# Mac Combat Flight-Simulators...and the soon to be lack of one of them. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233 "2003-03-26T05:50:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/1 "2003-03-26T05:50:05Z")
I just have to get this off my chest… First off, I’m a Mac user. And I’m also a user of “X-Plane,” which is one of the more extensive flight sims available for the Mac. A sort of a “Poor-Man’s MSFS.” Now, for a few months now, X-Plane’s creator had said he was working on a “combat” variant of of the sim, and even released a “Weapons Editor” along with the current software suite. And the weapons options…Oh! Everything from machine guns and iron bombs, to nukes, lasers, and Precision Guided Munitions. All of which were user editable. In fact, quite a few people had already designed true-to-life munitions and uploaded them for others to use-you could actually use them in the sim, if only as unlaunchable dead weight. …But then, today, X-Plane’s creator announces that X-Combat has been SHELVED. 'Seems he’s been feeling pacifistic tendencies lately, and decided to “focus his attentions on improving aircraft safety, rather than the opposite.” Let me just say…DAMNIT TO PUS-SPEWING BLOOD-GUTTED HELL! I mean, the program is his “baby” to do with as he wishes, and he has a right to believe what he wants, and I’ll respect that. But I’ll be god DAMNED if that means I have to feel HAPPY about it! I really \*wanted to test fire cruise missiles at Fallon, Nevada! I wanted to fly “Operation: Sea Lion” in an He-111! I WANTED TO FLY THE “LEPER COLONY” ON A NUCLEAR DEATH-RUN TO LAPUTA. DAMNIT! And now it’ll never happen. Slag. ☹ :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/2 "2003-03-26T08:16:40Z")
That’s what you get for hoping a Mac hippie would program icky bombs and stuff. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/3 "2003-03-26T08:20:59Z")
You win the award, Michael—I knew it wouldn’t take long for a dumb Mac joke to be made on this thread. You did not disappoint. (And yeah, I know, it was just a joke. No hard feelings!) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/4 "2003-03-26T08:54:12Z")
You can play games on Macs? I thought they were just for writing virii on alien computer systems n such… ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/5 "2003-03-26T09:18:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*You win the award, Michael—I knew it wouldn’t take long for a dumb Mac joke to be made on this thread. You did not disappoint. (And yeah, I know, it was just a joke. No hard feelings!) 🙂 \*\* Cool! What do I get? ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/6 "2003-03-26T11:41:02Z")
Sorry to hear it, **Ranchoth**. Any chance of someone else picking up the project? Or it being only a temporary shelving? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/7 "2003-03-26T11:58:08Z")
A Bungie cord and a copy of Marathon Man. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/8 "2003-03-26T18:45:27Z")
It is really unfortunate actually. While I am by no means a fan of Meyer and X-Plane, any flight sim title that gets canned is _not_ good for our small niche industry as a whole… and I suspect this applies even more-so for the sim-starved Mac market. Interstingly enough, back in the mid-90s I seriously looked at getting a Mac when I got back into PCs. My last one, in the late 80s, was an Amiga and the Mac felt far closer to me than a Win95 PC. However, the main reason that I went to the Wintel crowd was _flightsims_. There was just such a selection for the Windows PC and virtually nothing for the Mac. I feel for you. It really is too bad. Tell you what though, and I **sincerely** don’t want to make this into a mac/pc thread, if you love sims (especially WW2) you **MUST** see Forgotten Battles on a decently powerful PC (Say, 1ghz+, GF3 and lotsa Ram). It may just be enough for you to buy a Windows PC! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/9 "2003-03-26T19:37:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Michael Ellis \* > \*\*Cool! What do I get? \*\* Why, you get a[…](http://www.geekychick.net/blog/images/posts/sadmac1.php) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/10 "2003-03-26T23:14:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AudreyK \* > \*\*Sorry to hear it, **Ranchoth**. Any chance of someone else picking up the project? Or it being only a temporary shelving? \*\* I don’t know. I sure _hope_ he’ll change his mind. In any case, he’s just now adding “plugin” support for the sim, so maybe someone’ll be able to do something combat-wise with that. I probably shouldn’t hold my breath, though. ☹ And thanks again for the support, **Audreyk** and **bernse**. And I can’t say that I’m a big fan of Meyer or X-Plane right now, either. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-combat-flight-simulators-and-the-soon-to-be-lack-of-one-of-them/164233/11 "2003-03-27T01:17:39Z")
That’s too bad. ☹