Philip Mongeon

Ok guys, seriously! I have a few questions : 1. Why, when we create a plane object, and then increase the number to 2 or 3 or 4... shouldn't the LEAD plane be, oh i don't know, THE LEADER? why do the planes get added IN FRONT of the lead plane ? no matter the orientation, no matter how many waypoints it has, all additional planes get placed AHEAD of the lead plane. "follow the leader, leader, leader, follow the leader" is how it goes, not "ahead of the leader, leader, leader, ahead of the leader".... 2. how come when we create a formation, using DCS "pre configured" variables(ww2 bomber element), do we get formation deterioration ? ( see track aptly named FORMATION DETERIORATION at 0631). You have to appreciate the frustration given the price tag of DCS and its DLCs. The fact that getting planes to fly in formation in a straight line seems to be a bit too much to ask...and you know what? Maybe i'm doing it wrong... but i tried different variations and having a LEAD group with all others follow it using the BIG formation variables: LEADER = LEAD-RIGHT-LEFT-BACK, RIGHT = LEAD-RIGHT-LEFT-BACK, LEFT = LEAD-RIGHT-LEFT-BACK, BACK = LEAD-RIGHT-LEFT-BACK totaling 64 planes, in a "diamond 4 formation". AND YES, every group of 4 has flight options set on the group, + 1 waypoint to give it a heading (previous mistake of mine that you guys corrected me on). Also, it makes no difference if the elements have 2, 3 or 4 planes, the mysterious slowing down occurs regardless. group formation setting : WW2 Bomber Element Height Separation at the start of the mission, formation is somewhat elegant (excessive gap between LEADER group and RIGHT/LEFT/BACK, but at this point, it's the least of the issues. So all 64 planes are headed in the same direction, at the same speed, aiming for the same target. BARELY 1 minute in flight, we start seeing formation deterioration... WHYYYY!!!????? we have the RIGHT group's LEAD squadron that starts to slow down... By the time we arrive at the target and bombs away, you guessed it, it's right over the back squadron... KABoom! Keep in mind that all groups of 4 were copy paste from the same group. The only things that changed were the positions in the formation. So where is it getting the mysterious information to SLOWDOWN when all other groups are maintaining speed ? After this considerable loss of assets and bomb release, maintaining formation is completely impossible. planes start doing rolls, they go in a whatever direction they want, can't maintain altitude, do spin rolls as if they were Extra300 aerobatic planes. climb a few thousand feet only to descend back smashing right in another group(which the crippled planes will for some reason salvo a complete bomb load even though bombs have already been dropped) although this might be sim options related(possibly unlimited ammo),... I mean, if 64 planes in a straight line is too much, maybe prevent users from doing so. The only way i found how to achieve as high as 128 planes flying without a single mid-air collision is by MANUALLY plotting EACH group of 4's' waypoints 1 by 1. it was so time consuming that i questioned the worth of DCS at this point. But after spending over 1000$ on DCS and addons, DLCs, planes, etc, and have something as simple as straight line formation flight be so poorly coded, yeah.. i feel robbed! many other flight sims have no issues, yet, the MOST expensive flight simulator available to the consumer public just can't seem to properly code formation flight for AI planes!!!! IN A STRAIGHT line! we haven't even addressed the clusterF*** that ensues if we dare try to make the formation make GRADUAL turns that span over hundreds of miles just to achieve a 180. DCS_not_able_to_fly_in_simple_formation.trk Formation_deterioration_starting_at_0631.trk

Maybe i'm configuring something really wrong, but i just can't see what configuration could possibly enable an entire wing of bombers to break formation and bounce around like houseflies on crack! The flight model becomes completely unrealistic, some start doing full rolls, pitch down a few 1000's feet and then climb right back up, of course crashing into everything in it's path. The attached track has 2 wings of bombers. right up to bomb release, they move perfectly harmoniously.... Then... Bombs away! and holy s**t, watch the flight model deteriorate progressively about 20 miles after bombs away!. It's really taking all the realism out of DCS, so i'm really hoping i configured something completely wrong like an idiot... because if i didn't, i just don't understand what the heck is happening LOL. Also, is there a config anywhere that would have AI try a bit harder to actually land, even if slightly damaged ? I mean, 1 engine out, and it belly lands ON THE runway, missing elevator ? belly land ON the runway... shot up nose cone? well that one definitely merits and nose dive crashing into houses. LOL. I find the AI in formation and big formation very unrealistic and in desperate need of fine tuning. Take landing for example, if you have more than 2 groups of 4 planes landing at the same airfield, most times, they will circle around endlessly, then do a climb out and fly away. i had one group fly around the map for almost 6 hours, eventually all running out of fuel. There should be an inherent order of landing, be it most damaged/wounded first, then followed by group #, then plane #. Even if it's not dead on historically accurate, it sure beats not even trying to land at all! Bombing_grp_acting_like_retarded_houseflies_after_bombdrop.trk

