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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

What Are The Main Features Of A Good Flight Simulation Game?

When asked about the main feature of flight simulation games, the majority of their users will say that reality is the most important, and if the game is not realistic it isn't worth playing at all. Of course, there are also many other factors and features to take into account when deciding which game to buy.

In this article we will look into those features and try to decide on how important they really are. For a beginner this might seem like a daunting task, but once you get familiar with some of the popular flight simulators on the market, you will pick all their main features straightaway.

For the aviation game to be interesting for a longer period of time people want to have many different options. It is important to have the choice of many planes and aircraft. Adjustable climate and weather conditions are also essential. It is also nice to have the option to fly to any country you want. But the most important feature of all is the control panel of a plane. For the game to be realistic control panel must model the real thing.

To get the plane up into the air you will have to learn what all these controls are and how to use them. This is what makes the game truly realistic, but be warned, it could take some time to get familiar with all the commands and unfortunately, I see lot of people giving up here, even before they truly begin.

This gives us another important feature: game has to be up to date with all the changes in the aviation industry. Many flying schools actually use some of the flight simulation games to train their new pilots. It would be useless and also very dangerous if the plane in the game wouldn't truly match the real thing.

There are many different flight simulators on the market that you can choose from and each of them is different. You should take the time and check the available options, read some reviews and comments. When you compare them, take into account their features, price and your true objectives. I wouldn't recommend most expensive option if you are just going to play an hour or two per month. But if you are planning to take the flying course and want to start a career in aviation industry, than you should consider such option.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

How To Write An Effective Video Game Review?

Basically, writing a review on anything is subjective because you are appealing to your own ideas, appreciation or impression. While it is given a review writer should base what he writes about something he had first-hand experience with, he should be able to give objective facts and not depend on his own thoughts.

Again, writing a review is subjective but a reviewer should base his subjective perception on the objective facts and confirm or deny them based on his experience.

The best example of this is when you are reviewing a car in which the engineers who designed it say it can reach up to 200 miles per hour. The reviewer should, if allowed to do the test drive, see if it can indeed reach up to that top speed. If so, only then a reviewer could confirm that the car lives up to the expectations.

So, how will you review a video game?

You Should Play - there is no way you can produce a good and honest review of a video game if you haven't played it. Therefore, you should spend some time to play it and discover about the things you heard about the game and compare them to your own gaming experience.

Evaluate the Graphics - for modern video games, the graphical representation is very important because they give life to a game; hence, the name "video" game. Evaluating the graphics would require you to switch to different resolution and screen size and see if the performance is affected by every setting. You should also see if the game provides what the developers promised regarding the video.

Listen and Criticize the Audio - listening is definitely different from criticizing. You should first listen so that you will know how the audio is being recorded and put into the game. If you have heard enough, criticize it and extract some facts from your experience.

Learn the Controls - playing a video game well means you should also learn how to effectively use the controls then be mindful of the sensitivity of every button or keys. Some games are just not so responsive than others. If you need to differentiate the control sensitivity with other games, then do so but don't overdo it.

Learn the Gist of the Story - learning the story of the video game is easier than you thought but evaluating whether it is competitive is difficult. However, you have to be honest about this because most of the gamers base their interest on the storyline of the game. If you're playing a sequel, for example Mass Effect 3, you should research about the storyline of the first two iterations and see if there is continuity.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

How Choosing The Best Flight Simulation Game?

Which Flight Simulator Is Best for Your Needs?

One can easy get lost in many different options presented when buying a new flight simulation game. The choice is huge and, the truth be told, most of the choices are neither worth your money nor time. It's very important to be objective when choosing which game to buy. You have to assess your needs and your real intentions.

Each game is very much different and developed for different groups of people. Casual gamers, aviation enthusiast and pro pilots will all have needs of different types of games with different features and options, consequently, those game will have different price tags. Choose wisely and before buying assesses the qualities of each game, read reviews, forum posts and user comments. Game that doesn't suite your needs could make your flying experience awful and could even ruin your dreams of becoming an airplane pilot one day.

There are some of the features, however, that are universal to all types of flight simulators and are crucial for enjoyable gaming experience. The most important of these features is nice looking graphic. Flying simulators that don't have good graphic details are destined to fail. People get annoyed with them easily and look for another game that looks nicer.

Flight simulation game also has to be realistic. This feature is very much connected with graphic too. Scenery, landscapes and environment must look as realistic as possible and match the characteristics of a real world.

When buying a flight simulation game look for the following features:

    Good graphic detail in high resolution.
    Realistic sceneries and true-to-life landscapes.
    Ability to change the environment easily and without distortions.
    The game has to be attractive and interesting to play.

