Flight Simulator (which is best)
Discussion
nick heppinstall said:
FS2004 is the best for commercial. You can just fly around in a Cessna or download a 737 with a 300 page manual.
For a modern Military Sim then try lock-on. For older stuff then IL-2 Sturmovic probably offers the best experience.
What he said, plus if you are interested in "flying" helicopters then FS2004 isn't bad but apparently X-Plane is much better, it is not so high on the eye-candy scale but the physics make up for it.
Tornado, by Digital Integration.
Possibly the best most realistic flight sim for military stuff I've ever played. Ran in DOS too
Everything before and since is sub-par in comparison!
Tried that "lock-on Modern air combat", glad I downloaded it and didn't pay for it.
Sat on my HDD for about 8 hours after which it was deleted. Looks nice, plays like a pile of crap.
Since when did clicking on a blip on a radar of an object 80 miles away show a clear picture of it, it's name, and what it was doing.
Tornado you had to ping your radar on and off quickly as an interceptor so the enemy fighters didn't get a trace on you, and quickly note down the speed, altitude etc, and from that try work out if it was a bomber or interceptor etc. Then plan you attack.
Lock on is a click and shoot fest that pretends to be real. Not sure how real Tornado was but it was a dam site more real than any other flight sim I've played.
Dave
Possibly the best most realistic flight sim for military stuff I've ever played. Ran in DOS too
Everything before and since is sub-par in comparison!
Tried that "lock-on Modern air combat", glad I downloaded it and didn't pay for it.
Sat on my HDD for about 8 hours after which it was deleted. Looks nice, plays like a pile of crap.
Since when did clicking on a blip on a radar of an object 80 miles away show a clear picture of it, it's name, and what it was doing.
Tornado you had to ping your radar on and off quickly as an interceptor so the enemy fighters didn't get a trace on you, and quickly note down the speed, altitude etc, and from that try work out if it was a bomber or interceptor etc. Then plan you attack.
Lock on is a click and shoot fest that pretends to be real. Not sure how real Tornado was but it was a dam site more real than any other flight sim I've played.
Dave
I remember falcon 4.0 I Bought it about 6 years ago, and gave up after god knows how many hours of training. It was massively MASSIVELY in depth! Learning to call the ball, and do a carrier landing was immensely satisfying though 
It was the single most complex, realistic and authentic aircraft combat sim ever made, according to everyone that reviewed it. I read last night that a new version was released this summer, 7 years in the making, and its mostly bug free (the downfall of the origional game was bugs)
Reviews warn readers (like the origional) that although the gameplay is spot on, its far more than a game. Its a full on simulator, and reading/ understanding the entire 700 page manual is absolutely necessary if you want to master the game
It was the single most complex, realistic and authentic aircraft combat sim ever made, according to everyone that reviewed it. I read last night that a new version was released this summer, 7 years in the making, and its mostly bug free (the downfall of the origional game was bugs)
Reviews warn readers (like the origional) that although the gameplay is spot on, its far more than a game. Its a full on simulator, and reading/ understanding the entire 700 page manual is absolutely necessary if you want to master the game
UKBob said:
I remember falcon 4.0 I Bought it about 6 years ago, and gave up after god knows how many hours of training. It was massively MASSIVELY in depth! Learning to call the ball, and do a carrier landing was immensely satisfying though
It was the single most complex, realistic and authentic aircraft combat sim ever made, according to everyone that reviewed it. I read last night that a new version was released this summer, 7 years in the making, and its mostly bug free (the downfall of the origional game was bugs)
Reviews warn readers (like the origional) that although the gameplay is spot on, its far more than a game. Its a full on simulator, and reading/ understanding the entire 700 page manual is absolutely necessary if you want to master the game
Falcon 4 Allied Force, apparently. Looks awesome! I was a latecomer to Falcon 4.0, and was just starting to get into it when I moved out and ended up with a machine that wasn't powerful enough to run it. TBH I'd almost forgotten about it, but I can see a purchase on the horizon!
In-depth review here: www.frugalsworld.com/modules/zmagazine/article.php?articleid=200
I remember having a 450 mhz PC (IIRC!) and being able to run 4.0 at a decent frame rate with some effects turned on. If the engine is 'mostly' the same, it should run well on my current setup.
Cant decide whether to buy it, and a good yoke, and get into it in a big way
or not... I hate the idea of not making/finding the time to read a 700 page manual and spend hours putting each page's instructions into practise 
---------------
For those of you who have played microsoft flight sim, how much is there to the game? Whats the learning curve, what do you learn in your first 5 hours of play, the next 10, and the following 10? The idea of learning all the controls of a 747 really appeals - how much learning needs to be done?
Cant decide whether to buy it, and a good yoke, and get into it in a big way
or not... I hate the idea of not making/finding the time to read a 700 page manual and spend hours putting each page's instructions into practise ---------------
For those of you who have played microsoft flight sim, how much is there to the game? Whats the learning curve, what do you learn in your first 5 hours of play, the next 10, and the following 10? The idea of learning all the controls of a 747 really appeals - how much learning needs to be done?
