Altitude takes the shape of a tiny cartoon plane and turns a dogfight into quick side-scrolling missions. The standard modes are competitive, but community-run Alti+ servers add actual co-op maps where human players work together against the map’s bases and defenses. Coop+ records completed runs and tracks player contributions, giving teams a shared time to beat. It is a small, community-maintained route into co-op rather than a built-in story campaign or a menu option that guarantees a private session. For a different challenge, Ruin puts a human team against computer-controlled opponents, including live bots that can attack players.
Altitude also has a larger competitive side. In its standard team modes, you and your friends can carry a ball through enemy fire or escort a bomb to an opposing base, but your team is trying to beat another team. Training is solo practice against bots in the base game. That division helps set expectations: co-op against map objectives is available through community content, while the familiar Ball and Team Base Destruction matches remain PvP.
Coop+ turns a team into the whole side
The Alti+ wrapper adds custom server tools and game types to Altitude. Some Coop+ maps can assign players to a team automatically; the server also offers specially built maps with custom rules and records for completed runs. Win by destroying the map’s base; some maps are designed as quick routes and others make the team work through more of the defenses. Everyone is on the same side against the map rather than racing another human team. Players can compare completion times and contribution records after a run, which gives repeat attempts a shared target.
This co-op is built from Altitude’s existing flight and combat. Maps place bases, turrets, and bomb runs along routes that vary from quick assaults to longer fights through defenses. Alti+ maps can place extra spawn zones to keep the team moving, and rules can restrict aircraft that might break a map. It is closer to a set of timed, replayable missions than to a campaign: the objective and layout change from map to map, but the point is to complete the map efficiently.
Coop+ runs online, and its current capacity and availability depend on the server. Completion records do not guarantee that a server will be populated when your group arrives. The separate Ruin mode puts a human team against computer-controlled enemies: players work together to destroy structures while live bots can attack them and score for the computer. You need a server running that mode and one of its maps.
The main tradeoff is discoverability. Coop+ sits outside Altitude’s standard match modes, so you need to find the community server and its map rotation in the server browser. It is a community-run experience, and a private lobby is not guaranteed. Server capacity and map availability can change, so check the current listing before you plan a session.
Plane Ball is a dogfight with a goal
Plane Ball, usually shortened to Ball, gives each team a goal and puts a ball in the middle of the map. Touch the ball to pick it up, then carry it toward the other goal or fire it forward to pass to a teammate. The ball carrier flies more slowly, so a direct run can leave you exposed. You can shoot the ball into open space, hand it off to a friend, or use your weapons to clear enemy planes from its path. Public Ball matches bring your group onto a team with other players, so friends can join a larger match together.
It is football translated into an aerial scrum. The ball can skip through an open tunnel or bounce around a wall, changing the angle of each pass and shot. Tight passages funnel carriers, defenders, and pursuers into sudden collisions. You steer, aim, and track the ball while the rest of the field is often just off screen.
The teams work toward the same score, but Ball is still a contest against another human team. Its passing and goal defense create teamwork inside a PvP match; Coop+ maps instead put every human player on the same side against the map.
Bomb runs give the other team a target
Team Base Destruction, or TBD, replaces the goal with two bases. Each team has to protect its own base while trying to destroy the opposing one. Guns can bring down planes and turrets, but the base itself needs a bomb. On shared-bomb maps, both teams fight over a neutral pickup; on team-bomb maps, each side gets its own bomb and races to make a successful run. The visible carrier becomes a target as each team balances its base defense with pressure on the opposing objective.
Once a bomb is picked up, everyone can track its carrier. The other team can intercept the run, defend its base, or push its own bomb forward; turrets and other planes make the route dangerous. A direct bomb hit is the only way to damage a base in standard TBD, so the match keeps returning to that visible objective even while dogfights break out across the map. Rounds end when a team destroys the other base or the server’s match conditions are met.
The mode’s pace depends on the map and server setup. A shared bomb may turn the center of the map into a repeated tug of war; separate bombs can make both teams race toward the other’s base at once. The additional one-life Base Destruction variant raises the stakes: each player gets one life for the game, and a single direct bomb hit can destroy a base. Team survival and the objective run happen together, so losing one plane changes the numbers for the rest of the round.
