When you fly a flight sim like this, do you respect the real guys who did?

[seafireliv]

Ok, i`m a wierdo, I`m sure. Why?

 

Because every time I get in the virtual cockpit of my aircraft, start the engine, taxi and fly I am continuously in mind to respect what the real guys went through in the real thing.

 

When I fly across that sky with the sweeping terrain for 20 minutes, I magine how it must`ve been for the real guys. When I first spot the bogey and they spot me, I get that small knot of `fear` and anticipation as we approach before it is all forgotten as I open fire.

 

After the battle, I struggle home and again wonder at the true reality for those guys all those years ago.

 

I respect what these men did and it was no game for them. In fact it was no game for the WORLD- It was very serious survival. And I respect that and play somewhat in kind.  I respect the war and death and terror they went through. I don`t see it as  just a `World of Aerial Warfare` shooter. I can`t call it `fun` in the childish arcade way. Enjoyable, yes. A great experience, yes, but only if I feel i`m flying as a pilot in WW2. I`d have it no other way and I`ve flown like this in any serious war sim for years.

 

If I didn`t view it this way I would never touch any game\sim of war. It`s why i generally stick to realistic sims. Death and killing are very serious things even in a game and should be respected.

 

If I want to get out that, then I`ll play something far removed from actual killing. Like chess. Though that too reflects war.

 

 

I know, I`m a wierdo. I await the derision and sarcasm.

[SYN_Skydance]

I agree with you seafireliv..............you are a wierdo ~S~

 

But then again that goes for 87.2% of us on the forum.

[Czar66]

Every single time! S!

 

 

If I didn`t view it this way I would never touch any game\sim of war. It`s why i generally stick to realistic sims.
Death and killing are very serious things even in a game and should be respected. If I want to get out that, then I`ll play something far removed from actual killing. Like chess. Though that too reflects war.

 

I take more as machine versus machine most of the time prior to actual "scoring" something in every sim. Being Silent Hunter 3-5, il-2, DCS, RoF whatever.

From what you've said, for me, RoF have a quite special feel to that, probably too overwhelming when having a plane plummeting from the skies hopeless. I almost always think when I see a plane kiss the ground: "That was pretty fucked up those times. That took an absurd amount of courage".

It's something to be put into perspective from the reality you're living, not the actual being a power fantasy "game" or the pure banality of just killing. Kind of like a thoughtful actual good War film. That's my view seeing from up far the genre "war-sim" if there's such thing.

Close by most of the time is fun and games, enjoyment of being in control of such beautiful virtual machines and the artwork behind it and so on. I can't deny that part.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Czar66

[F/JG300_Gruber]

I always have that same feeling as well.

[GridiroN]

I think the real interesting thing to think about is not necessarily whether we respect them. Anyone who goes out and faces death to fight for their country is worthy of respect. I think the interesting thing to think about is how much harder these guys had to fight, how much more nerves they had. Pretty much any regular on WoL probably has more combat flight hours and more combat experience than the majority of pilots, and we'd likely all be aces in the actual war. Imagine going into combat with a real life plane knowing half as much about the enemy's capabilities and general concept of aerial combat, plus no respawn... your life is on the line.

 

Scary. 

[VA_NAVY]

 I have the same feeling I think they were crazy brave.

[Turban]

Some people might, some people won't. I wouldn't expect too much.
But good for you if you see it like that, definitely brings a deeper and richer experience 

Edited November 19, 2016 by Turban

[Dakpilot]

I was lucky enough to fly some aircraft that actively participated in WWII, and although some of the conflicts were a far cry from what was happening then, I always had a little thought in the back of my mind as I stepped into my seat, that decades earlier some other pilot had been doing the same procedure, and held the same control column and operated the same throttle, pitch and mixture etc. during WWII.

 

A strange fleeting feeling, which certainly left me thinking with respect of what had passed before

 

Sadly none of these aircraft are used operationally any more (maybe some in waterbombing and Alaskan cargo, but I have not really kept up), but time marches on, I was fortunate to experience the last 'glory days' of  piston engined aircraft

 

every now and again when conditions are right, be it Taxiing out or just transiting on a mission BoS triggers a memory and re-creates that feeling I had

 

For all its faults, I consider that a great compliment to the creators of BoS, no other flight sim has had all the elements to trigger that

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[Yakdriver]

Not as i fly, at least not always, not from the first spin of the Prop.

But the message often hits me when i land, bail or die - i realize in horror that despite the "relative training" and background knowledge i have...
Were that for real, i would be limping for life, would have a serious injury or would be ... gone...
Or i would just have survived an encounter with an unknown enemy - with no idea what he flies, how he flies, little training and no clue what was about to hit me.

It happens that i snap out of the Sim and look around myself... PC, tools, aimages and the dog on the couch beside me... and silently thank those of times past to have enabled me to live this life in a peaceful manner so far.

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by Yakdriver

[Mac_Messer]

Not really, though only flight sims, among all other war-like titles, make me realise the hell WWII must have been. People dying, lots of suffering and lots of courage.

[Soarfeat]

Nice post !

Yep-- flying this sim certainly has me at many times reflecting on the folks that flew combat in the early wars. Not only the aspect of killing, but having to get up the next morning after a white knuckle encounter and do it again and again--wondering will fate be on their side today, while also some of their comrades loosing their lives as well. Also, how they felt when they were close to finishing their active tour in the military ( I'm sure not all were like this but imagine more than would admit were. )

Well, glad I'm part of the 87.2 % club 

[Gambit21]

Never when I'm flying - other times yes.

[andyw248]

I do feel the same - in particular when I'm getting hit out of nowhere and it's over within a split second.

