EDGE would be great for General Aviation simulation

[Zakatak]

I'm not putting this in the Wish List because it's an incredibly far fetched proposal that I wouldn't expect to happen in dozen a years, but I can dream. I'm looking at buying a civil simulator to act as a training aid (working towards CPL) so I can study up on emergencies/procedures/radio/etc while having fun with it, and I'm not really a fan of my options. FSX is unstable, outdated, requires payware for a remotely realistic experience, and has an ass ugly UI. P3D requires me to pay $200 for a professional license if I'm to use the product in good faith, and that's still just an updated FSX, which has an engine I don't like. X-Plane 10 has good flight modelling but it's not really geared toward GA and I've heard bad things about what it's like out of the box, especially in regards to AI/ATC.

 

But ED's products, flawed as they are, just feel so right in comparison. Setting up controls is nice, flying feels convincing, systems are deeply modelled, the UI is gorgeous, the graphics are nice, the standard of quality ensures I know what to expect when I buy something, adding lots of addons/mods feels unnecessary, etc. EDGE looks to be eliminating most of the issues I have with the engine. I gotta say, if ED magically tripled in size and created Digital General Aviation Simulator side by side, that'd be my ideal sim. Replace the mission builder with a flight planner, replace load out screen with a weight and balance, improve the ATC significantly, more in depth training that could be setup like flight school, a map with various terrain a few times larger than the Black Sea theatre, and bam. Perfect. Simulating an entire world isn't of much importance to me, just make it big enough that your average GA plane can expect to require a stop for fuel if they wanted to cross end to end.

 

Start out with your standard set: C172R for basic training with steam gauges or the G1000, Tecnam P2006 for multi-engine, R44 for rotary, C208B for turboprop and air taxi, work your way up from there. Maybe someone could throw in an AT-802 for crop dusting and a CL-415 for firefighting. It'd be a blast. Yeah, not going to happen, just a ridiculous idea.

 

edit: I guess it got moved to wishlist anyway

Edited January 9, 2015 by Zakatak

[Reksi-Erkki]

I wouldn't mind having that at all; most of the time I'm flying long distance flights at the VA server anyway, practicing my navigation and general flying skills. Can't remember the last time I've released a weapon :huh:

 

But what I'd really like to see are flyable military transport aircraft: Hercules, Galaxy... and their Russian counterparts, of course. And obviously the possibility to transport troops or vehicles, drop paratroopers... transporting helicopters closer to the AO...

 

There are plenty of ideas in the DCS Heavies thread: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=103359

 

I love the idea of human AWACS controllers.

[kontiuka]

Been watching a lot of videos of late on FSX, X-Plane, and Prepar3D. The one thing that always pops out is how dated the terrain looks. Ug-Ly. Sure. Looks ok at altitude but down low, no thanks.

[mrmertz]

I left post kinda running a bit of a rant for ED as an option to haul over the market to them in the general aviation genre. I whole heartedly agree that in MY BOOK there really isn't a GA sim that's worth the money nor the idea of spending more time patching than flying becomes as it becomes a bit too much over time. The engines on some of these GA sims are really outdated.

 

Yeah, the market is ripe for somebody to jump in there BUT I do like the fact too that ED is sticking with putting out high quality and accurate FM's of military aircraft for us, especially exciting to see them branch off into different eras (WW2 my fave) just adds to my support. Perhaps in the future come out with a separate studio under ED's rule dedicated just to a worldwide GA/commercial airline sim? Who knows. Just thoughts.

[rrohde]

EDGE could simply be the new sandbox benchmark flightsim engine, for all kinds of new and good things to happen. I am sure that ED is fully aware of future proofing their investment by expanding into those realms. I, for one, am excited for what's in store for us down the line.

 

I am also certain that EDGE is so advanced, so scaleable and so customizable that ED can expand their clientele beyond us -- the fligthsim hobbyists, to include the aviation industry, and maybe even the military as potential customers.

 

Eventually I can see EDGE flyable area is spanning the globe -- just like FSX, and its acceptance among enthusiasts will explode, attracting new modders and new addons eventually.

 

Well, at least I can dream. :)