Modern air combat flight sims?

[DarkUnderlord]

What's the good shit these days? Looking for something with a good variety of modern planes, bombs and missiles. Modern. Not too interested in World War 2 sims.

Although I wouldn't mind a good World War I biplane fight.

 

[Burning Bridges]

You should already know: DCS
The base game is free, addons expensive. Free game contains a Su25 which I think is also one of the most interesting.

I haven't felt the need for serious flight sims in years (considering how much time I wasted in the past, for very little gameplay). My rig is not up to it, either.
But I keep reading the Flight Sim community is currently switching over to Prepar3d, which is a commercial product.
I keep reading good things about it.

 

[J_C]

What's the good shit these days? Looking for something with a good variety of modern planes, bombs and missiles. Modern. Not too interested in World War 2 sims.

Although I wouldn't mind a good World War I biplane fight.

As Burning Bridges said: DCS.

It is highest quality combat flight simulation ever made since Falcon 4.0, it has lots of planes, which you buy as addons. But be sure to read about them first, because these are made by different teams, and some of them are not as complex as others.

The game also has quite a high system requirements, especially for the CPU.

For starters I would recommend buying the Flaming Cliffs 3 addon, which is made by the core devs. It has around a half a dozen planes, campaigns and shit. You can get it for 10 dollars during a sale, which is quite frequent. The most hardcore part is definitely the A10C addon, which is as accurate as it can get, it has full clickable cockpit and everything is simulated from the IRL jet. It takes 15 minutes just to start the fucking plane. :D

 

[Burning Bridges]

Although it's got to be said that DCS has a very limited map.
You can fly for 30 minutes until you reach the end of the world. That has always been a boner breaker to me.
The really interesting stuff (imo) like flying strategic bombers, U2 overflights, dropping nuclear devices etc will forever be out of the question.

 

[Makabb]

Flight sims are dead these days.

 

[Endemic]

Falcon 4.0 (with BMS and the community content) has plenty of maps with dynamic campaigns, but only the F-16 is modeled in significant detail.

 

[J_C]

Flight sims have never beet better.

Fixed that for you.

Seriously, how could you say that? It is true that in the past there were many more, but those were arcade crap because of technical limitations. Falcon, DCS, Battle for Stalingrad are frigging awesome flight simulators. It is better two have 2 or 3 high level simulators than a dozen arcade games.

Although it's got to be said that DCS has a very limited map.
You can fly for 30 minutes until you reach the end of the world. That has always been a boner breaker to me.
The really interesting stuff (imo) like flying strategic bombers, U2 overflights, dropping nuclear devices etc will forever be out of the question.

Although it is not a certainty, I have a little hope that they will introduce new maps in the future. They now added the Nevada test range, which is a small new map, maybe they will make more new ones too.

 

[Data4]

How is the DCS campaign? Gonna date myself here, but the last combat sim I played seriously was Falcon 3.0. Yes, 3.0, where the minimum requirements were a 386, but you could get the good shit with a 486 with a math coprocessor. Despite its age, the dynamic campaign was great. You had 8 aircraft to task for each sortie, and most of the time, you could accomplish your mission with 4. This let you take the other 4 and task them to targets of opportunity, which would greatly impact the campaign. It was a pretty good strategic feature, especially for an early game like that.

Is the DCS campaign dynamic, and if so, is that sort of thing possible?

 

[commie]

Although I wouldn't mind a good World War I biplane fight.

Try Rise of Flight...was a bundle for it a while back so there's keys for a dollar or so from g2a..with some add ons(base game is free with 2 planes I think but you'll want the paid stuff for some decent fighters and channel island map), that's about 1 euro and a decent fighter DLC and bomber dlc for 50 cents each there.

Probably you should DEMO it first as it's a resource hog but those biplanes feel great.

There's also the mod/standalone Wings: Over Flanders Fields but that's uber expensive and based on the ancient Combat Flight Sim 3 engine, still looks good, but I prefer RoF and you can tone down the realism to just shoot some fuckers

Flight sims have never beet better.

Fixed that for you.

