Introduction One of the many things that make flightsim more fun and interesting is the way in which users can pan around aircraft and get a “wing view” or a “controllers” view from the tower. Since FS hasn’t done much in terms of this, other than the spot, tower and virtual cockpit view, the screenshot takers have to be a lot more creative and work with a limited amount of views to demonstrate their flight sim journeys. This “market” in recent years has been dominated by Anti-Cyclone, and their product, Active Camera which offers the user a more expansive and even more dynamic view of their aircraft and flight simulator overall, by enabling the user to have a view that is near or on the runway, to let the user watch their landing or take-off from the spotters point of view, as well as giving the user the opportunity to conduct their own walk around, or inspection of their aircraft. But now that time has moved on and technology has developed and been introduced, the team at IGFly have created a product that is similar in nature to Active Camera, revolutionising the way you look at Flight Simulator and most notably, use it. Installation and Documentation The product can be acquired by purchasing the product via the IGFly website, where you’ll have to sign up in order to purchase the product. Once you have signed up and clicked the purchase button and filled out the necessary forms, you will then receive information on how to download your product. Now, most products will be activated once they are purchased, but in an effort to deter the software pirates, you will then be able to install it, but additionally, once in FS, you will be asked to send an “Activation Request”. Once that has been sent and you’ve received the activation information and followed the enclosed instructions, you will then be able to unleash the product's whole potential! In terms of documentation, accompanying the product is a rather "to the point and prudent" 6 page manual that goes over the essential key commands and features of the product, as well as giving information of the activation procedure. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, because in reality, it doesn’t really need a 20 page manual as it isn’t that extensive. So in a way, this is sufficient. Although it could have been expanded on to detail everything about it.
General Overview With IGFly Walk and Follow, you will receive two modules. Although you won’t physically see them during the installation process. These two modules will allow for the two modes of use. Firstly, you have the “Walk and Follow” module and the “CockpitWalk” module. Additionally, as I’ve said above you will also receive a short and concise manual which covers all of the key commands and key features. Each module offers a different style of view, the CockpitWalk module obviously being for the virtual cockpit (mainly interior), allowing a different style of viewing, and the Walk and Follow being the module that allows a different range of ways to view anything that exists on the exterior of the aircraft/model. But firstly, let me explain what each module is and does in more detail while also giving you my view on them.
Walk and Follow Module With this module, you have the ability to either walk around an aircraft (not attached to the aircraft) or follow the aircraft (attached to the aircraft). Both have the ability to zoom, move left or right, forward or back, up or down and even tilt sideways, which believe me, gives screenshots a different perspective and most of all, the ability to stand out. To me, being able to tilt is a brilliant feature/ability and from the screenshots I’ve taken and seen on our very own Screenshot Forum you can tell that this is something special. From the many hours I’ve used this particular module, it is something that I have not got bored with, nor not used at one point during the time in my simulator. It truly is a ground breaking innovation on IGFly's part and a cleverly exploited part of the payware market. Now, the walk module, as I mentioned above, is not “attached” to the aircraft, so it isn’t going to follow the aircraft once it starts moving, it just stays at the same point you set it at and will only move when you tell it to by using one of the many key commands or when you move your mouse. Either way, this works very much like Active Camera, but one major difference is that when you are “walking around” you don’t get the trademark “bug” that Active Camera had with the terrain disappearing (such as hills), but the objects that lay on them look as if they are floating. Overall, I like this part of the product very much, it's truly an innovative module that enables the user to make screenshots with an edge. This part truly shouldn’t be missed, and I’m sure anyone who owns this product will agree that this part of the product 100% hands down rocks!
Cockpit Walk Module This module, however, is not controlled the same way as the Walk and Follow module. You have to use your mouse when in “Forced” mode to navigate around. I didn’t like this too much. The way the Walk and Follow module was set up was great with the keyboard being used to navigate around or the keyboard and mouse combined. It just seemed right! But with this, like your head, it moves around to the movement of the mouse. So in other words, it’s controlled mainly by the mouse! Which I found rather annoying because if you accidentally moved the mouse, the view would go off somewhere else! Now this is forced mode. The other mode is controlled by the keyboard, using various key commands to move around and so on. This mode isn’t as controllable as the forced mode. Using the mouse seems to be the easier option, as it's just the mouse and you don’t have to take your hand off of the joystick to make viewpoint adjustments. Notably, this module seems useful only when on the ground or when in cruise with autopilot on. I’d imagine it to be very hard to use when performing normal aircraft operations. This module cannot really be shown in pictures as it offers no real perspective other than unlimited “walking” throughout a cockpit or cabin. Overall, this module is my least favourite of the two. It seems that although it’s a very neat and useful module, it is only useful when you don’t actually have to be controlling the aircraft. Now, if this module automatically moved the viewpoint when you banked to simulate head movement and so on, it would be on par with the Walk and Follow module. But because of its controls, it is slightly difficult to use with one hand on the mouse or keyboard and the other on the joystick or yoke. Performance Performance wasn’t an issue at all. The modules had zero effect on the FPS and performance always remained fluid throughout. The modules also have various resource conserving measures, one being that when the model or aircraft is a certain distance away. When it is too small to recognize when not zoomed, the textures are turned off to save on resources. A nice little feature to save that little bit of extra FPS. Conclusion IGFly Walk and Follow is an awesome package. It revolutionizes the way you use and view FS. Even though it is similar in purpose to Active Camera, it goes the extra step to make flying even more special than Active Camera. The extra functionality makes it an excellent all around utility and is a pleasure to use. Making screenshots and flying has never been more fun. As you’ve seen through out this review, some great screenshots and angles can be found and made with this package. Additionally the performance isn’t an issue at all, it has zero hit on FPS and allows the user to enjoy FS and view it from many angles and perspectives with brilliant performance. Overall,
IGFly have exploited a part of the market which is extremely popular with
simmers alike. They have delivered a product which
is truly great
and will not bore for a long time to come. Additionally, first time round
they
delivered a product with little or no bugs or defects. This is something
which developers don’t often get right first time round. They certainly
deserve a round of applause for delivering a product of true innovation
and for being extremely effective with their testing/bug report methods
and releasing
a product which works like dream. |
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