The goal of a good flight simulator should also be to instruct its users, to give them the realistic experience and to improve their skills and overall knowledge of aviation industry. This is also a good way to test new aviation equipment and gear. So it is very important to pick a game that has lot of aircraft to choose from and if it has regular updates and follows the changes and innovations in aviation industry.

If you are truly interested in flying and want too improve your skills, the game you choose must have realistic controls and commands. The control panel inside the cockpit of a plane must be identical as in a real airplane and your game controllers have to be realistic too. The price of such controllers (yokes, pedals and joysticks) could be high, often higher than the game itself.

As shown in previous example, the cost of the game and gear combined could get very high. If you are not familiar enough with all the features and with all the options on the market you could be spending lot of money for the options or gear that you don't really need, or you could be buying something not good enough for you. To avoid such costs check the market and see if the game has following options:

    It has to have regular updates and add-ons.
    Must have good and friendly customer support.
    Real time and multiplayer options are also very important.
    To avoid additional costs add-ons and updates have to be free of charge.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Why Many Flying Schools Use Flight Simulator Games?

It does require lot of skills and extensive training to become a professional airline pilot. Lots of people are interested in this job and would like to start a career in aviation industry but flying a plane is very much different than driving a car and getting a pilot diploma is way tougher than getting a driving license.

Luckily, there is a large number of specialized flying schools around offering courses for aspiring pilots and flight crew, helping them to get the knowledge and practice needed for this challenging and demanding profession. The cost of such schools used to be enormous, but in recent years they have managed to reduce their prices considerably and the main reason for that price cut was the increased use of flight simulator systems.

There are many different types and models of flight simulators on the market and their usage and main purposes are different too. Most popular are flying simulation software applications and computer games and they will be our main focus of interest in this article.

Realistic experience of flying these systems offer combined with reasonable prices make them a popular choice for many flight enthusiast, aviation fans and flying schools alike. Of course, flight schools will need higher quality flight simulators with better features and higher level of realism.

The main purpose of such applications and games is to give a trainee pilot all necessary experience of flying and to avoid all dangers that flight in a real plane would involve. There are many different skills that pilots can acquire using such simulators. They can choose from many different airplanes and other types of aircraft to fly with. They can also get experience of flying in different weather conditions and in different countries and areas of the world.

Designers and developers of modern flight simulator games are putting lot of effort to create high quality products as much real-to-life as possible. The maps, landscapes and sceneries are very precise and realistic. Other popular features include changing seasons, night flying and flying in different climate and weather conditions. These options are now considered to be standard features and are included in most of the packages on the market.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Some Frequently Asked Questions About Flight Simulator Games

The experience of flying an aircraft without actually leaving the ground is called flight simulation. Its popularity is increasing rapidly and every day more and more people are choosing flight simulators to test their aviation skills in a fun and exciting way, cheap and safe. In this article we will try to answer to some of the questions frequently asked by many wannabe pilots.

Can flight simulators truly recreate the real flying experience?
It is hard to answer accurately to this question without knowing more about the actual type of simulator and the goals of the person using it. There are many different models of simulators on the market, ranging from the cheap computer games for $50 all the way up to Full Flight Simulator with the price tag of over $10,000,000.

Types of airplanes and training programs are also important factors. Different type of system is used for training military pilot in a military plane than a flying enthusiast learning to fly in a small tourist airplane. It is important to be honest with yourself, understand your real objectives and choose the right system according to your needs. You can't expect for $50 to get the same kind of experience that a pro pilot in US Air Force academy would get, but you will learn some basic things and get a general idea of flying.

What is the main purpose of flight simulators?
The main purpose of high-end plane replicas is education and training. Cheaper software applications and aviation games where primarily developed for gaming industry but also have high educational values. Some models of flight simulation games are developed to very high standards and lot of flying schools are using them to train their novice pilots and flight crew. This way the costs of training are reduced significantly and the safety and security of pilots is raised to a much higher level. Such software applications are ideal for practicing various maneuvers and procedures without risking the life of people.

How good are aviation games?
With the recent advances in computer technology and graphic we have also seen huge improvements in development of flight simulation games. Lot of flying enthusiasts and aspiring pilots now have the opportunity to experience realistic flying and learn lots of fundamentals and theory before deciding if they really want to peruse the career of a pro pilot.

