Beau1969

I developed the AutoHotKey script with the help of Fusionchat.ai. This is its take on expected impact on FPS; I have not had a chance to test it yet. -- The impact on FPS (frames per second) when running the AutoHotkey script to continuously activate the Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) window should be minimal or negligible. AutoHotkey is a lightweight scripting language, and the script itself only performs a simple action of activating the specified window. This action does not involve heavy processing or interact directly with the game engine. The sleep time between window activations (200 milliseconds in your case) is also relatively short and shouldn't significantly affect game performance. However, it's worth noting that the impact, if any, may vary depending on the specific hardware and software configuration of your system. To ensure an optimal performance impact, you can experiment with different sleep times (e.g., 100 milliseconds) to find a balance that suits your needs and minimizes any potential impact on FPS. Monitoring your DCS game performance while running the script can help assess any noticeable changes in FPS. If you notice any significant impact on performance, you can consider adjusting the sleep time or exploring alternative methods to keep DCS as the active window. Remember that performance can also depend on various factors such as system resources, background processes, and the overall load on your computer.

Another solution is to use AutoHotKey and the following script: --- SetTitleMatchMode, 2 Loop { if GetKeyState("Control") && GetKeyState("Space") break WinActivate, Digital Combat Simulator Sleep, 200 ; Adjust the sleep time (in milliseconds) as needed } --- Note 2: if you use this or the solution above (VR Focus Guard), it is best to run DCS with FullScreen* unchecked, or else you may see screen stuttering. Note 3: The script is attached as a script file and an EXE, but you must install AutoHotKey on your PC. Note 4: To stop the script loop, press the Ctrl and Space keys at the same time (or right-click the H icon on the taskbar and exit or pause the script.) KeepAppActiveLoop.ahk KeepAppActiveLoop.exe

It's not as simple as I had hoped -- HaptiConnect still pulls DCS out of being the active window (much more apparent when running in Fullscreen, in windowed mode; it is a loss of controls that you notice, which can take longer.) So, I went back to looking for solutions and am now using the same solution as for VR. DCS VR Focus Guard (digitalcombatsimulator.com) Focus Guard apparently works well to solve this problem and the VR issue. I do believe the problem is related to HaptiConnect, but not certain whether recently introduced by the latest patch or it has always been a problem with the BK-PRO software...

I just ran a bit of testing; I selected Fullscreen mode and was able to see that the BK-PRO Hapti-Connect (due to DCS being minimized) is what pulled the DCS out of the active window. I believe it is because I had selected the DCS configuration screen within the app (rather than staying at the main window), and the file was trying to write to the Export.lua file. Moving away from that screen seems to have solved the problem. I have also attached the DCS.LOG. dcs.log.old

Moved question to a different forum, Link:

LOL, yes, the admiral would surely be happy to have those boxes on deployment (my wife works in the wine industry -- lucky me!) It's been a busy week, so I have not had much time to troubleshoot, but I will experiment further with full screen - I did go back and forth but will try a more systematic approach. I will also share my DCS.LOG as well. I have also looked into ensuring that the other programs run minimized (per Windows/Settings/Apps); I will test to see if that makes a difference. Thank you.

Hi all, Checking to see whether others may be having the same problem as I am not sure whether it is caused by the latest beta release or due to adding the Buttkicker Pro/HaptiConnect to my system, as they happened concurrently. The issue mentioned below does happen (now) even if I do not run HaptiConnect (but then, of course, the BK-PRO does not work.) The issue is whether DCS remains the active window. This was not a problem with the previous build (@openbeta). While flying, occasionally, I will go to activate a control input (joystick, MFD, PTO2, etc. -- I have a Winwing cockpit) and find that there is no response from the sim as it is no longer the active window. I have not been able to troubleshoot what is happening; I think it is either a Windows notification (which is silent and unseen) or a registered click outside the viewport. For reference, I have attached a picture of my cockpit. While running DCS, I am running the following apps (which before now have not been a problem -- with the exception, perhaps, of HaptiConnect from BK): Malwarebytes and Windows Security SimAppPro (WinWing) AimXYZ (head tracking) HaptiConnect I also run DCS UFC to create the IFEI, and I notice a window open that I believe is created by Export.lua on start-up. Whether a bug or not, I would also appreciate any guidance 'out there' on keeping DCS as the "active window"; I see quite a bit posted on VR but not much when using 2D. Thank you! Chris

Hi all, I recently (this week) added the Buttkicker Pro to my sim rig. I am using the latest version of the HaptiConnect software from BK and the latest OpenBeta version of DCS. I notice that when running the HaptiConnect software, it routinely causes DCS to no longer be the main window, and therefore controls don't work, etc. - until I refocus the window. It happens often enough that it is a pain and has caused at least one flight into the ground. Any ideas on how to force a program to either stay as the focus window (DCS) or run minimized (HaptiConnect, SimAppPro, and AimXZY.) Thank you, csbeau

