Time for a walk down Memory Lane!

[The Dude 13]

And here's the first flight sim I ever flew: F/A-18 Hornet for the Amiga computer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8piDU5UFA68

All I cared about was taking off and landing on the carrier. It took me nine hours of flying in that first-ever session of flight simming to land on the carrier without blowing up! It was on my brother's computer so he was pretty pissed at me when I kept telling him, "Just one more try!" He eventually went to bed and left me there to pursue my new-found crack addiction. That's when I got hooked on flight sims and CSim was the result of that single session.

[Stans 29]

I remember F/A-18 Interceptor. I spent a great number of hours flying under and around things.

[Old Guy 15]

Jeez, you guys had all the fun! I was controlling traffic in Vietnam at the age when I would have been playing sims, had any such thing existed at the time. Then I spent all those years working enroute traffic using computer displays that even included a trackball. I guess that was where I got interested in games of chance on a computer.

In about 1996 I built a 200Mhz computer and Earthsiege II came bundled with the video card. That's when I started playing computer sims. There was an update patch to the game (delivered by raptosaurus messenger, no doubt) and then nothing else for at least two years -- an eternity as we measure change to games now. E2 was supposed to be followed by E3, but the company produced Heavy Gear instead, which I promptly bought. There was also a follow-on to that one, but by that time I had discovered EAW. And the rest is ancient history.

Even now I'd like a good Mech game, but there aren't many around and I believe most of those are geared for online play only.

[cobraj 21]

Just downloaded wings of glory and redbaron 3d.. redbaron not bad can't get any really good graphics. Wings of glory is about unplayable at 320x300. Can't find anything to adjust graphics a little better. Anyone know if these games here are just basic copies with limited changes?

[Joker 1]

Oh, the mech games. Hell yeah.

See, I was familiar with Battletech from college. I never played the boardgame -- the gameplay was just a Panzerblitz knock-off, as far as I was concerned -- but I loved the sourcebooks, the rich backstory that Jordan Weismann created.

First came Battletech: The Cresent Hawk's Inception on my C-64. Then Battletech: The Cresent Hawk's Revenge on my 286, along with Mechwarrior 1, followed by Mechwarrior 2 on my 486. (All purchased at Babbage's. Remember that store?) Those early Battletech games were incredibly innovative, like stepping into another world. To this day, a small part of my ego considers itself a Warhammer pilot-for-hire. Everything afterwards became derivative, sadly enough. I'm still waiting on another good Mech game.

The flight sim that hooked me was probably the original Flight Simulator by subLogic, trying to navigate from Long Island to Martha's Vineyard on my C-64 between bouts of English literature as an undergraduate. But I think the sim that stole my heart was LucasArts' Battle of Britain: Their Finest Hour on my 286. That's the first flight sim that truly immersed me in a battle, as did Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe. Then Aces of the Pacific, Red Baron/Red Baron 3D, and European Air War advanced the art. Again, I'm still waiting for the next generation of flight sims. As good as the IL2 series is, it's not a time machine.

You have to tell stories to build a time machine, and there aren't may storytellers creating games, these days.

[Whizkid 14]

After watching that Toca2 clip, Doug, I think you'd go ape over GTL! It's like Toca2 on steroids, with fabulous graphics and todays hot cars to play with. Try the free demo,and taste it. I'm spending way too much time in my homemade drivers cockpit playing it!

gt-legends.en.softonic.com

[Herr Soren Fick 1]

ACH! Ich ACH! I saw zhe title of zhis zhread und vas zhinkink zhat it vould be vreminizink about zhe life ekzperienzes und konquests unter zhe sheetz. But nein! It iz nozhink but talk of computer gamez und zimumlazions. Evidently none of you have real livez! Bwahahahahaaaa!

[The Dude 13]

Wh

After watching that Toca2 clip, Doug, I think you'd go ape over GTL! It's like Toca2 on steroids, with fabulous graphics and todays hot cars to play with. Try the free demo,and taste it. I'm spending way too much time in my homemade drivers cockpit playing it!

gt-legends.en.softonic.com

Played it. Never hooked me.

Also played rFactor and and Live For Speed, which are both very good, but I keep going back to GPL. I like the combination of simplicity and yet extreme challenge of GPL ... it just never gets old.

[Whizkid 14]

I hear you, Doug. It's certainly a hell of a challenge.

[Home Fries 8]

Does GTL still use the rootkit version of Starforce, or is there a patch?

I've been using GTR2 with the Power & Glory mod in lieu of GTL.

[Gunny 6]

Aces of the Pacific. Now that there was a game. I agree with Joker. Somebody needs to update that puppy. The campaign mode was awesome. You could fly in all three branches of the US military and Imperial Japanese Navy and Army. I remember flying with 214 the day Boyington was shot down. Left flying 2nd element lead with him as flight leader. My wingman and I were the only ones what made it back. Lost Boyington in a cloud with him on one and one closing on him. I went down to help, nothing but one Zeke climbing up and away. I landed and pulled out a book on Greg and sure enough, compared the dates and there it was.

Red Baron was a hoot to. Flying your ass off to get that invite to one of the premo squadrons, getting that note from an enemy ace wanting to duel. I went up once after an invite from Lothar, the Baron's brother. Meet him alone over the front he says. Duel between the two of us he says. Then brings two of his closest friends to apparently "witness" th duel. Bastard.