Seriously, how could you say that? It is true that in the past there were many more, but those were arcade crap because of technical limitations. Falcon, DCS, Battle for Stalingrad are frigging awesome flight simulators. It is better two have 2 or 3 high level simulators than a dozen arcade games.
.

LOL Wut? You never heard of F/A-18, Jane's F-15, Flanker 2.0? Just because in the old days there were a lot of Survey Sims(like IAF,USAF,European Air War,WW2 Fighters) that covered a lot of aircraft at a more basic level to give an overview doesn't mean that there weren't serious sims with detail as close to what we have now in complexity. Falcon 4.0 shows how well those can stand up today even.

Personally I'd rather more survey sims and fucking helicopters...where did they all go??Have to go back to Longbow,Hind and the 'versus' series to find fun heli sims...DCS ones are a level of complexity that I just don't have time for anymore unfortunately.

That's the big problem these days: We only have real arcade shit or real hardcore shit. Nothing in between that was filled by 'survey sims' in the 90's(and lonely Il-2 in the 2000's). Miss the 'reasonably accurate' but 'doesn't take a month to learn' approach middleground(and yeah I have the newer Il-2 incarnations but they are a bit barebones and dry, nothing like the EA/Jane's/Microprose stuff we had in the past).

 

[DarkUnderlord]

You should already know: DCS

No, I do not. Gotta admit I'm not too keen on the SUPER REALISTIC FLICK ALL THE CONTROLS stuff.

I used to play Advanced Tactical Fights with the NATO Expansion Pack, which was fucking awesome. It was a nice quick combat game.

But I'll check it out given it's free.

Although I wouldn't mind a good World War I biplane fight.

Try Rise of Flight...

Nice, looks pretty good - I'll check it out too.

 

[bonescraper]

Well, you can't go wrong with DCS. It's pretty much the only modern combat flight sim that's still alive and well, and it's unprecedented when it comes to in depth detail in flight and systems simulation. You can try it out, the Su-25T module is free, comes with training missions, some solo missions and a full campaign. While i own some paid modules, i really fell in love with the Su-25(T). It's kinda low tech for a modern aircraft, and that's why i love it, you have to rely on all those manual dials and indicators instead of modern popalome HUD and LCD screens. If it's up your alley, you can then buy the Flaming Cliffs module, which includes the F-15C, A-10A, MiG-29, Su-25, Su-27 and Su-30 with their own missions and campaigns. But the real deal are the really in depth modules like the A-10C, MiG-21 etc. They're so detailed, you can spend hours just strating those birds up.



And there's always Falcon 4.0 with the BMS overhaul mod. It's not as pretty, cause it's a really old game, but it has the best dynamic campaign system ever created. So you can check it out too (you'll need Falcon 4.0 vanilla - available on GOG in the Falcon pack, and the BMS mod).

 

[Burning Bridges]

That's a fair point. With ultra realistic sims there is a 99% chance that you end up just wasting your time and money.

 

[Burning Bridges]

There is also Strike Fighters 2, which seems like a good compromise

 

[bonescraper]

Is the DCS campaign dynamic, and if so, is that sort of thing possible?

No, the DCS campaigns are static and pre-made, but the game comes with a very good and easy to use editor. Dynamic campaign (and the deep F-16 simulation) is pretty much the only thing that makes Falcon 4.0 still relevant these days.

That's a fair point. With ultra realistic sims there is a 99% chance that you end up just wasting your time and money.

Spoken like a real plebian

But yeah, if you're really looking for Ace Combat type arcade third person shooters, don't bother. Real sims require a lot of dedication and a substantial financial investment.

There is also Strike Fighters 2, which seems like a good compromise

Yeah, if you're looking for an uglier but slightly more sophisticated HAWX clone. I thought this subforum was for real sims, not fucking arcade popamole shit. If DU is looking for the latter, take this out to general gaming to avoid confusion. I know this is not a sim-focused forum, but there's nothing more in gaming than super realistic simulations ffs.

