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Google Earth Flight Simulator
marco-za.blogspot.com — The release of Google Sky has been all over the news. But there's more! A flight simulator was also launched in the latest release, although as a hidden feature. Install the latest version, hit Crtl+Alt+A and start flying! See article for screenshots.
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- digg it
- smoli, on 10/10/2007, -9/+67In the OS X version it's Command + A
- anonymonk, on 10/10/2007, -4/+21And in the Windows XP laptop I tested, it was Ctrl-WindowsKey-A
- Waterrat, on 10/10/2007, -6/+24 And as usual...A big ol' dead goose egg for Linux!
>:{- outsid3rNo17, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1Goddamn it I had never laughed so hard on Gidd. They'll dick me down pointing to the green button but screw it, that comment was damn funny!
- pr1268, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1It DOES work for Linux - type ctrl-A - just make sure you have the latest version of Google Earth.
- Waterrat, on 10/10/2007, -6/+24 And as usual...A big ol' dead goose egg for Linux!
- Clelland, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14This is the awesome. Click the screen, and you can use the mouse as your joystick. Page Up and Page Down for thrust.
- Blackmane, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1On any Mac Laptops (At least a MBP) press Fn and UP or Down arrow and you have or acceleration. I think its the same, i just moved forward took off a bit shot off and crashed.
- eleven, on 10/10/2007, -9/+7OMG - Awesome! This is what I always imagined would be a great use of google earth. Works for me right away - on a mac.
- Myonosken, on 10/10/2007, -4/+36Tools Menu -> Enter Flight Sim
- smoli, on 10/10/2007, -2/+23The Enter Flight Sim option only becomes visible once you have entered it for the first time, using the keyboard shortcut (according to the article).
- kris33, on 10/10/2007, -2/+16It is not Command + A
It is Command + Option + A- saleem, on 10/10/2007, -10/+3what the ***** is "option" *ducks*
- whistlerpro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Don't be so alt.
- awhiteflame, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I disagree.. Command+A worked for me.
- CatalystDM, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2No, it's definitely just Command+A.
- saleem, on 10/10/2007, -10/+3what the ***** is "option" *ducks*
- kingfoot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5http://earth.google.com/intl/en/userguide/v4/flightsim/index.html
- foofiejnooner, on 10/10/2007, -7/+0apparently they didnt take the time to hide it on mine and simply put it under tools > flight simulator :)
- rationalist, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5RTFA
- VivaLaNation, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1any one else having trouble taking off with a macbook?...i have no page up key... :(
- Skootles, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1the up arrow is the page up key
- battletops, on 10/21/2007, -0/+2It's fn + up key.
- Blackmane, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Took me a while to figure that out.
- knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -8/+0for the record,
DIGGING DOWN THE CONSTANT BICKERING (displayed above) THAT PLAGUES DIGG, ONE ***** COMMENT AT A TIME.
CUT THAT ***** OUT.- jacobmp92, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3for the record,
DIGGING DOWN YOU.
- jacobmp92, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3for the record,
- anonymonk, on 10/10/2007, -4/+21And in the Windows XP laptop I tested, it was Ctrl-WindowsKey-A
- astrocreep2k, on 10/10/2007, -0/+61That is very cool. I hope they develop it further, I know alot of flight sim geeks have been toying with the idea of merging flight simulators with this type of service. Looks like the help menu provides a link to the controls also: http://earth.google.com/intl/en/userguide/v4/flightsim/index.html
- marcog, on 10/10/2007, -0/+26The highly detailed world provided by Google Earth combined with a full-on flight simulator would be awesome. I guess this is just the beginning and I also hope they push this further as it has great potential. With Google Sky launched now I wonder if we'll be able to fly space shuttles anytime soon?
- thelastdyingday, on 10/10/2007, -37/+3Seems like a nice feature, but in reality, how many people will really use it?
- HillerMylife, on 07/24/2008, -0/+31Probably more people than used the Microsoft Excel flight simulator.
- howyoudoin, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2lulz
- specialK16, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Dugg for being one of the few persons in the world who knew that.
- michiamojoe, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1explanation?
- specialK16, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3http://vsbabu.org/software/fsxls.html
- 80hd, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1South Africans apparently.
