I just don't understand the fun in simulation. Sure, it's realistic, but how does that actually benefit me? I also don't understand these crazy enthusiasts who run virtual airlines. How the hell do they make their living?

Can someone please explain?

I used to love flight sims.
It's like really flying the plane, but without the risk of death/horrible injuries and you don't have to buy the plane or pay for the fuel or pay to keep the plane in working order.

That and you can have fun crashing the plane. <_< >_>

I was thinking more flight sims. Shit, I should have put this in the gaming discussion section.

Join the club, most sims are utter crap except space ones, but their not really space simulations because we don't have mass drivers and FTL travel sooo....

I play flight sims because they help me understand flight techniques and theory in practice, without the risk of me plummeting thousands of feet to my death if I happen the screw up.

The Lawn:
That and you can have fun crashing the plane. <_< >_>

And this^

Eggo:
I'm sure a lot of sim players also don't "get" casual games and gamers.

what about "the sims"? it is both a casual game AND a a sim...

I love playing Railroad Tycoon 2, good lord I love that game. I'm not sure why, and I totally see your point in it being a waste, but for some unknown reason, I love it!

I'm not a big fan either. I remember there was a submarine sim a while ago and the manual was over 500 pages long ><

I rather enjoyed Evil Genius. Sim City 2000 was also a bit of fun. Flight sims, I can't stand and I haven't really played any other simulation games.

Unless TIM counts as a Rube Goldberg Machine simulator.

I think it's the ability to do something that would be a lot harder to experience in real life.

You aren't good enough for reality so have a simulation to bring up your self esteem. :3

Flight Simulators offer decent tutorial and practice to aspiring pilots, and "armateurs"(as in Plane Lovers/freaks), so I really don't see what's wrong with that. Flying a F-22 is certainly not as flashy or easy as Ace Combat makes it out to be, but, it's certainly in the line of wonderful games that I probably won't bother to master like Lock On which is fantastic in it's own ways.

Simulators are not my cup of tea, with the exception of Sci-fi ones, Mechwarriors or Space Sims (X Series), and Operation Flashpoint.

I love Microsoft Flight Simulator. It's incredibly realistic (I fly planes often, mostly Cessnas, and they captured the feel PERFECTLY).
The other sim I loved was Silent Hunter. Nothing beats hearing your crewmen saying "Firing tube one, sir" and then watching the torpedo hit that merchant you've been tailiing for hours (of course, you can compress time to up to 1024 times faster, although you're limited to 8 in the vicinity of a boat, and 2 if you're being attacked)

Good simulation games allow you to be in a highly realistic scenario that you probably wouldn't get to experience. Real sims put off most gamers because they are initially very frustrating and choose realism over flashy graphics and accessible game mechanics. If you're ever looking for a sim that will kick your ass check out the Point of Attack series. It says right on the cover that it takes no shortcuts and 90% of gamers will hate it.

I played a JFK assassination simulation once. That was pretty interesting just to see how possible it was to actually fire off 3 rounds from the book depository.

I've been a "sim" fan since I played Gato on the Apple IIc. Why do I play them? It depends on the game. I like flight sims because I'm something of an airplane buff; flying a YB-70 from Offut to Arkhangelsk appeals to me in a way that sports games appeal to the people who follow that sort of stuff. (I assume.) I'm also a big fan of tank sims, and military sims in general; partly because- like most guys- I enjoy blowing things up, and sending a 120mm APFSDS round through a T-80U at 2km feeds that appetite wonderfully, as does splashing a flight of Mig-23s with a single F-15C or sending a cruiser to the bottom. But military sims usually allow a second kind of fun that others don't: the sandbox. I'm able to play out scenarios. How would a company of Bradleys hold up against a battalion of BMPs? Can a Tu-160 punch through a Patriot belt, or does it need SEAD support? And so forth.
If that sounds weird to you, consider those sport fans again, endlessly arguing over whether the '68 Dodgers could defeat the '77 Yankees or how much of a difference the home field advantage meant in the finals last year.

Scolar Visari:
Good simulation games allow you to be in a highly realistic scenario that you probably wouldn't get to experience.

