Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such as training, analysis, prediction, or entertainment. Usually there are no strictly defined goals in the game, and the player is allowed to control a character or environment freely. Well-known examples are war games, business games, and role play simulation. From three basic types of strategic, planning, and learning exercises: games, simulations, and case studies, a number of hybrids may be considered, including simulation games that are used as case studies. Comparisons of the merits of simulation games versus other teaching techniques have been carried out by many researchers and a number of comprehensive reviews have been published.
After Burner is a rail shooter arcade video game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player controls an American F-14 Tomcat fighter jet and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by destroying incoming enemies. The plane is equipped with a machine gun and a limited supply of heat-seeking missiles. The game uses a third-person perspective, as in Sega's earlier Space Harrier (1985) and Out Run (1986). It runs on the Sega X Board arcade system which is capable of surface and sprite rotation. It is the fourth Sega game to use a hydraulic "taikan" motion simulator arcade cabinet, one that is more elaborate than their earlier "taikan" simulator games. The cabinet simulates an aircraft cockpit, with flight stick controls, a chair with seatbelt, and hydraulic motion technology that moves, tilts, rolls and rotates the cockpit in sync with the on-screen action.
Flying Corps is a 1997 World War I flight simulator developed by Rowan Software and published by Empire Interactive.
Ace Combat 2 is a 1997 combat flight simulation video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to Air Combat and the second in the Ace Combat franchise. The player controls one of 24 different fighter jets through 21 different missions with certain objectives to fulfill, such as protecting a base from enemy fire, intercepting a squadron of enemies, or taking down an aircraft carrier.
Air Combat is a 1995 combat flight simulation video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. Players control an aircraft and are tasked with completing a series of missions, with objectives ranging from destroying formations of enemies to protecting a specific target from enemy fire. Missions award money that is used to purchase new fighter aircraft, each with its own unique weapons and strengths.
Flight Unlimited III is a 1999 flight simulator video game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It allows players to pilot simulations of real-world commercial and civilian aircraft in and around Seattle, Washington. Players can fly freely or engage in "Challenge" missions, such as thwarting a theft or locating Bigfoot. The development team built on the general aviation gameplay of Flight Unlimited II, with more detailed physics and terrain, more planes, and a real-time weather system. Roughly half of Flight Unlimited II's team returned to work on the sequel, supported by new hires.
AH-64D Longbow is a realistic combat flight simulator of the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter. Released on June 3, 1996, for the PC, this simulation was developed at Origin Systems. AH-64D Longbow was the second simulator released under the Jane's Combat Simulators line from Electronic Arts.
Jane's Combat Simulations was a brand of combat flight simulators and naval warfare games published for DOS and Windows by Electronic Arts from 1995 to 2000, and later by other companies under license by Jane's Information Group. It is named after editor and publisher of military reference books Fred T. Jane.
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.
TFX is a 1993 combat flight simulator video game developed by Digital Image Design and published by Ocean Software that was released for DOS and Amiga computers.
EF2000 is a combat flight simulator video game developed by Digital Image Design (DID) and published by Ocean Software in 1995 for the PC DOS. It is the sequel to DID's earlier software title, TFX. An expansion pack, EF 2000: TACTCOM, was released in 1996. A compilation, EF 2000: Evolution, that included the main game and the expansion was released in 1996. An updated version, Super EF2000, was released exclusively for Windows 95 in 1996 in Europe. In 1997, a compilation titled EF2000 V2.0 was released in North America that included the original DOS versions of EF2000 and TACTCOM and also the Windows exclusive Super EF2000. In June 1997, the graphics were boosted when DID released the "Graphics+" patch, which added Rendition Vérité hardware support and Glide API for 3dfx graphics card support to EF2000.
Jane's Attack Squadron is a 2002 combat flight simulator developed by Looking Glass Studios and Mad Doc Software and published by Xicat Interactive. Based on World War II, the game allows players to pilot fifteen reproductions of that era's military aircraft and to carry out missions for the Axis or Allies. Although it contains dogfights, the game focuses largely on air-to-ground combat, hence the title.
Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a variety of other vehicles. The main challenge is to master driving and steering the vehicle from the perspective of the pilot or driver, with most games adding another challenge such as racing or fighting rival vehicles. Games are often divided based on realism, with some games including more realistic physics and challenges such as fuel management.
Longbow 2 is the sequel to Jane's AH-64D Longbow from Jane's Combat Simulations. The game was developed by Origin Systems with executive producer Andy Hollis on board, and released by Electronic Arts on November 13, 1997.
Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) is a combat flight simulation game developed primarily by Eagle Dynamics and The Fighter Collection.
Wings Over Israel is a 2008 combat flight simulator computer game for Microsoft Windows covering the three major Middle Eastern conflicts of the 20th century: the Six-Day War (1967), the Yom Kippur War (1973) and the Lebanon War (1982).
AV-8B Harrier Assault is a combat flight simulator/realtime strategy game developed by Simis and first published by Domark in 1992. An updated version using SVGA graphics was released later the same year, alternatively known as SVGA Harrier. In 1994, a modified version of the SVGA version was released for the classic Mac OS under the new name Flying Nightmares, which was later ported to 3D0.
A flight simulation video game refers to the simulation of various aspects of flight or the flight environment for purposes other than flight training or aircraft development. A significant community of simulation enthusiasts is supported by several commercial software packages, as well as commercial and homebuilt hardware. Open-source software that is used by the aerospace industry like FlightGear, whose flight dynamics engine (JSBSim) is used in a 2015 NASA benchmark to judge new simulation code to space industry standards, is also available for private use. A popular type of flight simulators video games are combat flight simulators, which simulate combat air operations from the pilot and crew's point of view. Combat flight simulation titles are more numerous than civilian flight simulators due to variety of subject matter available and market demand.
Air Combat is a 1993 combat flight simulator arcade video game developed by Namco. The arcade game was released in 1993 for the polygon-powered Namco System 21 arcade hardware, and received praise for its 3D graphics and technological capabilities. The game was a commercial success at Japanese and American arcades in the 1990s, and inspired several later Namco games, including the arcade sequel Air Combat 22, the PlayStation game Air Combat, and the Ace Combat series.
Jane's ATF: Advanced Tactical Fighters is a 1996 combat flight simulator developed and published by Electronic Arts for DOS. It is the first entry in the Jane's Combat Simulations franchise. An expansion pack, NATO Fighters, was released in 1996, and a compilation package for Microsoft Windows was released in 1997 titled Advanced Tactical Fighters Gold.