From the article..."Unfortunately with poor bandwidth in South Africa most of the scenes didn't get a chance to fully load before going out of view" - ulmanor, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0"but in reality, how many people will really use it?"
Hence the fact that this is an unadvertised, hidden featureā¦
OED: "Easter egg, n." A message hidden as a joke in the object code of a program; an unexpected or undocumented feature in a piece of software, intended as a joke or bonus
- HillerMylife, on 07/24/2008, -0/+31Probably more people than used the Microsoft Excel flight simulator.
- kgilkerson, on 10/10/2007, -4/+217Best Easter Egg Ever!
- Jalh, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2hell yeah ,
- Myonosken, on 10/10/2007, -3/+44Dunno. That one in Excel 97 was cool.
- code2joy, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2hell yeah
- JorgeGT, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4I don't know, the rap of Yoda...
- CATSCEO, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Agreed. 1337!
- blup3ace, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I want missiles and bombs.
- chulium, on 10/10/2007, -0/+24A good start, I can see why they want it hidden for now, though. (By the way, flying higher seems to appear more realistic especially in urban areas.)
- HunterTV, on 10/10/2007, -1/+37Flying higher in urban areas is more realistic because there's a higher per capita of dealers.
Wait. What?
- HunterTV, on 10/10/2007, -1/+37Flying higher in urban areas is more realistic because there's a higher per capita of dealers.
- acoot, on 10/10/2007, -6/+13WOW
- celkin, on 10/10/2007, -13/+10That's a great idea! Google Earth of Warcraft...
- rationalist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1That would be GEoW
- jedikv, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1More like Google Azeroth
- celkin, on 10/10/2007, -13/+10That's a great idea! Google Earth of Warcraft...
- Ap31r0n, on 10/10/2007, -1/+93Step 1 complete...
I give it 6 years before I have my very own avatar running around in google's earth...- bitcloud, on 10/10/2007, -8/+4Thats whats always missing from vehicle games... Being able to get out of your plane and walk around would really give a sense of scale that I think is missing
- TheCheeks, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1There was a game back on Win98 that had that. It was almost like a Mech game, you could exit and run around with 10 story tall Mechs walking around, and i think you could hijack them?
- specialK16, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Urm, Grand Theft Auto?
- EndersGame, on 10/10/2007, -0/+40I give it another 6 years before we are all living in google's earth..
- toxicredm, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Is that 6 years before everyone has a character in some type of Google Earth game, or 6 years before Google owns the planet? Either way, it would be pretty cool.
- Hindu_Wardrobe, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1It'd be like Second Life, only with actual Earth. Whoah.
- aaronm67, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12And 6 years from now, GMail and Google Earth will both still be in beta.
- edsonmedina, on 10/10/2007, -0/+26 years? I'll give it 3-4 years at most.
- bitcloud, on 10/10/2007, -8/+4Thats whats always missing from vehicle games... Being able to get out of your plane and walk around would really give a sense of scale that I think is missing
- quami16, on 10/10/2007, -1/+24I just buzzed my house.
- SLYK, on 10/10/2007, -4/+75I just carpet-bombed your sister.
- fondlesackwi, on 10/10/2007, -20/+2hahahahahah!
- GliTCH82, on 10/10/2007, -21/+3It's only funny if you don't laugh. God, have you not figured that out yet, newbie?
- knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1what are we encouraging people to supress their emotions on digg now? ***** THAT *****!
- knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1what are we encouraging people to supress their emotions on digg now? ***** THAT *****!
- Kazanoe, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3GliTCH82 has gained +3 *****-ish-ness!
GliTCH82 has gained a level!
- GliTCH82, on 10/10/2007, -21/+3It's only funny if you don't laugh. God, have you not figured that out yet, newbie?
- knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0what is carpet bombing?
- SLYK, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1an elaborate act, performed by only the most skilled, CUNNING, pilots.
- fondlesackwi, on 10/10/2007, -20/+2hahahahahah!
- SLYK, on 10/10/2007, -4/+75I just carpet-bombed your sister.
- Richandler, on 10/10/2007, -0/+173I want to see the make a driving simulator with street view.
