WOW!! Excellent run down! I'm 59 years old and I was programming CNC machines using "Cobalt" and "Fortran" languages back in 1980. I remembered seeing a flight sim in a game room in the mid to late 80's and thinking, "...hmm, they may make a few bucks if they can smooth out the motion and remove some of the blocky pixellization". Now, many years later, I'm a Flight Sim hobbyist with $$$ wrapped up in MSFSX Deluxe Gold w/Accl Pack. I had to learn how to build computers so that I could build one powerful enough to run FSX with the thousands of dollars in add-on scenery, atmosphere, mesh, aircraft, lighting and on and on. I have a liquid cooled, overclocked, Intel processor, (o/c'd to 5GHz), and my 7970 is o/c'd as well. That, along with the other 'muscle' I had put together in my build, allows me to run my FSX sliders to full right position and still hold a solid 30 FPS. Even when flying over places like LA and NY in a thunderstorm. "...you've come a long way, baby..." Thanks for the tour! Rich
Jackomac43 You would be right if we were speaking about the base FSX software. But trust me, as a dedicated FSX hobbyist for over 5 years; when you put the thousands of dollars in High resolution add-on scenery, LC, mesh, aircraft, atmosphere and more, into the FSX base software, the latest Haswells would drop to their knees trying to maintain 30 FPS. In addition, you have to remember that I'm holding the FPS at 30 deliberately. By doing that, your CPU isn't jumping up and down rapidly trying to reach a "unlimited" FPS. The entire subject is one that's always discussed in the FSX hobby circles. There's a lot about FSX coding that you'd have to know before you may understand exactly why 30 FPS in a "fully-loaded" FSX setup would be considered very good. We're speaking about a software code that is nothing like most of today's gaming software. In the case of FSX, the software 80%+ CPU intensive. If the CPU isn't fast and able to quickly respond in each core, it won't matter how good your GPU is. That's not to say that the GPU isn't important, but compared to today's gaming software, the GPU plays a small roll and it's the CPU that takes the majority of the labor. If you ever get a chance, check out some of the Flight Sim websites and forums. You'll be blown away at what a 'addon-loaded' FSX flight looks like, (nothing like the original FSX base scenery at all!). It's almost as if you're looking at a video that someone recorded while they were in a plane. Hope that helps a little. Rich
Rich Paul I know, but I don't even have a great PC (Nvidia GTX 660) and it runs FSX Steam Edition at 60FPS on high settings. I've never been a fan of 60FPS games, because I can't see the difference. That's probably why I didn't buy GTA 5 PC as well.
I remember just a couple of dozen lines were representing Paris (half of them for the Eiffel tower) and i was flying over Paris, just those few lines, and it was so new, a new generation of games, a new concept, an unknown thrill generated by thirty lines progressing spasmodically... Live landscape simulation was born. And if you wonder how we could be absorbed into a game more symbolic than simulated, i have no answer; but that thrill was real because it became the drive for amazing development for the simulators.
Microsoft flight Sim 3.0 in 1988 started my life long dealing with aviation. Born in 85 and i remember playing it when i came out in 88 age 6 i flew an airplane for the first time. Age 16 i started flying lessons. Licensed in 2002 with I was 17. Started building my own airplane at age 18 and test flew it at age 21. Also go my Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics license in the middle of it. Few weeks ago I added my Complex endorsement to my Private Pilots license and started in on my instrument rating. Crazy what a computer game can teach you.
This sure brings back memories. I had a Commodore 64 and a couple of Ataris. The first thing that went on them was this simulator. I don't know how I was able to stand the sound for hours at a time. I learned a lot about flying.
Wow SO many memories as a kid. FS4 is how I learned how to use VOR. I used the manual that came with the game and then bought a video I found at the local small airport. I was 13 back then!! If only I could have shown 12 year old me what flight sim 2020 would look like, I would have crapped my pants. Especially now that VR headsets are a thing. Anyone else also play Airline Transport Pilot? I loved how involved ATC was. Fs4 never had that much ATC interaction. It was just all about flying around lol on your own... all rogue lol.
6:25 my first experience with FS. I didn't remember it looking and sounding this horrible. I was so excited that someone developed a flight simulator, and it actually inspired me to take flying lessons. I used to practice in FS after every lesson. I'm so glad we've come as far as we have since then, but still not far enough for me.
Hard to believe the original was just lines and no scenery. I played MS FS when it came out, along with my father-in-law. Banks and landings were difficult as there was a lag between when you moved the stick and the graphics responded. Related, when we were in Chicago Union Train Station a couple of months ago, there was a large photo of Meigs Field! Next to it, it said there were millions of crash landings there - until you noticed that it was talking about MS FS! Really cool! Thanks for a great FS evolutionary vid.
