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Which is the current best Flight Simulator?
- Thread starter petreza
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2002
- Location
- Sterling IL
IL2 Sturmovik is one of the best combat flight sims ever made. definatly a must own.
i'm not that big on flight sims so i'll stop there. there's a few hardcore flight simmers here though, i'm sure you'll get few suggestions.
i'm not that big on flight sims so i'll stop there. there's a few hardcore flight simmers here though, i'm sure you'll get few suggestions.
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2001
- Location
- Sacramento, CA
Currently, Microsoft Flight Sim 2002 is one of the most popular. It has interactive ATC in it adding a new dimension to flight simming. In the summer of this year, MS is releasing MS Flight Sim A Century Of Flight which looks to be the best one yet. Much better looking detail wise compared to any other Flight Sim Ive ever seen. Details on the upcoming flight sim here;
http://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds?$=main/notams03/acof0212.htm
http://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds?$=main/notams03/acof0212.htm
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2001
- Location
- Danville, VA
Microsoft.
microsoft definetly makes the best flight sims so far. X-plane was good for awhile, until ms flight sim 2k2 came out. I never touched x-plane again. IL-2 sturmovick is definetly the most fun combat sim, but It really sucks without having yoke/joystick AND rudder pedals. CFS3 is pretty fun too. I love ejecting. lol. But I suggest Fs2002 and the upcoming Century of flight mentioned above. I can't wait to get my little airplane flying hands on it. Lol.
microsoft definetly makes the best flight sims so far. X-plane was good for awhile, until ms flight sim 2k2 came out. I never touched x-plane again. IL-2 sturmovick is definetly the most fun combat sim, but It really sucks without having yoke/joystick AND rudder pedals. CFS3 is pretty fun too. I love ejecting. lol. But I suggest Fs2002 and the upcoming Century of flight mentioned above. I can't wait to get my little airplane flying hands on it. Lol.
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2002
- Location
- Karachi, Pakistan
i haven't touched any sim since Falcon 4.0, it's been a while since i have played f4 problem with it is that there are so many 3rd party patches etc around that if you don't keep in touch with what's happening you are lost ...
My Saitek X36F is eating dust now days, maybe one of these days i will try out IL2 (i have heard a lot about it)
My Saitek X36F is eating dust now days, maybe one of these days i will try out IL2 (i have heard a lot about it)
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2002
The best flight sim depends largely on which eras and style of flight most interest you. Here are my favorites for the major genres:
WWI: Red Baron 3D
This is practically a winner by default, RB3D (and RB-II, the game it was based on) is the only WWI flight sim released in the last five years. When this game came out it stunk on ice. But in the years since Sierra patched the major problems and the user community has created some great mods.
WWII (Light): Jane's WWII Fighers and Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator II-Pacific Theater
A light sim is one that places more emphasis on action than flight model realism and historical detail. Still, these two are hardly arcade games. Both are great fun to fly, have terrific graphics, and are very immersive.
WWII (Deep): IL-2 Sturmovik and Battle of Britain
Others have sung the praises of IL-2, and they're right. The online play of IL-2 is to flight sims what Ultima Online was for RPG's, it truely redefines what is possible. BoB is a hidden gem, and maybe a better game if you prefer offline play. The flight models and graphics are very good, but the great thing about this game is that it runs in real time. The actual Battle of Britain lasted just 28 days and the game only gives you that much time to either save or lose the battle. And because the forces were so numercially mismatched, its not hard to believe that the outcome could truely turn on your performance. Great stuff.
Modern Military Jet (Light): Jane's USAF
The flight and weapons modeling almost defies crediblity, but USAF is still a lot of fun. It is like Need For Speed with wings. A couple of unique features make it shine. First, it covers Vietnam with the F-105 Thud and F-4 Phantom, and you can fly actual missions from that war. The other thing I like is how it incorporates all types of tactical flight on a mission. You have to assign several squadrons of different types of planes to complete a mission and jump between them. In emphasising the duties of each fighter type to completing a mission, USAF is actually more accurate than any other sim on the market.
