Flight Simulators question

october

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Is it possible to play a flight sim, for example "Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000" or something like that without a joystick? Is it possible to play it on a laptop using just the keyboard and mouse?
 
I don't know about your specific example, but there are some fligts sims that you can you a keyboard and mouse. But trust me that it is much better to use a joystick.
 
Can someone recommend me a flight sim for the PC? It seems that the only big one out there is Microsoft FS series, and im lookin for something combat-ey but not arcade-ey. I know there are a load of combat expansions for MSFS but Im not going to start by buying a game then a load of £20.00 addons just to play fighter pilot...
 
I stil need an answer to the above question please. Can I fly planes with that joystick?
 
Rout said:
Can someone recommend me a flight sim for the PC? It seems that the only big one out there is Microsoft FS series, and im lookin for something combat-ey but not arcade-ey. I know there are a load of combat expansions for MSFS but Im not going to start by buying a game then a load of £20.00 addons just to play fighter pilot...

I have spent many hours enjoying aircraft sims by the Jane's Company, sold by EA Games. They are realistic I doubt they are still be sold but you could by old versions (and no I'm not parting my my copies). USNF'97 (U.S. Navy Fighters) sold pretty well I believe.

I can verify for a fact that the following can be played without a joystick and by keyboard and mouse. (Now that I've gotten a joystick, its taken a while to get used to dealing without the keyboard.):
USNF'97
Fighters's Anathology (FA)
Longbow Apache Gold

I recommend by both USNF'97 and FA as realistic, but easily playable, flight sims
 
october said:
I stil need an answer to the above question please. Can I fly planes with that joystick?
I can't speak for that particular joy stick but I have used Saiteks before. I used to have a Saitek Cyborg 3D but now I've upgraded to the Cyborg evo (There's was nothing wrong with the original, it's just my new computer didn't have the correct port for it so I had to go for a USB model.) I never had any problems with either. I'd strongly recomend the Cyborg Evo, It's not that expensive and it is probably the best joystick I've ever used.
 
X-Plane is a great flight sim in which you don't need a joystick to play with. I've played it on my 2000 iBook and it runs fine. It has good scenery data and has probably the best realistic aerodynamic data so aircraft fly pretty realistically. Plus you can create your own aircraft. Although the learning curve is fairly steep for making airplanes, but once you get the hang of it, it's smooth sailing. You can find X-Plane at http://www.x-plane.com and you can find custom airplanes at http://www.x-plane.org.
 
I haven't tried "Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000", But I have some games of this sort. For MiG-29 and USAF it was easy to play without joystick but F-18 and F-16 (not sure if that are the exact names) are nearly imposible with keyboard and mouse, so it depends on the game.
 
leonel said:
X-Plane ..... has probably the best realistic aerodynamic data so aircraft fly pretty realistically.

Just please be aware that the way Xplane does it - strip theory calcs IIRC - is not the way it's done for a 'real' simulator. The degree of realism of the aerodynamic models in X-plane are very dependent on the relative accuracy of their predictive techniques for the specific configuration. For some it will work well; for others it will bear no real resemblance to the actual flight characteristics of the prototype.
 
Rout said:
Can someone recommend me a flight sim for the PC? It seems that the only big one out there is Microsoft FS series, and im lookin for something combat-ey but not arcade-ey. I know there are a load of combat expansions for MSFS but Im not going to start by buying a game then a load of £20.00 addons just to play fighter pilot...

Dont know if it has been mentioned but I would recommend Falcon 4.0, if you can still buy it out there - look for it in bargain bins etc.

It also depends on how much time you have to learn the game and also how detailed you want the simulation to be. With Falcon 4.0, at its most realistic settings, it is very similar to flying the real thing.

Check out FrugalsWorld for more info. I would advise you take a look at the Falcon 4.0 forums there too.
 
Joysticks are great nut you better be good at flying already or it get really frustrating learning and in most flight sims you need the keyboard but fighter/flying games like Commanche 4 can be fine without the mouse or keyboard. and that is my two cents
 
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