| Microsoft Flight Simulator 2.0 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Sublogic |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft |
| Designer(s) | Bruce Artwick |
| Series | Microsoft Flight Simulator |
| Platform(s) | IBM PC, IBM PCjr, PC AT, IBM PC Convertible, MS-DOS, IBM PS/2 |
| Release | May 1984 |
| Genre(s) | Amateur flight simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Microsoft Flight Simulator, commonly known as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2.0 or FS2, is a flight simulator video game. It was released in 1984 [1] for the IBM PC as a self-booting disk.
In May 1984, Microsoft released their version 2 (v2.10) [1] for IBM PCs. This version made small improvements to the original version, including the graphics and a more precise simulation in general. It added joystick and mouse input, as well as support for RGB (4-color CGA graphics) and composite monitors [2] and IBM PCjr.
The new simulator expanded the scenery coverage to include a model of the entire United States, [2] although the airports were limited to the same areas as in Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 .
Version 2.10a, [1] released in August 1984, added PC AT support and minor bug corrections.
Later versions (2.11, [1] unreleased and v2.12, [1] [3] released in April 1985) fixed a no color problem on PCjr graphics, adding Hercules graphics and EGA support.
Version 2.13, [1] released in August 1986, added support for IBM PC Convertible, enhanced keyboard, 3.5" inch floppy drives, MS-DOS 3.2 and laptop LCD displays.
Version 2.14, [1] released in June 1987 brought IBM PS/2 support.
Over the next year or two, compatibility with Sublogic Scenery Disks was provided, gradually covering the whole U.S. (including Hawaii), Japan, and part of Europe.
David Florance for Compute! said "shortcomings are easily outweighed by the sheer delight this program brings." [4]
Jason Durbin for PC World said of v. 2.13 "for the timid types who wouldn't be caught living or dead at 10,000 feet, Microsoft Flight Simulator is an excellent way to enjoy the thrill of flight vicariously." [2]
Dick Aarons for PC Magazine said "I've found that the peaceful world of flying in the Microsoft Flight Simulator can provide hours of realistic flying fun." [5]
Microsoft Flight Simulator, Version 2.0 was reviewed in 1989 in Dragon #142 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. [6]
The Tandy 1000 is the first in a line of IBM PC compatible home computer systems produced by the Tandy Corporation for sale in its Radio Shack and Radio Shack Computer Center chains of stores. Introduced in 1984, the product line was aimed at providing affordable but capable systems for home computing or education, with some of its Tandy specific features like graphics, sound and joystick port making it more appealing for home use.
The Hercules Graphics Card (HGC) is a computer graphics controller formerly made by Hercules Computer Technology, Inc. that combines IBM's text-only MDA display standard with a bitmapped graphics mode, also offering a parallel printer port. This allows the HGC to offer both high-quality text and graphics from a single card.
IBM PC DOS, an acronym for IBM Personal Computer Disk Operating System, is a discontinued disk operating system for the IBM Personal Computer, its successors, and IBM PC compatibles. It was manufactured and sold by IBM from the early 1980s into the 2000s. Developed by Microsoft, it was also sold by that company as MS-DOS. Both operating systems were identical or almost identical until 1993, when IBM began selling PC DOS 6.1 with new features. The collective shorthand for PC DOS and MS-DOS was DOS, which is also the generic term for disk operating system, and is shared with dozens of disk operating systems called DOS.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulator programs for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed significantly from Microsoft's other software, which was largely business-oriented. As of November 2022, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the longest-running software product line for Microsoft, predating Windows by three years. Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the longest-running PC video game series of all time.
The Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) is an IBM PC graphics adapter and de facto computer display standard from 1984 that superseded the CGA standard introduced with the original IBM PC, and was itself superseded by the VGA standard in 1987. In addition to the original EGA card manufactured by IBM, many compatible third-party cards were manufactured, and EGA graphics modes continued to be supported by VGA and later standards.
The IBM PCjr was a home computer produced and marketed by IBM from March 1984 to May 1985, intended as a lower-cost variant of the IBM PC with hardware capabilities better suited for video games, in order to compete more directly with other home computers such as the Apple II and Commodore 64.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 98, abbreviated commonly as FS98, is a flight simulator video game. It was released in September 1997 for Microsoft Windows.
King's Quest: Quest for the Crown is an adventure game developed by Sierra On-Line and published originally for the IBM PCjr in 1984 and later for several other systems between 1984 and 1989. The game was originally titled King's Quest; the subtitle was added to the games box art in the 1987 re-release, but did not appear in the game.
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Microsoft Flight Simulator began as a set of articles on computer graphics, written by Bruce Artwick throughout 1976, about flight simulation using 3-D graphics. When the editor of the magazine told Artwick that subscribers were interested in purchasing such a program, Artwick founded Sublogic Corporation to commercialize his ideas. At first the new company sold flight simulators through mail order, but that changed in January 1979 with the release of Flight Simulator (FS) for the Apple II. They soon followed this up with versions for other systems and from there it evolved into a long-running series of computer flight simulators.
PC Paintbrush was a graphics editing software created by the ZSoft Corporation in 1984 for computers running the MS-DOS operating system.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000, abbreviated commonly as FS2000, is a flight simulator video game. It was released in late 1999 for Microsoft Windows. A Professional Edition was released alongside the standard edition. It added two airplanes, six cities, and a flight model/instrument panel editor.
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Microsoft Flight Simulator, commonly known as Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0, is a flight simulator video game, released in November 1982 for the IBM PC. It is the first release in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series.
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Microsoft Flight Simulator, commonly known as Microsoft Flight Simulator 3.0 or FS3, is a flight simulator video game. It was released in mid-1988 for the MS-DOS.
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Microsoft Flight Simulator, commonly known as Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.0 or FS5, is a flight simulator video game. It was released in late 1993 for the MS-DOS. A port for PC-98 was released in 1994. It was the last game in the series for DOS and the last game to appear on a non-Microsoft platform. An updated version, 5.1, was released in 1995. In November 1995, Microsoft acquired the Bruce Artwick Organization (BAO) from Bruce Artwick. Employees were moved to Redmond, Washington, and development of the series continued in-house at Microsoft.
The IBM Personal Computer Basic, commonly shortened to IBM BASIC, is a programming language first released by IBM with the IBM Personal Computer, Model 5150 in 1981. IBM released four different versions of the Microsoft BASIC interpreter, licensed from Microsoft for the PC and PCjr. They are known as Cassette BASIC, Disk BASIC, Advanced BASIC (BASICA), and Cartridge BASIC. Versions of Disk BASIC and Advanced BASIC were included with IBM PC DOS up to PC DOS 4. In addition to the features of an ANSI standard BASIC, the IBM versions offered support for the graphics and sound hardware of the IBM PC line. Source code could be entered with a full-screen editor, and limited facilities were provided for rudimentary program debugging. IBM also released a version of the Microsoft BASIC compiler for the PC concurrently with the release of PC DOS 1.10 in 1982.
Flight Simulator II is a video game developed by Bruce Artwick and published by Sublogic as the sequel to FS1 Flight Simulator. It was released in December 1983 for the Apple II, in 1984 for Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64, in 1986 for the Amiga and Atari ST, the Atari XEGS as a pack-in title in 1987 and in August 1988 for the Color Computer 3.
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