Are Flight Simulators Any Fun?

[rob86 2]

I think a PC flight simulator with proper flight controllers would be interesting to play with, but I'm not sure if it would be worth the money to buy a game and the gear to do it? I don't know how long an interest in it could be sustained. I saw il2 Sturmovik and despite it's age looked interesting, but are there other flight simulators with enough realism to make a hobby in flight simulation worth the expense? I want to play something that's at least somewhat similar to the real experience. The genre seems to be saturated with console arcade games like HAWX, and while that looks 'ok' for a short brust of entertainment I'd prefer to spend my moolah on more simulation-realism. It doesn't have to be a combat sim, as long as it is interesting. I hear a lot about Microsoft Flight Sim, is that good enough to keep a hobbyist interested for at least a little while? What about force-feedback? Does that make the experience any better?

[Teyu 0]

Hi Rob.I have played both games (Microsoft Flight Simulator and IL2), and they are 2 of the best simulators by far.The fun in simulators depends on the difficulty level you seek and your knowledge. If you don't know almost anything about planes and how to fly, if you choose an very difficult and realistic game you are going to crash a lot, hehe.These 2 are very real and complex, but you could switch the difficulty level. There are other less complex and usually more fun like Red Baron 3D, one old but really nice game.I think if you're a fan of simulators you can pick almost any game, even those who are easy because you can always increase the difficulty level.

[truefusion 3]

I have recently come across a game called Arma II. I have always wondered what it would be like if there was a game that tried to simulate reality as close to real life as possible. And i have found such a game. Arma II is a combat simulator with as close to real-world scenarios a game can get. I have to say, if flying a helicopter is as hard in real life as it is in that game, then helicopter pilots must get some really good income. This game is incredible, but, due to its realism, extremely difficult to beat. If anyone is interested in knowing what it is like to be in actual modern warfare, then i would highly recommend this game. This game will make you want to bring back troops from fire fights to safe ground?at least it gives me that feeling.

[Eza 5]

A difference can be made between real life flight simulators and games. Flight simulators that show the view through the window of the cockpit and view at the instruments of the pilot can help a lot to learn the basics of flying an air plane.Games are made for fun. The purpose of a computer game is not to help the computer user to learn how to fly an air plane. Games can teach a little bit of digital experience about the behaviour of an airplane and the way the instruments work, but this is much less compared to a flight simulator. For instance learning how to shoot other aircrafts in a computer game is much fun and it doesn't add much to the flying skills of the average pilot.In both cases it is highly recommended to try flight simulators programs and air plane games. Almost everybody will probably enjoy the fun of them.There is for instance the possibility to use a trial version. This way it doesn't cost any money to see if the computer is able to run the program and if the computer user likes the program.And sometimes the dvd's are sold second hand. The dvd can sold second hand too when a nicer game or a more realistic flight simulator is found. This means that there is enough reason to try by yourself how much you like them.A comparision with a car race game might make the point of this post more clear. A game in which the gamer drives a car gives the illusion of being in control of a car on the screen of the computer. A driver of a car feels the wheel, puts pressure on the pedals, hears the noise of the engine, sees the traffic and other cars and vehicles outside the car and notices the surrounding, the nature, the trees, the building and houses around the car, feels the pressure of the chair when the speed increases.Most of those feelings and impressions of all of those experiences and feelings are not or almost not available in a game. A gamer can enjoy the game very much. The thrill of being in a race against other cars can be entertaining. Driving on the roads and streets in a digital cyber city can be joyfull. The experience of the game has maybe 10% or less to do with the experience and the skills of driving a car. There are complete gears available with pedals and a wheel to play a game. The wheel can even move in the hands of the gamer like if the car of the game hits the road surface. This means that playing a car race game can be fun. Playing a car is in a remote way comparible with driving a car. Playing a flight simulator game can be compared with playing a car game. A part of the experience of flying a plane can be obtained by the game. A flight simulator game doesn't offer a big part of the experience and the feeling of flying a plane. Pilot training consists for an important part of learning in a flight simulator machine. This means that using a flight simulator is usefull for learning how to operate an aeroplane. A flight simulator game on the computer can give an insight in flying a plane too.The videos are put in this post for convenience reasons. If watching the videos about the games is found to be entertaining this might give an idea if the game might liked too. On the other hand delivers a flight simulator program more fun, because the computer user has to control the imaginairy plane and has to push some buttons.

Edited December 25, 2010 by velma (see edit history)

[Harlot 2]

When I was in middle school, we actually had a flight simulator that belonged to the school, and we would always play on it when we went to our computer tech class. It was extremely fun, and we had a flight game controller and everything. I don't believe that it was realistic, and I would always crash while landing. Either the plane would flip over or the landing gear would break. However, it was a fun little game. The game that I played was probably made in like the 1990s, and it was pretty outdated even when I was in middle school. I heard of Microsoft's flight simulator, but I have yet to try it. I would imagine that it is much more updated and feels more real then the version I tried years ago. The flight simulator that I used was pretty much nothing more than taking off and landing back on the same small landing strip that you took off from. You could not fly anywhere except around the airport, and there were no other airplanes on the landing strip or any other airplanes to choose to fly. There was only 1 airplane to fly, and it was a small airplane that looks like one of those early models flown during WWI (lol). The graphics sucked, and the land around the airport was all blurred and something it looked like a jumbled up screen with a bunch of white, black, and blue strips. Obviously, just from looking at the videos below, flight simulation has come a long way since then. [media]http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/]

[Iniyila 2]

i have played some of them and i really don't like this type of game, i have tried train simulator and flight simulator i didn't like either of them. you should spend so much time for learning and this is why i never played any game of this type more than 2hour. i have many friend who like these type of games and spending so much time on them but i want a game that you can learn 80% of its gameplay in just 15minutes. anyway if you want to try i suggest you to go for microsoft one (FSX) or Flightgear.

[rob86 2]

i have played some of them and i really don't like this type of game, i have tried train simulator and flight simulator i didn't like either of them. you should spend so much time for learning and this is why i never played any game of this type more than 2hour. i have many friend who like these type of games and spending so much time on them but i want a game that you can learn 80% of its gameplay in just 15minutes.
anyway if you want to try i suggest you to go for microsoft one (FSX) or Flightgear.

I don't mind hard to learn simulations, I had Dangerous Waters (naval combat simulation) and it was real complicated, learning to calculate torpedo trajectories and read sonar readings. I had to read the entire manual like it was a text book but it was rewarding to figure it out. You never know when you might need to commandeer a nuclear submarine after all.

[Iniyila 2]

I don't mind hard to learn simulations, I had Dangerous Waters (naval combat simulation) and it was real complicated, learning to calculate torpedo trajectories and read sonar readings. I had to read the entire manual like it was a text book but it was rewarding to figure it out. You never know when you might need to commandeer a nuclear submarine after all.

i actually think these type of games are designed for people who are interested in the jobs like being a pilot or a sailor. the most hating part for me is the manual which you should read for a day and after that start the game. i read my courses books hardly i don't want to read more . but i haven't played any naval combat simulator which i see now so maybe i give it a try (how much pages are in the manual ?)