New member, testing the water

[DoctorStrop]

Also look at Wings Of Prey WW2. It flies really nice, has plenty of aircraft, and has great ground detail. It takes a bit of setting up especially with the joystick, and view settings, but worth it. There is a free demo which gives you an idea of whether it will run on your machine, and whether or not your Dad will like it. I got it (and the demo) from Steam for about £10. For me it's bug free, and your rig should have no problems.

 

IL2 is possibly more realistic, but Wings of Prey is possibly more fun.

[dburne]

I would add some thoughts as well...

 

How serious a flight simmer, do you think your dad will be? I have been flight simming for more years than I care to remember, and I am currently going through a very steep learning curve with DCS-A10C. I love it, it is quite indepth, but it does have a large learning curve and requires patience to get to where one can fly and blow some things up. I know Black Shark is similar in respect to the learning curve.

 

For some prop combat sims, IL2 CLiffs of Dover as mentioned can be a lot of fun, it too has a learning curve albeit not as steep imho as DCS. I also hear Rise of Flight is very good as well, I have not tried it yet but intend to here soon.

 

You mentioned MS FSX - may I also suggest you check out MS Flight? It was released earlier this year, like Rise of Flight you can download the core game for free to try it out, and there are additional planes and scenery that can be purchased. Sadly, future development of the product has been cancelled by MS, but the sim as it stands can be quite a bit of fun for civilian prop planes, and the learning curve nowhere near what it is from some of these other titles.

 

Best of luck, and I hope your dad finds many hours of enjoyment with flight simming!

[Mouse]

Another great simulation is Windhaven, I hear, only it's birds instead of jets. It's supposed to have very realistic flight. Also it has, um.... aliens from outer space and magic spells... what...? I don't know what kind of person could say no to geese that shoot laser beams from their eyes, but I know that kind of person is no friend of mine!

 

[DoctorStrop]

Another great simulation is Windhaven, I hear, only it's birds instead of jets. It's supposed to have very realistic flight. Also it has, um.... aliens from outer space and magic spells... what...? I don't know what kind of person could say no to geese that shoot laser beams from their eyes, but I know that kind of person is no friend of mine!

 

COOOOL... What happens if the bird drops a turd?

[buedi]

I´m probably late to this, but I wanted to add my thoughts too.

Of course I don´t know the OPs dad, so I can´t tell if he will like blowing things up and learning what all these Buttons will do in the plane or on his Keyboard. Even with a HOTAS with a lot of buttons and stuff, it might be very frustrating to learn all this stuff. DCS might be something he could get a hang on later. But I would prefer something else if I was retired.

 

What about Microsoft Flight Simulator X? I can´t think of anything better to get started with Flight Simulators. You can basically install it, sit in a plane and fly around without knowing too much. Within FSX there are fantastic, narrated Tutorials which teach you the basics of flying. Also the in built Help system is fantastic. There you can learn everything about planes you need to know in FSX. What a HSI is, how it works, how the GPS system works, what Nav Aids are and how you use the Radios etc.

 

With FSX (Gold, which includes the Accelleration Pack) he has the whole world and a whole bunch of different Airplanes to fly with. And these fantastic Tutorials and Documentation built in the game. He can explore the whole world if he wants. And depending on where he lives, you might spice up his Simulator a little bit with one of the Ultimate Terrain X series AddOns or even one of the ORBX sceneries. This way he can take of from an Airport near his home and when he´s up on the air everything will look very familiar.

 

On sites like AVSim you get thousands of AddOns (Airfields, Airplanes...) and the AddOn market is huge. To get started with FSX a simple Stick with a built in Throttle like a Saitek Evo Force will do. FSX is cheap too and compared to what it offers it´s a steal. If he really gets involved in Flight Simming, you can make him some presents over the next years. A better Stick, Throttle system, some Addons or maybe even one of the DCS series.

[skyrocketeer]

All..

Thanks for your comments. Things have been a bit busy at home and i can't logon at work, so I'll try to reply properly soon. You've given me a lot to think on.

