What attracts you to combat flight sims

[JG52Krupi]

I have played a load of different games from FPS, RPG's down to Strategy games... but I always find myself coming back to Combat Flight Sims, IMHO the reason for this is that the genre makes you learn the ins and outs of each aircraft to truly master it no other games requires you to get so involved with getting to grips with the basics before you ever fire a weapon in anger... its not just mindless button smashing that I find most ever games boil down to when you are in a tricky situation.

This allows you to show off your skills/what you have learnt in a way that no other game truly allows, sure FPS's allow you to show how quick your reactions are and strategy games allow you to show a great deal of cunning (until you opponents stumbles on your massed up hidden troops or you find he has built a virtually unimpenetrable fortress ;)), flying is not just about learning your aircraft its about situation awareness, knowing when to fight and when to run... no other game genre except some exceptional RPG's and the occasional "once in a blue moon" well written FPS's games have grabbed me in a similar way.

So what is it for you, what brings you crawling back to the most under rated and, in comparison to others, unpopular genres out there? :cool:

Oh all that and my undying love for anything that has wings ;)

[JG52Krupi]

BTW Kudos to V/JG27 and there "one aircraft per go system" it really adds to the immersion factor.

[ACE-OF-ACES]

WRT learning..

LEVEL 1 Dogfight: Not only do you have to learn the pros and cons of your aircraft, but the pros and cons of your aircraft relative to the other aircraft. For example, in WWII, F4u vs. Zero. In this match up the F4u would be wise to use 'boom and zoom' tactics, in KOREA, F4u vs. MiG 15. In this match up the F4u would be wise to use 'turn an burn' tactics. Thus it should be clear that there is not a set tactic for a plane, it all depends on the plane your mixing it up with as to which tactics to use.

LEVEL 2 Tactics: One of the things I find rewarding about flight sims is that when I apply real world tactics (Boelcke dicta) they actually work! Which makes me appreciate not only history, but the men themselves. In that chuck said it best, it is the man not the machine! Thus the man who wins is the man who 'knows' which tactics to apply per the situation. Granted you need a flight sim with a good flight model that mimics the real thing pretty closely to make use of specific historic tactics, for example the BoB era 109 vs. Spit, where the 109 uses the nose push (red out) tactic to evade the Spitfire. If the sim does not simulate carb cutout you will not be able to make use of this 'specific' tactic

LEVEL 3 Team Work: Another thing that I find rewarding is when you get a good group of guys together who have mastered levels 1 and 2 and have worked with each other enough to almost know your next move before you go to the trouble of saying it over team speak. This is where it all comes together and makes for an experience that should not include the word 'game' anywhere in its description! ;)

That is why I feel sorry for the Quake types of flight simmers who know nothing but the wonder woman dog fight servers.

You know the types, they are the ones that feel the need to defend the wonder woman view by any means necessary. Never stopping to realize that they are short cutting the flight skills needed to maintain SA vs. simply looking 'through' the glass floor to maintain SA. Those poor fools will forever be locked into the Quake mind set where thier definition of an air battle happens below 5kft between two air bases that are so close to each other that you could toss a rock at the planes taking off at the enemy field from your own airfield.

Not that there is anything wrong with that! To each his own, but, they just don't know what they are missing IMHO

[41Sqn_Stormcrow]

For me: I just love historic aircraft and then: fighting it out with somebody (that's why I prefer mp) outmanoeuvering and outshooting him in three dimensions (well, trying to) :)

[Sven]

The ultimate combination of realism, teamwork and competence resulting in thrilling but also most satisfactory gameplay.

That's why I like flying WWII sims.

[ACE-OF-ACES]

not as dependent on reactions as judgement.
That sums it up perfectly IMHO!

[addman]

Right now? Italian aircrafts...

[Richie]

The immersion factor of being in that Bf 109. That's why I don't really like coms that much because if I hear someone whining about this or that it spoils the effect. I want to shoot down an enemy over the channel and I want it to be as real as possible.

[=CfC= Father Ted]

For me it's all about the cheery, optimistic forums that seem to spring up around such games...

But seriously...A lot of the replies above talk about applying real world tactics and team work to be successful. To that I'd also add the satisfaction of employing a hard-earned skill.

I'll also confess that what drew me initially to the genre was the chance to live out boyhood fantasies. That's the baseline interest. Of course, I've found that it's all a lot harder than I imagined it would be, but I'm enjoying the challenge of learning.

