I have always been interested in flight Sims. Right back to the original falcon game on the Amiga.
When decent Internet connections came about I switched to FPS, which I have been playing for the past 6-7 years. I'm now 35 and to be honest fps twitchy shooters are too hard on my nerves. I used to enjoy the adrenalin rush but recently I want to game to relax.
So I bought Lock on Flaming Cliffs 2 and a decent stick. Hooked up with a few guys in the clan and we started learning the game together.
I say learning the game, but in fact you are learning aircraft systems. I find it very challenging and rewarding. The manual is huge and I wouldn't have even entertained reading it in my youth. Now however I sit with the wife, she reads her book, I am reading about the operation of an f15s Radar. The radar for one plane took me 2 weeks to learn. But it was worth it. Why? Because you get satisfaction in knowing you actually know how to work an f15s radar. We then share any knowledge amongst ourselves.
I then bought DCS Blackshark, which is a KA50 Russian attack chopper sim.
This is hardcore shit. I realised Lock on is a mid range Sim and BS is a hardcore Sim. 15-20mins startup time. Countless buttons, procedures. I have clipboards now! ffs I need a clipboard & three large lever arch files to play a single game! Many many months of frustration, reading, trying to understand Russian readouts etc followed. But I got there, well nearly there and mastered most of the game.
DCS just released A-10c Warthog BETA.
Now the frustration the reading of manuals etc all begins again. But its a challenge, its rewarding and when I slew a maverick onto my first enemy tank it will be worth it. Its a big step up in graphics and is DCS's first 64bit game.
I play
Lockon Flaming Cliffs 2 (8 flyable aircraft)
DCS Blackshark (1 flyable)
DCS Warthog beta (1 flyable)
All three games share a common theater of war. IE the same huge map. So you can make or download a mission and put any aircraft from any of or all the games into the same mission. People with Warthog can fly the same missions as someone with Blackshark or LO.
The mission editor is simple to use. You can make TvT missions or coop missions.
Example of a mission I just made. Each team has 30 AI tanks. Each team has 10 A10s, 10 ka50s & 10 F15s. So you have various escort roles etc.
First team to knock out all the other teams tanks wins. The map is so huge, it takes hours to traverse. You can have 60+ Jets on one server.
All the games have large dedicated communities. With a huge amount of mods available. Lock on is an old game so I am running it with a mod pack on it that brings the graphics right up to date.
I have got a Thrust master Warthog stick and Tracker IR5. Two bits of expensive kit. But as I don't buy all the new game titles anymore I feel its justified.
So basically if you think you are in the twilight of your gaming years, have a go at combat flight Sims. Lock on & the add on Flaming cliffs 2 are a good start point. You can switch loads of cheats on to get started to make the systems and avionics easy to handle. Then switch the cheats off as you learn. Also get the manual printed out and into a big file as you are going to need it!
When decent Internet connections came about I switched to FPS, which I have been playing for the past 6-7 years. I'm now 35 and to be honest fps twitchy shooters are too hard on my nerves. I used to enjoy the adrenalin rush but recently I want to game to relax.
So I bought Lock on Flaming Cliffs 2 and a decent stick. Hooked up with a few guys in the clan and we started learning the game together.
I say learning the game, but in fact you are learning aircraft systems. I find it very challenging and rewarding. The manual is huge and I wouldn't have even entertained reading it in my youth. Now however I sit with the wife, she reads her book, I am reading about the operation of an f15s Radar. The radar for one plane took me 2 weeks to learn. But it was worth it. Why? Because you get satisfaction in knowing you actually know how to work an f15s radar. We then share any knowledge amongst ourselves.
I then bought DCS Blackshark, which is a KA50 Russian attack chopper sim.
This is hardcore shit. I realised Lock on is a mid range Sim and BS is a hardcore Sim. 15-20mins startup time. Countless buttons, procedures. I have clipboards now! ffs I need a clipboard & three large lever arch files to play a single game! Many many months of frustration, reading, trying to understand Russian readouts etc followed. But I got there, well nearly there and mastered most of the game.
DCS just released A-10c Warthog BETA.
Now the frustration the reading of manuals etc all begins again. But its a challenge, its rewarding and when I slew a maverick onto my first enemy tank it will be worth it. Its a big step up in graphics and is DCS's first 64bit game.
I play
Lockon Flaming Cliffs 2 (8 flyable aircraft)
DCS Blackshark (1 flyable)
DCS Warthog beta (1 flyable)
All three games share a common theater of war. IE the same huge map. So you can make or download a mission and put any aircraft from any of or all the games into the same mission. People with Warthog can fly the same missions as someone with Blackshark or LO.
The mission editor is simple to use. You can make TvT missions or coop missions.
Example of a mission I just made. Each team has 30 AI tanks. Each team has 10 A10s, 10 ka50s & 10 F15s. So you have various escort roles etc.
First team to knock out all the other teams tanks wins. The map is so huge, it takes hours to traverse. You can have 60+ Jets on one server.
All the games have large dedicated communities. With a huge amount of mods available. Lock on is an old game so I am running it with a mod pack on it that brings the graphics right up to date.
I have got a Thrust master Warthog stick and Tracker IR5. Two bits of expensive kit. But as I don't buy all the new game titles anymore I feel its justified.
So basically if you think you are in the twilight of your gaming years, have a go at combat flight Sims. Lock on & the add on Flaming cliffs 2 are a good start point. You can switch loads of cheats on to get started to make the systems and avionics easy to handle. Then switch the cheats off as you learn. Also get the manual printed out and into a big file as you are going to need it!
