I've been a flight simmer since the early nineties. Played MSFS in all its incarnations, and X-Plane, but my main interest is in high-fidelity combat sims; I have flown many hours in Jane's F-15, F/A-18, LOMAC, Eurofighter 2000, Tornado (a wonderful sim) and Falcon Allied Force, in which I became quite advanced.

Since getting a new gaming machine with Vista, I have not reinstalled Falcon but figured I'd migrate to Black Shark. However, as great as it is, my heart belongs to fixed-wing aviation. I thought I'd see if Falcon AF works in Vista but my hesitation is that this excellent sim no longer reflects modern combat aviation tactics or equipment, which have dispatched fighter combat, in both the air-to-air and air-to-ground role, to the margins.

I'd love to "adopt" another good combat flight sim that can either reflect the modern battlefield -- as I assume the Warthog sim will -- or that replicates recent historical air war accurately with an emphasis on tactics. I'm wondering if any of you have recommendations. I've played MiG Alley, it's a little too ancient for me now. I'm wondering what the IAF add-on for Strike Fighters (never played that) is like, or even Yankee Air Pirate. I'd welcome all suggestions. My basic criteria are:

- Jet-age, post-Korea, any theater
- A2A and A2G preferred
- Sound flight model/s
- Good systems modelling, need not be as deep as Falcon/Black Shark
- Good battlefield modelling/populated battlefield/AI that can support real-life tactics
- Some attention paid to historical accuracy if applicable
- MP desirable but not necessary if SP shines
- Supports Track IR and CH HOTAS
- Will run on Vista
- Good mission editor preferred

I know it's a tall order. I await recommendations with interest and thanks in advance.

Don't think theres anything out there you haven't tried (could be wrong)

Black Shark
LOMAC
Falcon

Those are the best around from what I know aside from the simlite like Third Wire sims like Wings Over Vietnam/Isreal/etc..... but although fun they leave a lot to be desired from the above sims.

F4: AF runs just fine on my Vista rig.

pfunk

I couldn't recommend anything either that you already listed. But if you haven't tried them, the Thirdwire series of light sims is great. But it really thrives and is at its best when it is modded. There is a big community for this and will be happy to show you around. I have yet to try Yankee Air Pirate(need new computer), but from what I understand, the presentation and design of the mission sets is top notch and down right challenging. Plus you get all of the historical background of the real missions you are flying. I'd also recommend the recent all inclusive Desert Storm mod that was released. And don't be fooled by stock pictures of the game. I believe its still a great looking engine and there are many environmental mods that enhance the game(such as WideSky mod). Plus the enemy AI is much tougher since the last patches and dogfights can be tough. There is much more to it than can be written here but its a great series that provides just about every era of aircraft one could want. It still is a light sim but it absolutely is not arcade.

todays flight sims are far from perfect, every sim has its advantages and disadvantages. combat sims don't have accurate physics engine, while MSFS/X-PLANE don't have combats.
on the other side, race sims today are quite advanced, some of them don't need improvements except for new data such as cars/skins/tracks etc.
i don't see why the flight sim developers can't make the flight sims to the level of race sims.
i can't think of any flight sim which satisfies me.

TAW 2.0?

Sounds to me that you are burnt out on the whole thing, really. If Falcon 4.0 and its progeny don't fit the bill, I am not sure what will.

Any info on what's next in Falcon series after F4:AF? Will there be a Falcon 5?

There is a rumor that LP is brew something...