FS1 Flight Simulator

FS1 Flight Simulator
Publisher(s) subLOGIC
Platform(s) Apple II, TRS-80
Release 1979
Genre(s) Flight simulator

FS1 Flight Simulator is a 1979 video game published by subLOGIC for Apple II and TRS-80. It is the predecessor to Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Gameplay

Screenshot from Flight Simulator 1 for Apple II

FS1 Flight Simulator is a flight simulator in the cockpit of a slightly modernized Sopwith Camel.[1]

Development and release

Computer-graphics specialist Bruce Artwick and pilot and marketing student Stu Moment were roommates at the University of Illinois. A2FS1 Flight Simulator, their first product after forming subLOGIC,[2] had black and white wireframe graphics, featured a very limited scenery consisting of 36 tiles (in a 6 by 6 pattern, which roughly equals a few hundred square kilometers), and provided a very basic simulation (with only one aircraft simulated). Despite this, it ended up being one of the most popular Apple II applications of the early 1980s.

The simulator was later ported to the TRS-80 Model I, which had only rudimentary graphics capability. To squeeze the simulator into the TRS-80 limited memory and display, subLOGIC saw it necessary to drop the instrument panel and reduce the resolution. Flight Simulator for the TRS-80 therefore has the most simplistic graphics of all versions of Flight Simulator (gameplay video in a modern emulator).

subLOGIC claimed in advertisements that the $25 FS1 "is a visual flight simulator that gives you realistically stable aircraft control", with a graphics engine "capable of drawing 150 lines per second".[3] The company later released updated versions for both the Apple II and TRS-80 on 5​1⁄4 inch diskettes. The updates included enhanced terrain, help menus, and a bomb sight.

Reception

J. Mishcon reviewed FS1 Flight Simulator in The Space Gamer No. 31. Mishcon commented that "All things considered, this is single most impressive computer game I have seen. It creates a whole new standard. I most strongly urge you to buy it and see for yourself."[1]

Flight Simulator sold 30,000 copies by June 1982, tied for third on Computer Gaming World's list of top sellers.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Mishcon, J. (September 1980). "Capsule Reviews". The Space Gamer. Steve Jackson Games (31): 28.
  2. ↑ Hockman, Daniel (April 1987). "Bruce Artwick's Flight Simulator / You've Come A Long Way, Baby! / The History of an Epic Program". Computer Gaming World. No. 36. pp. 32–34. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "New for the Apple II & TRS-80... the subLOGIC FS1 Flight Simulator!". BYTE (advertisement). January 1980. p. 94.
  4. ↑ "Inside the Industry" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. September–October 1982. p. 2. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
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