This may be deemed "off topic" in the FS9 forum but the people on this forum are "my community" and so I thought I would start here and then look at some other forums if necessary.

 

I was first introduced to PC flight simulation by various combat flight sims and it wasn't until FS98 that a civil flight sim had any appeal to me. Over the past few years I have become exclusively oriented to MSFS but lately I've been thinking of trying a combat sim again after all these years. I do have one, and it is very impressive - the DCS A10 Warthog. There would once have been a time when that would have been totally addictive to me but sadly, that time has passed. It is extremely detailed and I find that my senior citizen brain is really not up to the task of mastering something so complex and actually enjoying myself, let alone being competent enough to actually become immersed. Don't get me wrong - back in my Falcon 4/Tornado/Apache Longbow days this would have been a quantum leap for me and I would gladly have made the leap. But not these days. It's just too "realistic" and also I have difficulty being able to see all the small switches and other controls needed to operate the systems.

 

So what I'm looking for is something that is realistic enough to be immersive and believable but simple enough that I don't have to spend hours RTFM before I can even get the engine started. I have looked at the demos for the WWI simulation Rise of Flight and I am impressed, but I would probably prefer WWII or Korea vintage. I would also be open to a helicopter combat sim. I don't want something that is like an arcade game - something realistic enough to captivate the imagination but not so complex that it overwhelms my rapidly aging brain! Does anyone have any guidance they can offer?

Cheers

Ian

Hi Ian

 

I really do have to reply to your post and say that you are not alone in what you say.

 

I, too, find it more difficult as I get older (I'm70 this year) to get to grips with the sheer wealth of technical things needed to master some of the products on the market now. I have the iFly 737, Quality Wings 146 and Flight 1 ATR-500 and sadly realise that my brain and eyes find it difficult to master these products to any reasonable and satisfactory degree.

 

I want to enjoy my hobby but when it gets to the level of becoming a huge chore then it ceases to have any appeal. I've therefore decided to stay with something like Flight 1's Twin Baron and concentrate on trying to just become a better pilot and navigator. That is satisfying enough in itself.

 

Sorry I can't offer you any suggestions regarding combat sims.

 

David

Hands down, the best option is DCS A-10. It's without a doubt the gold standard now and the most exciting entry in the combat sim market since the Falcon series and Microprose's F-15 Strike Eagle. I will even go as far as saying that it runs so well that it pains me to go back to FSX--even though I love my PMDG NGX.

 

DCS A-10 is indeed high fidelity, and the learning curve is steep. However, there is a "game" mode that allows you to skip all the complexity. It's too arcadish for my liking, but you may enjoy it. And you never know, you may find yourself tempted to dive in and RTFM. As I said, DCS is the standard, and it's so amazing how real you can get when you're not limited by the FS architecture.

 

Edit: Although I haven't tried it, DCS just released the P-51 module. You may prefer that, if you're leaning toward WWII.

 

Trevor

DCS and it's various permutations would of course be the best option based on your requirements, but I'd still have to vote for Rise of Flight as my choice. Amazing flight model and immersion, and they keep releasing new content for it.

 

I'd love an update of the old MiG Alley too, as Korean War sims are few and far between. Probably too limited in appeal for a mass-market title these days, though. Shockwave's Battle of Britain II is excellent, and still being supporting by the community.

 

I'd also recommend checking the forums and reviews at SimHQ.com to get a sense of what combat sims are available now, and their status.

Might want to try War Thunder http://warthunder.com/ it covers ww2 and korea and has amazing graphics and its free!

Hands down, the best option is DCS A-10. It's without a doubt the gold standard now and the most exciting entry in the combat sim market since the Falcon series and Microprose's F-15 Strike Eagle. I will even go as far as saying that it runs so well that it pains me to go back to FSX--even though I love my PMDG NGX.

 

DCS A-10 is indeed high fidelity, and the learning curve is steep. However, there is a "game" mode that allows you to skip all the complexity. It's too arcadish for my liking, but you may enjoy it. And you never know, you may find yourself tempted to dive in and RTFM. As I said, DCS is the standard, and it's so amazing how real you can get when you're not limited by the FS architecture.

 

Edit: Although I haven't tried it, DCS just released the P-51 module. You may prefer that, if you're leaning toward WWII.

 

Trevor

 

Is DCS's P-51 a stand alone game?

Hi Ian,

---if your ex falcon4 Tornado Apache....try revisiting Falcon 4 with BMS4.32 upgrade ti almost feels like a new game.

---alternatively get Battle of Britain 2 and upgrade with latest BDG patch (4.12 due out shortly)

---or one of the Strike Fighters 2 franchise (try the Wings Over Vietnam2 version).

 

The first two as you may well be aware are not light weight but do have easy access quick fight options and the very best AI for a more satisfying single player experience. Plus they're dead cheap !!!

 

Tim

 

 

Is DCS's P-51 a stand alone game?

 

No, it's a module. DCS World is the "battlefield" platform with which you can combine one or more of the various modules (A-10, P-51, Flaming Cliffs, which includes the F-15, etc.). They even have a module called Combined Arms that simulates tanks and other battlefield artillery, in case driving a tank is your thing. The best part is that DCS is a multiplayer environment, so that you can not only fly with other pilots but target tanks, SAMs and AAA that are "piloted" by real people. The concept is to create a complete battle environment.

 

And, if course, with each module you get the plane (or tanks) and tailored missions and campaigns. I assume they are period specific, but I haven't tried the P-51 yet, so I can't confirm.

