[Recommend On] Flight/Combat Sims

MegaMek

So, I found my old Microsoft Sidewinder joystick, and want to play some games with it. I'm looking for flight sims, specifically combat or space combat types.

I played Starlancer and Microsoft Combat Flight Sim a lot as a kid (I'm installing both now, in fact), and am looking at Freespace 2 on GOG. What do you guys think?

MechMantis

Looks like I'm going to have to resurrect the FS2 thread to show you how idiotic you are for not buying it yet.

MegaMek

That was fast. Bought for cheap, go GOG.

acidlacedpenguin

from what I can tell they gave up on making flight sims after IL2 Sturmovik came out because they decided that IL2 couldn't be beaten, so they don't even try anymore.

Mechanical

Fuck yes, Sidewinder 2.

If you can stomach the dated graphics, I recommend Fighters Anthology and WWII Fighters.

Oh, and slightly related, MW4 Mercs plays pretty well with it.

Bouncing_Soul

acidlacedpenguin wrote: »

from what I can tell they gave up on making flight sims after IL2 Sturmovik came out because they decided that IL2 couldn't be beaten, so they don't even try anymore.

Seriously, buy this game and all its expansions, it's fantastic.

Lord Yod

X-Wing and TIE Fighter. And the Wing Commander series, especially Privateer.

GalagaGalaxian

Isn't the learning curve in IL2 a bit steep? I mean, steeper than normal.

MegaMek

Mech 4 does work nice with this stick, but I really don't like anything else about the game. And Mech 3 works better with a mouse in my opinion.

I'll have to look into IL2 Sturmovik. Can I get it online somewhere? Other than Ebay?

cwapfobrains

Do yourself a favor and go get FS2 Open and the Media VPs. The Automated Installer on the top of that page should set you up nicely. It basically makes Freespace 2 look beautiful with high res textures and models and support for high resolutions. see exhibits A-C
A:

B:

C:

Been playing through it recently, its so so good.

Dartboy

It might sound blasphemous to say this, but I actually liked the combat in Starlancer more than FS2. Freespace 2's a much better game overall, though. Plus I can't get Starlancer working on Vista while FS2 runs just fine.

Also, I feel the need to mention Crimson Skies. Not a sim-heavy game, but plays great with a joystick and is a fantastic game overall.

TychoCelchuuu

Buy Freespace. Buy Freespace 2. Buy Crimson Skies. Buy IL2 Sturmovik. Buy TIE Fighter if you can find it but you can't.

As for games that you might enjoy but aren't quite as awesome as those games, Independence War 2 and X3: Terran Conflict are good things to look in to.

vhzod

What about Independence War 2? I know I like it. I haven't played one but its supposedly good as well. I can also recommend Parkan 2, but the main storyline broke for me somehow.

EliteBattleman

Falcon 4.0 Allied Force.

GalagaGalaxian

EliteBattleman wrote: »

Falcon 4.0 Allied Force.

There is simulation, and then there is OH GOD WHAT DO ALL THESE BUTTONS DO!?o_O


I-war2 was a pretty damn good game.


:!:
Hey, anyone here own a 360 and the Ace Combat 6 joystick? I recently plugged mine into my computer and it actually recognizes it, I tried playing it with the only flight-style game I had installed at the time, Bablyon 5 I've Found Her! but the throttle wasn't functioning properly. I couldn't find any of my other handful of flight sims to test it with, so I'm not sure if it was just that game or the joystick, could anyone test theirs out if they've got one?

Stormwatcher

I wanna give more props to Wing Commander, the franchise that made me love games in the first place.

All of them are awesome and playable today, especially with the help of DOSBox.

IL-2 is awesome but HARD, so is Falcon 4.0 AF. Lock On Gold is also very good and a bit more gentle, but it packs starforce.

The Freespaces and Freelancer are really good, too, but freelancer is joystick free, to be played with mice.

Starlancer and Crimson Skies are sweet, but don't work on modern machines (damn you win9x games).

X games are more about the economics than the flying, sadly, I could never get into them.

X-Wing/TIE-Fighter games are really excellent, but too old, might be a barrier.

I-War 2 rocks, I-War 1 is a pain to run on modern windows.

Then there are several obscure eastern european sims, but i don't know them.

Dosbox and a Voodoo Glide wrapper might be good tools.

Sir Carcass

Stormwatcher wrote: »

Starlancer and Crimson Skies are sweet, but don't work on modern machines (damn you win9x games).

I had hoped they would have been fan patched by now. I really, really miss playing Crimson Skies.

cwapfobrains

I may be alone, but i loved freelancer's controls. I wish it had been a bit deeper as a game, and sold more so maybe more people could have made space games with similar controls.

Has anyone got X-Wing alliance working on Vista? I played X-wing as a kid, and have always wanted to play alliance because i've heard it is the best in the series.

GrimReaper

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

Buy Freespace. Buy Freespace 2. Buy Crimson Skies. Buy IL2 Sturmovik. Buy TIE Fighter if you can find it but you can't.

