Reader's Poll: SimHQ Best of the Year Selection (comments)

Best Non-commercial software updates/add-ons/mod of 2009
I believe it was the non-commercial mods for IL2 1946 made by the community...
HSFX
SAS
AAA

They made the game more, and it's amazing 10 years later with better graphics since the first release..

As non-commercial software, European Air War (EAW), has quietly made dozens of changes in 2009.

Online flying:
--- Up to 16 players at once in the air competing.
--- One of the smoothest and fastest online engines, with little "lag".
--- New players can join a "mayhem" game in progress using GameRanger:
http://www.gameranger.com/

Other EAW changes:
--- Uses more types of joysticks and controls.

--- Land at home base to re-arm and re-fuel, even under fire. (You don't have to be killed before you 'respawn' with a refueled and re-armed aircraft).

--- Aircraft carrier flights and at-sea attacks, thanks to "South Pacific Air War" (SPAW), a new game scenario released with a new 1.28C exe.

--- "Targets of Opportunity" attacks by passing close to enemy airfields. Enemy pilots will scramble to meet your challenge and can be caught on the ground. Or catch you.

--- Massive air formations and "furball" dogfight battles. Long an EAW trademark; now more intense.

--- Large-size sorties with your teammates possible. Up to 64 aircraft allowed in a squad at the moment.

--- Individual "skins" (paint) and I.D. numbers so historical air battles can be re-created.

--- Improvements in AI (Artificial Intelligence). Now escorts will defend bombers more succesfully (or enemy defenders will attack them and evade more intelligently)

--- An "auto fight" setting to use AI for your own aircraft and watch it function in air tactics.

--- Time speedup of 40X or more, ALT-N "jumps" to battle scenes for the easily bored.

--- Modders can add battle damage or moveable controls.

--- A "Big Fix" for old display card problems is in the works--expected early next year.

The new 1.28C "exe" is available at Tally-Ho in the European Air War Forum, or here:

http://www.users.on.net/pam_biddell/128CInstall.exe

Readme file:
http://www.users.on.net/pam_biddell/EAW1.28C_Readme.htm

Uhh.... Not exactly a sim (as are not several other choices)--- but where the heck if FALLOUT 3?

Not to mention "The Void" by Ice-Pick Lodge"

argh.... those who want to vote for it in the Best Game category can add a post here.

But neither GTA4 or Fallout 3 was released on 2009, both came in 2008. Just an observation.

When do we get to see poll results ?

Best 2009 sim for me was iRacing. I know that it was originally released in 2008, but as an ever-expanding sim it received some significant updates in 2009 (both functionality and content) that put it on top, IMHO.

My "other" for console game is for Battlestations: Pacific. Not sure why it wasn't listed, since it's in the GOTY poll.

Should't we have a popup for the name of the 'Other'. It would also be good to be able to rank first, second and third for favourites, as I like most on the lists?

And is Black Shark not considered to be 2009 release? I put Other, but I would have put RoF if BS was excluded.

YAP2 definately DID NOT get my vote.

Best Commercial Software updates/add-ons/mod of 2009

The F-16 was 2008 I think... but last year's updates I'm having doubts between A2A's Piper Cub, LotusSim's L-39 Albatross, and PMDG's J41. All three incredible pieces of software.

Uh, did you buy it?

Best game of 2009 for me was Batman Arkham Asylum, the only game I felt compelled to complete 100% twice over. The combo system was to die for. And it's not on the list despite having won several industry awards already


Sadly Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising was a terrible console game, turning the clock of console game mechanics back ten years. But you need an ugly kid on the floor just to make the rest of them look better

well..now I want to know why it didnt ...It got mine.I like the game..sure Im still on the 1st set of missions but as with any hobby its at your own speed.

In the non-commercial mod category I'll throw in AMSO 1.18 for Orbiter. I think it was actually released in '08 (and Orbiter itself is currently still the '06 version but there is an '09 beta) but the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 got me interested in giving Orbiter another try and led me to AMSO (Apollo Mission Simulator for Orbiter). It's almost hard to believe the whole deal is free. I'm still staring at the bottom of the cliff like learning curve of Orbiter looking up, and I honestly haven't done much yet with AMSO but it covers every Apollo flight from 8-17 and seems to be fairly accessible to non-rocket scientists, once you get a clue about what you're doing (which takes a while, at least for me it is so far). Anyway, AMSO (and Orbiter itself) has sparked my interest in doing some reading on the history of space flight and the remarkable accomplishments of the Apollo program (which mostly all happened before I was born), and for that I think it deserves an honorable mention.

Yeah, that would've been my vote as well. HUGE bang for the buck, well done, plenty of options for how to play it, endless replay value and offers something almost no other games offer, other than it's predecessor.

Wouldn't a vote like this be very biased, I mean most people would vote for the stuff they know, not what's the BEST is...

January 2nd.

As a matter of record, the following new sims that were released after we published the poll will be counted as 2010 entries. They include:

1) P.T. Boats: Knights of the Seas
2) Over Flanders Fields: Hat in the Ring add-on
3) Wings of Prey

If you can think of any others that have been released after the poll started -- not just gone gold -- please add them to this thread.

A reminder, if a title was missed in the polling list that you think should receive recognition (yes, we missed a few) add it to this thread.

Look for the 2009 Year in Review, 2009 Best of the Year, and a look ahead to 2010 on January 2nd.

Where the ... did Modern Warfail 2 as best game of the year come from?!

This game, with its lack of dedicated server and mod tool support drags PC gaming down to console level. It is a cheap console port that should be condemned not praised, symptomatic for the recent "consolification" trend in PC gaming. It really makes me sad in two ways: 1) That a publisher can release a game like this on the PC (with a price increase to boot!) and 2) that the game does not get ripped to shreds for it by the press.

And the 200.000 signature petition got ignored, too. When the money is made on the millions of console sales, a few hundred thousand PC gamers get left in the rain.