I could've shaved the last half of my comment off by saying "Yeah, what this guys said."

I think I like sim games because they really tend not to be brain dead like the shooters I play.
It's a glimpse into something i'm not going to take the time to do irl. I like documentries too. Neither sim games or documentries take up a significant portion of my gaming/viewing but they show you things, make you think and educate you in new areas which don't frequent my life often.

Hmm...*looks at own username*

I love games that simulate things that due to lack of money, skills, or time I don't get to do in real life. Besides the obvious MS Flight Sim (which I play, but not nearly on the enthusiast level of some virtual pilots), I'm a particularly big fan of business/tycoon-type sims and city builders. I love anything that I myself create when it comes to video games, and the more of a sense I have that I built/tweaked/recruited whatever's on the screen, the more personally involved and immersed I become.

I buy a new sports game only after I've beaten the last one absolutely to death and run up against the limits of its franchise mode (most football and basketball games seem to cap at 30 seasons). By the time I'm into Year 5 or 6 (in a pro game) or Year 3 (in a college game), just about everyone in the lineup has no real-life counterpart because they were generated by the game's rookie draft.

I find pre-manufactured characters and settings dull. I think Grand Theft Auto 3 is the series' best game mostly because your character is what you make of him; it's the most wide-open game of them all and leaves the most to the player's imagination. Morrowind and Oblivion fall into this category as well; that character I'm controlling isn't some story writer's (or worse, marketing executive's) idea of what I should be (which is one reason I really don't like JRPGs), but rather it is a character whose motives and desires are mine and mine alone.

Playing simulations make meel feel like a man. Deleting all of my sims toilets and making a maze of fridges and setting the house on fire with no doors is pure fun. But I love simulations because Im too lazy to do have the crap i do in these games.

I purhased Falcon 4.0 gold something-something on a trip to America. The manual in the box is 100 pages long, the e-manual is 700 pages long, and I'm not going to play it until I get a HOTAS joystick.

I have joined a virtual airline (well, more of a virtual stunt team) in FS2004/FSX, and I have to tell you, doing stunts for other viewers on a computer is AWESOME FUN! I don't know why it's fun to fly a United flight to Honolulu though, but I think that these adrenaline-fueled teams are good fun.

I can understand playing (is that the right word?) a flight sim except when the user turns on auto pilot and walks off! Yes I know a person who has charts and tables set up for how many hours the plane trip will take so they can do something else until it is time to land the plane.

I play Operation Flashpoint/ArmA: Armed Assault because I enjoy the challenge of hardcore simulation, as opposed to the current trend of "sit behind a wall sucking your thumb" health regeneration. I play simulation-type strategy games because I strongly oppose the "Zerg Rush" tactics of most RTS games. Most of all, though, I play automotive simulators because I love cars with a passion, but don't yet have the money to race them on a track myself.

Flying airliners in one straight line, I guess you wouldn't get that. Not many would. However, simulators provide substantial training for aspiring pilots and protocols in the real world. .. as has been mentioned. Second, the combat flight simulators also provide the fun of "killing stuff" while maintaining the realistic aspect.

Just recently released is the "DCS Black Shark" helicopter simulator. An incredibly realistic virtual representation of the Russian Ka-50 helicopter. You can compare it to Falcon 4 on the level of complication and realism. There is a 6 minute video tutorial on "How to start your engine". You might wonder "where the **** is the fun in that?!". The sense of accomplishment really plays here. It is so complicated because it is so realistic, not because the developers decided to make complicated stuff up.

If you always wanted to be a Fighting Falcon/Viper pilot, or a Black Shark pilot, but never passed the qualifications for the airforce, or financial issues, or whatever.. this is your best bet. And the cheapest. Though a set of Track IR 4 and a good HOTAS setup will go a long way, as well :)

I play Armed Assault (and OFP a few years ago), because I have interests in ground warfare and the military. I once thought of joining the KCT, but eventually decided it'd be a little bit too dangerous for me (and was well on my way through qualifications). Armed Assault is the closest to what was once a "dream". And it isn't only a matter of "killing stuff".

