Flight/Racing Simulators...? Hardware?

[Eida]

Alright so, I have a bunch of extra cash laying around and am bored with my current games. I was thinking of trying Falcon 4.0 and also buying a joystick to go with it, but I really don't know much about joysticks or what "combat" flight sim is worth my money. Bonus points if its multiplayer.

Any suggestions on hardware and a game to go with it? Feel free to chirp in if racing sims are your thing, because my GF is a big nascar fan and she would definitely be interested in a driving game if we had adequate hardware.

Thanks.

[Screamfeeder]

All depends on what you are looking for in a Flight Sim.

Falcon 4.0 (And the thousands of mods that go with it) make the game EXTREAMLY realistic. It does not look as good as some of the newer ones but you can be damn sure the jets are going to act about as real as a civilian flight sim gets.

Janes F-18 is another modern one that is not quite so serious but still has a pretty sharp learning curve if you want to actually kill people in Multiplayer.

If you don’t care so much about the time line, Combat Flight Simulator 3 is a one that I like quite a bit. It has options to make it pretty easy too, but you need a beast of a computer to run it at full graphics and still make it capable of flying well.

As far as hardware goes, also depends on if you are looking at “realism” or “easy to use and understand”.

For realistic hardware I suggest checking out the Thrustmaster HOTAS Cougar. Very expensive, but worth it if realism is what you want. (They also make a HUGE line of realistic steering wheels and pedals for racing sims.

The X52 from Saitek is also a pretty expensive HOTAS joystick. Not quite as realistic as the Cougar (digital display and more buttons) and it can also be very confusing to use, but awesome if you like to NEVER touch the keyboard. These do have a tendency to lose some spring in the stick cable so make sure you keep the screw on the bottom pretty loose.

If you do not care about realism and just want a fun joystick, try and track down a Microsoft Sidewinder 2 (the 2 is important). Don’t get the Force Feedback version though because it breaks…A LOT.

I don’t play any racing sims (except for Gran Turismo and Forza Motor-sport on the consoles) so I don’t have any good advice there.

[Basald]

I can't speak on flight sims but if you want extremely realistic driving I highly reccomend a game called GTR. You can find it at Best Buy among other places. I suggest getting the Logitech/Momo force feedback wheel or better to go with this game. You will have absolutely no fun playing it with anything less and spend all your time spinning out. With the Momo wheel you can feel the tires. The pedals it comes with are nothing special. The game supports most any hardware so if you want to add racing pedals and a shifter go right ahead. The game is only 20 bucks since it does nothing except simulate racing. There is no NFSU-style gameplay. Just the most realistic in-game driving to-date.

[Vorph]

The Logitech Driving Force Pro is the wheel that pretty much all serious racing sim players use. It's a PS2 wheel that was designed for GT4, but Logitech released XP drivers for it too. It costs a little more ($109 at newegg, don't buy from EB/Gamestop/etc or you'll pay $150 for it) than a Momo wheel, and you get 900 degrees of rotation instead of just 240 so I would highly recommend NOT buying the Momo.

In addition to GTR already mentioned, check out Live For Speed too.


Edit: To make the DFP work in XP, you just use the same Logitech Gaming Software that you would with the Momo. They added full support for the DFP a few versions back.

[Eida]

Alright I did some reading on Amazon.com about the sidewinder 2 and people seem to say that you can't program it in Windows XP.

Any other suggestions for joysticks? Assume I'm less concerned about realism and more concerned about a quality piece of hardware that isn't going to break or uncalibrate itself in a week.

[Cogmatix]

Got no hardware recommendations, but you have any interest in a WWII setting you want IL-2 Sturmovik and the Aces expansion. You can probably get both for less than twenty bucks. That's some fucking value right there, buddy.

Pacific Fighters is something of a sad story, however.

[Screamfeeder]

Originally Posted by Eida

Any other suggestions for joysticks? Assume I'm less concerned about realism and more concerned about a quality piece of hardware that isn't going to break or uncalibrate itself in a week.

Take your pick.

Go with one of the one piece sticks.

[Basald]

That Logitech wheel that Vorph linked is exactly the same as the Logitech/Momo wheel; difference being the Momo branded one's buttons are mapped out like a Momo steering wheel you could put it your car if you so desired. The plain logitech wheel has "gamer-style" buttons. Personally I think it's less realistic to have a directinonal pad on a steering wheel.

[Vorph]

Originally Posted by Basald

That Logitech wheel that Vorph linked is exactly the same as the Logitech/Momo wheel; difference being the Momo branded one's buttons are mapped out like a Momo steering wheel you could put it your car if you so desired. The plain logitech wheel has "gamer-style" buttons. Personally I think it's less realistic to have a directinonal pad on a steering wheel.

Uh, no. Like I said above, the Momo is 240 degrees max, and the DFP is 900 degrees (in LFS, GTR, and other games that support 900 degree mode). The DFP also has stronger and more realistic force feedback. The Momo probably has the same gas/brake pedal unit, but that's the only similarity between the two.

[Eomer]

Nice, I've never liked how most racing wheels don't even do a full revolution turn.

[Tetrian]

Im amazed noone has mentioned Lock on modern air combat (LO-MAC)

Theres a thingie, forgot what its called that tracks head movement that comes as a hardware thing, not tried it personally, but from what i picked up it should be quite the shit for some of the simulators out there (namely lomac and IL2)


-Tetrian

[Hikaru]

The logitech wheel is good enough for a beginner in racing sims. The two sims I'm addicted to are both Formula 1 sims, the first one being Formula 1 Career challenge and the other being F1 Legends. both games are tough to find and you will need to order them online. Obviously, the patches and mods that people make for them make them much better. F1 Legends came out a long ass time ago, and the learning curve is absolutely incredible but there is no more gratifying feeling then taking a 1967 eagle f1 car around the corners of Monza. Its incredibly difficult and you will be very frustrated the first few months until you learn your car and your track, but the reward is there, if you can stick with it. Both games can be played online, and both have very active and very serious league players who WILL beat the hell out of you. Its fun though if you like f1, past and present.