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DPete27
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Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:19 am

I'm interested in trying out a modern aerial combat game and need some suggestions. The last game of this type that I played was F22 Lightning II (circa 1996) which I recall as thoroughly enjoying at that time. It's nice to have a break from the usual gauntlet of 1st person shooters and 3rd person RPGs (etc etc) and take to the skies every once in a while.

I'm also open to suggestions for joysticks. Something within a reasonable price range, maybe $50 or less?
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TurtlePerson2
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:28 am

I use this joystick and I like it a a lot. It's also fairly inexpensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826102204

The important thing with a joystick is to make sure that it gives you rotate in addition to just X and Y tilt. I'm not a hardcore flight sim person, most of my experience comes from the two Freespace games. Someone else may be able to advise you better.
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DPete27
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Sun Jun 03, 2012 4:24 pm

TurtlePerson2 wrote:
e important thing with a joystick is to make sure that it gives you rotate in addition to just X and Y tilt.


What is the rotate fuction used for?
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UberGerbil
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Sun Jun 03, 2012 4:47 pm

DPete27 wrote:
TurtlePerson2 wrote:
e important thing with a joystick is to make sure that it gives you rotate in addition to just X and Y tilt.
What is the rotate fuction used for?
Typically for rotation around the directional axis, ie a substitute for rudder pedals. It's been a while since I've played any modern flightsims, but usually they have an option to auto-coordinate turns making explicit rudder inputs unnecessary (since many users don't have pedals or alternatives anyway). Naturally if you're actually practicing flying rather than gaming, so that you need to work on slips and crosswind landings and other aspects of uncoordinated flight where precise directional inputs are necessary, then the situation is different; but in that case you'd probably want to spring for pedals anyway. But more inputs (of any sort -- more buttons!) can almost always be put to some use, so depending on what game you're playing you could employ it to control viewport panning, turrets, or whatever.
 
DPete27
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:35 am

Ok, that's what I figured, just wanted to make sure my assumptions were correct. That joystick looks good. Now, what game/s should I use it for?
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Aphasia
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:01 am

If you are really into flightsim's on a hardcore level, what you want is the Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog joystick-throttle together with the DCS:A-10 sim and some track-IR. Thats about as close as you get without having a cockpit at home I think. I have the earlier HOTAS Cougar which is a droolworthy, but for me, sadly underused, piece of tech. That said, I dont really know if there is so many more really modern flightsims out right now beyond DCS. Otherwise I think the latest one was the IL-2 Sturmovik(ww2 sim).

I also have a version of the Logitech extreme 3d joystick that UG linked that I use for games like Battlefield and simpler games where it shines brightly and works well, since the hotas system is not as movable if you just jump into a plane and take off.

Here's a vid zAmboni on arstechnica did of a mission in the DCS:A-10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsVm1fRCwqo
 
DPete27
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Mon Jun 11, 2012 11:51 am

(Bump) Still looking for any game suggestions. I'm not so much interested in flight sims. I want to shoot down aircraft and blow things up.
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superjawes
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:00 pm

Check out the free to play section on Steam. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but I am pretty sure that there's a space shooter on there.
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yogibbear
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:25 pm

Battlefield 2/3 Multiplayer... 2 for choppers, 3 for jets.

Apache Air Assault

Wings of Prey

Saitek Cyborg X for cheap joystick with rotation.(i.e. no need for pedals)

Descent I,II,III (gog.com)

Moon breakers (F2P multiplayer space on steam)
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vargis14
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:49 pm

You can try warbirds 3 i played it many years before 3 came out:) Its a ww2 flight sim that is very realistic. Since it takes place in ww2 you cannot get any better dogfighting, no missles, just cannons and guns. True dogfighting where if you have a wingman the thatch weave will save your life, even if you outnumbered 3-1
Get low and slow and alone then the rolling sissors is a hard to perform slow speed rolling and turning manuver that can make your opponents crash or fly past you, But do it wrong and you will spin to your death without a bullet ever touching you.
It has a very steep learning curve where you learn altitude is energy and energy is life. Starting off booming and zooming will give you the best results. Once you understand the strength and weaknesses of each of the 50+ planes then you can do some turn and burning until you know it is time to disengage, run/gain more altitude and return or fly to a friendly base and land:)
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:47 am

Thrustmaster's T.Flight stick (or stick and throttle combo) is pretty good.

