Into the Dawn Preview

Under Development

Into the Dawn is a combat helicopter game in development by Jammin Games. It will feature immersive helicopter combat, co-op multiplayer, dynamic campaigns, and much more!

Latest News

Progress Report after 1 year of development

Posted August 10, 2025 by Jamon Holmgren

I've been working on Into the Dawn for a bit over a year now in my free time, and making steady progress other than a few months last fall and a couple months this spring.

It's coming together and I find myself playing it for hours at a time. I even end up having to force myself to stop playing and work on it, which is unusual -- usually I find things that annoy me and I go fix them. But instead I find myself just delighted with playing it.

Note: I added a section About the Game below, so check it out. I talk about my motivations for making Into the Dawn and what it's all about.

There's a lot to go over, so I'll just list the highlights:

Major Systems Added

  • Damage Modeling System: HUD flickers when damaged, engines lose power, tail damage causes a steady pull to the right, smoke and fire effects from damaged sections, and damage reports are now displayed on HUD
    Damage Model
    Damage Model
  • Night Vision: Added a night vision mode with a fade-in effect that looks pretty cool
    Night Vision
    Night Vision
  • AI Gunner System: Can aim the chaingun based on your designated target
  • Tutorial Mode: Basic tutorial to get players started
  • MFD (Multi-Function Display) System: Added radar MFD, weapons MFD, damage indicator MFD, scrolling map MFD, and target view FLIR MFD
  • Advanced Radar: Probabilistic scanning, beeps when enemies target you, contact grouping when targets are close together
  • Formation Flying Logic: Massive improvements to wingmen AI and formation behavior
  • New Water Shader: Significantly improved water visuals
  • Basic VR Support: Can sit in cockpit and fly (not fully playable yet)

Visual & Audio Improvements

  • HUD Overhaul: More efficient rendering with fewer draw calls, removed clutter, improved target display with range indicators and view mode indicators
  • Large Vehicle Explosions: Spectacular destruction effects when blowing up vehicles
  • Targeting Squares: Visual targeting system on the HUD
  • Improved Rotor Effects: Visible rotor with adjusted speed for better visual appeal
  • Control Stick & Collective Movement: Physical cockpit controls that move with player input
  • Smart Camera System: Improved tracking of targets and automatic zooming

Performance & Optimization

  • Memory Usage: Massive 90%+ reduction from 6GB+ down to ~465MB
  • Binary Size: Reduced from 500MB to ~350MB
  • Tree Performance: 2x more efficient spawning, can now handle 2M trees
  • Quality Settings: Added toaster, potato, and stone age settings for lower-end machines, plus effects and shadow quality options
  • Auto Quality: Intelligent settings that try to maintain 60+ FPS

New Content & Assets

  • T-55 Tank: Added with test .50cal MG
  • Destructible Buildings: Including farmhouses with fire and smoke effects
  • Air Control Tower: Simple destructible asset
  • New Map: "Mist, Oregon" terrain
  • Bullet System Revamp: Handles multiple calibers (30cal, 50cal, 20mm, 30mm) with armor classes and penetration mechanics

...and many more small tweaks and TONS of bugfixing along the way. The game has come incredibly far in just one year of development!

New gameplay video -- AH-64D Apache Mission

Posted January 29, 2025 by Jamon Holmgren

I appreciate you checking out my in-progress game, Into the Dawn! It's a combat helicopter game, reminiscent of the amazing combat helicopter sims of the 90s, but with multiplayer, cross-platform play, modern controls...

Missions won't be quite like this video in the actual game, but this gives you a taste of what the core gameplay is like. In this case, I scattered some tanks and AA vehicles around the map.

They're all set to "Green" (inexperienced) and "Relaxed" (meaning they aren't being vigilant), so they see me very late, and fire inaccurately when they do see me.

During the actual game, you'll have to plan out routes much more carefully, fly low (under 150 feet), and approach cautiously if you want to live. If you fly high, someone will take your head off.

I also don't have any weapons in the game other than the 30mm chaingun (which I also repurposed for the AA test vehicle) and a .50cal (for the tanks). The damage model works but needs to be refined.

There's much, much more needing to be done here. For example -- trees! But for the first time, I felt like I could go fly and complete a mission myself. This was a lot of fun.

(Note: multiplayer WORKS ... I flew this one myself, but you can totally have human copilot/gunners and wingmen!)

Development Progress

This phase is all about getting everything "roughed in" -- not polished and certainly not in a final release state. Polishing and refinement will be informed by the early alpha testing and feedback, and eventually into beta and finally release.

It's likely the game won't launch until 2026 or so, perhaps even 2027. This is a side project for me, and I'm doing my best to balance it with my full-time job and family. However, I am spending almost all my unstructured free time working on this game!

 

Flight Model

Advanced helicopter physics and handling

Testing and Iterating

Combat Systems

Weapons, damage, targeting

Building

AI & Wingmen

Formation flying, combat AI

Building

Multiplayer Lobby

Networking, chat, player management

Testing and Iterating

Environment

Terrain, bases, day/night cycle

Planning

User Interface

HUD, menus, options

Building

Pilot Progression

Ranks, medals, career mode

Planning

Dynamic Campaigns

Generated missions, objectives, threats

Planning
Planning (0-25%)
Development (26-75%)
Polishing (76-100%)