Not a Game!

[pilottj 198]

 I think Freud would have a field day with this community.  :lol:

And for the record...it's Trekker's!!  Trekkie is an insult.  :Big Grin:

Cheers,

Jeff

 

 

LOL yeah that is a great point, Freud would have a field day analyzing this.  I don't think this kind of debate is limited to FSX, no doubt it exists in all hobbies and many other facets of life.  Just the Trekkies/Trekkers thing, it is almost that there is a need for some to give oneself a different title within a given hobby as to project a more 'hardcore' or more 'devoted' self image to themselves and others.  I am sure Freud would have had some good theories on this, especially when it involves 'projection'  :lol:

 

The funny thing about the Trekkies debate is that within the framework of the series, the ideology of IDIC (Infinite Diversity and Infinite Combinations) is shown as an 'enlightened' way of thinking.  It is a vast, largely undiscovered universe after all.  This means that someone who has only heard of Captain Kirk or casually likes the show is every bit the trekkie as someone who has memorized the colors of all the cupholders on the Enterprise :biggrin:   Those Trekkies who think 'Trek' can only look or be a certain way forget that with IDIC, and characters like Q...Trek includes all possibilities.  Likewise with FSX, it is not limited to one way of using it, it's uses are practically unlimited.

 

The beauty FSX, thanks to it's creators and community, it encompasses the entire spectrum of aviation, which is quite a challenge if you think about it.  I mean practically the ENTIRE aviation field which is huge, is for the most part, all presented within FSX.  That is quite an accomplishment to put it into perspective.   Like the beauty of IDIC in Star Trek, there are no rules, in FSX, leading to virtually unlimited possibilities of how you can enjoy this hobby. There no rules on how to define FSX either.  If you want to define it as a Simulator...great.  If you want to define it as a game...great.  If neither matters....great.

[Jeff H 63]

 

 

I am sure Freud would have had some good theories on this, especially when it involves 'projection' :lol:

 

I'm sure that to him it would all be a manifestation of some inappropriate feelings towards our mothers.  :Shocked:

[DeskPilot518 15]

Well, considering there a lot of Real World pilots who use FSX, speaks for itself.

Many of the FSX related VAs contain a lot of real world pilots!

[GeorgeLKMT 63]

Yes! Finally a thread where I can post this creation of mine!

 

 

[Jeff H 63]

Yes! Finally a thread where I can post this creation of mine!

 

 

Now that is great!!!

[pilottj 198]

Not that it matters but for fun, lets put our 'Freud' hat on and also playing a little devil's advocate while we analyze this LOL.   :ph34r:

 

Consider this too, maybe what we are getting at here is personal justification for time and money spent on the hobby.  We may feel the need to justify to ourselves, as well as to spouses, friends, family...why we spend this significant amount of time and money on this hobby.  It might sound better if we tell ourselves and others that we are spending this time and money 'Simulating' vs spending time and money 'Gaming'  Since 'simulation' has a more serious and an 'educational' tone to it, does that make it sound like are somehow spending the time and money more wisely or with a better purpose, as opposed to money/time spent 'gaming'?  

 

So maybe  if someone tells you are playing a game, are you really denying that suggestion to them or to yourself?  I mean all that money and time spent on a 'game' could make it sound like we should have done something more productive.  Thinking we spent all this time and money on a 'game' makes it sound like we are just like gamers who spend hours and $$$ online gaming.  Is there really a difference between FSXers and Online gamers?  They both are spending time and money enjoying themselves.  Is this any different than the model railroader who spends lots of time and money building his/her railroad layout?

 

As for justifying it to yourself, I would say you don't need to.  This is your fun time.  If you didn't like it, you wouldn't do it in the first place.  If others don't agree with how you spend time and money in FSX, it is none of their business.  I bet they spend lots of money on time for things they enjoy too.  

 

Anyway, thanks for this enjoyable disccusion.

Cheers

TJ

[Flyer10 31]

Yes! Finally a thread where I can post this creation of mine!

 

 

Now that really should have been the final definitive post in this thread! No?

[LHookins 3,113]

Hm... speaking of Freud:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_retentive

 

 

The term anal retentive (also anally retentive), commonly abbreviated to anal,^[1] is used to describe a person who pays such attention to detail that the obsession becomes an annoyance to others, potentially to the detriment of the anal-retentive person. The term derives from Freudian psychoanalysis.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_expulsiveness

 

 

Anal expulsiveness describes a person who exhibits cruelty, emotional outbursts, disorganization, self-confidence, (sometimes) artistic ability, generosity, rebelliousness and general carelessness.

