Jayhawk1971

Neither. Get the Tomcat!

I am really looking forward to the flight deck directors and any other love they could give the SC. Even though it will be a lot of work (I can only imagine) to rebuild these missions, I'm sure it will be awesome once the "dance on the deck" works! Now, if ED would just make their planned briefing room available for single player missions...

Then it must be something on my end. Maybe something got corrupted (file path or something)? It can't be the skin itself, since it works in other missions. Well, since today's patch apparently was delayed until next week anyway, I'll try a slow repair and see what's what. If that doesn't work, I'll ask someone at ED. Thanks for checking! Playing S&A again after a couple of months break was a real nice experience. It went a lot smoother for me than during the first playthrough (same with Zone 5). Now, since I got lured into WW2 by the latest DCS sale (bought Normandy 2 and Blue-nosed Bastards), I have a P-51 that's waiting for me over in England.

Yesterday I tried playing mission 15 again, and Paco got "stuck" on CAT 3 and wouldn't launch. Taking a closer look, I noticed that the CAT crew got "stuck" (AI pathfinding issue), which caused the launch sequence to not initiate. There were two variants of this problem: 1. One crewmember get's stuck next to Paco's jet, and/or 2. If/when unstuck, he walks over to the CAT and gets stuck there, within the cluster of the rest of the crew. Solution: I taxied around Paco's jet, which unstuck the single crewmember, then again taxied through the crew cluster, after which they "snap out of it" and proceed with the launching procedure. Just use CAT 1 or 2 afterwards, mission proceeds normally. Hopefully ED get's the AI sorted out soon!!!

Just tried to play mission 16 again, and DCS froze on loading the mission (after the briefing screen). I tried to start it via the Campaign tab, the mission tab (copy/pasted the mission files to saved games) as well as straight from the mission editor, with the same outcome. I found this line in my log: ERROR_ONCE DX11BACKEND (9988): texture '/textures//liveries/f-14b/vf-213 aj204 by reflected/HB_F14_LOD3_3in1' not found. Asked from '' " So I went to the mission editor and chose another skin for the player Tomcat, and the mission (16b) loaded normally. When it was time to proceed to 16c, DCS froze again while loading the mission. I did not have any issues while playing the other missions (11 through 15) during the last couple of days, during which I assume I've flown with this particular skin. I have no mods installed except VAICOM, but I assume that is some directory issue, not a memory issue? Is there anything on my end I could do to fix this, except changing the skin in the mission editor for 16a, b, c?

The only time I ever involuntarily departed the Tomcat was when I practiced using crossed controls (to increase the roll rate while at high AOA). Otherwise, I find the Tomcat handles very nicely in DCS. Even the A. Just don't yank the stick like a maniac, and it'll be fine. Anyone who wants to get into the Tomcat (and hopefully soon, the Phantom) after only ever playing in FBW jets (Viper, Hornet), my advice would be to "take a detour" via Warbirds or early jets (F-86).

Regarding the Fishbed/Fishcan FM: I saw a video by Sedlo on YouTube recently, where he uses some script to add additional mass to the MIG 21, to make it behave less like a UFO. Maybe something to consider for future updates, until he Fishbed's FM gets fixed some day........in the fuuuuuture? (relevant part starts at 4:36)

For me it's the other way around. I always found the Tomcat to be easier to refuel in: as soon as you have trimming figured out (practice on Warbirds), it's very stable. The Hornet, at least with my HOTAS, is twitchy along the y-axis, which needs more attention during AAR. Viper is the same. Tomcat for me is way less of a hassle, again, if you trim properly.

I hope this new FM will also solve the pathfinding issues on the ground. Oh, and if anyone from ED reads this: planes should stop catching fire just because they taxi into an object, like the pillar holding the roof over a parking spot at Nellis, when my wingman slowly taxied into one after one Zone 5 mission. That should result in a dent, not a violent explosion. I've been reflying most of Zone 5 last week, and I'm happy to report that thankfully I did not encounter any severe AI hickups. All missions worked fine as far as I could tell, except Outlaw (I always seem to get the Eagle on every playthrough, by the way) "pulling a Jester" during the Grad 1v1 (he went below the hard deck when I got on his six). Which is still fine, since it didn't break gameplay: it's absolutely conceivable that hard decks get broken during BFM. Zone 5 is very replayable, I still enjoy it even after numerous playthroughs, especially since finishing Speed and Angels!

The issue indeed seems to have been fixed! I could install the map, everything is fine now.

I also just bought Normandy 2.0 map (didn't have 1.0 before), it doesn't show up in the module manager.

I have two Logitech G940 HOTAS which I treat like raw eggs until I'll invest in something newer (for which I'd have to wait up to 1 year or so I've read). The throttle is spiky and imprecise, but the FFB with the stick is nice. I'll get a Winwing throttle base soon, haven't decided which throttle yet, though.

Which mission was that? "Hello Ivan"? Re. CASE III in the campaign: Reflected provided kneeboard cards in the campaign, which include "CliffsNotes" versions of Case I/II/III recovery/ departure procedures. The radio menu carrier comms required to "initiate" CASE III are identical to the DCS Hornet.

Thanks, let's hope ED can optimize their MT code soon.

