Recommend a flight sim for a newbie

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Member for

14 years 2 months

Posts: 9

Hi board!

I want to buy a flight simulator for my PC and wondered which you would recommend? I have played Microsoft flight simulator on my friends computer and thought this was good, but is this the best one for somebody who is new to flight simulators?

Thanks for the time!

Original post

Member for

14 years 5 months

Posts: 4,956

I'm a fairly new boy and have only been flying FSX for a couple of years and thoroughly enjoy it even though my platform is not all that good. I trained my grandson on it and he has been flying IL46 since Christmas on Windows 7 64bit and thinks it is fantastic.

I would suggest that it depends whether you want combat or an interesting multiplicity of aircraft types to which you can add to expand your inventory.

There are many other far more experienced than me who will be able to give you lots of good technical advice.

Good luck!

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 1,873

Hi Goose, for flight sim, if you would like combat simulators, i find that Lock on:modern air combat is good for well, modern day combat

however Combat flight simulator 3 was a good simulator too, i lost my copy of it :(

for normal flight simming, FS2004 is my favourite, FSX is good..however you can only install it 3 times i believe before u need to contact microsoft for another activision code
your probly best going for FS2004 if your just starting off, let me know what you choose and il help you get more aircraft if you would like :)

Scott

Member for

14 years 9 months

Posts: 703

It depends what you're looking for, as others have said. Probably the best all-rounder for realism and fun factor would be the Il2 Sturmovik series, it's realistic enough to be challenging and you can do all sorts of things with it. Air combat, carrier take-offs and landings, strafing, bombing etc etc. There's also a HUGE range of aircraft to fly, although ofcourse they're all WWII types, and a huge array of ground objects and maps/scenery. There's also an extensive list of realism settings, so you can set the difficulty level yourself (although there's also a default 'Easy/Medium/Difficult' button if you don't want to trawl through all the settings).

Microsoft Flight Sim is great, but it's a bit 'heavy' on technical detail and you have alot to do before you can fly, eg engine start sequnces, fuel load etc, which you might find off-putting. With Il2 you load the game and fly, it's dead easy.

Member for

20 years 7 months

Posts: 2,623

I'd go along with what the others have said regarding IL2 if you are looking for a WWII combat sim. However, if you are looking for a Flight Sim then I'd look at Flight Simulator X. Purely because there is very little difference in the technical side of things compared to FS9, infact, no difference.

Flight Sim X (& FS) can be as easy or as difficult as you want to make it, you don't need any technical knowledge to start with because the choice is yours, you can start with a cold & dark cockpit, or you can just press CTRL + E to start your engines. Once they are up and running you can have a alot of fun straight away. You'll find your learning will be exponential, and in no time at all you'll be looking at ways of enhancing your enjoyment. One more way of enhancing your experience is to join a Virtual Airline. You can also fly "online" using the VATSIM network meaning you can fly with real time ATC and traffic. More of that to come when you are confident with FS no doubt.
There's a myriad of add-ons you can download for free for both FS9 & X by going to the major download sites of avsim.com - flightsim.com - fsplanet.com & simviation.com.

Installation of a/c & scenery is normally straight forward, there should be instructions within the download.

There's also a myriad of teaching available on the net, including help forums, video tutorials (via youtube) etc. There's also help right here. There's more than enough experience here to help you on your way so feel free to post any help topic you like in here and we'll endeavour to help you the best we can.

To end I'll say the only caveat to getting FSX over FS9 is whether your system is up to date, you'll need a decent system to get the best out of FSX. If your system is over 2yrs old I'd consider FS9.

Rgds

Dean

Member for

16 years 5 months

Posts: 1,873

personally, i think running through start up precedures etc is what makes flight simulator fun, i mean after all, its teaching you what to do, im not a big fan of the jump in and fly style gaming...the start up,taxi,take off is a good way to learn the basics if your a newbie especially

Member for

14 years 5 months

Posts: 4,956

It depends what you're looking for, as others have said. Probably the best all-rounder for realism and fun factor would be the Il2 Sturmovik series, it's realistic enough to be challenging and you can do all sorts of things with it. Air combat, carrier take-offs and landings, strafing, bombing etc etc. There's also a HUGE range of aircraft to fly, although ofcourse they're all WWII types, and a huge array of ground objects and maps/scenery. There's also an extensive list of realism settings, so you can set the difficulty level yourself (although there's also a default 'Easy/Medium/Difficult' button if you don't want to trawl through all the settings).

Microsoft Flight Sim is great, but it's a bit 'heavy' on technical detail and you have alot to do before you can fly, eg engine start sequnces, fuel load etc, which you might find off-putting. With Il2 you load the game and fly, it's dead easy.

Absolutely, although I would disagree with your comment about Flight Sim being a bit "heavy". You can chose Freeflight, having made your aircraft and location choices and just fly. Or of course you can chose to add in the "heavy" bit to increase the flying challenges.

Member for

14 years 2 months

Posts: 9

Hi everybody,

Thanks for the feedback, I have ordered the deluxe version of FSX off amazon (under 20 quid) :)

I like the idea of doing all the "boring" stuff before take-off...as thats what makes it feel like the real thing...who knows, maybe even get my own air hostess :D

Will let you know when Ive had a play!!!

Member for

14 years 5 months

Posts: 4,956

And the best of luck - I am sure you will not be disappointed.:)

Member for

16 years 4 months

Posts: 1,507

Hi everybody,

Thanks for the feedback, I have ordered the deluxe version of FSX off amazon (under 20 quid) :)

I like the idea of doing all the "boring" stuff before take-off...as thats what makes it feel like the real thing...who knows, maybe even get my own air hostess :D

Will let you know when Ive had a play!!!

Get me 1 to ;) :D

Happy Flying!!
Rob
:)

Member for

14 years 1 month

Posts: 5,088

Have to agree with what everyone's said on here- IL2 for those 'dagadagadaga' moments, FS2004 for pootling around properly. And flying stuff I'll never get to fly otherwise... :)

Member for

14 years 1 month

Posts: 2

Hello folks.

Just wanted to say "ditto" to Deano's words.

Young_Goose, if you're an absolute beginner MSFS has tutorials in the missions section. It will help you to make progress more quickly.