VirtualSim-Heli
A SimCopter (1996) remake, rebuilt in Unity.
I've been rebuilding SimCopter from the ground up, and I'm finally ready to show it off. VirtualSim-Heli loads your original game files and puts the cities, the helicopters, the missions and the whole career back together in a modern engine.
You'll hear it called a remake, a remaster or a mod, and any of those is fine by me. Technically it's a reimplementation: a new engine that reads the original data.
It isn't a perfect 1:1 copy, and it doesn't try to be. The goal is for it to feel the way you remember it.
Latest build, about 222 MB. You'll need your own copy of SimCopter to play.
What's in it right now
Your original cities
It reads the real SimCity 2000 city files and the game's own assets, then builds the terrain, buildings, water, bridges, tunnels and street lamps as it loads.
A world with no edge
The map wraps around, so you can keep flying in one direction and never hit a wall. Past the city limits there are mountains, and a few camera tricks hide the seams.
A real sky
The sun, the moon (in its actual phase) and the stars sit where they really would. At night the city glows, windows flicker and the street lamps come on. Days run on a fast clock, so you can watch a sunset without waiting around.
Light that follows the city
The ambient light is volumetric, and how thick it gets depends on how dense the city is around you. Even the stars react to it. Fly over a packed downtown and only the brightest few show up, but out over empty land the sky fills in.
Air pollution you can see
Pollution is simulated visually, so a dirty city actually looks dirty from the cockpit.
Ray traced and screen space reflections
Glass, water and wet surfaces reflect what's around them, using both ray traced and screen space reflections. You can turn the fancy stuff down if your machine needs it.
The whole helicopter fleet
All nine helicopters are here, tuned from the original data. Flight, fuel, damage, turbulence and crashes follow the original game's behaviour, and you can buy and sell aircraft in the catalog.
The tools of the job
Water bucket, cannon, tear gas, megaphone, spotlight, winch and harness. Scoop water, put out fires, pick people up and haul them out on a rope.
A city that feels alive
Traffic follows lanes, takes turns at junctions and sometimes jams up. Pedestrians run the original behaviour scripts. Emergency crews really drive to the scene, and the bad guys really try to get away.
Fire that spreads
Flames grow, jump from building to building and burn things down if you take too long.
The full career
30 cities, the original mission types and scoring, the mission log and map, and the graduation ceremony with fireworks. If you'd rather just fly around, there's a free play mode too.
Pick who you play
You don't have to be the original pilot. Choose from a bunch of the game's NPCs and play as them instead.
The original look and feel
The old menus, hangar, catalog, HUD and cockpit gauges are all there, with the original chase and cockpit cameras. You can also hop out and walk around on foot. The HUD can be scaled up if the original size is too small on your monitor.
Sound
Radio stations, dispatch voices, sirens and rotors you can hear coming from the right direction. There's an optional speed of sound delay if you want to be a little more realistic.
Original save files
Career and free play saves use the original byte layouts. Saving and loading careers is all there, but it hasn't been thoroughly tested yet.
A few secrets
Some of the original game's easter eggs made it in too, and a few of them depend on the real calendar date. I also hid a few of my own. I won't say what or where.
Where it stands
It's very playable, and as far as I know it's fully featured. Saving and loading careers, and loading your own custom cities, are both in there, but I haven't tested them thoroughly yet. They may work fine, but I can't promise it. I'm sure there are still bugs hiding in there somewhere, so if you find one, please tell me.
Patch notes
VirtualSim-Heli doesn't include any of the original game's data. You need your own copy of SimCopter, and VirtualSim-Heli loads it from your disk.
Come hang out.
I'd love to hear what you think, what you want to see next, and what bugs you find. The Discord is the best place for all of that.
Disclaimer
VirtualSim-Heli is an independent fan-made reimplementation project.
Moon Bunny Games is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with Maxis, Electronic Arts, or any other current or former rights holders of SimCopter or related intellectual property.
SimCopter and Maxis are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. All trademarks and intellectual property remain the property of their respective owners.
This software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. In no event shall the author or contributors be liable for any claim, damages, or liability arising from the use of the software.