An Add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000
Developer/Publisher: Wilco Publishing
Reviewed by Cat91 on 8/13/01

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First Impressions:

This brings us back to our friends at Wilco Publishing. As you'll recall from our look at their 737 add-on for Terminal Reality's Fly!, Wilco doesn't make the sim you fly; they make the sim you fly...better. This they do very well indeed. One thing that consistently draws virtual aviators to FS2K is its adaptability: not for general aviation, for which there is a surfeit of sims, but for flying the aforementioned heavy metal. When you discount a very small number of purpose-built and very expensive software packages aimed at very hardcore simmers and actual pilots, you realize that no other out-of-the-box sim does this. The Boeing 767 is such an aircraft, and it has been adopted in various forms by most of the world's airlines as well as several air forces. It's popular among simmers and aftermarket modelers have visited it often. This fact was not lost on Wilco, who utilized their considerable talents to turn a hardcore virtual big bird jock's dreams into reality, bringing the best interpretation yet of this widely used jetliner to the PC. Let's take a closer look.

Graphics:

Take a look at the screenies: Wilco has used its experience and Flight Simulator 2000's adaptability to good effect. This Delta Airlines 767 sports one of twelve different liveries available. Eleven of those are for real-world airlines including Qantas, British Airways, TWA, Japan Air Lines and most of the 767's other major operators. The aircraft is highly detailed, with visibly operating flaps, high-polygon-count fuselage, wings, landing gear, and rotating turbine blades in the two engines. Night flights show landing lights and all relevant aircraft lighting. In the cockpit, the 2D panels are rendered from photos of the actual aircraft, and are as well done as any FS2K aircraft.

Most impressive are the engine displays (known as the EICAS to connossieurs of technobabble) and the FMC-the flight computer. The EICAS can be set with a button touch to show the pilot where to set the throttles for takeoffs and steady climbs. The FMC has several different displays and appears to be programmable for a variety of functions. I didn't get a manual with my copy of 767, so I was unable to decipher how to set it up, but it looks really well done. Wilco apparently did not use the default MSFS gauge sets, but did their own, and the results are crisp and clear all around. The add-on's only weakness is the lack of a 3D virtual cockpit, this being one of FS2K's own worst faults. Wilco did do rendered quarter views that look as if they were also photographed from an actual 767, but when the pilot looks directly up from inside the cockpit, there is only blue sky - no ceiling! Regardless, they've done a good job within the limits of the underlying sim.

Sound/Music:

They hit the ball out of the park on this one. The sound pack is one of the better ones I've heard for Microsoft Flight Simulator. If you've ever ridden in a 757 or 767, you'll recognize the engine whine. They even got the sound of the air conditioner right, and when you push those throttles to the firewall you can hear the engines scream just like when you're riding the real bird! Warning sounds are also done well. From the stall horn to the various voice warnings, they sound like FAA tapes I've heard of air crashes. When I was about to plow into the tarmac at Tampa International during a manual approach to runway 18 right, the game was yelling "Sink rate! Sink rate!" at me in a very authoritative guy's voice.

Gameplay:

Standard Microsoft Flight Simulator fare, but with a twist: 767 adds the joy of random faults to your game. You have a little window that you can have tell you what's about to happen, but I bet no one uses it. Yes, it can randomly fail everything from your navigation systems to your engines. It also uses the same thought process the FAA uses to check real airline pilots in what to fail and - get this - whether you deal with the failures properly.

You'll need to know where the right switches are on what panel. Wilco has thoughtfully provided a lot of intricate, realistic panels, but this is one weakness of FS2K that carries over in the 767 add-on. In a combat simulation, cockpits are generally 3D and the pilot can use the joystick's thumb hat to pan around to the area of the cockpit she needs to reach. It's intuitive and makes learning the aircraft and systems operation much the same as it would be in real life. For example, you know that the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) switch is to the left and down. In MSFS, you have to know which panel it's on, and use keyboard keys or the menu to get that panel up, then mouse to the switch to throw it. That's not intuitive, and when dealing with a compressor stall at 30,000 feet you need all the time you can get. However, if you're an old hand at FS2K, you'll pick up the drill fast.

Wilco gets two thumbs and a big toe up for the flight model. In FS2K, flight model programming is not an easy task, as the aircraft have "..air" files which, in comparison with combat sims studying one aircraft alone, use a pretty crude mathematical model to simulate a flying aircraft. Wilco has made lemonade out of this particular lemon, and got the feel right. I'm not a pilot in real life, but this 767 feels like a big, heavy, ponderous airplane. When fully loaded, you need flaps to take off, and you'll use a whole lot of runway to lumber off the ground. Unlike a lot of FS2K birds I've flown, the Wilco 767 exhibits smooth handling at low speeds, and does not fly tail-heavy on takeoff. In many of the aftermarket planes, I have had to keep the stick down when leaving the ground to keep the bird from taking a vertical attitude and stalling. Not here. This airplane is stable and predictable. The engines take time to spin up or spin down when changing throttle settings, which makes the player think two steps ahead when making power adjustments. The complex, realistically-modeled autopilot is a must for steady, comfortable flight, which reflects reality: in real life the only time the pilot takes the stick is at takeoff, and right at landing. Nowadays, Boeing airliners can even land themselves, and there are controls in the cockpit of the Wilco 767 for auto-landing, though I couldn't figure out how to use them. All in all, this is a very accurate modeling of the look and feel of a real 767.

Enjoyment:

If you like Flight Simulator 2000, you fly a lot of virtual airline stuff, you love hardcore systems modeling, and want to fly a realistically-modeled 767, then you need this add-on. It's worthy. I liked it.

Multiplayer:

MS Flight Simulator can be flown in a multiplayer environment, and the 767 modeled here can be used in the same manner as any other MS Flight Simulator aircraft.

Overall Impression:

I think Wilco needs to take the gloves off and do their own flight sim from the ground up. With add-ons like this and their previous effort with the 737 for Fly!, they're clearly showing that they have what it takes to model good, realistic, hardcore heavy aircraft. This is a niche that has been too often ignored by developers, and has a large fan base. With an aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules, which has both military and civilian applications, a crossover sim with a wide fan base could be had and Wilco could be the driving force. As far as this 767add-on is concerned, it's an excellent impression of a popular civilian and military passenger/cargo aircraft. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the next edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

MS Flight Simulator isn't targeted at either of the sexes, and is one of only four sims I know of that isn't (the others are combat sims). Wilco, on the other hand, actively wants to increase its fan base. It knows that women fly, and it's doing everything it can to get us in the virtual sky. That effort's gotta pay off. We hope it does.