 

Yup, Freud *would* have a field dayi! :D

 

Hook

[pilottj 198]

LOL you may have heard someone say..."I only read Playboy for the articles"  

 

You draw your own conclusions as it relates to this thread.  :Big Grin:

 

For those who only read playboy for the articles, whatever works man! :lol:

[LHookins 3,113]

 

 

LOL you may have heard someone say..."I only read Playboy for the articles"

 

People still read Playboy??  I thought everyone moved over to Maxim.  Besides, the Playboy pics are always the same, the only thing that changes month to month is the name of the girl.  I always turned straight to the jokes page. 

 

I only surf the Internet for the articles.  Yeah, that's the ticket.

 

Hook

[Wobbie 938]

I love it... just like watching tennis with the opinions going from side to side.

Methinks... if a program is produced by a gaming studio, is sold in gaming shops, is played with gaming joysticks with a 2D monitor (or 2) .... (if it barks like a dog, looks like a dog... must be a dog!)

So, if we add a yoke & peddles... it automatically changes from a game to a simulator?

 

Our hobby is such fun, playing with a game that simulates reality!

[Smoky942 1]

As an enthusiastic flightsimmer, I always considered myself a bit of a "pilot," untill that is, I took my first ever flight in a real aircraft. A RAF Dominie T1 (won 2nd prize in a raffle) I took the controls at 20,000ft and flew a zig zag course practising turns from Lincolnshire before moving into the jumpseat (nav. took the right hand seat) for the decent, arriving at Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth at 500ft to practice a low level bomb run to a target on the Spadeadam Range. That one flight made me realize that flightsimming on your desktop gives you absolutely no idea of what it's like to fly a real aircraft, it's as different as chalk and cheese,unless you are also doing real flying as well. For the majority (like me) it's just a very enjoyable, immersive game.

[Guest]

Why would anyone care about what others call it…? I don't give a ###### about what people call it. I just fly and people may call it a game, a sim or crap, it doesn't matter to me at all. What a fuss about nothing.  ^_^

[EngineRoom 205]

Why would anyone care about what others call it…?

 

Some people associate video games with kids and that playing them is a childish activity. Therefore they like to convince themselves (and others) that what they are doing is not a game and is oh so very, very serious.

 

One of the side effects of this is a rather unpleasant form of flight sim snobbery which manifests itself on a forum such as Avsim where the serious flight simmers regard anything less than PMDG as worthless and that their own type of flight simming (and probably by extension themselves too) as being superior to everyone else. This can get rather tiresome for everyone else, can put newcomers to the hobby off, and discourage developers. All too often the discussion of other parts or aspects of this hobby are drowned out by the clamour and demands of these people who only seem to think their type of simming should be catered for.

 

Flying along a magenta line on autopilot whilst hammering in arcane instructions to your FMS is only a subset of the flight simulation hobby, no better or worse than any other. Unfortunately some of the "realism zealots" have yet to realise this. As has been said several times above by others already - the notion that sitting in front of a monitor with your keyboard and Saitek yoke and pedals, flying your 777X between FSDT sceneries with UT2 is in any way approaching reality is almost laughable. Even the most serious of oh so serious flight simmers would wither rather quickly at the controls of a real Cessna, let alone a Boeing or Airbus.

 

There used to be a comedy on UK TV called The Fast Show. There was a character called Colin Hunt who in one episode it was revealed was a serious flight simmer and he "flew" his girlfriend to the Seychelles on MSFS. It was absolutely hilarious and I wish I could find the video to post here.

[woodhick 504]

I'm probably going to regret getting involved in this topic and have to issue the very clear disclaimer that I have not read, nor do I intend to do so, all the pages of commentary (learned or otherwise) that have gone before.  At the risk of a sound thrashing here goes:

 

I continue to be amazed by the vast numbers of flight simmers who continue to insist that they are doing "it" (whatever the it may be) exactly as done in the RW and who insist that the scenery, AI, WX yadda X 3  must be no less than 100% correct to the instant.  And BTW, all this while flying their 100% correctly repainted AirbusBoeingWhatever A380737-400 on an 18 hour flight from Hong Kong to where ever.

 

100% correct?  Oh yeah?  Where are the second and third pilots?  No, not 100% correct at all is it?  IMHO (repeat IMHO) unless you are flying only a single pilot aircraft you are not doing it anywhere near correctly at all.

 

And while I am on this rant, I always try to keep in mind the relevance of flight simming to the real world by repeating to myself at frequent intervals "it's only a toy"!

 

Rant completed, waiting for my drubbing.