Wonderful! I started Flight Simming in 1981 and the only Apple / PC software set I have never owned since then is Flight Simulator 2004. Still flying and still loving it. But your video just bought back so may memories of the olden days and a beautiful reminder of how far the world - and I - have come in 35 years. Thank you so very much
FS2004 was my first. Lots of great memories with my dad, I would sit next to him and watch him fly and I would pretend that I was doing all the work. Good times, good times. Now, we fly on the VATSIM network together on our own computers.
I started simming in 1980. Apple II and Flight Simulator 1.0 by Microprose. Boy, I didn't realize how many different versions there were. IBM seemed to have their act together. I now am never far away from my FSX with all the addons, especially Rex 4! Active Sky Next and Commander 7. Thanks for the nostalgia.
Wow! It sure brings back a lot of memories! Shared with my son and daughter, telling them daddy used to fly on these before flying the 747-400 for real life. They were impressed! Thank you for sharing!
FANTASTIC! My best friend and i skipped a day in high school to play the first microsoft flight sim when it first came out. Got caught too! Spent the rest of my life building and flying airplanes. Used X-plane to design my first commercial ultralight. Funny enough, twenty years later microsoft still has my plane as an add on, and even used pics of my boots on the rudder pedals! Thank you for this wonderful video, now go get that pilots license, you can do it!!
Fantástico. Qué recuerdos. Me ha recordado a un hermano mío, ya fallecido, con el que compartimos horas con estas versiones. Gracias por traerme momentos felices.
Wow! Thanks for the memories. I have had them all form 3 upward. The old ones definately needed imagination but it was so cool learning how to navigate with radios.
Thanks for the memories. My Grandad started with FS4. I still treasure all his maps etc.. My first was FS98. It's amazing to see what we have now. Anyone grumbling about 'only' getting 25 frames per second should watch this video - some of the early sims appear to be 1 frame per second, maybe less :-)
fs passengers is what got me hooked in flight simming. it gave me a sense of progression in the sense that you can't just go straight to flying an airliner. you have to start small and work your way up.
I believe it's time for an update on this absolutely amazing video. You did such a great job with posting footage of every single release. It's the best I have come across. MS flight sim 2024 just came out. I'd love to see you expand on it!
Ahhh..... Meigs Field, the old glory days of simming. How many times I shot a landing there. Oh, and that was the game sound.... I always thought there was a fly in the house. LOL Now look where we are today :-)
My dad was a pilot. I never was into planes like him, but he let me play FS 2000 on his computer when I was only about 4. It ran so slow (maybe 7fps on that ancient machine) and took up about 350MB which was a crap load of space requiring 5 disks back then, but I loved it so much.
Wow, thanks for the trip down memory lane. Between MSFS version 3.0 and 50 for PC there was a flight management addon that required a second computer connected via serial ports. It actually worked pretty good. The first few minutes reminded me of Vital III and IV in older FFS. Amazingly, Vital IV it still in use today in some Level C FFS. Not sure what obsession MS had with Meiggs Field in Chicago, but it was a fun airport, and neither the airport nor MSFS development are no longer with us. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent! Thanks for the historical perspective, spent so much time with my flight simulators that I lost track of the history. Good piece of work here.
8 ปีที่แล้ว +1
Thanks for this wonderful flashback. I still have the old original diskettes - but no drive anymore.
This was certainly a great video!! My father, brother, and I all had many of these. Our first was on the Timex/Sinclair PC. Very small and all wire frame graphics but this inspired me to work on my real life VFR rating. After that, I achieved my VFR/IFR and a Twin Engine rating. I had to give it up when my health went south. Still, I fly multiple sims each week! Thank you for putting this together.
There was a SubLogic Flight Simulator II for the Atari home computer [I cannot recall which I had atm] and I flew that one as my first flight simulator. I then purchased the first and all subsequent flight simulator versions from Microsoft. Note, their first flight simulators were very expensive if you wanted the entire United States because you had to buy sections of the U.S. separately. Thank you for this video.
Brings back so many great memories. I started flying on the Trash 80. You'd put the cassette in, press play, and if everything went perfectly, I could get in a good 25 min of violently pressing the arrow keys until it would finally crash or my dad would need to open the spreadsheet for his business. :)
Also, dis anyone else get the flight sim magazine that used to come out like once a quarter lol? I remeber the had an Easter egg for one of the FS versions that if you went inside a specific hanger at an airport, a picture of the dev team was on the wall. I think that's what it was. I loved that magazine and always draped my pants when my dad told me it came in the mail. It disnt last long though I only got it for a year I think.
