Air Combat Computer Players -- I need some advice

I've been thinking of learning how to play a combat flight sim, but the learning level on some of those games are right out of the zone.

Can anyone suggest a good current entry-level combat flight game?

they have a free download for Windows and Mac, at least the last release, a few simple (sort of ) off-line missions that will give you the basic skills needed to fly in the multiplayer arena.

I used to play in the online arenas all the time but the cost became prohibative as did the system requirements. Still, it was the best flight sim combat game I've played and the people there are really nice, when they aren't shooting you off the runway.

The trick with any online combat flight sim is to except death. It takes YEARS to get good enough to fight long enough to run out of ammo.

They also have a cool WW1 sim called Dawn of Aces III which is far to system intensive for my current infrastructure.

Total Sims really takes great care to maintain their products for both playability and accuracy.

looks interesting. Thanks for the tip!

with luck I'll be back in the arenas buy December... if so I'll look for you... then, of course, pepper you with shells until you spiral to the ground like a Kamikaze pilot :)

It's a free demo. I think you can get it at CNet.It's also on a PC Games demo disk. Three levels of difficulty. Lots of planes. You can set it so you can fly without getting killed. That really helps.

Which era are you most interested in? WWI through modern day are available, and there is a huge difference in play style. The earlier in time you go, the more emphasis on 'flying', as opposed to the more modern versions which turn into planes shooting missiles at each other from a couple kilometers away, and use anti-missile tech to evade.

I'm probably not the best person to answer your question, but if you have any preferrences it would help in narrowing down the field. :)

Back when they were a lot simpler. I'd say I either like the planes to be ultra-old or ultra modern. I'm not really interested in any historical period/event exactly, nor am I interested in any particular country's planes either.

It's a little dated, but you should be able to find it real cheap. It's single-player (I think), set during World War II over Europe. IMO it has a much more gentle learning curve than some of the other stuff I've played (Falcon 4.0 springs to mind!) plus it has a large number of aircraft flying at any given time, so you get to fly in big formations with loads of allied aircraft before taking on big formations of Nazi bombers. Top fun.