ScaleBirdsScott
Well-Known Member
Seems these days there's a sim for every esoteric topic, and a growing and popular subgenre seems to be demolition/recycling/cleanup type games. From the complex stories, orbital mechanics, and union dynamics of Hardspace: Shipbreaker, to the gory aftermath of an Aliens film with Viscera Cleanup Detail or the cleaner and dad-friently take on the concept in PowerWash Simulator, and then ending up on some far-off shore turned Ship Graveyard for some more grounded deconstruction.
Yet I never considered that a new entrant in that lineup would be essentially a Tucson Simulator, with Plane Graveyard.
Looks like it might be a fun diversion for those who do dabble in games, even if the subject matter is maybe a little distressing for some here, and likely painfully inaccurate for others who maybe worked on the originals at some point. I might check it out personally. I was tempted to try the Shipbreaker version as it was.
On the other side of that lifecycle coin, another popular subgenre in simulators these days is setting up factories and simulating the build of things. From the relatively mundane PC Builder that lets you experience the fun of building a cool gaming computer without real money, to the more difficult to achieve conquests of building an automotive empire in Automation. We got specific games like Gun Factory Sim, while others are a bit more abstract and out there like Shapez 2 where it's just about setting up excessive automation. Countless games and sims exist in this sort of space now, as the access to complex game engine tools, and high end 3D modelling software are both becoming close-to if not entirely free, and increasingly easy to learn, while the capabilities continue to expand.
So it makes me wonder when, more than if, we'll see a "homebuilt aircraft simulator" or a "aircraft factory" simulator. On one hand you can have the quaint and esoteric joy of a simulated 1-car garage and a Sonex kit, pulling rivets in VR and using all of the fancy tools out of the ACS catalog. On the other hand you could have a literal bomber or airline factory management game, with full production lines of B-17 parts being assembled in various lines that converge together in the halls of the plant that is being built as you work.
Some might say "just go build a real plane" and that's valid. But there's a reason games like Powerwash Simulator are popular despite just about anyone being able to get a power washer from a big-box store and live the experience for real. And to the same token as much as I can and Do build my own PCs when I need a new one, it's usually once every 4-5 years or so, and I am constrained by budget and time to get something up and running quick. And while I haven't played the game, I can see the appeal of PC Build Sim that lets me feel like I have an RTX 4090 going into a massive case with 12 RGB fans and a custom water cooling loop. It's a free, mostly painless way to experience some of that joy when the urge strikes. But I also know some people practice their builds in that game before doing the real thing with the parts they bought. They use it as a true simulator to explore how their computer might look when done, or work out some of the cable management and so-on. By that same token a game that did let a person build a virtual Kitfox from a bunch of parts, throw a Rotax 916 on the front, give it a sick paintjob, and dress it out with some extreme shocks and tundra tires, I think that would be fun for the followers of Trent Palmer and so-on, but for those who are actually looking to build such a machine, it might be a good way to learn what it's like, and play around with options to see what path they may want to go.
And anything that puts the joys of building a huge airplane into the hands of kids and those who just couldn't afford an RTX 4090 graphics card much less a Rotax 916, is probably a net positive.
And then a plugin to Xplane or MSFS that lets one fly the specific aircraft they built in the game, complete with the options and paint they chose, that'd be just cherry on the cake.
Yet I never considered that a new entrant in that lineup would be essentially a Tucson Simulator, with Plane Graveyard.
Looks like it might be a fun diversion for those who do dabble in games, even if the subject matter is maybe a little distressing for some here, and likely painfully inaccurate for others who maybe worked on the originals at some point. I might check it out personally. I was tempted to try the Shipbreaker version as it was.
On the other side of that lifecycle coin, another popular subgenre in simulators these days is setting up factories and simulating the build of things. From the relatively mundane PC Builder that lets you experience the fun of building a cool gaming computer without real money, to the more difficult to achieve conquests of building an automotive empire in Automation. We got specific games like Gun Factory Sim, while others are a bit more abstract and out there like Shapez 2 where it's just about setting up excessive automation. Countless games and sims exist in this sort of space now, as the access to complex game engine tools, and high end 3D modelling software are both becoming close-to if not entirely free, and increasingly easy to learn, while the capabilities continue to expand.
So it makes me wonder when, more than if, we'll see a "homebuilt aircraft simulator" or a "aircraft factory" simulator. On one hand you can have the quaint and esoteric joy of a simulated 1-car garage and a Sonex kit, pulling rivets in VR and using all of the fancy tools out of the ACS catalog. On the other hand you could have a literal bomber or airline factory management game, with full production lines of B-17 parts being assembled in various lines that converge together in the halls of the plant that is being built as you work.
Some might say "just go build a real plane" and that's valid. But there's a reason games like Powerwash Simulator are popular despite just about anyone being able to get a power washer from a big-box store and live the experience for real. And to the same token as much as I can and Do build my own PCs when I need a new one, it's usually once every 4-5 years or so, and I am constrained by budget and time to get something up and running quick. And while I haven't played the game, I can see the appeal of PC Build Sim that lets me feel like I have an RTX 4090 going into a massive case with 12 RGB fans and a custom water cooling loop. It's a free, mostly painless way to experience some of that joy when the urge strikes. But I also know some people practice their builds in that game before doing the real thing with the parts they bought. They use it as a true simulator to explore how their computer might look when done, or work out some of the cable management and so-on. By that same token a game that did let a person build a virtual Kitfox from a bunch of parts, throw a Rotax 916 on the front, give it a sick paintjob, and dress it out with some extreme shocks and tundra tires, I think that would be fun for the followers of Trent Palmer and so-on, but for those who are actually looking to build such a machine, it might be a good way to learn what it's like, and play around with options to see what path they may want to go.
And anything that puts the joys of building a huge airplane into the hands of kids and those who just couldn't afford an RTX 4090 graphics card much less a Rotax 916, is probably a net positive.
And then a plugin to Xplane or MSFS that lets one fly the specific aircraft they built in the game, complete with the options and paint they chose, that'd be just cherry on the cake.
