Flying the balloon

The burner makes the balloon climb, the vent brings it down, and you choose your direction. Flight is simplified by default; the settings offer realistic navigation, with the wind and the burner’s inertia.

The first flight

Your first visit starts on the ground, on the shore of Lake Sempach. Clotilde, the marmot flight instructor, teaches you to take off, steer and land. You can skip her lesson at any time, and replay it later from the backpack, among the flight companions. Later visits start from where you left your balloon.

The controls

With keyboard and mouse

↑↓←→WASDZQSD

move

Space

burner

Shift

vent

Mouse

orbit · wheel to zoom

J/LI/K

camera

U/O

zoom

M

unfold the map

V

spyglass (once you have it)

G

chough (once you have it)

Land in a city, fly over a summit, a lake or a glacier. Click a label to open it.

On a touchscreen

• One finger on the map steers the balloon
• The two buttons on the right take you up and down
• Two fingers: pinch to zoom, drag to turn the camera

Land in a city, fly over a summit, a lake or a glacier. Tap a label to open it.

Landing

To land, descend to the ground: the basket comes to rest on its own. It can also land on a vehicle, the roof of a train or a cabin for instance: as soon as it rests there, its ticket is taken; then it can ride along. Some places ask you to stay on the ground for a moment, or to skim the water; a ring then fills around the basket’s shadow, and you only have to wait until it is full.

The map and the compass

The map unfolds with a key or its button. A click on a place sets course for it: the balloon flies there by itself, or jumps there if you have been before. From the start, the compass points to the nearest town you have not visited yet, or to the course you have set.