Simulations

[Gargs]

This place has a lot of diversity. We have RPG/MMORPG fans, RTS fans, FPS- both twitch and tactical fans, puzzle and old school game fans. We have just about everything covered except for simulation fans.

Sims are games that model something as close to reality as possible. Whether it be driving, flying, or running a household; the purpose is to suspend reality in favor of a virtual world. But, why would anyone want to do this? How exciting is it to just fly a plane over Texas City or have your eyes glued to a sonar screen and headphones pressed against your ears? Well, I'm hoping to be able to give some insight into why it can be exhilarating.

Mind you these sims are not the arcade type of sim where the crosshair on the target means he goes boom. Just like Grand Turismo for PS didn't drive like Atari's pole position, these are sims that can be scaled for arcade play but are really used to show you what it might be like in real life to do such a thing.

Did you know...
That right now there is a MP battle being fought in the skies over the Pacific in consisting of over +30 planes?

or...

There is a 64 player coop mission with player controlled infantry, tanks, helos, planes, vehicles, and boats against a computer controlled enemy numbered in the hundreds on a map so large that it would take 45 minutes real time to walk across it happening right now?

or...

There is a group of 4 friends manning 2 different stations a piece in the same nuclear sub hunting 2 rogue Russian Kilo class subs in the Artic?

I'm writing reviews for the sims that I currently play that can still be found in stores as well as the hardware I use or buy. Some sims that I'm writing or will write on are...

Falcon: Allied Force
Silent Hunter 4
Armed Assault
IL-2: 1946
Flight Simulator X
Black Shark (once it's released)
Dangerous Waters

All these sims have a huge community support working on full mods and the like. So, I'll also be bringing you news from the mod mines as well.

So, what sims are you interested in? What genre are you most curious about?

[Dopefish]

I'm big on driving sims. Gran Turismo, Forza, Project Gothem Racing (Despite its arcade feel, it is still very realistic handling-wise.), Live for Speed, and any of the others.

[Guntizzle]

i enjoy some driving sims sometimes, and for combat maybe like americas army but im bigger on arcade type than sim

[BurtMcGurt]

I'm a fan of all genres which includes many sims... some games that I have played that are sims, even those that may not be "real world" include:

Falcon 4.0
IL-2 Sturmovik
Silent Hunter 3 & 4
Some of the Comanche series

My guilty Arcade pleasures:

X-Wing
TIE Fighter
Wing Commander Series
Mechwarrior 2

Damn ... now you made me go reinstall Silent Hunter 4! Dive! Dive! Dive!

[Gargs]

Keep the guilty pleasures coming, everyone!


Burt, have you modded Silent Hunter 3 or 4 yet? There are some great ones at subsim.com. I have SH3, but since it is tough to find in stores, I won't review it other than post some news.

Also, there has been a new exe for Falcon 4.0 called "Open Falcon" that has just recently been released. Since, Falcon:AF is in stores and F4.0 isn't; the same as above applies. But, if you want to see the advances in F4.0 check out globalfalcon.com. They have a crap load of things I never thought I'd see implemented. I haven't flown the new exe yet, but I'll report on it once I've flown it some.

[BurtMcGurt]

I'll definitely check out subsim.com. Unfortunately, I don't have Falcon 4.0 anymore or else I would check out that new exe.

Thanks for the info!