What type of training one can get from such simulators?
As already mentioned, the level of training will depend on your intentions and the type of simulator you use. In general, simulators can be used for anything in aviation that comes in mind. Aircraft, landscapes and runways can be redesigned and changed to match the needs of our training program. That is especially true in military and aviation industry where changes in climate and weather conditions are of ultimate importance. It's vital for a pilot to get familiar with all different types of scenarios and failures as if such situation later arises in a real life he would know how to respond.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

All You Need to Know About Private Pilot Training

It is almost every kid's dream to be a pilot once he/she grows older. It is also true that private piloting can be a great way to live your dream. Private piloting is not as complicated as commercial flight piloting, but this does not mean that it is less detailed or less safe. In fact, you need to be aware that the process of attaining a private pilot license is as demanding as any other flight certification. With the above in mind then you need to have a clue of private piloting basics and all it entails.

Just like any other flight-training requirement, to become a private pilot you must do well in class. It is so evident that flight training schools only enroll top students and your classroom performance right from primary level determines this.

Living your dream also means enjoying your learning lessons. This means that you should go for a school that gives you comfort and makes it easy for you to understand and grasp your lessons. Many flight schools offer the private pilot lessons, but you need to be extremely cautious of which ones you pick. You therefore need to do your research on what different schools have to offer.

Private piloting courses will require you to choose whether you want to fly big planes or small planes. This therefore implies that you should make a decision before enrolling. You need to be aware that there are many rich people and companies that want pilots for their private jets, so, do not pass up this chance by limiting your qualifications.

Lastly, have a plan. A plan should include your budget and time. The reason why many people drop out of flight training schools is for the simple reason that they run out of funds in between the course.

Facts You Should Know

At the mere mention of Airline, what usually pictures in the minds of many are the big planes that transport people from one place to the other. If you are thinking along this line, then you are not far from the truth, which is that-Airlines also carry cargo.

Another fact is that, most Airline companies only hire the best pilots who have great experience with minimal or low records on accidents. In order to become an Airline pilot you must at least pass through a variety of standard requirements.

The first step is that an approved physician should ascertain that you are of sound mind, and that you are physically fit for the job. The medical examinations will also require you to possess a 20/20 vision sight. Physical fitness means that you should not have any form of disabilities.

In addition, you must have passed all the requirements of a private pilot. This also means that you should be in possession of a valid private pilot license. This is not all for the relevant authorities will require you to have successfully completed a course on commercial piloting.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Enchantress Leveling Guide Overview

In this Diablo 3 Enchantress Leveling Guide overview, I will be discussing some of the traits, lore, and abilities of the enchantress follower, known as Eirena.

The enchantress comes from a secret order of magic users who have dedicated their lives to preventing the ruin of our world. Legend has it, Eirena and her sister enchantresses were put into a deep sleep by The Prophet where they remained dormant for many years, defying time, aging, and death itself. As the last of her sisters, Eirena has vowed to defend and protect the sanctity of our lands until her dying breath.

The Enchantress is one of three choices of followers you can choose to accompany you throughout your adventures in Diablo 3. Primarily a conjurer of ranged spells, the enchantress provides an arsenal of 12 supporting abilities to help your main character along her/her journey. Some of these abilities, such as Charm, Disorient and Max Hex will help to confuse and manipulate your enemies. Others, such as Reflect Missiles, Powered Armor and Forceful Push will actually help to protect your character when the action gets a little too intense. I will go into much more detail on the various enchantress abilities in the next chapter of this enchantress guide.

Like all followers in Diablo 3, you will not have the ability (some may say the burden) of manually gearing your enchantress as she levels up. Most of her gear will be automatically upgraded according to her level as she moves through the game with you. However, there are a few key pieces of equipment that you will have control over and be able to upgrade along the way.

Regarding armor, you will be able to manually choose your enchantress' amulets and rings. Depending on which specific amulets and rings you choose to equip your follower with, you will be able to enhance specific abilities and stats of your choosing.

The enchantress Focus is the enchantress' unique item in the armor category. The enchantress focuses are very powerful personal items belonging to the enchantress that help her to conjure fantastic spells and enchants. Some of the focuses you will be able to equip on your enchantress include the Mirror, Eye, Scrying Glass, Blink, Crucible, Root, Oculus, Cauldron and Herb...just to name a few.

The enchantress is currently able to use a variety of two-handed weapons. At the time of this article, these weapons include two-handed axes, two-handed maces, staves and two-handed swords. Again, depending on your followers weapon choice, you will be able to mold your enchantress into the specific type of questing companion you would like her to be.

I can think of a number of good reasons to choose the enchantress follower to aid you in the earlier content of Diablo III. Most of them have to do with her ridiculously skimpy outfits but I'll try to focus more pertinent reasons!

