mart

Thanks for that (you both) -again! Given what I said about myself, and publicly, it's also really nice to know the forum hasn't changed. :) I do have some older Steampunk contraptions that will, in time, make worrying about key presses less relevant, and which I could then update IF it's all going fine. But at the moment, taking people's advice, going slowly, following tutorials, and using keyboard commands, is working for me. I have, from times past, still got a Saitek Cyborg Evo, which is a great little stick for my purposes, and is, when the time comes, programmable to about 40 commands. I had a CH Hotas set-up at one time. I really so wish I'd given them as a gift to a friend who's still on the forum, and could have used then, but they met with an "accident" before I could do it. When you've had a head clonk, you do some very stupid things. So, this time, easy does it. I'll contact him to say hello as soon as I find myself comfortable. Incidentally, I do recall the CH throttle was a little large if you had small hands. Anyway, best not talk about kit until I'm ready for it. I can confirm though that a CH hotas setup is (nearly) indestructible. It'll last you a life time. Even if I ever got proficient enough for multilayer, I wouldn't advise anybody to let me be their wing- man as I might get the urge to shoot them down, for no reason whatsoever! You have a choice, I've found. You either speak openly (without droning on) or hide it. In this context, being honest has resulted in people giving me a huge amount of help. I REALLY do like this forum. I am also a fountain pen nut, and their forum is the only other I've found that's as friendly. You've all been great Thanks again Martin

Well, that was quick! I've been able to have a good look at the first tutorial, and it all seems manageable (at least while I'm on the ground!) and I'll take things slowly as people suggested. I have a feeling it will all work out. Because I have a MacBook, running the sim in a Bootcamp partition, I can see that that a number of keyboard commands would need to be re-mapped, which looks easy enough. When using an external monitor, I have always run the Macbook in clamshell mode, slipped under the monitor, and used a bluetooth Mac keyboard. But I also have a decent Logitech Windows keyboard from times past, so I don't anticipate any problems, especially as I'm determined to go at a relaxed speed. --------------------------------------------- I would be grateful though if I could trouble someone again, but with something straightforward. I had a good look at the very comprehensive on-screen keyboard commands. I just wondered if this screen can be brought up, during a mission, if you need to consult it, and which key combinations woud you need to use. I couldn't find the command in the very comprehensive list ---------------------------------------------- Many thanks for everyone's help. Earlier today I thought that I would never be able to play DCS, but having been given some very wise counsel from people I think it'll be just fine if I take things slowly, a step at a time. I really am very grateful. Thanks again Martin

Thanks all of you Feel I'm on the right road / relaxed attitude. Also, must keep taking the pills! I'll be back to let you know how it's going. Don't underestimate how helpful you all were. It was much appreciated. Right - better go fire up the program and the YouTube tutorial. Best to you all Martin

Sierra, that is SO true. Following your advice, I did back up a bit, and found a very brief Key-command summary created 159th_Falcon, which I can use/alter with the tutorials. I put that and the manuals on a great little PDF reader on my Samsung tablet. Very light, easy to read, both at the computer and not. It's already feeling a LOT more manageable. Funnily enough my son is a trauma and emergency doctor. He works half the time in what you'd call the emergency room, at the hospital in Cambridge, and the other half of his time as an air-ambulance doctor. Did it initially for 6 months in North Queensland and got to enjoy the more "interesting" winches. But helicopter doctors don't winch in the UK. Anyway, things seem to be getting into some shape. I'm so grateful for the time you and others have spent with me, because it has made a real difference - no, really. You've also been really patient. As for me - I'm so surprised that it looks like it'll be ok if I don't rush. So, I think I'll be up and running reasonably soon. But no take offs, landings, or weapons for a while. Ha! Thanks again Martin

Thanks Good advice - again! Especially about walking away, and quick starts. I'm afraid that, in the past, "walking away from the computer" has been reversed. I've stayed where I am, and it's the computer that's "travelled". But it is great advice, especially knowing that other people are really having similar problem as I am, even when they know the sim, but try a new module. I'll start with the tutorials but skip the episodes that involve getting up there and then getting down again :) Martin