Hi, I wanted to say a nice job to the inverted team on the Rising Squall Campaign, especially the Tutorial. I started to focus on the "realism" of DCS and only recently realized that what I really "needed" was this campaign to add some flavor to the learning process. As a new F/A-18C player (I started my focus on Warbirds), I am impressed and look forward to your future campaigns. Nice job, and thank you, csbeau

Hi, not sure if you are still supporting this mission anymore? It seems to be stuck at "The bottom section of the left DDI is where all the cautions and advisory messages appear. We will place the FCS page here, press the menu button." It won't register me pressing the menu button, yellow bracket remains over it no matter how many times I press it, I tried setting the DDI to the FCS page but didn't trigger anything so I can't proceed with the checklist -- its been really good and informative up to this point (As posted by another user on the Mod/User download files) -- Any chance you could fix this is or explain how to fix it? It is excellent to that point, thank you.

Hi all, I reached the point in my F/A-18C DCS flight training whereby I reached the mission, saying I needed to have met 'requirements a-z' in my study/learning process. As such, I returned to the Early Access Guide, and it bothered me that it is still an "early access" guide. So I decided to see what else is out there and came across the treasure trove of information (although it requires modest payments for some materials, then again, this is the DCS sim community) that is the Wings & Airpower Aviation History Magazines, available via a quick Google Search. I purchased the F-18 materials ($14.95), which are great. (Of course, Chuck's Guide is great as well.) I have no affiliation with the magazine or website; I thought it an excellent resource for the aircraft available in DCS if you are looking for more information on the aircraft within the sim. Anyway, I found it helpful as I continue to enjoy the study-sim nature of DCS. Perhaps it may be beneficial to someone else. csbeau

Mine is playable but the map definitely performs worse than, say, Sinai. Link:

End result of testing can be seen in the link to the forum post listed. -- In short, the BNB campaign is great and highly recommended but it took me considerable testing to get it where I was pleased with the performance. If you are playing on lower settings, it should not be a problem. I have been playing in VR with relatively high settings on mid-high-end hardware or in 4K when not in VR. -- Suggested settings for 5800X/3090Ti level hardware:

See VR Performance in BNB campaign P-51D thread in bug reports, multi thread forum, 2.8. TLDR: BNB takes substantial RAM & VRAM to perform well in VR. Turn down preload radius, and tweak other DCS settings to desired performance level. I was able to get it to just playable on a high end laptop (3080) in VR. (Edited to clarify in VR. I can run it well in 2D on my laptop and desktop.)

Thank you, both

Any expectation on when we will see the fix? I was trying to figure out whether there was a problem with the campaign or the new Vaicom release. I have noticed that the airfield and the flight do not respond during the missions. Thank you.

Congratulations on your purchase. A great card at a great price. I use an 11th generation i9 (11900K), GPU bottlenecked as set above. CPU on multithreaded exe is around 5%.

In my case, the solution required that I set the VHF radio volume to maximum, and to disable chatter which would override the response at times.

I have the 3090Ti, and am able to achieve 100-120+ (vsync on in Nvidia Control panel) fps at 4K with highest settings, including all sliders at maximum; I do use the most recent shadow optimization setting in DCS files. Using FPS monitor, VRAM is usually over 19GB. I am happy with the performance. Note that I am running the multi thread version on open beta. Also running opentrack, aitrack and voiceattack with vaicom pro. I lean toward 3090Ti over 4080 or lower tiers of 40XX unless more vram is added.

My pleasure; thank you for your excellent campaigns and YouTube video on your campaigns re: Normandy 2. I will buy most (Mosquito, Spitfire, P-47D, and F-14) of your campaigns when I get the aircraft and terrains during the next quarterly sale. (Currently have all P-51D campaigns.) No Easter sale this year, hopefully, the next one is soon.

Hi all, Problem found and resolved. Unless the VHF radio volume is set to the maximum, you will not be able to hear ATC or wingmen.

Hi all, Disregard the error on the P-51D; the VHF Volume needs to be set to a maximum to hear ATC and wingmen for the P-51D.

This does not seem to be working on the P-51D as well.

Hi all, I have run into an error that I hope can be addressed here. I have been running the Campaign and using VoiceAttack (I also tried via the Comms Menus without VA on) with Vaicom Pro enabled. My outbound comms work as expected, and I receive a text response. However, the audio comes across as static. Has anyone else come across this problem and/or knows of the solution? Other than immersion, it is, of course, not a game-changing issue. Thank you for the hard work and efforts on this campaign! Chris

I am having the same issue (not only related to the Beta) in the P-51D in the Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney Campaign. I am using VoiceAttack and Vaicom Pro Community Edition, so it could be related, but when I do not run VA, the problem still persists. I am using Easy Comms mode.