Best SF2 for someone new to the Series?

[kenportner]

I'm new to SF2, although not completely new to sims.

 

Is there one version of SF2 better for a new player or is it just dependent on which theater/aircraft you're interested in?

 

Thanks for any advice.

[+EricJ]

Pretty much whatever plane set you're looking for.  But bear in mind other than some of the NA compatible or updated for SF2:NA then you may be out of luck.... sort of.  But usually any one will suffice as they're all "modular" and can be merged with each other and so on.

[Dillon]

Eric, are you saying North Atlantic specific add-ons aren't compatible with other versions?

[+EricJ]

Well yes, and no. Usually it's due to some engine and .dll tweaks as opposed to any other compatibility issues, so like the Super Hornet stuff you can use it in all versions, but you'd have to reference the Avionics70.dll for non-NA SF2 games.

[Sheriff]

Ken,

Go with either SF2 Israel or Vietnam

 

SF2 Israel is Day Fighter heaven but you do have the F-4 Phantom as well. You can add other terrains easily.

SF2 Vietnam offers some tough missions over N Vietnam . Immersion factor seems to be stronger. Hit pause button and then f6 and see what is going on all around you. Pretty impressive.

[+Dave]

SF2 Israel 

[Spinners]

It's a tricky choice but SF2:Israel and SF2:Vietnam would get my vote.

 

However, my default position is get 'em all! One per month, you know it makes sense!

[Dillon]

I don't know about anyone else but there's some good information here.    I'll chime in and say SF2: NA has the best graphics as it's the newest in the series.  For Navy guys it's an obvious choice but if you want access to all the Mods and the full experience of the series you'd have to get them all which I'm still working on myself. 

[Milktrout]

I've found Europe to have the most variety of gameplay.   North Atlantic gets my vote as well but the campaigns end up being very formulaic after a while. 

[jeanba]

SF2 Israel or SF2 Viet-Nam : it's a matter of taste.

[+Menrva]

I'd say Europe, it has many (probably the highest number) of the flyable planes of the series and an interesting what if scenario. Otherwise I'd say Vietnam because of the immersion factor. Here at CombatACE there are great mod packs for all titles anyway. BTW welcome to the best site in the world.

Edited January 28, 2015 by blaze95

[+Coupi]

I would choose SF2 Israel...

[dsawan]

Europe due to variety plus ww2 mods available here are more compatible with it.

[Caesar]

Really, it is a matter of taste and what you want.

 

Naval ops with multi-target engagement capability and slightly more "modern" avionics (functional TWS, for example)? SF2:NA (Includes F-14A, A-7E)

Historic battles and campaigns with great difficulty and variety? SF2:V or SF2:I (Includes F-8, F-4, A-4, and many Century-Series for Vietnam and F-15, F-16, Mirage-series, A-4 series for Israel)

What-if scenarios and a good variety of fighters and attackers? SF2:E (Includes F-15, A-10, Hunter, Mirage)

Baseline game and terrains with multi-purpose use? SF2 (Includes F-4, A-4, Century Series and Desert terrain)

 

The only reason that I personally, if I could only choose one, would go SF2:NA is because I'm a Tomcat fanatic and also love the catapult launches and arrested recoveries of SF2:NA.  It reminds me of Fleet Defender!  I will also bring up that although I own all 5, "Europe" is the one I use as my primary.

[MrGoTime]

Really, it is a matter of taste and what you want.

 

Naval ops with multi-target engagement capability and slightly more "modern" avionics (functional TWS, for example)? SF2:NA (Includes F-14A, A-7E)

Historic battles and campaigns with great difficulty and variety? SF2:V or SF2:I (Includes F-8, F-4, A-4, and many Century-Series for Vietnam and F-15, F-16, Mirage-series, A-4 series for Israel)

What-if scenarios and a good variety of fighters and attackers? SF2:E (Includes F-15, A-10, Hunter, Mirage)

Baseline game and terrains with multi-purpose use? SF2 (Includes F-4, A-4, Century Series and Desert terrain)

 

The only reason that I personally, if I could only choose one, would go SF2:NA is because I'm a Tomcat fanatic and also love the catapult launches and arrested recoveries of SF2:NA.  It reminds me of Fleet Defender!  I will also bring up that although I own all 5, "Europe" is the one I use as my primary.

 

Agreed here. I think it depends on what type of campaign you're looking for. I love the SF2:Europe because it has quick moving campaigns and you can see the frontlines ebb and flow. It really feels like you're part of a massive full spectrum war effort. You get that same vibe in Israel (which has my fave stock terrain), as well as NA to some extent (ooo and stock SF2 has that same feel). But Vietnam feels like the real deal. You'll sweat out the SAMs and AA fire and feel great just to survive. 

 

All of them have their perks, and a fully merged install is great. Especially because you could have your same pilot fly through all the campaigns (which I think is kinda fun). 

 

Also - it really depends on what airframe you're looking for. Bottom line for me - any of them are great. They all have good things, and there are mods (as stated previously) that will enhance any of the experiences. 

[+Muesli]

Just buy and merge them all....

;)

[+Johan217]

Get them all eventually, but try SF2:Vietnam or SF2:Israel for starters as these offer the best (stock) content in my opinion.

The "problem" with the SF series is very much like with MS Flight Simulator: there is so much to do and there are so many addon aircraft and campaigns... resist the temptation to try them all out at once or you will end up "sampling" but not doing any flying. Best is to stick to one campaign (stock or addon) at a time, and take your time learning a particular aircraft. SF2 may be "sim lite" but there is enough complexity to make each aircraft behave very differently.