The gameplay involves the player piloting a helicopter using a throttle joystick (to accelerate and decelerate) and pedals (to maneuver left and right) across a realistic three-dimensional landscape and shooting at military targets across the landscape. Sega's last EM combat flight simulator was Heli-Shooter (1977), which combines the use of a CPU processor with electro-mechanical components, screen projection and audio tape deck. In 1975, Taito released the arcade video game simulator Interceptor, an early first-person combat flight simulator that involved piloting a jet fighter using an eight-way joystick to aim and shoot at enemy aircraft.

Ĭombat flight simulator video games began appearing from the late 1970s. Sega released several other similar EM flight combat games, including Dive Bomber (1971) and Air Attack (1972). Upon its debut, the game was cloned by three Chicago arcade manufacturers, which led to the game under-performing in North America. The game displayed three-dimensional terrain with buildings, produced using special belt technology along with fluorescent paint to simulate a night view. One such EM game was Jet Rocket, a flight simulator released by Sega in 1970 that featured cockpit controls that could move the player's aircraft around a landscape displayed on a screen and shoot missiles at targets that would explode when hit. This technology led to the rise of flight simulation arcade games, initially in the form of EM games. Prior to the rise of modern-day video games, electro-mechanical games (EM games) were produced that used rear image projection in a manner similar to a zoetrope to produce moving animations on a screen. Many free flight simulators, such as the open source Linux Air Combat, Falcon 4.0, Digital Combat Simulator and Rise of Flight, can be downloaded for free off the Internet. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and military flight training which consist of realistic physical recreations of the actual aircraft cockpit, often with a full-motion platform.Ĭombat flight simulation titles are more numerous than civilian flight simulators due to the variety of subject matter available and market demand. Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations.

Best combat flight simulator mac