Reimagining Flight Simulator: Then and Now

This article explores the evolution of flight simulation, focusing on the creation of realistic large-scale terrain in the web-based Flight Arcade.

Key Developments in Flight Simulation:

• 1980's Genesis: The original Flight Simulator (1980) was groundbreaking, rendering a 3D world manually without 3D frameworks, showcasing remarkable programming skill.
• Web-Based Reimagining: Flight Arcade leverages the capabilities of the new Microsoft Edge browser and EdgeHTML rendering engine, offering a modern take on flight simulation.
• Heightmap Terrain Generation: Realistic terrain is achieved using heightmaps, 2D images representing elevation data, a technique also employed in GIS. This method offers compact data storage and intuitive design/editing in tools like Photoshop.
• WebGL Shaders for Detail: WebGL shaders enhance terrain realism by adding detailed textures, particularly noticeable at close range. A custom shader blends a base texture with noise for increased detail.

(Note: Interactive code and examples are available at: https://www.php.cn/link/291925ddbc6e2d194d0c22d268e0f865)

Heightmaps: A Simple Yet Powerful Technique

The article details the use of heightmaps to create the 3D terrain. Black represents the lowest point, white the highest, with grayscales indicating intermediate elevations. This straightforward approach provides sufficient detail for Flight Arcade, while more complex applications may utilize the full color spectrum for greater precision. Heightmaps offer advantages over traditional polygonal meshes due to their compact size and ease of editing within image manipulation software.

(Interactive demo available)

The Flight Arcade heightmap, created in Photoshop, is based on a Pacific Ocean island chain. The image clearly shows "flat" areas for the runway and village.

(Flight Arcade's heightmap)

(Texture mapped onto the 3D mesh)

From Heightmap to 3D Mesh using Babylon.js

Babylon.js simplifies the conversion of the heightmap image into a 3D mesh. The subdivisions parameter controls the level of detail, significantly impacting the vertex count. A wireframe texture aids in visualizing the heightmap-to-mesh conversion process.

(Code snippets illustrating heightmap decoding and wireframe texture application are omitted for brevity but are available in the original article.)

Enhancing Texture Detail with WebGL Shaders

A large texture image (initially 4096x4096, later reduced to 2048x2048) was used, but to improve detail, especially at close range, a custom shader was implemented. This shader blends the base texture with a noise texture, creating a more realistic appearance.

(Before and after shader application)

The shader consists of vertex and fragment shaders written in GLSL. The vertex shader handles standard texture mapping, while the fragment shader blends the base and noise textures, also incorporating fog effects based on distance from the camera.

(Code snippets for the vertex and fragment shaders are omitted for brevity but are available in the original article.)

Conclusion

Flight Arcade demonstrates how heightmaps and WebGL shaders can create realistic large-scale terrain in web-based 3D environments. This approach offers advantages in terms of data efficiency and design workflow, showcasing the power of modern web technologies. The article also highlights various Microsoft resources for learning JavaScript and web development. A FAQ section addresses common questions about flight simulators in general.

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