WWII Flight Simulators

Never played one, what are they like?

[MatthewHSE]

I don't play computer games much, but lately I've been considering buying a WWII flight simulator just for those odd moments here and there when some diversion would be helpful. The last computer game I played was the Windows 95 version of "Moto Racer," so I'm a bit out of touch with what's good in gaming these days. What are some things to watch for when choosing a combat flight simulator? Are the minimum system requirements actually good enough?

One important thing to me is, are WWII flight simulators gory or bloody at all? (If so, count me out - that kind of thing is NOT for me! ;-) )

Also, I usually find WWII nose art to be - er, distasteful. Is it normally an unavoidable part of the game? (For instance, MS Combat Flight Simulator 3 allows you to choose nose art, but if you don't care to use it yourself, does it still appear in the game?)

Another question is joysticks. Do I need one, or is a MS Trackball mouse good enough? And what is this force-feedback stuff all about?

Finally, is a WWII flight simulator something that can be played in just a few minutes here and there, or does it require longer playing periods?

Thanks in advance,

Matthew

[Draconian]

Get the old school Red Baron game man. Honestly, a good bang for your buck! (Can't be much more than a couple dollars)

Although if you are greatly appreciative of graphics, go for gold and get a newer flight sim.

IMPORTANT: Without a proper joystick, any flight sim gets boring almost instantly. The point of a flight sim is realism... I don't remember reading about a WWII fighter controlled by your keyboard and mouse...

Lastly, make sure you have some good tunes at hand. Crank em.

[rocknbil]

If you're into gaming, I guess it's OK but I've gone the opposite, I'm an RC enthusiast and after flying an RC heli around the sims and games are just . . . simulations. Sort of like pretending to eat a real meal. Invest $200 or so in an RC plane or heli and hit the flight field (or back yard!), there's 100 X the excitement in real life, even if they are just "toys". :-)

The technology has come a long way in recent years, for under $200 you can get an electric micro heli that you can fly anywhere, indoors or out, and the coaxial ones are stupid-easy to learn to fly. So much more fun than sitting in front of a monitor . . .

which you do all day anyway!

Anyway most "combat" sims rely heavily on realism so I'm sure they would be rather graphic, look for the warnings on them. For simple gentle flying, I always liked the MS flight sim, but many of the RC flight sims have a first-person perspective - PreFlight is probably the best cheapest one and RealFlight the most realistic and expensive one, but it comes with an RC transmitter that hooks into your USB port.

[rich_b]

I've never come across a gory flight sim. The genre doesn't tend to lend itself to it really. Developers don't tend to model the burning pilots desperately trying to escape their burning aircraft. You can't usually blow the legs off a parachuting pilot with your 50cals either.

To be honest I haven't had time to play flight sims for ages so I'm a little out of date on what's currently available, but I guarantee that you'll have a lot of fun. Some titles that I can recommend you taking a look at are IL2 Sturmovik - with add-on packs too, and Battle of Britain 2. Microsoft Pacific Fighters is ok too but not as good as the others. IL2 has hardcore realism but this can be tuned. It also needs a decent PC to run well while BoB2 requires a less powerful PC.

P.S. Anyone remember Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe? Now that was a game!

[jdhuk]

Why not come and join us at

<snip>

I have been playing online there for 6 years, it's a multiplayer WWII flight simulator game that is very very addictive, once your hooked kiss your evenings goodbye!

Set up and play is free however you need special access to the launch buttons. The best thing to do is register at the forums and introduce yourself, they're a friendly bunch over there and someone will gladly point you to the right links for set up. If you get confused with the set up sticky me and I will help you out.

The graphics are outdated but you won't find a WWII flight simulator game with such a great community anywhere else.

[edited by: trillianjedi at 3:48 pm (utc) on June 28, 2006]
[edit reason] No promo's please ;) [/edit]

[jdancing]

Don't do it, make money instead of getting hooked to a computer game.

[MatthewHSE]

Thanks for the answers everyone. I'm leaning toward MS Combat Flight Simulator 3 at the moment but will definitely check out the other options that have been mentioned, too.

Invest $200 or so in an RC plane or heli and hit the flight field (or back yard!), there's 100 X the excitement in real life, even if they are just "toys". :-)

I don't doubt it, but I don't have $200 to spend on entertainment right now. ;) I'd love to get an RC plane, but just can't do it currently. A question: Have they gotten to the point yet that an RC aircraft can carry a camera that will wirelessly transmit the video to a monitor on the ground, allowing the plane to be controlled "virtually" from the cockpit? That would be pretty neat stuff.

Don't do it, make money instead of getting hooked to a computer game.

Don't worry - I don't have an addictive nature and won't get hooked. Honest! This is just for those little twenty-minute snatches of time I sometimes have where a little diversion would be enjoyable. I only expect to play a couple times per week for just a few minutes each time.

[Dogza]

I'm with Draconian, Red Baron II was one of the all time best Flight Sims. To bad Sierra totally went down the drain shortly after making it :(

MS Combat Flight Sim is the best one out there right now in my opinion, although I could suggest a lot improvements..

[rocknbil]

... Have they gotten to the point yet that an RC aircraft can carry a camera that will wirelessly transmit the video to a monitor on the ground, allowing the plane to be controlled "virtually" from the cockpit?

Absolutely! I've done it myself, it's part of the fun! Well not the virtual flying part - the problem with that is you can't "pan" right and left as you attempt to go around corners, leading to unexpected (and expensive) encounters with tree branches (Can you tell I did give it a shot? :-D ) With a few extra servos and coordinating camera pan with right-left turn it most certainly can be done.

I've found that things like this that get me AWAY from the CPU are much more rewarding.

Don't worry - I don't have an addictive nature and won't get hooked. Honest! This is just for those little twenty-minute snatches of time I sometimes have where a little diversion would be enjoyable....

Yeah . . . . right . . . :-) . . . gaming is like any other addictive activity, the real time invested begins to catch up to you, you plan on 10 minutes and OOPS it's been two hours . . . another reason "getting away" is a better solution, I'm limited to the length of time my packs stay charged. :-)

[jimbeetle]

Have they gotten to the point yet that an RC aircraft can carry a camera that will wirelessly transmit the video to a monitor on the ground, allowing the plane to be controlled "virtually" from the cockpit?

How 'bout this one [af.mil]? Or this [af.mil]?

[rocknbil]

SWEET!

But something tells me those aren't quite ready for consumer use.

:-)