8

FLIGHT SIMULATOR (1980): DIGITAL REALITY

There are two basic approaches to creating a videogame simulation: Casual and Strict. In the interest of providing the best possible gaming experience, the Casual Simulation Approach (CSA) purposely models only select aspects of the real world to provide a familiar framework or reference point. In other words, fun takes precedence over reality in situations where reality would get in the way of the fun. In the realm of flight simulation, this might take the form of automated take-offs and landings, for instance, or minimizing or eliminating in-flight stalls. The Strict Simulation Approach (SSA), on the other hand, models as many aspects of the real world as possible. The fun comes from allowing the player to mirror, as closely as possible, the real-world actions of something he or she might never get the chance to do in real life. In turn, as it relates to the earlier flight simulation example, this would take the form of often difficult manual take-offs and landings, and having to take aircraft performance into consideration to minimize in-flight stalls (and performing realistic maneuvers to hopefully pull the plane out of one when a stall happens).

The SSA approach has very real limitations—there are no holo-decks¹ as of yet. Even the most precise simulation isn't perfect, and consumer versions lack the budget busting custom controls and extended displays of military or commercial simulators.² Further, even an SSA-designed program needs to make concessions for both the platform and its respective technical limitations, as well as its potential audience, often by allowing the end user to turn off various levels of realism or activate automated assists as a gateway (or form of training) for the full, unfiltered experience.

By the 1960s, after years of manual and electromechanical simulators that, at best, put pilots in realistic cockpits with minimal feedback and only a limited sensation of flight, digital computers were integrated and allowed for increasingly robust simulations, even playing a critical role in NASA's nascent space program. By the 1970s, the foundation was in place for today's full-flight simulators, which accurately replicate the cockpit and characteristics of a specific aircraft type, flight condition, flight dynamics, and navigation, with full outside vision and sound for other aircraft and meteorological variables.

Screenshot of a later revision of subLOGIC's original Flight Simulator for the Apple II.

It was during this period in the 1970s that one man, Bruce Artwick, almost single-handedly established the market for realistic simulations in the fledgling home computer market. The website Flight Simulator History sums Simulator History, sums up Artwick's early history best:

In the mid-’70s Bruce Artwick was an electrical engineering graduate student at the University of Illinois. Being a passionate pilot, it was only natural that the principles of flight became the focus of his master's work. In his thesis of May 1975, called “A versatile computer-generated dynamic flight display” he presented a model of the flight of an aircraft, displayed on a computer screen. He proved that the 6800 processor (the first available microcomputer) was able to handle both the arithmetic and the graphic display, needed for real-time flight simulation. In short: the first Flight Simulator was born. In 1978 Bruce Artwick, together with Stu Moment, founded his own software company by the name of SubLOGIC and started developing graphic software for the 6800, 6502, 8080 and other processors. In 1979 he decided to take the model from his thesis one step further and developed the first Flight Simulator program for the Apple-II (based on the 6502 processor), followed shortly by a version for the Radio Shack TRS-80. Both versions were completely coded in their respective platform's machine-code. In January 1980 SubLOGIC FS1 hit the consumer market…. By 1981 Flight Simulator was reportedly the best selling title for the Apple. By the end of 1997 Microsoft claimed to have sold not less than 10 million copies of all versions of FS, making it the best sold software title in the entertainment sector. And in 2000 Microsoft Flight Simulator was taken up in the Guinness Book of Records with 21 million copies sold per June 1999. We certainly owe one to Bruce Artwick.³

Although visually crude to modern eyes, with a painfully low frame rate and rendered in only four colors, the original Flight Simulator, released on cassette for the 16K (RAM) Apple II in 1980, nevertheless contained all of the necessary elements to model flying an aircraft—in this case a slow, but maneuverable Sopwith Camel⁴ biplane from World War I. The view was first-person, looking out of the front of the plane, which was represented on the top half of the screen, with the simplified cockpit display (instrument panel) on the bottom half. The graphics and collision detection were far from realistic. The scenery consisted of unfilled line drawings and players could fly right through mountains. Even crashing into the ground caused the plane to bounce back up rather than explode.

With the virtual world limited to a 6 × 6 grid, where each grid represented one square mile, Artwick chose to tie into the World War I theme with an option for aerial combat. At any time during a flight, the player could press the “w” key to declare war, which would immediately send five enemy planes into the air. It was then up to the player to engage the opposing planes and drop a bomb on their fuel depot before being shot down. Although not a great action game by any stretch of the imagination, the addition of combat provided more incentive for the would-be player to try what otherwise might have been an intimidating simulation.⁵

Screenshot from subLOGIC's TRS-80 version of Flight Simulator.

Shortly after the initial Apple II release, subLOGIC published a version on cassette for the technically inferior TRS-80 computer from Radio Shack (Tandy).⁶ However, this did not stop Artwick from improving the program in at least a few key areas based on user feedback, a habit that would become a hallmark of subsequent Flight Simulator releases. Improvements included the frame rate, which was increased from three to six frames per second⁷ and an additional overhead, or “radar” view. Of course, inherent to the platform, there was no sound and the visuals were black and white and blocky. The resolution was limited to the TRS-80’s 128 × 48 display, which necessitated the removal of the graphical instrument panel. Nevertheless, as laughable as this sounds today, at the time what the program accomplished was groundbreaking, as this statement from a contemporary 1980 review by Roxton Baker indicates: “This is a superb program. It is so innovative and advanced that it must be praised in parts; its whole effect is beyond comparison with any existing TRS-80 software. First, FS1 is a highly realistic simulation of small aircraft flight. It combines with that a sophisticated, ingenious, and breathtaking 3D graphics display. Finally it provides an exciting and challenging real-time dogfight game. In any one of these aspects FS1 must be rated well ahead of its competition. Indeed for the graphics display, it has no competition.”⁸

subLOGIC would release several more notable updates to Flight Simulator: two for the Apple II,⁹ one for the TRS-80 and a fourth, a completely new version for the IBM PC, published through Microsoft. On the Apple II, version 2 added a crash graphic message if the player hit the ground too hard, a low altitude counter for a better sense of ground clearance, and the overhead view from the first TRS-80 version; version 3 expanded the size of the environment and added several new 3D objects in place of the previously flat landmarks. On the TRS-80, the update included a floppy disk version with enhanced frame rate and collision detection. The IBM PC version, released in 1982, would represent a second generation product and be the true blueprint for how the Flight Simulator series would look and perform right through to the present day.

Microsoft Flight Simulator first appeared in late 1982 to immediate acclaim. With modest requirements—64K RAM and a monochrome or CGA (four-color) graphics card—it was one of the few game titles that showcased what an expensive IBM PC was capable of at a time when even many low-end computers like the Commodore 64 had far greater audiovisual capabilities.¹⁰ The simulated aircraft was a modern-day Cessna 182 (complete with retractable landing gear), and the interface featured an instrument panel with eight gauges, a new coordinate system, four different flight areas—Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York/Boston—with 20 airports, weather, and more. In other words, it took Flight Simulator to the next level. Regularly updated releases would follow, with Microsoft publishing the first of several initially black-and-white-only Macintosh versions, in 1986.

Box back from Microsoft Flight Simulator. Note the modest system requirements.

In 1983, subLOGIC went back to the Apple II platform to release Flight Simulator II, which would later be ported to the Atari 8-bit,¹¹ Commodore 64, and Radio Shack Color Computer 3. It featured even more enhancements and innovations than Microsoft Flight Simulator, and was based on the Piper Archer aircraft. In 1986, Flight Simulator II was released for the advanced Atari ST and Commodore Amiga computers, and represented another audiovisual and feature leap for the series including the ability to fly different kinds of aircraft. Over time, the Flight Simulator series would receive expansions and complementary programs in the form of additional scenery, aircraft, and features, such as air traffic control or real-time weather.

subLOGIC and Microsoft would continue to release software titles independently of each other, including related simulations, like subLOGIC's Jet (1985; Apple II, Commodore 64, PC, and others) and Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series (1998; PC). Today, only Microsoft has the rights to the Flight Simulator name and continues to release new, ever-more-realistic versions (like 2006’s Microsoft Flight Simulator X), with full support for all kinds of expansions and third-party adjuncts to enhance the product even further, rivaling even the most advanced commercial systems of years past.

Screenshot of Flight Simulator II on the Apple II.

Flight Simulator II running on the transportable Commodore SX-64, shown with a custom controller and the program's detailed documentation.

In 1988, Artwick left subLOGIC and founded BAO, or Bruce Artwick Organization, retaining the copyright to Flight Simulator, though the company and remaining rights were bought out by Microsoft in 1996. Artwick remained on as a consultant. BAO's most notable development was Microsoft Space Simulator (1994; PC), one of the first and so far only comprehensive mainstream general-purpose space-flight simulators, featuring different spacecraft, space stations, missions, and intergalactic travel.¹² subLOGIC, which released Flight Assignment: A.T.P. (Airline Transport Pilot) in 1990 for PC,¹³ was bought out by Sierra in 1995, who released the first of the short-lived Pro Pilot series of Flight Simulator competitors in 1997.¹⁴

Box back for Silent Service (1985), Atari 8-bit version.

Simulations have often bordered on the fanciful, like subLOGIC's pictured UFO (1989) for the PC, which simulates control of an alien spacecraft.

By the mid-1980s, many competitive titles had been released, some taking Flight Simulator head on (Solo Flight [MicroProse, 1983; Commodore 64 and others]), with others focused on more targeted experiences, like pure combat (Falcon [Spectrum Holobyte, 1987; Atari ST and others]) or strict instruments (nonvisual) simulation (BHXP1 Experimental Aircraft [Bruce Hellstrom, 1987; TI-99/4a]). Of course, simulations, both of the CSA and SSA variety, were not limited to flight. Many other notable simulations were developed over the years, including SCRAM (Atari, 1981; Atari 8-bit), a nuclear reactor simulator by Chris Crawford; Pinball Fantasies (Digital Illusions, 1992; Atari Jaguar, Commodore Amiga, PC, and others), a pinball machine simulator with realistic physics; C.PU. Bach (Microprose, 1993; 3DO), a simulation of Johann Sebastian Bach's music creation abilities by Sid Meier; Gran Turismo (Sony, 1997; Sony PlayStation), a sophisticated driving simulation with an arcade mode; Baseball Mogul (Sports Mogul, 1997; PC), which simulates managing an entire baseball franchise; and Microsoft Train Simulator (2001; PC), an add-on friendly train simulator. Like Flight Simulator, all of those games and more took great pains to model reality as closely as possible to create compelling experiences.

Box back for paper airplane simulator, Glider 4.0 (1994), Apple Macintosh version.

Surprisingly, in an industry best known for quick pick-up-and-play experiences, the arcade has also played a part in advancing the state-of-the-art for low-cost simulations. Outside of today's arcade games that mimic traditional activities like skateboarding, skiing, riding a motorcycle, or racing a car—almost like a mix of videogames and amusement park rides (see Chapter 3, “Dance Dance Revolution (1998): The Player Becomes the Star”)—as far back as 1979, the arcade was providing immersive experiences, thanks in large part to Atari. In that year, Atari's Lunar Lander was released, an unforgiving vector-based simulation of landing a manned spaceship on the moon. The player must carefully manage fuel consumption and the effects of gravity and inertia while applying thrust in an attempt to carefully touch down on one of several landing areas. Atari would follow up a year later with Battlezone (mentioned in bonus chapter, “Defender (1980): The Joys of Difficult Games”), a vector-graphics action tank game with realistic controls that the U.S. Army famously commissioned in a modified form for a simulation of their own. Atari would repurpose the Battlezone hardware themselves that same year for Red Baron, a first-person flight simulator skewed heavily toward action-packed dog fights.¹⁵

Some simulations, like Microsoft Space Simulator (box back shown), have amazingly ambitious scopes.

Perhaps more than any other genre of videogame, the simulation—and more specifically, the flight simulator—has pushed the boundaries of both hardware and software. A convincing simulation of flight requires an immense knowledge of both the real world and the technology to represent it. Once these technologies had been developed, they could be adapted for a wide variety of other types of videogames, such as the ubiquitous first-person shooters of today. However, as we've seen in this chapter, the most successful commercial developers of simulators had to carefully balance fun with realism, making trade-offs that would hopefully please more gamers than they turned off. Artwick's Flight Simulator certainly achieved such a balance, and thus stands as one of the greatest and most influential games of all time.

Lunar Lander screenshot.

Red Baron screenshot, with simulation of the color overlay.

¹Which knowledgerush.com defines as follows: “In the fictional Star Trek universe, the holodeck is a form of virtual reality. It is an enclosed room with force-fields (which are similar to shields and deflector fields), onto which light is projected, allowing the simulation of three-dimensional surfaces of objects (including people). The effect is a simulation of entire environments, with which the user can interact. Two of the main purposes of the holodeck are for recreation and training.”

²It is important to note, however, that there always have been and always will be truly dedicated home enthusiasts who go to great lengths to bridge this gap, with elaborate cockpits, multiple displays, professional controls, and so on.

³http://fshistory.simflight.com/fsh/versions.htm. It has also been suggested that Airfight (1974) for the PLATO networked computer system was an inspiration for the young Artwick. While Artwick would have had access to PLATO through the university, there is no evidence of any direct influence.

⁴A British single-seat fighter biplane that debuted in 1917 and was famous for its maneuverability (as well as being the plane that Snoopy from Peanuts imagined his dog house to be). According to Artwick's description in the manual for the first TRS-80 version, the plane was chosen for having similar flight characteristics to a modern Piper Cub 150.

⁵To be fair, the breakthrough visual display would certainly have been a big enough initial appeal, but this ultimately goes back to the earlier discussion of balancing realism with fun and would have been one of the factors that helped mitigate any potential monotony from just flying about, keeping players coming back for more.

⁶Also requiring 16K RAM, which—on a platform where configurations at the time could range from just 4K to 8K—was still a fairly reasonable requirement.

⁷As a point of reference, movies are generally shot in 24 frames per second, television in 30 frames per second, and modern videogames often 60 frames per second.

⁸http://fshistory.simflight.com/fsvault/fs1-trs80.htm.

⁹Check out Mark Percival's excellent introduction to each Apple II version update at http://fshistory.simflight.com/fsvault/fs1-apple.htm.

¹⁰In fact, it was common for both Microsoft Flight Simulator and the spreadsheet software Lotus 1–2–3 to be used to prove how compatible an “IBM-compatible” computer really was. Microsoft would release a few additional versions of their original program for other IBM-like platforms that didn't have IBM PC compatibility but did run a version of Microsoft DOS, like the Texas Instruments Professional Computer.

¹¹Interestingly, Flight Simulator II would be one of Atari's pack-in cartridges with their XE Game System (XEGS), which was an Atari 8-bit computer with a detachable keyboard that was marketed against the Nintendo Entertainment System as a more sophisticated videogame console.

¹²See bonus chapter, “Elite (1984): Space, the Endless Frontier,” for more on Microsoft Space Simulator and similar games.

¹³Modeling the Boeing 737, 747, 767, Airbus A320, and Shorts 360.

¹⁴Today, “subLOGIC Corporation” provides custom part-task or full simulations to industry or research organizations.

¹⁵Not to be confused with Sierra's Red Baron, a 1990 game for the Commodore Amiga and PC (and now the Microsoft Xbox 360’s Xbox Live Arcade). Sierra's game, which offered a story-based campaign mode, became a huge hit for the company, and is widely regarded as a classic of the genre. The game's own sequels failed to live up to the original.