Flying Sim Games ?

Dicehunter

Dicehunter

Dicehunter

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So at the moment I'm heavily into Elite Dangerous but I also got myself an X56 HOTAS recently so wouldn't mind trying it out in other games.

Any good suggestions for flying sim games ? I don't mind a steep learning curve but I draw the line at needing to go to actual flight school to play the game :p
 
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DCS has free stuff so get that
The IL2 stirmovich and dlc a cracker for ww2 planes (I hear ww1 flying Circus also good)
Warthunder is fun if you like arena shooters (free as well)
FSX is old but has a.lot.of.updates

All the above support.vr as well
 
Try DCS, you get 2 free planes to play with, give it a go and see how you get on

IL2 - BOS is best WW2 stuff
 
Elite dangerous a flying sim game? Think I must have played the wrong game, or you don't understand what a flight sim game is
 
Haze said:
Elite dangerous a flying sim game? Think I must have played the wrong game, or you don't understand what a flight sim game is
Click to expand...
I dont believe the OP even mentioned that Elite was a flight SIM.... He just said that he had bought a HOTAS for it and was not interested in using it for flight SIM games too.....

OP try DCS.
 
Il2
DCS
FSX
Prepar3D
Xplane

As already mentioned the last 4 have plenty of add-ons. It can become quite an expensive hobby. If you look at Prepar3D, fsx or xplane, also check out the following:
PMDG 737, 777 and 747
Orbx
Vatsim

Theres also a big FSX thread on here somewhere .On mobile at the moment so I can't find it but it's worth a look.
 
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All of the above mentioned have pros and cons, so have a good think about what type of aircraft you want to fly and what you want to do with it.

From what I’ve learned in the last couple of years:
- FSX is old, but has tons of extras (partly because it’s old). If you want to practice air traffic knowledge in a civilian, seems to have the edge. Only supports VR with an aftermarket tool (to my knowledge. All the rest include native VR support)
- Xplane 11. Would be my choice for a civilian simulator. Comes with a reasonable starting number of aircraft and helicopters. Looks good. Picture it as being FSX mk2. The only real downsides being that because it’s fairly new, there’s no the level of mods available for it
- IL2. Best for WW2 combat and has recently added WW1 as an option. Doesn’t include any jets or helicopters. Doesn’t feel as real to me as DCS because the cockpits don’t have the equivalent of the “hi fidelity” modelling that DCS has, which allow you to click inside the cockpit, which feels very natural. Runs really well in VR
- DCS. Includes 4 WW2 aircraft, 4 helicopters, and a reasonable number of jets (e.g. Harrier, A10, F18). No commercial aircraft. For me, the flight models and feel of the aircraft feel more real than any of the others. The Huey is recognised by many as probably the most accurate helicopter simulation available. You have the option of standard or high fidelity models. There’s 7 standard ones bundled within the Flaming Cliffs 3 bundle (F15, A10a, Su27 etc). The FC3 aircraft are basically very similar to the model level of IL2. They share the same high quality flight model as other DCS aircraft, but controls are much simplified and you can’t click on cockpit controls. You’ll probably conduct less air combat in DCS as you really need to learn how to fly the aircraft, typically they’re MUCH more complex than most sims make them out to be. Unfortunately, not very well optimised and needs a serious system to run it well, particularly in VR. Vulkan support is coming, which should help. As mentioned, you can download and test DCS with the 2 free aircraft (P51 and Su25T). Give them a go.
- Warthunder. Arcade style game. If all you want is straight combat in a small map, it’s perfect. Includes early WW2 to early jets and now some helicopters. Flight models are pretty simple. Runs really well in VR.
 
