More Ideas for Airport Madness 3D

On our Steam Community page there have been over 100 airport ideas suggested to me for future updates.  It boggles my mind.  As a full-time air traffic controller in the real world, I only have a certain amount of time to develop this game, and as such, it takes me about two months to create a new airport.  At least the updates are free, right folks?  IMG_7056The other night on TV I watched an old favorite, Always (1989).  It’s got a bit too much romance for my taste, but nevertheless a great movie for people who love airplanes.  The movie concept was based on an aerial firefighting operation, which absolutely intrigued me.  After the opening scene I pulled out my phone and began researching aerial firefighting on the web.  I already know a fair bit about this type of thing, as I work at an airport that serves aerial firefighting operations.  In this movie, however, the airport was immersed in the operation.  The airport used in the film was Libby Airport in Montana, and footage of the Yellowstone National Park’s 1988 fires was quadused for the fire sequences.  Steven Spielberg did an incredible job of capturing the beauty and excitement of the operation.  There was fire, smoke, and beautiful vintage bombers like the Douglas A-26 Invader and PBY Catalina. It looked like an airport that would be fun to work at!   Here’s a quick clip of what I’m talking about:

So, I’m wondering if this is something that I could add to Airport Madness 3D.  An aerial firefighting base.  I looked at Libby Airport, but since I can’t determine if they even use this field for firefighting, I decided to go with an airport that I am familiar with.  Like I’ve said many times, Airport Madness needs conflict points in order to be fun, and this usually means having at least two runways.  However, exceptions can be made. dual

I think a great airport for an Airport Madness firefighting operation would be Castlegar, BC.  It’s not primarily a tanker base, but as you can see in the photos above, it does get to host such operations from time to time.  Castlegar is also very special to me personally, as I used to fly Navajos out of there many years ago.  It’s mountain scenery is absolutely breathtaking, and I feel that a game level such as this one needs mountains.  As usual, I may need to to bend the truth a little, to maintain an appropriate balance between fun versus real.

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Will there be an actual fire?  You can count on it.  The west ridge will be engulfed in flames, which will advance towards the city if left unattended, and retreat if the player moves tankers quickly.  After takeoff, tankers will drop their load of retardant over the fire, then return to the field for reloading.  The fire action will be interspersed by arriving DH8C’s and B737’s.

This looks like it will be fun, and challenging, to put together for you.  I hope to deliver this mid-October. As always, updates to Airport Madness 3D are free.

8 thoughts on “More Ideas for Airport Madness 3D

  1. Eric A. Meyer

    Sounds like a lot of fun! It also makes me think there’s room in the market for a firefighting game, where you manage resources (firefighting teams, aerial water and foam drops, etc.) and mark out places for them to set back burns, drop retardant, and so on. 3D terrain, a decently realistic fire progression model, shifting winds, structures to try to protect, very occasional rain… could be quite a challenge. If done in consultation with wildfire experts, it could teach a fair amount as well.

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    1. admin Post author

      As I develop this, I realize that the concept begs for full development, including every item that you mentioned. However, Airport Madness is an air traffic control game, so I feel that I should stick to the formula as best I can. What I will do is make the fire somewhat interactive, in that player performance will affect its spread.

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  2. sw

    I really think this would be a fun addition to AM3D. Can’t wait to play this one! Have fun building this update.

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  3. Matthew Good

    I think this concept of “themed” airports is brilliant. I really feel that this game could go on and on… the possibilities are endless! I don’t know if you have plans for a new Airport Madness game, but personally I think you should stick to this one for quite some time. I mean, think of what you actually do! You could even go back to the Time Machine concept and have historic airports. I would really love to see a Handley Page 42 landing in 3D! That would be impressive! Or you could have a WWII bomber station with Lancasters or B-17s. There are so may possibilities.

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