Eye candy is what brings people to the game, especially newbies. I hate to say it but it does. People wouldn't buy Doom3 if it had the same graphics of a game made three years ago. Likewise people wouldn't buy a new simulation if it had the graphics of EAW (today).

Saying that, it is all relevant. We don't need super high poly counts to create a decent looking model. EAW was my favorate sim of the entire crop in 98-99 because of the 'feeling' of being in a major war. The numbers of planes were amazing, the campaign was outstanding (if somewhat repetitive at times) and the options were incredible for its day. BOB was a few bugs away from unseating EAW as the best flight simulation ever made IMHO. IL2:FB ties EAW as the best (my opinions here). The reason EAW was so good was because it gave a feeling of immersion, it could be modded, and it had a solid base.

IL2 is another example of a game that set the genre apart, and it became incredibly successful for that. What set IL2 apart when released were the little things, the different markings on each plane, the visuals, the ground combat that could go on under you. It wasn't perfect and it never will be. The fact that the game continues to be supported in it's current form is a testament to the developer and the community, both have made the game much more popular and its shelf life has been extended due to that. I would love to see IL2's sales figures, I bet it probably has one of the best continuous selling records of all games. When you consider that the base engine (through IL2 to FB to Aces Expansion) has been on the market for almost three years and still sells at almost base price you understand that a good sim can sell, if done right.

Look, I like realism. Sure I fly with Icons on, I only have a 17 inch monitor and I wear glasses so I need the help. Other than that it pretty much is full realism. I know others that don't. I think a sim needs to cater to both to be successful and it has to advertise to both to be successful. Cater to only the hardcore market and you will sell maybe 50K units. Cater to the arcade bunch and for the most part the game will end up ignored, or panned. Everyone remembers SDOE when it first came out. Great idea, lousy execution. Too arcadish on hard settings. They fixed it but the damage was done and the game overall tanked.

I have my ideas on what could be done to create a mini revival of the genre. I actually have written an editorial but I have no idea if it will go up on the site. A lot of what Walldog said is echoed by myself. Some of my ideas may be panned. That's fine, just because it is a good idea to me doesn't mean it is a good one.

I will promise you this, ever new simulation I review will have a section devoted to ease of use for the newbie. How will I tell? I will look at the ability for someone with no simulation experience to get into a dogfight game and how easy you can make the flight models. Almost all sims have this feature, we just never report it. We need to do that more.

We also need to encourage our bretheren in other genres to look at these games. There is a ton of interest in games like MOH, Op Flashpoint and Battlfield 1942. There is a lot of crossover potential here, if we don't scare them away. Tomorrows hard core simmer is today's Call of Duty player.


The artist formerly known as SimHq Tom Cofield