As for games that you might enjoy but aren't quite as awesome as those games, Independence War 2 and X3: Terran Conflict are good things to look in to.

Actually, not only buy Freespace but get the Freespace 1 mod for Freespace 2. It's Freespace 1 in the FS2 engine and it's awesome.

Also, obligatory:


DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!


DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!


EDIT: Anyone else feel the heyday of the flight sim is over?

I mean, in the days of the Amiga we had multiple flight sims a year... by Microprose, DID, Argonaut etc.

Nowadays? We're lucky if we see one in a year.

angrylinuxgeek

IL-2 1946 is $9.99 on steam and is pretty much the flight sim to end all flight sims

GrimReaper

angrylinuxgeek wrote: »

IL-2 1946 is $9.99 on steam and is pretty much the flight sim to end all flight sims

I miss the flight sim where it isn't too simmy and it isn't too arcadey. That genre seems to have vanished.

Take for example Knights Of The Sky, it isn't hard to get into and complex. But it isn't ridiculously arcadey like Ace Combat.

angrylinuxgeek

GrimReaper wrote: »

angrylinuxgeek wrote: »

IL-2 1946 is $9.99 on steam and is pretty much the flight sim to end all flight sims

I miss the flight sim where it isn't too simmy and it isn't too arcadey. That genre seems to have vanished.

Take for example Knights Of The Sky, it isn't hard to get into and complex. But it isn't ridiculously arcadey like Ace Combat.

the IL-2 game coming out for the 360 this coming year should be like that

tsmvengy

Oh man my Sidewinder Precision Pro is in a box in the attic.

So guys, should I get it out and make with the flight sim or what?

tsmvengy

cwapfobrains wrote: »

I may be alone, but i loved freelancer's controls. I wish it had been a bit deeper as a game, and sold more so maybe more people could have made space games with similar controls.

Has anyone got X-Wing alliance working on Vista? I played X-wing as a kid, and have always wanted to play alliance because i've heard it is the best in the series.

Lies. TIE Fighter is by far the best.

There is also a mode for XWA that updates the original TIE Fighter to the XWA engine (however it's just the original campaign, not the expansions.)

elkatas

GalagaGalaxian wrote: »

There is simulation, and then there is OH GOD WHAT DO ALL THESE BUTTONS DO!?o_O

Su-27 Flanker was like that too, and had also cockpit where everything was written in russian:



It is shame that realistic flight-sims are pretty much dead genre these days. Too much for ADHD ridden gaming generation. :P

BubbaT

angrylinuxgeek wrote: »

IL-2 1946 is $9.99 on steam and is pretty much the flight sim to end all flight sims

That's the thing, though. After IL-2, then what? There's nowhere else to go but down.

I'd recommend playing all the other sims listed first, simply so you can enjoy them without "This is good, but it's not IL-2" running through your head half a dozen times.

elkatas

BubbaT wrote: »

After IL-2, then what?

Falcon 4.0: Allied Force.

verpakeyes

IL-2 is such a frustrating game.

I mean its amazing looking, and Its feels unbelievable professional, its has an atmosphere all its own, and a level of authenticity that is drool inducing.

But GODDAMN I cant shoot down a god damn thing in the game. Which is no fault of the game itself, as its damage model and bullet physics is amazing. I just cant figure out how to shoot worth a shit. If I ever do though I might not come out of my rooms for days, as I have a really nice joystick that makes the game a treat to play.

Stormwatcher

verpakeyes wrote: »

IL-2 is such a frustrating game.

I mean its amazing looking, and Its feels unbelievable professional, its has an atmosphere all its own, and a level of authenticity that is drool inducing.

But GODDAMN I cant shoot down a god damn thing in the game. Which is no fault of the game itself, as its damage model and bullet physics is amazing. I just cant figure out how to shoot worth a shit. If I ever do though I might not come out of my rooms for days, as I have a really nice joystick that makes the game a treat to play.

After playing a bit of IL2, I don't know how did ANYONE managed to hit anyone else in aerial combat in WW2.

temperature!

I just want to say that one time, at a half priced books, I found a complete huge boxed tie fighter for 5$, and then didn't buy it. I hate myself.

Also, I keep hearing how good FS2 is, and I'm about to buy it. That is all.

MolotovCockatoo

verpakeyes wrote: »

IL-2 is such a frustrating game.

I mean its amazing looking, and Its feels unbelievable professional, its has an atmosphere all its own, and a level of authenticity that is drool inducing.

But GODDAMN I cant shoot down a god damn thing in the game. Which is no fault of the game itself, as its damage model and bullet physics is amazing. I just cant figure out how to shoot worth a shit. If I ever do though I might not come out of my rooms for days, as I have a really nice joystick that makes the game a treat to play.

Zero your guns at 300 meters (this is the point at which the bullet paths will converge, in other words). I believe the default is 500 meters. You can change them when you select your plane in between missions or before you start a quick match.