Modern Military Jet (Deep): Flanker 2.5
You'll have to hit eBay to find this one but its worth the effort. This is the best flight and weapons model I've found in any flight sim, with gorgeous graphics and an immersive campaign. Oh, and you don't need to download an effing huge patch file to make it work. (If you're on a dialup, don't even think about buying Falcon 4.)
Helicopter: Jane's Longbow Anthology
This is a tough call. The Enemy Engaged series is newer, is just as accurate and has far better graphics. But comes up far short on documentation. It can take weeks of dedicated work to figure out how everything works. Commanche 4 is a better choice for a casual sim player, but the hardware requirements are as serious as a heart attack. Its largely a victory by default, but the Longbow series remains the best helicopter sim I've ever played.
Civilian: X-Plane 6.xx
Unless you are a real or aspiring pilot looking for a sim to keep your pattern procedures sharp, there is no reason to pick Flight Simulator over X-Plane. X-Plane lacks the last-button detail of FS2002, but the flight model is much better and what it trades in cockpit detail makes it easier to fly and have fun. The user community for X-Plane is outstanding, too.
BHD
WWI: Red Baron 3D
This is practically a winner by default, RB3D (and RB-II, the game it was based on) is the only WWI flight sim released in the last five years. When this game came out it stunk on ice. But in the years since Sierra patched the major problems and the user community has created some great mods.
WWII (Light): Jane's WWII Fighers and Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator II-Pacific Theater
A light sim is one that places more emphasis on action than flight model realism and historical detail. Still, these two are hardly arcade games. Both are great fun to fly, have terrific graphics, and are very immersive.
WWII (Deep): IL-2 Sturmovik and Battle of Britain
Others have sung the praises of IL-2, and they're right. The online play of IL-2 is to flight sims what Ultima Online was for RPG's, it truely redefines what is possible. BoB is a hidden gem, and maybe a better game if you prefer offline play. The flight models and graphics are very good, but the great thing about this game is that it runs in real time. The actual Battle of Britain lasted just 28 days and the game only gives you that much time to either save or lose the battle. And because the forces were so numercially mismatched, its not hard to believe that the outcome could truely turn on your performance. Great stuff.
Modern Military Jet (Light): Jane's USAF
The flight and weapons modeling almost defies crediblity, but USAF is still a lot of fun. It is like Need For Speed with wings. A couple of unique features make it shine. First, it covers Vietnam with the F-105 Thud and F-4 Phantom, and you can fly actual missions from that war. The other thing I like is how it incorporates all types of tactical flight on a mission. You have to assign several squadrons of different types of planes to complete a mission and jump between them. In emphasising the duties of each fighter type to completing a mission, USAF is actually more accurate than any other sim on the market.
Modern Military Jet (Deep): Flanker 2.5
You'll have to hit eBay to find this one but its worth the effort. This is the best flight and weapons model I've found in any flight sim, with gorgeous graphics and an immersive campaign. Oh, and you don't need to download an effing huge patch file to make it work. (If you're on a dialup, don't even think about buying Falcon 4.)
Helicopter: Jane's Longbow Anthology
This is a tough call. The Enemy Engaged series is newer, is just as accurate and has far better graphics. But comes up far short on documentation. It can take weeks of dedicated work to figure out how everything works. Commanche 4 is a better choice for a casual sim player, but the hardware requirements are as serious as a heart attack. Its largely a victory by default, but the Longbow series remains the best helicopter sim I've ever played.
Civilian: X-Plane 6.xx
Unless you are a real or aspiring pilot looking for a sim to keep your pattern procedures sharp, there is no reason to pick Flight Simulator over X-Plane. X-Plane lacks the last-button detail of FS2002, but the flight model is much better and what it trades in cockpit detail makes it easier to fly and have fun. The user community for X-Plane is outstanding, too.
BHD
What about good old Wings from Cinemascape? It was and still ranks as the best WW1 flight sim with me.
Sure, graphics are hopelessly outdated.. but the atmosphere is much better than Red Baron's.
