Dev Update #2 — Demo March 24, Combat Feel Overhaul

Demo — March 24

Steam demo drops March 24. It covers summer 1914 through your first combat patrols — the opening act of the war.

You'll create your pilot, pick a specialization (fighter, recon, or bomber), fly your first sorties over the Western Front, and get into your first hex tactical fights. It's a real slice of the game, not a tutorial. Your choices stick, your kills count, and the war moves whether you're ready or not.

Wishlist now so you don't miss it.

Player Experience Overhaul

Last update was about visuals. This one's about feel — making the game actually respond to what you're doing, moment to moment.

Near-miss urgency. When your aircraft gets shot up, you know it. HP below 50% triggers damage warnings. Below 25%, critical. On fire? You see it immediately. Enemy trailing smoke? You know you're close to a kill.

Enriched victories. Downing an enemy now shows wreckage, combat stats (rounds fired, damage dealt, ammo remaining), and atmospheric text. No more winning a dogfight and getting a one-liner.

Decoration ceremonies. Earn a Military Cross or Distinguished Flying Cross and you get a proper ceremony screen — royal warrant, squadron reactions, the weight of the moment. Not a line in a log.

Observation feedback. Every observation choice during sorties now produces visible consequences — 30 variants across mission types and pilot temperaments. No more choices that vanish into nothing.

Narrative variety. Quiet return flights, no-encounter patrols, sortie vignettes — all expanded from 1–2 variants to 8+ per category. Repeat playthroughs actually feel different.

The through-line: every screen should feel like something is happening. You make a choice, the game reacts. You survive a dogfight, the game acknowledges it.

Build Quality

Build is tight. 15 dedicated QA passes since last update — full playthrough sweeps across all six acts, all three specializations, dozens of edge cases. Automated test suite grew from 1,414 to 1,547 tests, all passing.

Historical accuracy got a close look too. Aircraft date-gated to actual service entry. RFC transitions to RAF in April 1918. Aces appear and disappear at historically correct dates. Anachronistic references scrubbed from mission briefings and events.

Combat math, viewport layout, save/load fidelity, screen density — all ground through methodically. Goal: nothing feels unfinished or broken on day one.

What's Next

Between now and March 24:

• Continued polish — every screen, every edge case

• Demo tuning — first hour needs to be airtight

• Steam integration — achievements, cloud saves

Wishlist Rotary Knights to get notified when the demo drops. Join the Discord if you want to follow the day-to-day.

Clear skies, — Steve, Old Blue Chair