A world built
around the pilot.

Vigilantes of Torque aims to bridge civilian flight simulation and air combat. Own, understand, modify, and protect persistent civilian piston aircraft in a sparse post-collapse world. Useful work, exploration, combat, and free flight all belong in an open-ended career.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 01. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The design puts authentic flying at the center. Missions, combat, the economy, and progression give each flight more meaning. Preparation, airmanship, aircraft attachment, and a safe return are the measures against which new systems are judged.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 02. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Pilot first. Know the machine. Choose meaningful risks. Improvise within physical limits. Share a living sky. Build stories through systems. Aircraft condition, sound, handling, reputation, and history should reinforce those goals rather than becoming isolated score bonuses.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 03. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Choose a purpose and configure the aircraft. Inspect, taxi, and take off. Navigate while monitoring the machine. Decide whether to investigate, help, fight, or leave. Bring the aircraft back, inspect it, order repairs, and record what changed.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 04. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The career has no prescribed final ending. Master a different airframe, explore a destination, answer a distress call, improve your hangar, or simply fly. Combat should be available without turning every sortie into a fight.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 05. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The guide describes local sorties, exploration flights, preparation sessions, major events, and a long career of aircraft ownership. Session-length targets, offline support, pausing, mid-flight saves, and disconnect recovery have not been established.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 06. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The current design starts with an inherited Decathlon at a chosen supported home airport. A weathered family hangar anchors a new chapter in an older aviation life. Sam, Tom, and Claire introduce care, flying, and combat preparation. The former owner’s exact story remains unwritten.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 07. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Tom Hale’s intended certification path introduces preflight, taxi, takeoff, circuit work, landing, and instrument attention. A recoverable first-flight problem is intended to teach diagnosis and judgment. Its component failure, assistance, and pass conditions still need testing.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 08. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Normal flight is designed without a conventional game HUD. Instruments, installed equipment, physical sights, radio, sound, vibration, and the outside world communicate state. Accessibility options, training overlays, subtitles, and alternate sensory cues remain to be designed.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 09. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Walk to the aircraft to inspect or configure it. A notice board and radio carry jobs and rumors; tools, stock, and a safe make the aviation life tangible. Planning tables, storage areas, and workshop layouts are working directions rather than a finalized floor plan.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 10. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

A flight should move from intention and ownership through the commitment of takeoff, the attention of cruise, and the pressure of danger. Landing brings relief. Repairs and the logbook give the outcome meaning beyond a mission result.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 11. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The target is a dedicated-simulator level of physical realism: aerodynamics, energy, stalls, inertia, power, balance, controls, weather, and installed systems working together. Manual cockpit workload matters where fitted. The flight-model technology, fidelity matrix, and peripheral support are not finalized.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 12. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Success is intended to depend on both piloting skill and preparation. Fuel, mass, balance, drag, weapons, and protection create the options; judgment, energy management, awareness, and knowing when to leave decide how they are used. The guide’s approximate balance is a philosophy, not a published gameplay formula.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 13. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Aircraft should feel different in low-speed authority, energy, control response, power, and mission fit. A heavier or more powerful setup must preserve the airframe’s character. The Decathlon’s long-term competitive role remains under evaluation.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 14. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The inherited Decathlon is joined by the Pitts, Extra 330, Super Cub, Stearman, and Cessna 210 families. These are the initial design choices, not a list of aircraft confirmed playable today. Exact variants, performance data, compatibility, and rights still need validation.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 15. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Shots are intended to affect real components and visible condition: leaks, overheating, control or instrument trouble, reduced performance, and difficult landings. The pilot reads symptoms rather than a health bar. Routine defeat is designed around costs, recovery, and history rather than permanent aircraft deletion; catastrophic exceptions and pilot outcomes remain unresolved.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 16. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Notice the condition, decide what work is needed, and instruct the mechanic. Inspections, oil changes, tire care, propeller balancing, damage repair, and overhauls connect knowledge to reliability. The mechanic performs the labor; service intervals, duration, and detailed repair rules still need validation.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 17. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