I always have problems in games where you can customize and simulate characters.
I always just end up making characters just like myself, since there is no other person I'd rather be.

J-Man:
I purhased Falcon 4.0 gold something-something on a trip to America. The manual in the box is 100 pages long, the e-manual is 700 pages long, and I'm not going to play it until I get a HOTAS joystick.

For someone who doesn't get vehicle sims, you're sure jumping in with both feet.

Flight sims are best played with a joystick, but the throttle isn't critical.

As far as the realism appreciation among vehicle sim enthusiasts goes, first, it ratchets up the difficulty factor. In the real world, things are less forgiving. Second, as noted, one of the main appeals is the ability to vicariously experience something you never would, otherwise, so why wouldn't you want that experience to be as realistic as possible? And that fetish for realism has taken some extraordinary turns, between the aforementioned airlines, real world weather, and virtual air traffic controllers.

I'd love to see a little of that realism fetish brought over to racing games, so I could virtually race on realistic interpretations of some of my local highways.

bkd69:

J-Man:
I purhased Falcon 4.0 gold something-something on a trip to America. The manual in the box is 100 pages long, the e-manual is 700 pages long, and I'm not going to play it until I get a HOTAS joystick.

For someone who doesn't get vehicle sims, you're sure jumping in with both feet.

Flight sims are best played with a joystick, but the throttle isn't critical.

As far as the realism appreciation among vehicle sim enthusiasts goes, first, it ratchets up the difficulty factor. In the real world, things are less forgiving. Second, as noted, one of the main appeals is the ability to vicariously experience something you never would, otherwise, so why wouldn't you want that experience to be as realistic as possible? And that fetish for realism has taken some extraordinary turns, between the aforementioned airlines, real world weather, and virtual air traffic controllers.

I'd love to see a little of that realism fetish brought over to racing games, so I could virtually race on realistic interpretations of some of my local highways.

I tried playing Il-2 Sturmovik with only a stick, and it was pretty much impossible. I'm looking to buy a Saitek X52 pro at some point.

Also, as long as we're on the subject, a quick pointer to X-plane:

http://www.x-plane.com/

currently playing X3 terran conflict (space sim) i find it incredible however i can understand if its not everyones cup of tea

Mariena:
Flying airliners in one straight line, I guess you wouldn't get that. Not many would. However, simulators provide substantial training for aspiring pilots and protocols in the real world. .. as has been mentioned. Second, the combat flight simulators also provide the fun of "killing stuff" while maintaining the realistic aspect.

Just recently released is the "DCS Black Shark" helicopter simulator. An incredibly realistic virtual representation of the Russian Ka-50 helicopter. You can compare it to Falcon 4 on the level of complication and realism. There is a 6 minute video tutorial on "How to start your engine". You might wonder "where the **** is the fun in that?!". The sense of accomplishment really plays here. It is so complicated because it is so realistic, not because the developers decided to make complicated stuff up.

If you always wanted to be a Fighting Falcon/Viper pilot, or a Black Shark pilot, but never passed the qualifications for the airforce, or financial issues, or whatever.. this is your best bet. And the cheapest. Though a set of Track IR 4 and a good HOTAS setup will go a long way, as well :)

I play Armed Assault (and OFP a few years ago), because I have interests in ground warfare and the military. I once thought of joining the KCT, but eventually decided it'd be a little bit too dangerous for me (and was well on my way through qualifications). Armed Assault is the closest to what was once a "dream". And it isn't only a matter of "killing stuff".

Pretty much this. I grew up on flight sims like Mosquito or something like that based on the Mosquito Bombers of WWII. I then seriously cut my teeth during Middle School on Falcon 4.0 the original and it is hard to describe the satisfaction of pulling off an evasion of a SAM battery or downing some MiGs making their run for the DMZ it was just exhilarating. Or playing the old Hind helo sim of the Mi-24 there was a real badass feeling of flying 10 feet off the deck going full bore and strafing the hell out of some Afghans. Oh yes and the Silent Hunter series that game was like pure crack since I am such a WWII History Buff.