Microsoft Flight Simulator

[ozone drone]

Just bought the 2004 version...wow they've come along way with scenery realism.....had an Old version from late 80's.

[stevehvac]

You get the approval to hire an assistant and go buy a new computer game hmmmmmm.........

[ozone drone]

Not on the work computer ...only at home!!

[air of honesty]

Got a nice joystick for Xmas. Any suggestions for a fun and uncomplicated 'shoot-em-up' with dogfights?

I'm not all that interested in setting carb heat and such, I just want to KILL something...

[ozone drone]

I've had a Frankenstein Turdmobile of a PC for the last 10 years. Just joined the 21st century even just god rid of clunky dialup...now stylin with DSL...But no I don't have any recommendations...am a newbie

[bb]

If you dig deep into it you will find that you can join a group and communicate live with other pilots.

I do good to get a LearJet from DFW to Love Field. Less than 1 minute !

[ozone drone]

I'm still impressed that the whole world is in there.
The airport where I lineboyed as a kid (Essex Skypark near Baltimore) is in there ...6 airports in Antarctica...the buildings are generic ..but the topography is real....visted all the places I've lived....the geysers pop off in yellowstone, Mt Rushmore in the Blackhills ...I'll have to get enough practice landing a 182 before tackling a jet... it's a 3d world atlas.

[Guy]

Ah yes, FSim. Back a few years ago, I did a whole trip around North America with the Learjet, starting and returning in Montreal. I'd do a leg, navigating with the VORs etc and land it, and save my game. Then I'd pick up from there a few days later and move on. I remember starting with Montreal to Quebec City, then to Halifax, Boston, New York, DC, etc. The whole trip lasted just over a month. At the end I actually felt like I was coming home!

[ozone drone]

Originally posted by Guy
At the end I actually felt like I was coming home! [/B]

It's good you chose the Lear.....You'd still be out there if you were using the J-3.

[bb]

After messing around with FS I often wondered if bin Laden and the boys may have used it to familiarize themselves with the bigger jets. The simulations are very accurate.

[Guy]

Originally posted by ozone drone

Originally posted by Guy
At the end I actually felt like I was coming home!

It's good you chose the Lear.....You'd still be out there if you were using the J-3. [/B]

Yes, the jet was nice and fast, but trickier to land. In some of the more scenic cities I would land and save, and then switch to the Cessna 182 to take off again and do some sightseeing.

I did cheat a bit once: there was no scenery between Florida and California so I put the Learjet on autopilot and calculated the approximate time that would be needed for that leg of the trip. I then went somewhere for the evening and sure enough when I came back, I was within 20 minutes of San Diego, where I made my landing for the night.

[hvac student_4063]

I used to spend a LOT of time flying the MS Flight Simulator. My wife made me stop when I got to the point where I could land the Concorde on an aircraft carrier! :-)

[ozone drone]

I hear you. The top of my left ear is 2 inches longer from my wife tuggin on it.

[bobby7388]

FS2004 is a great sim for the winter months when outdoor activities are minimal.
I use to fly on-line at the http://vatsim.net network, atc was available at the major artcc centers, mostly at night when folks are at home to man the centers.
I remember the days of trying to land, boy!! flying the heavies was the most exciting, trying to land with a cross-wind was just plain dangerous.

There are many add-ons available for fs2004.
http://avsim.com
http://surclaro.com
http://simviation.com
These are all freeware
A good payware(for the intense simmer)site.
http://www.flight1.com
I use USAroads, (found my street), and ultimate traffic, this one adds air and ground traffic(aircraft), these add to the immersion of the sim.

For the really hardcore flight simmer, Lockon-modern air combat is awesome.
Fly the F-15, A-10, and the Russian SU's and Mig's.
This game is processor and graphics hungry so you would need a up-to-date system.
I use a saitek X-45 for my throttle and stick for both sims.

Man!!! if only I paid more attention to school work and not the girls.

