Friday 2010-02-25 Development update:Interview by Grégory Lemasson/Discussion Thread

[JVM]

Oxygen issues are really very difficult to notice: high profile accidents in business jets and light aircrafts (one pressurized in US, the other with a portable oxygen system in France) with highly experienced people (the light aircraft pilot was a test pilot on a ferry flight) in recent years and the countless accidents in the military tend to prove one thing:

- the pilot cannot (except by incredible and rare luck, or specifically trained to recognize deprivation initial symptoms) realize by himself he is is suffering of oxygen deprivation

- for him, everything appears normal up to the point he will brutally loose concisousness

- the only way to get out is to have a wingman (or sometimes ground control) understanding something is wrong and able to reach at whatever useful mind is still there by yelling orders...but usually when the problem is noticeable from the outside, it already very late in the drama, and only luck will allow a positive outcome!

- If for instance the aircraft is trimmed properly for cruise, there is not chance that the pilot will ever recover: if he did not died of oxygen deprivation the loss of power at the end of the fuel tank and the ensuing imbalance (no more torque, dissymetric loads) will precipitate the descent to such an extent that the pilot may very well have no time to wake up, as already pointed out before...

- so the only way to simulate is quite simple: for some reason (failure or battle damage) the oxygen is cut off...

- then if a blinker is present it will cease working (this is only "positive" way for the pilot to know in time something is wrong with the oxygen but he must be disciplined and trained to check his blinker often at altitude!)

- after a while depending on possible factors like fatigue, health, injuries and whatnot, the screen becomes black, with a message "OXYGEN", no more. At this point the pilot has no means of action, has a limited life expectancy (defined by the game), and may be allowed to wake up with a gradual removing of the black screen (much in the same way as blackout) and be given back his controls...if the aircraft reaches a breathable altitude and assuming it did not crash or be shot down before!
Once the oxygen is failed a randomly aired message may be given to the wingman or ground control to simulate a visible problem (random to simulate lack of awareness of the wigman/control).

Believe me it will be as realistic as it can get (I am quite familiar with hypoxia, having already flown up to 30000 ft with an failed oxygen mask and a friend with a good one!)

JV