Spec me a new game to play. Flight Sim X?

squiffy said:
A analogue joystick (with throttle and hat) is a must, for any "flight" type sims/games.

FS has always been and will always be a SIMULATOR. It is NOT a game.
SWOTL and BOB were flight combat games.

I find FS boring as paint drying, but that's beside the point.
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How in hell is FS not a game!? It came from Microsoft GAME studios, people play it for fun and some play it seriously as a reasonably good simulator.

It IS a game. Thats like saying Sims isn't a game because its a life simulator.
 
Concorde Rules said:
How in hell is FS not a game!? It came from Microsoft GAME studios, people play it for fun and some play it seriously as a reasonably good simulator.

It IS a game. Thats like saying Sims isn't a game because its a life simulator.
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You've just said it, it's a SIMULATOR. Therefore not game. Do you have missions? Do you have a career? Is it entaining?

I've been into computers since XT's, and "used" FS, but never ever called it a game.

Is the simulators in Boeing a "game" Nope. Are those in arcades games? Yes.
 
squiffy said:
You've just said it, it's a SIMULATOR. Therefore not game. Do you have missions? Do you have a career? Is it entaining?

I've been into computers since XT's, and "used" FS, but never ever called it a game.

Is the simulators in Boeing a "game" Nope. Are those in arcades games? Yes.
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I've just asked 12 of my mates how they class FS-X, ALL of em said game. It is bought as a game, people make it a BETTER and more realistic simulator by buying addons, this turns it from being a game to a proper simulator.

I do play for fun and on occasions I play it by the book. In FS-X there are missions, ooh look, something a game has!!!!

You referring to the boeing simulators used for pilot training? If you are then they are most definatly simulators because they are designed to be.

FS was made realistic enough for the serious simmers to enjoy themselves with ATC, GPS tracking etc etc, but also for noobies who want to get into a plane, fly around, crash, look at scenery and just have FUN.

Its what the user wants it to be, and it CAN be a game some however do not call it a game because they ALWAYS fly by the book, with all those huge setups and checklogs, CofG calculations, fuel, pitch, routing all of which can be done for add-ons. In this case it is a SIMULATOR. In the base FS there is none of that, its get in, start (in some cases not even this) and go. Basic buttons for throttle, gear, flaps and lights and thats it, for this person IT IS A GAME.

It can be a game, it can also be a simulator. End of.
 
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So "missions" are flying from airport to airport? lol. I wonder how fun GTA would be if you only had to walk from one place to another, in a straight line. That's your "mission" in GTA you have "arcadey" flight sim missions, go through hoops, etc.

Flying around and crashing doesn't make it a game. Again you can do that in GTA, but it doesn't mean it's a game, you're just pratting around.

Do you have combat missions? Nope. Do you have story/plot in between missions? Nope. Wing Commander was a combat flight sim.
SWOTC and BOB were fantastic combat games, but they weren't serious flight sims. FS was never a game. I've never seen Flight Sim in the arcade, and it would fail miserably.

Basic buttons for throttle, gear, flaps and lights and thats it, for this person IT IS A GAME.
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Easily amused? to class it as "game"
 
squiffy said:
So "missions" are flying from airport to airport? lol. I wonder how fun GTA would be if you only had to walk from one place to another, in a straight line. That's your "mission" in GTA you have "arcadey" flight sim missions, go through hoops, etc.

Flying around and crashing doesn't make it a game. Again you can do that in GTA, but it doesn't mean it's a game, you're just pratting around.

Do you have combat missions? Nope. Do you have story/plot in between missions? Nope. Wing Commander was a combat flight sim.
SWOTC and BOB were fantastic combat games, but they weren't serious flight sims. FS was never a game. I've never seen Flight Sim in the arcade, and it would fail miserably.



Easily amused? to class it as "game"
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your so wrong, yet you seem so confident, if your not already you should become a salesman ;)
 
Yep, the missions in FS involve going through hoops, some involve landing planes in storms. Could call it repettitive, but then GTA is, going around driving/shooting people, same in CoD, going around achieving objectives. Some of them you don't even start at an airport. All the non-arcadey missions have a story in them. Plot!? Sims doesn't have a plot, and thats a game.

So it Gran Turismo 4 not a game? Is Sims not a game? Is forza not a game? Is LFS not a game? All simulators...

FS isn't a combat game, I bet in Wing Commander you had basic controls took off, fired some missiles/guns did some dog fighting/bombing then landed or have the game stop you while still in flight. At-least FS-X has some ending to it.

Have you even played FS-X? Have you looked at the key settings panel? Half of the settings arn't even binded to anything! The ones that are all the basics needed to fly a plane, then some to change the views! Thats it!



It all comes down to what the person wants it to be, 50% of people buy it as a game, as in, to have fun with. I have fun in it, therefore it is a game for this person.

Then we have some people buying it to train themselves in routines when flying, actual pilot use FS to test themselves, others who don't fly in RL, fly it by the book because its as close as they can come to it. Due to base FS limitations, they buy add-ons to get it as close to the real world as possible, but it can only go so far because it isn't anywhere close to a gooder simulator as the boeing ones or the Concorde one I will be flying! For these people, they bought it as a basic simulator.

It can never be a proper simulator, for a kick off it doesn't even have a ground effect, you can try it yourself, just do a gental slope towards the runway at a steady speed and you will continue towards the ground till you hit it, in real life, you would encounter the gorund effect which would slow your descent which then gives a softer landing. There are no realistic crash effects, turbulence from other planes doesn't exist, ATC is basic at best, AI is basic, physics, at best is ok, plane controls and damage is limited to single whole systems, fuel and CofG calculations even in the best add-ons is basic. Need I go on????

In no shape or form in its base config is FS a proper simulator, no hope in hell.
 
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The "Is Flight Sim a game" debate rages nightly on Flightsim.com and Avsim forums.

It is...entertainment, if you are interested in aviation or even just sightseeing parts of the world you would never other visit. For me at least the "fun" in Flight Simulator comes from successfully managing that DC10 or 747 from take-off to touchdown and pulling up at the arrival gate. Follow ATC or navigate on your own if you wish, follow whatever procedures you wish. Bare bones FSX (or it's predecessor FS9) is a bit vanilla. MS have never seen fit to add anything like a career mode or financial model to your flying escapades. FSX has added "missions" though in truth I haven't really bothered with these. However, drop in a few 3rd party aircraft, enhanced scenery and the experience improves dramatically. Join a (decent) virtual airline and you can give purpose to those otherwise random flights.

FS9 did (does) have a couple of add-ons which do offer a career mode and company financial mode. The best is FS Passengers which enhances the FS experience with a whole raft of new experiences. Next down the list is Airliner Pilot and Cargo Pilot which are a bit more restrained. Unfortunately, only the latter is available for FSX at present.
 
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