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Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

askmisterwizard.com

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Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well surprise (not a surprise at all actually), the gameplay of that game sucks too.

Well, that's just like, your opinion, man.

If this is a reference to the gameplay of LAC then I want to get my view in here. LAC has very very very good gameplay. You can't build your own character, but you can just jump into 1 of their many airplanes and then into 1 of their many missions and fly combat with or against real people or replay people that are devious and skilled. Go to YouTube and search for Linux Air Combat and you will see like Hundreds of video clips where people get deep into this and keep coming back for more. Theyve got fighters, bombers, fighterbombers, offense, defense, strategy, tactics, voice and text comms, and free 24/7 missions and free published source code. What else do you expect for free?

One more thing. When your selecting an airplane in LAC it always has an extra menu button for every plane that will play a YouTube documentary vid clip about that plane. Some of those clips are really good. It's like spending the day in a warbirds museum where you can learn about the planes, select your favorite, and then hop in and fly it.

I think some of the people that can't stand LAC graphics are just upset that it looks as good for people with a $50 graphics card as it looks for people with a $500 graphics card. Get over it people! You didn't waste $450. You get even better graphics on other games. Just not on LAC, where everybody gets the same pretty good graphics that will never be spectacular graphics.

My 2 cents.

Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#172
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if it's memory failing but the old Microsoft Combat flight simulators (not sure about physics, it's 20years now) seemed to tick a lot of those boxes (+aircraft models were not thaaat shabby to look at).

I really liked the Combat Flight Simulator set in the Pacific. It was a blast flying the Corsair.

Yes. That was Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator II and it was the best of the series IMHO. I spent a LOT of time with that classic old sim and I still have my copy. It runs on LINUX under Wine but not without a lot of tweaking and adjusting.

Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been enjoying Linux Air Combat for almost 2 weeks now and I have to say it's really good! It reminds me of the original Aces high from about 2005. Cockpit graphics are not at all realistic because it's all digital like a modern jet fighter. But the terrain graphics and clouds look as good or better than Aces High 2. Not as good as Aces High 3 by any measure but good enough to completely absorb my imagination.…

"The feeling of flight is what I really enjoy. It just feels right! And very smooth response to flight controls." Yes. This. I am planning to try joining the group this Thursday evening. It looks like the best time is from 6PM Central Time Zone for a couple of hours. I can't start that early but I'll try to join about 7PM. I will probably be flying a Ki84. That was 1 of my best planes in Aces High and when I tried it…

OK. I will look for you online this Thursday. Watch for my spitfire. Be warned. I have been practicing!

Do you have mumble set up for the voice comms yet

Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The feeling of flight is what I really enjoy. It just feels right! And very smooth response to flight controls." Yes. This. I am planning to try joining the group this Thursday evening. It looks like the best time is from 6PM Central Time Zone for a couple of hours. I can't start that early but I'll try to join about 7PM. I will probably be flying a Ki84. That was 1 of my best planes in Aces High and when I tried it…

OK. I will look for you online this Thursday. Watch for my spitfire. Be warned. I have been practicing! Do you have mumble set up for the voice comms yet

Yes, I think so. I mean I downloaded it and I think it's working right but I don't have much experience with it. They use mumble for voice and that's FOSS too. Do you have it working?

Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been enjoying Linux Air Combat for almost 2 weeks now and I have to say it's really good! It reminds me of the original Aces high from about 2005. Cockpit graphics are not at all realistic because it's all digital like a modern jet fighter. But the terrain graphics and clouds look as good or better than Aces High 2. Not as good as Aces High 3 by any measure but good enough to completely absorb my imagination.…

"The feeling of flight is what I really enjoy. It just feels right! And very smooth response to flight controls." Yes. This. I am planning to try joining the group this Thursday evening. It looks like the best time is from 6PM Central Time Zone for a couple of hours. I can't start that early but I'll try to join about 7PM. I will probably be flying a Ki84. That was 1 of my best planes in Aces High and when I tried it…

Welcome to LAC guys! Today's regular Wednesday LAC event is just winding down. Here's a brief, 8-minute video clip showing what it was like about an hour ago, as the "BlueTeam" was finally able to win the "desert mission" you ("FlightSimGuy") must have been exercising:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pDUdTOYhw

As you can see in that video, the LAC crowd makes good use of voice comms through the free, well-known, open-source "Mumble" VOIP application, which is deeply interfaced into LAC's cockpit for seamless use as the official voice radio. I highly encourage you to configure mumble and to get comfortable with its use, since it is also the "social hub" of LAC, where we meet up and arrange network flights.

