Combat flight simulator

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A combat flight simulator is a type of home computer based flight simulator game software used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. It does not refer to dedicated flight simulators used by the military for flight training which are far more complex and consist of realistic physical recreations of the actual aircraft cockpit.

Contents 1 History 2 Types 2.1 Historical sims 2.2 Survey sims 2.3 Study sims 2.4 Modern jet sims 2.5 Multi-player simulations 3 Other aspects 3.1 Missions, campaigns, mission builders 3.2 Controls and other hardware 4 External links

[edit] History

The earliest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator (1982) had crude graphics, simple flight models – and a combat option, with "dog fighting" in a World War I Sopwith Camel. This feature was removed in the simulator after v4.0, though the Camel itself remained as one of the standard aircraft for some time.

The early 1990s saw several rival publishers such as NovaLogic with titles like the Comanche Series that simulated helicopter combat and later Jane's WWII Fighters which had small features that the Microsoft titles lacked, such as more detailed visible damage.

The genre is popular today with many titles specialising in certain types of aircraft or historical periods or wars with Microsoft remaining one of the market leaders.^{[citation needed]} Microsoft currently has three combat flight simulators: Combat Flight Simulator WWII Europe Series, Combat Flight Simulator 2 WWII Pacific Theatre and Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe. Ubisoft is another leading publisher in the genre with the acclaimed IL-2 Sturmovik series, the first of which was released in 2001.

[edit] Types

This genre can be divided into a number of sub-categories by historical period, type of aircraft, level of detail (survey vs. study sim), single- vs. multi-player, and perhaps others. This is a brief overview with some representative (not necessarily definitive) examples from the past 15 years – there are typically many sims in each category, and as PC hardware has improved, the scale, detail, "AI behavior," and visual appeal of these programs has continued to improve as well.

[edit] Historical sims

There have been WWI sims (e.g. Red Baron by Sierra), WWII sims (Aces Over Europe – Sierra 1991, 1942:Pacific Air War by Microprose 1994,European Air War by Microprose,B-17 Flying Fortress (computer game) by Microprose/Hasbro, IL-2 Sturmovik by Maddox/Ubisoft 2001, Combat Flight Simulator WWII Europe Series, Combat Flight Simulator 2, Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe by Microsoft Games Studio and many more), Korean War Sims (MiG Alley by Rowan 1996), Vietnam War Sims (Flight of the Intruder by Spectrum-Holobyte 1991). There are also sims set in the First Gulf War, but those are still considered "modern jet sims."

[edit] Survey sims

Many of the historical sims can be considered "survey sims" – they allow you to fly a variety of aircraft from the period in question, typically including some aircraft from each of the sides or nations in the conflict. Early ones often suffered from flight models and instrument panels that differed little between the types, but more recent examples have excelled in this regard, forcing the virtual pilot to learn the carefully modeled strengths and weaknesses of the various types (e.g., a Mitsubishi Zero vs. a US Navy F4F Wildcat in Combat Flight Simulator 2 – very different flying/fighting styles required). There have been modern jet survey sims as well (US Navy Fighters by Jane's/Electronic Arts 1994, USAF by Jane's 1999). Modeling of systems such as radar, navigation, and weapons is somewhat simplified and generic in such sims.

[edit] Study sims

Modern jet combat aircraft and helicopters have a variety of complex electronic and weapon systems that are specific to a particular aircraft. This has led to a genre called the "study sim," which focuses on modeling these complex system in amazing detail, requiring thick manuals that rival the real thing in detail and amount of study required to master the systems. Jane's specialized in such sims in the 1990s (Jane's Longbow attack helicopter, Jane's F-15 fighter/bomber, Jane's F/A-18 Navy fighter/bomber). B-17 Flying Fortress sequel, "the Mighty 8th", is a serious study simulation. Falcon 4.0 ("F4") is perhaps the ultimate example of this genre. This lovingly detailed simulation of the USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon was released by Spectrum-Holobyte (later marketed by Microprose) in 1998. It was claimed that most of the techniques and tactics used in the real jet worked in the sim^{[citation needed]}. Official development stopped after a few updates, but the F4 fan/development community continues to develop new versions and add-ons (still very active in 2005, when a new commercial version was also introduced under the name "Falcon 4.0: Allied Force").

[edit] Modern jet sims

There have been many modern jet sims, some of them listed above under Survey Sims (USNF, USAF) and Study Sims (F-15, F/A-18, Falcon 4.0). Some have concentrated on future fighters (e.g., F-22 Total Air War by Digital Image Design in 1998), while others have simulated well-known existing fighters (several AV-8 Harrier II sims, F-14 Fleet Defender by Microprose, F22 lightning 3 and many others). A recent example is Lock On: Modern Air Combat, which bridges the study/survey gap with detailed models of a few US (F-15, A-10) and Russian (Su-27, MiG-29, Su-25) jets.

[edit] Multi-player simulations

Most of the sims listed above are primarily single player sims, although most sims from the late 1990s on include some sort of multiplayer/network capability. With single player combat sims, everything other than the player's own aircraft is controlled by the sim's "AI" (artificial intelligence). Modern sim AI can produce pretty smart "bandits" and "friendlies," but advanced players find even the best to be too predictable. Multi-player games allow players to face off against one or many human players for a much more dynamic experience. Some sims exist only or primarily in internet multiplayer versions (e.g., Air Warrior, the massively multiplayer Fighter Ace, Aces High, World War II Online and others).

[edit] Other aspects

[edit] Missions, campaigns, mission builders

However realistic their flight, weapon, and system models may be, combat flight sims are fundamentally PC games, and players demand replay value. Sims may include a variety of single missions, randomly generated quick missions, and campaigns of various types. These can range from a series of linked single missions to dynamically generated campaigns in a complex simulated war. In addition, most sims include or make available some sort of mission builder to allow players to create new missions for themselves or others. Most Campaigns are Dynamic flowing, meaning that changes from a previous mission will affect the next mission e.g. If the player destroys a Target of Opportunity which turns out to be the truck an Enemy Leader is travelling the Campaign starts to take a different path.

[edit] Controls and other hardware

As real-time applications with a lot of things going on, combat flight sims are among the most computer and graphics demanding applications at any given time, and true sim fans are constantly upgrading their hardware, including the most advanced graphics cards. These sims have also given rise to a variety of hardware add-ons such as "HOTAS" (hands on throttle and stick") controllers that allow full control of most functions without touching the keyboard. Voice control and head-tracking view control systems are also available for home flight sim enthusiasts.

[edit] External links

• Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator Series
• MiGMan's Flight Sim Museum -
• One top 10 list of combat flight sims