VRChat Aviation: Fantasy Vehicle World《シルヴィア帝国領》by Symphony
- Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 minutes ago
VRChat has been home to some of the best and most fun VR flight experiences for a some years now, but it is clear that most worlds do tend to feel very same-y. Cookie cutter modern military aircraft, some terrain and wide skies. That has been the winning formula so far.
But on the Japanese side of the VRChat Aviation community, there are creators that want to push a different style and experience to the scene. You keep the military aircraft, add a bit of magic, wonder and some spells, all encapsulated in a stereotypical JRPG aesthetic. That is what Symphony, a well known Japanese creator, accomplished in Fantasy Vehicle World.
AN UNEXPECTED SETTING
When you join an aviation world in VRChat, you are usually greeted by a runway in front of you, a flight line full of aircraft and not much else. It tends to be very simple and to the point, since the focus of the world is the aircraft and not the world itself.
That is where Fantasy Vehicle World sets itself apart from the very beginning. The spawn area is more reminiscent of an MMO or a JRPG town, a place where I would be expected to pick up quests and turn in missions. You can even see some very basic NPCs that have a single line of dialogue in text, all of them in Japanese, of course. The entire town is explorable, but don't expect to find much aside from some chests that have hidden objects inside. It is certainly a big town, but it is still very much the backdrop for what the world is really about: flying.
You can access one of the two available aircraft spawn areas through walk-through portals located to the right of the initial respawn position. In these areas you can find three types of aircraft, all of them fictional versions of the following: Su-33, UH-60L and CH-47D.
NO COMBAT, ALL FUN
Just because these are all military aircraft doesn't mean that this is a combat-focused world, it's actually quite the opposite. The focus of this world is to peacefully fly around the walled city and enjoy the fantasy-filled views from the skies. That is why this is such a good place for the two helicopters that we found ourselves using the most.
The Blackhawk feels nimble and agile, while the Chinook feels heavy and planted. Both of them are adorned in a gray livery, with small but deliberate white accents all over. This look is one I found myself growing fond off, since they reminded me of some of the designs I used to do back in the day for aircraft in IL-2 1946 or even DCS.
The mixture of that modern cockpit with the fantasy medieval views that are straight out of any popular JRPG is quite the contrast, and one that I just hadn't seen done properly in VRChat or anywhere else. I was so used to the typical boring airbases and aircraft carriers that this world just struck a cord with me.
Some of the most fun that we had while we were flying was actually using the Chinook to airlift a Blackhawk while one of our friends, Psyrenkun, was inside it. It took us a couple of tries to properly line up the Chinook and the help of Hueman as a ground spotter, but we had the UH-60L hooked and flying, not under its own power.
Have I done this with aircraft in other worlds? Yes. Have I done this in a fantasy world with modern helicopters and placed a Blackhawk on top of a tower like an Amazon Delivery drone? No, I have not. Therefore, this world has delivered a completely new experience.
GIVE THIS WORLD A TRY!
This world is, at the very least, a very optimized fantasy flight experience that I would recommend to anyone. If what you want is to just relax with your friends, fly around some helicopters or some Sukhois, this world is a decent option for you.
Symphony did a fantastic job with the world, and the vibes are so on point that I will surely find myself coming back here just to fly around the city again. And so should you.
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
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