Frequently asked questions
Answers to what players actually ask us, about the game, accounts, the mobile version and how the site works.
Playing
Is FlowState: ATC free?
Yes. The browser version and the Android version are both free to play. The game is supported by advertising; there is no purchase, no subscription and no paid advantage.
Do I need an account?
No. You can play as a guest with one click, and you get the full game: every mode, single player and multiplayer. The only thing a guest cannot do is appear on the public leaderboard or keep progress across devices. Registering later is free and takes a minute.
What do the three modes do?
- Standard: aircraft enter, you route them to their assigned exit edge. Nothing interferes.
- Portal chaos: paired portals teleport aircraft across the sector, and purple punchers randomise the heading of anything that flies into them. Full guide.
- Turbulence: wind pushes aircraft off their headings, and storm cells throw anything entering their core onto a random heading. Full guide.
How do I control an aircraft?
Click it to select it, then drag to set its heading. The panel that appears has sliders for altitude (100 to 1000, shown as flight levels) and speed (50 to 250). The tutorial walks through it.
Why did my run end when I had not crashed?
Three things end a run: a collision, three missed exits, or a score below zero. Sending an aircraft out of the wrong edge costs a point and a miss, so several wrong exits in a row can end a run without any collision. Scoring explained.
Two planes flew straight through each other. Is that a bug?
No. Aircraft only collide when they are within 30 pixels horizontally and less than 50 apart in altitude. If they were at different levels, they passed safely, exactly as they would in real airspace. Altitude is the cheapest way to solve a conflict in this game.
The game feels harder than it did a minute ago.
It is. Every 10 points advances a wave, which shortens the gap between arrivals and makes each new aircraft faster. Arrivals bottom out at one every 1.5 seconds from wave 8, but speed keeps climbing by 8% per wave indefinitely.
Accounts
Why do I have to verify my email?
Verification keeps the leaderboard honest and stops automated signups. If the message has not arrived, check your spam folder; it is sent immediately after registration.
Can I sign in with Google?
Yes, on both web and Android. If you already registered with the same email address, the Google sign-in links to that existing account rather than creating a second one.
My username was rejected.
Usernames are filtered for profanity and slurs. Pick something else; the filter is deliberately blunt and will occasionally catch an innocent word.
Do guest accounts expire?
Guest accounts are throwaway by design. They are tied to the browser session you created them in, and they are excluded from the leaderboard. Register if you want your scores to persist and count.
Mobile
Is there an app?
Yes, on Android: FlowState: ATC on Google Play. An iOS version is not available yet.
Is my progress shared between the app and the website?
Yes, if you sign in to the same account in both. Scores and leaderboard entries follow the account, not the device.
Can I play in a phone browser?
The game is built for a wide radar view, so a desktop or laptop gives a much better experience. The Android app is the better option on a phone. The rest of the site, including these guides and the leaderboard, works fine on any screen.
The site
Who makes FlowState: ATC?
Honeybell Games LTD, a small independent studio. See about for the longer version, or get in touch.
How do I report a bug or suggest a feature?
Through the contact page. Bug reports that say what you were doing and what happened are genuinely useful and they do get fixed; see the changelog for what has shipped recently.
What data do you collect?
The privacy policy is the full answer. In short: the account details you give us, your scores, and standard technical information such as the IP address and browser your account was created from, which we use to keep automated signups under control.