We hope to see you with us for tomorrow's "Thursday Evening" gathering. We are a small group, but the best time to catch us in an organized activity is Thursday evenings Central USA timezone. Things tend to start up around 6PM CST and people will hang around, on and off, for at least 2 or 3 hours. Sometimes nobody shows up, but you can usually find at least 1 or 2 others. If you don't have mumble yet, just start flying in Network Mission 2 or in Network Mission 3 and somebody will probably find you there. Better yet, if you do have mumble, tune to the "root" channel at "LinuxAirCombat.com" and just start talking. We'll hear you and negotiate more fun than you ever thought was possible in a LINUX flight sim!

Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#176

I've wanted a more accessible combat flight simulator. Something like DCS or Falcon BMS with realistic flight physics, but more arcade controls (the aircraft should handle realistically, but I shouldn't have to spend 20 minutes starting the aircraft and pushing simulated buttons and switches in the cockpit, even though I have a great appreciation for that level of detail). I don't want my aircraft to have 99 missiles…

I have been enjoying Linux Air Combat for almost 2 weeks now and I have to say it's really good! It reminds me of the original Aces high from about 2005. Cockpit graphics are not at all realistic because it's all digital like a modern jet fighter. But the terrain graphics and clouds look as good or better than Aces High 2. Not as good as Aces High 3 by any measure but good enough to completely absorb my imagination.…

Hi, I am from Belgium and I have played LAC many times now since I discovered this beauty : A really fully Linux running Combat Flight Simulator .

I couldn't agree more with your description, @DillardTheDread ! And I know what I'm talking about : I started playing Linux Air Combat more than one year ago .

The only disadvantage that I have, is the fact that I live in Europe, so my time zone is CET (= UTC + 2) . This means that I have to play very late in the evening or at night to be able to fly when other, American users play .

But I can assure you, the man who developed the biggest part of it is very helpful and very polite : He has helped me through installing the game & the 'Mumble' voice comm client . And he explained step by step to configure this Mumble (there are some function keys setups : F1 = chatting with the members of your team, red or blue, F2 = chatting with all members playing the same mission , red AND blue, F3 & F4 for putting the voice comm volume up or down)

Now I am ready to do that myself, so when playing LAC for the first time WITH Mumble voice comm running, don't be afraid if I start talking to you with a foreign accent, okay ? (my Mumble name is "B-FORCE", which appears in one of the mission teams too when I am playing) I can help you out with the most stuff to do when playing Linux Air Combat .

Hankbonk.

Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#177
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The feeling of flight is what I really enjoy. It just feels right! And very smooth response to flight controls." Yes. This. I am planning to try joining the group this Thursday evening. It looks like the best time is from 6PM Central Time Zone for a couple of hours. I can't start that early but I'll try to join about 7PM. I will probably be flying a Ki84. That was 1 of my best planes in Aces High and when I tried it…

Welcome to LAC guys! Today's regular Wednesday LAC event is just winding down. Here's a brief, 8-minute video clip showing what it was like about an hour ago, as the "BlueTeam" was finally able to win the "desert mission" you ("FlightSimGuy") must have been exercising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pDUdTOYhw As you can see in that video, the LAC crowd makes good use of voice comms through the free, well-known, op…

Nice video. Sorry I missed last Thurs. Couldn't be helped. I hope to join tomorrow about 7PM Central/ 8PM Eastern. I can't get home any sooner than that so I will miss the 1st hr or so.

I tried the Peabody mission again and again. Wow. Is it even POSSIBLE to win that one? I keep trying to defend against waves of bombers coming in high but I can't even get up to their altitude before they are blasting my base to bits. Then right after that waves of low alt strafers and raiders come in with rockets and they all have tail gunners that whack my plane to bits. Should I switch to something more rugged like a P47 to last longer when theyre shootin at me?

Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#178
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Welcome to LAC guys! Today's regular Wednesday LAC event is just winding down. Here's a brief, 8-minute video clip showing what it was like about an hour ago, as the "BlueTeam" was finally able to win the "desert mission" you ("FlightSimGuy") must have been exercising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pDUdTOYhw As you can see in that video, the LAC crowd makes good use of voice comms through the free, well-known, op…

Nice video. Sorry I missed last Thurs. Couldn't be helped. I hope to join tomorrow about 7PM Central/ 8PM Eastern. I can't get home any sooner than that so I will miss the 1st hr or so. I tried the Peabody mission again and again. Wow. Is it even POSSIBLE to win that one? I keep trying to defend against waves of bombers coming in high but I can't even get up to their altitude before they are blasting my base to bits.…

The Peabody mission is written to require teamwork, and in Realm 01 (which you were evidently using) it is populated by a vicious set of RedTeam "Replay Blokes" that fly as coordinated squadrons to ensure that it is very difficult to prevail on the BlueTeam. If you want to see what victory looks like, I suggest you just switch to the RedTeam.

It is POSSIBLE to prevail while flying solo for the BlueTeam. I've done it myself, but only after weeks of practice and my victorious session required more than two hours of white-nuckle, sweaty-palmed intensity. I was flying a P38 at the time (my favorite).

If you switch to one of the other Realms you won't run into Replay Blokes. In that case it's easier to prevail in the Peabody mission, but you'll still need to keep the pressure on in order to damage/destroy both enemy airbases faster than their ground crews can repair them.

A couple of months ago we had a goodly group flying one Thursday evening and we all decided to join Peabody's BlueTeam to battle the Realm 01 RedBlokes as a team. We were able to win in about 45 minutes. I think there's a video showing that session. Just a minute and I'll try to find it....

https://youtu.be/BRNZ09eyTPg?si=PfMhaKIRoe20SZQ1

I couldn't find the exact clip I wanted, but that one shows what it's like to fly Peabody's mission with a wingman. We inflicted a lot of damage that time!

Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#179
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Welcome to LAC guys! Today's regular Wednesday LAC event is just winding down. Here's a brief, 8-minute video clip showing what it was like about an hour ago, as the "BlueTeam" was finally able to win the "desert mission" you ("FlightSimGuy") must have been exercising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pDUdTOYhw As you can see in that video, the LAC crowd makes good use of voice comms through the free, well-known, op…

Nice video. Sorry I missed last Thurs. Couldn't be helped. I hope to join tomorrow about 7PM Central/ 8PM Eastern. I can't get home any sooner than that so I will miss the 1st hr or so. I tried the Peabody mission again and again. Wow. Is it even POSSIBLE to win that one? I keep trying to defend against waves of bombers coming in high but I can't even get up to their altitude before they are blasting my base to bits.…

TODAY is Thursday, not tomorrow lol! We hope you join with us tonight. We usually get started around 6PM Central or 7PM Eastern. If you join about 7PM Central you'll probably still find activity going strong. Tomorrow (Friday) you might still find somebody, but there won't be the usual amount of organization.

BTW there is now a new web page showing who is online. It gets updated about every 60 seconds. It's a little tricky to interpret, so the page first shows instructions and a commented sample. You have to click a link at the top of the page to see the current report. Here's the link:

https://askmisterwizard.com/2019/LinuxAirCombat/LacCurrentOn...

Re: Linux Air Combat: free, lightweight and open-source combat flight simulator

#180
post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice video. Sorry I missed last Thurs. Couldn't be helped. I hope to join tomorrow about 7PM Central/ 8PM Eastern. I can't get home any sooner than that so I will miss the 1st hr or so. I tried the Peabody mission again and again. Wow. Is it even POSSIBLE to win that one? I keep trying to defend against waves of bombers coming in high but I can't even get up to their altitude before they are blasting my base to bits.…

The Peabody mission is written to require teamwork, and in Realm 01 (which you were evidently using) it is populated by a vicious set of RedTeam "Replay Blokes" that fly as coordinated squadrons to ensure that it is very difficult to prevail on the BlueTeam. If you want to see what victory looks like, I suggest you just switch to the RedTeam. It is POSSIBLE to prevail while flying solo for the BlueTeam. I've done it…

...And the clip includes a good example of how to deal with those high-altitude bombers. The trick with that is to notice them EARLY and to immediately start climbing as hard as you can. You get some warning whenever an enemy heavy bomber is detected beyond your current visual RADAR range setting. Your RADAR display's background color switches from the usual green to yellow. Whenever you see that, zoom your RADAR range out and check to see if there are high-altitude heavy bombers approaching from long range. Then climb up and shoot them. Even if you don't get them all you can usually weaken their formation and that will help your bases survive and give your repair crews a better chance to keep your side in the battle.
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