[JunkDNA]

I have fond memories of playing the original Falcon on my Amiga 500. It felt like magic after years of playing F15 Strike Eagle on the Apple IIc. Hearing real sound effects kicking in the afterburner and getting too close to the ground ("Pull Up! Pull Up!") were all so satisfying.

I remember being so excited when Falcon 3.0 came out. But it just felt like a let down. The graphics were amazing for the time and it seemed so realistic, but for me the realism is what killed all the fun. As a kid, I didn't actually want to BE an expert F16 pilot. I just wanted to feel like I was. I didn't want to have to learn all the systems and controls.

[rprenger]

I felt a similar way when I moved from Chuck Yeager's Air Combat to (I think) F15 Strike Eagle 3. Yeager was the perfect mix for me. I remember rarely even seeing the enemy planes I was firing at in newer games.

[pjmlp]

That and F-18 as well.

I think that magic is now gone, back then playing games was a bit like reading a book, we had to make use of our imagination to compensate for the lousy graphics, especially when being able to visit arcades.

Then suddenly having computers at home with similar arcade like graphics felt like the future.

Now we get real time rendering without useful gameplay, in many AAA games.

[psunavy03]

Having been the kid who loved to geek out over flight sims, and then the adult who was fortunate enough to have flown military jets, I find the trend for uber-realistic military sims like DCS and such kind of sad in a way.

I mean, the software itself is impressive. But the idea of grown adults geeking out over old versions of the NATOPS and trying to develop tactics and such is frankly cringe. You're never going to get it right, because the actual thing is classified. And from the outside looking in, it's like watching a kid put on Dad or Mom's suit jacket to play "office."

[mrguyorama]

>I find the trend for uber-realistic military sims like DCS and such kind of sad in a way.

But things like Ace Combat, "H.A.W.X", War Thunder, Project Wingman, Nuclear Option, all those games are incredibly popular. The arcade combat genre is alive and well.

I do wish games like VTOL VR, DCS, and other more serious sims had a "maybe don't make me read 700 pages of manual to lock and fire a missile" option. Even something as simple as VTOL VR telling me exactly what machine my targeting pod is locked onto would be nice. Just give me a name and basic specs. It's a damn game, I shouldn't need to memorize target silhouettes unless I want to.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles actually does this well, with an entire page of "simplify things please" options.

[throw0101d]

> You're never going to get it right, because the actual thing is classified.

Except for the stuff leaked on the War Thunder forum.

[spankibalt]

Or, often Russian, FTP servers. Aaah, good times.

[Scramblejams]

Long-time Navy jet jock finds it "cringe" when people try to get a little break from the stresses of their life by attempting in a very small way to emulate what he achieved.

I get your point but come on man, ease up. At least remember that some of those DCS-playing wage slaves helped fund your adventures.