[NedFlanders]

Originally posted by air of honesty
Got a nice joystick for Xmas. Any suggestions for a fun and uncomplicated 'shoot-em-up' with dogfights?

I'm not all that interested in setting carb heat and such, I just want to KILL something...

Try this one. http://www.pacific-fighters.com/en/il2.php This is by far the best WW2 flight sim I've played.
It is the first the the series and you can get it for cheap.
You can set it to simple physics and mechanical adjustments or you can set it to real and mess with prop pitch and fuel mixture.

They have so many mods for this game ( realistic skins for the planes , missions and other stuff )you can do alot.
Multi-player is great.

The newer versions of this game is even better .

If you can find "Jane's WWII Fighters " it is good and probably alot more simple , but the physics don't come close to IL-2. In IL-2 you can feel gravity.
Both games have beautiful graphics (again IL-2 is purtier).

http://pc.gamezone.com/gamesell/screens/s23176_7.htm

[air of honesty]

Thanks for the tip, Ned. Just what I was looking for. Checked it out and downloaded the trailer. Seriously impressed!

The others should thank you, as this will probably limit my time on the forums.

[jingoism]

If you really want to test yourself and dogfight with actual humans then I highly suggest:

http://www5.playnet.com/bv/wwiiol/index.jsp

This is a massively multiplayer online game where you can do just about anything, and the best part is you get to kill actual players instead of stupid AI!

Do you like to dogfight? Got that in spades!

Like to bomb? The game includes the ground war and you can bomb the tanks and infantry till your eyes bleed.

It's probably the single best war simulation ever made... feels pretty cool flying an aircraft from Dusseldorf ( as axis ) and bombing the living crap out of Brussels knowing that a bunch of guys are sitting behind their keyboards cursing.

MMMMmmmmm

[jagoff]

Oh no. Dont send him to that game. Sheesh. Took 4 yrs to get that game playable! I remember it took 9 hrs to get to the fight , then BAM! Crash. Or you can hear the friggin sound of a tank go on for miles and miles and never see it. Flat wide open fields without one bush to piss in. Or if you did find a bush "lets say to hide in" you would lay down, thinking, "Yeah, sweet spot". NOT!! The bust you see, isnt the same bush the bad guy sees. To him you look like some dumb ******* layin in a open field sayin Hey! Over here. Shoot me.

Take you 20 moves with the mouse just to turn around. Yeah great game..

[jingoism]

Your talking about the game at release as far as getting to the fight... nowadays you spawn at a mobile drop, or you can spawn directly in the enemy city if you have the spawnable depot. The new tanks are awesome ( PZIVG, Sherman ) and the new planes are pretty nifty as well ( FW190 and SpitIX ).

The only thing I can think you are referring to on the bushes is the radial clutter... if you try to hide behind the low grass or the tiny ground bushes they will see you since they can turn radial clutter off, but the large bushes and trees are definately seen by all.

Game has come a long way since release.

[ozone drone]

Originally posted by bobby7388
FS2004 is a great sim for the winter months when outdoor activities are minimal.
I use to fly on-line at the http://vatsim.net network, atc was available at the major artcc centers, mostly at night when folks are at home to man the centers.
I remember the days of trying to land, boy!! flying the heavies was the most exciting, trying to land with a cross-wind was just plain dangerous.

There are many add-ons available for fs2004.
http://avsim.com
http://surclaro.com
http://simviation.com
These are all freeware
A good payware(for the intense simmer)site.
http://www.flight1.com
I use USAroads, (found my street), and ultimate traffic, this one adds air and ground traffic(aircraft), these add to the immersion of the sim.

For the really hardcore flight simmer, Lockon-modern air combat is awesome.
Fly the F-15, A-10, and the Russian SU's and Mig's.
This game is processor and graphics hungry so you would need a up-to-date system.
I use a saitek X-45 for my throttle and stick for both sims.

Man!!! if only I paid more attention to school work and not the girls.

Thanks for the links ...lots to explore