- masterfoo, on 10/10/2007, -3/+16I'm waiting for Google Ocean
- shlorn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+21I am waiting for Google Homes, where you can explore the inside of every house on earth. The thief's dream. (im not a thief)
- knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1That would be awesome. It's always interesting to see how people live. I can have virtual guest and I can show off my paintings and stuff, you could meet real people without having to burn fuel to get to people's houses, establish relationships.
Google kicks so much ass there aren't any smooth buttocks without bruises left anymore. The ass-tappers' nightmare.
- knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1That would be awesome. It's always interesting to see how people live. I can have virtual guest and I can show off my paintings and stuff, you could meet real people without having to burn fuel to get to people's houses, establish relationships.
- FaithclubDotNet, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Ever since Test Drive has been out for the c64, I dreamt of a nationwide size game where a bunch of people could play against each other in a CannonBall run across the US :P
- dlsspy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Fly lower.
- Prathik89, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1joining google sky, Imagine space travel :)
- Nivekmi, on 10/10/2007, -14/+48Awesome, works with my flight sim joystiq
EDIT: lol I can't believe I spelled it joystiq...- cdemi, on 10/10/2007, -3/+81i like how instead of editing your misspelled word you laugh about yourself and leave the word misspelled
- Nivekmi, on 10/10/2007, -19/+3it's late and I'm tired and for some reason, it just totally slipped my mind to just fix it. lol
- rationalist, on 10/10/2007, -0/+18Chat rooms are down the hall.
- Jugalator, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Well it's more fun that way :)
- Nivekmi, on 10/10/2007, -19/+3it's late and I'm tired and for some reason, it just totally slipped my mind to just fix it. lol
- sufiboy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7joystiq is the web 2.0 name
- cdemi, on 10/10/2007, -3/+81i like how instead of editing your misspelled word you laugh about yourself and leave the word misspelled
- Spr0k3t, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12Flight mode has been in Google Earth since it came out of Beta... however, they just now put in these cool tools. Go fly the Hawaiian islands for some stellar scenery. I can't wait until the auto-pilot feature is enabled for flight around landmarks.
- Tobiaswk, on 10/10/2007, -1/+26This so cool. Very cool easter egg,
The first step for Google Games? ;)- arcooke, on 10/10/2007, -1/+17Something like this was inevitable. Google Earth has always had the perfect framework for a flight sim. Added to that the fact that all the content is downloaded dynamically so players don't have to install GB upon GB of image data. I can't wait to see where they go with this (hopefully they do go somewhere with it).
- Fartag, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3It'd be fantastic in ten years if Google worked towards multi-view 3-D model construction with optional uploaded (live video / picture) content for public places / businesses / houses inside and out. Certainly less privacy w/out auto-people filters, but everybody who wanted could access it too...
- Fartag, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3It'd be fantastic in ten years if Google worked towards multi-view 3-D model construction with optional uploaded (live video / picture) content for public places / businesses / houses inside and out. Certainly less privacy w/out auto-people filters, but everybody who wanted could access it too...
- arcooke, on 10/10/2007, -1/+17Something like this was inevitable. Google Earth has always had the perfect framework for a flight sim. Added to that the fact that all the content is downloaded dynamically so players don't have to install GB upon GB of image data. I can't wait to see where they go with this (hopefully they do go somewhere with it).
- agann, on 10/10/2007, -10/+1Florid aerobatic flight Pictures http://www.linkinn.com/_breathtaking_but_florid_aerobatic_flight
- specialK16, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Wow! That was done in Google Earth! Awesome!
- kenvsryu, on 10/10/2007, -10/+2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7z6Yxs69rQ
- arcooke, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2Thanks, I was looking for a video. The guy who's narrating it stumbles too much though.. needs to learn how to show and tell at the same time. Very annoying.
- arcooke, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11Bury my other comment. I take that back. That video is nothing more than blog spam.. it only shows about 10 seconds of actual flight, and whoever created the video didn't even know how to fly.. just crashed into the ground. The rest of the 3+ minutes was spent talking about "hey, visit my blog and tell me what you think", and "find out more controls at my blog at www.mystupidblog.info, I repeat www.mystupidblog.I-N-F-O". I am really starting to hate blogs.
- rkettner, on 10/10/2007, -12/+123Google better be careful... Bush might claim this to be a terrorist training tool.
