Reno Air Racing
Flight Simulation In Holding
Pattern
An Interview With
Software Developer Pat Hunt
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You’re
in a P-51 Mustang flying
fifty feet above the
rocky desert floor. Below,
rocks and sagebrush flash
by in a blur. Just in
front of your windscreen,
twelve cylinders turn a
massive propeller beating
the hot desert air into
submission. Coming into
view now, the next pylon
appears.
This is it
– the last turn
– and yet it is gone
in a flash, almost before
you see it.
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| Ahead
of you, a tall, blue and
white checkered tower
with the word RENO
emblazoned upon its
length... Home
Pylon... the checkered
flag...
You’ve
done it... you have won
the Unlimited Gold at the
National Championship Air
Races in Reno, Nevada!
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Sound like a dream?
For
most of us, this is as close as
we might ever get to the
unbelievable experience of flying
at the Reno Air Races.
Close
your eyes, hear the engine, feel
the power that you control in
your hands. Amazing...how can I
be here in this place and time
with THIS much power in my
grasp...
Just
a dream?
Maybe
not!
For
the last several years, a team of
six computer gaming programmers
have been working on bringing
this "dream flight" to
life for anyone who has a home
computer. The thrill of high
speed flight, combined with low,
fast, screaming engines and
propellers.
 Competing
with your fellow racers all
around you.... right on your
desktop.
Sometimes
it seems those things we want
most are the most elusive. This
particular flight simulation
being created by Victory
Interactive would seem to be one
of those things.
We’ve
been following the on again off
again progress of this game for
several years, as it evolved
through the early stages of
development, becoming a nearly
complete, ready for market, full
featured, Air Racing simulation.
Originally
under the wing of gaming software
producer, Papyrus, the Reno Air
Racing game was dropped and
production halted. The early
reports of Reno Air Racing had us
on the edges of our seats in
eager anticipation... and then no
more word of it. Like a distant
mirage in the desert, just when
you are almost able to touch it,
feel it, see it to be real... it
fades away. Just out of reach.
Then,
earlier this year, the magic
words: "It’s on
again!" There would be a
Reno Air Racing simulation on our
desktops... along with even
better news... it might make it
to market before Reno!!!
If
you’ve ever followed the
computer game development
process, you will be familiar
with release dates that seem to
move away like that desert
mirage, a seemingly never ending
wait for the magic words:
"It’s Gone
Gold!!!" Meaning, the final
release version has been written
and in the hands of the software
developer is a magic disk.
 Actually
gold in color, this disk
represents literally thousands of
hours work on a seemingly endless
list of complex processes,
graphic models and feature lists.
Once completed, this mass of data
and images come together in a
product that will create the
illusion of flight and carry
thousands of people off to
millions of hours of delightful
escape from reality, into the
world of virtual flight itself.
As
we mentioned in Part One of this
article, this "road to
gold" can sometimes become
rocky, and this has been the case
with "Reno Air Racing."
The
question is this: "Where is
'Reno Air Racing' now!?"
For
some answers and a ray of hope,
we talked with the president of
Victory Interactive, Pat Hunt...
Our
first question was the most
obvious one: What’s next?
A
somewhat frustrated Hunt replied,
"Who Knows?"
Though
the somewhat bleak outlook
indicated by Pat’s first
response might discourage fans
awaiting this simulation, Hunt
continued on a more positive
note: "We’re talking to
a lot of other publishers and
it’s so far done, we’re
almost there."
Pat
told us the simulation is very
close to completion, nearly ready
for a publisher to take it to
market. We asked if we might see
this happen soon?
"I
would certainly think so,"
replied Hunt,
continuing..."it’s just
a question of finding a
publisher. We’ve already
found one publisher that wants
it. It’s really a question
of what kind of terms or deals we
can get for Victory
Interactive."
Was
there any forewarning from Mattel
that this surprise announcement
was coming?
According
to Hunt, "It kind of came
out of the blue. They were real
happy with it. I think it was
just an economic issue with them.
We’re what they call in the
'Beta Phase' – we’re
very close to [being] weeks away
from finishing it... It is a
matter of weeks away from being
finished," added Hunt, who
cited widespread interest in the
Reno Air Racing simulation:
"I
think that there is a tremendous
market out there," said
Hunt. "Considering the
thousands of fans who attend
Reno, Oshkosh and other air
shows, there is really no other
product out there like this. In
the gaming industry, flight sims
have, essentially, died. In air
combat, I mean. To me this is
still very exciting because
it’s like NASCAR in
airplanes."
 Hunt added:
"It’s racing in three
dimensions."
Most
of you reading this have probably
seen the website for
this product, along
with screen shots, descriptions
etc. We have talked with Pat and
the former producer of Reno Air
Racing in the past about what
would be in the finished product.
(listen to
interview)
Also,
with several more months into it
since our last conversation
– and knowing that there has
been an agreement struck with
several race teams to have their
airplanes modeled in the
simulation – we asked Pat
what it was like, flying the
pylons in the airplanes of Reno
Air Racing...
>>continued>>
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