Many thanks to you both. I've already spilled the beans so I may as well add that I've also been unable to watch TV for maybe 5 years or more. Case of "too much information" and problems concentrating. Just can't tell you how frustrating it is when you're bombarded with "stuff". But your advice is sensible, and there's no reason at all why it wouldn't "work" if I backed off a bit. I've just been looking at the tutorials again, and he does go slowly and methodically. More than that, he makes the viewer go slowly. So, I'll sign off and be quiet, and if I manage to get my landing gear off the runway, I'll be back to let you know. Should be about the time your first iWatches break! :) All the best Martin

Thanks Sierra I know the plane isn't a demo (pretty kind of ED, eh?) and there is a really great series of tutorials on Youtube, by Robert Sogomonian. Actually, they're bl**dy brilliant! I'll give it another go. After all, I have all the time in the world. Think I just got a bit overwhelmed. which is a shame, as I fwas fine with the Frogfoot in FC 1.1. So - time to get to work! I apologise for thinking aloud, though it can sometimes give you a nudge, when you have too much inertia. Incidentally, I saw the Sabre. I always think they look fantastic. Anyway, many thanks for help - and the gentle kick. :) All the best Martin

Hi again Azrayen. I think I would be better to take a different approach to explaining the human apsect of my initial query. My situation is not one that anybody should, in a reasonable world, feel unable to speak of. I am very well educated and successfully so, and after many years at University, I spent 25 years as a Probation Officer, until I sustained a brain injury, and was eventually medically retired. In many ways, I'm as quick as I was, but in other ways I'm not. Sitting in the cockpit of the DCS Su-25t was like sitting in front of a 10 metre wall of concrete. If I am able to get over that wall, when the wall is maybe a little smaller, I'd (probably) be fine. Perhaps the best thing I could do is load up Mig Alley. But, if there's any kind soul out there who fancies meeting a Zoologist with an extensive knowledge of the Criminal Justice Service (and all who use it) and a good sense of humour, then I make a good cup of tea if you fancy a couple of sessions with me to get me over that wall. I'll even provide the cakes. But thanks for the help. I'd also like to mention that I know this forum of old. I'm not really a forum person, but this forum has always been welcoming to people of all persuasions, and without all the petty bigotries you can sometimes find elsewhere. Under the present circumstances, where people must have a wide range of opinions about current events, the forum seems to remain a place of calm and friendship. Ok, where did I put my Mig Alley disk and a pile of patches? Thanks again :) Martin

Thanks Azrayen :) I have already done that, and certainly the demos have a good FPS, though I know that's different from flying the sim. I'm having a problem actually getting to fly the plane myself. This is a bit personal, so you'll need to read between the lines. The cockpits and controls of the FC3 planes are not as complex as those of their equivalents in the single DCS modules. Learning to play Flaming Cliffs again is going to be an unusually long and difficult process, and may prove impossible. But, under the circumstances, if the computer is going to be up to Flaming Cliffs 3 I would have all the world to try it out a more simplified version of the single module DCS planes. I suspect the first trick is to actually get one in the air! If I could paraphrase by saying that I need to know if my laptop is up to the job, and then, over time, whether I am as well. If I decided to try and give the DCS SU-25t a run around the block, I'd end up deleting the program before it got out of the hangar, and my Macbook wouldn't even get a look-in. I'm so sorry that I've given an obscure reply to your really helpful and sensible advice. I suspect you'll understand, and I also wouldn't want to say more. Many thanks, and my apologies for being a pain in the backside. Martin

Hi I have a query about whether my computer is up to running Flaming Cliffs 3 I used to play Flaming Cliffs 1.1, but have had a prolonged period of illness. I now have a Macbook 13" (though with an external monitor). I also have an 150 GB Bootcamp partition running Windows 7 The specifications of my Macbook are as follows: ---------------------------------------------- Macbook pro 13" (mid 2012 ) USB 3.0 2.9 GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7 (Ivy Bridge) processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache. Memory - 8 GB (1600 Mhz DDR3) Intel hd graphics 4000 (1024mb VRAM) L2 Cache (per core) 256 KB L3 Cache 4 MB --------------------------------------------- I wonder if someone would be able to give me any indication how Flaming Cliffs 3 would run on this system. It may help to mention that I'm thinking of buying an external USB 3.0 Solid State Hard Hard Drive onto which the game would be installed. My laptop is also USB 3.0 so the speed should be pretty good. Any thoughts would be just so appreciated. Thanks everyone Martin