[cobraj 21]

mucking with Redbaron 3d as well Gunny! I forgot about getting invites if you were doing really good. I remember getting invited to a group the black swans/storks or something like that. It was an elite French squadron? Someone a while ago really re-did red Baron, but not sure if still available. Having intermitant graphics issues, but the sound brings me back, One thing I didn't remember hearing was when you shot up a plane from behind, you would suddenly hear a gasp and the plane would go down. I guess they modeled in the gasp of killing the pilot! Playing with my "Beats" head phones so maybe why I hear it now! Has anyone tried Rise of Flight? that's an online ww1 sim with amazing graphics, mostly multiplayer with single missions if you buy the game.

[cobraj 21]

Found it! The Storks was the squadron Charles Guynemer was in. "The group de combat #12"

[cobraj 21]

Will look for ole EAW.. The game that brought me to this crazy place with you gits about 14 years ago!

[The Dude 13]

Will look for ole EAW.. The game that brought me to this crazy place with you gits about 14 years ago!

EAW! How could we have not mentioned it sooner!

The goings-on in the EAW forums here at CSim back in the day informed the entire ethos of who and what CSim was all about.

I'll never forget the day when, after weeks of hardcore EAW fans bitching about all the off-topic discussions inside the EAW forum that were "polluting" the purity of the forum, I posted a "ruling" (as only a Forum Feuhrer can) that the EAW forum was not for discussions only about EAW, but for discussions about anything by people who like EAW.

After I passed that dictatorial edict, that's when every body relaxed and the members who frequented the EAW forum became a genuine community (at least, that's the way I like to remember it).

In the days, months, and years after that, the EAW forum was my first and last stop every day And who can forget the legendary ELF-apolooza at Mane Raptors' place? (many Rolling Thingmies were drunk that day, I'll tell you ... only wish I'd been there).

Speaking of forum community, where in fuck (apologies to Whiz Kid) is Schatten? I used to have his phone number, but that's been disconnected for over a year now.

[Gunny 6]

That day? That week. We actually drank his town dry of Rolling Thingmies.

[The Dude 13]

You're too modest, Gunny ... I heard you drank all of the town's RT's in a day, and the town completely dry in a week!

[Whizkid 14]

Apology accepted, Doug! Now wash your mouth out and don't say it again, OK?

(These damned kids............back in the day it was "HELL!' and even that got you a sharp look!)

[Stans 29]

Ahhhhhh, EAW. I never played it online, but I whiled away many an hour playing the offline campaigns. Those campaigns were very well constructed and highly enjoyable. The "extra squads" mod helped to fill the skies with bombers and fighters and made those long range escort missions worth the effort. Great days of simming, they were.

[cobraj 21]

Can't say I know where skatty is.. : ( . That was a great time Doug, wish you were there. A week of sleeping, eating, flying sims, drinking, drinking, eating, flying sims, sleeping.. rinse and repeat! I'll never forget raising the combatsim t-shirt flag Iwo Jima like on Mane's lawn! I wore mine proudly till it about rotted away with too many holes!

[cobraj 21]

Yeah that town never saw anything like us! I still wonder what the local police officer thought when a gaggle of you guys went for a walk in the woods and came out on the road. I think it was Bilko, Donnie, lottie, a few more and of course Rommel wearing the Afrika corps cap Donnie gave him.. Cop might have thought we were having a neo-Nazi rally!

[Joker 1]

Aces of the Pacific. Now that there was a game. I agree with Joker. Somebody needs to update that puppy. The campaign mode was awesome. You could fly in all three branches of the US military and Imperial Japanese Navy and Army. I remember flying with 214 the day Boyington was shot down. Left flying 2nd element lead with him as flight leader. My wingman and I were the only ones what made it back. Lost Boyington in a cloud with him on one and one closing on him. I went down to help, nothing but one Zeke climbing up and away. I landed and pulled out a book on Greg and sure enough, compared the dates and there it was.

Red Baron was a hoot to. Flying your ass off to get that invite to one of the premo squadrons, getting that note from an enemy ace wanting to duel. I went up once after an invite from Lothar, the Baron's brother. Meet him alone over the front he says. Duel between the two of us he says. Then brings two of his closest friends to apparently "witness" th duel. Bastard.

There was so much to experience in those Dynamix sims. I never saw Boyington shot down, but I do remember the thrill of being assigned to Corsairs. There were occasional historic missions interspersed within the dynamic campaign. That's a great technique, static missions in a dynamic campaign, but I don't think I've seen it since. The 1946 add-on was amazing as well, getting the chance to fly Bearcats, Tigercats, Shooting Stars. Remember those cut-screens with the pilot in the bar, offering advice?

And yes, Lothar tricked me, too!

[Old Guy 15]

Lothar never tricked me -- I was never that good.

I did like RB though. The campaigns and mission editor were first rate. I remember one mission I built that started with my squadron attempting to take off during a surprise bombing raid. Sometimes a bomb would take me out as I tried to get airborne. It was thirty minutes of non-stop air action. Yep. I've never seen another sim like it. EAW had better "atmosphere" but the depth of RB wasn't there. RB used a mix of fictional and historical missions as well, if I remember correctly.

OG

[Stans 29]

I really enjoyed playing Aces Over Europe back in the mid 1990's. I kicked ass with the P-51, but then was assigned the P-47, which had a horrible rate of climb. My last mission, and one I could not complete, was to start on the field with an air raid in progress. I never could my Jug off the ground and climb fast enough to evade bombs and fighters. The graphics and sounds cannot compete with more modern sims, but it kept me busy for hours. Once I discovered EAW, it was all over. EAW had better graphics, sounds, and offline missions that were just plain awesome.

[Whizkid 14]

Bloody hell, 49 posts? Didn't realize so many of you lived in the past these days! I feel quite at home in here!