A flyable aircraft may continue, divert, or limp home. A grounded aircraft may need local service, parts, or transport according to available facilities. Recovery should create logistics without ending the career. Prices, timing, insurance, and the exact travel rules are not confirmed.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 18. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Each aircraft is intended to retain identity and provenance across ownership: hours, flights, repairs, modifications, damage, recoveries, and transfers. Optional player-written logbook entries become part of its history and may be read by future owners. Moderation, privacy, and permanent-record policies still require explicit rules.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 19. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Configuration changes physical relationships: mass, balance, drag, endurance, recoil, protection, maintenance, and workload. There is no intended universal best build. Weapons, propellers, fuel, sights, armor, autopilot, and weight reduction support different purposes; the engine framework is still under review.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 20. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The guide identifies fixed-pitch wood, fixed-pitch composite, ground-adjustable pitch, constant-speed two-blade, and constant-speed three-blade composite propellers. Simplicity, response, durability, climb/cruise emphasis, weight, and maintenance distinguish them. Airframe compatibility and measured performance are not yet defined.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 21. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Player aircraft remain piston-propeller powered. The working approach is three compatible choices per airframe—stock, performance, and high performance—with horsepower and weight as clear differences. Individual engines, compatibility, cooling, fuel consumption, reliability, and the final framework are not settled.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 22. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Converted surplus light, medium, and heavy gun classes, plus a rare autocannon class, define the intended armament range. Placement is creative only where the aircraft and installation make physical sense, with mass, balance, drag, recoil, and structural consequences. Bombs and rockets are later possibilities, not confirmed features.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 23. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Homemade weapon sights are intended as installed cockpit objects rather than floating reticles. Mounting and calibration should connect aiming to configuration. Exact sight designs, names, technologies, adjustment, and progression are still open.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 24. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Pilot/cockpit, engine, and airframe protection each have none, light, medium, and heavy design levels. More protection adds mass; leaving armor off remains a valid agility choice. Materials, coverage, penetration, and compatibility still require design and testing.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 25. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Larger or smaller main tanks, self-sealing tanks, modest auxiliary tanks, and drop tanks shape endurance, weight, drag, and survivability. Carrying more fuel expands range while affecting performance. Transfer logic, exact capacity, jettison rules, and installation compatibility remain unconfirmed.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 26. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Three intended capability levels progress from pitch control, to pitch and heading, to pitch/heading/altitude and an uploaded course. Automation is a chosen aircraft system. Equipment names, mass, electrical load, modes, costs, and compatible airframes are still undefined.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 27. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Lighter parts or removed equipment can improve response while reducing durability, redundancy, range, or utility. Fuel, armor, weapons, and mount placement belong in the same physical calculation. The weight-reduction catalog is unfinished; deep wing or engine-placement engineering is not approved for the initial system.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 28. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Useful work and events create income for preparation, repairs, aircraft, and hangar growth. Basic fuel and standard ammunition should remain obtainable when affordable. Scarcity and long-term goals concentrate around advanced equipment, rare parts, and exceptional provenance.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 29. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The design includes combat, escort, reconnaissance, SOS response, salvage, arenas, part sales, and bounties. Medical and cargo delivery are a later direction whose scope is still being reconciled. Controlled cargo diversion is a provisional mission concept; generation, deadlines, co-op sharing, and reward formulas remain open.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 30. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Money is intended to buy aircraft, regular and named modifications, consumables, repairs, and hangar development. Legendary modifications require earning or discovery beyond routine cash progression. Buying extra runway length is outside the current design. Currency, prices, and monetization are not specified.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 31. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Fuel, ammunition, and parts are simple stock counts. Basic supplies can be delivered to the home airfield when affordable; away fields vary in stock, price, and services. Event support offers refueling and minor repair. Delivery timing, fuel grades, and market simulation remain unresolved.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 32. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Named NPC raiders and eligible player targets underpin the bounty concept, with a cap on player-funded bounties. Regular parts are bought, named parts carry a builder’s philosophy, and legendary parts must be earned or found. Eligibility, consent, proof, and anti-collusion rules are not finalized.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 33. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Begin with a rough shelter and develop a working hangar: better protection, storage, living space, tools, fabrication, and repair capability. Relocating home is intended to restart local hangar progression while retaining pilot reputation and aircraft history. Multi-aircraft relocation and ferry rules are still under exploration.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 34. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

A devastating war fractures infrastructure, industry, and government. Surviving communities rely on local airfields and maintainable aircraft to stay connected. The collapse is non-nuclear in the current lore; exact dates, geography, casualty figures, and the precise post-war interval are not finalized.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 35. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