As we've discussed, the enchantress offers your character three main support systems. First, she offers additional DPS in the form of ranged magic attacks. Second, she offers player enhancement abilities to increase your attack speed and the amount of damage your enemies will take. And third, the enchantress offers a variety of protective and crowd control abilities to keep enemies from causing you harm as you meanwhile mercilessly destroy them. Actually, that seems a bit unfair doesn't it?

The enchantress will be of great aid in portions of the game that require the ability to control and destroy large groups of enemies at once. She will surely be an invaluable asset in any grinding type situation or, in other words, the vast majority of Diablo 3. One situation where you may find the enchantress' numerous enemy control and manipulation abilities going to waste is on boss fights where the bosses will likely be immune to her various hexes and charms. It remains to be seem if her DPS abilities will be enough to warrant choosing her for such single target occasions.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A Basic Diablo 3 Scoundrel Leveling Guide

In this Scoundrel Leveling Guide overview, I am going to cover the defining attributes, history, and abilities of the scoundrel follower, affectionately known as Lyndon.

The scoundrel is an unabashedly shady character, making no apologies for his life of larceny, cons and sordid activities. Lyndon is one of many who have turned to lives of crime in order to make their way in the increasingly hostile world of Sanctuary. Curiously, in spite of his penchant for theft, drinking, and women, the scoundrel also seems to harbor a surprisingly hypocritical hatred of evil and takes every opportunity to slay demons and other malevolent beasts.

As one of the triad of followers you can choose from in Diablo 3, the scoundrel adds quite a bit of ranged damage and sly trickery to your questing arsenal. The scoundrel is highly proficient with the crossbow and is known for his ability to quickly and easily dispatch of enemies using explosive bolts and deadly poisons. In addition to his own substantial DPS abilities, the scoundrel provides a variety of buffs to your character as well. Abilities such as Anatomy and Hysteria will substantially increase both the scoundrel's damage and that of your main character. The scoundrel isn't an option at the very start of the game like the Templar follower, but will become available as you progress a bit further.

As mentioned earlier, the scoundrel is primarily a ranged fighter, opting to keep his distance from the enemy and fire deadly barrages of bolts and arrows, slowing and damaging his foes as you finish them off. While most of the scoundrel's armor will be automatically given to him as he levels up, you will have the ability to custom gear him with amulets, rings, tokens, bows and crossbows.

The scoundrel armor progression is similar to that of most classes and followers. He begins with modest cloth gear and gradually upgrades his equipment to include hidden pouches, thicker leather and ornamental, yet protective, shoulder armor. Additionally, you'll find that at his highest levels your follower will actually equip himself with dual quivers to support his increasing firepower.

Scoundrel Tokens are the follower special piece of equipment in Diablo 3. These include thematic items such as dice, various daggers, a brooch and a couple different pouches and satchels. These items become available as you and your scoundrel level up throughout the game and they provide him with an interesting array of skills and perks.

In the area of weapons, the scoundrel only uses bows and crossbows. What else do you really need when you can fire multiple bolts at one, tipped with poisons and explosives?

Unlike the Templar class who offers healing and tanking and the enchantress who offers numerous protective and crowd control abilities, the scoundrel is actually a bit more of a one-trick pony. While he does have skills such as Dirty Fighting to blind his enemies and Crippling Shot to slow them, most of his skills are fairly damage-oriented.

What the scoundrel may lack in utility, he more than makes up for in DPS and AOE attacks. Using his various abilities like Multishot, Powered Shot and Poison bolts, the scoundrel will be able to dish out a pretty health serving of pain. At level 25, the scoundrel gains access to Anatomy and Hysteria which increase not only his damage but yours as well.

Because the scoundrel will offer almost solely ranged DPS, it's important to consider where you'll be questing before deciding to choose him as your follower for that section. If you're looking to clear huge groups of enemies in a zone and lay waste to them as quickly as possible, he's probably a good choice. On the other hand, if you're about to enter a bit of content where you know you'll need a bit of help in the way of healing, tanking, crowd control, or protective shields...maybe you should look elsewhere!

Any time you're trying to decide which follower to use, you must consider the class of your main character. The follower's job is to be a supportive role. They should complement your strengths and make up for your weaknesses. Because the scoundrel is a ranged attacker with a focus on doing damage, combining him with your demon hunter may prove problematic. In that particular scenario, you would have two characters running around trying to maintain distance from the enemy. In the event your foes catch up with you, you may find yourself wishing you had a Templar instead! Of course, each player must decide for himself/herself which character best suits their own, personal play-style.

Monday, December 5, 2011

PvZ 3 Gate Expand

With the amount of openings available in PvZ it can be hard to decide what's best to do in every situation. What map is it? What are the positions? Have I played this map before? Etc etc. These are all questions that play important roles in determining your build. Luckily, even if you are in completely unknown territory there's a standard build that will work on all maps/positions (ladder/tournament maps): The 3-Gate + expo.