UKBob said:
For those of you who have played microsoft flight sim, how much is there to the game? Whats the learning curve, what do you learn in your first 5 hours of play, the next 10, and the following 10? The idea of learning all the controls of a 747 really appeals - how much learning needs to be done?
Its as steep as you want it to be to be honest. It can get really involved with the navigation, following "correct" procedures to the book etc etc. The tutorials are OK but I found the best place to learn was from the endless amount of forums for the game.
In 5 hours you can fly, and do basic navigation. Another 10 and you should be able to fly the more advanced jets and the rest just comes with practice!
I remember Falcon on the Amiga and Atari ST in it's early days.
Was pretty crappy back then, but the best there was for decent realism. Was too hard at my age though really, F119 Stealth Fighter or whatever it was gave more enjoyment
Tornado on the PC had a big manual too, a good 500 pages. Half of it is just about approaches, stalling, manouevres etc etc.
The only bits you really need to know are what keys to press once you know how to fly
Thinking back, there was a decent Eurofighter game at some point too. I remember flying up and down the Fjords with the proper terrain was really cool... however, the missions were all pants.
Tornado you planned missions down to the second, crossing different planes over the target to thin out the AAA field of fire concentration etc. Really cool!
Might have a look at that Falcon then... could do with a good flight sim.
Dave
Was pretty crappy back then, but the best there was for decent realism. Was too hard at my age though really, F119 Stealth Fighter or whatever it was gave more enjoyment
Tornado on the PC had a big manual too, a good 500 pages. Half of it is just about approaches, stalling, manouevres etc etc.
The only bits you really need to know are what keys to press once you know how to fly
Thinking back, there was a decent Eurofighter game at some point too. I remember flying up and down the Fjords with the proper terrain was really cool... however, the missions were all pants.
Tornado you planned missions down to the second, crossing different planes over the target to thin out the AAA field of fire concentration etc. Really cool!
Might have a look at that Falcon then... could do with a good flight sim.
Dave
Mr Whippy said:
I remember Falcon on the Amiga and Atari ST in it's early days.
Was pretty crappy back then, but the best there was for decent realism. Was too hard at my age though really, F119 Stealth Fighter or whatever it was gave more enjoyment
Tornado on the PC had a big manual too, a good 500 pages. Half of it is just about approaches, stalling, manouevres etc etc.
The only bits you really need to know are what keys to press once you know how to fly
Thinking back, there was a decent Eurofighter game at some point too. I remember flying up and down the Fjords with the proper terrain was really cool... however, the missions were all pants.
Tornado you planned missions down to the second, crossing different planes over the target to thin out the AAA field of fire concentration etc. Really cool!
Might have a look at that Falcon then... could do with a good flight sim.
Dave
EF2000 is the Eurofighter game, still have it installed, was pretty damn good for its time. EF2000 also had a mission planner where you could plan your own in depth missions to infinite detail, what other planes would be in the strike package, what exact route to take, would take hours to plan though. I did have the Super EF2000 version though and I think this might have been an extra feature. There was a second later version of EF2000, I think the mission planner was dumped from that, apparently its not as good
IL2 is my current flight sim of choice, and if you like that the makers have 'Battle of Britain' coming out soon (next year) which is the next generation of that 'family of flight sims'(not to be confused with that other BoB:Wings of Victory game that is out now, thats just a rehash of an older game), can't wait
Falcon 4 has been reupdated (dont know about carrier landings though, F-16s are not cleared for carriers) and rereleased into its latest incarnation, I dont have time to master it though, WW2 stuff is challenging enough
) Haven't tried X-plane or LOMAC, got CFS3 and its a bit pants compared to IL2, lots of pretty addons though.
UKBob said:
what about landing a 747? Does it require hours of learning and practise, and feel equally rewarding to land when mastered?
Not at all. Just let the autopilot glide you in then do the final approach yourself. Fairly easy to get an OK result but as you said it does take practice and more practice to get it perfect for the ultimate satisfaction
Used to fly Falcon 4.0 - fantastic simulation. With some of the later patches fixing most of the bugs, and getting into the online community, it became so much more than a 1 player sim.
[In my younger and sadder days], I'd fly (callsign Cougar
) with 20 other pilots on various missions, lots of pre mission package planning, and timings, then lots of radio chatter (remember IRC?), and either flying against the computer, or against another human air force. Great game, incredible visuals, especially night landings.
The updated release is really down to the community that made it happen. Reading the manual shouldn't be a problem, since if you buy the game/sim, you're obviously interested in the subject, and you should therefore want to get the most out of it.
Fond memories indeed
LB
[In my younger and sadder days]
, I'd fly (callsign Cougar) with 20 other pilots on various missions, lots of pre mission package planning, and timings, then lots of radio chatter (remember IRC?), and either flying against the computer, or against another human air force. Great game, incredible visuals, especially night landings. The updated release is really down to the community that made it happen. Reading the manual shouldn't be a problem, since if you buy the game/sim, you're obviously interested in the subject, and you should therefore want to get the most out of it.
Fond memories indeed
LB
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