These are some excellent ideas that add some “career” realism without getting too complex. Something else that I’d highly recommend is to take a look at the Boston Virtual ATC page. If you’re willing to get into sim ATC (it’s easy to integrate it into MSFS on PC) then you can follow Boston’s WINGS program which takes you essentially from first solo at Nantucket all the way up to Airliner IFR procedures over the course of 30 different flights. I recently completed the VFR portion and greatly enjoyed it. Link below. Also, VATSIM (the hub for everything virtual ATC) has a pilot rating program with training courses and such in case you don’t want to fly around the Boston area.
I find myself doing a bunch of weekend flights to NASCAR races. Not so much this time of year, though…it’s a long haul from Boston to any of the “western swing” tracks. But Boston to say, Daytona or Talladega is only a couple hours in most IFR-capable planes.
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If there was a game that allowed you to configure several parameters to your liking that would allow you to stage the virtual career/environment you want to simulate. You could reset as many times as you liked. That could satisfy people who get bored easily and those who like to stick to it for awhile.
I had real world events built into my career at once. People going to airshows (Oshkosh). Moving a group of fans to an F1 race, etc. That speaks more to the story behind the flight. I like to know that too, because it gives you a level of immersion and a back story to the flight. To get such narrative behind flights is time consuming though. It is possible and you can make it dynamic so they all don’t start sounding the same with different words.
That is a key factor in killing the boredom. I have ttried a non-points approach. Fly to every airport in the world at least once. Yeah, that was a tall order. It wasn’t in any specific order. But then there were no interim goals and so the task became too arduous and hence boring.
Another example of a non-points system is wracking up hours to get to different levels whether that be aircraft types or a certain pilot rating. Those too leave out the purpose of each flight as you get through those levels. This is a very common VA approach and challenge.
So how about a combination of the two. Points are needed to unlock levels or boosts that help you get to the next level. In the end though you will get there, however long it takes. Then the question becomes what next?
I have pondered that question alot and I came to the conclusion that resetting and trying it all over again is the way to go. A lot of people hate losing their history and status they worked hard to achieve in a career. But if there is a pinnacle and no where else to go, restarting is the next best challenge. That is the journey I am on in my current sim career. I am half way to the pinnacle, Large Bizjet license, then I am going to reset and enjoy the journey from the bottom to the top again.
Am I the only one realizing this?
One of the obstacles to a career mode is there’s not a good sense of realistic evaluation and feedback within the sim. Completion of the flight is one thing, and remaining within a set of basic parameters (track error, ETA, G force, landing rate, etc) is another, but are you really doing the things pilots do to earn their certificates/ratings and their livelihoods? There are a LOT of intangibles in aviation that are very difficult for an algorithm to ascertain, aeronautical decision making being chief amongst them.
I’ve used FS Economy since before some simmers were born and while it’s fun as a scenario generator, it doesn’t evaluate me as to whether I completed the flight ahead of or around adverse weather, or whether my communications with ATC (VATSIM in my case) were professional and compliant. It certainly doesn’t praise (or berate) me for making a no-go decision. It just knows that I landed and applied the parking brake at the destination.
Granted, some apps go deeper, but again, they don’t always get to the measure of a pilot beyond some fairly superficial parameters. They can’t tell if I’m behind the aircraft like an instructor, a check pilot/DPE, or a left-seater would.
I’m not sure if that’s what you were all looking for, but when I think career, I think hyper realism and the ADM needed to handle it.
True no sim can do that. Even the million dollar sims don’t do that. The flight instructor, human, is the one that can make all those assessments.
That is a high bar to reach even for real life aviation.
The core question is: what motivates someone to play?
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Now that I think about it, it’s more of a scenario generator I want. I really don’t care about rewards and stuff, I just want each flight to have meaning. A web-based program would satisfy me. The VA I fly for has a selection of tours, which has a similar idea except they’re usually 10-20 legs with a 30 day time limit and only a handful of approved aircraft.
I typed the above paragraph about 5 hours ago and I’ve been playing around with ideas while at work.
Open AI is selling access to the Chat GPT API for $2.00 USD, allowing people and companies to use it on their websites, apps, etc. I’ve already been playing around with Chat GPT as well as the Bing Chat for several weeks now, so I decided to ask it for a scenario:
Let’s create a scenario. There’s a charter flight from White Plains, NY to Chicago Midway. The aircraft is a PC-12. Describe the passengers and the reason for their flight.
The response is somewhat lengthy, so I’ve collapsed it below. I think Chat GPT could be used to generate scenarios pretty well.
Chat GPT Response
Sure, here’s a possible scenario:
The charter flight from White Plains, NY to Chicago Midway is carrying a group of six passengers, including four executives from a pharmaceutical company based in White Plains, and two personal assistants.
The reason for their flight is a business trip to attend a conference on the latest developments in the pharmaceutical industry, which is being held at a hotel near Midway airport. The executives, who are in charge of research and development, hope to gain valuable insights from the conference that will help them to advance their work on a new drug that the company is developing.
The flight was scheduled to depart early in the morning from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, which is the closest airport to the company’s headquarters. The passengers arrived at the airport in a limousine arranged by the company, and after checking in with the charter company and going through security, they boarded the PC-12, a small but comfortable aircraft that is well-suited for short-haul flights.
During the flight, the passengers made use of the onboard amenities, including comfortable seats, a small galley with snacks and beverages, and a restroom. They also discussed their expectations for the conference and shared ideas about how they could apply the latest research to their work.
After landing at Midway airport, the passengers disembarked and were met by a representative from the hotel, who had arranged for a shuttle to take them to the conference venue. The executives were excited to begin their day of learning and networking, while the personal assistants were already busy making arrangements for the rest of the trip, which would include several other conferences in different cities over the next few days.
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That is impressive. That is a bolt on you can add to any career mode for those that enjoy that type of back story.
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What you need to add spice is dynamic story adjustments!
If you go over certain flight paramters that make them uncomfortable the stroy changes in real time:
“Tweets just in indicate a charter group of 6 are intending to sue the charter company for the “Vomit Comet” experience their smooth flight suddenly turned into”
My own career progression route with flight simulators, is simple. Start with money, get experience, get poorer and finally, at the pinnacle, to realise how much money has gone on the sim that has just been discontinued and move to the foot of the cliff provided by its successor.