Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 68 total)
  • Flight simulator game
  • garage-dweller
    Full Member

    It seems there’s a few PC gamers on here.

    My boys really seem to like the flight simulator games at a couple of the local air force museums (both using the old Microsoft Flight Simulator software I believe) and eldest seems to be showing a lot of patience and interest for this kind of thinking/careful game.

    We don’t have any other gaming devices so thinking about a relatively budget gaming PC and a flight sim that would allow them to fly a variety of aircraft. (Other games to follow, not just for this!)

    Is there such a thing as a basic simulator game that can offer a range of aircraft and challenges that might include a mix of vintage, commercial, combat aircraft like the old MS product and a range of difficulty?

    martymac
    Full Member

    I use x plane, it cost around £40, I bought a joystick at the same time, internet reviews said the one I bought was the best budget one (can’t remember the name of it).
    Both work well, im on a mac but windows version available too i believe.
    Linky

    Big forum too, loads of free user created planes, ive tried a few and they mostly work very well.

    Klunk
    Free Member

    [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrDKFi46PZ4[/video]

    njee20
    Free Member

    Flight Simulator X is available on Steam, bought it last week. Absolutely needs a decent flight stick, but not hugely resource intensive, I’m using it on my laptop with settings turned up and it’s fine.

    There’s epic amounts of downloadable content including every plane ever, scenery, weather etc.

    CraigW
    Free Member

    Could try FlightGear, its free, can do a lot of stuff. http://www.flightgear.org/

    CaptainSlow
    Full Member

    They might like this

    http://store.steampowered.com/app/63950/

    [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6u4JxgE2S4[/video]

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    Sorry silly question

    STEAM ?

    Does it just mean older games still available?

    I think I’ve found flight sim x stream edition on Amazon for about £15 and our laptop would run it , maybe with a monitor attached for better picture.

    Will check out others. Thanks

    yeager2004
    Free Member

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    Captain slow that video is stunning. I’ll check out the other from klunk when it’s not bed time!

    rkk01
    Free Member

    Flight Sims – the very reason I got into computers 😆 😳 😥

    A genre that was at the leading edge (pun intended) of gaming 20 or so years ago, but has become a niche market abandoned by most publishers and gamers…

    IMHO the ability and desire to replicate every button and function killed it off. If it takes x years to train a real F16 pilot, then the clue is there that mist armchair drivers aren’t going to have the time / inclination to learn the systems…

    Anyway, I’ve always found Microsoft FS to be boring, despite having flow som excellent add one from the likes of Just Flight (Mosquito, Hawk, Lancaster, Vulcan) and A2A Simulations (various US warbirds)

    Personally, combat sims are more “engaging”, but not everyone want that…
    As above ^^^, the Il-2 franchise is worth a look (Battle of Britain, Stalingrad). IIRC thes can be relatively accessible for new players

    Beware, a joystick is a must, then you’ll find a throttle would be good, and possibly even rudder pedals 😯 (WW2 aircraft need a fair bit of rudder input 😉 )

    And then, if you / your kids really get into it, there are the so called “study sims”

    Have a look at videos posted by Eagle Dynamics, DCS World, Razbam, VEAO Simulations etc. Jaw dropping attention to detail 😮
    [video]http://youtu.be/9db7_njIgGE[/video]

    [video]http://youtu.be/4Y3-wnVBq6w[/video]

    Jujuuk68
    Free Member

    Microsoft “Flight” (Not Flight Simulator) X” is free, and quite accessible as a starter. The inital download gives you Hawaii to fly aroumd, and there are certain tasks/things to do.

    I think it was supposed to be the replacement for FSx but got canned shortly after release, and so free to download. Well, it was, I’ve not played it for a couple of years…

    redthunder
    Free Member

    Isozone
    http://www.theisozone.com/downloads/pc/windows-games/

    Retro pc stuff….. combat flight sim 2 or 3.

    Abandonware.

    deadkenny
    Free Member

    njee20 – Member 
    Flight Simulator X is available on Steam, bought it last week

    Nearly bought it myself as it went down to £6 but back up to £20 at the moment. It’s the ‘Steam’ Edition so while X is technically old now being from 2006, it’s been patched up a bit. It keeps dropping in price though.

    Last MS Flight Sim I played was back in 2000 I think!

    eat_the_pudding
    Free Member

    I’ve only skim read the above, but it looks like no-ones mentioned DCS World (Digital Combat Simulator World).
    Free to play with a civilian P-51 mustang (wheeeeeeee!) and a modern russian tankbuster.

    Largely clickable cockpits, and you can use “game” or “simulation” modes.
    Unlike the MS Flight Simularor, its still in devlopment.
    You can then buy more aircraft which is where they make money.

    Pays to get a decent hotas setup, but also to get a headtracker, (facetracknoir or opentrack).

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Flight sims can be pretty difficult to learn. 100 page manuals and hours of tutorial and so on.

    Have you tried Google Earth in flight sim mode? Good for a laugh.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Whilst we’re here, I had a joystick that I recently binned due to a fault – can someone recommend me something cheap or flog me one s/h?

    rkk01
    Free Member

    e_t_p, those vids ^^^ are DCS 🙂

    As are these…
    [video]http://youtu.be/M7EVVN5XoEo[/video]

    [video]http://youtu.be/dSPF6o10DV4[/video]

    [video]http://youtu.be/LGuC5mC6zeo[/video]

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    Cliffs of Dover was terrible unless modded.

