally cloned the UI and graphics from the Mini Metro/Mini Motorways games (not just the map style).
  - rubslopes 3mo ago
    Yes, they did, which is unfortunate, as the game is very good in itself. They gave a nice twist to the formula.
kesslern 3mo ago
There's a VR version called Final Approach that's quite fun https://store.steampowered.com/app/380670/Final_Approach/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/380670/Final_Approach/
- tenthirtyam 3mo ago
  There's also the simpler 'atc' from BSD games. Text interface only.
jclardy 3mo ago
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.
- bnc319 3mo ago
  See this post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48980062 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48980062
oliviergg 3mo ago
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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qti2ffpu2k&t=42s
iron_albatross 3mo ago
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 https://github.com/openscope/openscope
eddieroger 3mo ago
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.
mnw21cam 3mo ago
On Android there is Endless ATC. It also appears to be on Steam.
- Vedor 3mo ago
  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.
  - mnw21cam 3mo ago
    Yeah, it works really well on a tiny screen, surprisingly enough.
Nzen 3mo ago
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/ https://jdno.dev/auto-traffic-control/ [1] https://auto-traffic-control.com/ https://auto-traffic-control.com/ [2] https://github.com/Nzen/hircine-anise-okkoz https://github.com/Nzen/hircine-anise-okkoz [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czsSjy1Uqyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czsSjy1Uqyk 1.5 minutes [4] https://github.com/jdno/auto-traffic-control/commit/b5972dfbfedf8419727adc116bf77951c8cc5202 https://github.com/jdno/auto-traffic-control/commit/b5972dfb...
- Mammux 3mo ago
  Imagine how cool it would be if something like this was based on the actual FF-ICE / FIXM flight plan format.
  - jdno 3mo ago
    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. :)
- jdno 3mo ago
  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.
bnc319 3mo ago
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 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/planes-control/id1015114550
snthpy 3mo ago
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.
selectodude 3mo ago
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.
- Computer0 3mo ago
  You should release it though.
  - selectodude 3mo ago
    Rather not take the chance of getting sued by EA.
    - Computer0 3mo ago
      Release it under a fake name?
vunderba 3mo ago
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 https://youtu.be/WLHI5Fu--0I?t=48
- MBCook 3mo ago
  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.
  - vunderba 3mo ago
    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.
Telemakhos 3mo ago
United Airlines offers the game for entertainment while you're flying. https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-air-traffic-control-game/ https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-air-traffic-contr...
pseudohadamard 3mo ago
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.
meshaneian 3mo ago
Oops, meant to reply here There's a 3D POV game on Android, Unmatched Air Traffic Control that's quite good https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vector3d.uatc https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vector3d.u...

by sarreph 3mo ago

rwmj 3mo ago

Heathrow ATC (for the ZX Spectrum) was one that I played extensively back in the day: https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/10530 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_Traffic_Control_1985_Hewson_Consultants https://archive.org/details/zx_Heathrow_International_Air_Tr...

s-macke 3mo ago
Kennedy Approach was published around the same time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Approach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Approach
- rwmj 3mo ago
  Wikipedia search turns up this game from 1982: https://www.mobygames.com/game/52384/controller/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/52384/controller/ Quite graphically advanced for the time.
s-macke 3mo ago
The BSD Games collection has an ATC Simulator as well from around 1985: https://github.com/vattam/BSDGames/tree/master/atc https://github.com/vattam/BSDGames/tree/master/atc

bakies 3mo ago

I was reminded Mini Metro too. It has a fun sequel on PC, mini motorways.

leetrout 3mo ago

OptiFlight is similar to mini metro for planes https://www.krishsuchdev.com/OptiFlight https://www.krishsuchdev.com/OptiFlight

jstummbillig 3mo ago

Mini Airways - ATC simulator comes close in base mechanics but adds some complexity https://store.steampowered.com/app/2289650/Mini_Airways__ATC_simulator/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2289650/Mini_Airways__ATC...

nacs 3mo ago
It's looks like they literally cloned the UI and graphics from the Mini Metro/Mini Motorways games (not just the map style).
- rubslopes 3mo ago
  Yes, they did, which is unfortunate, as the game is very good in itself. They gave a nice twist to the formula.

kesslern 3mo ago

There's a VR version called Final Approach that's quite fun https://store.steampowered.com/app/380670/Final_Approach/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/380670/Final_Approach/

tenthirtyam 3mo ago
There's also the simpler 'atc' from BSD games. Text interface only.

jclardy 3mo ago

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.

bnc319 3mo ago
See this post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48980062 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48980062

oliviergg 3mo ago

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qti2ffpu2k&t=42s

iron_albatross 3mo ago

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 https://github.com/openscope/openscope

eddieroger 3mo ago

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.

mnw21cam 3mo ago

On Android there is Endless ATC. It also appears to be on Steam.

Vedor 3mo ago
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.
- mnw21cam 3mo ago
  Yeah, it works really well on a tiny screen, surprisingly enough.

Nzen 3mo ago

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/ https://jdno.dev/auto-traffic-control/ [1] https://auto-traffic-control.com/ https://auto-traffic-control.com/ [2] https://github.com/Nzen/hircine-anise-okkoz https://github.com/Nzen/hircine-anise-okkoz [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czsSjy1Uqyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czsSjy1Uqyk 1.5 minutes [4] https://github.com/jdno/auto-traffic-control/commit/b5972dfbfedf8419727adc116bf77951c8cc5202 https://github.com/jdno/auto-traffic-control/commit/b5972dfb...

Mammux 3mo ago
Imagine how cool it would be if something like this was based on the actual FF-ICE / FIXM flight plan format.
- jdno 3mo ago
  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. :)
jdno 3mo ago
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.

bnc319 3mo ago

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 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/planes-control/id1015114550

snthpy 3mo ago

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.

selectodude 3mo ago

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.

Computer0 3mo ago
You should release it though.
- selectodude 3mo ago
  Rather not take the chance of getting sued by EA.
  - Computer0 3mo ago
    Release it under a fake name?

vunderba 3mo ago

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 https://youtu.be/WLHI5Fu--0I?t=48

MBCook 3mo ago
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.
- vunderba 3mo ago
  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.

Telemakhos 3mo ago

United Airlines offers the game for entertainment while you're flying. https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-air-traffic-control-game/ https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-air-traffic-contr...

pseudohadamard 3mo ago

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.

meshaneian 3mo ago

Oops, meant to reply here There's a 3D POV game on Android, Unmatched Air Traffic Control that's quite good https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vector3d.uatc https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vector3d.u...