Microsoft Flight Simulator (1982 video game)

Microsoft Flight Simulator, commonly known as Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0, is a 1982 flight simulation video game, released in November 1982 for the IBM PC.^[1] It is the first installment in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series.

Microsoft Flight Simulator
Developer(s)	Sublogic
Publisher(s)	Microsoft
Designer(s)	Bruce Artwick
Series	Microsoft Flight Simulator
Platform(s)	IBM PC
Release	November 1982
Genre(s)	Amateur flight simulation
Mode(s)	Single-player

Gameplay

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the player flies a Cessna 182 Skylane in one of four US regions: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, or Seattle. The starting airport is Meigs Field in Chicago, with a view of the city skyline to the left and Lake Michigan to the right. It would remain the default airport in future versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator, until the real airport was closed in 2003.

There is also a "Europe 1917" mode which is similar to the "British Ace" mode of FS1 Flight Simulator. This mode has the player flying a Sopwith Camel in a grid-divided area with mountains on two sides. They can declare war and fire at enemy aircraft.

Development

This image is of Microsoft Flight Simulator displaying color on a composite monitor.^[2] The game does have support for RGB monitors, but in monochrome only.

Around 1981, Microsoft contacted Bruce Artwick of Sublogic, the creator of FS1 Flight Simulator, to develop a new flight simulator for IBM compatible PCs. This version was released in November of the following year as Microsoft Flight Simulator. It featured an improved graphics engine, variable weather and time of day, and a new coordinate system (used by all subsequent versions up to version 5). It was later updated and ported to other home computers as Flight Simulator II, published by Sublogic.

Advertisements claimed "If flying your IBM PC got any more realistic, you'd need a license", and promised "a full-color, out-the-window flight display".^[3] Early versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator were used as a test for PC compatibility. If a computer could run Microsoft Flight Simulator and Lotus 1-2-3, it was 100% IBM PC-compatible.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][excessive citations]}

Reception

Will Fastie for Creative Computing said "In their established tradition, Microsoft has again chosen to market a classic program, unique in the market."^[11]

Jay Marrone for SoftSide said "the MS-Flight Simulator is an entertaining program for anyone who ever wanted to pilot an airplane."^[12]

Hartley G. Lesser for Electronic Fun with Computers & Games said "Microsoft's Flight Simulator actually turns your IBM PC into a Cessna. The thrill of flying becomes a reality."^[13]

Stan Miastkowski for Byte said "The Microsoft Flight Simulator is a tour de force of the programmer's art."^[14]

The game sold about 800,000 copies in its first five years.^[15]

In 2021, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted Microsoft Flight Simulator to its World Video Game Hall of Fame.^[16]

Reviews

• PC Magazine - Jan, 1983^[17]