Thanks

[skyrocketeer]

Right, more detailed response here... and once again thanks for the input..

 

Firstly the hardware side of things:

 

The computer was specified and built by myself, for my parents to use for 'general computer stuff'. Given their disappointment on how their 8 year old laptop needed replacing cos it was too slow, I built this box with futureproofing in mind, hence it's got an LGA1155 motherboard with a 7X series chipset and 4 ram slots (only 2 filled). There's Sata 3.0 USB 3.0 and the board & box will take a fairly serious graphics card if required. I imagine it to be viable for games for a good few years with selective upgrades when financially prudent. The i3 isn't going to set the world on fire, but it's replacement may well. Passmark scores are here if you're that interested.

 

To go with the game I got my dad a Logitech Extreme 3d pro joystick, which is affordable and seems to be fairly well featured - if he wants the whole immersive experience then he can drop some hints and wait for a birthday (or buy it the week before, as is his usual).

 

As far as the suitability of the software & simulator - I'm willing to take a punt on that a bit, as initially it's a free download - I read through a few reviews on Amazon of IL2 and a few other more 'gamey' sims and I felt they kinda lacked something - my dad is someone who will appreciate detail, rather than a new high score. The steep learning curve is a bit of a mixed blessing I suppose - it'll keep him out from under my mums feet, even if she can't use her new computer :music_whistling:

 

I'd like to give the opportunity of both real flying, and a bit of combat (call it stress relief), which was why I though DCS would fit the bill.

 

Social networking is a bit modern for my dad, so I'm not sure you'll see him online just yet (I'm prepared to be mistaken though) - so I think most of his support will come from yours truely. hence one of the reasons I'm taking the rig for a test flight right now.. :smilewink:

 

More questions as I think of them, I'm sure..

 

Thanks again for your thoughts.

[MegOhm_SD]

He is an Engineer....He will love all the buttons and switches there are to click on in the A10 and P51. If he can map alot on the stick... He can click it in the Pit with the mouse. I too am an Egineer and MS FSX did not do much for me. I think you are looking in the right place. So you should probably fill in those two empty RAM Slots.

[Ramstein]

IL-2 1946 is still rocking big time! get that, and it's cheap! and if you want,, get him online with others... or you can even get more expansions... it's limitless... and they still offically patch it often... and it covers the world, and has planes from every country and tons of maps.. and is easy on the computer power..

 

IMHO

[Madone]

I'd like to give the opportunity of both real flying, and a bit of combat (call it stress relief), which was why I though DCS would fit the bill.

 

Be sure of that!!:thumbup:

Don't hesitate, there will be no regrets, it don't really think DCS is difficult as some peoples can tell, the only limits that exist are yours! Seriously, there's training exercices which helped me a lot, a well written manual (long to read ofc), training videos on YouTube, there's everything to learn fast and well. Personally, I first learned to fly on IL2 Sturmovik, I was such a ****, and DCS just took me to the "play real concept" and gave me the motivation to learn how to bust those russian tanks!:lol:

 

About the bugs, I'd say, yes there are some, but there's more fun than bugs to me, don't forget that the game is passing into a sort of "transition" and it's gonna be better soon, it's forced!

 

Happy Xmas!!

[Madone]

IL-2 1946 is still rocking big time! get that, and it's cheap! and if you want,, get him online with others... or you can even get more expansions... it's limitless... and they still offically patch it often... and it covers the world, and has planes from every country and tons of maps.. and is easy on the computer power..

 

IMHO

 

Well, it's not really patched now, and IL2 Sturmovik doesn't like the new hardware, I should say drivers! I got flickering water with Catalyst, so all the rivers, seas, lakes are flashing, and it's unplayable, also it's getting graphically a bit old and personally, when you put your finger on a modern jet fighter, there's no way to come back in these slow birds^^ (kidding)

[skyrocketeer]

Okay I just spent 30minutes making furrows in the virtual ground with my Su25 :thumbup: - It was great, I could jump right in (instant action mode), the joystick mostly worked with the default settings (still figuring out the throttle controls - it's harder for me as I'm a lefty)

 

I'm dowloading the training lessions for that plane, and I think a few minutes coaching from me and that training course will probably see him on is way. The controls modifications menu/grid is pretty confusing for a first glance, but hopefully it won't take long to master.

