The best flightsimulation on public market - Page 2

renegade22 · 02-13-08, 04:39 PM

The great majority of all condor users, including me, are glider pilots in real life. I think that kind of prooves the quality of this sim. You just can't fool these users with unrealistic flight characteristics.

The developers of condor concentrated on a realistic competition gliding simulator. It takes quite some knowledge to fly gliding competition (in real life as well as online)...so the target group is basically only real life glider pilots. Condor is still a nice flight simulator for "outsiders" to just have fun flying around and getting a feel for thermals and ridge lift...and maybe sometime take a seat in real glider?!

The grafics of condor don't look spactacular on the first look. They do allow a very good height perception in low level flying. This is important when using ridge lift...flying as close as possible to a ridge at high speed. There are a few fotorealistik sceneries available but in my opinion looks are not most important here.

The real fun in condor unfolds on multiplayer races over routes of 100km and more. These flights usally take about 2hours or more. If you crash, your gone - no second chance (this makes for very exciting racing). The NMEA output lets you hook up your real life PDA (the same device and software I use in real life competition) giving you extra information in the online world and very realistic training for real life flights in the future. Even though no computer software will ever be able to capture the beauty of flight, condor definitly gets my heart pounding and captures the thrill of long low final glides to the finish line in online multiplayer competition.

Skybird · 02-13-08, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by renegade22

condor definitly gets my heart pounding and captures the thrill of long low final glides to the finish line in online multiplayer competition.

And on the last two km you realise that there is another ridge you need to climb over - yeah, I know what you mean: had that kind of bad surprise two times now, at porta westfalica, and already cut some treetips hopping over that obstacle in last second...

you are right, soaring, even if only simulated, needs a lot of knowledge and experience that you cannot gain with having flown motorized flight sims since years. I considered myself to be a veteran simulation flyer (flight sims from the very first generation on), but learned that I am a novice of first degree when it comes to soaring. A lot of background calculation ticking in the backspace of my brain constantly, and much wondering why here I have no lift, and where that thermal suddenly has gone, and why I have fallen back 3 km when circling. It definitely is a challenge to learn all this, and needs much more situational awareness than let's say a dogfight simulator like IL2. It is difficult, but because of that: satisfying to really land at home instead on some goodforsaken meadow

At least I know now why it takes at least two years in Germany to complete your soaring license.

Skybird · 02-16-08, 06:05 AM

A new version of the photorealistic scenery alpi has been released, it is no longer free, but costs 18 dollars. It is version 3 of "Alpi".

The author has used a completely new set of picture material, which makes the scenery look really stunning.

You may want to check the many screenshots here:
http://www.postfrontal.com/Alpi3/ENG/index.php

the set comes in 6 packages à 300 MB (=1.8 GB in total).

BilboSmeggins · 02-19-08, 08:52 AM

Hi Skybird

Found my way on to this site from the thread you started on the Condor Forums. I came, initially, to read your review of Condor (Very nice by the way), but ended up reading loads of Silent Hunter threads. What have you got me into??

I've since bought SH3, and am absolutely stunned by the depth and beauty of it. And I've even gone and bought Das Boot!! Never even thought about Subs before.......... There's no going back now. Aaaargghh!!

Oh, as for the Condor naysayers - Condor is THE definitive freeflight model out there. If modding floats your boat, or a myriad of planes are necessary to keep you from boredom then fine. But there isn't a flight sim on the market that conveys the FEEL of flight as well as Condor does. I personally applaud the creators for keeping the modders out, and the flying pure. I do fly in real life so have a fair idea of what constitutes a decent sim, and there are very few flight sims I haven't tried. Hats off to Skybird for realizing that Condor is the very pinnacle of simulated flight thus far.

All the best, Andy

Skybird · 02-19-08, 10:21 AM

Welcome aboard, Bilbo. I am really sorry that I got you out from the sky and down into the sea, and hope that having bought SH3 doesn't do too much damage to your social life as well as to your wallet. Mind you that we also have a tank forum and I wrote a long review for one of those too, so maybe we could make you move on from where you just thought you arrived.

Let's wage simulations - in the air, under the sea, and on the ground...

P.S. I ordered (an older edition, for reduced price) a book on soaring these days, the title is considered to be the the standard work in Germany for preparation regarding the exams for gaining the soaring flight license over here ("Flug ohne Motor" by Kassera, old version from 1988). I really need to know some details that so far give me headaches... The chapter on aviation law I will skip, i assume.

P.P.S. make sure you get the GWX mod for SH3. It turns it into a new - and better, more difficult - sim.

BilboSmeggins · 02-20-08, 02:59 PM

Hi Skybird

Sounds like you're getting in quite deep with the soaring

. To be honest, the best place to get technical questions answered is probably the Condor forum as most people on there fly gliders real-life. I fly paragliders real-life, which is very low-tech flying. Amazing, but basic(ish).

I'm going to give the GWX mod a whirl asap. Quick question - is it worth buying SH4, or is it as bug-ridden and system-hungry as some suggest? Just curious...