To be honest and as others have pointed out, your specs are very low. DCS is quite heavy for a simulator even on newer hardware. The Phenom processor was never really meant for high end gaming, adding to the fact that the Phenom platform is well over 15 years old. This means that you are limited to DDR3 memory Also, the 1070 chip has an inherent issue with newer texture formats, such as vectoring and dynamic fluid engines. you can pick up a fairly inexpensive Ryzen 7 computer that will be a night and day difference. Personally, i'm using a lower end spec'ed computer : AMD Ryzen7 5700g 64GB DDR4 RTX3060 i picked up the computer for 300$CAD. these are my settings. All this to say, while the Phenom processor was great in its day, those days are long past. null

here is the uncompressed log dcs.log

as requested however, all the zip files show as being invalid dcs.log-20240929-013135.zip

whenever i try the generate fast mission for the spitfire, wether i select CAS, fighter sweep, escort, intercept.... it always generates the same thing.... opel trucks, a few german tanks and 2 fw190s... NO MATTER what i choose, it always generates this

Yeah, what i found though is that its not the amount of planes. Where it bogs down performance is the rendering of the numerous ground fires subsequent to the bomb blast. I ran a test and had the same flight drop bombs in the middle of nowhere and performance only dipped slightly.

I think we can all agree that DCS is an incredible software and amazing work has been done with regards to the damage model. On that note, how involved would it be to have the AI damage model values user customizable. I think it is the overall general consensus that the AI flight and damage models feel somewhat " artificial and procedural". example: The B17 current model has the crew bail out with 1 engine out. This most certainly shouldn't be. Also, The B17 is very quick to go up in fuel flames with minimal machine gun fire (NOT cannon rounds). I think the ability to user define AI's flight behavior as well has the damage model's "probability ratios" could address the discontent that some have... Perhaps in the damage log on screen if we had a more detailed messages instead of just " enemy aircraft damaged".... which component was damaged? This would allow the user to know if he struck a fatal shot or if the plane is going down for what appears to be minor gunfire. Keeping the user "in the know" could very well address the damage model questions.

This started happening since the last update. Whenever there's the visual effects of a bomb blast (b17 only at time of writing), the game crashes. I found this to be occuring IF: - i'm in the 3rd person (F2 view) - using the F7 ground unit viewer and a bomb detonates within a few hundred meters of it. Before this last update, i would literally zoom out of a ground unit and watch a carpet bombing run happen without a so much as a glitch...big FPS drop though, but it's to be expected when 96 B17's are unleashing hell and all i have to watch it on is a Ryzen 7 5700G, RTX3060 and 64GB of ram... yes, i know, long overdue for an upgrade LOL Has anyone else noticed game crashes since update ?

Good evening all you fine pilots I'm not sure where this thread should go so please move if it's in the wrong spot. I don't know if many are like me when it comes to DCS... I drool over the platform as a whole, but sometimes, i just dread the time involvement requirement just to create a semi-decent mission just to pop off a few rounds in the WW2 theatre. Is there a thread with user created missions, more precisely, WW2 Theatre?

can i ask you to check something ? The mission file i attached here. if you select a ground unit (F7) and back off until you see the whole area about to get carpet bombed.... Does DCS crash shortly after the bombs start dropping ? 7x4hex bombgroup.miz

look at these beautiful bombers all headed in the same direction!!!! Thank you very much good sir! :)))))

I have tried starting every group of 4 with 3 waypoints "en route" then have them all merge onto the big formation way point of the lead groups. the result was the same, but i will try again in case i messed something up the first time, which is more than likely i'll attach a new mission file sometime after the kids head to bed tonight side note... has ED made any progress on getting the flak cannons to actually be useful ? even with a KDO, i just have a bunch of flak cannons point up at the sky and say "Ohh look an airplane!" then go back to sleep LOL

here is a mission file where you can see the mentioned "circle around". If it wasn't for this maneuver at the very start, most if not all bombers would make it to target. To reduce the complexity, i remove one entire bomber group as well as all enemy flights 7x4hex bombgroup.miz

i will post it shortly. what i have noticed using DCS moving map is that each flight will perform an unrealistic 180 degree turn and realign with the waypoint. when i say unrealistic, i mean, within 500ft. i understand what you mean...IT SHOULD. but if it worked as intended, then why when i place a single plane, add its waypoints(which should now have redirected the flight in the proper direction), then i add 3 planes to it (by using the little arrows to add planes to the flight), all subsequently added planes are added IN FRONT of the lead plane instead of aft., EVEN with the formation option properly set. Example: single plane created, 3 waypoints in a straight line pointing south, formation option set to "bomber element height separation". then i add the 3 planes and boom! lead plane is now at the rear of that bomber element. This results in the entire bomber element having to do a 180 degree turn so the lead plane can be at the lead where its meant to be..