flight combat sim?

are there any good flight combat sims for pc? im looking for a ww2 or modern time based game with a long sp or being able to fight bots. does anyone know of any good ones?-San-

Flight sims were born and bred on the PC ;)

You will find everyone recommends the IL2- Sturmovik series for WW2, and for modern either LockOn if your after graphics and a realistic but not fully realistic game or Falcon 4.0 which is a little old but has had a long life through community patches and is considered the most realistic jet sim on the market. All of these games have a singler player missions and or campaigns.

Il-2 Sturmovik: 1946 looks cool. is it hard to find in stores? and is it realistic like the fligh sim 10 or like blazing angles?-San-

It should be easy to find and yes its realistic :)

You can also keep an eye out for the first IL-2 Sturmovik which I got as a value title, then there is IL2: Forgotten Battles which was a sequel. Then there is IL2 Pacific Fighters and the latest being 1946. I think you can download a demo of the original IL-2

Il-2 Sturmovik: 1946 looks cool. is it hard to find in stores? and is it realistic like the fligh sim 10 or like blazing angles?-San-

You can also keep an eye out for the first IL-2 Sturmovik which I got as a value title, then there is IL2: Forgotten Battles which was a sequel. Then there is IL2 Pacific Fighters and the latest being 1946. I think you can download a demo of the original IL-2

DJGOON

I believe 1946 contains Il-2 Sturmovik and Forgotten Battles and all the x-packs AND Pacific Fighter with x-packs. It's basically the compilation of all Il-2 products.

Good topic - I have been thinking of getting a decent combat flight sim too.

Whats the best option to play Key/mouse or controller?

Good topic - I have been thinking of getting a decent combat flight sim too.

Whats the best option to play Key/mouse or controller?

Fandangle

Joystick. I got a saitek 52 pro and it rocks. but expensive. also if you get in to flight sims get a natural point trackir head tracker. once you get used to it you'll never play a flight sim without one.

also battle of britain 2 is really good.

[QUOTE="-San-"]are there any good flight combat sims for pc? im looking for a ww2 or modern time based game with a long sp or being able to fight bots. does anyone know of any good ones?DJGOON

Flight sims were born, bred, and died on the PC ;)

You will find everyone recommends the IL2- Sturmovik series for WW2, and for modern either LockOn if your after graphics and a realistic but not fully realistic game or Falcon 4.0 which is a little old but has had a long life through community patches and is considered the most realistic jet sim on the market. All of these games have a singler player missions and or campaigns.

I really miss not having any more Flight Sims, Mech games, SCI-FI in general...

IL-2: 1946 is a compliation of the original Forgotten Battles, Ace's Expansion pack, Pacific Fighters and the for-pay downloadable add-ons Pe-2 and Sturmoviks Over Manchuria.

It's a good game, but the single player aspect is rather lacking. They really haven't done much to spruce up the rather dry interface, mission briefings, or generic nature of the dynamic missions. There are some good single player campaigns you can download. I recommend www.flying-legends.net or www.mission4today.com.

I also recommend picking up Lowengrin's Dynamic Campaign Generator. It allows you to create your own dynamic campaigns and offers the ability to tweak the settings to a much greater degree than the stock campaigns in the game.

To be honest though, IL-2 biggest achillies heel is the lackluster AI in single player. It was never that good, but ever since the 4.XX series of patches, they really seemed to dumb it down. Now the AI seems limited to doing either spiralling Split S dives or climbs to the stratosphere to shake you. Doesn't matter the skill setting or the plane, it's always the same two moves.

Other titles you may wish to look at:

Battle of Britian II: Wings of Victory. This is a great sim that's been largely overlooked by mainstream review sites due to it's somwhat buggy initial release and it's lack of multiplayer. That's unfair as it has, bar none, the best support staff I've ever seen. They're constantly releasing updates and patches which add tonnes of content to the game. It's got amazing period atmosphere and a level of historical detail and accuracy that is second to none. The AI is also very, very well done. Downing an enemy plane feels like a real accomplishmet but, unlike IL-2, it never gets repetative. The skill levels of individual pilots vary and you really know when you're up against an ace. The other great thing is that the AI doesn't cheat like it does in IL-2. It can't see through clouds, pull high-G turns without blacking or redding out, or maintain perfect trim at all times. The other great thing is the engine. It's capable of putting 200 planes in the air in a single engagement without turning the game into a slideshow. It's truly jaw-dropping to fly through a formation of 120 bombers with Hurris and 109s mixing it up and flak bursts going off all around. The only drawback is the lack of a single pilot campaign.