I got that magazine along with one other back in the day! I might even have a few copies of it kickin' around here someplace! I also have all of the versions of Flight Simulator from 2.0 and computers old enough to run them all! Remember a company called Mallard Software? I have a lot of the addons they made fo MSFS too!
Oh the memories. I started with Flight sim 2 on Commodore 64, on cassette tape even. The load time was about 15-20 minutes I believe. What it lacked in graphics, it made up for with its two big fat paper manuals, that explained everything you needed to know about instrument navigation and aerobatics. I still have them somewhere.
I remember always taking off from Meigs, flying over Soldier Field and coming back around to buzz the tower at Meigs and the boats in Lake Michigan. LOL
So many memories! I remember taking off from Meigs Field, flying around Chicago, flying in New York, seeing the 2D Statue of liberty.. I remember flying the Sopwith Camel.. oh the joy. :) I think Flight Simulator 3.0 or 4.0 was my first one.
Wow ! What a trip. I'm 67 years old and my first computer was TRS-80. I did,'t get into flight simulators untilI I got a 8088 computer wih no hard drive. The entire BAO sim was run of f of one floppy. During 1976-77 I had 22 hrs in a real cessna 150. - 5 Hrs solo. But when the money ran out I got back into the simulations. There are those who say you can't learn to fly real world airplanes in a simulation but I disagree. During my " real world " flying I never did get to learn how to slip a plane in a crosswind landing, but I did learn in the simulation well enough that Woiuldn't heasitate to do it now in a real plane.
Perfect ... I gotta remember to show this to people the next time they complain about stutters, the LNAV not working right, or ATC routing them wrong, no "god rays", water waves don't foam, why is the AA so bad, spinning clouds, etc. etc. Thanks for posting this.
wow, Thanks for posting this, I wasn't sure when flight simulators started appearing on the market for personal computers, but they sure have come a long way. :)
I'm sad they stopped making Microsoft Flight Simulator! It shows great promise and potential! I love its graphics controls and having almost all airports in the world! Wish they would remake and release a new version with modern graphics and much more detailed! Does anyone know anything about this plz post coz would love to read about it!
Wow, brings back great memories. My first one was the MS 5.0 for dos, that was a nightmare trying to config the extended memory to run the game smooth lol!
Mine too:D These days I could not even imagine playing FS on the mobile hehe, nowadays I can play 737 Flight Simulator on my iPhone when I am travelling with the tube:D
Nice vid. I love early attempts for 3d graphic in games. I only played 2004, didn't have joystick so I used wheel and used pedals for pitch, didn't play any flight game since then.
Commodore 64 subLOGIC was my first flight sim. FS3 and FS4 on a Tandy 1000. Currently FS9 on Win 7 with Level D 767. FS3 and FS2000 had poor flight models. An inverted aircraft would turn opposite its bank in FS3. When starting a normal turn in FS2000, the aircraft would pitch up rather than dropping its nose.
Nice timeline. Brings back a lot of memories. I think Xplane and the P3D advancement to 2.0 also should have been included if this is to be a complete PC simulation timeline. Nice video. Thanks for sharing.
Watching this put me right back in my bedroom playing Flight Simulator II on my C64. I'll always remember that view from the end of RWY 36 at Meigs. Now, if only I could tell my younger self to save up more for the amount of cash he'd end up spending on simming in the future...
As I recall, I started out on Flight Simulator 3.0 when I was about 10 years old (1988). It wasn't until Chuck Yeager's Air Combat was released in 1991 that I really took an interest in flight simulators though. Then Flight Simulator 5 came out 2 years later and the rest, as they say, is history.
Gaming With ViperZeroOne I also had Chuck Yeager and was disappointed by the poor slow graphics. on my Commodore Colt that ran about 35Mhz clock speed in turbo, and 4 MB RAM lol brings back memories.
Childhood memories with my dad. Thanks. Btw, those hoping MS would release a new FS are gonna be disappointed. It'll never happen, they sold their rights and assets to P3D. Check them out
Dovetail has only re-released Flight Simulator X on Steam....supporting 3rd party add-ons. P3D on the other hand has taken the reins over the advancement of FS. They actively update the graphics and features. So they're the true successors to Microsofts work.
I used to play FSX a lot. A big reason why I stuck with FSX was all the addons and stuff I had and the sheer amount of work and time to transition to P3D. But eventually I gave up on FSX and now I only play on P3D. It's definitely better and gets better updates which improves the performance of the game by a lot. I don't regret going to P3D. It made the flying experience so much more enjoyable.
