Combat flight simulation game

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Combat flight simulators are

Sega's last EM combat flight simulator was Heli-Shooter (1977), which combines the use of a CPU processor with electro-mechanical components, screen projection and audio tape deck. The gameplay involves the player piloting a helicopter using a throttle joystick (to accelerate and decelerate) and pedals (to maneuver left and right) across a realistic three-dimensional landscape and shooting at military targets across the landscape.^[8][9] In Japan, it was one of the top ten highest-grossing EM arcade games of 1977,^[10] and it released in North America the same year.^[9]

1980s

The 1980s experienced a wave of more advanced simulation video games, with companies such as

Later in the 1980s, it became a trend for arcade flight combat simulators to use hydraulic motion simulator arcade cabinets.^[12][13] The trend was sparked by Sega's "taikan" games, with "taikan" meaning "body sensation" in Japanese.^[13] Yu Suzuki's team at Sega (later known as Sega AM2) developed hydraulic motion simulator cockpit cabinets for flight combat games such as Space Harrier (1985), After Burner (1987) and the R360 games.^[12][14]

1990s–present

In the early 1990s, arcade flight combat simulators began adopting 3D polygon graphics. Taito's Air Inferno (1990) was a 3D flight simulator utilizing a motion simulator cockpit cabinet. Atari Games followed with the 3D flight combat simulator the following year, Steel Talons (1991).^[15] Namco then followed with the 3D arcade combat flight simulator Air Combat (1993).^[16]

During the 1990s to early 2000s, there was a transition from traditional

Combat flight simulators are classified according to their historical period, type of aircraft, and level of detail. This method of classifying means that many simulators belong to more than one category, which leads to arguments about what can be considered actual simulations instead of games. Generally, simulations are expected to be imitations of real-world technology, while games are not; therefore, every game with flying in them does not fit into the category of "flight simulation."

Simulator realism can be classified as the following:

• Arcade game (least realistic)
• Survey simulation
• Study simulation (most realistic)

Arcade

Arcade-style combat flight simulators have various elements that are less realistic than other simulators, such as simplified controls and physics models, compressed or non-existent start up times, emphasis on close-range

Many players of both video games and simulators seek games for their replay value. Simulators enhance the replay value by offering a variety of single missions consisting of short, randomly generated missions as well as longer campaigns consisting of several smaller mission or objectives. Most campaigns are "dynamic flowing," which means they change according to the results of each successive mission (e.g. if the player destroys a "target of opportunity" which turns out to be a truck carrying an enemy leader, then the campaign starts to take a different path). Some campaign models have been developed which are fully dynamic, and where successive missions take place in an environment which is persistent (if a building is destroyed in one mission, it remains destroyed in the next and will only be rebuilt in view of limited resources, realistic time and strategic priorities, etc.). A notable pioneer in this area was Andy Hollis, producer of the Jane's Longbow series (Jane's AH-64D Longbow and Jane's Longbow 2). Digital Image Design, with their release of F-22 Total Air War in 1998, allowed for a transparency into the larger strategic battlefield by use of multiple screens and a "God's eye view." Many simulators also include "mission builders" which allow the player to create their own missions.

Controls and other hardware

Combat flight simulators are among the most computer and graphics demanding applications at any given time, as they are real-time applications with multiple processes happening at once. This leads many simulation fans to constantly upgrade their hardware, including the most advanced graphics cards. These sims have also given rise to a variety of hardware add-ons such as "

Titles

The tables below define rough guidelines of what might classify as combat flight simulation games.

World War I

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam War

Modern

See also

• Flight simulation video game

References