The 3-Gate + expo is solid, standard play that allows for a safe and relatively quick expansion with a standing army. Your early army opens up opportunities for pressure and scouting. It is also strong against any all-ins Zergs have.

A few words of caution: With any openings Protoss has against Zerg, early Spawning Pool timings must be accounted for, so make sure to scout and not get caught off guard by playing blind! More on this later.

So for starters, here's the basic build order:

9 Pylon
Chrono Boost → Nexus
12 Gateway
13 Assimilator
16 Pylon
17 Cybernetics Core
18 Assimilator
19 Zealot
Chrono Boost → Gateway
23 Sentry
Chrono Boost → Warp Gate Technology(x3)
25 Pylon
27 Sentry
30 Gateway(x2)
31 Pylon
31 Sentry
34 Nexus
34 Sentry(x3)
34 Pylon

Important Build Order notes:

Keep Probe production as constant as possible

9 Pylon: Scout at this time

16 (and 25) Pylon: Should spread these out for more difficult Overlord scouting

19 Zealot: Chrono Boost is on Gateway so the Sentry can start immediately afterward

27 Sentry: Use your two Sentries to kill incoming Overlords

30 Gateway(x2): Spread your Gateways along your multiple Pylons - keeps Zerg in the dark

31 Pylon: Build this at the bottom of your natural ramp - Helps create a wall with your Nexus

34 Pylon: Place this down in your natural for additional Sim-city

Initial building placement with this build is somewhat preference (unlike FFE builds). There's both pros and cons to the different wall-offs but you're eventually going to want the wall-off to deal with any run-by attempts. I'd suggest, if you're going for standard play, to just do the standard wall off (Gateway + Cybernetics Core).

Once you reach the Zerg's base with your scouting Probe, there's a few builds to take note of. First off, we've got the 6 (or just early timed) Pool. Your build will have to change in order to not allow lings in your base, or be able to defend them once inside if they do come, sometimes pulling Probes is a must.

Next there's more macro-oriented play (there are normal supplies for these, but they can change):

Expo → Pool

Pool → Expo

Gas → Pool → (Possible) Expo

Expo → Pool: A greedy expansion by the Zerg. A way to punish this includes skipping your first sentry for a Stalker and pressuring them with Zealot + Stalker combination. Your build should be able to stay near the same and forces more Zerglings and less drones (Try not to lose the Stalker).

Pool → Expo: Just a safe way for Zergs to get a quick expo (without worrying about cheese). No Zergling speed will be done anytime soon so if you need more information, a Probe can probably find out. Early 2 base pushes can still come so keep up scouting.

Gas → Pool → Expo: the chance of an all-in is greater, and your ability to scout with Probes gets shut down sooner. Whenever they get gas early, check to see if they take workers off after 100 just for Zergling speed. One worker might be left, but if they continue mining with three, be wary of a Baneling bust or Roach rush. Stick around to see if they put up an expo, or hide your Probe to come back for later scouting once their lings head to your base. If you can't get any information then play safe.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Master the Art of Flying an Aircraft Virtual Flight Simulator

Why Flying Schools Use Top Flight Simulator Games

Anyone can drive a car, it requires special training but to be a commercial airline pilot that takes a lot more. Pilots must have first hand knowledge and practice of high-technology, before taking a flight in the sky. Special schools for flight use a variety of techniques to properly train potential pilots.

One way the school teaches its students to fly is to use a flight simulator. These systems replicate the act of flying as realistic as possible. It can be as simple as a computer game or as complex as an actual cockpit by the latest technology and software.

A flying school will have access to some of the best flight games. But there are many flight games online for download today. This software helps student pilots with realistic flying experience without the dangers of flying a real aircraft. They are more than just a flight simulator, they are 100 degrees different aircraft types, varying weather conditions, realistic landscapes is based on information from the US Defense Mapping Agency, and even updates of NASA.

The idea behind this downloadable flight game was to create a simulation that was as close to real life flying as possible. Land, global change and flight reactions are some things that have been taken into account when designing this game. It includes opportunities for night flying, flying in poor weather conditions, rising through various environments and the need for both seasonal topics and different time zones.

Check the Combat Flight Simulator downloads of one of these downloadable simulators and experience the sensation of flying a plane without any risk. The controls includes ensuring a realistic animation smooth and fluid with instruments. The developers of this simulator even taking into account shifts in real time, where the pressure forces and the body can do to a plane, and includes periodic error. It is also important to know what to do when something goes wrong, because they are passengers on the aircraft are in your hands.