Old school combat sims?

[steppenwolf]

I can't wait to see what the next twenty years brings.

I should have posted this earlier, but this is the kind of tech I'm hoping we see in the next twenty...maybe forty?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4ACKAUU3O0

[Rjel]

"Golden days" indeed. Just think about it:

 

European Air War (1998)

 

MS Combat Flight Simulator 1 (1998)

 

Janes WW2 Fighters (1999)

 

Luftwaffe Commander (1999)

 

B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th (2000) 

 

Rowans Battle Of Britain (2000)

 

MSCFS 2 (2000)

 

IL2 Sturmovik (2001)

 

MSCFS 3 (2002)

 

All within the span of 3½ years. And today we feel lucky that there are 2 WW2 era flight sims in the pipeline.

That's true, but at least three of the titles in that list were considered less than favorably by most simmers. Beyond EAW and IL-2 being true classics, only Rowans' BoB and Janes WW2 Fighters would be the only other titles most would likely say were good sims. 

[Finkeren]

That still makes 4 sims in as many years, and both The Mighty 8th and MSCFS 2 were breakthroughs in their own right, even if they were somewhat flawed.

[Feathered_IV]

Looking at that list of titles, it's amazing how depth of gameplay has declined though as the technical complexity increases. Those early games worked hard to include the human element and to engage the imagination.

[Finkeren]

Looking at that list of titles, it's amazing how depth of gameplay has declined though as the technical complexity increases. Those early games worked hard to include the human element and to engage the imagination.

 

I'd say that depends on the title, but there is something to what you say. Since IL2FB focus has been more on creating dynamic and varied campaigns and missions and immersion has been left to the simulation itself.

 

I don't think the game interface has ever been more alive, detailed and immersive than it was in The Mighty 8th (2000) and never more bland and uninspired than in IL2 (2001).

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

 I remember in early games from C64 and Amiga how imagination filled the blanks, so to say. It was fun and you lived through the events with the lessons of WW2 you had back then. Maybe growing old and knowing more spoils the fun To some degree the work with planes daily makes it hard to use word simulation in it's true sense. I call them games with sim like features

 

 Anyways..EAW, PAW 1942, WW2F and others served as the jumping point into online gaming. I remember paying 30USD per month on Aces High subsricption for a long time. Also paid of EVE Online and others. But as stated above, not even the greatest graphical advances can hide the fact that games are more hollow these days, storywise etc. It is all about making the minimum required to get the product out and money in..regardless of the genre.

 

 It makes me smile to see others who havce flown from the "stone age" of gaming up to today's hitech era Cheers!

[Finkeren]

I share some of Flankers sentiment. To me a combat flight sim is first and foremost a "game". It's true that a great deal of enjoyment comes from the depth of simulation and nice little details, and I will support historical accuracy over "game balance" 99% of the time.

 

However, a game has to be fun, and sometimes historical accuracy can in fact ruin some of that fun. That was my main problem with "Pacific Fighters" back in the day. While historically accurate, there was just not that much fun in flying those endless missions over completely featureless stretches of ocean to experience perhaps 5 minutes of excitement during the attack and landing procedure.

 

That's why I maintain, that the Eastern Front is the best setting for a WW2 combat flight sim, nothing comes even close. It's got all the historically accurate conditions, that make a great game:

 

Short missions with minimum amount of flight time.

 

Low altitude missions that gives a nice sense of speed and lets you really appreciate the landscape.

 

Perhaps the most intense sense of the shifting tides of war.

 

Intense struggle in the air with very direct connection to, what's happening on the ground.

 

Hugely varied plane set, especially when including lend-lease planes and Germanys Allies.

 

Very varied landscapes with all kinds of climate zones and seasonal peculiarities.

 

All of which made IL2 such an awesome game rather than "just" a good sim.