All the best, Andy

CCIP · 02-20-08, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BilboSmeggins

I'm going to give the GWX mod a whirl asap. Quick question - is it worth buying SH4, or is it as bug-ridden and system-hungry as some suggest? Just curious...

All the best, Andy

I'm pretty sure Skybird has more or less abandoned the SH franchise for higher places by now, so let me answer it for you: SHIV was a bit of a buggy mess when it came out, but that was a year ago. Right now it's worth playing no less than SHIII (and if you like American subs better, worth even more). It's a bit steeper on the requirements than SHIII, but it's no hog. A reasonably modern system will run it reasonably well. Don't avoid it, it's been greatly improved since original release and with a few mods lives up to its potential.

I'm still hoping to get into Condor one day. Maybe not too soon yet though - I hardly have time to play anything these days.

Skybird · 02-20-08, 03:53 PM

Since you can't play two sims simultaneously and have already bought SH3 and will get a top sim with GWX, I would risk CCIP's wrath when recommendign to wait before you buy SH4 for another year, you can then get it for smile price, probably. Some people say SH3 is better in atmosphere, others point at improved graphics of SH4. I do not know if there already is a pendant to GWX avaulable for SH4, for me that would also be a criterion.

I have a periscope raised in the cpondor forum, but do not post. I have not so much single special questions, but want to build some general, basic knowledge. any questions remaining after that are the ones worth to be posted in a forum.

----

I am not posting in the SH forums anymore, CCIP, but I am still playing SH3 occasionally, but with the older GWX version, not the latest one!

Too lazy to download and reinstall, and not interested to start another new career. I also use plenty of music replacements.

But obviously my main focus these days is Steel Beasts.

CCIP · 02-20-08, 04:13 PM

That's a good suggestion actually. SHIV won't be any worse in a year, and by that point you'll have a gold edition with the add-on included and comprehensive mods available with it. You sure have plenty of gameplay left in SHIII, so unless you like to jump between games, I guarantee you can get months out of SHIII without needing any other WWII subsim diversion

I'm coming to the defense of SHIV here more than anything. I don't think it deserves any bad rap anymore. In fact it hasn't deserved it since July when the latest patch surfaced and mods like RFB and Trigger Maru worked out some of the wrinkles on it. And now it has Reflections on Water which makes an already good-looking game absolutely beautiful, and Run Silent, Run Deep which is a superb campaign mod - which by the way takes full advantage of one of SHIV's big pluses over SHIII, a superior campaign system that is both more efficient on processing power and more varied and sophisticated and diverse in terms of mission tasks.

But if all you want is go to area X, look for ships and sink them - SHIII does no worse! And I don't mean that in a bad way. When it comes down to it, neither game is better or worse at letting you go out and hunt ships as you like.

Anyway, way off topic here

BilboSmeggins · 02-21-08, 04:30 AM

[/quote]I'm still hoping to get into Condor one day. Maybe not too soon yet though - I hardly have time to play anything these days.

[/quote]

You gotta go for it. It truly is sublime, and anyway - It feels like flying not playing

.

Well thank you both for the input. I shall heed your collective advice and hold fire a while on SH4. After all, I've barely scratched the surface of SH3!! Will definitely install GWX though. Only thing stopping me at the moment is the fact that I've just downloaded the Alpi3 scenery for Condor, and I'm having some amazing flights again.

.

All the best, Andy

02-16-08, 06:05 AM	#18
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 40,510 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	A new version of the photorealistic scenery alpi has been released, it is no longer free, but costs 18 dollars. It is version 3 of "Alpi". The author has used a completely new set of picture material, which makes *the scenery look really stunning. You may want to check the many screenshots here: http://www.postfrontal.com/Alpi3/ENG/index.php the set comes in 6 packages à 300 MB (=1.8 GB in total). __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.*

02-19-08, 10:21 AM	#20
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 40,510 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	Welcome aboard, Bilbo. I am really sorry that I got you out from the sky and down into the sea, and hope that having bought SH3 doesn't do too much damage to your social life as well as to your wallet. Mind you that we also have a tank forum and I wrote a long review for one of those too, so maybe we could make you move on from where you just thought you arrived. Let's wage simulations - in the air, under the sea, and on the ground... P.S. I ordered (an older edition, for reduced price) a book on soaring these days, the title is considered to be the the standard work in Germany for preparation regarding the exams for gaining the soaring flight license over here ("Flug ohne Motor" by Kassera, old version from 1988). I really need to know some details that so far give me headaches... The chapter on aviation law I will skip, i assume. P.P.S. make sure you get the GWX mod for SH3. It turns it into a new - and better, more difficult - sim. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert. Last edited by Skybird; 02-19-08 at 10:32 AM.