And BTW you can totally avoid the overly complex stuff in DCS, the options and key shortcuts are there for the less demanding folk. Personally i just don't get it, the learning process is just as fun as the flying part itself. It gives you a good understanding of how to operate actaul real combat aircraft, grants you a lot of knowledge (after all it's almost a real *hands on* experience), and makes you appreciate the work of the developers, pilots and engineers so much more.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Is bonescraper an autist? Because he surely sounds like one.

 

[bonescraper]

Yeah, flight sims are for autists only. Since you're just a plain regular retard i woder what are you doing in this part of the forums.

 

[J_C]

You should already know: DCS

No, I do not. Gotta admit I'm not too keen on the SUPER REALISTIC FLICK ALL THE CONTROLS stuff.

You could still check out DCS, because the core module, Flaming Cliffs 3 might be up on your alley. Those planes are not full cickable, and if you turn on some options, they are much easier to fly.

 

[Burning Bridges]

I just recently tried the first of the payware modules, and I must say I am impressed. Ridiculously expensive but this is not like anything I have flown before in a flight sim. Graphics are fantastic, performance is like 150+ fps and sound is great too if I find mods (I got some Klimov sound mod for that Mig which is totally insane). Neeldess to say that is not possible to just pull on the stick with these place, you really see them moving through the air, which makes all my previous sims popamole.

I flew Lomac in 2004 or so when it was rather new, but it was nothing like that. Really impressive to see the improvements in the flight models and engine.

Made those screens after tweaking for a day, and here some samples of the sound mods I like

 

[J_C]

I just recently tried the first of the payware modules, and I must say I am impressed. Ridiculously expensive but this is not like anything I have flown before in a flight sim. Graphics are fantastic, performance is like 150+ fps and sound is great too if I find mods (I got some Klimov sound mod for that Mig which is totally insane). Neeldess to say that is not possible to just pull on the stick with these place, you really see them moving through the air, which makes all my previous sims popamole.

I flew Lomac in 2004 or so when it was rather new, but it was nothing like that. Really impressive to see the improvements in the flight models and engine.

Made those screens after tweaking for a day, and here some samples of the sound mods I like

My heart aches when I see these. Unfortunately my rig cannot handle DCS anymore, the framerate barely reaches 25, and it drops down to 10 when over cities.

 

[commie]

I need that Mig-15....

 

[Burning Bridges]

Unfortunately my rig cannot handle DCS anymore, the framerate barely reaches 25, and it drops down to 10 when over cities.

This must really be an old rig. I am in between 120 and 200 fps and not even doing anything to optimize performance. I just had to put the game to an SSD because there were occasional micro stutters. Will probably get another 16GB of RAM and then technological progress can go sit on a tack for the next 5 years as far as I am concerned.

Tbh I always had problems in Lomac when I fly over cities, even with state of the art systems. But with 10 years worth of improvements this is becoming totally irrelevant. I believe they also use the GPU now.

I need that Mig-15....

Perfect plane for me so far. Just keep her over 300 km/h or she will stall in maneuvres. One of the reason I never play much Lomac was that I hate those popamole american planes. But since Chuck Yeagers Air Combat I find the Mig 15 almost perfect because it's just a huge engine, perfect airframe and 3 large fucking cannon. It's so easy to fly, retro instruments and feeling of a late 40s type jet fighter.

 

[J_C]

Unfortunately my rig cannot handle DCS anymore, the framerate barely reaches 25, and it drops down to 10 when over cities.

This must really be an old rig. I am in between 120 and 200 fps and not even doing anything to optimize performance. I just had to put the game to an SSD because there were occasional micro stutters. Will probably get another 16GB of RAM and then technological progress can go sit on a tack for the next 5 years as far as I am concerned.

Tbh I always had problems in Lomac when I fly over cities, even with state of the art systems. But with 10 years worth of improvements this is becoming totally irrelevant. I believe they also use the GPU now.

Well it is not terribly old, but it barely reaches the minimum requirements. It's an AMD Phenom II X4 @3,2 GHz, 8 GB of DDR2 RAM and ATI HD6870 with an HDD. Sad thing is that it could run DCS perfectly fine a few years ago, but since it switched to the DCS 1.5 version, it runs like shit.

