Piloting is generally limited to dockings, landings or orbital maneuvers. Realistic space simulators seek to represent a vessel's behaviour under the influence of the laws of physics.Īs such, the player normally concentrates on following checklists or planning tasks. Some more recent games, most notably Elite: Dangerous, have brought new attention to the space trading and combat game subgenre.

Orbiter Spaceflight Simulator) and 2011's commercially released Kerbal Space Program was notably well-received, even by the aerospace community. However, open-source and enthusiast communities managed to produce some working, modern titles (e.g.

Space flight games and simulators, at one time popular, had for much of the new millennium been considered a 'dead' genre. Games similar to Elite are sometimes called ' Elite-clones'. Elite was highly influential upon later games of its type, although it did have some precursors. The game Elite is widely considered to be the breakthrough game of the genre, and as having successfully melded the 'space trading' and flight sim genres. The modern space flight game genre emerged at the point when home computers became sufficiently powerful to draw basic wireframe graphics in real-time. Examples of more fantastical video games that bend the rules of physics in favor of streamlining and entertainment, include Wing Commander, Star Wars: X-Wing and Freelancer. Many of the pseudo simulators feature faster than light travel.Įxamples of true simulators which aim at piloting a space craft in a manner that conforms with the laws of nature include Orbiter, Kerbal Space Program and Microsoft Space Simulator. Some 'flight models' use a physics system based on Newtonian physics, but these are usually limited to maneuvering the craft in its direct environment, and do not take into consideration the orbital calculations that would make such a game a simulator. The realism of the latter games is limited to what the game designer deems to be appropriate for the gameplay, instead of focusing on the realism of moving the spacecraft in space.

Others focus on gameplay rather than simulating space flight in all its facets. Some games in the genre aim to recreate a realistic portrayal of space flight, involving the calculation of orbits within a more complete physics simulation than pseudo space flight simulators. Common mechanics include space exploration, space trade and space combat. A space flight simulation is a genre of flight simulator video games that lets players experience space flight to varying degrees of realism.

Pc space flight simulator