[Feathered_IV]

In singleplayer I certainly do. In MP rather less so. All the menu beeping and trash talk, combined with player griefing and general asshattery tends to constantly remind you that it is just a video game.

[Trooper117]

No, never let my mind wander and think about the real pilots from the war years...  I'm busy trying to navigate, monitor my instruments, watching out for possible threats, making minor adjustments etc...

The thing that is continuously in my mind apart from all of the above, is how to achieve my mission.

 

Do I respect the guys that did this for real?... of course, it goes without saying, but I certainly don't sit there when I'm flying thinking about it.

[=EXPEND=Dendro]

I always wonder what when through a pilot's mind when he got into an engagement with a highly experienced ace and was almost instantly outwitted and outfoxed..... that moment when you realise you are totally out of your depth and that this is probably IT....... for us its annoying and embarrassing but when you were really going to get pounded with a 20mm cannon and face having to burn to death in a flaming wreck..... Oh god, those poor boys. 

[Livai]

I enjoy the show  when flying this flight sim same how these real guys do................

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nxaMf9bc9U

Edited November 21, 2016 by Superghostboy

[VBF-12_Stele]

I've thought about it sometimes. As I get older I think that these were mostly kids thrown into a war so big they probably couldn't comprehend it. Most thought they were invincible, which is why they were able to do so many amazing things.

[Lusekofte]

I fly all WW2 simulators with history in mind, but flying a PE 2 alone in a public server bring me back to earth again, little that happens in public server remind about the real thing. Events in FNBF and SNBF in BOS and SOW in COD however , realism kick in , what a blast. Funny there is so few among us that take advantage of this

[Gambit21]

When the thought occurs to me, it's usually about the Japanese pilots who climbed into the Betty's, and to some degree the Zeros.

Flying matchsticks, and sometimes at least...with no parachute. Or if they were present, not always strapped properly to the pilot or crew.

[Finkeren]

I got this feeling the strongest from flying in Rise Of Flight. Something about that sim just hit a level of immersion for me, that I haven't gotten yet from BoX . There are a lot of reasons from the open cockpits, where the sound of the airflow can literally be your airspeed indicator to the slower pace that really lets you appreciate the little details, but mostly it's about the lack of parachutes. The threat of being trapped in a doomed aircraft as it tumbles towards the ground really puts you in the shoes of those kids who had to endure the utter terror that WW1 air combat was.

[Gambit21]

I got this feeling the strongest from flying in Rise Of Flight.

 

Most definitely - haven't flown RoF in a bit so didn't occur to me immediately,,,but yes.

[Trinkof]

I am mostly sad for them. I respect the courage they had... And yeah I think of it when starting sole coop immersive mission with the LAL.

 

But that's it. Some of those poor lads killed several hundred of people (if not more) because they were forced to or blinded par nationalist and populist leaders....

 

My own grand dad have fought in ww2. He sent all his medals to trash, and never told anyone what happened, exept some vague comments and stories about allies droping supply by chute when he was in french resistance... We were told when he died he was a highly decorated war hero, by some of his old camarades coming to his funeral.

 

He was so damn ashamed by the killing he made, he kept it secret.

 

So I will not glorify those guys back in those days. I have mostly pity and sadness for what they were forced to do.

[=EXPEND=Dendro]

As a Brit I honestly can't say I find myself respecting the German flyers from back in the day. I don't buy into the "knights of the sky" line. The German army murdered, stole and raped their way east. The Soviet army did the same heading west. Call me a weirdo but Honestly I can't respect that. For me it's a game. When I get the spitfire maybe my attitude will change. Battle of Britain and all that. That I do respect.

 

As a Brit, do you respect the bomber squads that burnt German towns/cities to the ground, murdering innocent women and children, many of whom were against the war and Nazi Germany?

 

What about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, do you respect those crews?

Edited November 22, 2016 by JG19_DendroAspis

[Y29.Layin_Scunion]

As a Brit, do you respect the bomber squads that burnt German towns/cities to the ground, murdering innocent women and children, many of whom were against the war and Nazi Germany?

 

"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind."

[II/JG11_ATLAN_VR]

I enjoy the show  when flying this flight sim same how these real guys do................

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nxaMf9bc9U

 

LIKE IT!

[=EXPEND=Dendro]

"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind."

 

OK.... so I come over and punch your sister in the face giving her a nice bloody nose..... I then run away and hide. Now you are really hacked off with me so you march up to my sister, who was innocently watching events unfold, and punch her on the nose, just because she was close by and you knew it would p**s me off?

[Scarecrow]

I have respect for all the men put to war by their governments for reasons beyond the ordinary mans' control. If you look back at history imperialism and invading other countries is what all the European powers at that time were doing.

 

Total war is a terrible thing and the war against the enemies "will to fight" is a part of that.

 

It was a dark time when a leader convinced his people that "outsiders" were responsible for all the problems in their country and that they must cast them out. That's Nazi's for ya.

[=EXPEND=Dendro]

 

It was a dark time when a leader convinced his people that "outsiders" were responsible for all the problems in their country and that they must cast them out. That's Nazi's for ya.

 Sounds a lot like Trump to me.... jmho.

[Trooper117]

[Rolling_Thunder]

As a Brit, do you respect the bomber squads that burnt German towns/cities to the ground, murdering innocent women and children, many of whom were against the war and Nazi Germany?

 

What about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, do you respect those crews?

I thought it was a mistake to have a statue of "bomber Harris". His strategy was horrific and like the Nazi bombings of civilians did verry little to affect moral. Like I said, before my post was removed, the "few" young men in spitfire and hurricanes I totally respect. I was going to say the world would be a very different place if it wasn't for them but after the recent American election and the rise of the "alt right" read neo Nazis, I'm not so sure.

[BlackSix]

Please do not discuss political topics in this section. Closed.