│ ORQA SKYDIVE SIMULATOR
│
└──[ Wednesday, June 10, 2020

I once played the ORQA SkyDive simulator[1] on the day it went live (as a 
preview). I could not fly at all. The quad flew very strangely and 
uncontrollable. I was disappointed and forget about it.

A few days ago I heard about an update. It includes two very important fixes:
- 4s default quad (from 6s)
- new improved physics

Now I was impressed by how good the simulator works. And I think it's my 
new favorite sim!

1. Good Physics
Physics are on pair with DRL Sim. Dron feels controllable. It's still too 
powerful and big for me but closer to usable. In no time I was able to rip 
those bando sites. It is a construction site but I imagine it's abandoned.
I have a few favorite spots on that map good for training. For now on I don't 
need anything more.

2. Runs on IBM x3570 Server
I have a 40" NEC monitor hooked up to the IBM server. It's part media center 
part web/cloud host. It has 2x Quadro nVidia cards and 16GB of ram. And a lot 
of CPUs on top of that. I was very happy that Orqa.SkyDive runs so smoothly. 
I changed the resolution to something around 980p. I have half of that in real 
life FPV feed :) It's more than enough. Now I can sit on the couch and practice 
on a big screen [2].

3. Fast. Good and Free
What's sums it's all is that the simulator just works. Windows, Linux. It 
recognized my Jumper T12 (as a Taranis) and I was able to set it with no 
problems. The time form clicking play in Steam app to flying in the virtual 
sky is short. Significantly shorter than DRL. No bullshit videos and 
complicated menus. Just a few seconds of loading screen and a fly now button. 
Also, no intro showcasing the level. It gets straight to flying. I like that.

Ah, and it's free. As for now at last.

[1] https://skydive.orqafpv.com/
[2] https://krzysztofjankowski.com/fpv/photos/orqa.skydive.jpg