2:55 - When sound was added, LOL.. it sounded like somebody cranked up the volume on a stereo system beyond the amplifier's capabilities and all you hear was distortion. I thought there was a problem with the audio system on my desktop computer. :-)
Nice video. It's a shame that Microsoft abandoned flight simulators. Just imagine what would it be like to have fully DX12 or Vulkan updated sim supported by huge company like MS.
Amazing what these programmers were able to eek out of the 6502. Brings back some good memories of Saturday mornings in my PJs trying to land that dot.
Now I rembember I had FS v4 for Macintosh some 25 years ago, as well as the later ones for Windows, FS2002 and FSX. Funny to see the old Mac version again. I had completely forgotten it.
I just purchased subLogic Flight Simulator II for Atari ST, with all the box, instructions, etc. It's quite beautiful actually. And quite complex, with all the VOR, COM radios, etc.
lot of people became epileptic playing these things . ultra laggy , endless loading times , stressing sounds .. it was an epic era in video game history
First several movies of early FS remind me one legendary story that Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie decided to create UNIX from Multics, in order to do their favorite computer game for their personal amusement purpose. It was a spacecraft FS and was completely character based(!). I do love MS-FS and have played it since ver.3. I loved them because they were already graphical somehow ;-P
Really a time travel.I started with commodore 64 and Flightsimulator II.Next step Amiga,then the first PC with an analog joystick. Unbelievable when i look back at this old pictures.
+Eli Cohen STEAM edition is in fact the same like previous GOLD edition and an original edition + acceleration pack. So still any new version to add :)
Learned a lot about piloting from FS 98 and 2002. Real lessons never went well. IFR is difficult. Great to get a peek at the newer versions . Sure came a long way from the first ones that i never saw before
This brings tears to my eyes...thousands of hours in my room flying above all those polygons...
same here :'(
same :D
rva1945 lol
thousands of hours!
You mean, exactly 2000hours right?
WOW!! Excellent run down! I'm 59 years old and I was programming CNC machines using "Cobalt" and "Fortran" languages back in 1980. I remembered seeing a flight sim in a game room in the mid to late 80's and thinking, "...hmm, they may make a few bucks if they can smooth out the motion and remove some of the blocky pixellization".
Now, many years later, I'm a Flight Sim hobbyist with $$$ wrapped up in MSFSX Deluxe Gold w/Accl Pack. I had to learn how to build computers so that I could build one powerful enough to run FSX with the thousands of dollars in add-on scenery, atmosphere, mesh, aircraft, lighting and on and on.
I have a liquid cooled, overclocked, Intel processor, (o/c'd to 5GHz), and my 7970 is o/c'd as well. That, along with the other 'muscle' I had put together in my build, allows me to run my FSX sliders to full right position and still hold a solid 30 FPS. Even when flying over places like LA and NY in a thunderstorm.
"...you've come a long way, baby..."
Thanks for the tour!
Rich
Impressive story :)
Nice :)
You should probably get the steam edition if you only get 30FPS on that system.
Jackomac43 You would be right if we were speaking about the base FSX software. But trust me, as a dedicated FSX hobbyist for over 5 years; when you put the thousands of dollars in High resolution add-on scenery, LC, mesh, aircraft, atmosphere and more, into the FSX base software, the latest Haswells would drop to their knees trying to maintain 30 FPS.
In addition, you have to remember that I'm holding the FPS at 30 deliberately. By doing that, your CPU isn't jumping up and down rapidly trying to reach a "unlimited" FPS. The entire subject is one that's always discussed in the FSX hobby circles. There's a lot about FSX coding that you'd have to know before you may understand exactly why 30 FPS in a "fully-loaded" FSX setup would be considered very good.
We're speaking about a software code that is nothing like most of today's gaming software. In the case of FSX, the software 80%+ CPU intensive. If the CPU isn't fast and able to quickly respond in each core, it won't matter how good your GPU is.
That's not to say that the GPU isn't important, but compared to today's gaming software, the GPU plays a small roll and it's the CPU that takes the majority of the labor. If you ever get a chance, check out some of the Flight Sim websites and forums. You'll be blown away at what a 'addon-loaded' FSX flight looks like, (nothing like the original FSX base scenery at all!). It's almost as if you're looking at a video that someone recorded while they were in a plane.
Hope that helps a little.
Rich
Rich Paul I know, but I don't even have a great PC (Nvidia GTX 660) and it runs FSX Steam Edition at 60FPS on high settings. I've never been a fan of 60FPS games, because I can't see the difference. That's probably why I didn't buy GTA 5 PC as well.
Man, those early flight sims really did require a lot of imagination.
People who want to fly have good imaginations usually :)
cuddly1clare it isn't a game.... It's a simulation.
