What software do I need?
What software do I need?
You’ve decided to make the plunge into the unfortunately seemingly endless pit that is flight simulation and now you need a platform to be able to get up and running? No problem! In this guide; I’ll walk you through the plethora of options – the pros and cons to each, which ones I use and why.
We’ll start with military simulations, as these are generally more niche and therefore a shorter topic. There is one main option for military enthusiasts: Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS) – this high-fidelity simulation offers as much of an in-depth simulation as you’d like. The simulator itself has no barriers to entry as it is free to download! Out of the box, DCS comes with two aircraft: A North American TF-51 Mustang and a Sukhoi SU-25T. These two training aircraft will likely pique your interest as one is a fast jet whereas the other is an agile prop, enabling two separate flight models for you to play around with.
The limiting factor DCS has in my opinion is that the world is not modelled fully. Free flight is impossible as you will always hit a world-limiting boundary. The free version is an excellent taster of what the full simulator has to offer. You can purchase scenery packages (‘Terrains’ are what the developer calls them) for ~$50 each, these are modelled off of various key battlegrounds both past and present, for example: Normandy, Iraq, Afghanistan and the South Atlantic. Every terrain package has extreme detail on key battle areas within the larger land mass, extra sorties with varying levels of difficulty and length of time, and realistic sound effects and atmospheric conditions.
If you feel the two included aircraft are too limiting there is a plethora of extra aircraft for you to purchase… Each additional aircraft costs ~$70 meaning that you can quickly spend lots of money on new fixed-wing and helicopter add-ons for your virtual hangar. Each aircraft however is worth the investment with every single aircraft being of the highest quality and having some of the best systems simulation the industry has ever seen.
In terms of other military simulators, the IL-2 Sturmovik series has proved itself as a staple in the hearts of many military simmers, the long-running series spans from 2001 right through to 2019 and features various battles throughout history. If you were looking for a lighter simulation, however, World of Warplanes and War Thunder offer MMO styles of war-play. Where two teams fly in various aircraft to defeat each other. They’re a whole lot of fun and much easier to enjoy from the start with minimal learning time.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Civilian simulators are the more popular category of the flight-simulator genre, with 96.8% of users choosing to use them as their primary simulator over their military counterparts (https://navigraph.com/survey). Moreover, these are the simulators I have personally used and have first-hand experience with, enabling me to provide you with a better understanding of them. The simulator that most users choose to purchase today is Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS). MSFS has revolutionised the genre over the last few years. Its announcement back in June of 2019 and subsequent trailers took the market by storm, with promising visuals and flight dynamics we had never seen. Microsoft, a reputable publisher in the space pre-MSFS, had a foot in the game again after many years of being sat at the back behind other publishing and development teams such as Laminar Research and Lockheed Martin (we’ll cover those soon!)
The release of MSFS brought with it a whole host of new planes and opened up a whole new market. No longer was in-depth home flight simulation something you could only run on a desktop. Microsoft, together with Asobo Studios, were able to bring it to the Xbox System, allowing everything to run natively through a game controller thus making the simulator more accessible than ever.
MSFS allows the user to tailor the simulator to their needs, whether a beginner or seasoned aviator. A whole host of settings and system options allow for keyboard and mouse inputs to be able to configure multi-controller setups with ease. Excellent assistance options also allow the simmer to choose their journey and to tailor the levels of assistance they receive, such as auto-rudder, unlimited fuel, gyro-drift, and many more great options to help you along your way.
Although MSFS has a relatively steep initial investment price, it does offer excellent value for money when you consider the sheer amount of content you receive for the money. Many hand-crafted airports and detailed aircraft of all types, minus helicopters and gliders as default give the user an excellent initial experience. How much money you choose to spend initially is a measure of how many of the handcrafted airfields (you can still fly in and out of these fields without paying, they just will not look as visually stunning) and the amount of aircraft you’d like at your disposal. There are three versions available to you: Standard, Premium and Premium Deluxe, with the latter costing $110 and the former costing $60.
