Tinker Pilot: A Cockpit Builder Sim in Early Access!

After being in development for quite a while, Tinker Pilot has finally come out in Early Access on Steam! This small indie title is one that we had kept our eye on for quite a while, because it offered something that we found extremely appealing: Total VR cockpit customization.

Usually in VR games you are stuck with having your flight controls placed wherever the developer puts them, which most of the time is for good reason since you will be flying a simulated version of a real aircraft. In the case of space flight sims, that doesn't have to apply since 5-3 designers make up whatever they want!

Tinker Pilot takes this concept and let's YOU, the player, design your own cockpit layout. It is the entire point of this game, hence the Tinker in Tinker Pilot.

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BUILD YOUR OWN COCKPIT

While unintuitive at first, and a bit overwhelming, the cockpit editor proved to be by far the most polished aspect of this title. You can build your own layout using 3D models of your own IRL hardware and place it in the virtual cockpit in the same position that it is IRL.

From throttles, to sticks and pedals, the game lets you decide how close to your real life set up you will get. In my case, there was no Winwing Ursa Minor stick or Thrustmaster pedals, so I made do with what was available. Fret not, that if you want, you can also import your own 3D models that represent your hardware!

I spent around 45 minutes making my virtual cockpit, adding arm rests made from supports and placing screens around to better suit my workflow, including some virtual buttons wherever they fit in a logical manner.

Once I was done binding my controls, it took no effort at all to get flying straight away. The tutorial is very straightforward and dummy-proof, and you will find yourself navigating space in glorious 6DoF in no time at all.

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EARLY ACCESS CONTENT VACUUM

Content-wise, the game is a bit lacking as of the writing of this video. I was done with most of the content the game had to offer, which are three separate scenarios including two trials and a recovery mission, in around 35 to 45 minutes. I am sure this can be a problem for some people, hence why we are discussing it here.

Once the game has more content, I can guarantee that it will be a blast to go through it all in your customized cockpit for your space fighter! Keep an eye out for this title and its upcoming updates, because I will be doing that for sure.

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About the Author

Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos

Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s, leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy