I guess using another well known flight simulators as a comparisons can show how a sim can appeal to all, by being balls to the wall realistic, or sorta bending reality.

Think of MSFS or the DCS sims. You can have your craft start up with a single button (note, it is rare for a plane to be that easy to start), or fly way past it's limits, or you can go balls to the wall and need to follow a procedure to actually have the plane work properly, which can take up to 30 minutes of your time to start, maybe more (in MSFS addons like PDMG aircraft, Project Tuploev Tu-154B2 are good examples). Not very many people will have the patience for this, and will rather opt for more simple stuff, but there are people willing to fork out their cash and time to learn them (and if you've seen the prices for PDMG, you know people will pay a lot, just for a single aircraft.)

Run8, which is a Train Sim that deals around realism and MP is like that too! And mind you, in order to get the most out of MP in that, you need to invest at least 80 bucks from what I've been told by friends who use it.

Edited February 5, 201412 yr by Leonov

There was some talk about a simulator a will back called Police simulator 10-13. not sure if it was real or not

Actually.....

 

Going back to the old DOS days you had a few police titles out there.

Sierra/Dynamix (the GOOD Sierra with Al Lowe and company at the time) did Police Quest. That was a police sim/adventure game, the remake of PQ1.......less serious. I believe they are/were on GOG.com for $10 for all four games, though I don't cout 4 as part of the series personally. It sold VERY well...but that was mostly down to Sierra being a hot property at the time.

Here's a TVTropes type list for the PQ series:

 

Things common to both:

 

Radios. You had to use (and in PQ1 and remake and PQ3, get) a radio and keep it on you.
Guns: You had to follow procedure. PQ2 deviated by letting you shoot anyone but it gave you a game over if you shot anyone bar who the game wants you to shoot. PQ1 and remake wouldn't let you draw your gun anywhere (but PQ1 let you pull the trigger while the gun was holstered....leading to a game over!

Paperwork: You had to fill in forms. And for PQ1/remake you had the then-California penal codes as copy protection for the remake.

Sierra logic: PQ1, forget to walk around your car? Death. PQ2. Stand by a door when a SWAT team enters? Death. PQ1 remake: Use your gun on a guy that is threatening you with a weapon? Death (Hint: The answer to that one is to brandish a nightstick at four bikers who have pool cues....again Sierra logic), PQ2. Try to drive off at the start of the game? You get pulled over and told to go to the PD. PQ3. Forget to slow down for a turn (it's easy to do with the awful driving i PQ3).......your car explodes. You get the picture.

PQ1:

Radio to Dispatch whenever you did anything. Couldn't go through lights withoout code 3, had to follow proper procedure, had to attend briefings, walk around your squad car to check for defects (else you died after getting in. Sierra logic!)

PQ2:

See PQ1 with the exception of driving (that shifted the focus to a detective game), you had to go to a gun range and manually tweak your gun settings, you had to radio in when you did things.

PQ3:
Darker storyline.
Changed driving (AGAIN)

Traffic stops made a reappearence.
Highway patrol

Corrupt cops (Spoiler: It's somebody you meet in the first five minutes of the game who is an antagonist)

PQ4:
Pretty much EVERYTHING changed.

 

Then there was Blue Force. I forgot who made it
It was very different than the PQ series, but it shared some of the same things (briefings, radios) but it had you play as a bike cop up to a certain point.

Then there's another RTS one hat I really, REALLY enjoy from 20 years ago called To Serve and Protect. In it you are the police chie of a city and control everything from fuding and staffing to sending units to respond to calls. I believe the publisher went out of business though so no clue where you can get it (Actually I do but I'm not going to post a link)

Now as for the 'are sims popular' idea...

Yes and no.

Stuff like flight sims and ARMA's accepted. Stuff like a police sim/farming sim would be too 'geeky'. Plus there's other issues. For instance when making ARMA/OpFlash Bohemia couldn't get licenses for the guns or the vehicles so they called them by their military names. It's the old thing of 'yeah we'll let you use our guns or cars provided this ad this happen or this does't happen else we will pull our licensing'

As for an in depth simulator...

IMO it won't sell simply because the demand isn't there. If a typical 8 hour shift is 60% paperwork then peple would get bored, Or to put it anther way policing isn't what people think it is. What people want is Hollywood policing. That sort of simulator would sell very well.

EDIT

 

 

I guess using another well known flight simulators as a comparisons can show how a sim can appeal to all, by being balls to the wall realistic, or sorta bending reality.

Think of MSFS or the DCS sims. You can have your craft start up with a single button (note, it is rare for a plane to be that easy to start), or fly way past it's limits, or you can go balls to the wall and need to follow a procedure to actually have the plane work properly, which can take up to 30 minutes of your time to start, maybe more (in MSFS addons like PDMG aircraft, Project Tuploev Tu-154B2 are good examples). Not very many people will have the patience for this, and will rather opt for more simple stuff, but there are people willing to fork out their cash and time to learn them (and if you've seen the prices for PDMG, you know people will pay a lot, just for a single aircraft.)

Run8, which is a Train Sim that deals around realism and MP is like that too! And mind you, in order to get the most out of MP in that, you need to invest at least 80 bucks from what I've been told by friends who use it.

 

As far as train sims go, in the original MSTS (and FS9/FSX) the train/plane makers asked MS to dummy out systems on their vehicles so people couldn't go and hop in.....say.......a 737 or a train and start it and run off with it . FWIW train companies are a LOT more protective of their stuff than airlines, which maes me wonder how Run8 got the okay to fully model their trains with the same companies.

Edited February 5, 201412 yr by celticfang

 

 

 

As far as train sims go, in the original MSTS (and FS9/FSX) the train/plane makers asked MS to dummy out systems on their vehicles so people couldn't go and hop in.....say.......a 737 or a train and start it and run off with it . FWIW train companies are a LOT more protective of their stuff than airlines, which maes me wonder how Run8 got the okay to fully model their trains with the same companies.

 

That may have been the case before (though I never, ever heard that, and if it was true, it doesn't explain X-Plane or the DCS sims which simulate most everything that isn't classified), but I suppose manufactures of the craft that are being simulated realize that the community will figure out how to make their product behave realistically one way or another. I also mentioned PDMG add ons, which are fully licensed by Boeing and from what I understand, seem to cover most of the aircrafts' abilities and cockpit systems, and Project Tupolev, which as far as any Freeware goes, they likely make amongst the most detailed and realistic behaving aircraft I've ever seen (note, they made it quite clear that Tu-154B2s and Tu-154Ms don't start with CTRL+E IRL ).

 

When it comes to these companies being protective these days, it usually comes more down to product licensing/royalties more than anything else from my own personal observation. Remember, even though MSFS's framework may not allow for the full scope out of the box to be done, there are always 3rd party add ons that will find ways to enhance the Sim's abilities. Run8 is also unique in that not only do they seem to realistically model the cabs of the locomotives and their functions, but even have some cabs that are specific to their railroad they were modeled for. I heard their recent SD40-2 pack had a Norfolk Southern SD40-2 with the cabs being done essentially in the setup that NS has it in. I guess railroads, airlines and manufactures and such are well aware that in not letting more realism in, that they're essentially throwing away a licnese for some in the community to make one (and of questionable quality sometimes) for free. You could say that they could go after the freeware devs (though in R8, it's unlikely as the devs are very anti-3rd party making, despite their roots in making stuff for MSTS), but we can only ask American Airlines on how well that ended when they started going after anything that used the AA name and logo about 15 years ago .

 

 

IMO it won't sell simply because the demand isn't there. If a typical 8 hour shift is 60% paperwork then peple would get bored, Or to put it anther way policing isn't what people think it is. What people want is Hollywood policing. That sort of simulator would sell very well.

Idk, I actually quite like Adam-12. Granted, they don't focus too much on the paperwork (since there is only so much you can fit in 24 minutes, but make it clear it's a big part of the job.) Of course, people want explosions and crashes more. That there would appeal to a major publisher, but as I said, every community has their niche sim, which unlike the big commercial sim for them is a whole 'nother planet.

Edited February 5, 201412 yr by Leonov

I don't get why people want a simulator, it would get very boring as it mimics things very close to the real thing, which would get boring, I'm fine with "You know you were stopped for driving wrecklessly? oh here let me shoot you in the face and drive off bitch"

I don't want to play as a cop just to have to do paper work.. if I wanted to do that I'd actually apply, too much like work.

 

 

Because, other than a simulator, there is no way you're jumping in a F-16 and flying that baby into a combat zone.  In a simulator you can.  A high fidelity simulator will get you as close as you will ever get to the real thing.  I mean, who wouldn't want to shoot down some Mig-29 and SU-27s over Iraq or CAP patrols over the mountains of Afghanistan, or refuel in-flight.

 

For example; Falcon4.0-BMS is such a high fideltity simulator (the source code was leaked by a MicroPros employee, so it's community modded for highest realism).  It's so close to the real thing, you could jump into a real F-16C-Block20-50 and start and fly the thing.  You actually start in a hangar, with thecanopy open, and have to start the jet, just like the real thing, contact ATC to give you taxi clearances and hold times, vectors, ect.  Actual F-16 pilots use this sim to stay familiar with the work-flow patters in the cockpit.  

 

Most players also have the exact programmable HOTAS as the real thing (hand on Throttle and stick configurations and subpages) which the sticks are modeled exactly like the F-16C stick and made of aluminum..  The avionics just like the real thing, as far as items not classified.  Of course this is a "study" sim, that has real flight manuals to learn how to operate all the master modes, exterior lights, comms, ect.  From there you have to learn how to fly in formation and AWACs controls and tasking, just about everything you do in real life in a  A/C combat jet.

 

Also, this sim has a fully dynamic ground war and air war going on.  As you fly over the FLOT, you see the battles below, and all around you are aircraft like a flight of Buff dropping their ordinaces on a far away target.  Very cool sim.

 

The sim is that detailed.  Some guys have built full moving platforms and full, working and clickable cockpits with 180degree projectors...crazy shit.

 

Anyhow, that is what simulators are for.  For flight sims, the higher fidelity the better..not that MS Flight Sim crap either.  

 

Good day,

 

DrDetroit

Edited February 5, 201412 yr by drdetroit

Also, the simulator has the advantage of not being mandatory, letting you only do it when you want to. You aren't required to join the military to play a sim of an F-16 (well, not a *commercial* sim), and you don't run the risk of actual death.

OP - Are you putting out a "feeler" so that you can create one or are you just simply interested? If you're going to make one, contact me please. If you're just putting out a "feeler" because you're curious.. let me know here.

It's being made by Plan A Games (the same developers who created SAPD:FR)... Modern Law.

 

http://www.moddb.com/games/modern-law

 

 

I believe it will go far.

 

 

Edited February 6, 201412 yr by jakejohnsonusa