Flying online

#Where you start

A server has 16 slots, split between three airfields:

• You get the lowest free slot when you join. So the first eight pilots all start at Srinagar; Leh fills only when Srinagar is full, then Skardu. You can't choose.
• You're lined up on the runway in staggered pairs: slot 01 front left, 02 front right and a little further along, 03 behind 01, and so on.
• You start parked: engines idle, gear down, flaps up, master mode NAV, radar off, about 5,200 kg of fuel, the gun full and the CAP load-out (change it on the WPN page; respawns keep your choice).
• Your home airfield (on the compass display and the situation map) is the one you started at.

Joining late is fine: there are no rounds or lobby. You appear on your runway and the others see your jet arrive.

#Time and weather

The server decides the time of day, the sky, the wind and the turbulence for everyone, and the clock runs the same for all pilots.

• Your Weather settings tab is locked while you're online (a padlock on each row, "Set by the server"). It shows the server's values.
• Your own choices come back when you leave.

#Other pilots

There's no text chat, voice or radio yet.

#The kill feed

At the top right, online only:

• "Falcon shot down Viper": the kill goes to whoever damaged the jet last, if within the last 3 minutes, and counts when the jet hits the ground.
• "Viper crashed (terrain)": a jet that went down on its own, with the reason: terrain, water, impact, a gear collapse, a belly landing and so on.
• Your own name shows as You. Lines involving you are in orange.
• Each line stays about 8 seconds.

There's no scoreboard or score.

#The pause menu online

Esc opens the menu, headed ONLINE · FLIGHTOUT LONDON (or your server's name). The world doesn't stop:

• your jet flies on with the stick and pedals centred, the throttle where it was and the wheel brakes off. An engaged autopilot keeps flying;
• other pilots can still see you and shoot you.

The buttons are RESUME, SETTINGS, RESPAWN, LEAVE SERVER and QUIT TO DESKTOP.

#Respawning

Backspace or RESPAWN in the pause menu puts you back on your slot's runway, repaired, refuelled to the starting load, with the gun full and your chosen load-out. There's no automatic respawn after you crash or eject: press it when you're ready.

The practice approach (P) works offline only.

#Leaving

LEAVE SERVER in the pause menu takes you back to the main menu; your jet disappears for the others. QUIT TO DESKTOP, or closing the window, also leaves cleanly.

#How other jets are kept smooth

Online, FlightOut works the way military flight simulators do:

• The server is in charge. It flies every jet by the same physics and decides every missile, hit and kill.
• Your own jet answers your keys at once. If the server ever disagrees, the difference is smoothed out, not jumped.
• Other jets are drawn where they are now, predicted forward from their last update (their speed, acceleration and turn), and each new update is blended in over a quarter of a second. Each pilot's delay is measured and allowed for, so jets aren't shown behind where they really are. Close formation flying is what it's built for.
• Switches (gear, radar, respawn and so on) are sent until the server confirms them, so none are lost.
• Packet loss: your controls are sent 60 times a second, each message repeating the last few, so a few lost packets don't matter. If updates from another jet stop, it keeps being predicted for up to 2 seconds rather than freezing.
• On a very poor connection, other jets may be drawn slightly behind, and a sudden hard manoeuvre can show as a short glide back onto the real path.

There's no ping display in flight: only the official server's card on the Multiplayer screen shows it.