In my mind sims are fun and interesting if the gameplay allows oneself to become absorbed into the virtual reality. This has been termed in gaming parlance as enabling the player to temporarily suspend disbelief, but for each player (customer) the benchmark will be slightly different from another, and ever-evolving over time.

To me it's the things that inhibit or intrude into this immersive state that ultimately spoils my simming experience.

Firstly, as Wall-dog questioned earlier in this thread, if we perceive a sim is pretending to be real, by just being "real-hard", is this enough for us to maintain our interest in it, afterall, what brings us to try a sim in the first place..........the graphics, the aircraft selection, the terrain, some specific game feature, theaters or missions (with combat flight sims), or multiplayer action, someone's personal recommendation.........all the above?

Well a well crafted flight sim would do well to incorporate as many of these items into consideration as possible, because they all contribute to the larger whole, but this is to miss the finer point here I believe, because I think the larger issue in this discussion is what is it that makes us lose interest in a flight sim, and how quickly?

To me the issue has always been one of quality and immersion, and how well a sim incorporates it's features into a playable package (what others call "balance"). If a new sim presents nothing new or better than an older offering, then what value does it really have? If a new sim is lacking in certain features, does it's other qualities compensate for this fact? Lastly, and perhaps most important for a sim's longevity and ultimate success, the question has to be asked whether a sim offers it's players a true challenge, while at the same time working towards that ideal of temporary "suspension of disbelief"?

I think most simmers can detect pretentious "gimmicks" meant to ramp up a game's challenge (sometimes unfortunately after their purchase), while at the same time be able to recognize essential gameplay features that may be sorely lacking in development. It's this lack of game balance which can ruin the virtual experience from the beginning, and thereby spoil any challenge and interest we may hold for a particular flight sim. So what is it that holds our interest once we decide a sim belongs on our hard drive?

Well, I guess a sim must offer a competitive challenge of some sort, whether that's solely by presenting an alluring learning experience where we try to perfect our technique (as in civil avaition flight sims), or whether we're also competing against opponents too (as with combat flight sims). Anyway you look at it, the sim must provide a challenge to hold our interest for any length of time.

Perhaps the most important reasons we loose interest in a sim occur when we no longer believe it's worthy of our time (it's skill requirements have been mastered), or when the competion (whether AI or human as in combat sims) no longer provides enough personal challenge. Of course our attention spans vary (and tollerance too), and familiarity and knowledge will reduce the worthiness of the personal flight challenge over time. Now perhaps with combat flight sims the challenge can be more long-lived, because we're also competing with others that find the challenge worthy and interesting also, but every flight sim has a life-span, and it derives from whether we find the experience fun or interesting anymore.

So in summary here, let me say that I think it's perceived improvements in the offerings and features of a new flight sim that lead us to try it out. Next, it's the process of discovery, and the quality of the immersive experience that convinces us to invest our time in mastering it's requirements. Lastly, it's the personal challenge of competition (with ourselves, with others, and comradery too) that keeps us interested in a sim once it's become very familiar over time.

For success, a sim must incorporate an overall balance in it's build, and therefore no one feature alone can foot that bill!

I've come to the personal realization that I'm willing to sacrifice some "ultimate realism" in one category or another, if a sim has that overall balance, and represents eminent playability.

Sure I want "more", that's ever-evolving with time, but for a good flight sim I want balance and quality first, and then I'll have that immersion and long-term playabilty I so desire...........

............and thanks for listening!!! \:\)