GroundFall: Island Hopping
- Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
From Rolling Mountains to Gleaming Beaches
"Well, damn." It has been a while since I've had a flight where the only way I can sum it up is a single socially acceptable explicative. But when you absolutely grease a difficult landing, it is hard not to feel a bit impressed with yourself. Gliding, engine off, tires hydroplaning on the ocean surface, cycling flaps to tweak the lift ratio and float over sea debris on the beach. The aircraft coming to a short stop on a picturesque beach... now that is flying.
GroundFall by Snow Creature has come a long-long way since 2021. Back then this bush flight focused game relied on survival game mechanics to survive in the mountain wilderness and scrounging fuel and repair kits to keep your aircraft flying. Eating beans around a campfire at dusk was just as vital as repairing the warped wing that bashed against a small tree during landing. The survival game mechanics are now optional for those that prefer a flight focused experience expected from a more traditional flight simulator.
As of the last two or three major updates, GroundFall has undergone quite the transformation.
The familiar mountains and forests from the base game are here and still being updated, though it is clear that the current focus is on the more tropical style bush flying. Honestly? I love the shift. I think the developer made the right call in making this change. There are bush flight scenarios in various Microsoft Flight Simulator iterations, and some standalone projects mainly focus on bush flying in North American Wilderness or Australian Outback type settings. As GroundFall is now, its new maps give an experience similar to that of landing in the hillside airstrips in places like Indonesia or the Philippines.
Despite being smaller landmasses, some of the islands still have the steep hills, valleys and considerable foliage players would expect from the type of bush flying they imagine. You could argue that massive forests in the Alaskan style terrain of the original maps are just as inaccessible as an ocean, but I would counter that by saying: water assisted landings.
That's right! Even the shortest patch of grass near a shoreline or a sandy beach can become an accessible runway with just enough airspeed and the right flap setting. This is a facet of flying I appreciate deeply.
In the new maps players are flying the nimble Kitfox 7. Though this aircraft does not have internal storage capacity like Piper Cub in the original three maps, the Kitfox feels easier to maneuver at dangerously low speeds. Players that take the time to become proficient with extreme low speed flying will find their efforts rewarded with some of the most engaging landings they have had in some time.
Speaking of the aircraft, a decent amount has updated on that as well. Trim settings can be adjusted automatically with airspeed and flight stick inputs, as mentioned water assisted landings are possible, the flight model is fine tuned to a point that flying into especially difficult airstrips with the engine off is viable. At times, it feels like that is the best way to approach airstrips that have no clear way to fly out of in the case of a botched approach.
On the ground the aircraft can be moved by hand with the new Push Point system. No longer does the aircraft engine need to be on with differential braking used to turn the aircraft around. In scenarios where the aircraft came to a stop in particularly tight places, being able to move the aircraft by hand both prevents potential damage and saves gas. The dynamic airplane damage system certainly makes landing and maneuvering the aircraft as careful as possible a major priority.
NPC characters offer objectives that encourage players to explore and pay in cash. Items that would normally be scavenged for can be purchased. The side objectives include turning on radio towers, flying to islands to spend a day fishing and even a few beer runs for the broskis. Of course, there are more than that, but that's an eclectic mix for sure. The new side objectives can be accomplished while fulfilling the standard land at every runway on the map checklist that is the default goal of GroundFall as a whole.
To say that my return to GroundFall was refreshing would be an understatement. It seems that every time I interact with this game, I find myself wanting to complete it from start to end over and over again.
About the Writer
Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [Read Staff Profile]
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