MS Combat Flight Simulator

G

George Hill

Staff Alumnus
I have fallen victem to another addiction.
Quake III and Unreal Tournament have been soundly replaced by MS Combat Flight Simulator.
From a week of playing I have formed some opinions.
1. Microsoft can make some very good software.
2. The P-51 is an unfair advantage.
3. 2nd choice to the P51 is the FW190 - Machine guns AND Cannons = Sweet.
4. I dislike the Spitfires and would rather fly a Hurricane.

Question - What is the .50 caliber gun's range in this flight model?

I am a HUGE fan of Flight Simulators - (much more so than First Person Shooter games like DOOM2 and Quake) and have been a long time avid player of ATF GOLD and other JANES titles. Jets all of them. This WWII flavor is just delicious. Anyone else flying prop fighters and splashing Jerrys?
Whats the best joystick to use with CFS? I'm using a Logitech Wingman Extreme Digital and HATE it. Way too sensative... I think I need a good old analog stick for this one.

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Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
 
GEORGE BUDDY PAL!

We gotta get together and fly sometime. I thought I was the only one! Hard part about MS CFS is how hackable the flight model is. You really have to be on the lookout for cheats. From experience, when someone outturns the P-51 in a Dehaviland Mosquito, you know they are cheating. Unfortunately it uses the same flight model as their standard flight sims. You can buy programs to make your won aircraft in any good computer store. I flew against a guy who made a X-Wing from Star Wars. He could hover and then accelerate to 1200 mph instantly. You can also modify the damage the guns do. So if you get blown apart by 1 bullet hit you also will know they are hacking. I believe zone.com has a built in anti-hacking setup. It is a great game on a level field. You will see the majority of people in P-51's or the Hurricane, and occasionally the 190. The model for the F4U is somewhat disappointing though.

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I thought I'd seen it all, until a 22WMR spun a bunny 2 1/4 times in the air!
 
George,
This may seem a bit far fetched, BUT
WW2 air combat simulations are perfect teachers of Col. Cooper's color codes of awareness. They also force you develop different plans of action in response to your current circumstances. Mastering the "what if" game is the difference between Aces and their victims.
ENJOY

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BOYCOTT SLICK & WESSON

"To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it."
Confucius
 
If you also have "regular" MS FS you can import aircraft from it to CFS and fly your CFS aircraft using FS's sceanery.
Try importing a Boeing 737 into CFS. It takes half the German airforce to shoot the darn thing down and you can reek havic with it.
Also take your favorite CFS aircraft on a strafing run through you favorite sceenery via MS FS. Drop bombs and rockets on the Chrysler Building if you're a Chevey fan.
Fun!
 
Thrustmaster Top Gun USB. Built like a tank, no accidental joystick movement here.

I, too, enjoy my copy of CFS, as well as shooting my boyfriend out of the sky on our home LAN in JANE'S Fighters Anthology. Even better when we have a couple of friends over for some no-lag IPX dogfights!

Check out Microprose's European Air War. I have counted 60, 75, or more planes in the sky, with no jerkiness or loading hiccups, while my Altec Lansing speakers rumbled to the sound of Merlins, DaimlerBenz inverted-vees, and a whole B-17 sqdrns worth of Pratt & Whitneys. The animation from the opening credits will make you want to run out and donate to the WWII memorial...

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"..but never ever Fear. Fear is for the enemy. Fear and Bullets."
10mm: It's not the size of the Dawg in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!
 
Another addict here! I kinda like the spitfire MKIV tho... I use the microsoft sidewinder 'joystick'.

Doc, where can you find hacks/cheats/etc... to play with for CFS? I never really looked for 'em before.

[This message has been edited by SlackO (edited May 15, 2000).]
 
I have Jane's WWII Fighters program and like it. I use a Jane's combat stick by CH Products. It is well made. I have not flown the WWII Fighters for a while since I'm trying to learn how to fly using the MS Flight Simulator 2000 Pro. It has Global positioning which is great for flying from point A to point B.

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"The wicked flee when no man pursues: but the righteous are bold as a lion." (Prov. 28:1)
 
uhhhh... So thats why I was diving in on a 110 when I got a high speed flyby by an F-18. I was like WTF?!?
For some reason I cant get the Spit to turn in. It LUMBERS in the turns - and has wussy machineguns. The cannons are helpful - but thats not good enough.

My home net access is down right now - waiting for DSL to arrive in my 'hood. When I get it hooked up - Consider all y'all SPLASHED!
:D

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Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
 
I'm a prop junkie from waaay back! In fact the main reason I got started in PC's was Dynamix's "Red Baron" and "Chuck Yeager's Air Combat" (can't remember who made that one). I was an avid Air Warrior and Warbirder as well, my current fave's are Microprose's "European Air War" and MS "Combat Flight Sim", I was all over any title that had WWI or WWII A/C, I've owned them ALL.

Prop planes are in my blood, I can't help it! I've flown in a P-51, and got some stick time on a T-6, PT-17 and PT-19, and done restoration work on an F6F Hellcat and a TBM Avenger as well as many other not so famous airframes.

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Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war.
 
George,

Heh. "Splashed"? Not on your best day...

Er, sorry, sometimes my competitive streak gets loose and runs around the room until I catch it... ;)

I lack the discipline to hang with the really good online energy fighters. Sooner or later, I always give in to the instinct to yank, bank, and crank the horizon to the vertical. I know it's not as efficient and my hero, Eric Hartmann looks down disapprovingly from fighter pilots heaven, but it just don't feel like a dogfight if the stall horn isn't giving you a headache! :)

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"..but never ever Fear. Fear is for the enemy. Fear and Bullets."
10mm: It's not the size of the Dawg in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!
 
