''Flight Simulator II'' is a

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by Bruce Artwick and published by

Sublogic Sublogic Corporation (stylized as subLOGIC) is an American software developer, software development company. It was formed in 1977 by Bruce Artwick, and incorporation (business), incorporated in 1978 by Artwick's partner Stu Moment as Sublogic Com ...

as the sequel to '' FS1 Flight Simulator''. It was released in December 1983 for the

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

, in 1984 for Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64, in 1986 for the Amiga and Atari ST, the Atari XEGS as a pack-in title in 1987, and in August 1988 for the

Tandy Color Computer 3 The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer, is a series of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Computer is a completely different ...

Development

After the release of ''Flight Simulator'' for the IBM PC, Sublogic backported its improvements to other computers as ''Flight Simulator II''. This version, like the Microsoft release, does away with wireframe graphics for solid colors, and uses real-world scenery (although limited to a few areas in the United States). It includes the ability to load additional scenery from

floppy disks A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...

. Twelve ''Scenery Disks'' covering the entire continental United States were released by Sublogic. A typical ''Scenery Disk'' covers three aeronautical sectionals, offering radio-navigation and visual scenery aids in the sectional areas covered. Four other ''Scenery Discs'' cover Western Europe, Japan, Hawaii and San Francisco.

Reception

InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (''IW'') is an American information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a Web-only publication. Its parent company is International Data Group, and its sister pu ...

'' in 1984 praised ''Flight Simulator II'' for the Apple as "a complicated but exhilarating game ... Bruce Artwick has really done it all", and stated that it was superior to Microsoft's version. ''InfoWorld's Essential Guide to Atari Computers'' recommended the game as the best flight simulator for the Atari 8-bit, stating that "If you become a pro", players are "well on your way to understanding how powered flight actually feels". Roy Wagner reviewed and compared '' Solo Flight'' and ''Flight Simulator II'' for ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'', and stated that "This program is outstanding and certainly one of the best examples of excellent programming, documentation, and a full use of the capabilities of a microcomputer." ''II Computing'' listed it ninth on the magazine's list of top Apple II games as of late 1985, based on sales and market-share data, and it was Sublogic's best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987. In 1996, ''

'' declared ''Flight Simulator II'' the 79th-best computer game ever released.

References

{{Microsoft Flight Simulator 1983 video games Amiga games Apple II games Atari 8-bit computer games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Flight simulation video games General flight simulators NEC PC-9801 games Single-player video games Sublogic games TRS-80 Color Computer games Video game sequels Video games developed in the United States