Falcon 4.0: Allied Force. Amazingly detaied sim which models only one plane but does so to a degree never before seen in a sim. If it's in the real world F-16, it's in the game. The dynamic campaign is also the best ever designed. Simply astounding. Graphically, the game doesn't look too good though and it does require a significant investment of time just to learn to play it.

Lock-On: Modern Air Combat. Not nearly as detailed as Falcon, but much, much more accessable. Fun game and still looks great today. Much like IL-2 though, the single player aspect isn't the greatest.

Third Wire series (Wings Over Europe, Wings Over Vietnam, Strike Fighters, First Eagles). These are budget flight sims put out by the creator of European Air War. Out of the box, they're rather lacking but the design philosophy is to make the game almost completely open-source. Almost every aspect of the game can be modified and the mod community is great. There are simply tonnes of new planes, maps, scenarios, add on bits and bobs and total conversions. The best site for everything Third Wire is www.combatace.com. I'm really digging the Korean War mod right now.

Finally, a great site for everything related to sims is www.SimHQ.com. I highly recommend you check it out.

[QUOTE="DJGOON"]

[QUOTE="-San-"]are there any good flight combat sims for pc? im looking for a ww2 or modern time based game with a long sp or being able to fight bots. does anyone know of any good ones?Swiftstrike5

Flight sims were born, bred, and died on the PC ;)

You will find everyone recommends the IL2- Sturmovik series for WW2, and for modern either LockOn if your after graphics and a realistic but not fully realistic game or Falcon 4.0 which is a little old but has had a long life through community patches and is considered the most realistic jet sim on the market. All of these games have a singler player missions and or campaigns.

I really miss not having any more Flight Sims, Mech games, SCI-FI in general...

You have a point. ah the days of Janes, Microprose etc. Where flight sims were an annual thing complete with their hefty manuals. Its a pitty since we can see how technology has improveed FPS yet we are still stuck in the dark ages with Flight Sims (apart from a few). I really want a good Helicopter sim (was that heli expansion for Lock On ever released?) since all the old ones are too dated.

You have a point. ah the days of Janes, Microprose etc. Where flight sims were an annual thing complete with their hefty manuals. Its a pitty since we can see how technology has improveed FPS yet we are still stuck in the dark ages with Flight Sims (apart from a few). I really want a good Helicopter sim (was that heli expansion for Lock On ever released?) since all the old ones are too dated.

DJGOON

I'm not sure...but here's something that might whet your whistle.

[QUOTE="DJGOON"]

You have a point. ah the days of Janes, Microprose etc. Where flight sims were an annual thing complete with their hefty manuals. Its a pitty since we can see how technology has improveed FPS yet we are still stuck in the dark ages with Flight Sims (apart from a few). I really want a good Helicopter sim (was that heli expansion for Lock On ever released?) since all the old ones are too dated.

Ein-7919

I'm not sure...but here's something that might whet your whistle.

Thankyou :), yes it appears they abandoned it as a expansion to lock on and have developed it on a custom engine. Should be out sometime this year :D

Good topic - I have been thinking of getting a decent combat flight sim too.

Whats the best option to play Key/mouse or controller?

Fandangle

You'll need to get a joystick. A true sim is unplayable with a console controller.

Black shark the heli sim is coming out sometime this year and looks really good

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/

in the meant enemy engaged is really good, got some killer mods. enemy engaged 2 isn't bad, will need to wait and see if the community improve it.

WW2: IL2 1942

Modern: Lock On: Modern Air Combat

Commercial: Flight Sim X

Battle of Britian II: Wings of Victory. This is a great sim that's been largely overlooked by mainstream review sites due to it's somwhat buggy initial release and it's lack of multiplayer. That's unfair as it has, bar none, the best support staff I've ever seen. They're constantly releasing updates and patches which add tonnes of content to the game. It's got amazing period atmosphere and a level of historical detail and accuracy that is second to none. The AI is also very, very well done. Downing an enemy plane feels like a real accomplishmet but, unlike IL-2, it never gets repetative. The skill levels of individual pilots vary and you really know when you're up against an ace. The other great thing is that the AI doesn't cheat like it does in IL-2. It can't see through clouds, pull high-G turns without blacking or redding out, or maintain perfect trim at all times. The other great thing is the engine. It's capable of putting 200 planes in the air in a single engagement without turning the game into a slideshow. It's truly jaw-dropping to fly through a formation of 120 bombers with Hurris and 109s mixing it up and flak bursts going off all around. The only drawback is the lack of a single pilot campaign.

