Real World Fly Fishing (RWFF) is highly simulation oriented. Many fly anglers fish mostly or entirely catch-and-release. For those folks, the reward for fly fishing is all in the experience, not in the frying pan. That’s why I felt it was so important to simulate fly fishing as carefully as possible. That’s also why the scenes in RWFF are photographic, not 3D renderings. The scenes look real because they are, and that’s why it’s called Real World Fly Fishing.
A 3D rendered game has the advantage of letting you move freely, but 3D rendered scenes of nature and flowing water simply don’t look as real as a photograph. Some computer rendered scenes in movies are amazingly close to real life, but for scenes like that it can take hours to render a single frame even on a specialized high-end computer. To be practical a game needs to be able to render dozens of frames every second on a typical home computer. Some of the newer 3D game engines can render some nature scenes impressively well in real-time, but they still can’t match the detail of a photograph even on a very fast gaming computer.
There’s one “pure game” element included in Real World Fly Fishing, but it’s optional. That’s the challenge mode where you earn a score by fishing through several sites trying to catch the maximum combined length of fish in the minimum time. Most players prefer to explore the many fishing sites and fish just for the joy of it, but some have fun with the challenge mode to try to beat their own scores or swap records with others on the Pishtech forum or at the fan-created RWFF Clubhouse online.
Apart from the challenge mode, everything else about Real World Fly Fishing is designed to realistically represent the sport in detail. You don’t earn money or points or have time limits. You simply go fly fishing.
It’s a very detailed simulation. To give you an idea, here’s a peek at what might go on during a single cast and drift:
Picture an evening on a trout stream with multiple insects hatching: some small mayflies, and a few larger caddis flies. You’ve noticed that the trout are keyed in on the mayflies, so you’ve had a close look at one. You’ve selected a good match, possibly a fly you’ve designed yourself. You’re facing diagonally, up and across the stream. You see where a nice fish has been rising. As in the real world, the trout rest while watching for prey to pass overhead, then slip downstream as they rise to meet a mayfly. That means that where the fish hit the surface to take a fly is actually downstream of where the fish is when it’s watching for food, and that means you should cast your fly several feet upstream of where the fish has been surfacing. You make a careful cast, and just before the line touches the water you reach your rod upstream to curve the line. That will keep the current from pulling your fly across the surface. Like real trout, the ones in the game know that newly hatched mayflies drift with the current while their wings dry. They know that there’s nothing unusual about a caddis fly skittering across the surface, but mayflies don’t do that. You’ve got a good drag-free drift and the fish rises to take your mayfly imitation.
As in real life there are outings in Real World Fly Fishing where the fish are less cautious and less selective. There’s also the virtual guide who will give you advice about everything from your fly selection and casting, to rod, line and leader selection, plus he’ll also help you master mending the drift when it matters. There are also three skill level settings. On the beginner level the simulation is more forgiving, including the fact the fish are less concerned about that perfectly drag-free drift.
The attention to detail, realism, large and ever-growing collection of fishing locations around the world have made RWFF a favorite of fly anglers.
Next: Part 4 – About Pishtech’s Ice Fishing Derby
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