It may be a genre of gaming to some, but for those of us who became pilots it was what sparked it. We used it as a learning tool.
lol
Back in the day it was groundbreaking. You younger people don't even understand how good you have had it your entire life.
I remember just a couple of dozen lines were representing Paris (half of them for the Eiffel tower) and i was flying over Paris, just those few lines, and it was so new, a new generation of games, a new concept, an unknown thrill generated by thirty lines progressing spasmodically... Live landscape simulation was born. And if you wonder how we could be absorbed into a game more symbolic than simulated, i have no answer; but that thrill was real because it became the drive for amazing development for the simulators.
Microsoft flight Sim 3.0 in 1988 started my life long dealing with aviation. Born in 85 and i remember playing it when i came out in 88 age 6 i flew an airplane for the first time. Age 16 i started flying lessons. Licensed in 2002 with I was 17. Started building my own airplane at age 18 and test flew it at age 21. Also go my Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics license in the middle of it. Few weeks ago I added my Complex endorsement to my Private Pilots license and started in on my instrument rating. Crazy what a computer game can teach you.
I spent so much time flying around in Flight Sim 98. That game was my childhood.
+Mr. Stebb me too, dude )
+Mr. Stebb I distinctly remember a mission in which I was tasked with landing a Learjet on an aircraft carrier.
Sha Sta
Oh god! I hated that mission!
Mr. Stebb
Remember the old AI 727s?
Sha Sta
Those featureless toothpaste tubes that they dared to call "planes"?
This sure brings back memories. I had a Commodore 64 and a couple of Ataris. The first thing that went on them was this simulator. I don't know how I was able to stand the sound for hours at a time. I learned a lot about flying.
Wow SO many memories as a kid. FS4 is how I learned how to use VOR. I used the manual that came with the game and then bought a video I found at the local small airport. I was 13 back then!! If only I could have shown 12 year old me what flight sim 2020 would look like, I would have crapped my pants. Especially now that VR headsets are a thing.
Anyone else also play Airline Transport Pilot? I loved how involved ATC was. Fs4 never had that much ATC interaction. It was just all about flying around lol on your own... all rogue lol.
6:25 my first experience with FS. I didn't remember it looking and sounding this horrible.
I was so excited that someone developed a flight simulator, and it actually inspired me to take flying lessons. I used to practice in FS after every lesson.
I'm so glad we've come as far as we have since then, but still not far enough for me.
Hard to believe the original was just lines and no scenery. I played MS FS when it came out, along with my father-in-law. Banks and landings were difficult as there was a lag between when you moved the stick and the graphics responded.
Related, when we were in Chicago Union Train Station a couple of months ago, there was a large photo of Meigs Field! Next to it, it said there were millions of crash landings there - until you noticed that it was talking about MS FS! Really cool!
Thanks for a great FS evolutionary vid.
Wonderful!
I started Flight Simming in 1981 and the only Apple / PC software set I have never owned since then is Flight Simulator 2004. Still flying and still loving it. But your video just bought back so may memories of the olden days and a beautiful reminder of how far the world - and I - have come in 35 years. Thank you so very much
Thanks for sharing. So many beautiful memories of flying under the Golden Gate Bridge and starting from Meigs Field!
FS2004 was my first. Lots of great memories with my dad, I would sit next to him and watch him fly and I would pretend that I was doing all the work. Good times, good times.
Now, we fly on the VATSIM network together on our own computers.
What an excellent video, my God did that bring back memories lol
FS2002 was the first one for me, still have it somewhere. I loved the C208 Caravan, good times :)
Well, not really the go to person to ask such a question, I've only flown FS2002, FS2004 and FSX.
I started simming in 1980. Apple II and Flight Simulator 1.0 by Microprose. Boy, I didn't realize how many different versions there were. IBM seemed to have their act together. I now am never far away from my FSX with all the addons, especially Rex 4! Active Sky Next and Commander 7. Thanks for the nostalgia.
it's amazing to see the overall progress in one video! good job!
Wow! It sure brings back a lot of memories! Shared with my son and daughter, telling them daddy used to fly on these before flying the 747-400 for real life. They were impressed! Thank you for sharing!
I learned to fly with VORs with this simulator when I was 14. Thank you FS !
FANTASTIC! My best friend and i skipped a day in high school to play the first microsoft flight sim when it first came out. Got caught too! Spent the rest of my life building and flying airplanes. Used X-plane to design my first commercial ultralight. Funny enough, twenty years later microsoft still has my plane as an add on, and even used pics of my boots on the rudder pedals! Thank you for this wonderful video, now go get that pilots license, you can do it!!