Falcon 4.0: Allied Force. Amazingly detaied sim which models only one plane but does so to a degree never before seen in a sim. If it's in the real world F-16, it's in the game. The dynamic campaign is also the best ever designed. Simply astounding. Graphically, the game doesn't look too good though and it does require a significant investment of time just to learn to play it.

bogaty

And I concur about Falcon 4.0 - the dynamic campiagn is amazing.

i warn you now dont buy a combat sim i did andi hated it they are so hard and you better have a flight control system or something your keyboard will be difficult to play on!

i bought lockon off of amazon and i could even get the jet to turn on and i was in a helping thing and it just didnt work.

ok my point is don't buy and flying sim unless you are determined to learn and spend hundreds i mean HUNDREDS of hours learning and practicing!

i found something "wrong" with it and returned it for my money.

i warn you now dont buy a combat sim i did andi hated it they are so hard and you better have a flight control system or something your keyboard will be difficult to play on!

i bought lockon off of amazon and i could even get the jet to turn on and i was in a helping thing and it just didnt work.

ok my point is don't buy and flying sim unless you are determined to learn and spend hundreds i mean HUNDREDS of hours learning and practicing!

i found something "wrong" with it and returned it for my money.

xmen1414

Besides LoMaC has great tutorials anyway.

Hell when I was a kid I grew up playing F22, FS95, and Tie Fighter - flight and space sims.

[QUOTE="xmen1414"]

i warn you now dont buy a combat sim i did andi hated it they are so hard and you better have a flight control system or something your keyboard will be difficult to play on!

i bought lockon off of amazon and i could even get the jet to turn on and i was in a helping thing and it just didnt work.

ok my point is don't buy and flying sim unless you are determined to learn and spend hundreds i mean HUNDREDS of hours learning and practicing!

i found something "wrong" with it and returned it for my money.

skrat_01

Besides LoMaC has great tutorials anyway.

Hell when I was a kid I grew up playing F22, FS95, and Tie Fighter - flight and space sims.

Hooo boy. Must....bite....tongue....

Anyway, skrat_01. Yes, there is a Battle of Britain II. It's not really a sequel though. Shockwave Studios, the development company bought the rights to Rowan's original game and reworked it from the ground up. The strategic overview campaign is little changed, but the flight sim aspect of the game is amazingly atmospheric, especially if you have a Track IR. It offers full 6DoF compatability so you can even open the cockpit and lean out over the side. Really helps when taking off and taxiing.

The terrain doesn't look to nice close up, the the rest of the game is stunning. Seeing black, oily smoke columns rising 2-3,000 metres into the air is amazing. Weather is gorgeous and the sound effects will knock you out of your seat. None of the aenemic lawn mover engine stuff like IL-2 here!

Couple of lo-res Youtube clips of BoB II action.

INTERCEPTION

MONTAGE

Hooo boy. Must....bite....tongue....

Anyway, skrat_01. Yes, there is a Battle of Britain II. It's not really a sequel though. Shockwave Studios, the development company bought the rights to Rowan's original game and reworked it from the ground up. The strategic overview campaign is little changed, but the flight sim aspect of the game is amazingly atmospheric, especially if you have a Track IR. It offers full 6DoF compatability so you can even open the cockpit and lean out over the side. Really helps when taking off and taxiing.

The terrain doesn't look to nice close up, the the rest of the game is stunning. Seeing black, oily smoke columns rising 2-3,000 metres into the air is amazing. Weather is gorgeous and the sound effects will knock you out of your seat. None of the aenemic lawn mover engine stuff like IL-2 here!

Couple of lo-res Youtube clips of BoB II action.

INTERCEPTION

MONTAGE

bogaty

I'll defitnaly be hunting down a copy now - and spread the recommendations to flight sim fan mates.

Im also surprised how well the games engine has aged, looks fantastic, and while I dont have a tracker IR, the notion of having that level of viewing capabilities is awesome.

Heck might consider picking one up with BoB2, for that, other Flight and Racing sims and ArmA.