It’s an exciting time to be a bedroom bush pilot. Troubled Deadstick seems to have weathered its developmental difficulties and be maturing nicely, and Lakehopper, a boat-bellied rival, has, since entering Early Access in March, been quietly garnering praise and winning-over sceptics. Sceptics like me.
Slightly put off by the simplistic visuals and My Summer Car comparisons, I wasn’t expecting Lakehopper to test my diligence and stick skills quite so stringently.
Not only does the sim’s fictional hydrogen-electric parcel carrier feature a fairly elaborate cockpit and cold start procedure, if handled clumsily it’s alarmingly reluctant to leave the lakes it uses as runways.
Navigation is no picnic either. Deprived of dashboard GPS and GUI arrows, your main orientation aids are a CDI gauge, a paper chart, and a pair of Mk I eyeballs.
My first forty-minute flight from Test Island Depot to Manypeaks Cove was pleasant although tinged with tension. Was I on course? Would I be able to find my destination? Would I make a hash of the landing?
In the end, nothing went awry. The locals got their packages, and, after loading freight bound for the sim’s other southern settlement I cast off and took to the air once again.
If visibility had been low finding Nest Lake Island might have been tricky. Lakehopper is currently without inclement weather of any kind. This shortcoming together with the lack of day/night cycles and the sparsity of settlements (four at present), are, happily, all on the dev’s radar. With a dash of darkness and fog, some turbulence and crosswinds, and a few more places to ply between, the already likeable Lakehopper should be able to beguile for long periods.
That looks really interesting. Wishlisted.
Tried it a few months back. Assembly went fine but physics at that point were not great. Couldn’t get the plane to take off, kept standing on its nose when I opened the throttles. Refunded it, seems time to give it another go