''Flying Corps'' is a 1997

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

developed by

Rowan Software Rowan Software was a British software company focused on the development of computer games. The company was founded by Rod Hyde in 1987 and based in Runcorn, Cheshire. Rowan was best known as a publisher of flight simulators for the PC. The comp ...

and published by

Empire Interactive Empire Interactive was a British video game developer and publisher based in London. Founded in 1987 by Ian Higgins and Simon Jeffrey, it was acquired by Silverstar Holdings in 2006 and went out of business in 2009. History Empire Interacti ...

Theme

It was one of the most popular flight simulators of its time due to its accurate flight models and graphics, and also the novelty factor of a First World War

dog fight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

simulator. ''Flying Corps'' is one of the few flight simulators to have dealt with the First World War - ''

Red Baron Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seco ...

'', ''

Knights of the Sky ''Knights of the Sky'' is a World War I combat flight simulator designed by Jeff Briggs and published by MicroProse in 1990 for MS-DOS. Ports to the Amiga and Atari ST followed in 1991. A MicroProse action- strategy game titled ''Knights of the ...

'' and the more arcade-oriented ''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

'' have attempted to do the same, but most companies focus on modern air combat and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

(usually the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended ...

Plot

The game is split in four campaigns: ''The

Flying Circus Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

'' (1917), '' Battle of Cambrai 1917'', '' German spring offensive'' (1918) and ''

Hat In The Ring A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

'' (1918). Several airplanes are available, including the

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the be ...

, the

Nieuport 28 The Nieuport 28 C.1, a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War I, was built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the Nieupo ...

and the

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

Release history

It was reshipped later in 1997 with

3dfx 3dfx Interactive was an American technology company headquartered in San Jose, California, founded in 1994, that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics processing units, and later, video cards. It was a pioneer in the field from the ...

support and a few extras in a package named ''Flying Corps Gold''.

Reception

''Flying Corps'' was a runner-up for ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through t ...

''s 1996 "Simulation Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to ''

Jane's AH-64D Longbow ''AH-64D Longbow'' is a realistic combat flight simulator of the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter. Released on June 3, 1996, for the PC, this simulation was developed at Origin Systems. ''AH-64D Longbow'' was the second simulator release ...

''. The editors wrote that ''Flying Corps'' "sports perhaps the best flight models ever seen on a prop-based sim; only quirky views and steep performance requirements kept it from the crown." ''Flying Corps'' was also a runner-up for ''Computer Game Entertainment''s 1996 "Best Simulation Game" prize, which ultimately went to ''

''. The editors called ''Flying Corps'' "arguably the best World War I flight simulator in existence." ''Flying Corps'' was named the 14th best computer game ever by ''

PC Gamer UK ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' in 1997. The editors praised its "planes so convincing you can actually taste the corned beef and dry biscuits the pilots probably had to eat".

References

External links

* {{Rowan Software 1997 video games DOS games Windows games World War I video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Combat flight simulators World War I flight simulation video games Empire Interactive games Rowan Software games Multiplayer and single-player video games