Sim Flight Games – Genuine Entertainment Not Biff! Bang! Wallop!

Sim flight games (simulated/simulator flight games) have become exponentially more popular in recent years. Part of the popularity is the explosion in graphics and animation technology that have made every aspect of virtual flying utterly realistic. Part is the accessibility of flying itself.

And a large part of the popularity of sim flight games is that they are more authentic than most of the gaming available online. They provide more genuine entertainment than the contrived thrills and spills of other games.

In sim flight games you can island hop the South Pacific, go first class while flying over Machu Pichu, soar over the Everglades, visit the Galapagos, and glide over the Antarctic. You get real views based on actual maps and the latest military data. You can take a round-the-world trip without every leaving your armchair. And not only do you get to choose your itinerary, you also get to choose your aircraft, weather conditions, even have friends join you in multiplayer mode.

As well as the technological advances in sim flight games there has been a huge increase in the number of features that come with the games. For instance, open source development has been incorporated into some games so that you can create your own cockpit and controls, design your own plane, set up your own weather patterns, and draw the scenery you want to travel through.

In some sim flight games you can do air-to-air refueling and experience all the challenges of that mid-air assignment. You can also try aircraft carrier maneuvers – taking off, locating, and landing in the ‘controlled crash’ mode required. You can also connect to multiplayer mode with other flyers and fly together in different environments from different locations. Multiplayer mode gives you the scope of communicating with other pilots and, when connected, you can use their displays to expand your own flying view up to 360 degrees.

You can use numbers of screens simultaneously to display different aspects of the game. For example, you can have a view of the control panel on one screen while having your forward view displayed on another screen. You can even have a third party adjusting conditions within the game, e.g. light and weather, and then you have to decide how to respond to the challenge they set up.

Flight sim games can offer a range of aircraft from the 1903 Wright Flyer to the Concorde or from helicopters to Ospreys. The games take you from level to level; each aircraft has its distinctive features, handling, and speed. You feel the quirkiness of light aircraft and the heaviness of the controls in giant planes like the 747. You get the feeling of flying in different environments and into the exact visual experience of thousands of airports from around the world, maybe even your own local one.

You learn by experimentation, trial and error, from simple to advanced aircraft, small to large. And it is all available immediately online thanks to the magic of broadband and bandwidth.