Fantástico. Qué recuerdos. Me ha recordado a un hermano mío, ya fallecido, con el que compartimos horas con estas versiones. Gracias por traerme momentos felices.
Wow! Thanks for the memories. I have had them all form 3 upward. The old ones definately needed imagination but it was so cool learning how to navigate with radios.
This is amazing. I would never have imagined these computers could run a flight simulator, but I have been pleasantly surprised.
Thanks for the memories. My Grandad started with FS4. I still treasure all his maps etc.. My first was FS98. It's amazing to see what we have now. Anyone grumbling about 'only' getting 25 frames per second should watch this video - some of the early sims appear to be 1 frame per second, maybe less :-)
Nice memories... oh wait, if you can remember this you are old!!!
fs passengers is what got me hooked in flight simming. it gave me a sense of progression in the sense that you can't just go straight to flying an airliner. you have to start small and work your way up.
I believe it's time for an update on this absolutely amazing video. You did such a great job with posting footage of every single release. It's the best I have come across. MS flight sim 2024 just came out. I'd love to see you expand on it!
Ahhh..... Meigs Field, the old glory days of simming. How many times I shot a landing there.
Oh, and that was the game sound.... I always thought there was a fly in the house. LOL
Now look where we are today :-)
My dad was a pilot. I never was into planes like him, but he let me play FS 2000 on his computer when I was only about 4. It ran so slow (maybe 7fps on that ancient machine) and took up about 350MB which was a crap load of space requiring 5 disks back then, but I loved it so much.
Who’s ready for MFS2020! So keen for it
me
Its out and the graphics are stunning
Vikzy 101 I know, looks great aye
Boy does that ever bring back memories.....we have really come along way....thanks pilot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, thanks for the trip down memory lane. Between MSFS version 3.0 and 50 for PC there was a flight management addon that required a second computer connected via serial ports. It actually worked pretty good. The first few minutes reminded me of Vital III and IV in older FFS. Amazingly, Vital IV it still in use today in some Level C FFS. Not sure what obsession MS had with Meiggs Field in Chicago, but it was a fun airport, and neither the airport nor MSFS development are no longer with us. Thanks for sharing.
Winged my way through every version shown. Great clips showing the abilites and limits of simulation design. Well done...
Excellent! Thanks for the historical perspective, spent so much time with my flight simulators that I lost track of the history. Good piece of work here.
Thanks for this wonderful flashback. I still have the old original diskettes - but no drive anymore.
Been a flight simmer since the mid 90's... sure miss Meigs field! Great video. Brought back some great memories.
Thanks man, a lot of work went into this movie.
This gave me goose bumps! I've been flying from C-64 to now, and this was a great film to see. Memories, so many..or was it just the hours...
I am glad that we share the same memories :)
This was certainly a great video!! My father, brother, and I all had many of these. Our first was on the Timex/Sinclair PC. Very small and all wire frame graphics but this inspired me to work on my real life VFR rating. After that, I achieved my VFR/IFR and a Twin Engine rating. I had to give it up when my health went south. Still, I fly multiple sims each week! Thank you for putting this together.
Very interesting! Thanks very much for putting them all together like that. Crazy seeing how far they've come through the years, ya know?
There was a SubLogic Flight Simulator II for the Atari home computer [I cannot recall which I had atm] and I flew that one as my first flight simulator. I then purchased the first and all subsequent flight simulator versions from Microsoft. Note, their first flight simulators were very expensive if you wanted the entire United States because you had to buy sections of the U.S. separately.
Thank you for this video.
Brings back so many great memories. I started flying on the Trash 80. You'd put the cassette in, press play, and if everything went perfectly, I could get in a good 25 min of violently pressing the arrow keys until it would finally crash or my dad would need to open the spreadsheet for his business. :)
Also, dis anyone else get the flight sim magazine that used to come out like once a quarter lol? I remeber the had an Easter egg for one of the FS versions that if you went inside a specific hanger at an airport, a picture of the dev team was on the wall. I think that's what it was. I loved that magazine and always draped my pants when my dad told me it came in the mail. It disnt last long though I only got it for a year I think.
I got that magazine along with one other back in the day! I might even have a few copies of it kickin' around here someplace! I also have all of the versions of Flight Simulator from 2.0 and computers old enough to run them all! Remember a company called Mallard Software? I have a lot of the addons they made fo MSFS too!
Never too late to learn to fly for real. Flight simulator has always been a great training aid, and a wonderful imaginary world too.
that brings me back. I remember playing for the first time fx3 off a 5" floppy. It is amazing how far the game has come.
my first successful landing with fs 98 was one of the best moments of my life and when I got my pilot license in fs2004 too.
