Engine efficiency
Engines now have an airspeed-efficiency curve. This means each engine has an optimal speed where it performs best. This is displayed as a new “optimal speed” stat on each engine. I’m hoping that this will make engine selection a bit more intresting.
Helicopter balance
You can now thrust downwards with helicopters. This was important to make them more versetile, especially in combination with balloons. I also used the new engine efficiency system to make helicopters perform better at lower speeds. This should make them feel more distinct from planes and a bit more viable in the campaign.
Auto steer and barrel rolls
Auto steer used to struggle when flying straight up or attempting barrel rolls. While no major changes were made to the system, I tweaked it enough that these cases are now handled much better. Barrel rolls are now possible.
Propeller collisions
Propeller collisions were introduced in the last update for helicopter rotors only. They have now been improved and extended to all engines with propellers. If your propeller hits something, individual blades can break off and reduce the engine’s total thrust. In the last update, propellers could only collide with objects in the world, but they can now also collide with the plane itself.
Controllability
There is now a small amount of variability in controllability based on your plane’s weight and control surfaces. Heavier planes with fewer control surfaces will feel slightly less responsive.
That said, all planes are still fully controllable. Accessibility is still a priority, so this is more of a subtle feel difference than a hard limitation.
Wheel friction
Wheels now have a “friction” stat. This should give you more control over landing and ground handling, and adds another thing to consider when choosing your landing gear setup.
