Dan's Alpha

About this build

An early Unreal Engine prototype. Fly a 40 m shuttle with real gravity and finite wing lift, use the autopilot and maneuver planner, hop out and walk around after landing. No saving, menus, fuel or damage yet. It's a very early alpha, so expect rough edges.

Install & run

1. Extract the entire ZIP into a writable folder.
2. Double-click Alpha v0.1.exe. Keep the Engine and PlanetaryLab folders next to it.
3. If Windows SmartScreen appears, click More info → Run anyway (the build isn't code-signed).
4. If you get a missing Microsoft C++ runtime error, run Engine\Extras\Redist\en-us\vc_redist.x64.exe and try again.

Requires Windows 10/11 64-bit with a DirectX 12 / Shader Model 6 capable GPU and current drivers. Starts in a 1280×720 window; first load can take a while. Alt+F4 quits.

First flight

• Z full throttle; Q/E to stay on the runway.
• At ~275–300 knots, gently hold S to lift the nose. G retracts the gear.
• W/S pitch, A/D roll, Backspace resets to the runway.
• Full controls are in README.txt inside the ZIP.

SHA-256 checksum

Verify in PowerShell: Get-FileHash .\Dans-Alpha-v0.1.zip -Algorithm SHA256