Oh the memories. I started with Flight sim 2 on Commodore 64, on cassette tape even. The load time was about 15-20 minutes I believe. What it lacked in graphics, it made up for with its two big fat paper manuals, that explained everything you needed to know about instrument navigation and aerobatics. I still have them somewhere.
I remember always taking off from Meigs, flying over Soldier Field and coming back around to buzz the tower at Meigs and the boats in Lake Michigan. LOL
So many memories! I remember taking off from Meigs Field, flying around Chicago, flying in New York, seeing the 2D Statue of liberty.. I remember flying the Sopwith Camel.. oh the joy. :) I think Flight Simulator 3.0 or 4.0 was my first one.
Wow ! What a trip. I'm 67 years old and my first computer was TRS-80.
I did,'t get into flight simulators untilI I got a 8088 computer wih no hard drive.
The entire BAO sim was run of f of one floppy.
During 1976-77 I had 22 hrs in a real cessna 150. - 5 Hrs solo.
But when the money ran out I got back into the simulations.
There are those who say you can't learn to fly real world airplanes in a
simulation but I disagree. During my " real world " flying I never did get to learn how to slip a plane in a crosswind landing, but I did learn in the simulation well
enough that Woiuldn't heasitate to do it now in a real plane.
Perfect ... I gotta remember to show this to people the next time they complain about stutters, the LNAV not working right, or ATC routing them wrong, no "god rays", water waves don't foam, why is the AA so bad, spinning clouds, etc. etc. Thanks for posting this.
WOW, Brilliant! Haven't we come a long way from that? Thanks a lot for the video.
Flight Simulator 3.0 in 1988 was my first flight sim i played... nice evolution of sims :) nice video, thx for uploading!
Those early flight simulator have a higher frame rate than what I get with MSFS2020
I started with version 3.0 or 4.0.....I can't really remember, but this is a sight to see looking back at it now. Amazing at how far they have come!
Nice flight down memory lane. I had TRS-80 sub-logic....I know that makes me old ....but a great trip....safe landings
wow, Thanks for posting this, I wasn't sure when flight simulators started appearing on the market for personal computers, but they sure have come a long way. :)
Wow, the clip from the original PC version brought back some childhood memories. Thanks for uploading.
I'm sad they stopped making Microsoft Flight Simulator! It shows great promise and potential! I love its graphics controls and having almost all airports in the world! Wish they would remake and release a new version with modern graphics and much more detailed!
Does anyone know anything about this plz post coz would love to read about it!
I hope that after the update you say no computer would crash
Check out prepar3d. It's from the same people but a different co pany
I'm surprised Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer didn't make this video. That was an awesome simulator.
fs2004 was a huge improvement over it's predecessors
I had a flight simulator for the 16K ZX81. It was primitive but strangely very captivating.
Wow, brings back great memories. My first one was the MS 5.0 for dos, that was a nightmare trying to config the extended memory to run the game smooth lol!
Mine too:D These days I could not even imagine playing FS on the mobile hehe, nowadays I can play 737 Flight Simulator on my iPhone when I am travelling with the tube:D
123 With Miami Vice now you can play X-Plane 10 on mobile. trust me, it's amazing! just look it up! you'll be glad you did.
Thanks for uploading this, I've wanted one with the original sound for a long time!
Nice work on the history.
Nice vid. I love early attempts for 3d graphic in games. I only played 2004, didn't have joystick so I used wheel and used pedals for pitch, didn't play any flight game since then.
Thanks for making me feel old lol :)
Good job, nice to see the progress
Microsoft Flight Simulator has come long way. I started with Microsoft Flight Simulator 98
Member MS first Flight Simulator?
Yeah! I member!
KegPatcha I used to crash my Concorde into a building simulating 9/11.😥
Yeeahhhh III member!!! Member Jazz Jackrabbit?
i member holding my member in one hand while flying as a member of the msft mile high club.
KegPatcha south park xD
harmemebe
Commodore 64 subLOGIC was my first flight sim. FS3 and FS4 on a Tandy 1000. Currently FS9 on Win 7 with Level D 767. FS3 and FS2000 had poor flight models. An inverted aircraft would turn opposite its bank in FS3. When starting a normal turn in FS2000, the aircraft would pitch up rather than dropping its nose.
my Gosh I used to spend hundreds of hours on this. In 1987 it was the latest SIM!
Nice timeline. Brings back a lot of memories. I think Xplane and the P3D advancement to 2.0 also should have been included if this is to be a complete PC simulation timeline.
Nice video. Thanks for sharing.
Τhere was a long story between the simulations,but I think the best simulations are FS2004 & FSX.