Dicehunter said:
I don;t mind a steep learning curve but I draw the line at needing to go to actual flight school to play the game :p
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Bare in mind that the hard core simulators (FSX - X-Plane - Prepr3d) are pretty much geared around learning aircraft systems and how to fly using them. Training missions aside you are on your own with no goals other than to learn and put what you've learned into action. If that isn't what you are after then you will soon get bored. I found learning the basics and how to successfully program and use General Aviation navigation systems quite rewarding but transitioning to commercial systems did seem too much like hard work. If you want something less focused on the educational aspects then one of the combat sims would be your best bet.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
All of the above mentioned have pros and cons, so have a good think about what type of aircraft you want to fly and what you want to do with it.

From what I’ve learned in the last couple of years:
- FSX is old, but has tons of extras (partly because it’s old). If you want to practice air traffic knowledge in a civilian, seems to have the edge. Only supports VR with an aftermarket tool (to my knowledge. All the rest include native VR support)
- Xplane 11. Would be my choice for a civilian simulator. Comes with a reasonable starting number of aircraft and helicopters. Looks good. Picture it as being FSX mk2. The only real downsides being that because it’s fairly new, there’s no the level of mods available for it
- IL2. Best for WW2 combat and has recently added WW1 as an option. Doesn’t include any jets or helicopters. Doesn’t feel as real to me as DCS because the cockpits don’t have the equivalent of the “hi fidelity” modelling that DCS has, which allow you to click inside the cockpit, which feels very natural. Runs really well in VR
- DCS. Includes 4 WW2 aircraft, 4 helicopters, and a reasonable number of jets (e.g. Harrier, A10, F18). No commercial aircraft. For me, the flight models and feel of the aircraft feel more real than any of the others. The Huey is recognised by many as probably the most accurate helicopter simulation available. You have the option of standard or high fidelity models. There’s 7 standard ones bundled within the Flaming Cliffs 3 bundle (F15, A10a, Su27 etc). The FC3 aircraft are basically very similar to the model level of IL2. They share the same high quality flight model as other DCS aircraft, but controls are much simplified and you can’t click on cockpit controls. You’ll probably conduct less air combat in DCS as you really need to learn how to fly the aircraft, typically they’re MUCH more complex than most sims make them out to be. Unfortunately, not very well optimised and needs a serious system to run it well, particularly in VR. Vulkan support is coming, which should help. As mentioned, you can download and test DCS with the 2 free aircraft (P51 and Su25T). Give them a go.
- Warthunder. Arcade style game. If all you want is straight combat in a small map, it’s perfect. Includes early WW2 to early jets and now some helicopters. Flight models are pretty simple. Runs really well in VR.
Click to expand...
You forgot Prepar3D. Essentially FSX modernism by Lockheed Martin. Runs a lot better and all the mods from FSX should work
 
Haze said:
Elite dangerous a flying sim game? Think I must have played the wrong game, or you don't understand what a flight sim game is
Click to expand...

Your post is relevant? Think I must have misunderstood relevant posting or you have absolutely no clue about reading comprehension.


OP, another vote for DCS for modern and IL2-BOS for WW2. For civvy stuff Xplane 11 is very impressive but I can't comment to much on it's mechanics as it's not my cup of tea.
 
XPlane 11 has been on sale a few times recently, keep an eye out for it popping up mate.

Careful though.. I lost a brother in law to flight sims a few years ago. He's buried under flight sim gear most of the time now!
 
TonyTurbo78 said:
Wish they would remake some old Amiga classics.

Birds Of Prey
Gunship
B17 Flying Fortress
F15 Strike Eagle
Knights Of The Sky
Click to expand...

You can replicate some of the above with already mentioned titles.
IL2 now has the option of ww1 aircraft.
DCS includes:
- Ka50. Which is a Russian attack helicopter
- F15c
- B17, but unfortunately it's not flyable. Still, you have the option of intercepting flights of them in Me109 and Fw190s to try to shoot the down.
You then have the option of:
- Some pre-built campaigns
- Use the quick mission creator, in which case, the game will build a mission to your parameters (e.g. number of aircraft by type, skill levels of both aircraft and SAM sites)
- Build your own mission using the mission editor, which is very powerful
 
If you end up picking up Xplane 11, check out the Zibo mod for the default 737, highly recommend checking out the mod.
 
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