MiG77, on 26 December 2012 - 05:36 AM, said:
That or "light simulator". You dont have to simulate every button or procedure to call something as a "sim" (IE if start procedure is just pressing P -> your pilot does all the correct stuff). More you do, more "heavy" it becames tought.
Exactly.
How "precise" your simulation is, is up to your needs and requirements.
In the end, it's like a genre. Is a movie Science Fiction? Fantasy? Science Fantasy? Does Sci Fi include Fantasy or vice versa?
Does Simulation include FPS? Do FPS include mech games? Aren't some adventures roleplaying games and some roleplaying games adventures? Aren't some MMOs single player games with global chat?
The only real useful thing is to identify certain trappings of these genres and identify which apply to a game.
MW:O has elements of a simulation and a first person shooter and even a few from an RPG (skill points and leveling). It also has stuff that's not strictly a game, like the mech lab.