Flight Unlimited III is a 1999 flight simulator video game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It allows players to pilot reproductions of real-world commercial and civilian aircraft in and around Seattle in the US state of Washington. Players may fly freely or engage in challenges such as thwarting a theft or locating Bigfoot. The development team built on the general aviation gameplay of Flight Unlimited II, with more detailed physics and terrain, more planes and a real-time weather system. Lead designer Peter James described Flight Unlimited III's development as a struggle, due to a lack of interest from Electronic Arts and from Looking Glass's management. Directly competing with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 and Fly!, the game became one of Looking Glass's biggest commercial flops. After selling only around 20,000 units in the United States during 1999, the company closed the next year. The game was well received by critics, who praised its terrain rendering and dynamic weather. A few reviewers lauded its simulated physics, but others objected to the exceptional system requirements.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_Unlimited_III

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

202 BC:

Rebel leader Liu Bang was enthroned as Emperor Gaozu of Han after overthrowing the Qin dynasty, the first imperial dynasty of China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty

1893:

USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, was launched. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indiana_(BB-1)

1975:

In London an underground train failed to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashed into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorgate_tube_crash

1997:

Two heavily armed bank robbers exchanged gunfire with officers of the Los Angeles Police Department in North Hollywood, in one of the longest and bloodiest shootouts in American police history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hollywood_shootout

2013:

Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign from the papacy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resignation_of_Pope_Benedict_XVI

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

saloop: 1. (dated) An aromatic drink originally prepared from salep and later from sassafras bark with other ingredients such as milk and sugar added, which was once popular in London, England. 2. The berry saltbush or red berry saltbush (Chenopodium hastatum, syns. Einadia hastata and Rhagodia hastata), a small plant found in coastal and inland areas of eastern Australia. 3. Alternative form of salep (“starch or jelly made from orchid plants”). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/saloop

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The way of the world is to make laws, but follow customs.   --Michel de Montaigne https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michel_de_Montaigne