X-Plane | |
---|---|
Genre(s) | Flight simulation |
Developer(s) | Laminar Research Austin Meyer |
Publisher(s) | Laminar Research Aerosoft |
Creator(s) | Austin Meyer |
Platform(s) | Android iOS Linux macOS WebOS Windows |
First release | X-Plane 1.00 1995 [1] [2] |
Latest release | X-Plane 12.1.3 Release 2 [3] December 30, 2024 |
X-Plane is a flight simulation software initially launched by Laminar Research in 1995. Commercial desktop versions are sold for macOS, Windows, and Linux. In addition, Laminar Research also distributes FAA-certified versions for professional use. A mobile version has been available for Android, iOS, and webOS since 2009 as well.
X-Plane implements an aerodynamic model called blade element theory. [4]
X-Plane can connect to other X-Plane instances via UDP or TCP [5] [6] for multiplayer flight simulation, networked multi-monitor X-Plane configurations or to plugins, such as Pilot Edge, [7] which themselves communicate with other X-Plane instances. [8] [9] [10]
Wine is a free and open-source compatibility layer to allow application software and computer games developed for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems. Developers can compile Windows applications against WineLib to help port them to Unix-like systems. Wine is predominantly written using black-box testing reverse-engineering, to avoid copyright issues. No code emulation or virtualization occurs. Wine is primarily developed for Linux and macOS.
FlightGear Flight Simulator is a free, open source multi-platform flight simulator developed by the FlightGear project since 1997.
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. Microsoft Flight Simulator is Microsoft's longest-running software product line, predating Windows 1.0 by three years, and is one of the longest-running video game series of all time.
Stellarium is a free and open-source planetarium, licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 or any later version, available for Linux, Windows, and macOS. A port of Stellarium called Stellarium Mobile is available for Android, iOS, and Symbian as a paid version, being developed by Noctua Software. These have a limited functionality, lacking some features of the desktop version. All versions use OpenGL to render a realistic projection of the night sky in real time.
Orbiter is a space flight simulator program developed to simulate spaceflight using realistic Newtonian physics. The simulator was released on 27 November 2000; the latest edition, labeled "Orbiter 2024", was released on 31 December 2024. On 27 July 2021, its developer, Martin Schweiger, announced to the community that Orbiter is being published under open source MIT License.
Laminar Research is a small software company based in Columbia, South Carolina, and dedicated to providing software that accurately reflects the laws of physics. Laminar's flagship product is the flight simulator X-Plane. The game works with Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, and Linux. They also have mobile versions for iPhone, iPad, and Android.
Wings is a World War I video game developed and published by Cinemaware. It was released for the Amiga in 1990. The action sequences are similar in style to those of the 1927 silent film Wings.
Precision Manuals Development Group is a commercial add-on aircraft developer for the Microsoft Flight Simulator, Lockheed Martin Prepar3D, and X-Plane series. The company was founded by Robert S. Randazzo, who stated that his ultimate goal was to develop the software to the point where it could be used by airlines and manufacturers to supplement pilot training. The company is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada but has several employees in countries such as Belgium, South Africa, and Canada. It has eight employees as of 2018, with a collection of beta testers which include multiple aviation professionals.
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.
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Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) is a 2006 flight simulation video game originally developed by Aces Game Studio and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and the tenth installment of the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, which was first released in 1982. It is built on an upgraded graphics rendering engine, showcasing DirectX 10 features in Windows Vista and was marketed by Microsoft as the most important technological milestone in the series at the time. FSX is the first version in the series to be released on DVD media.
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Hellcats over the Pacific is a combat flight simulation game for the Macintosh computer. It was written by Parsoft Interactive and released by Graphic Simulations in 1991. Hellcats was a major release for the Mac platform, one of the first 3D games to be able to drive a 640 x 480 x 8-bit display at reasonable frame rates in an era when the PC clone's VGA at 320 x 240 x 4-bit was the standard. The graphics engine was combined with a simple Mac interface, a set of randomized missions, and a number of technical features that greatly enhanced the game's playability and made it a lasting favorite into the mid-1990s. The original game was followed with a missions disk in 1992, Hellcats: Missions at Leyte Gulf, which greatly increased the visual detail and added many more objects to the game.
Space flight simulation is a genre of flight simulator video games that lets players experience space flight to varying degrees of realism. Common mechanics include space exploration, space trade and space combat.
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.
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