Combat flight.

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Combat flight are simulation video games (similar to amateur flight simulation software) used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and military flight training which consist of realistic physical recreations of the actual aircraft cockpit, often with a full-motion platform.

Combat flight simulation titles are more numerous than civilian flight simulators due to the variety of subject matter available and market demand. Many free flight simulators, such as Digital Combat Simulator and War Thunder, can be downloaded for free off of the Internet.

Prior to the rise of modern-day video games, electro-mechanical games were produced that used rear image projection in a manner similar to the ancient zoetrope to produce moving animations on a screen.This technology led to the rise of arcade games, as well as the first simulation video games in the late 1960s. One such electro-mechanical game was Jet Rocket, a flight simulator released by Sega in 1970 that featured cockpit controls that could move the player's aircraft around a landscape displayed on a screen and shoot missiles at targets that would explode when hit.In 1975, Taito released the arcade video game simulator Interceptor, an early first-person combat flight simulator that involved piloting a jet fighter using an eight-way joystick to aim and shoot at enemy aircraft.

The 1980s experienced a wave of more advanced simulation video games with companies such as Atari Inc. releasing their own game called Red Baron in 1980, which used QuadraScan graphics and sound effects to simulate first-person flight combat.Other games such as the earliest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator (1982) had crude graphics, simple flight models, and a combat option with "dog fighting" in a World War I Sopwith Camel. Shortly after Microsoft Flight Simulator was released for the 8-bit computer, Microsoft released Jet in 1985. This simulator used simple filled wire frame graphics and a small generic battle space to allow players to fight MiGs in an F-18 or F-16. There were also titles released for the Atari 2600 that simulated flight combat, two examples being Mattel's Air Raiders (1982) and Milton Bradley's Spitfire Attack (1983).

During the 1990s and early 2000s, there was a transition from traditional video game platforms like arcades, to consoles such as the original Playstation, for their ability to be played at home. PC games remained po[CENSORED]r during this time, as many publishers continued to produces games primarily for the PC platform. Due to the limitations and the relative simplicity of the controllers available for gaming consoles at the time, flight simulators remained largely absent from consoles for years to come.Several rival publishers rose during this period such as NovaLogic with titles like the Comanche Series that simulated helicopter combat, and Electronic Arts with Jane's WWII Fighters which improved upon features such as detailed visible damage. Newer software in the genre include Falcon 4.0: Allied Force (2005), Digital Combat Simulator (2008) and Rise of Flight (2009). On consoles, Namco launched Air Combat (1995) for the original PlayStation, which later became the Ace Combat series.

Combat flight simulators are classified according to their historical period, type of aircraft, and level of detail. This method of classifying means that many simulators belong to more than one category, which leads to arguments about what can be considered actual simulations instead of games. Generally, simulations are expected to be imitations of real-world technology, while games are not; therefore, every game with flying in them does not fit into the category of "flight simulation."

Simulator realism can be classified as the following:

• Arcade game (least realistic)
• survey simulation
• study simulation (most realistic)