You can be playing a flight simulator game with the most life-like controls and interactive features on the market but if the scenery looks like a cardboard cutout you will lose interest quickly. Flight simulator games need to resemble reality as closely as possible or they just aren’t worth playing. This is especially true in combat simulations because the geography (landscape and topography) was such a huge determining factor during World War II. A pilot had to be constantly aware of the weather and ground features all the while keeping a sharp lookout for enemy planes.
Terms such as landclass, scenery objects, and mesh are used to describe the qualities looked for in simulator scenery, and we could write in-depth about the specifics of each of those terms, but in simplest terms the scenery needs to be as realistic as possible. Drop all the technical talk and it boils down to something even a novice gamer can notice, namely how realistic it is when you look at it. Do the textures of the landscape look authentic from 1,000 feet as well as from 20,000 feet? Do the geographical features look like real rivers, fields, mountains, deserts, and so on? Is the weather constantly changing, providing a constant challenge as you navigate your fighter plane? These are considerations that are so important when choosing which combat flight simulator to play.
One advantage the gamer has is the ability to download games for free from the better sites. If there is no free download or trial period then one would have to ask why bother playing that game? The established online games like Aces High offer a free two-week download to give players an opportunity to find out just how good the game is before committing to buy and that’s as it should be.
After all, people play combat flight simulation games to experience what it was really like to fly combat missions. What did it feel like to fly the Zero over the Battle of Midway, smoke billowing to the sky, flak all around you as you check your horizon, your angle of descent, your rate of speed AND the position of the enemy? What kind of adrenaline must course through your body when you are evading an attacker at six o’clock, trying to keep him from locking on and destroying your plane? What does it feel like to have your support planes on your right wing shot down leaving you defenseless against a two-pronged attack?
Gamers play online combat simulation games for the thrill, the rush, the chance to at least somewhat understand what it must have been like during WWII where one mistake was one too many in the highest stakes game imaginable.
