Anyone into flight simulators?

[dontworrybehappy]

Being a real life pilot, I am big into flight sims. I don't mean sims that look arcade like, I mean as real as it can get. I've had every Microsoft flight sim since 4.0. I now run of course FSX. I've tried that other sim, I'm brain farting on its name right now, but its too tough for me. That's the one where you can make your own planes and shit. That's tough.

I also am big into the IL2 series and am STILL flying that WW2 flight sim after first flying the original game in 2001. The company has continually upgraded it to where it still kicks butt and is the best WW2 flight sim out there. The most recent upgrade came in 2010. This game is made by a Russian gaming company.

A little less often played, but still loved, is the Lock On series. I just got Lock On Flaming Cliffs 2 last night and it is incredible. It is a modern fighter jet sim. It's not an arcade sim, it's very realistic. It has a steep learning curve, which is good. You really are almost flying a jet when you finally get airborne. It's mostly Russian planes as its made by a Russian company, but you can still fly the A-10 and F-15 for the American side. It's pretty neat. You can design your own missions or download them off the internet already made. You can fly an instant mission, a single more complex mission or a full-on campaign. They are coming out with Flaming Cliffs 3 pretty soon.

[Stratego]

Terrorists are.

[The Comrade]

i love the IL2 series. fantastic games.

[Spider]

I liked a lot of the old space sims. Freespace 2 is still one of my favorite games all time.

Falcon 4.0 was where it was at when I was a teenager.

[Bill_in_Bethlehem]

do they make any for xbox? ive thought about checking them out of i could find an easy one, probably the exact opposite of what youre talking about though...

[Spider]

Flight sim is one of those genres that doesn't work on consoles. Just not enough buttons. Every console attempt I've seen has been extremely arcadish.

[The Dharma Bum]

Yeah Sturmovik is the gold standard of flight sims. Also have Wings of Prey but haven't played either for e while.

[RoyBatty]

Back in the day I hung with FA 18 by Graphsim which was off the chain. I was a massive flight sim guy back then but after Falcon 4 and Graphsim stopped giving a f**k I gave up looking. Even had a wicked Thrustmaster joystick deal that was forced feedback and all kinds of badass.

All I came across since was Tom Clancy Hawx - which is horrendous pre-teen arcade shite. The FA18 sim was wicked though, you had to actually call the ball on carrier landings, and dogfights were usually pretty realistic - as in engaging at 5 miles out and fights being regularly over before even seeing the enemy fighters. Wish they'd have kept at that thing.

Good thread. I'll have to grab Sturmovik and Lock On Flaming Cliffs 2 now and revisit my old obsession. Maybe that'll drag me away from Skyrim and Dishonored for a while.

[dontworrybehappy]

Roy, be forewarned, Sturmovik and FC2 can be as addictive as cocaine!

In order for Flaming cliffs 2 to work, you must buy "Lock on, modern air combat" as FC2 is not a standalone game. LOMAC is not expensive anymore as its almost 10 years old. You can, however, buy IL2 1946 and with the free available upgrades and mods be ready for some wicked online gaming. I recommend the download of hyperlobby for multiplayer in IL2. It's great!

Here are some screenies from Flaming Cliffs 2. I was returning from a mission, returning to base, in friendly territory so I could take the time to snap these pics.

And yes, for anyone knowledgeable about the landing speed of an F-15, I was coming in too hot on final and had to go around. I wound up crashing the next time so it appears my technique might need a bit of perfecting!

[PoS]