What keeps me coming back, though, is multiplayer. Before the internet became what we take for granted now, I had lots of combat flight sims, but soon got bored of each of them - AI was always too tough or too easy. Once you get to peek "behind the curtain" of videogames they lose their lustre. Throw real people into the mix and it's a whole different game. Add in a bit of social interaction via TS and I have a recipe which has seen me put in lots of hours on IL2 - way beyond what I would have on my own.

I'll be honest and say I've put in about 10 hours on CloD - and I bought it on release. That's mostly because I haven't got around to MP yet. I fire it up, marvel at the graphics, have a dogfight, restart the mission, have another fight and then...meh

[Sternjaeger II]

I have a bit of a mixed feeling about sims.. I mean, I like flying with simulators, and the more accurate the better of course, but there's always a couple of elements that are missing which really affect the realism of the combat experience: fatigue and attitude.

No matter how advanced, a sim will hardly wear you down like flying on a real plane, and I'm not talking just about tiredness, but stress as well, which links with attitude: we tend to take more risks and do crazier stuff on a sim that you would do in real life, simply because we're not there, and if you die, you're dead only in the game.

[David198502]

I have a bit of a mixed feeling about sims.. I mean, I like flying with simulators, and the more accurate the better of course, but there's always a couple of elements that are missing which really affect the realism of the combat experience: fatigue and attitude.

No matter how advanced, a sim will hardly wear you down like flying on a real plane, and I'm not talking just about tiredness, but stress as well, which links with attitude: we tend to take more risks and do crazier stuff on a sim that you would do in real life, simply because we're not there, and if you die, you're dead only in the game.

true word, although i disagree somehow...
while what you describe is fact for every computer game, i think flightsims are the most punishing genre when it comes about dying...
sometimes you fly for half an hour or more, just looking for possible targets, when suddenly your screen goes black...happened to me a few times when i was at the beginning of my virtual flight career, and im sure i'm not the only one who experienced something similar.if you die, you have to respawn,start up the engine, take off,gain altitude,travel to the combat area, which is really time consuming, and not present to that degree in other games,... at least games i'm aware of.
furthermore, fights can be really tense and long lasting.especially in cliffs of dover i had fights which lasted 20min or even more...when you actually win such a fight, its really rewarding, and i think you cannot compare it with shooting someone in a fps game.on the other hand it can be really frustrating after having fought such a long time, such to end in the channel.
this is one reason of many others why i prefer flight sims over all other computer games.

[Sternjaeger II]

hehehe it's true, the frustration you can get from a flight sim is without compare ;-)
it still lacks those factors though, which remind us that even if incredibly accurate, it's only a game :)

[David198502]

hehehe it's true, the frustration you can get from a flight sim is without compare ;-)
it still lacks those factors though, which remind us that even if incredibly accurate, it's only a game :)

+1 of course!

[Whiski]

What drew me in initially was my love of history (specifically, WWI and WWII era).

As much as I love reading about history, watching documentaries ...Being able to jump into a Spit, 109, HE111 or any plane from that era (even if only virtual) brings me a sense of awe in their beauty and power.

It is the closest I will ever get to flying these majestic birds of prey, also the closest I will ever get in trying to understand the perils the men in those planes faced, each and every day, not knowing if fate would draw their card. As stated before, a game will never simulate the stress or fatigue those men endured in real life and death battles. I have been in virtual dogfights that had me gripping the stick hard enough to break it; That is the closest I ever want to get to real life aerial combat.

Secondly, I have played many types of games, rpg's, fps, mmorpg's, etc. I have yet to find a genre that brings together a greater bunch of people into 1 community, with such a common interest other than the combat itself. The history of this era, and the spirit of the men who lived it is the common denominator among us I believe.

I have a great time playing this game with my fellow virtual/real pilots.

S! Chaps

Whiskey

[SNAFU]

For me it the immersion mostly and sometimes the kick-in-an-armchair.

For the immersion of the feeling how it could have been, that you can forget about real life for a time in a thrilling way, especially if you are fond of aviation and history. For that part I preferred singleplayer because you simply had no online play available providing historical schemes and player which act accordingly. In single player you have the numbers of planes flying formation, doing their assigned task and you are just one of many trying to contribute to your given task and survive. It is up to you how you engage into a combat, plan a sortie, keep station in the formation and play your role. Sometimes 1946 online play was close to that in on-line wars as AFW or VOW. That`s on what I orientated our squad server, you have one life, one task, limited resources and have to cooperate with your team to achieve your objective. Even though your team-mates might be AI it is more immersive to fly in a wing of AI with coordinated opposition. At least the AI cooperates better as the standard online player and do go for the objective (well, in most cases). There is nothing more immersion killing than meeting a solitary fighter flying around looking for something to shoot at. That`s when I am looking for immersion.