I need that Mig-15....

Perfect plane for me so far. Just keep her over 300 km/h or she will stall in maneuvres. One of the reason I never play much Lomac was that I hate those popamole american planes. But since Chuck Yeagers Air Combat I find the Mig 15 almost perfect because it's just a huge engine, perfect airframe and 3 large fucking cannon. It's so easy to fly, retro instruments and feeling of a late 40s type jet fighter.

Well you also had the russian planes in LOMAC.

 

[commie]

Unfortunately my rig cannot handle DCS anymore, the framerate barely reaches 25, and it drops down to 10 when over cities.

This must really be an old rig. I am in between 120 and 200 fps and not even doing anything to optimize performance. I just had to put the game to an SSD because there were occasional micro stutters. Will probably get another 16GB of RAM and then technological progress can go sit on a tack for the next 5 years as far as I am concerned.

Tbh I always had problems in Lomac when I fly over cities, even with state of the art systems. But with 10 years worth of improvements this is becoming totally irrelevant. I believe they also use the GPU now.

I need that Mig-15....

Perfect plane for me so far. Just keep her over 300 km/h or she will stall in maneuvres. One of the reason I never play much Lomac was that I hate those popamole american planes. But since Chuck Yeagers Air Combat I find the Mig 15 almost perfect because it's just a huge engine, perfect airframe and 3 large fucking cannon. It's so easy to fly, retro instruments and feeling of a late 40s type jet fighter.

Only remember it from Mig Alley and Strike Fighters and I really enjoyed the simple avionics and stability, just really a nice compromise for zooming around in a jet yet with prop fighter avionics so you don't have to toggle 50 switches for everything.

The Mig-21 also interests me.Sure it's a bit more 'current',but is also an overlooked plane with hardly any love.Would like that one as well.

 

[Burning Bridges]

The Mig 21 interest me too. But there is a crazy amount of switches to flick. I think before I board that plane a year of training in the Mig-15 is in order. The 15 has no more to do than a WW2 fighter, which it basically is, just a lot faster.

It has the best of WWII, the airframe largely inspired by the Ta-183, the engine is a good copy of Rolls Royce, and the Russians made a much improved aircraft that has almost perfect flying characteristics and armament equal or better than the best German bomber interceptors.

Well it is not terribly old, but it barely reaches the minimum requirements. It's an AMD Phenom II X4 @3,2 GHz, 8 GB of DDR2 RAM and ATI HD6870 with an HDD. Sad thing is that it could run DCS perfectly fine a few years ago, but since it switched to the DCS 1.5 version, it runs like shit.

I don't know about your system. But even if you could double those fps that's still not nearly enough. In fact, over a period of 10 years I ditched Lomac several times because even though it ran mostly ok in free flight, the performance over cities and in combat was shit.

Think positive, 2 years onwards there will be a lot more in the game (including WW2) and probably also ways to spend a little less on the modules.

Well you also had the russian planes in LOMAC.

The Su-25T is already in the game for free, and the Su 27 is not for me. The 29 is nice but not required. Besides I dont like ultrasonic jets in this game because the map is not that large already, so a slower aircraft is preferred.Of the Flaming Cliffs planes I might get the Su-25A later which they sell for 8.99 on Steam.

I will not make the mistake of buying a lot of planes, but I might get Arizona once 2.5 is out.

 

[J_C]

Well you also had the russian planes in LOMAC.

The Su-25T is already in the game for free, and the Su 27 is not for me. The 29 is nice but not required. Besides I dont like ultrasonic jets in this game because the map is not that large already, so a slower aircraft is preferred.Of the Flaming Cliffs planes I might get the Su-25A later which they sell for 8.99 on Steam.

I will not make the mistake of buying a lot of planes, but I might get Arizona once 2.5 is out.

Why would you buy the SU25A when you have the T variant in the game for free? The 25T has a better flight modell, so I would definitely prefer that to the Su-25A.