- rd3k, on 10/10/2007, -1/+33yup - especially with the 3D buildings that you can fly through
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/2280/flybx1.png
- rd3k, on 10/10/2007, -1/+33yup - especially with the 3D buildings that you can fly through
- MagicCake, on 10/10/2007, -3/+5Oh no, crash-an-F16-into-a-building simulator! *gasp*
Kidding, kidding. I just tried it, that's a great little extra. It looks surprisingly cool over urban areas. One thing: I wish you could remap the keys to a gamepad (in my case, a wireless Xbox 360 controller). It detects it and allows me to use the left analog stick as a joystick, but I can't perform the other functions with it. Still, a very fun feature.- Manuelmty, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1how do you use xbox wireless controller as a joystick in vista?
- MagicCake, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You need the wireless receiver thingy. It's like $20. Wait, here, look:
http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-Wireless-Gaming-Receiver-Windows/dp/B000HZFCT2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-7520589-9575150?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1188671011&sr=8-1
Once you have that, you can just sync the controller with the PC like you would with a new Xbox. Most games and applications recognize it as a gamepad or joystick, and pretty much all new PC games recognize it and let you completely use it as you would with a console game. Overlord, for example, recognizes it and has the same controls as the 360 version. It even shows you the controller buttons during tutorials, same as on the console. Well worth the $20, if you already have the controller lying around.
- MagicCake, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You need the wireless receiver thingy. It's like $20. Wait, here, look:
- g2g079, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The 360 controller does work great on a PC, especially for emulators. What you could do to get more functionality out of its is to use the program Joy2Key to asign the rest of the keys. http://interreality.org/~tetron/technology/joy2key/joy2key-1.6.tar.gz
- g2g079, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Im sorry that was the linux version. Here's the windows download http://www.electracode.com/4/joy2key/JoyToKey%20English%20Version_files/jtk374en.zip
and an explanation http://www.electracode.com/4/joy2key/JoyToKey%20English%20Version.htm , my apologies.
- g2g079, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Im sorry that was the linux version. Here's the windows download http://www.electracode.com/4/joy2key/JoyToKey%20English%20Version_files/jtk374en.zip
- Manuelmty, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1how do you use xbox wireless controller as a joystick in vista?
- jhop, on 10/10/2007, -4/+9This is absolutely awesome. Flight controls are rudimentary if your accustomed to X-Plane. Speaking of which... Google should buy Laminar and consolidate Google Earth and X-Plane. If I didn't have a heart attack as a result, I would have a ***** of fun.
- WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -6/+1Google should merge with e360insight...so they can deliver their spam right to your house, wherever you are.
- sg7791, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0Hm... These controls are actually universal for most flight simulators. And, FlightGear already uses Google maps. That merger looks more realistic.
- WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -2/+29Damn. Now all these geeks are going to try to land on my rooftop.
- raytibbitts, on 10/10/2007, -4/+20anybody figure out what to do if your keyboard doesn't have pageup?
- oojamaflip2006, on 10/10/2007, -5/+26Buy a decent keyboard?
- raytibbitts, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I am retarted, I actually had ever paid attention to that little "fn" key - who knew that it was so useful?
A whole new dimension of usefulness has just opened up for me.
- raytibbitts, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I am retarted, I actually had ever paid attention to that little "fn" key - who knew that it was so useful?
- Grummond, on 10/10/2007, -4/+8?
What kinda keyboard doesn't have Page Up?
Get a real keyboard? - flowaus, on 10/10/2007, -6/+18Dugg up for being the stupidest comment on Digg today.
- Fartag, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6If you're running Linux (or something with an X server in general?) try running xkeycaps.
Right click the graphic keyboard's 'Page Up' key, click 'Exchange Keys', and click some other key you won't be using to temporarily swap them.
I think that's supposed to stick until you restart your X session (or restore / remap keys again).. - sg7791, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I sympathize. Use 9 and L... On mac at least. That may only work if you have a keypad overlapping your keyboard though.
- Stirk, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5If you're on a mac laptop, you can hit fn + up arrow to get page up.
Otherwise, there should be a page up key on your keyboard..
- Stirk, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5If you're on a mac laptop, you can hit fn + up arrow to get page up.
- rationalist, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14Try using the Any key.
