Microsoft Flight Simulator (1986 video game)

Last updated
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator 1986 cover.jpg
Developer(s) Sublogic
Publisher(s) Microsoft
Series Microsoft Flight Simulator
Platform(s) Classic Mac OS
ReleaseMay 1986
Genre(s) Amateur flight simulation
Mode(s) Single-player

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a 1986 video game developed by Sublogic and published by Microsoft for the Macintosh.

Contents

Development

In 1984 Amiga Corporation asked Bruce Artwick to port Flight Simulator for its forthcoming computer, but Commodore's purchase of Amiga temporarily ended the relationship. Sublogic instead finished a Macintosh version, released by Microsoft, then resumed work on the Amiga and Atari ST versions. [1]

Notable features included a windowing system allowing multiple simultaneous 3D views - including exterior views of the aircraft itself.

Reception

Frank Boosman reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World , and stated, "As a game, FS is exciting. Flying beneath the Golden Gate Bridge was a big thrill, and really had me sweating. FS wins as a simulation as well; the flight characteristics of the Cessna and Lear Jet seem realistic, and the instrumentation is complete." [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Microsoft Flight Simulator</i> Windows-based flight simulator software

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.

<i>Star Trek: 25th Anniversary</i> (computer game) 1992 video game

Star Trek: 25th Anniversary is an adventure video game developed and published by Interplay Productions in 1992, based on the Star Trek universe. The game chronicles various missions of James T. Kirk and his crew of the USS Enterprise. Its 1993 sequel, Star Trek: Judgment Rites, continues and concludes this two-game series.

<i>Balance of Power</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Balance of Power is a strategy video game of geopolitics during the Cold War, created by Chris Crawford and published in 1985 on the Macintosh by Mindscape, followed by ports to a variety of platforms over the next two years.

Sublogic Corporation is an American software development company. It was formed in 1977 by Bruce Artwick, and incorporated in 1978 by Artwick's partner Stu Moment as Sublogic Communications Corporation. Sublogic is best known as the creator of the Flight Simulator series, later known as Microsoft Flight Simulator, but it also created other video games such as Night Mission Pinball, Football, and Adventure on a Boat; educational software; and an Apple II graphics library.

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.

<i>Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000</i> 1999 video game

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.

Bruce Arthur Artwick is an American software engineer. He is the creator of the first consumer flight simulator software. He founded Sublogic after graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1977, and released the first version of Flight Simulator for the Apple II in 1979. His original Apple II software was purchased by Microsoft in 1982 and became Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0.

<i>Microsoft Flight Simulator for Windows 95</i> 1996 video game

Microsoft Flight Simulator for Windows 95, abbreviated commonly as FS95 or FSW95, is a flight simulator video game. It was released in late 1996 for Windows.

<i>Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0</i> 1982 flight simulator video game

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.

<i>Microsoft Flight Simulator 2.0</i> 1984 video game

Microsoft Flight Simulator, commonly known as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2.0 or FS2, is a flight simulator video game. It was released in 1984 for the IBM PC as a self-booting disk.

<i>Microsoft Flight Simulator 3.0</i> 1988 video game

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.

<i>Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0</i> 1989 video game

Microsoft Flight Simulator, commonly known as Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0 or FS4, is a 1989 video game developed by Bruce Artwick Organization and published by Microsoft.

Aces Game Studio (ACES) was an American video game developer based in Redmond, Washington, owned by Microsoft Game Studios. It was founded in 1988 under the name Bruce Artwick Organization Limited at Champaign, Illinois, by Bruce Artwick, creator of Microsoft Flight Simulator, Microsoft Space Simulator and also co-founder of Sublogic.

<i>Jet</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Jet is a combat flight simulator video game originally published in 1985 by Sublogic. The game was released in 1985 for MS-DOS and the Commodore 64, 1986 for the Apple II, 1988 for the Atari ST and Amiga, and 1989 for the Macintosh and NEC PC-9801.

<i>FS1 Flight Simulator</i> 1979 video game

FS1 Flight Simulator is a 1979 video game published by Sublogic for the Apple II. A TRS-80 version followed in 1980. FS1 is the first in a line of simulations from Sublogic which, beginning in 1982, were also sold by Microsoft as Microsoft Flight Simulator.

<i>Flight Simulator II</i> (Sublogic) 1983 video game

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 computers 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.

<i>The Surgeon</i> (video game) 1985 video game

The Surgeon is a computer game published in 1985 by Information Systems for Medicine (ISM) for Amiga and Macintosh. The game has two sequels, The Surgeon II and The Surgeon III. In this game, the player is a surgeon. Dr. Myo Thant, The Surgeon's designer, would later go on to design Life & Death, a surgical game with similar elements, albeit with a wider release.

<i>Orbiter</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Orbiter is a 1986 video game published by Spectrum HoloByte.

<i>Grand Slam: World Class Tennis</i> 1986 sports video game

Grand Slam: World Class Tennis is a 1986 video game published by Infinity Software for Macintosh and Amiga.

Airfight is an early 3D graphics-based multi-user flight simulator, created on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Control Data Corporation (CDC) PLATO system in the early 1970s.

References

  1. Hockman, Daniel (April 1987). "Bruce Artwick's Flight Simulator / You've Come A Long Way, Baby! / The History of an Epic Program". Computer Gaming World . No. 36. pp. 32–34. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  2. Boosman, Frank (August 1986). "Macintosh Window". Computer Gaming World. Vol. 1, no. 30. p. 37.