best flight sims

[liner33]

havent got bought any for years so lost touch with them

any reccomendations

[Taffer]

For accurate flight modelling, get X-Plane.

For visual effects, Microsoft Flight Sim. The flight modelling for the aircraft is based on data files rather than its aerodynamic properties, so you can have fun tweaking the handling characteritics of any of your aircraft.

In X-Plane, if you build a plane that looks like a brick, it'll fly like one.

[SlipStream77]

If you like WW2 type aircraft, try IL2 Sturmovik 1946. Lots of aircraft to fly (over 200) and great graphics despite it's age, it's a proper sim too. There is a good online element to it as well, I'm sure I recall being in dogfights with 20 to 30 other aircraft.

Have a look on youtube for some videos.

[Civpilot]

SlipStream77 said:

If you like WW2 type aircraft, try IL2 Sturmovik 1946. Lots of aircraft to fly (over 200) and great graphics despite it's age, it's a proper sim too. There is a good online element to it as well, I'm sure I recall being in dogfights with 20 to 30 other aircraft.

Have a look on youtube for some videos.

+1

I'n fact I would go so far as to say it's easily the best Flight Sim on the PC. It's far more engaging and "real feeling" than MS efforts and is considerably better to fly than X-Plane (With full realism).

And personally I think it look's better than both.

[liner33]

do it work on Vista though , a lot of my old games wont

[chris watton]

IL2 1946 is the ONLY flight sim worth getting (if you love piston and early jet engine planes). I am still playing it now. it is great online and in single player. There is a mission editor called 'uberdemon', which allows you to add as many planes as you like to a mission, over any theatre of war it is amazing choosing a squadron of spits, and then editing in 60 HE 111's, and 30 BF 109's to dogfight over the channel!
I took some snapshots in-game, both single and online a year or so back (This was before 1946, now it's even better!;

















ETA Yes, it works on Vista.

Edited by chris watton on Tuesday 29th July 10:15

[Altrezia]

Cool - going to try x-plane later. Always liked Sim's of all sorts - it allows us to try things we dont get to do in real life.

[SleeperCell]

liner33 said:

do it work on Vista though , a lot of my old games wont

I can run it fine on a vista laptop, just make sure you run it as admin, especially for online stuff.

[Mister V]

SleeperCell said:

liner33 said:

do it work on Vista though , a lot of my old games wont

I can run it fine on a vista laptop, just make sure you run it as admin, especially for online stuff.

It does run fine on vista. I have it on my vista pc with no issues. super game, and you can still find plenty of servers for the online (a good few always have 25+ players on them)

[liner33]

Result!!

After going around all the shops i knew i asked in my local gamestation if they had a copy as there were none on the shelves

they did have a copy without the box , cost 50p ....bonus!!

[Alex]

I used to really enjoy the Janes military flight sims like F16 and Longbow 2. Is there anything like those available now?

[Altrezia]

I've been playing RealFlight G4 this week. Great fun!

[SlipStream77]

Alex said:

I used to really enjoy the Janes military flight sims like F16 and Longbow 2. Is there anything like those available now?

There is an F16 simulator called "Falcon 4 Allied Force", I haven't played this version but I have the original "Falcon 4" and it is a VERY comprehensive simulation, with many, many functions and keys to learn, good graphics and a wide range of AI aircraft.

Here's the website...

http://www.graphsim.com/games-falcon-af.html

There is also "Lock On", again, I haven't tried it but the graphics look great and I have heard good things about it.

http://lo-mac.com/

In terms of military helicopter sims, I can only think of Razorwork's Enemy Engaged / Comanche Hokum, here's the site...

http://www.razorworks.com/enemyengaged/

Finally, have a look at this, it's a simulation of the Falklands conflict currently under development, it's looking awesome.

http://www.thunder-works.com/news.htm

Hope that helps.

[Matthew_Eames]

IL2 is good, they are working on a new one now I think

My favorite was always B17: The Mighty 8th
a few years old now, and mabye not the most accurate of them all (though not bad) but it adds a mix of lots of different gameplay, you can control the fighters if you want, or man any position of the bomber

Great game (goes looking for the disc)

[chris watton]

I had great fun playing as a pilot in a P-38 Lightning last night, on full realism settings, for IL2 1946.
I generated a mission where I (and another 16 P-38's) had to intercept 40 HE 111’s and 20 each BF 109’s and FW 190’s. over Normandy.
Managed to shoot down 8 planes before one of my engines’s got hit and spewing flames. I shut off the damaged engine and limped home, having to take out another BF 109 who dived to fast and overshot me. Managed to land safely and run from the plane before the fuel tank finally exploded!

This is such a great game, you can have it as hard and realistic as you wish, or have a quick Arcady ‘shoot ‘em up’. I just wish the sequel would come out sometime soon

[adam85]

Bought Flight Sim X and it runs/looks like complete crap on my computer- Balls!

[Mattygooner]

Still Love IL and the Aces expansion, the best WW2 flight sim available. Although i still think the best would be BF1942 experience with people able to control veihcles and people over a huge area, with online mode where loads of people are having mini missions inside one huge mission and you can strafe all day long on whoever takes your fancy.

Kinf of likve WW2 operation flashpoint with better flight physics and 200 people per map. Now that would be good.

[xiphias]

adam85 said:

Bought Flight Sim X and it runs/looks like complete crap on my computer- Balls!

Turn all the options down, particularly bloom, autogen, ground scenery and ai traffic. I used to run this on an xp1800 with an fx5200 mostly ok. There are plenty of tweak guides out there.

[Alfanatic]

Mattygooner said:

Still Love IL and the Aces expansion, the best WW2 flight sim available. Although i still think the best would be BF1942 experience with people able to control veihcles and people over a huge area, with online mode where loads of people are having mini missions inside one huge mission and you can strafe all day long on whoever takes your fancy.

Kinf of likve WW2 operation flashpoint with better flight physics and 200 people per map. Now that would be good.

Have you looked at WW2 Online? Is that the kind of thing you were thinking of?

Linky:

http://www.battlegroundeurope.com/

[Mattygooner]

Alfanatic said:

Mattygooner said:

Still Love IL and the Aces expansion, the best WW2 flight sim available. Although i still think the best would be BF1942 experience with people able to control veihcles and people over a huge area, with online mode where loads of people are having mini missions inside one huge mission and you can strafe all day long on whoever takes your fancy.

Kinf of likve WW2 operation flashpoint with better flight physics and 200 people per map. Now that would be good.

Have you looked at WW2 Online? Is that the kind of thing you were thinking of?

Linky:

http://www.battlegroundeurope.com/

I had ago on that about 2 years ago, probably in early developments but it just felt like none of the elements really worked, they had it all there but they were not the easiest to control. I don't know how to describe it, the idea was fantastic but just not executed all that well, i think the best bit was the flying, but that was ok, the infantry and vehicles / gun implacements needed a lot of work.

What was that flying one which was massive maps everyone joined a team who had airbases and towns and you flew around shooting and boombing stuff gradually taking over other peoples airfields and stuff, that was quite fun, but £7 a month if i remember.