- jczubach, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1on my MBP Page up/ down is controlled by Command up/down arrows, give it a whirl. cheers.
- mf0thrilla, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I'm having the same problem. Macbook Pro has no page up or down key. I could take a picture for all you nerds who seem to think we need to get real keyboards.
- Chipsandsnacks, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2fn + up seems to work
- oojamaflip2006, on 10/10/2007, -5/+26Buy a decent keyboard?
- bart5986, on 10/10/2007, -2/+30This is so much fun with my joystick.
Here's a screenshot of me flying in New York
http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/7904/flightsimhf0.jpg- bart5986, on 10/10/2007, -1/+33and Flight Simulator X at the same location if you were curious on how it would look :)
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/4448/fsx33pk7.jpg- pr1268, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0WTF is the Citicorp Tower doing over in Queens??? And on top of that, it's rotated 90 degrees.
I haven't purchased Flight Sim X yet - Please tell me they didn't sink Prince Edward Island (like FS2002 did).
- pr1268, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0WTF is the Citicorp Tower doing over in Queens??? And on top of that, it's rotated 90 degrees.
- jboogie10, on 11/17/2007, -9/+3Why are you so interested in flying over New York. Are you a terrorist?
- bart5986, on 10/10/2007, -1/+33and Flight Simulator X at the same location if you were curious on how it would look :)
- init100, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Well, that was really cool.
- Kronos6948, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3I just got Google Earth to try this out, and for some reason I can't get it to work. I have windows, and I've done Ctrl+alt+A, and nothing.
- Kronos6948, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3NVM...I got it. Turns out that every time I tried to do it, I was actually typing a bunch of A's in the search field. One swift click onto the actual image and I was OK.
- arcooke, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11That has gotten me killed in so many multiplayer games.. unable to move for some reason, only to find out I have the chat function on.
- pgm_01, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2I got it to start by going to the San Francisco airport.
- whistlerpro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3So you're the one that's wanted for questioning for stealing a small aircraft and flying it into a warehouse in Milwaukee? Yeah, sorry mate, that wasn't Google Earth.
- Kronos6948, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3NVM...I got it. Turns out that every time I tried to do it, I was actually typing a bunch of A's in the search field. One swift click onto the actual image and I was OK.
- jm1234567890, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5http://earth.google.com/intl/en/userguide/v4/flightsim/index.html
- wolfer, on 10/10/2007, -3/+30Google has everything.
- colinm, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2Doesn't seem to work on the latest Linux version (4.2.0180.1134): Ctrl+Alt+A does nothing.
- colinm, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Ctrl+Windows+A fixed it (as per tip below)
- PhilH, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9Plain old Ctrl-A worked for me.
- Waterrat, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1In Linux?
- GeyserShitdick, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4If you're using linux, try ctrl-a or ctrl-alt-a in just regular google earth, not google sky.
You still have to have google sky installed, of course. - pr1268, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Ctrl-A worked for me in Linux - and I do NOT have Google Sky installed (at least not yet).
Far be it for Google to release features for Windows only - my impression is that any application they release for multiple OSes (Windows, Mac, Linux) has the same features for each OS version. After all, a lot of their developers have Linux or Mac workstations.
- thomasprebble, on 10/10/2007, -0/+53Someone is really making good use of their 20%!
- IsaacCubed, on 10/10/2007, -3/+8Google Earth continues to amaze me
- rd3k, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11Anyone succeed in landing properly?
- jordn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12yep. its easier to do it in the light aircraft. Get you speed to >100, and slowly come in parallel to the ground. When you are about to touch down, pull slightly up to engage your rear wheels first.
i managed to take off from LAX, and land on the freeway outside downtown LA. :)
i hope they add some online/multiplayer dogfight stuff tho. - charl1e, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I found that putting the flaps up (]) helped.
I landed on a golf course in the UK (in the F16 Viper). - twotimesthru, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I just started to get landing down. I spent the past few minutes practicing in the desert flats of Nevada. There, you have plenty of room for trial and error.
- Archeologist, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Wouldn't want to crash in the the buildings right? ...
- GeorgeCostanza, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's nice practising around Area 51, the runway is HUGE.
