FlightSimulators
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Hands-on: Maingear Shift running Saitek flight-simulation hardware (video)
Custom PC builder Maingear had something pretty nifty up its sleeve at Pepcom tonight: versions of its desktops configured to run Saitek's flight-simulation hardware -- in this case, with a full cockpit setup. In partnership with Mad Catz, the company developed configurations of its Potenza, F131 and Shift desktops optimized to work with the Saitek line of flight-sim systems. Tonight we saw the Shift paired with some pretty heavy-duty hardware: we're talking 18 USB connections for the full Saitek cockpit. Maingear's pro-certified system packs a Core i7 CPU clocked at up to 3.9GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics (with four GPUs), and with an experienced pilot behind the wheel, that translated into a smooth landing in Flight Simulator X. Maingear says the whole setup -- hardware controls plus the Shift desktop -- will go for $5,500 starting tomorrow. That's the top-of-the-line configuration, mind you; if your piloting aspirations are more modest, you could opt for the more affordable Potenza, which starts at $1,000. Check out a video demo below.%Gallery-158862%
Fly into landmarks with Google Maps flight sim
Since Google released its Google Maps API to the public, budding game designers have used it to place everything from golf to Carmen Sandiego style terrorist foiling over satellite images of the world. Now we can add a Flash-based flight simulator to that list. Goggles lets you fly a crude, 3D plane over a selection of major cities from around the world (and the solar system -- you can also fly over sections of the moon and Mars).There's no explicit goal, but you can fire cartoony circular bullets at the ground to leave temporary black pockmarks on the landscape. You can also crash your plane into famous landmarks, a feature sure to draw the ire of conservatives who will say the game is training a new generation of terrorists to destroy our very way of life. Our only real complaint is that the plane can't go very fast or zoom out very high, which limits how quickly you can find your favorite landmark to destroy. Here's hoping for a version 2.[Via Jay is Games]