I favor the P-47, as long as you can make it to 40,000ft you are nearly untouchable. Keep an eye out for sitting ducks below you, split-s and come down on 'em at 400+mph, let 'em have it with 8 .50's and use your built up speed to run away at treetop level, then climb up and do it again!

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Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war.
 
You can download ready made fighters from www.flightsim.com www.flightsim.net and a host of others. Just key it into your browser for a million hits! The gun damage is in .xls format and I haven't quite figured it out yet. But I do have an A-10 model that will incinerate about anything it touches ;)

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I thought I'd seen it all, until a 22WMR spun a bunny 2 1/4 times in the air!
 
Greetings,

"Chuck Yeager" was published by Electronic Arts. I first flew "Flight Simulator" on a friend's Apple II in the seventies. When I got my first computer, I started off flying A-6's and F-4's in Flight of the Intruder. Lately I've been flying the Jane's series and "F-22 Lightning," an arcade-like sim with great internet support. You can always find an opponent at their site, Novaworld.

You can't beat Thrustmaster joysticks for precise control, IMHO. Don't forget the rudder pedals.

Next month I'm buying myself a new computer for my birthday. You all may begin lining up to get your tails shot off. Cannon or missles? :D
 
There are a lot of flight sims out there, but MS CFS is far and away the best. The open architecture of the game allows easy importation of aircraft, missions, campaigns, sounds, and all sorts of game enhancement utilities.

From the original 9 aircraft that come with the game, my aircraft files have swelled to over 200 aircraft. If anyone needs a tip or two about file installation or manipulation in this game, I'm your man.

A couple of the premier aircraft designers: Bruno Duffort-- His aircraft are by far the most authentic. His planes will surprise you. You think you're okay after taking a few hits on a mission, and when you get back to base, you find your landing gear only deploy halfway because your hydraulics took a hit! I know of no other designer who pays so much attention to detail! If you omly get a couple of planes to add to CFS, make the Brunos. If you play on the Zone, you'll many time see players specifying on stock CFS or "Br" planes for play. The "Br" planes are Brunos work. Some of my faves made by Bruno: A Hawker Typhoon-One of the prettiest flight models ever; A P47M Thunderbolt-Ground attacks were never more fun; A P40 Warhawk-If you have Abacus Pacific Theatre or Battle for Midway, you'll want this one. http://knifemaker.free.fr/ Shigeru Tanaka-- I have several of his planes, but one of my alltime favorites is a F86 Sabrejet. Nothin' like shooting up ME109s in a Korean war era plane!

If you haven't visted this site, you should. The best on the Web, IMO: http://www.simviation.com

Do any of you guys play on the Zone? Let me know if you want to get a game up some time. My handle is boxcar61
 
OOOOOOOOKAAAAAAYYYYYY Then!
The gauntlet is thrown!
P-51's at Dawn!

Uh - as soon as I can get that DSL hooked up at my house.

I just went out and got a new stick - another Logitec Wingman Extreme Digital. This time its a new verison with 3D added. Meaning I have twist rudder control. I like it. I can fly by thought.
Guilty pleasure - but I have become quite fond of the little Hurricane. Thing can take an ungodly amount of damage - and still dish it out (though limping and bleeding).

You know what sucks? Killing 10 out of 11 bad guys in a huge furball - getting your wings clipped - engine blowing a constant stream of black smoke... making it all the way home... landing with no power left... rolling all the way to the end of the runway...
AND THEN FLIPPING OVER YOUR OWN NOSE BECAUSE YOU GOT ON THE BREAKS TOO HARD!
AAAUUUGGGHHHH!!!!! :mad:

I dont know how to dog fight with out the horizon twisting and spinning all over the place. May not be the best way to fight in the long run - but I get the job done and its more fun. BTW I fly with no helps - as real as possible with the exception of the auto mixture setting. I just dont have the time to play with that mixture crap.

Best kill?
1,000 yard single cannon shot into the Cockpit of a Ju-88... Instant Smack Down.
I jumped up and did a happy dance around the room and my wife was like "Are you retarded or something? Its just a game!"
Sigh... I'll miss her. ;)
:D
 
Oh - with this new stick - Yeah, my assesment of the Spit was off... but I still dont like it. It's still not ALL THAT.
Take the Spit and remove its rifle caliber guns and put in some good old Brownings and then ya got a good plane.

Looking at all the cheating and mods that are out there... man, that just takes all the fun out of it. There is a FW190 mod out there that has like 20 cannons on it... What fun is that? Stupid crap.
I am an aviation fan not a Frag Fan. I like the realism... but I still dont like the Fuel Mixture stuff. :D

Perfect system for playing CFS: www.DONZ.com
This is a company I may become involved with marketing these systems and admining this company... So you TFL folks looking for a new system - Start saving your pennies!
:D

[This message has been edited by George Hill (edited May 16, 2000).]
 
George, I don't like the cheats, either. Sure, every once in a while, it's fun to take a plane like the "Jolly Roger"( that 190 you were talking about ) and completely destroy everything in your path. But for online play, I like stockplanes, or nonmodified addons, like Bruno Dufforts aircraft.
As far as sticks go, I like My Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro.

Also, are you guys aware that MS is coming out with an enhanced(!) version of CFS sometime in the fall? It's going to be a Pacific Theater version of CFS. Not only that, but they're working hard to improve the AI, more realistic damage, photorealistic planes and scenery. I've seen some screenshots and all I can say is wow.
 
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