- jordn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12yep. its easier to do it in the light aircraft. Get you speed to >100, and slowly come in parallel to the ground. When you are about to touch down, pull slightly up to engage your rear wheels first.
- Double-Z, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12For those who can not get it to work, I had to use Ctrl-WindowsKey-A to get it to work.
- TheLD, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5That is how to do it on European keyboards
- Heggy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Ctrl + A worked for me.
- TheLD, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5That is how to do it on European keyboards
- OropheR, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6I am looking forwad of game development with Google Earth. Flight Simulator is a start, but maybe later combat, or even war strategy games.
- aliguana, on 10/10/2007, -5/+5damn, I hope not. Using the GoogleEarth data as a backbone to games is one thing, but bloating out the GoogleEarth client is quite another. Google Earth is an educational tool, used by everyone from schools to TV News channels. Google : this "easter egg" is one thing, but please, for the love of god, don't turn the GoogleEarth client into some kind of Second Life.
- rashiidmatar, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0you should check out Google Earth War. It is a risk style game that uses GE for the visualizations.
Each city is assigned a value and you fight over them in order to control the most value points.
www.gewar.net
- ZackRabbit, on 10/10/2007, -1/+38Do a barrel roll
- aliguana, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10no, don't do a barrel roll, because they're impossible to get out of. I just re-enacted the opening scene of the Six Million Dollar Man about 8 times. She's breaking up!
- t2t2, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I don't know, i managed to do some... just took alot time to get back stable
- nickbarber, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1They are really easy to get in and out of if you are using your mouse instead of your keyboard.
- thailand1972, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8I did that. What I want to know is: how do you NOT do a barrel roll?
- MilitantRabbit, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6USE THE BRAKE!
- aliguana, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10no, don't do a barrel roll, because they're impossible to get out of. I just re-enacted the opening scene of the Six Million Dollar Man about 8 times. She's breaking up!
- Konstantinopol, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2great job finding this feature!
- richardwooding, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2I'm so proud this feature was announced on a South African's blog. I've been flying around Cape Town right now.
- Grummond, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Such as...South Africa and Iraq?
- macbwizard, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I think you mean "the Iraq"
- marcog, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0May I also point out that I'm from Cape Town as well. :P
- Grummond, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Such as...South Africa and Iraq?
- chrisis, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I found out why it won't work for some people - if the language is set to something else than english (if your system is in a different language, google earth defaults to that language) just set google earth to english manually - then it works!
- x00x, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5It is surprising that Google didn't choose to promote this intriguing little program of theirs. Nevertheless, the flight simulator controls are nothing to get excited about. They're extremely limited and simplistic in implementation. Still cool, though.
- marcog, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0They added Sky in the same release, so my guess is that in order to create as much attention over Sky as possible they chose to keep this secret. But hey, it's been discovered and I think it's received a fair amount of attention. Hopefully the attention won't die down too soon and word will spread.
It's also worth noting that they've launched new features unpublicised like this before. I think this is a fairly major one, however.- x00x, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1What I think is most interesting about Google's release of the Flight Simulator is that I think it's the first time ever Google has released a program that in of itself has no web 2.0 application or objective other than granting the public a compellingly fun, whimsical past time. In terms of giving Google's any technological edge its meaningless but in terms of great PR for Google it's priceless.
It's got everyone thinking what a lovely, thoughtful gesture. Long Live Google!
- x00x, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1What I think is most interesting about Google's release of the Flight Simulator is that I think it's the first time ever Google has released a program that in of itself has no web 2.0 application or objective other than granting the public a compellingly fun, whimsical past time. In terms of giving Google's any technological edge its meaningless but in terms of great PR for Google it's priceless.
- marcog, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0They added Sky in the same release, so my guess is that in order to create as much attention over Sky as possible they chose to keep this secret. But hey, it's been discovered and I think it's received a fair amount of attention. Hopefully the attention won't die down too soon and word will spread.
- Hamsterpotpies, on 10/10/2007, -6/+2Why?
- Pixelpaws, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Because they can.
- lastrite, on 10/10/2007, -6/+1Nice find, too bad it lags like crazy on my 8800GTX :S
- thomasprebble, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Why does it lag "like crazy" on your 8800GTX? I've got a 5700LE and it runs with no lag.
