a 35 + year perspective...

I have a picture of myself in 1984 at age 16 sitting in my room in front of my (48K) Atari 400 mesmerized by version 1 of Microsoft Flight Simulator. My rich imagination in those days seemed to fill in the blanks of the stick figures and very staggered motion and I remember vividly how entertaining it was. I even remember my first visit to "flightsim.com" in the 1990's... which was the first time I realized that there were other people out there who loved this stuff just like I did! I do get a kick out of the random complaints I see on this forum. I'll need my 22 year old son to tell you what system he just built for me - something like a core i10, nvidia 2080, with more RAM than anyone in 1984 ever thought you could have in your home. I have never understood the hardware behind all of this and love that I now have a son who understands it enough to tell me what I need to make this all even more real. Since that picture of 1984 me, there hasn't been a day that goes by that I haven't sat in front of whatever the current version of Flight Simulator is, now MSFS2020, completely enthused with the experience I am being provided and amazed with how far it has all come. I have had the privilege to sit in several real world cockpits during flight and have been stunned by my understanding of it all as a mere virtue of being a simulator enthusiast all these years. The near real world experience we are now being provided may have its flaws, all of which will be addressed in due time by the many smart talented people that contribute to this forum and all the developers who I appreciate and constantly make it all better... but the perspective of 35+ years can only lead you conclude one thing.....that this is awesome!!!!

@michaelt I too have had a similar journey over the same period but I was 35+ when I started and I very much concur with your sentiments

You speak for a lot of people, I suspect the large majority of experienced flight simmers. Well done.

I have also been flying FS since the very first version on a Commodore 128.

 

I thought FS was great then and its even greater today with MSFS. I am fascinated with the new sim and the extreme realism. In the last couple of months not being able to travel as normal I have repeated many of my real flights and I am astounded at the realism. At least in MSFS I dont end a flight with a painful neck like in a real flight by trying to peak out of those low windows:)!!!!.

 

The sim has its problems as all of the previous versions have had. With the latest update its almost impossible to fly the A320 as the AP seems to go from OP Climb to OP Descent on its own. Instead of griping I have switched to the B787 for the time being..

 

Too many people are complaining about the faults with the new sim as they are unable to compare with the early versions as they never flew them.

 

I would never have imagined back in the 1980's that one day I would be flying such a real sim!!!. We just have to be patient as all the bugs are worked out.

Main reason I got into computers was to run flight sims. Started with the Amiga which, in the early to mid 90's seemed to have a new combat flight sim every couple of weeks. Remember the excitement when I bought Thalion Airbus A320 which just about ran on the A600 - huge box complete with foldout airway maps and a book of approach plates. It didn't matter there was no exterior view, the flight area was completely flat and the airports had no buildings - the imagination did the rest. It was just such a magnificent feeling to be flying one of these machines!

I have a picture of myself in 1984 at age 16 sitting in my room in front of my (48K) Atari 400 mesmerized by version 1 of Microsoft Flight Simulator. My rich imagination in those days seemed to fill in the blanks of the stick figures and very staggered motion and I remember vividly how entertaining it was. I even remember my first visit to "flightsim.com" in the 1990's... which was the first time I realized that there were other people out there who loved this stuff just like I did! I do get a kick out of the random complaints I see on this forum. I'll need my 22 year old son to tell you what system he just built for me - something like a core i10, nvidia 2080, with more RAM than anyone in 1984 ever thought you could have in your home. I have never understood the hardware behind all of this and love that I now have a son who understands it enough to tell me what I need to make this all even more real. Since that picture of 1984 me, there hasn't been a day that goes by that I haven't sat in front of whatever the current version of Flight Simulator is, now MSFS2020, completely enthused with the experience I am being provided and amazed with how far it has all come. I have had the privilege to sit in several real world cockpits during flight and have been stunned by my understanding of it all as a mere virtue of being a simulator enthusiast all these years. The near real world experience we are now being provided may have its flaws, all of which will be addressed in due time by the many smart talented people that contribute to this forum and all the developers who I appreciate and constantly make it all better... but the perspective of 35+ years can only lead you conclude one thing.....that this is awesome!!!!

 

Great post, thanks for sharing!

 

Dominic