People still understand advanced technology, but precision production and supply chains are scarce. Mechanics preserve and adapt piston aircraft, repaired avionics, and surplus equipment. Rare jet relics may exist in the setting; the playable aircraft identity remains piston-propeller.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 36. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The long-term goal is real-world geography, airports, navigation aids, and meaningful journeys at Earth scale. This is an aspiration, not a claim of complete worldwide playable coverage. Terrain and navigation data, providers, licensing, streaming, and airport detail remain to be validated.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 37. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The working concept offers flexibility in ordinary flights while major events share common time and weather for fairness. Weather should affect visibility, navigation, planning, and aircraft workload. Transitions, multiplayer time acceleration, forecasts, and long-distance transport need prototypes.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 38. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Most airports and stretches of sky should feel quiet. A contact may be a courier, a distress call, a rumor, a traveler, or a threat. Pilots choose whether to investigate, avoid, help, or engage when allowed. Encounter frequency, protected areas, and PvP consent rules are still unresolved.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 39. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The event design separates more frequent automated local arenas from rare studio-run major events with stronger community focus and exceptional rewards. Active pilot concentrations should influence local placement. Dates, formats, rewards, player capacity, instancing, and leaderboards are not announced.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 40. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Most pilots are independent; some may form or join player organizations. Hangar visits, airfield gatherings, local/global chat, radio, and notice boards carry stories and reputation. No faction governance, territory-control, diplomacy, or PvP-consent system is approved in this guide.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 41. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Wealthy survivors fund trade protection, connect communities, and eventually sponsor armed aerial competition. They provide opportunity while attracting resentment. Pilots may pursue their events, serve communities, explore, or stay independent. Patron identities and a proposed hidden-spectator mystery remain undefined.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 42. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Names and aircraft markings matter. Answer distress when possible, respect the machine and its records, and recognize the judgment required to return safely. The phrase “Bring her home” captures the intended culture. Formal enforcement, surrender rules, and regional customs are not established.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 43. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Sam interprets and protects the aircraft. Tom teaches and protects the pilot. Claire pushes both toward combat readiness. Their different perspectives create direction without deciding the player’s moral path or turning relationships into alignment meters.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 44. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

A practical, quiet mechanic at the player’s home airfield. Sam teaches inspection, diagnosis, maintenance, repair, and modification trade-offs. He carries stories from his past without seeking attention for them. His full biography, signature aircraft, and appearance are not defined.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 45. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

An easygoing retired pilot and instructor, and Claire’s father. Tom offers a patient route into flying, treats mistakes as learning, and introduces the aircraft logbook as stewardship for future owners. His exact biography and appearance remain open.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 46. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Tom Hale’s daughter is a soldier and aircraft weapons-integration specialist who served during the collapse war. She is the hard-edged mentor for armament, protection, sights, and combat preparation. Claire was never a pilot; her expertise comes from the military and flight-line side of aviation.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 47. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Harper “Skylark” Bennett is associated with climb and mountain medicine runs; Mason Reed with endurance; Evelyn “Ironwing” Cross with rugged reinforcement; Gabriel “Deadeye” Ortiz with precision; and Sophia “Tempest” Volkov with difficult weather. Each philosophy has a cost. Full biographies and actual named components remain unfinished.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 48. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Eight named adversaries are intended to form the first combat-boss backbone. Their impact should be heard in warnings and felt along trade routes before a fight. Approved names, aircraft, territories, tactics, and rewards are not recoverable from the guide, so they are not invented here.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 49. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

A modification should affect the flight; damage should affect behavior; repairs should affect condition and the economy; and the aircraft’s record should carry the outcome. Development needs to prove that full loop, not only isolated feature demonstrations.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 50. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The guide’s prototype baseline centers on one aircraft, one airport, one hangar, realistic takeoff and landing, basic progression, salvage and escort work, and saved aircraft condition. Engine architecture, flight dynamics, global streaming, online capacity, security, and anti-cheat need technical validation.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 51. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The guide identifies approved creative decisions such as the Decathlon starter, piston-aircraft identity, physical cockpit/hangar interaction, aircraft history, and configuration trade-offs. That status means design agreement. It does not mean a system is implemented, tested, or available to players today.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 52. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

Aircraft variants and rights, the engine framework, multiplayer combat rules, accessibility, global data feasibility, economy values, recovery exceptions, and complete raider dossiers remain open. Working ideas such as shared-event time/weather and cargo scope are not final commitments.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 53. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

The guide proposes proving flight and home, combat consequences, the ownership loop, shared events, content variety, and then world scale. These are evidence gates rather than a public release schedule. No date, player-count promise, or completed milestone is implied.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 54. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.

This field guide adapts Master Design Guide v0.2, a design draft compiling decisions through 2 September 2026. Later confirmed changes may revise it. Screenshots show development builds, the website globe is a geographic explorer, and website accounts are separate from future Steam/game integration.

Design reference: Master Design Guide v0.2, section 55. Implementation status is not certified by the guide.