In terms of additional addon aircraft, you are able to purchase a vast amount through the online marketplace, which is a built-in system within the simulator itself. This brilliant use of software means it’s never been easier to add high-quality, vetted add-ons to your library. The marketplace also acts as a store for scenery, tools and other simulator resources.
The appeal of MSFS to the masses means that it does need to compromise on certain aspects. For instance, although the Bing Maps data does look astonishing when you fly through the world, as it has been optimised for Xbox users too, you may find with using the simulator on the desktop some issues may arise, such as performance issues relating to framerates when trying to push the graphical capabilities of the simulator. However, these are few and far between and the simulator is more than comfortable running on many different systems with many different specifications, furthering the appeal to the mass market.
X-Plane
The third option you could choose for your flight simulation needs is Laminar Simulation’s X-Plane series, presently on their Twelfth edition. X-Plane is an incredibly powerful simulator which has had a large player base for many years. Some claim it has better handling flight model characteristics than Microsoft’s current offering, however, it’s borderline impossible to vet such a claim as aircraft handle differently in many different situations.
Laminar Research’s offering is quite substantial. You can purchase the simulator from themselves or from online marketplaces such as Steam for as little as $30 during a sale. If you can purchase the simulator at this price it’s a no-brainer. Laminar have a long-established product filled with excellent default products and a whole host of add-on products from which you can choose. Laminar Research has recently added an internal marketplace to compete with Microsoft as unfortunately, they have seen a drop in sales since the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Graphically, the simulator is not as visually stunning as MSFS though the visual fidelity can be drastically improved with simple addons such as Ortho4XP, bringing the same level of visuals as MSFS. This in turn means that X-Plane can outperform Microsoft’s offering in that respect, as you can infinitely customise the world around you with data from various sources. Airfields aren’t as great either, however, there is a large free development scene within X-Plane, who devote countless hours to improving the default offering with extra object libraries and other free sceneries in order to bring the quality up to today’s standard. You are also able to choose which regions of the globe you would like to install into your simulator; for example, if you do not fly in Europe you can choose to remove tht region from the world, saving the sometimes valuable space on the hard drive which is something a seasoned simmer will know all too well.
Prepar3D
The last simulator we’ll talk about in this article is Prepar3D developed by Lockheed Martin. It is based on long-standing software, published by Microsoft released around 2006 and once upon a time had a large following. There is a wealth of add-on software available, covering aircraft, weather, airports and many other aspects. If there is a particular aircraft or airport you want to simulate, chances are good that a very good version is available, either for free or as ‘payware’ from an online store.
The simulator provides an acceptable level of graphical detail for the entire globe, whilst particular regions and airports can be greatly improved by installing addon scenery. When heavily modified, amazing levels of visual realism can be achieved. Being geared to a more professional market, graphics are a low priority when using the sim for training, giving way to aerodynamic authenticity and aircraft behaviour. This is where Prepar3D begins to fall short. The aerodynamics are reproduced in the form of ‘lookup tables’. This is where certain known values are contained in a database for how much lift should be produced with X angle of attack and Y wing shape for example, and interpolating everything between values. This gives an overall convincing experience, but some users have a distinct feeling of flying ‘on rails’ and not having an authentic feeling of flight. As you push towards the edge of the flight envelope, such as stalling, spins, over-speeds and extreme angles of attack, the tabulated values can behave strangely and become very unrealistic. These effects fade into subtlety when smoothly flying a large airliner well within its limits, but can become immediately apparent and counterproductive when flying anything more maneuverable and agile.
To conclude, Each flight simulator offers unique advantages depending on your interests and requirements. DCS stands out for military simulation enthusiasts, while MSFS and X-Plane remain the top choices for civilian flight simulation due to their user accessibility and rich feature sets. For those focused on professional-level training, Prepar3D offers robust aerodynamic realism, though it may require add-ons for visual fidelity. Consider your specific needs, whether it’s realistic combat scenarios, global civilian flight, or in-depth training, you’ll find a flight simulator that elevates your virtual aviation experience.