And then there's LHX.. an ancient Heli-sim for the 386... I still like it... simple, direct, and you don't have to remember 200 switches to do stuff.
) Kenny
Sure, graphics are hopelessly outdated.. but the atmosphere is much better than Red Baron's.
And then there's LHX.. an ancient Heli-sim for the 386... I still like it... simple, direct, and you don't have to remember 200 switches to do stuff.
) Kenny- Joined
- Dec 28, 2001
A new (relatively speaking) jet combat sim is out that looks pretty promising, Strike Fighters Project 1. It has gotten good reviews , and features jet classics such as the F-104, F-4, F-100, Mig-17 and Mig-19.
I just bought it yesterday, but I haven't installed it yet. I was prepared to pay full price at Best Buy, $39.00, but when the checker rang it up, it was on sale for $16.00! A pleasant surprise.
I'll report back when I've gotten it installed and have tried it out.
I have iL2, but I've never really gotten hooked on it. Jane's WW-2 is a great intro to combat sims, and one thing that really makes it shine is that there are people making mods for it that can transform it completely. Even though it dates from 1998, its graphics actually look better than iL2. With the modified 3D models, it can still bring my system to its knees. The modified flight model ups the realism quite a bit, but until someone cracks the hardcode, there is no way to bring the flight or damage models up to the iL2 level.
With iL2 Fogotten Battles coming out, I may be given the incentive to finally get hooked. I think that the upcoming flyable ME-262 might just do it.
We'll see.
I just bought it yesterday, but I haven't installed it yet. I was prepared to pay full price at Best Buy, $39.00, but when the checker rang it up, it was on sale for $16.00! A pleasant surprise.
I'll report back when I've gotten it installed and have tried it out.
I have iL2, but I've never really gotten hooked on it. Jane's WW-2 is a great intro to combat sims, and one thing that really makes it shine is that there are people making mods for it that can transform it completely. Even though it dates from 1998, its graphics actually look better than iL2. With the modified 3D models, it can still bring my system to its knees. The modified flight model ups the realism quite a bit, but until someone cracks the hardcode, there is no way to bring the flight or damage models up to the iL2 level.
With iL2 Fogotten Battles coming out, I may be given the incentive to finally get hooked. I think that the upcoming flyable ME-262 might just do it.
We'll see.
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- Joined
- Sep 26, 2002
- Location
- Indianapolis, IN
my vote goes for microsoft flight simulator 2002 professional. that's what i have and i addicted to it
i love being able to take off from the airport here at purdue and landing on the strip about 3 miles from my house back east of indy it's pretty cool... great scenery, nice planes... easy to add planes on and find good ones too... i get all my planes from surclaro. they have some great stuff...
i love being able to take off from the airport here at purdue and landing on the strip about 3 miles from my house back east of indy
it's pretty cool... great scenery, nice planes... easy to add planes on and find good ones too... i get all my planes from surclaro. they have some great stuff...
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2002
- Location
- Karachi, Pakistan
Slightly off topic, you know there is a sim i LOVED playing its quiet old with obviously old graphics but its game play was awesome the name of the sim was Tornado i was pretty much excited to hear that there is a sequel in making but i haven't heard a lot about it lately
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2002
- Location
- Delft, The Netherlands
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2002
- Location
- Karachi, Pakistan
lol what is that CGA graphics? lol oh man good ol days you reminded me of the time i used to play Test Drive 1 like crazy lol
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2002
- Location
- Delft, The Netherlands
TD1 had "music" at least
edit: it was indeed CGA
edit: it was indeed CGA
OP
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2002
- Thread Starter
- #16
Jirnsum said:
Ooooh, yesssss! The good old days. The days where:
1. The current games were monochrome - "Prince of Persia", the original "Snake" or "Worm" game, there was one where you played a marshal arts guy whose enemies for some reazon always came from the right, etc.
2. The state of the art games, like todays "Doom III" where the COLOR games like the one above.
Aaaaah, the good old days!
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