Flight Simulator (1979)
Flight Simulator was available on many early computers
Hardware: Apple ][
In 1975, electrical engineering student and avid pilot Bruce Artwick wrote his master's thesis on the possibility of a flight simulator on a personal computer, mathematically proving that the meager chips of the day indeed had enough power to drive such a complex simulation. A few years later he and Stu Moment founded SubLogic, and wrote the first ever flight simulator for the Apple ][.
The graphics were primitive, displaying all terrain formations as see-through wire frames, but the underlying game was solid and carefully modeled the actual experience of flight. Virtual pilots had to take into consideration wind speed and direction, and safe landings were just as tricky as in real life.
The game was also ported to other early computers of the day, such as the Radio Shack TRS-80.
Flight Simulator 2 (1983)
Flight Simulator 3 improved the graphics and added features
Hardware: IBM PC (8088 @ 4.77 MHz)
Flight Simulator was ported to the PC in 1982, and quickly became a best-seller on that platform as well. In the early days of Compaq and the first IBM PC clones, the ability to run Flight Simulator was considered the acid test for proving 100% IBM PC compatibility.
Flight Simulator 2 featured an enhanced graphics mode with 8 colors, which was available on the Tandy 1000 and IBM PC Junior computers, along with releases for the Apple ][, Commodore 64, and Atari 400/800. The wire frame models were now gone, replaced with solid shaded polygons with hidden lines removed. New planes were added, along with additional scenery and 80 different airports to land at. The cockpit instrumentation was improved, with more information available to the player.
Falcon 3.0 (1991)
Falcon 3.0 got many people to upgrade their computers
Hardware: IBM PC (386 @ 16MHz)
The Falcon series of games simulated not just flight in a civilian aircraft, but air combat flying the US Air Force's advanced F-16 fighter. The single-engined F-16 was one of the smallest and definitely most maneuverable fighters in the American arsenal.
The game featured solid polygonal graphics, and supported the new 256-color VGA mode. The extra colors helped support features such as soft gradients on the edge of the horizon, and also allowed the image to smoothly fade out to simulate pilot blackout from excessive G-forces in tight turns.
The game meticulously simulated not only the complexity of flight but the detail in preparing for military missions. While an "Instant Action" mode was available for people who just wanted to jump in and shoot things, the campaign mode was brilliantly detailed, and even took into account success and failure in previous missions when generating new ones. For example, if you failed to take out an airbase in one mission, it would be available to launch fighters against you in another.
The game also supported multiplayer games over modem or direct connection (null modem cable) The player could fly as part of a strike wing of up to eight planes.
Strike Commander (1993)
Strike Commander brought texture mapping to the skies
Hardware: IBM PC (Pentium @ 60 MHz)
Origin's Strike Commander was three years in development and suffered many delays before release. For the first time, texture mapping was integrated as part of the graphics engine, although for speed reasons only planes and buildings were texture mapped. Gouraud shading added an extra smoothing element to the edges of polygons as well.
The game added the storytelling aspects of Wing Commander to the flight simulator genre. The player was put in charge of a mercenary squadron of pilots trying to do good in a world where the concept had gone out of fashion. In addition to managing the pilots, the player also had to keep track of the money the squadron had earned, and use it to make repairs and purchase new equipment and ordnance.
While the game struggled to run smoothly on the hardware available at the time, it would go on to be extremely successful on the next generation of computers, and the engine was used as the basis of the blockbuster Wing Commander III.
Falcon 4.0 (1998)
Hardware: IBM PC (Pentium @ 166 MHz)
Fans had been waiting for Falcon 4.0 for a long time. and Microprose did not disappoint. The updated version supported higher resolutions and texture-mapped polygons, as well as supporting the new generation of 3D graphics cards. The game had increased in complexity as well: the manual had doubled in size to 600 pages.
As well as better graphics and more options, the physics of flight were modeled more accurately as well. Stalls and spins, which had been present in flight sims for many years now, felt more like they did in real aircraft. Weather modeling was added as well, so that the player had to be aware of such events as thunderstorms.
Although complexity and realism were the main selling points, the game could be "dialed back" to an almost arcade-like simplicity if desired. Dynamic campaigns, introduced in 3.0, were also available. The only major drawback to the game was a plethora of bugs, which were eventually fixed with patches.
Pacific Fighters (2004)
Hardware: IBM PC (Pentium 4 @ 1 GHz)
The popular flight simulator IL2:Sturmovik was moved to the World War II pacific theater with stunning results. As the screen shot shows, the plane and ground details were greater than anything that had been seen before. Both bodies of water and cities looked realistic.
Over 40 planes were included, as well as numerous ships. Aircraft carrier landings were nearly as risky and thrilling as in real life. Dynamic campaigns were included, and players could fly against each other in multiplayer scenarios over the Internet. In addition, it was possible to modify the decals and skins on individual planes, creating a truly customized experience.