ironstrike

I'll pitch in as well and recommend Hoggit. We were founded specifically to combat the all-too-common hurdles and intimidation factors that seem to accompany detailed flight sims and their communities. Our server usually runs one of a few training/derp maps where folks are encouraged to fly around and learn. You're entirely welcome to use it if you like! It is passworded, but only to keep out the most egregious of the impulsive troublemakers you describe. Visit the above link and look for some bold text on the sidebar for the password. :) As with Smokey's server, shooting other players down is very much against the rules at Hoggit unless they both have agreed to fight and are doing so away from the training areas so no one else gets caught up in it. While rare, if it happens pass the word and we'll deal with it immediately.

Hmm... It should. It's a key feature for the Ka-50 portion of my own X-52 profile pack. After you set this file, what did you bind in-game? You'll want to assign "Gun fire" to your trigger; leave "Release weapons" unassigned. And a minor caveat: you'll need to redo this WeaponSystem.lua fix after each autoupdate. Edit: If you aren't already using it for anything, if you have a shift state, try shift+trigger for "Gun Select". This will let you quickly shift+trigger to toggle whether you're using the gun or the pylon stores.

No argument there. An oldie but a goodie as far as mods go. I bet this could be made to work for DCSW. :)

Fantastic guide, and many thanks! You can also edit the appropriate ABRIS .lua file to default you into degrees/decimal minutes rather than degree/minute/second units, so you don't have to swap them every time you start up. A quick edit will see the job done. :) The file is: X:\..\DCS Black Shark 2\Scripts\Aircrafts\Ka-50\Cockpit\ABRIS\Options.lua The relevant bits start at line 454 in the file, and by default look like this: opt.Options.measurements.latitude = { data = { {"%02.f°%02.f\'%.s%02.f\""..LOCALIZE("C")," __°__\'__\""..LOCALIZE("C/Ю")}, {"%02.f°%02.f.%s\'" ..LOCALIZE("C")," __°__.__\'" ..LOCALIZE("C/Ю")}, } } opt.Options.measurements.longitude = { data = { {"%03.f°%02.f\'%.s%02.f\""..LOCALIZE("В"),"___°__\'__\""..LOCALIZE("В/З")}, {"%03.f°%02.f.%s\'" ..LOCALIZE("В"),"___°__.__\'" ..LOCALIZE("В/З")}, } } Replace lines 454 through 467 with the following: opt.Options.measurements.latitude = { data = { {"%02.f°%02.f.%s\'" ..LOCALIZE("C")," __°__.__\'" ..LOCALIZE("C/Ю")}, {"%02.f°%02.f\'%.s%02.f\""..LOCALIZE("C")," __°__\'__\""..LOCALIZE("C/Ю")}, } } opt.Options.measurements.longitude = { data = { {"%03.f°%02.f.%s\'" ..LOCALIZE("В"),"___°__.__\'" ..LOCALIZE("В/З")}, {"%03.f°%02.f\'%.s%02.f\""..LOCALIZE("В"),"___°__\'__\""..LOCALIZE("В/З")}, } } All we've done is swapped lines 457 and 458 with each other, and swapped lines 464 and 465 with each other. Viola! Now your ABRIS will by default use the same units as your PVI and those big ugly jets circling above you!

Woo! We love your other missions over on Hoggit, and we're super excited to give this one a go.

Many thanks for the quick fixes, and I like the sound of scaling threats based on player count. That'll keep things more interesting with many jets spread out all over Georgia! And, about the '50s, yeah... Woe unto the '50 who lifted off from Vaziani and received tasking over by the coast.

Absolutely agrasyuk, drop in whenever you like. I won't be there until the start time, but others will be there if you wish to show up early.

