Microsoft Flight - It's Free and it Will Cost You a Fortune

Microsoft Flight was released this week. I knew beforehand that I would not like it, so for me it was destined to be a big "meh!". Yeah, no complains, no rants, not even a comment of what Flight is or is not. Installed it, flew a bit, uninstalled and forgot about it within hours.

But I don't want to leave you with just my apathy for Microsoft Flight. As pathetic as it is, let's review the reviews. :p

There is a great commentary about it at SimHQ. Favorite quote on flight modelling "crashing actually takes some work".

Another review at the Flying magazine calls it a big disappointment. Favorite quote about the pricing model  "Microsoft expects users to pay for add-on content, and maybe some would. My guess is few pilots will." (bold is mine)

The guys at Rock Paper Shotgun have a great article on it too. With their usual awesome style they wrote a piece that is both gobs of fun and informative if you can read between the lines. When they post a picture of an Icon A5 landed in impossible places, you laugh ... And if you were expecting a flight simulator, then you cry a bit afterwards. 

AVSIM has its review too. Long. As an apology to an angry wife. AVSIM loves Flight with a passion and that's OK. But if you go through their forums, it feels like if AVSIM has adopted a sort of policy about Flight, and that is you like it or you are out. These guys have completely lost credibility with me. It is just plainly embarrassing to browse their Flight forums and see staff and other assorted honchos criticizing negative reviews of Flight like the two first above. It is not kosher to criticize other reviews on petty flaws. Sorry AVSIM guys but I will stay away from your webpage for a long while. But thank you anyway for the big advertisement banner that forwarded me to Flight's webpage ... 

Cheers, 

Steam and Iron: The Great War at Sea - Naval Exercise in the North Sea - Part Two

The game: Steam and Iron: The Great War at Sea
The purpose: Take some German dreadnoughts into a practice, randomly generated scenario

These is the British light cruiser division I couldn't pursue.

Today: quick entry, bean counting for my latest victory at sea.

Take On Helicopters Review at SimHQ

A good, balanced and thorough review at SimHQ.com:

http://www.simhq.com/_air14/air_514a.html

I was thinking of picking a copy Take On Helicopters (the helicopter
flight sim from the same guys who made ArmA 2) but I was a bit
reluctant after the extremely poor handling of vehicles in ArmA 2.
Both ArmA 2 and Take On share the same game engine, I heard.

The review at SimHQ points out that the handling of the helos in Take
On is not that good and that many physical effects of helicopter
flying are not modelled.

Thanks SimHQ for the review, you saved me money. :) I'm not surprised
that Take On feels a bit off in the physics department: you can get
stuck in a bush just walking around in ArmA 2. :)

Cheers,

(Posted from my tablet).

Crusader Kings II - Medieval Europe's Kings, Mayors, Dukes, Doges, Counts and Everybody in Between

They say all politics is local and boy in the latest grand-strategy Paradox's game Crusader Kings II politics is as local as across the hallway of your virtual palace.

The game spans from September 1066 to May 1453 and it is played over a map that covers all of Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa and what nowadays is European Russia.

A massive and highly detailed portrayal of the intricate political, religious and economical landscape of medieval Europe, Crusader Kings II follows in the steps of Sengoku with a gameplay where your character matters most. Yes, it is all about you and your dynasty now and you better watch out who you marry, who you ally with, who likes you or not, and who may be plotting to kill you.

I am still on the look for a strategy game that will not demand me to quit my day job, and the size and scope of Crusader Kings II has certainly caught my attention. Follow the link the below for some screenshots of an exploratory game session I enjoyed this weekend.

ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead - Named Area of Interest "Viking" - Fear in Shades of Green: Up to the Wire

The decision to attack the combat outpost is a go. Much of what we can do with the Takistani rebels (assault or attack by fire) depends on that concertina wire that surrounds the outpost. Tonight, my best scout and me will infiltrate the combat outpost to determine if the wire is likely to be breached with an off-road vehicle.

Gamer's note: I'm using the Zeus Mod, which allegedly gives the AI a bit more wisdom. In this particular night mission, I hope the mod improves the AI's awareness to noise. This mission makes use of the plain vanilla "guard" waypoint, which will drive enemy AI units towards any detected infiltrators. So, our plan is to stay undetected.

Steam and Iron: The Great War at Sea - Naval Exercise in the North Sea - Part One

The game: Steam and Iron: The Great War at Sea
The purpose: Take some German dreadnoughts into a practice, randomly generated scenario

My humble task force's location. Random scenario settings with dreadnoughts as largest ships, small size. I've modified the colors for sea and land to shades of gray, just to give the whole affair a more WWI atmosphere (not sure how it will work for you guys).

I really wanted this to be some sort of naval exercise to observe what friendly AI-controlled divisions would do when assigned different roles. But I quickly got absorbed in the seamless combat experience this naval war game delivers. My ships did very good today, and the intoxication of victory will bias any future attempt of naval scholarship.

Command Ops Highway to the Reich - Ten Reasons to Parachute Back Into Market Garden

Maybe you never played the original Highway to the Reich or maybe you already played it to death. Either way, here are ten reasons to get back into Market Garden with the latest Panther Games engine. If you have played Conquest of the Aegean, you will know all of these but nonetheless it's worth to recount what's new since the original Highway to the Reich.

Achtung Panzer Operation Star, Sokolovo 1943

Released a while ago, this DLC for Achtung Panzer Operation Star brings a Czech flavor to the struggle for the Ukraine.

A panoramic view of the northwest tip of the town of Sokolovo. The red icons are from the 1st Czech battalion, which is under the operational control of the 62 Gds. Division.

X-Plane for Android/iOS - Lunch Breaks Got Very Entertaining

Yeah! A flight simulator that you can take with you while on the run.

X-Plane is one of the best flight simulators for the PC. To my total surprise, a light version of X-Plane 9 is available for tablets and smartphones.

Steam and Iron: The Great War at Sea - A Naval Combat War Game Both Tactical and Operational

This one came out last week and it is fantastic. Very interesting design: depending on the level of difficulty, you can move and target individual ships or just be in control of divisions and above.

This is a brief entry (rushing to the office right now), just some screenshots.