Well no shit, they're the friggin newest!
Michael Lask Nope
Watching this put me right back in my bedroom playing Flight Simulator II on my C64. I'll always remember that view from the end of RWY 36 at Meigs.
Now, if only I could tell my younger self to save up more for the amount of cash he'd end up spending on simming in the future...
As I recall, I started out on Flight Simulator 3.0 when I was about 10 years old (1988). It wasn't until Chuck Yeager's Air Combat was released in 1991 that I really took an interest in flight simulators though. Then Flight Simulator 5 came out 2 years later and the rest, as they say, is history.
Gaming With ViperZeroOne
Gaming With ViperZeroOne I also had Chuck Yeager and was disappointed by the poor slow graphics. on my Commodore Colt that ran about 35Mhz clock speed in turbo, and 4 MB RAM lol brings back memories.
David Basara
... Haha! I was lucky enough to have Chuck Yeager on a 486 DX66 with 16MB of Ram. It was epic!
Childhood memories with my dad. Thanks. Btw, those hoping MS would release a new FS are gonna be disappointed. It'll never happen, they sold their rights and assets to P3D. Check them out
J. Siddiqi and dovetail games
Dovetail has only re-released Flight Simulator X on Steam....supporting 3rd party add-ons.
P3D on the other hand has taken the reins over the advancement of FS. They actively update the graphics and features. So they're the true successors to Microsofts work.
J. Siddiqi I heard they're making a new Flight simulator, and they also released the dovetail flight school
I used to play FSX a lot. A big reason why I stuck with FSX was all the addons and stuff I had and the sheer amount of work and time to transition to P3D.
But eventually I gave up on FSX and now I only play on P3D. It's definitely better and gets better updates which improves the performance of the game by a lot.
I don't regret going to P3D. It made the flying experience so much more enjoyable.
But of course, if you want to screw around with airplanes, go with FSX. XD
The Data General One is incredibly impressive! It's realtime compared to the much slower versions for the C64 and Atari.
yes, very rare version...
I had the very first one, Played on a orange monochrome monitor. Thought it was the coolest thing ever!
Flight Simulator 98. So many fond memories.
2:55 - When sound was added, LOL.. it sounded like somebody cranked up the volume on a stereo system beyond the amplifier's capabilities and all you hear was distortion. I thought there was a problem with the audio system on my desktop computer. :-)
Great video, thanks so much for this. I never knew how early the series actually started!
3:10 is that Bigfoot walking across the screen?
it caused change of resolution
That PC speaker engine droning really brings me back. Haven't heard that since I was a kid.
Nice video. It's a shame that Microsoft abandoned flight simulators. Just imagine what would it be like to have fully DX12 or Vulkan updated sim supported by huge company like MS.
Amazing what these programmers were able to eek out of the 6502. Brings back some good memories of Saturday mornings in my PJs trying to land that dot.
Now I rembember I had FS v4 for Macintosh some 25 years ago, as well as the later ones for Windows, FS2002 and FSX. Funny to see the old Mac version again. I had completely forgotten it.
That was amazing and pure nostalgy, thanx.
20:40
Woah propeller powered 747
Good old times !!!
Thank you for the upload !!!
I just purchased subLogic Flight Simulator II for Atari ST, with all the box, instructions, etc. It's quite beautiful actually. And quite complex, with all the VOR, COM radios, etc.
lot of people became epileptic playing these things . ultra laggy , endless loading times , stressing sounds .. it was an epic era in video game history
I hope the Microsoft flight simulator series goes anytime on !
FS 4.0 for IBM PC was the first one for me, moved on to 95, 98, 2000 and 2004 and finally X. no sim after that.
First several movies of early FS remind me one legendary story that Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie decided to create UNIX from Multics, in order to do their favorite computer game for their personal amusement purpose. It was a spacecraft FS and was completely character based(!).
I do love MS-FS and have played it since ver.3. I loved them because they were already graphical somehow ;-P
Really a time travel.I started with commodore 64 and Flightsimulator II.Next step Amiga,then the first PC with an analog joystick. Unbelievable when i look back at this old pictures.
amazing video josef,,,, thanks a lot
WOW Thanks for the great video, but where is STEAM edition?
do you have an HD version too?
+Eli Cohen STEAM edition is in fact the same like previous GOLD edition and an original edition + acceleration pack. So still any new version to add :)
Learned a lot about piloting from FS 98 and 2002. Real lessons never went well. IFR is difficult. Great to get a peek at the newer versions . Sure came a long way from the first ones that i never saw before
That's great. I started out on the C64 version. It had some great literature with it. I will never complain about frame rates again!