Vector 36 on steamTL;DR fly fast real close to the ground, engineering is fun, real physics!
tagline:
Race across the terraformed surface of Mars in your Skimmer,
a completely customizable hover racing vehicle.
Piloting skill and engineering make the difference between winning and losing in Vector 36,
a Physics-Based Racer. Available with and without VR, Track IR, or HOTAS.
I've been playing this for a week solid, figure some of you guys might be into this. Its very much like pod racing, but instead of arcade, the controls are very much simulation, or at least sim-cade enough to keep the game fun. Skimmers fly a lot like helicopters with a jet engine on the back. You can use dual throttles, or whatever analog inputs you have, to control Throttle and Bias separately. Bias vectors power from down thrust to rear thrust. So pulling back on the Bias is like pulling collective, you gain altitude. Pushing forward reduces altitude but adds rear thrust. You fly faster close to the ground, and have better cooling. Really interesting mechanics.
Because you're a hovercraft, most turns (especially hairpins) involve turning in way early, using the rear thrust to change direction, and drifting while looking out the side of the cockpit. Epic in VR btw. Fly with my Warthog and pedals, mapped in airplane/heli mode (some might prefer space plane/xwing mode, you use the pedals a LOT). Game is unapologetically hard, and doesn't hold your hand. I recommend using the Instant races at first, because you lose money if you crash your ship in the main campaign. Learn to fly first, or you'll be broke constantly.
Game is made by one guy, down in NZ I believe. Really responsive to feedback on steam. I pointed out some bugs and made suggestions, was implemented in beta this weekend. There's a new ship in the beta too. Unity game, graphics could be nicer, but once you're going fast you really don't have time to look at the textures.
Once you get a handle of flying the skimmers, you can start to buy new parts and modify them. Engineering is very deep, and lets you totally screw up your ship. Physics are a b****. You can move your CG by moving the various items that make up the ship. Pointing your thrust and lift vectors changes stuff like tendency to pitch up/down. Balancing the ship's pitch is a big part of tuning them to fly well. Mass, CG, cooling, and thrust vectors are all important to making a good ship.