For actual flight games, I'm coming up dry. I used to be big into flight sims: Air Warrior, Falcom 4, NovaLogic's Comanche series, After Burner (Sega Genesis), etc. I still have my HOTAS Cougar and flight gloves. Unfortunately, the world of flight games is thin these days. Not sure where to turn for a decent one.
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Jon1984
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:54 am

Flight Stick X from Thrustmaster. It's quite decent for the price. I use it to play Hawx 1 and 2 and will give a try to War Thunder on Steam. Used it to World of Airplanes to :wink:
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vargis14
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:00 am

Firegryphon,
I too used to play the original air warrior on my pentuim 60/120 on a 14" monitor...but the crazy thing was it was a box in the center of the screen 1/4 the size of the whole screen you actually played the game ...the Huge border around your actual gaming view box did nothing at all.

Then I switched to warbirds that had better flight models, great full screen graphics ..thanks to a new P2 300 and twin voodoo 2 8mb cards in the original SLI. Even had a squad of 25+ IAF...International Air Force. We had guys from everywhere Poland, Russia, Canada, England, Australia, USA ETC. All on a 28.8 modem with me hosting 20 people on Roger Wilco and the game still played fantastic! Had to customize my side panel to hold 2 80mm fans to keep the graphics cards from overheating way before they became standard on some cases. At a warbirds convention they saw my case mod and we went to the closest circuit city and cleaned the shelves of 80mm fans. I cut a lot of holes in side panels that day. Everyone else had there side panels off and small fans blowing into their cases, like I used to do.
As for flight controls I still have the F16 TQS throttle RCS rudder system and 2 f22 pros all from thrustmaster. The cougar setup is a updated f22-TQS setup using mostly metals, My f22 and rudder pedals where aluminum "mostly" But they are gameport connected and I have not used them in so so long for obvious reasons.
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:57 am

Il-2 Sturmovik: 1946 is still in low-rate development after all these years (I bought the original portion, Forgotten Battles, in '03). New version was just released a few months ago with additional planes (some flyable) and improvements to the quick mission builder, and there's still a mod and online community.
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UberGerbil
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Thu Oct 31, 2013 11:26 pm

Just FYI, the original thread here is well over a year old (it got necro'd recently by a spammer). Though the new info is useful and interesting.
 
DPete27
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Fri Nov 01, 2013 8:41 am

UberGerbil wrote:
Just FYI, the original thread here is well over a year old

I'm still keeping an eye on it. These types of games are a welcome change of pace from the typical 1st/3rd person shooters/action games out there. Nothing mentioned so far has really sparked my interest though. I haven't looked into all of them yet.
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morphine
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Fri Nov 01, 2013 8:53 am

TurtlePerson2 wrote:
I use this joystick and I like it a a lot. It's also fairly inexpensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826102204


Do not buy this joystick. I'll say again: do not buy this joystick. Between me and a friend of mine, 3 of them broke (including my original one and its replacement), every one of them with the same problem: the sensor starts going bad and pulling to the left in spasms.

I now have a very nifty-looking paperweight.

Edit: ugh, sorry about the necro, should have spotted that.
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Aphasia
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:22 pm

Actually, I have one of those and they work just fine for what you expect, a very inexpensive light joystick. Mine haven't gone to bits yet, although I have actually broken 3 of the older Logitech Extreme joysticks. The black slick ones.
 
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Fri Nov 01, 2013 5:54 pm

Oh, it works fine. For a couple months. :)
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Aphasia
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Re: Aerial Combat Game/Accessory Suggestions

Sat Nov 02, 2013 6:20 am

I have a HOTAS cougar for serious flying, but I actually bought the Extreme 3D for Battlefield since you need something fast and cant have 10kg leaning on each direction-spring.
Don't remember directly when I actually got it, but I think it might have been during Battlefield 2142 and Battlefield 2. What I do know is that it has survived just fine through more then 150 hours of flying in those games.

YMMV, and for what it's worth, my old black extremes broke down during heavy playing of Descent, X-Wing/Tie-Fighter-series.

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