On the other side there is the kick in your armchair also as a pure matter of entertainment. That`s when you fly around on the standard dogfight server without any purpose just looking for trouble and some casual enemy fighter or bomber flying around on the classical dogfight server. Then still the heartbeat gets faster if get into an intense twist, with a knife between your teeth. It is the total opposite of the immersion, but it`s fun too and I still remember my first online fight, which I noticed as a fight, in which I was so nervous and excited that I could hardly hold the joystick, not to speak of aiming. That excitement has settled widely but is still there for some extend, even after all the years. ;)

[AKA_Tenn]

dogfighting really is a form of art, the amount of skill required to have a 1v1 dogfight for more than a few seconds, you can't deny that fact... very few are capable of having a really good fight, though its not very hard to learn how to fly, learning how to use everything your plane can give you is a real challenge.

I like this game because of the very very few people actually willing to take the time to learn how to be graceful AND functional, to use every tool given to them to keep themselves alive... everyone else is a noob and u can go play hawx or something, your runing it for us people who play a sim for the fact its a sim and not an arcade game. and its not fun to shoot someone down who can't do a barrel roll without stalling.

[Flying_Nutcase]

For me it's all of the above + the big X-factor: Being able to PHYSICALLY simulate the experience much better than in most games, ie. HOTAS, rudder pedals, head tracking, touch screens for cockpit interaction.

Shooting someone with a mouse-controlled rifle just doesn't do it for me at all. Only racing games can compare for physically-accurate simulation as far as I can think. Not that other games can't be engaging, but it's what pushes me back to flight sims after trying out other game types.

S!


Flying Nutcase

[Hunden]

Having never played any sims let alone a flight sim I found just getting the aircraft started was a thrill and when I got her in the air, I was just amazed. I don't mp because I'm not good enough but I don't think I'll ever stop playing il2 (cod).:grin:

[Helrza]

Having never played any sims let alone a flight sim I found just getting the aircraft started was a thrill and when I got her in the air, I was just amazed. I don't mp because I'm not good enough but I don't think I'll ever stop playing il2 (cod).:grin:

Dont matter if your not good enough mate, that all comes with experience :)


Me, i love everything about ww2 fighter combat. The tactics, the dogfighting, the SA skills needed. Since i only play MP, there is nothing better than knowing the guy in the other plane is human as well, so the fight will be almost unpredictable. Plus, they are the only games that keep my brain running fast, especially when i deliberatly try to put myself in a 2+ vs 1 situation, and dont run :)

[ElAurens]

Well, it's for a couple of reasons.

My father was in the Army Air Corps in WW2 (not flight crew, and never left the US), and my uncle was a top gunner on a B 17. He was shot down on his second to last mission. KIA.

So I grew up with WW2 airplane stories, one of my first toys that I remember was a cast metal P 40. I still have my Dad's uniform jacket and bivouac cap.

Couple that with my love of anything that can fly and there you have it.

That's what got me started in the first place.

What keeps me doing it are the friends I've made along the way, and the fun of flying against one another.

Can't wait to have a P40 modeled in this game engine.

:cool:

[SEE]

As a young kid I made Airfix 1/72nd models of all the great WW2 ac. Once finished, I hung them from the ceiling and imagined what it would have been like to fly them.

Back in those days, TVs and Radios had valves and the Transistor had yet to make its way into electronic products (yep I am an old 'git'). If someone told me back then that one day I would have a box and a screen and be able to do what I do now I would have thought they were mad or spinning me some science fiction story.

I abslolutely love flightsims, a boyhood dream come true for me!

[MD_Titus]

still not really gotten into the groove with CloD, and find i get more enjoyment online with il2, most likely because my machine can handle it better... but some of the reasons -

being able to dance around 4 people in a zero on one sortie, then get hacked down by someone going fighter in an a20 the next.

unintentionally making someone your chew toy and having them quit with wails of "cheater".

marvelling at a sunset or time of day on a map and still being surprised by it after 4 years.

the sheer cerebral nature that some fights can take, jousting, edging for position