 

Just wondering if my 7 year old AMD box will be up for the task for me to join in as well.. :smilewink:

[Eihort]

Another choice would have been the Wings series from Third Wire. Pretty much a few clicks and you're flying combat missions blowing stuff up with a reasonably good model with easy controls.

[buedi]

One (last?) remark from me: When you go the DCS route and want to purchase an AddOn I personally would prefer the A-10C Module. Unfortunately the Tutorials have some bugs, but most of the basic ones work pretty well. These are not just Videos, but you are put into a Cockpit where you can do everything which the narrator tells you to do. 2 or 3 times through the Startup Tutorial and you know how it works. 3 times looking a Video does not do the same to me at least.

The other DCS modules do not seem to have these kind of Tutorials, they are just Videos.

[AtaliaA1]

Skyrocketeer Wrote: Just wondering if my 7 year old AMD box will be up for the task for me to join in as well..

 

 

The only limiting factor is the Video Card. even back then a gaming card should do the trick. in ver. 1.1.1.1. of this software, multi player is buggy in that ver. but single player is as stable as she comes.

[starsky396]

I would go with the DCS series. The thing with others (Rise of Flight, Xplane, FSX) is that they focus mainly on a wide variety of aircraft of normally 10+ planes. Now they cannot dedicate the time to each and every aircraft to represent the exact flight model (however they do a great job), but the DCS series focuses on one aircraft at a time so that it has the exact representation of that aircraft. Now if your dad wants to just fly to fly with a decent model and decent flight dynamics with a good flight model, but with a variety of aircraft, then FSX, Xplane, Rise of flight is his choice. However if your dad wants to learn about the aircraft and basically learn how to fly the real thing, but be limited to currently 2 combat planes and 1 combat helicopter (A-10C Close air support aircraft, a P-51D a WW2 CAS aircraft aswell a fighter, and a KA-50 russian single seat attack chopper, then the DCS series is his best choice.

 

The other thing is scenery, DCS only comes with one theatre, the Caucasus region in Georgia, but with most cities, airports, airport cmoms are exactly represented. FSX comes with the entire world, but each city , airport, and marking might not exactally be represented, Xplane is the same. I am not sure about Rise of flight, however by the looks, it looks like a WW2 slightly more advanced version of Flaming Cliffs 3. So if your dad wants more scenery so he can do long time flights, go with FSX, Xplane, or rise of flight. If he wants a detailed (Not in eye candy, but in representation) go with DCS series.

 

Lastly about time. If your dad is the type of guy who will spend most of his day learning, studying, reading the manual, or researching how to fly, then DCS is right up his alley. If he wants to go straight up and fly, go with the Trial-and-error way of flying, then go with FSX, xplane, or rise of flight. As DCS is not really the sim that lets you get right in the action, as you need to normally start up the engines, which will take up 3 minutes, take off, which is another minute (2 minutes if you are waiting for clearance, arriving to you ingress (Which is normally 20 minutes for my normal missions), and then you can attack, but after that you need to fly 20 more minutes to go back to base and then land, taxi, and then shut down. That's all if you don't need to go back to base to refuel, reammo, or repair. However, Eagle dynamics (The makers of DCS) did implement 6 instant action missions for DCS. In Xplane, FSX, and probably rise of flight, you can normally start up in 3 minutes, listen to ATIS (Or AWOS if your a flight sim nerd like me) (Another 1 minute), taxi and get takeoff clearance (another 2-4 minutes), and then your free to do what you want.

 

Wow thats the longest post I've EVER done. Hope that helped your descision. I'll now be going back to my precious VBS2

[Lange_666]

The other thing is scenery, DCS only comes with one theatre, the Caucasus region in Georgia, but with most cities, airports, airport cmoms are exactly represented.

 

It's still early morning here but this one already made my day...:megalol: