Discovering simming
Do you remember when you first “discovered simming”? I think, for me, it was way, way back to the Sinclair ZX81, with the most rudimentary graphics imaginable. I’ve certainly had some terrific fun and seen a lot of changes with all of the various sims over the past 2 decades.
All of those memories of sims past came flooding back after reading “A New Pilot’s Journey: There & Back Again“, a post in our forum by our newest member, DNC511.
Please do take the time to read the rather long post. It’s very entertaining and really captures the spirit of flight simulation 
Technorati tags: flightsimx forum
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
For me, Mark, I discovered simming with my Amiga 1000 (which I still own) running Sublogic’s first flight simulator, (later to be taken over by Microsoft). The graphics were one color Vector line 3-D drawings with some instruments along the bottom of the screen. Mountains were represented by different sized triangles, and, mind you, none of the graphics were “filled in’. Very rudimentary, but at the time, very exciting. Since then I have owned every volume of Flight Simulator that Microsoft has released. We have come a long way, and it only gets better!
If Elite counts then I go way back to the BBC Acorn / ZX Spectrum days. I used to play hours on end with my friends way into the early hours. One of us would man the flight control keys another the other the weapon control keys and the rest would shout instructions
As far as simming with MS I guess I took it up as an alternative to playing first person shooters which I realised were getting increasingly more violent and realistic. I found myself in close contact with an opponant beating them over the head with a lead bar with blood pouring out of their cuts and thinking this isn’t me and I don’t want it to be. I do play the odd real time strategy game such as command and conquer and supreme comander when I’m in the mood, and I also enjoyed Silent Hunter III the WWII submarine simulator. However in terms of time spent on the computer that actually is fulfilling and rewarding I don’t think fligt simming can be beat.
Oh, memory lane! Amiga’s, BBC’s etc
Silent Hunter III is terrific, isn’t it? I guess I like all sim software, really, but Flight’s at the top, obviously, hence this site!
It is quite amazing to look back at how far we’ve come in such a short time. What’ll it all be like in another 20 years time?
Mark - FlightSimX
I think in terms of FS development the major changes can only be with hardware, I imagine some kind of eyeware containing high definition screens combined with a motion tracker so that you have 360 degree vision of the virtual world. Combine that with a zoom feature so you can browse an infinate number of windows containing your favourite websites, your emails, your work PC etc. Flight dynamics were sussed a while ago it seems and the only developments with the software is to make use of current and forthcomming graphics hardware.
Mark - have you got SH4? I’m toying with the idea but it seems that it was released early and still requires work from the developers to make it work properly.
No, I don’t have SH4 yet. Might get it some time, but I just don’t have the spare time at the moment.
Mark
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