A Pictorial Flashback Into The History Of MS Flight Simulatorhttp://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds?$=main/feature/history.htmThanksChris Willis[link:fsw.simflight.com/FSWMenuFsSim.html]Clouds And Addons For MsFshttp://fsw.simflight.com/fsw.jpg

I remember FS2 by Sublogic on my Atari 800 & Atari 128 machines. Talk about frame rate.John

Thanks for the link Chris. Very nice article.Ryan-Flightpro08Taxiwaysigns.com

ChrisThanks for your post - it really took me back to my early days of flight simming.I well remember the wire frame airports, the dreadful 2D cockpits, the clicking sound of the PC speaker to indicate engine RPM and the awful graphics - or lack of them :( But in those days, just as now, we looked forward to the next release of MSFS with much anticipation and marvelled at the progress that had been made from Version 1 to Version 2 :-lolWe didn't have the Internet to share ideas and solve problems - we just had to live with them - and there certainly wasn't the prospect of some third party aircraft or scenery to brighten things up.When I sit down in front of FS2002 now I don't complain. Despite its imperfections I wouldn't go back even one version let alone to the early days of simulation.David

Very interesting article - even (or especially) for me who seriously started with FS 98. However, FS 98 was not the first version of The Sim that I got into my hands - back around 1990 I had a C64, and among my huge pile of disks (got the entire rig including software as a gift from an uncle) was one which contained a Commodore 64 version of Flight Sim! Being only ten years of age back then I didn't know what to make of this sim, though :-) ...however, today FS has turned into one of my all-time favourite games, and I'm pretty positive it will remain that in the future.Ahhh, the C64...those were the days...no hassles with incompatible drivers or screwy hard drives ;-) ...Cheers,

DominikI never had a C64 - I chose the Sinclair Spectrum with the rubber keys :-( Their flight simulator had two airports called Main and Club, if I remember rightly. Club had mountains at one end which I don't think you could really see which made for an interesting approach :-lol As for runways, all you had were some flashing lights which were supposed to indicate the edge of the runway and they bounced up and down as you accelerated so as to give the impression of speed.But my first ever flight simulator was some terrible thing which ran on the Sinclair ZX81 which I believe was the first ever home computer in the UK. Well, to be precise it was the ZX80 which could only handle integers - the ZX81 could handle floating point calculations.The young flight simmer of today doesn't know just what he has missed :-lolDavid

>Ahhh, the C64...those were the days...no hassles with incompatible drivers or screwy hard drivesYes, but don't forget the dreaded '?load error'. :-) Just taperecorders for me back then (1984). Played Solo Flight a lot on the C64.

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>Yes, but don't forget the dreaded '?load error'. :-) Just >taperecorders for me back then (1984). Played Solo Flight a >lot on the C64. How about the 1541 hard drive, with the awful "clicking" produced by some of the software protection schemes?, but it sure beat loading things from tape!I remember the old Solo Flight! I thought it was one of the greatest programs for my C64 and later the C128. It was my first "flight sim" and was what got me started in the sim flight experience. When FS2 was finally released I was totally hooked, and when FS3 came out I switched to a PC system. Since than I have been playing the "Hardware Game", just to keep up with the latest version of FS. I still have my old C128 stashed away in some obscure closet together with some of the software and books. http://members.cox.net/pstepanoff/images/OK_c2.gifPete S

Hey FS fans,If you like this and an think that it tasts for more, please visit my website on [a href=http://simflight.com/fshistory]The History of Flight Simulator[/a]It's not really finished yet, but is a nice complement to the page by Ulrich Klein. And I am working on a major update.You're welcome, Jos G.

Yeah same here, I started also with FS98, well two years ago I bought FSFW95 ($6) :-) and some weeks ago I got FS1, FS2 and FS4, that's cool. The only one I can fly a bit is FS4, the others are * ***** ** ****. ;-) Then I really revert to FS2002... Nice artice over there on FlightSim.Com.Regards :-wave from EDDFhttp://flightsimmers.net/airport/etti/signature_pro.jpg

Hmm, He must have a different version of fs2k2 than I do. He mentions "Gosh, with volumetric clouds and fancy shadowing FS2002 is the most exciting and realistic "seat-of-your-pants" flightsim I have ever used to date." I dont see any Volumetric Clouds or Fancy Shadows. I see 2D Bitmaps for clouds and shadows that sometimes cast shadows themselves!(eg where a tailwing connects to fuselage)

Hi, "I see 2D Bitmaps for clouds"Even if they are volumetric, they will still in bmp or others paint format, just better rendered.ThanksChris Willis[link:fsw.simflight.com/FSWMenuFsSim.html]Clouds And Addons For MsFshttp://fsw.simflight.com/fsw.jpg

>>Yes, but don't forget the dreaded '?load error'. :-) Just >>taperecorders for me back then (1984). Played Solo Flight a >>lot on the C64. *LOL* Yup, got one of these during the first few months with my C64 as well! Later that year my uncle also presented me with a floppy drive (Easter, I think it was). Sure was an improvement - anyway, kinda makes you think...today we complain about load times longer than 20, 30 seconds or so, but do any of you remember how long it took to load a programme on a C64? MINUTES! I still remember I got one particular game (forgot the title, though) which took maybe 15 (!) minutes to load, only to quit for some dubious reason immediately upon loading.I still remember two games I played on the tape drive...one was called "Fallschirm" ("Parachute" - kinda obvious, no? ;-) ), the other one "Benji". Damn, did I have fun with those! :D>How about the 1541 hard drive, with the awful "clicking" produced by some of the software protection schemes?, but it Tell me about it :-) ...when my current PC last made clicking noises (indicating a deceased HD) about two months ago I almost went ballistic. Strange - when I'm looking back at the hassles I had with the C 64 I cannot help but smile :-) .Hey, look at it from another perspective - in some respects the C 64 was the damn best computer ever made until this day! No bootup sequence to speak of - OS was up and running as soon as you turned it on. No trouble at all with incompatible drivers or naggy peripherals. No issues with troublesome plug-in cards...heck, you could even start programming right out of the OS! :( Hey M$, look and learn how Commodore did it!Hmmmm...which C 64 games did I enjoy most? Had a very early version of Microprose's "Gunship" - never really figured out the key commands (didn't have the reference card), and don't ask me how often I crashed! But still, it was really cool.Then there was a game called "H.E.R.O." by Activision (I think) where you would fly through some weird dungeons with a backpack helicopter strapped on to you - really difficult sometimes, but really motivating."Hot Wheels" was another one - you could "build" a custom car, paint it and then go cruising through a city.Hmmm...any of you know "Miami Vice"? Never fully figured this one out either, but I simply loved how you could blast through the streets and crash other cars to he11 }> ...!Then there was a game called "Raid on Bungeling Bay" - I have only vague memories of this one, but I think it was some kind of combat flight game.Mmmmmph...don't remember the title of the next one, but it was a game where you would play some kind of lone fighter (