- lastrite, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Just figured it out, it was running in direct x mode :S In opengl it runs great *phew*
- 30h193ool28t21, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5your internetz must be too slow
- specialK16, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Lol, it doesn't lag in my GeForce 4.... there must be something terribly wrong with your setup.
- thomasprebble, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Why does it lag "like crazy" on your 8800GTX? I've got a 5700LE and it runs with no lag.
- PhilH, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16The next stage for GE is definitely environmental effects like weather and a day/night system. Sure, you can play this with a clouds layer enabled, but it's just not the same. Google sky should also be projected above the Earth when flying at night.
- livatlantis, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Wow, Kathmandu for default airport. (Yes, I want to shout "My home airport!!"). Where else do you see that? :D
- Tatcat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Are you from Nepal? good.
- Darcy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+34I've just discovered that I'm the most ***** pilot ever.
- aliguana, on 10/10/2007, -0/+17sorry to burst your bubble, but that honour would go to me ;)
For some reason, when I hit the left/right arrow controls, my plane goes into an uncontrollable spin that I can't get out of. I just crashed into the Houses Of Parliament... opps, sorry Mr Brown..- ChrisMP1, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0The left/right arrow keys move the ailerons; letting go doesn't move them back. You need to watch the display in the bottom-left corner, left arrow to roll, then right arrow to move the ailerons back. You can also press 'c' to quickly center.
- jordn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6fly using the light aircraft and use the mouse. far easier =)
- aliguana, on 10/10/2007, -0/+17sorry to burst your bubble, but that honour would go to me ;)
- fzmaster, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Incredible. Very nice =D
- karmak1ng, on 10/10/2007, -10/+2Is it still considered 'hidden' if there's a link under Tools that says 'Enter Flight Simulator' ?
Somebody alert Jack Thompson - it's 9/11 Simulator!- aliguana, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1the menu option only appears AFTER you Crtl+alt+a to fire it up the first time
- swrlyhrly, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Heh. I tried flying the F-16 into buildings in New York. It's not as easy as i thought it would be. CONSPIRACY!!!
/jk on conspiracy
- PaddyD, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Can't get it to work at all. Have tried Ctrl+Alt+A and Ctrl-Windowskey-A. Still nothing. Anyone help me out here?
- DeFex, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1i had to try each one a few times before it worked, one of them worked.
- darny, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3you might need to upgrade to the latest version
- healingcommoner, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I checked for updates and downloaded the latest version.
- cracker42, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Ctrl+A worked for me in Vista
- sonu27, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It worked! Thanks
- jazzmess, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I couldn't get it to work either, until I went to the San Francisco airport's runway and tried the shortcut from there.
- montyxc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I can see my house from here! I can see my neighbor's house from here! I can see your house from here! Now I have another reason to use G'Earth ALL day!
- Garfunkel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6this is ***** awesome!!!
haha, i just made my school go to hell :) - Sikarian, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Is there any way to reset the camera view?
- hamstu, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Crash and continue?
- g2g079, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2numpad 5 will make you go striaght in whatever direction your headed
- g2g079, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2numpad 5 will make you go striaght in whatever direction your headed
- hamstu, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Crash and continue?
- smackit, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I can see this being the start of a few things! google Virtual earth/life thing. second life eat your heart out! Pretty soon there will be a skethcup model of my local cinema, ill meet my friends virtually on google earth as avatars, and we will be able to pay to go in and watch a movie online! woop woop
- darny, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3WOW!!! That'd be JUST like....going to...the movies....with....your..........friends.
- DarkDx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Dear Google,
I'm myself a google earth user, seeing tha tyou implemented fly controls, sky and upgrade your client, please don't bloat google earth with some kind of secon style thing. We just need night/day cycle and all the stars from Google Sky to be projected in the sky
Sincerely yours,
Thanks - Seaton, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Wow, the whole cinema thing, sounds....exactly....like....Second....Life. You know, except for the pay part.
- crayzeee, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3sad, but my country isn't rendered well.. still..
- musntSurfatWork, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7..no, it's probably an accurate rendition of the aftermath of the googleearth-USAF having pulverised your locale.
- spyofchaos, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0OMFG this is gonna spawn terrorists help. hehehe
- mapkinase, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It is just a scale diagram overlay over the picture.
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