The review I read on the P51 seemed to say that it isn't part of an actual combat simulation. It uses the DCS world but it sounds like you just get to fly the P51 but there is no combat scenario.

 

Thanks for all the contributions guys - I haven't made a decision yet and am still looking over all the options

 

Cheers

Ian

Ian

 

Be sure to let us know what you end up doing.

 

Good luck!

 

David

I should also mention the IL-2 franchise as a viable option, as it features an amazing amount of content, great aircraft detail and accuracy, and runs on Windows 7 (as long as it's installed outside of the Program Files folder, standard procedure for MSFS users anyway). Still has a big active user base, too.

IL-2 franchise as a viable option

 

Yes and Ian there are many different campaigns available, both payware and free, covering multiple theatres of war so you certainly will find something of interest. Much better, and less buggy, than the follow-on title Cliffs of Dover.

 

Battle of Britain 2 (patched to v2.12 - now released) is truly excellent having a campaign engine almost the equal of Falcon 4. European Air War (EAW) is still batting along too ... it predates Falcon 4 by several months. Both released in 1998 I seem to recall.

 

If you enjoy helicopters Longbow still exists to a point, then there is EECH which is still being heavily modded by the community but Black Shark 2 remains the daddy of them all ... from the authors of DCS A10 Warthog ... so you know what you'll be getting there. :lol:

 

And, if it all seems a little too overwhelming why don't you join me in sampling the delights of Train Simulator 2013 (aka Railworks) but you'll have to hurry last day on special, half price on Steam. I have really enjoyed this since my FS9 computer has been US the last 5 weeks. Spent way too much on add-on routes, locos and rolling stock thanks to the holidays specials.Takes me right back to my Triang trainset when I was a kid, only much better..

 

Have fun Ian, life is too short. :rolleyes:

I really enjoy Rise of Flight. I managed to get the Iron Cross edition for a very low sale price and just love it. Despite my total lack of skill. The people who make it have also just taken over the Il-2 series, or have joined up with them, something like that.

 

The best thing is Ian that you can get a two plane version for free. So give it a go, nothing to lose.

This may be deemed "off topic" in the FS9 forum but the people on this forum are "my community" and so I thought I would start here and then look at some other forums if necessary.

 

I was first introduced to PC flight simulation by various combat flight sims and it wasn't until FS98 that a civil flight sim had any appeal to me. Over the past few years I have become exclusively oriented to MSFS but lately I've been thinking of trying a combat sim again after all these years. I do have one, and it is very impressive - the DCS A10 Warthog. There would once have been a time when that would have been totally addictive to me but sadly, that time has passed. It is extremely detailed and I find that my senior citizen brain is really not up to the task of mastering something so complex and actually enjoying myself, let alone being competent enough to actually become immersed. Don't get me wrong - back in my Falcon 4/Tornado/Apache Longbow days this would have been a quantum leap for me and I would gladly have made the leap. But not these days. It's just too "realistic" and also I have difficulty being able to see all the small switches and other controls needed to operate the systems.

 

So what I'm looking for is something that is realistic enough to be immersive and believable but simple enough that I don't have to spend hours RTFM before I can even get the engine started. I have looked at the demos for the WWI simulation Rise of Flight and I am impressed, but I would probably prefer WWII or Korea vintage. I would also be open to a helicopter combat sim. I don't want something that is like an arcade game - something realistic enough to captivate the imagination but not so complex that it overwhelms my rapidly aging brain! Does anyone have any guidance they can offer?

Cheers

Ian

Hi Ian,

 

the most realistic combat sim is the DSC World stuff - http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/

All of the base sim is available as a free download and includes a Sukhoi Su-25T. You can buy more modules for it in the forum of the A-10, P-51D, Ka-50, etc....

 

If you're a Falcon 4 fan, I would strongly suggest you try at least one of these:

 

BMS Falcon - http://www.benchmark...content.php?131

 

Open Falcon - http://www.f4support.com/forums/

 

Free Falcon - http://www.freefalcon.com

 

All of the above can get pretty complex though with many different aircraft and weapon systems to be learned. But they're all really good and highly in-depth, each one has it own charm. I still tend to use Open Falcon as its the first one I tried from the above and liked a lot right from the start - however development on it stopped a while ago.

 

For something less demanding systems wise, go for the IL-2 sim range; still fantastic, realistic to fly and highly enjoyable - no complex systems to learn, just start up the engine/s and you're ready to go. Its really great! The best WWII flight combat sim there is.

 

I haven't tried Battle of Britain 2, but remember its preprocessor fondly:

 

It was a while ago. The last incarnation (http://www.a2asimulations.com/bob/) with the BoB Developers Group updates looks fantastic. I've been meaning to get into this one for a while, it looks like it's really worth it.

 

For a helicopter sim, outside of the DSC Black Shark 2, you can also go for 'Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum' - old but still remarkably good. Its source code was released some time back and it had a very active modding team. With the add-ons its a completely different experience, I couldn't believe how much they improved it when I tried their stuff out. They even added in a very nice Mi-24 Hind to fly in.

I was just looking for their website - www.eechcentral.com, sadly it seems to be gone and replaced by some 'SoFury' nonsense. They were still active just 2-3 months ago (it was the last time I visited) I guess they're no more, sad to find that out. Glad I got their mod files.

For anyone interested I managed to find out that you can get the 'EECH Central' mods from SimHQ - http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3552010/EEAH_EEAH_FAQs#Post3552010

it looks like you need to register to be able to download from there.

and the 'Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum' sim is still available for $5.99 from: http://www.gog.com/gamecard/comanche_vs_hokum