hey guys! love your site, and the flying you do is nothing short of incredible! had the priveledge of seeing the Thunderbirds perform this year at Altus AFB, and when the sneak pass occured, the jet passed 50ft. directly overhead, scared my sister in law to the point that she jumped so hard, that body parts fell out of her top! was priceless...

my question is this, i know you use Lock On because of the formation flying, but as far as a simulation employing modern aircraft as weapons systems, do you think that Lock On is better than say, Falcon 4.0 AF? or vice versa? i'm picking one up this weekend, and was just wondering about your opinion, maybe i'll just get both!

Great flying guys! keep up the good work!

Spaz

get both, they each have strengths and weakness's, like and dislikes. Both are great in my honest opinion and offer todays flight sim enthusiast many fun hours.

i guess alot of it would depend on the particular aircraft you prefer to fly..

Spaz,

It mostly depends on what you intend do accomplish! A quick summary of some key features/points for each:

Lock-On
More diversity (more aircraft)
Newer sim, looks better
Netcode, aerobatics and formation flying
Flight dynamics
Not as in depth as AF, but beats AF on three key points: Graphics, Netcode and Flight Dynamics (flight models)

Falcon AF
Best modeled Viper system and realistic usage
Dynamic campaigns
Realistic ops of fighter and sorties
Dated product, but patched and updated by a relentless fan community


If what you want is a very realistic sim featuring the Viper, that lacks mostly from an eight year old platform, hence the visuals, code and flight dynamics are not going to be as good, but everything else is still unsurpassed. Falcon AF is your choice.

If you want a realistic sim that's not as in depth and focuses on several aircraft on a two year old product that still has the developer in business where all points fall short (not by much, but AF still rules) on all points but graphics, visuals, netcoding, flight models. This sim is in most cases more enjoyable unless you are one of the hardcore fans that want the nitty gritty details of the Viper and a dynamic campaign. If you're looking for formation flying in particular, Lock-On is it!

I'm not biased towards either sim aside from the three key points. For formation aerobatics there's no comparison! I've been a Falcon user and fan since 1986 when the first Falcon version was released and I've bought them all. Two years ago did I dive into Lock-On and although Falcon still rules the skies of war and realism in the Viper, I haven't touched Falcon since the day I started flying formation in Lock-On. The learning curve is not as steep for Lock-On, but at the same time you get newer, better realistic flight models and graphics as well as multiplayer capability. Again, I'm not saying either sim is bad, but if you're still clueless after the above mentioned points I made it comes down to: Mainstream vs. hardcore? To enjoy Falcon you really have to be a hardcore fan, to enjoy Lock-On is "easier"...

Bottom line is that these are currently the two most realistic combat sims on the market and Lock-On gets my vote at this time, although Falcon still has a very special place in my heart having grown up using it for so many years. Neither is to be confused with being an arcade game, cause they're certainly not. I'm convinced however, that the learning curve for Lock-On is not as steep as it is for the Falcon series, but that in itself doesn't mean Lock-On is less realistic. Both sims take aim at a hardcore crowd and anyone looking for arcade action will soon be bored and go look elsewhere.

LD

P.S. Thanks for the comments about us! Additional info on the Sneak Pass is that it's flown at Mach 0.94 or 600 knots (sea level) in an eliptical path that takes the jet overhead of the crowd at approx 200 feet above show center. It's the only overhead maneuver the Thunderbirds perform nowadays that is flown lower than 500 feet over any part of the crowd line.

Get both it is worth it. And just a comment has anyone tried to fly formation in 4.0 with the new patch that just came out or no? I have herd its possible and if so I may reinstall =)

It sure looked a lot better, but even just looking at the video you could tell it wasn't as stable as Lock-On, but certainly improved and then some!

http://multiviperforums.com/video/SmoothFlying.wmv

Now, if they could only do the same with the outdated graphics!

LD

all this talk just convinced me to go out and get both! that way i get the best of both world's..

Thanks for the input

Spaz

I own both...Love Lock On.. More realistic andvery sharp graphics...