Hi guys,

I've got a question for you but have to start with a little bit of history. My first computer games I played on a maybe 4mhz system, a Schneider computer. PaCMan, Paratrooper and a nice flightgame, Sopwith. Here started my interest for flightsims. Afterwards I got my own computer, a 286 with a wopping 8 or 16mhz and a brilliant flightsim called Red Baron. This game was for me at that time the best and most beautifull game ever. Bear in mind that it was the time of 8mhz computers, videocards or even soundcards didn't exist.

Afterwards I got a very, very good Flightsim, Microprose F15 Strike Eagle III only playable on my dads super 486 with 33mhz! This game allowed for weapons choice, target choice, radars, rockets, bunkers, sh?ps, bagdad, day and night missions you name it. Brilliant.

Now I really would like to play that game again, but in my memory it was absolutely beautiful and I just watched some screenshots, and it is not so pretty anymore... so in order to save my precious memories of the game I have to find something new.

What flightsims are there on the market which would be similar to F15SE III? So a lot of freedom and a very cool, good looking game, but no need of an actual flight training though more realistic then for instance a 2D shoot'm'up like Raptor?

I plan on reading reviews and playing demo's on your suggestions and anything is welcome!

Thanks a million!

Jos
 

Oh jesus man, and here I thought all interest in flight sims had died (looks at his Saitek stick and smiles).

To be honest not much new has come out... the genre's dead, MS has shut down their flight sim crew, and you're not gonna find much out there... Lockon: Modern Air Combat is touted to be supposedly the most realistic one out there, which isn't necessarily the most fun. Non-combat wise X-Plane is a pretty good sim.

The best person to ask about here, even though he's not on often, is probably Elcapjtk...

Might I recommend, however, you try out some space sims? http://scp.indiegames.us/

Ever since the Freespace 2 source code was released by Volition after they went under, the FS2 community has been doing tons of things with the engine, upgrading and modernizing it, and creating some pretty kickass mods and campaigns for it. I'm personally waiting for BSG: Diaspora, a BSG mod that looks extremely promising (it came from a split with the Beyond the Red Line team, with a more aggressive release schedule so we won't have to wait forever and with some veteran FS2 modders on the team).

The Diaspora site is here:
http://www.diaspora-game.com/index.html

The BtRL site where you can get the demo they released before the split is here:
http://www.beyondtheredline.net/

If you haven't played Freespace 2 ever, download the core game from the SCP site. It may be confusing with all the different beta releases, assets, etc, so go to this page http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index...lling_fs2_open and download the installer, it should install the most current, stable release to your computer. (I wouldn't recommended changing the default directory... the game was made in an age when you couldn't have spaces in your folder name or anything like that) It's still by far and away the best space sim game out there.

Alternatively if the installer doesn't work (I haven't used it in ages) go here to install 3.6.10 step by step http://www.hard-light.net/forums/ind...c,58230.0.html
 

Oh yes... Diaspora trailers in Youtube HD can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/Karajorma

BSG fans, keep your mouths closed. Dont' want to dribble on your keyboard.
 

thanks mate for the reaction! Space sims were not exactly what I had in mind, but after watching the trailer I'll definately give it a go.

Is there a link between 9/11 and the stop on realistic flightsims?

Probably about ten years ago I bought the game Jane's World War 2 fighters which was a great simulator but lacked something in the career building mode. For instance if you were shot down you could switch planes and try and finish the mission (untill all planes where shot down). The game looked good though so I'll give it another go. And I really want to get the game B17: The mighty 8th. Bombing the shit out of Berlin will be fun

For now I still have to get home from argentina and after I get home it will be some time before I can actually start playing (need to visit a lot of people) but I'll keep reading and searching till then.

thanks!
 

With regards to 9/11... perhaps. But sims in general have been dying out. No one really cares to duplicate all the intricacies of flying a plane or commanding a submarine, or whatever else there might be anymore. Entertainment has moved away from simulation in favour of sheer enjoyability.

Sorry I couldn't help you much with flight sims... personally I've gone away from them myself... there aren't even that many good arcade flyers out there anymore... it's sort of a dead field. If you own an XBox 360, Ace Combat 6 is a good arcade flyer, but don't expect a sim experience. You get a million missiles and such. But I would rate it over stuff like Tom Clancy's HAWX anyday. Even if it has a really typical Japanese cheesy storyline, it works decently... and balances out the flight characteristics with enjoyability quite well. I've spent many a happy hour supercruising down canyons and dogfighting.

Like I said the reviews I've read have all recommended LockOn... but I've never played it myself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_on It's definitely not current gen but it still looks pretty good, and so long as it looks decent and the simulation's tight, that's really what you're going for in these games, an accurate rendering of flight dynamics and controls, etc...

Curious. What joystick do you own?






A small warning: People in the flightsim community, the diehards, are still very much there and they are nuts with their equipment. Some of these sims now can't really fully be realized without stuff like TrackIR (IR head movement tracking to look around the cockpit, etc, so you can quickly change your POV to determine threats, etc) and it's a *little* bit ridiculous.
 

The only joystick I have is not much use for flightsims, although my girl might disagree.

I really have to get back into the genre, so if I get hooked to a good game I'll get myself a new joystick. Any good recommendations, without going in the diehard segment? I don't see myself wearing any IR goggles soon

I remember Ace Combat from the original Xbox, was not such a bad game, but like you said, more arcade then really a simulator. And I actually got a submarine sim, but never really got the hang of it. A bit to detailed and specific. Maybe I have to find that game again....

damn, I can't wait to be home
 

I haven't played any of that stuff in many years, but back then the cool shit was MS Flight Sim (supposedly the most realistic of anything out there at the time, and had a ton of different aircraft). EF2000 was also a great sim, if you wanted to do combat missions.
 

There just aren't a ton of realistic flight sims anymore. Games are going more the direction of Hawx (which is a pile of crap) then the direction of MS Sim. Which is sad because those games were very very enjoyable.