02-20-08, 03:53 PM	#23
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 40,510 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	Since you can't play two sims simultaneously and have already bought SH3 and will get a top sim with GWX, I would risk CCIP's wrath when recommendign to wait before you buy SH4 for another year, you can then get it for smile price, probably. Some people say SH3 is better in atmosphere, others point at improved graphics of SH4. I do not know if there already is a pendant to GWX avaulable for SH4, for me that would also be a criterion. I have a periscope raised in the cpondor forum, but do not post. I have not so much single special questions, but want to build some general, basic knowledge. any questions remaining after that are the ones worth to be posted in a forum. ---- I am not posting in the SH forums anymore, CCIP, but I am still playing SH3 occasionally, but with the older GWX version, not the latest one! Too lazy to download and reinstall, and not interested to start another new career. I also use plenty of music replacements. But obviously my main focus these days is Steel Beasts. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

02-20-08, 04:13 PM	#24
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	That's a good suggestion actually. SHIV won't be any worse in a year, and by that point you'll have a gold edition with the add-on included and comprehensive mods available with it. You sure have plenty of gameplay left in SHIII, so unless you like to jump between games, I guarantee you can get months out of SHIII without needing any other WWII subsim diversion I'm coming to the defense of SHIV here more than anything. I don't think it deserves any bad rap anymore. In fact it hasn't deserved it since July when the latest patch surfaced and mods like RFB and Trigger Maru worked out some of the wrinkles on it. And now it has Reflections on Water which makes an already good-looking game absolutely beautiful, and Run Silent, Run Deep which is a superb campaign mod - which by the way takes full advantage of one of SHIV's big pluses over SHIII, a superior campaign system that is both more efficient on processing power and more varied and sophisticated and diverse in terms of mission tasks. But if all you want is go to area X, look for ships and sink them - SHIII does no worse! And I don't mean that in a bad way. When it comes down to it, neither game is better or worse at letting you go out and hunt ships as you like. Anyway, way off topic here __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

02-13-08, 04:39 PM	#16
renegade22 Bilge Rat Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 1 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	The great majority of all condor users, including me, are glider pilots in real life. I think that kind of prooves the quality of this sim. You just can't fool these users with unrealistic flight characteristics. The developers of condor concentrated on a realistic competition gliding simulator. It takes quite some knowledge to fly gliding competition (in real life as well as online)...so the target group is basically only real life glider pilots. Condor is still a nice flight simulator for "outsiders" to just have fun flying around and getting a feel for thermals and ridge lift...and maybe sometime take a seat in real glider?! The grafics of condor don't look spactacular on the first look. They do allow a very good height perception in low level flying. This is important when using ridge lift...flying as close as possible to a ridge at high speed. There are a few fotorealistik sceneries available but in my opinion looks are not most important here. The real fun in condor unfolds on multiplayer races over routes of 100km and more. These flights usally take about 2hours or more. If you crash, your gone - no second chance (this makes for very exciting racing). The NMEA output lets you hook up your real life PDA (the same device and software I use in real life competition) giving you extra information in the online world and very realistic training for real life flights in the future. Even though no computer software will ever be able to capture the beauty of flight, condor definitly gets my heart pounding and captures the thrill of long low final glides to the finish line in online multiplayer competition.

02-19-08, 08:52 AM	#19
BilboSmeggins Sailor man Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 43 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Hi Skybird Found my way on to this site from the thread you started on the Condor Forums. I came, initially, to read your review of Condor (Very nice by the way), but ended up reading loads of Silent Hunter threads. What have you got me into?? I've since bought SH3, and am absolutely stunned by the depth and beauty of it. And I've even gone and bought Das Boot!! Never even thought about Subs before.......... There's no going back now. Aaaargghh!! Oh, as for the Condor naysayers - Condor is THE definitive freeflight model out there. If modding floats your boat, or a myriad of planes are necessary to keep you from boredom then fine. But there isn't a flight sim on the market that conveys the FEEL of flight as well as Condor does. I personally applaud the creators for keeping the modders out, and the flying pure. I do fly in real life so have a fair idea of what constitutes a decent sim, and there are very few flight sims I haven't tried. Hats off to Skybird for realizing that Condor is the very pinnacle of simulated flight thus far. All the best, Andy

02-20-08, 02:59 PM	#21
BilboSmeggins Sailor man Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 43 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Hi Skybird Sounds like you're getting in quite deep with the soaring . To be honest, the best place to get technical questions answered is probably the Condor forum as most people on there fly gliders real-life. I fly paragliders real-life, which is very low-tech flying. Amazing, but basic(ish). I'm going to give the GWX mod a whirl asap. Quick question - is it worth buying SH4, or is it as bug-ridden and system-hungry as some suggest? Just curious... All the best, Andy

02-21-08, 04:30 AM	#25
BilboSmeggins Sailor man Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 43 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	[/quote]I'm still hoping to get into Condor one day. Maybe not too soon yet though - I hardly have time to play anything these days. [/quote] You gotta go for it. It truly is sublime, and anyway - It feels like flying not playing . Well thank you both for the input. I shall heed your collective advice and hold fire a while on SH4. After all, I've barely scratched the surface of SH3!! Will definitely install GWX though. Only thing stopping me at the moment is the fact that I've just downloaded the Alpi3 scenery for Condor, and I'm having some amazing flights again. . All the best, Andy