Five planes, different flight styles
Altitude has five aircraft, each with its own handling and weapons. The Loopy is nimble and quick; the heavier Explodet uses rockets and mines; the Biplane leans on dependable guns; the Bomber can suppress a crowded area; and the Miranda can reverse or warp in ways that make its movement harder to predict. Those are broad roles rather than fixed classes. You pick a plane, choose its available perks, and can adjust your loadout between spawns.
Flight itself asks you to manage speed and momentum. Turning around does not stop your plane in place, and climbing too slowly can leave it stalled. Diving builds speed. The controls are keyboard-based, with configurable keys; controller support is partial. You also have energy for actions such as boosting or firing certain weapons, and it regenerates after use. Weapon choices and defensive tools include primary and secondary attacks, plus pickups such as shields, missiles, walls, healing and bombs. A shield can reflect some enemy shots; a wall blocks a corridor or incoming fire; a missile tracks an opponent if they do not evade it.
The aircraft trade speed, weight, weapons, and movement abilities rather than filling fixed character classes. Those differences affect how each plane handles ball movement, bomb runs, and crowded fights. Perks and pickups add defensive or offensive options, but there is no formal support class assigned to a particular player.
A match can be short, but unlocks take time
You earn experience from destroying enemy planes, assisting in kills, damaging turrets or bases, and winning rounds. Leveling unlocks aircraft, perks and challenges. Training also offers bot matches and structured challenges for one player, including practice for Ball, TBD and Free For All. It is a useful place to learn how the aircraft move or try a mode without entering a public server, but it is separate from online play and intended for one player. Coop+ fills a different gap by letting several human players share a mission against map structures, while the Alti+ Ruin variant offers a separate team-versus-computer mode.
The unlock system gives regular players more combinations over time, while new players begin with fewer planes and perks. That gap can be noticeable when new and experienced players enter the same match. You may want several rounds before the options open up, and the beginner experience can depend on what public servers are active. Coop+ and Ruin maps are community-made additions, so their rotation and availability depend on the server rather than the base game’s standard playlist.
A match can keep going through different maps and modes on the same server, so the basic dogfight gains variety from a new objective or arena rather than a story campaign. Ball, base destruction, free-for-all, team deathmatch and one-life variants ask for different priorities. Community servers also use custom maps and host rotations. The central loop remains flying, fighting and returning for another round; there is no narrative campaign or persistent cooperative mission structure.
Getting your group into a match
Altitude supports online play across Windows, macOS and Linux. Cross-platform multiplayer is available, but not every Steam and standalone version combination is confirmed to connect; check your group’s versions first. Each person joining online needs their own computer and network connection.
The standard route is the server list, where you can look for public games, see the mode and current capacity, and join a friend’s server. Standard Altitude servers use a separate configurator and launcher, plus router or firewall port settings. Coop+ requires the Alti+ wrapper and custom maps/configuration; standard server setup alone does not provide that content, and a private lobby is not guaranteed.
The public community is small, and activity varies by time; a populated match may not be available whenever your group is ready. Check the server list before you gather. The ranked ladder is a separate progression goal, while public casual matches provide a more direct route into online play.
Is Altitude right for your friends?
Altitude is worth a look if your group wants a free, compact plane shooter with both community co-op and competitive matches. On Alti+ Coop+, you can fly a shared mission to destroy map structures, then compare your completion time and contributions. The separate Ruin team-versus-computer maps add live bots as a threat. If the co-op server or a suitable map is not available when you play, the standard menu still offers solo bot Training and online PvP modes such as Plane Ball and Team Base Destruction. Different aircraft and perks give you several ways to contribute, while the bright, miniature planes and cramped maps keep the action readable even when several craft cross paths.
It is a poor match for a group seeking a conventional campaign with a guaranteed private co-op lobby. Coop+ and the Ruin team-versus-computer variant are community server experiences, and their player caps, maps and current availability can change; Coop+ focuses on the shared map objective, while Ruin adds computer-controlled enemies. Public activity varies by time, and long-time players may have aircraft or perks that take new accounts time to unlock. Check the server browser before you gather, and be ready for a community-made mission rather than a polished sequence of story levels. If the shared objective and quick runs sound fun, Altitude’s co-op has a distinct place among its aerial dogfights.