Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I honestly can't understand the negative comments here concerning this sim. Installation is simple, fast and the product only takes up 300MB of disk space unlike it's peers IL2 FB and CFS 2/3. The graphics are excellent and on par with IL2 FB while providing extremely fast frame rates. Menu lag time is virtually non-existent and options set-up is intuitive and easy to understand. At first I was hesitant to purchase based on the mixed reviews here and on other sites. I went to the publishers web site first and downloaded the patch (only 2.8 MB) and then purchased the sim; installed and then installed the patch immediately; so my comments are completely post-patch.
I'll address some previous reviewer's comments:
Key-Commands/Mapping: there are almost 100 different commands and I spent apprx. two hours changing them until I was satisfied with the layout for the keyboard and my joystick (Logitech Extreme Digital 3D); by taking the time to set up the commands where they are user-friendly the learning curve is reduced in the extreme.
Views: you can map the snap-views to the hat on your joystick and then pan with your mouse - ideal for combat flying and simple to perform (Options Screen then Controls). You need a solid, programable joystick to fly this sim.
AI: the wingman commands are easy (TAB Key) and they will cover you by attacking your target, etc. if you tell them to; both their AI and the enemies is excellent - better than I've seen in any of the current generation of sims available. The enemy pilots will perform ACM based on historical precedents and the abilty to scale the difficulty is a plus.
The F-4: if flown correctly using the lift vector (as described in the manual) can out-fight any of it's opponents as it did historically given equal conditions; if 'you' can't climb in the F-4 in this sim - blame the 'pilot' not the sim itself!
The Manual: again, better than any other currently available. I suspect, here, that previous comments are based on not reading it carefully!
Radar: the most complicated aspect of the sim but if you read the manual, set up the six basic key commands (i.e., Radar On/Off, Cycles to next radar mode, Cycles to next radar range setting, Cycles to next radar target, Acquire currently selected target and Reject and deselects current target) so that they are user-friendly (e.g., I changed them to single key presses in the same area of the keyboard/joystick, etc.) and practice - you will reduce the learning curve and really enjoy flying the F-4 and A-4!
I also suspect that many negative reviews are based on casual sim usage: in other words, the current generation of flight/combat sims simply demands that you spend 'time' learning them - the days of loading the cd in the drive and mastering the sim in a few hours are gone! Further, if the user is not willing to maintain (correct drivers, scheduled system maintenance, etc.) his/her system in order to provide the best possile platform then there will be problems with install, game play, etc., and unfortunately, the product will be blamed.
There is a host of freeware available for this sim in terms of skins, additional aircraft, terrain, effects, mission builders, etc. (i.e., just do a seach under the sim title on the 'net). If you're looking for a solid performing combat sim depicting the aircraft of the 60's - 70's - this is it! I've been 'flying' combat sims for 18 years now and this is one of the best in terms of pure enjoyment value: just the right mix of flight modeling, graphcs, speed and atmosphere.
My system: P4, 2.80 GHz, 15" XGA TFT Display, 40 GB/2 HD, 512 MB DDR SDRAM, ATI Radeon IGP 345 M HAL Video Card.
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