HOLD YOUR FIRE! Wait until you think you have a clean shot, then wait some more. Ideally vs. another fighter the enemy's plane will completely fill your reticule and then some. You want to be able to aim for either the point where the wings meet the fuselage from slightly above or slightly below, or the point where the aft part of the fuselage merges with the fuselage over the wings from slightly to either side. You never want to aim for the extreme edges or take a 'raking shot' where your bullets are travelling parallel to the target. They will ricochet and you're not hitting anything but canvas and wood. If you do this, you should be able to take down the target with a single burst, maybe a quarter of a second, half a second max, by severing the wing, severing the tail, or hitting the gas tank or the pilot.

The big trick is really not to fire until you think you're so close you're going to crash. Distances are deceiving in air combat. And the second most important thing is don't fire a lot and don't fire where your just going to hit empty airframe canvas. You can fly just fine with your plane full of holes, but not without a wing.

Rohan

Stormwatcher wrote: »

I wanna give more props to Wing Commander, the franchise that made me love games in the first place.

All of them are awesome and playable today, especially with the help of DOSBox.

IL-2 is awesome but HARD, so is Falcon 4.0 AF. Lock On Gold is also very good and a bit more gentle, but it packs starforce.

The Freespaces and Freelancer are really good, too, but freelancer is joystick free, to be played with mice.

Starlancer and Crimson Skies are sweet, but don't work on modern machines (damn you win9x games).

X games are more about the economics than the flying, sadly, I could never get into them.

X-Wing/TIE-Fighter games are really excellent, but too old, might be a barrier.

I-War 2 rocks, I-War 1 is a pain to run on modern windows.

Then there are several obscure eastern european sims, but i don't know them.

Dosbox and a Voodoo Glide wrapper might be good tools.

Paragraphs are your friend.

Anyway, I also put in a vote for both Freespace games, Freespace, and of course, X-Wing Alliance.

Edit - Freespace and freespace... brilliant stuff, brain. I meant Freelancer.

tyrannus

freelancer is a lot of fun

Seeks

Yeah, I'm having a dirty, nasty affair with FS2 right now. I just did that "Dive dive dive!" mission, and christ, that scared the shit out of me. I wasn't paying attention (looking at my phone), with my headphones on... I click "commit" and that's what I hear. I almost broke my laptop.

Anyway, I'm going to second FS and FS2. Is this IL-2-whatever game on GOG?

Morkath

tyrannus wrote: »

freelancer is a lot of fun

There are also a ton of mods/total conversions, so once you are done playing it for the story, you can find a nice mod and go kick some ass in a cap ship or something.

Seeks wrote: »

Yeah, I'm having a dirty, nasty affair with FS2 right now. I just did that "Dive dive dive!" mission, and christ, that scared the shit out of me. I wasn't paying attention (looking at my phone), with my headphones on... I click "commit" and that's what I hear. I almost broke my laptop.

I'm pretty sure half the people who play FS2 had something similar happen to them on that mission, because I always hear that story.

verpakeyes

This thread made me reinstall IL-2. And I am now reminded of why I always play a space sim after I try to get good at IL-2, and seriously i have done this like ten times. Flying steady in IL-2 is hard, It feels like I am always yawing one way or the other, though it depends on what speed. we should seriously get together some multi player games with some real IL-2 talent to teach scrubs like me how to fly.

Also I need to figure out how to get my joystick mapped to the controls correctly, I always forget ho to do it. its a saitek x52 and currently non of the "sliders" are doing what i want them to.

Seriously though, flying games are like a strange on again off again love affair I have, I want to be good at them, I just tend to suck :P

Dartboy

I really wish there was a "Mid-Level" complexity in flight sims. It's either super-arcadey, like Crimson Skies, or ultra-realistic like IL-2 or Falcon. Not that either's bad or anything, but I want something a little more in-depth than Ace Combat, but without having to check your freaking oil pressure and having to manually set trim.

Seeks

The Freespace games are pretty mid-level. So's MS Combat Flight Simulator (or whatever it's called), though a bit more... sim-like that the FS games.

Morkath

I wish someone would make a somewhat arcady flight sim style game, where you are in charge of a single capital ship in space. Have multiple classes, from frigates to dreadnoughts, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. Preferably with a storyline and open world, so once the story is over you can just roam around.
I know about the X series, but I something about it has always turned me off from it, probably the insanely difficult learning curve. Not to mention their stupid DRM strategies.

I should just reinstall freelancer and find a capship mod I guess, but it would be nice if there wasn't something designed around this, rather than just hacked in. :P

juggerbot

I've never played IL-2, but it sounds like I should. My favorite from back in the day was Microsoft Combat Flight Sim III. That one was European Theater, and II was Pacific. The one pet peeve of mine was there was no true campaign, you just played out the war by picking a sector and picking a mission (close air support, combat air patrol, destroy shipping). Supposedly you influenced the war by how well you did, but I don't think I ever won a campaign. The reason it's my favorite: Damn near every combat plane including bombers flown in that era. It even had some experimental ones like the German flying wing and the Allied jet fighters. Man why didn't they continue that francise, with the amazing FSX engine?

JohnDoe

Wing Commander and Strike Commander are the most awesome space/flight games ever.

Starlancer and Freespace/FS2 are pretty good too.