I cut my flight teeth on Novalogic games (F22/F16/Mig29) in the late '90s. Does anyone still play these? I know they are less "sim-ey" than some of the titles discussed here, but I haven't seen much, if any, mention of them.

Since then, I have rarely played a terrestrial flight combat sim. In light of this, a few questions:

1. Can a new flight/combat sim be recommended to me?

2. I have been interested in LockOn for a long while, I purchased a copy in 2006. I had a bad disc though and never got around to sending it in (and have since lost it). Is LockOn a recommended play if I want to fly a variety of different craft instead of just one?

3. DCS A-10 looks interesting, and the A-10 is my all-time favorite military plane. The review, however, leads one to believe that the learning curve is less a ramp, and more like a wall. If recommended, does "Game Mode" pretty much fix this?

Thanks for your time.

I'm thinking Lock On may be your thing, since it also has an A-10, but very simplified. If not Lock On, definitely check out the Thirdwire series; Strike Fighters 2. Tons of planes to choose from and very simplified avionics.

Hello doc and welcome to SimHQ.

To be honest, there are many sims available and obviously recommendations will depend on what you fancy. First round of questions -- do you like your "study" sims or do you prefer "arcade"? Next is which era do you like to fly in? At the moment, we have Rise of Flight that covers WWI aircraft, we have IL2 which covers WWII, then we have Third Wire sims which does Vietnam era, and we have DCS (study) or LockOn (arcade) for a variety of modern aircraft both Red and Blue, Falcon 4 BMS for the best study sim for the F-18, Jane's F/A-18 for carrier ops and F/A-18 obviously, and EECH or DCS BS2 for helicopters. (Apologies if I missed any sim)

On your second question, LockOn has moved on since 2006. The latest is Flaming Cliffs 2 but I would wait until they release FC3 or whatever it is for DCS World. FC2 is a good place to start though the flight models and fidelity is a bit lacking --- perfectly fine if you like your sims "lite."

On the third question, Game mode will probably work for you but don't let the learning curve discourage you. Lots of quality tutorial vids online, if you get the 1.1.1.1 version available on the website it has voice-over tutorials as well. Plus loads of pilots active that can give you a hand and show you the ropes. All you need to do is ask in the relevant DCS sub-forum here on SimHQ. Note that the A10 in DCS is the "C" variant while LockOn models the "A" variant.

Personally, I have hit a wall with DCS A10. It is fun, the game is beautiful, and doing guns runs is just exhilarating. However, the Hog is a one-trick pony (though it does it well!) and DCS is such a sterile environment. If you like an even higher "learning curve," give Falcon 4 BMS a try -- and it's FREE too, provided you have a copy of the old Falcon 4 as it looks for the .exe before installing BMS. The F-16 is a multi-role fighter so even if you are tasked with ground-pounding, you still have the capability of defending yourself from air-superiority fighters if you need to. Plus with the Falcon's theatre, you are never "alone" in the air as things are happening around you even as you fly your own mission.

Anyway, welcome again and I hope that has at least addressed some of your concerns.

Thanks for the responses, and for the welcome.

I like flying in the modern era, because that is as close to future as I can get (until they can more accurately sim an X-wing anyways ).

I guess you could call my level of interest "sim-lite". I can't say "arcade", because in my mind Ace Combat and HAWX epitomizes the "arcade" level of play (60 heat seekers under mah wing!).

Also, regarding FC2, I had been considering picking up LockOn Platinum and seeing what I could get out of it before I paid to upgrade to FC2. Gotta consider our better half (and their shopping money) when deciding exactly what will pull us away from them.

Regardless, I am just doing the initial fact-finding right now. I won't be getting my HOTAS until December. By then, Steam may have a holiday sale on DCS and I can make a snap decision then.

Download DCS world - you can play about with the FC2 Su25 and see if it suits your taste for free... If too hard you'd need to look at SF.. if about right ~ then look at FC2 itself... if you could cope with more buttons and gadgets, then look to DCS style A10C and other modules for DCS world.

I see... +1 for DCS World if nothing but to try the Su-25, get a feel for the cockpit and systems. If you like it, go for FC2. No reason to buy LockOn Platinum as FC2 is the "newer" product. Hell, I got an old copy of LockOn here that I'd send to you if you weren't across the pond.... again, might be best to wait for FC3.

Thanks for the recommendations one and all. I do have another question:

I looked at the DCS World site and it recommended purchasing modules through them to plug into World. Did I understand that right?

Does that mean that a DCS A-10 purchase on Steam would be a less than ideal decision if I decided to "module-up" on World?

I can understand that purchasing directly from ED is probably better for their bottom line, but does a Steam purchase jive just as well with World?

Give Strike Fighters a shot. It is a good interim step into the heavier DCS series. Fun combat and easier on the system requirements.Yyou will be into the fight sooner and having fun!

Steam purchase is fine, but do not download or install from Steam. Instead, download from ED website and use the key that Steam gives you.

Note that at the moment, there are two "types" of installs now:
1. There is DCS World, which is like your "operating system" with each module being A10, P51, BS, etc.
2. The old individual installs, which was separate for A10, separate for BS2, separate for P51, etc.

Don't worry about all that for the moment though. DCS World is free and gives you the Su-25 to play with, and if you buy any of the DCS modules (A10, BS2, etc.), you get access to both the individual install version and the DCS World version of the sim. As of this point, I would recommend learning from the individual install versions as that is the most stable copies so far. The DCS World modules seem to be a bit buggy.

Recommend purchasing through ED though for less hassle, unless the Steam version is significantly cheaper.

While I have DCS: Black Shark and DCS:A-10, the sim I'm playing right now is EF2000 (3dfx version from 1997) via DosBox.

The modern games are visually stunning, but these are my reasons for generally not playing them:
1) Take too long to load
2) PDF manuals
3) Intrusive DRM
4) Not much 'fun'

Also I've found that no matter how good the graphics, they are never good enough and that late 1990's graphics coupled with my own imagination and some cheesy storyline is far more enjoyable.