Yep, Reflected's campaigns aren't "beginner friendly". They require a certain level of advanced module knowledge. Probably the best way to get into the Tomcat would be to first complete Heatblur's training tutorial missions, then do some of the single missions and the Reforger campaign. Also, there are some very helpful tips and tutorials floating around these forums and YouTube. Heatblur's SME wrote up some very helpful PDF tutorials if you can still find those. Once you feel you have a good grip on our F-14, "Speed and Angels" will be a great start if you have the patience to work through it yet (and it is work during the "RAG" phase of the campaign). An alternative route would be to start with "Fear the Bones", as it is more entertainment-oriented and not as "hard" as the other two Tomcat campaigns. Caveat: that does not mean the campaign is "easy", though. You are required to do a night trap qualification as your first mission. Also A2A refueling is required in at least two missions (IIRC). And one somewhat dicey night trap surprise (ironically, my best night trap in the Tomcat ever, proving @Victory205 's point about us all being virtual HUD cripples who would improve greatly if we would only fly by the analog instruments ).

I still watch occasionally, I just filter out the useful or entertaining parts of their content and ignore the rest. Generally, a healthy amount of skepticism towards any source of information navigated me quite well through 52 years on this unremarkable speck of dust far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral Arm of the Galaxy.

I "third" recommending (highly recommending) Reflected's Speed and Angels campaign. It will teach a lot about the very necessary Tomcat basics. If you already have invested a lot of hours into the Tomcat module, it will help correct many bad habits that may have built up.

My thought process was that maybe they could isolate the instances when those triggers won't work that could maybe help the VAICOM team find what's going on in the VAICOM code? Something must be in there that exacerbates that bug? The VAICOM code, not ED's code. EDIT: Well, if the problem is an overtaxed CPU due to unoptimized MT code, then the problem should go away anyway once ED streamlines the code. Also, I'm aware that Baltic is a very busy guy, hence why I wrote "it would be great", not "he absolutely has to immediatly, right now, or [insert meaningless string of consequences]".

IMO, in DCS, a force feedback stick makes all the difference with pretty much every module (especially helicopters and older aircraft from Warbirds up to the Tomcat). It even helps with fly-by-wire jets like the Viper and Hornet, as it does provide at least some tactile feedback you just don't get sitting at your desk. Additional peripherals (but kicker?) or more expensive solutions like a 6DOF motion platform would probably help even more. WRT to Mover and Gonky, I suppose that they are simply struggling with the fact that their acquired muscle memory and visual cues simply do not translate into DCS and the restrictions imposed by the setup. IMO it's an interface problem, not a "skills" problem. Those who have been playing flight sims for most of their lives are much more used to those restrictions. Also, I suppose they don't take it all that seriously (which is ok if that's how they feel about the DCS thing), they seem to enjoy goofing off and create YT content they can monetize, and why shouldn't they?! If there's an audience for that sort of content (400k+ subscribers suggest there is), go for it! YouTube can be a viable business if you consistently get the required views, or at least a lucrative side hustle. Of course some grifting is required, but so is in selling insurance. For my part, I think it's somewhat disappointing that they take it too casually, as their knowledge could be very helpful to virtual DCS "pilots" who would like to take that hobby more seriously and emulate the "real thing" as much as possible, without them giving away too much sensitive information. IMO Casmo strikes a good balance between being helpful but also providing lighthearted entertainment without taking himself too seriously.

It would be great if Baltic and the new VAICOM team could stick their heads together sometime, maybe they can figure out what's going on with the flags? I don't see ED taking an interest, as I suspect they might be working on their own voice command integration. For me personally, it may not be a good situation potentially (still haven't had time to play DCS, as I am in the middle of moving, and all my peripherals are still in some boxes somewhere ), since I simply can not go back to the Jester wheel in the Tomcat. We'll see. Maybe ED simply squishes that MT bug soon. No issues in non-Tomcat campaigns so far (I think), as I don't use Voice Attack for any other module than the Tomcat - mostly because I am simply too lazy to figure out how to set up another profile, as I hardly know how I managed to set up the current one (kinda stumbled into creating a working profile for the Tomcat). Also it's not really necessary for those modules, since I would only ever use it for the radio menu, which I don't need that much anymore anyway with the current scripted SP campaigns. I can see me using VAICOM intensively with the Phantom and Jester 2.0.

I suppose the OP would like to have the Big E in DCS. If so, I concur. Also a visual representation of that wake would be nice.

Does Voice Attack/ VAICOM Pro count as a mod? Edit: I'm asking pre-emptively. I haven't had time to play DCS since November, therefore I haven't encountered any bugs. But just in case, since I don't want a vengeful Reflected knocking on my door. Although I would buy you a beer anyway!

Great video! I'm absolutely stoked about what's in the pipeline for the near future. Iraq (!), Afghanistan, Hellcat, Corsair (twice!), Marianas 1944, OH-58D, Chinook, C-130, Kola, AI Intruder....the list goes on and on. And as a bonus, every year we get DCS: ASMR (Nick Grey's voice).

I also have the G940, and have the same problem as you. The G940 stick is "top-heavy", meaning it tends to pitch down due to its own weight, which in turn registers as a control input with the game. I have the same problem in pretty much every module wrt autopilot. The only solution I can think of is to keep the stick from moving forward, by either slightly holding it in place (which defeats the purpose of an autopilot somewhat), or maybe mount the base slightly tilted upward, so that the the stick is more "balanced". Or fiddle around with the centering strength of the motors. Unfortunately, if you make the centering stronger, you'll then need to apply more input force when flying, which I personally do not like at all, since especially the Tomcat requires a very light tough on the stick (I really only use two fingers when cruising or AAR-ing)

Ok, finally managed to finish mission 8. Holy cow, that was quite the step up in difficulty (IMO)! Rewarding in the end, though, especially the Cerberus North callback /easter egg. Here be spoilers: All in all, a rather tough but fun mission. Looking forward to mission 9 tonight.