Unfortunately it is short notice as it starts in about 5 hours, but the Hoggit A-10/BS2 community on Reddit runs a casual teaching/Q&A sort of event called "Tuesday Night Noob!" at 10pm US Eastern time, 0200 GMT. Everyone of all skill levels are welcome and the aim is to make A-10/BS2 less intimidating for players who might want to enjoy the multiplayer experience and desire a more interactive resource for learning whatever interests them. We do ask that you join our teamspeak and get the server password there so we can communicate with you while you fly with us. Random people just flying about shooting at each other makes things rather unpleasant. More details and the Teamspeak information are here on this week's Tuesday Night Noob! post. Stop by if it is convenient. :)

Regarding SADL IDs, you can define them in the mission editor to prevent the ID conflicts that result in flashing symbols and an inability to send targeting and whatnot. Select the unit in question and in the Callsign line will be a box for the callsign name (Enfield, Springfield, Hawg, Dodge, etc.) and two boxes to the right of that. The left box is Group ID, right box is Ownship ID. Unfortunately you can only set the Group ID - ownship is automatically set to whatever number ship it is in that group of units and clients will always be ownship 1. :-/ As a mission designer you cannot completely preset net IDs for multiplayer, but you can prevent conflicts for default settings if people don't change them. The most likely culprit for conflicts is copy-paste: all properties, including callsign ID, are copied. The designer just needs to be diligent and go through all jets after placing them, setting each jet to a different group number. An irritating engine limitation, but on the list of "irritating things about the engine" this one is pretty low and you can mostly prevent it. Your players will still have to change them if they want to appear as flight members, but oh well. As a fun aside, I just tried editing the values for group and ownship ID in the mission portion of the .miz and the editor "corrects" them upon loading to reset each first ship in a group (the player's unit) as ownship 1. It looks like you can't even go into the file by hand when you are done creating and properly set IDs for each ship. Bummer.

Welcome to A-10C then, EternaLi! I thoroughly enjoyed the Quick Look for many of the same reasons Frostiken mentioned. It was refreshing to see an entirely different perspective on the aircraft and their enjoyment with each new feature discovered - especially the gun! - was thoroughly entertaining. The inherent detail and realism is the very reason most of us are here. I hope you find it a similarly engaging experience. :)

One tip for you if you have problems as I did with LED detection when you turn your head large angles away from the camera: Wrap the LEDs in a single layer of white tissue paper or wax paper and tape it securely behind the LED to minimize folds in the paper over the LED. With that little addition my camera can now track perfectly at all angles unless the cap itself blocks line of sight. Rather convenient I'd say. ;)

statrekmike, If you have a webcam you don't even need TrackIR. :D FaceTrackNoIR requires nothing but a webcam and a face. http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/home/default.htm It can be a little tricky to intially configure, but once it is working it will do head tracking without requiring silly reflectors or lights on a baseball cap or dangling from the side of headphones. It is quite nice! An alternative if you have parts sitting around is FreeTrack. http://www.free-track.net/english/ It works in the same way TrackIR does (tracking discrete points), and if setup properly tracks _better_ than TIR hardware, though their software is certainly nicer. FaceTrackNoIR requires a bit more CPU horsepower than FreeTrack, but the benefit is absolutely no hardware required if you already have a webcam. There are a few threads around these parts that share tips on how to configure it for A-10/BS if you go that route. All that aside, welcome to DCS! Best of luck with your setup and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. :)

Reseeding for all my connection is worth. For anyone just finding this and having trouble with the ftp/http or wondering whether the torrent swarm is up to speed or not: it seems to be. I see a dozen seeds and have a healthy downspeed. Yay Patch! Thanks ED. :)

