No two machines of any type are exactly the same, especially when they're of a more complex construction like a vehicle is, and especially after they've been subject to wear an tear.
Machines are built to operate within varying internal tolerances, and so while two vehicles may be superficially identical, there can be enough differences in all their variables to give each one a unique character or feel if one becomes familiar enough with them. Lubrication, hydraulics, different construction materials, different levels of wear and maintenance, and faults that aren't worth ironing out, can all vary and line up in such a way as to become noticeable in subtle or even obvious ways.
Simulations may never get down to that level of complexity and may always have to provide a single generalized representation of a machine, but who knows, one day all the variables might be able to be generated and result in genuinely individual virtual vehicles.
I think though that such a level of complexity is only part of what would add up to a more accurate 'feel' when flying in a game or sim, with most of it being dependent upon an equally accurate depiction of the physical interaction of the plane with the atmosphere around it.
That space the plane's fly around in isn't empty. It's a constantly changing set of influences that are mind-bogglingly complex and variable, and while a lot of them can be depicted, visually and even via force-feedback, I'm not sure how complex the depiction of the weather and atmosphere would have to be before it allowed one to get a real sense or feel of actual flight. Some would say it's already been done in some ways, and some would say it will never be possible without using a hardware system that somehow allows you to experience the changes in g-force and air pressure that can occur in flight.
With computer simulations we're very dependent upon audio and visual cues/clues, and somewhat dependent upon force-feedback effects to give us an idea of what the plane is doing and being subjected to from outside, and so, as complex as that can ever be, it's always going to be somewhat limited in what it can convey. But I'm of the opinion that even without the added sensory input that you can get in real-life, there's still scope for a more realistic and complex simulation of the machines and their environments than what we've experienced so far.
The sensation of flight is something that results from such a complex arrangement of factors that there are bound to be lots of new breakthroughs, all giving a more accurate experience than the last, as the simulation technology itself becomes more complex and able to recreate things in finer detail.
The sights, the sounds, the control inputs, the machine and environment systems, all need to keep developing and improving in unison, as indeed they have been over the years. But people need to keep supporting the flight-sim genre of games and simulations to keep those developments and improvements happening. I think for as long as people are using computers there will always be someone somewhere using them to simulate flight. I think it's as irrepressible an urge as the desire people have to fly for real, but if the rest of us want to enjoy the results of those works of passion, we need to make sure we give ourselves that opportunity by supporting those we know of who are currently pushing the technology further towards that goal of a more complete and accurate flight-sim experience, wherever they may be.
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