Thanks Everyone Thanks everyone for your help, which was really appreciated. I have edited my first post so that any new poor soul won't have the faintest idea what the rest of you are on about!! Your assistance was really welcome, but I no longer wish to pursue it. I am continually surprised by people's kindness. I won't be revisiting the thread, so it's effectively closed, but many thanks. Happy flying! Martin :)

Thanks britgliderpilot. I'm just going to have a look at it. What's a BAR-Honda? Cheers, Martin :)

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Anyway, thanks for your help everyone. You'll be pleased to know that the Falcon crowd were kindly to LOMAC. You were, as I expected from watching the forum over time, equally kind. So, I hope you'll forgive me if I disappear for my scheduled nervous breakdown!! Take care all, Martin

Thanks ZoomBoy. I'll get onto those guides pronto. I have a tendency to want to bite of more than I can chew, and suddenly realize I can't chew it. Well life is long (I hope) so it seems that "nibbling" is the answer. You're all being very kind Martin

Thanks everyone. You'll be pleasantly surprised to know that both communities have similar advice i.e. try both. The other helpful suggestion was to ask "what sim do you want to end up flying" and then plod on with that one and it'll be worth the effort. Forgot to mention Alfa in the llist of people whose advice has been appreciated. There's also this question about which forums you feel most comfortable in. Much room for thought.

I would be grateful for the advice of actual users of these sims, and I have posted the same query both at Frugal’s and at lockon.ru. I have made some individual enquiries, and Lead Pursuit were helpful, but a user comparison would help me. I have not been doing any serious flight simming for some while. My last real jaunt was EF2000 which I really enjoyed. I would like to get back into a serious sim and, from what I can see; the choice is between F4 and LOMAC. In time, I would like to be able to fly both. I know people have their favourite sims, but I’d ask for some help that could put individual preferences aside for a moment. Following an accident (about which, enough said) I now find it harder to integrate information coming at me thick and fast, and tend to be intimidated by it. When I look at both sims, I see a shiny glass vertical cliff. Either way it will be a struggle, but I’ll be OK after the first hurdle. Putting aside the relative loyalties people have to each sim, and their feelings about the history of their development, I would be grateful for any opinions about which would be the easiest way “back” into the flight sim world. I know this may seem a strange question for many, but from where I’m standing, it’s a problem. I am not overly worried by the arguments over eye candy versus campaign structure. If it helps my system specs are Athlon 64 3000+ (939 pin) ATI X600XT (256MB) pci-express graphics card 1GB of DDR 400 main memory 7200 rpm hard drive Both sims seem to work ok on my system, as far as I can tell. Any assistance would be helpful. I really don’t want to start some sort of flame war either at me, each other, or each sim. I know both communities are usually very helpful to new people. Thanks, Martin :icon_wink

I posted a very full profile for Flaming Cliffs on the VAC site (http://www.dwvac.com) which is fully documented (although I've added bits since) and it has commands for practically everything you could want (and you can change them as you please). I should say that it was a modification of a very comprehensive profile that POLECAT had submitted for LOMAC 1.02. I altered key allocations, extended the commands and added commands specific to Flaming Cliffs along with some documentation. So, I'd like to thank Polecat and also Ron (SHIFT-E) who wrote VAC and was really helpful to me. The program itself, which is shareware, seems to get a new improvement every few days and you can now even get the computer to respond to your commands. If I get round to it, I may produce a new "lite" edition which has radio commands (thanks again Polecat) and a really simple set of commands for people who have a full HOTAS & TracKIR set up but still want to use the odd voice command. Ron's program is really easy to use and it's even easier to edit other people's profiles. So, if anyone uses my profile and improves on it, I would be really grateful. If you find it totally rubbish, it would also be useful to know, but in installments! Incidentally, If you wanted to make yourself "immortal" for a while, you could get the computer to respond really stupidly. You could make the program respond like Marvin the paranoid android, or the "doors" in Hitchhikers! This is my first ever posting to any sort of forum, so I hope I've done it right and haven't offended any one. Chhers. Martin