    Il2: Battle for Moscow/Stalingrad/Kursk is where it is at.

    DCS World for modern stuff

    Rise of Flight for WW1 hilarity.

    rkk01
    Free Member

    And topically, seeing as Kuznetsov was down our way

    [video]http://youtu.be/arEIfb0r6KM[/video]

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Microsoft “Flight” (Not Flight Simulator) X” is free

    Google does not seem to be able to find such a thing?

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    Rise of Flight is partly free, two planes and 1 map.

    ski99
    Full Member

    MS Flight Simulator 98 was my first real experience of “realistic” sims, and that coupled with the photo-realistic scenery, a good airport add-on bundle and the original traffic gave a decent understanding of the mechanics of cheap sims, and it was tailored to the UK.

    Back then it cost a lot of money for the scenery for the UK, but I’d imagine that you could find it fairly cheaply now. With the original FS Traffic you could record flight between airports, doing circuits etc and the recording would then play themselves giving a more realistic feel to the airport environments. There are loads of freeware aircraft to pick from, ranging from very poor characteristics to all singing replicas, but the bog standard Cessna 182 was a good trainer.

    You should be able to put something together which on a modern PC will run brilliantly with all of the settings turned up for very little outlay. A decent throttle and stick/yoke would enhance it further.

    njee20
    Free Member

    Sorry silly question
    STEAM ?
    Does it just mean older games still available?
    I think I’ve found flight sim x stream edition on Amazon for about £15 and our laptop would run it , maybe with a monitor attached for better picture.
    Will check out others. Thanks

    Steam are an online game host, who sell a lot of games and downloadable content for them. Not all old, they’ve got current stuff too. As DK noted, Flight Simulator X was £6 last week, so I took a punt. Even for £20 it’s not bad as a ‘base purchase’, because the catalogue of DLC is colossal. I immediately downloaded (for free) Concorde, a Eurofighter and an A380, as well as new skins for existing aircraft, plus enhanced scenery for Heathrow and Gatwick. Trying to use the keyboard is a total disaster though, but I fear the wife will think I’m a complete moron if I buy a joystick for it. Not quite so “playing slyly on the sofa of an evening” friendly either.

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    Thanks all. I’ve got sucked into checking out gaming pc’s…
    If I suddenly stop posting Mrs G-D has caught me and decided to lay a new pa………….[digging sounds]……[cement mixer]…..[slabs being laid]….[silence]

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    Sorry can I just check is this “Steam” that’s been referenced above?[/url]

    http://store.steampowered.com/app/314160/

    Looks like the laptop won’t quite take the requirements (low video memory) so I think a cheap gaming box to attach to the telly through HDMI is going to be on the cards.

    Xylene
    Free Member

    Falcon 4.0 the pinnacle of flight sims

    117A stealth fighter – Microprose stuff was class.

    mattrgee
    Free Member

    The last flight sim game I played was this:

    njee20
    Free Member

    Looks like the laptop won’t quite take the requirements (low video memory) so I think a cheap gaming box to attach to the telly through HDMI is going to be on the cards.

    That’s the one, but why not get it first and find out? It’s quite an old game, buying a PC speculatively seems a bit daft. I’d expect any laptop in the last 10 years to be fine. If you need a new PC you can download it on multiple machines.

    TheFlyingOx
    Full Member

    If you’re on a really crap-spec PC, I’d recommend DOSBox and a copy of Reach For The Skies.
    I think you’re

    Imagine IL2 but with 320×200 EGA graphics and digitised sound out of the crap built-in PC speaker cos you can’t afford an AdLib soundcard.

    eat_the_pudding
    Free Member

    @rkk01 .. Sorry, I see that now 🙂 The power of skim reading! :O)

    zzjabzz
    Free Member

    Both my lads use fsx. One has a Saitek AV8R stick and the other has a Speedlink Black Widow. Both do the job well but the AV8R is probably the better option, if you can find one. As for your PC, if you’re planning on playing other games, get the best spec for your budget, as ever.

    Del
    Full Member

    thrustmaster is a decent hotas joystick for the money IMO.
    seems to work pretty well for elite.
    think of steam as the itunes of gaming.

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    If the pcs a bit dated get IL2 1946 – hundreds of planes….dozens of theatres….passable graphics….decent flight model. pretty much set the bar for ww2 combat flight sims.

    rossendalelemming
    Free Member

    I keep dipping into World of Warplanes – free to play.

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    Arcadey even in comparison to the older 1946 though, and probably doesn’t run as well on a low end machine.

    Mikkel
    Free Member

    Ms Flightsim X exist as Lockheed Martins Prepar3d and there is some really nicely detailed terrain out for this.
    I have got UK, Norway and the Pacific Northwest and have got a tour going airport hopping my way round Norway.
    And love flying out of Seattle/Vancouver Island Island hopping to San Juan island etc

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    Cheers all. There’s a budget flight stick option for about £30 somewhere I can buy at the weekend so I’ll probably grab one of them and try a download of MS Flight Sim X steam edition and see how it goes. Will be popping back to the you tube stuff i haven’t seen later.

    pondo
    Free Member

    Has anyone ever done anything half decent for console? Seems like a gap in the market there, be well happy with a WW2 air combat sim on PS3.

    rkk01
    Free Member

    There’s a version of Il-2 Battle of Btitain / Stalingrad on the PS

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    IL2 Birds of Prey i think there is a newer as well.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 68 total)

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