Fly!

Rating:
Summary: If reality had a patend, Fly! would be the owner...
Review: As a private pilot, I was amazed with the flight models and functionality of Fly!

Procedures in starting the aircraft and flying it are just like in real life.

Better yet, Fly! is open, this means that you can import and create new scenery and aircraft, just like its competitor, but with one difference: Fly! is realistic, real flight models, not just a game that gives you the Concorde with a hang glider caracteristics... (ie FS2000)...

Rating:
Summary: Up to you to decide...
Review: Fly! is a great attempt to dislodge Microsoft's FS series from the top in the flightsim category. Unfortunately, the game is not what expected, it's a mixed bag, and is sitting on my shelf, removed from HDD...

Pros: 1/ Unprecedently detailed, fully functional cockpits /there is no comparison in any other game around, period/ 2/ Authentic sectional navigation maps /for some areas/ 3/ Decent ATC /Air Traffic Control/, NAV&COM radios and GPS operations 4/ Editors /terrain & object/

Cons:

1/ Very poor terrain modeling in generic areas /most of the world/ 2/ Very limited visibility /20miles max./, average and buggy /real METAR/ weather 3/ Average outside plane 3d models, screen resolution limited to 1024*768 4/ Numerous bugs 5/ Lockups and crashes on most systems /been attending online forums for a couple of months/

TRI already released many, many very large patches /latest is 101RC5 - 30 megs, plus 50 megs optional patch for terrain elevations/ addressing various problems. Still, the game bugs are not completely fixed , and major game limiting features remain unchanged and ignored.

Definitely would recommend to stay away from this one and wait for upcoming FLY2! instead. This version is too flawed /well, it's the first version of a completely new game/ and not worth the hassle /unless you don't mind to spent some serious time tweaking the system , downloading and testing the megapatches, looking for correct drivers, and/or you can get it in a bargain bin really, really cheap /.

At this time, the Microsoft's FS2000Pro still rules...

Run on PII400/128MB, GeForce256DDR 32MB video, Windows98SE, latest drivers for everything. /it actually runs almost OK on my system now/. Tested is successfully with Viper 550 and Voodoo2's in SLI as well, but still, too much hassle and time wasted on not-that-great sim.

Rating:
Summary: Fly! - If you can.
Review: I have to say that Fly! Is a simply amazing simulator, with realistic flight models and some great features that others don't have. It's truly a joy to use - when it works. Unfortunately, that isn't often. From machine to machine results vary of course, but on my PII 300mhz, with 3d vid and 32mg memory, I found myself hitting the reset button about 3 times as often as completing a flight. Some I've spoken to have been unable to get the program to run at all. The patches that TRI have released have fixed some problems, but not nearly all, and they have a lot of technical work to do if they plan on getting Fly! Into the same league as FS 2000.

Rating:
Summary: Fly! - If you can.
Review: I have to say that Fly! Is a simply amazing simulator, with realistic flight models and some great features that others don't have. It's truly a joy to use - when it works. Unfortunately, that isn't often. From machine to machine results vary of course, but on my PII 300mhz, with 3d vid and 32mg memory, I found myself hitting the reset button about 3 times as often as completing a flight. Some I've spoken to have been unable to get the program to run at all. The patches that TRI have released have fixed some problems, but not nearly all, and they have a lot of technical work to do if they plan on getting Fly! Into the same league as FS 2000.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent entry into the Flight Sim World
Review: Lot's of bugs, but there's patches available and being worked on. FLY! is loaded with realistic features and scenery. Every little switch and knob is functional on several different aircraft. Fly! will give you the "busy" feeling a pilot feels while commanding an aircraft. ATC, Mixture, Cabin Pressure, Lights, Sun Glare, Traffic (yes traffic), transponder, it's all there. Be patient with the bugs and you'll have many years of enjoyment. A great sim.

Rating:
Summary: A flight sim that grows on you
Review: Though I started with Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2000 (FS2K) and Combat Flight Simulator, Fly! is my current favorite. Fly! doesn't have great beginner tutorials the way FS2K does, but it have the following advantages, in my opinion: 1) Fly's photo-realistic terrain beats FS2K at any altitude above 1000 ft. 2) Fly's cockpits and startup procedures are more realistic 3) FS2K doesn't have ATC, as others have pointed out. 4) Fly has a much better manual, though FS2K users can get similar quality by purchasing Ben Chiu's FS2K guidebook. 5) On my 500 MHz, ATA 66, Win98SE system at least, Fly! has better framerates and stability than FS2K. I can pull up as many secondary instrument, map, vector etc. windows in Fly as I want without stuttering.