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Infrastructure should always beat possessing one endgame item.

Aileron is an attempt to bring Elytra in line with other transport systems in Minecraft while expanding on their capabilities. We want to make them much more fun and balanced by introducing new mechanics and enchantments - mostly geared towards multiplayer gameplay, but they should still be great in singleplayer. If you disagree with any of our design choices, don't worry! It's all configurable.

The reasoning is pretty straightforward. Minecraft is a game largely about exploration, and Elytra run contrary to that premise by allowing players to zoom across the terrain at incredible speeds with no required infrastructure or limitations. This also serves to devalue the terrain and make the world feel smaller while pushing players away from each other as distance no longer becomes a concern in their base-building endeavors. Elytra also have the effect of rendering all other transport infrastructure irrelevant. Built an extensive railroad network? Doesn't matter. Made a nether hub and created extensive ice highways to everyone's base? Doesn't matter. Spent an excessive amount of time breeding a cool horse? Still doesn't matter. The solution? Make Elytra require the same level of investment to both make them a more rewarding upgrade and allow users to reuse their existing builds.

Mechanical Changes

Camera Tilt

The player's camera tilts while rapidly turning at high velocities during Elytra flight.

Updrafts

Players may crouch on a campfire with an Elytra equipped for one second to launch vertically into the air when released. They're also boosted upward while flying over a campfire.

Firework Contrails

Fireworks may no longer be used for speed boosts - they instead leaving a lingering trail, purely for cosmetic purposes.

Campfire Stacking
Campfire smoke travels higher depending on how many other campfires are adjacent to the source campfire.

Enchantments

Smokestack

Allows the player to store boosts while crouching on campfires, consuming them with the jump key while flying for a burst of speed. One maximum boost may be stored per level, capping at 3.

Treasure enchantment. Incompatible with Cloudskipper.

Cloudskipper

Horizontal drag is reduced depending on the player's altitude, allowing them to glide for much longer and at much higher speeds while above the cloud layer.

Treasure enchantment. Incompatible with Smokestack.

Aileron also works great with Elytra Bounce, a mod that allows you to bounce off the ground when flying.

Aileron is a Lodestar mod under the LGPLv3 license.

You may use this mod in any modpack. It'd be cool to let us know though!

Aileron

Smokestack Boosting

Firework Contrails

Updraft Boosting

Cloudskipper

Campfire Stacking