Floyd1212

This thread from when the green markings were new might be helpful in explaining how it works:

What joystick/HOTAS are you using? Have you tried searching the forums here for some examples? I know there were some threads where people were sharing their mappings, though it is somewhat personal preference as to where you want things to be mapped. There is also Chuck's Guide which has some example mappings for the TM Warthog HOTAS:

Interesting. I guess under that theory you could switch back and forth between ST and MT and not just feel the difference, but see the difference on the controls indicator? I haven't seen that kind of difference in where my controls are during a hover, but I'll play closer attention next time I fly.

Not yet. You can do rolls, but not sure about loops. Have you tried?

Out of curiosity, do you have a track from before the MT patch that you can replay with the current build, to see if the helo misbehaves?

Ah, I was wondering if you were talking about exported displays...

Perhaps a screenshot of what you are seeing would helpful here? Are you talking about the MPDs in the cockpit, or are you exporting the displays to a second monitor? The CPG has control over whether to use FLIR or DTV, depending on the situation, and has controls to adjust brightness/gain for both. If you are flying solo, you will have to switch to the front seat to get these settings dialed in how you like them, then move to the back seat again and pull up the VID feed on your chosen MPD. Assuming you are flying a daytime mission, changing the TADS to DTV will likely give you better results trying to identify units George is tracking.

You can also apply curves to the LMC axis to get whatever sensitivity you are looking for. I will say that having a quality thumbstick, like on a game controller, makes it much easier. Also, you are using IAT to "lock on" to targets now, right? It wasn't available when this thread was started last year.

I fly the Apache exclusively, and I haven't personally noticed any changes in the way she flies after the big MT patch, or the two smaller follow-up patches since then. Not a totally reliable way to test, but you could play back a track from before the March patch and see if the helo does something very different from when the track was recorded. I remember going back to play an old track after the big adjustments were made to the tail rotor system and the aircraft was spinning out of control and crashing right after take-off.

Like NeedzWD40 said, are you using [George Hat] Short Left to cycle him through his weapons, or are you WASing the weapon for yourself in the back seat? Telling George what weapon system to use is different than the system you are using from the back.

This looks like you haven't followed the steps to enable file system access to allow the persistence file to save. Follow the instructions in the first post of this thread. You have to repeat the process after each patch ED releases as the changes you make get overwritten again.

From what I understand, in the real world, you would do #1. In DCS, you can either do #1, but you can also do #2 and get a way with it. Holding the FTR tells the SCAS to stop "working against you" while you are intending to maneuver the aircraft. I find it difficult to hold the button I have mapped to FTR on my Warthog stick for extended periods of time. I'm actually surprised the stick on the real Apache has this mapped to a "hat up" function, as I would think this would be hard to keep pressure on the button for extended periods. In the Blackhawk, the FTR button is under the thumb in a resting position on the grip, which would seem to be easier to maintain downward pressure.

Can you clarify that ED intends to improve the quality of these displays in the future, or is this a design decision that ED has implemented and is satisfied with the current render quality?

I looked it up in the Quick Start Manual. On page 304: I only recall seeing the warning a couple times, but now I know what to do if I see it again.

It was just the way I worded it. After the 32 page Force Trim thread, Raptor9's thoughtful explanations throughout this forum, and all the other research I have done, I have a good understanding of how it works in the real thing. I really wish Virpil or WinWing would make the hardware we need to get the most out of these helos. I realize we are a small niche within an already small niche market, but it would be glorious to have hardware that behaves the way it should, and is not a compromise.

Yes, the same loss in quality also seems to impact the PNVS image on the IHADSS.

I watched your track again, and took it over to fly it myself. When taking over the track, it maintained the "joystick without springs" setting, so it took a second to get it sorted out for my center-sprung setup, but if I press and release FTR, and then carefully hold the stick in place, then set ATT Hold and continue to hold the stick in place, it works fine. It doesn't really take much to convince it to start drifting, though. I think with your setup with the dry clutches and no springs, moving the trim off to your collective is the way to go. Or tighten the clutches up a little bit to reduce the unintended movement? Unfortunately, the dry clutch sticks don't provide any spring return like the actual aircraft controls do. Spring-centering sticks are a compromise in one direction, but dry-clutch sticks are a compromise in a different direction. You might also look at using something like Joystick Gremlin to interrupt the axis output from your stick from ever reaching DCS unless you have the FTR button pressed. (Not sure if you fly with FTR held, or if you just tap it when needed.) Or assign another button to toggle the axis between "enabled" and "disabled" so that the game won't see any slight drifting unless you have the axis enabled. Or maybe there is a way to create that dead-zone you are looking for with Joystick Gremlin (or similar) where the axis is disabled until it detects a movement threshold, then it re-enables it automatically.

We tend to not see issues on a cold startup if you wait until both players are in the aircraft before touching anything, but something may have changed with the recent patch, as it sounds like that's what you were doing. I've only flown a couple times since the update, and we were using hot starts, which don't seem to have as many issues. On a side note, we were getting some desync yesterday of what the TADS is looking at for PLT vs CPG when IAT is being used, and this bug was fixed in a previous patch, so maybe there has been regression elsewhere as well?

I was actually pretty impressed with the (361 page) manual when it was released a couple days ahead of the module release. I'm sure they will continue to refine it to get it ready for when the module comes out of Early Access. Hopefully some diagrams and flow charts will make it in there, as well. When I was first learning the aircraft I was struggling with the difference between sights, sensors, and qcquisition sources, and when it finally clicked for me I started to map out an illustration (which I never finished) to help describe their relationship with each other. That kind of thing would be nice to see in the final manual.

I replayed the track above and it looks like there is a stiff breeze in the mission? Sometimes it seems to hold, but other times it want's to drift off. Is this an issue of not properly detecting hover hold submode vs velocity hold submode? Bradmick discussed this in another thread a while back. In the missions I make for my group to fly I normally have minimal wind, like 3-4 knots, so maybe that is why I am not experiencing this?

I haven't noticed any change with Attitude Hold since the patch, personally. Does the Controls Indicator show movement when the drifting occurs?

That message does not mean that the seeker has spotted a laser return; it just is reminding you to lase for the missile you just launched, but someone else is doing that for you. Once the missile is off the rail, there is no communication or feedback from it. Glad you got it working. It takes practice, and communication with your lasing partner, to make sure you are aligned correctly. Depending on who is lasing for you, you can put on your NVGs and "see" the beam to help judge where to aim the aircraft.

It sounds like you are doing it correctly, but it looks like you haven't boresighted the IHADSS. Maybe when you select it as the active sight, it won't let you go any further until you boresight?

LOAL shots seem to be working for us okay. Sometimes we lase for each other (Apache to Apache), sometimes we use a Predator drone, sometimes we use inserted JTAC soldiers on the ground, and sometimes we have a Tactical Commander lasing from a ground vehicle. The Acquisition Source set to SKR will simply provide a cued LOS reticle to be shown on the IHADSS if the seeker head can see the laser energy before launch, but this is not a requirement for launching a LOAL shot. You need to make sure the aircraft is aligned with the target, and make sure your trajectory allows the missile seeker to spot the target with enough time to make adjustments. There are lots of variables, so a track file (or video) would be useful to try and help nail down your issue.

Mine is yellow.