Congrats on the purchases, and I hope you find both A-10 and Black Shark as enjoyable as the rest of us! :D The X52 Pro will be perfectly fine for both - don't listen to anyone who tells you that you "must have" the Warthog. I'd go so far as to say that if you're on a budget, see if you can find the regular X-52 instead. I've used both and they're identical in function; the Pro variant is colored differently, has a higher build quality and the buttons on the throttle unit framing the display can be made moderately useful unlike the non-Pro variant, where they are permanently useless. Otherwise they're identical. If you want to save more money, get the non-Pro and you'll still have an excellent stick and throttle. Both variants of the X-52 have twist sticks so you don't need rudder pedals either. Sure they add to immersion and ultimately are a nice addition for precise flight control. Again though, if someone tells you that pedals are an absolute necessity you can safely discount any future claims they make because they are clearly out of touch with reality. ;) I haven't had the opportunity to try the MFDs myself, but they are on my to-buy list eventually. Could be a lot of fun. Just fyi in case you missed it since you say you're new to these sorts of games and their hardware: the MFDs don't actually have screens. They're merely frames with the functioning MFD buttons. Screens are separate and many crafty modders have combined them quite effectively, but the MFD pack itself is just buttons with insert cards to make them "look neat." Lastly, the head tracker. Good news! You have options other than the over-priced TrackIR 5. FreeTrack http://www.free-track.net/english/ is one such way to go and the method I use, it functions identically to TrackIR. Like TrackIR, FreeTrack looks for bright spots on either a cap or a side-mounted clip. You'll have to build that yourself, but parts are dirt cheap and helpful forumites are happy to provide parts lists and instructions. If you go the FreeTrack/TrackIR 5 route, you can absolutely use it without a headset clip. In fact that is a relatively recent addition to the TrackIR product lineup: traditionally you would wear an array on top of a baseball cap or similar. The headset clip was added because many people play with large headphones already and this simplifies the things they have to wear. I prefer a surround sound system, but to each their own. The even more interesting option (but one I've been too lazy to configure since my FreeTrack setup works perfectly) is FaceTrackNoIR: http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/home/default.htm This one omits the reflective/illuminated points method of FreeTrack and TrackIR entirely and just goes straight for facial recognition to detect where you are looking! Slightly more processor intensive than the other two methods, but you don't need to wear any hardware, and that alone is worth something. FreeTrack and FaceTrackNoIR both require a webcam, and sometimes compatibility can give you issues, so if you don't already have one and want to go that route I'd suggest looking into particular cameras that other people have used. If you do already have one, FaceTrackNoIR will cost you nothing to try. Opensource for the win. ;) I would personally rate a headtracker of any kind as more important than pedals, to be honest. I have friends who fly without either, but I can't go back to not having a headtracker; it has become instinctive now to try to look around whenever I am flying. I can deal with a twist stick if I have to, but not being able to look around is tough. If you're going to purchase either, I'd recommend the headtracker first!

Wags: Ok, but from the perspective of your loyal customers who want to support you, the words do not give us any extra information. Even your followup now, is fantastically cleverly worded to paint us loyal customers as the badguys for making the most logical assumption based on the extremely limited data we were given. If it will never be on Steam, well, that sucks for us. Perhaps you could have clarified that from the beginning, or could take this opportunity to explain why it won't be on Steam? I expect you'll get sales from most/all of us eventually once we know we can use BS2 in some manner, but with all due respect, this announcement was uncharacteristically dickish and vague compared to ED's normally very honest and open style. You shouldn't be surprised that customers were upset. Edited: Good to hear that we'll be able to use the BS2 paypatch with our Steam installs sooner rather than later. Thanks for the update Viper. I'm still curious about a reason for the non-appearance on Steam, but its nice to know I won't be shafted for $40 despite being an ED supporter.

I'll second this. I'm thrilled to be able to fly both Ka-50 and A-10 together, and I find value in the convenience of having my DCS collection on Steam. It has helped sell a couple extra copies of A-10 merely by friends seeing me playing it and inquiring! As was said elsewhere: if would be nice if Wags or some other representative from ED can confirm or deny if BS2 will ever be finding its way into the Steam system. If it will, I'd much prefer to pick it up there. Failing that I hope we Steam customers will still be able to use the cheaper upgrade option, rather than having to buy the full BS2 standalone. I don't mean to say I expect it any time soon - A-10 has plenty to keep me busy with for the time being. I am perfectly willing to wait as long as necessary. But it would be nice to know if I could eventually expect BS2 on Steam so I can get it there when it does arrive rather than buy the standalone now and then have my game collection fragmented should a BS2 on Steam show up later. First world problems, eh? Complaining about where my game collection is located? Doesn't hurt to ask anyway. :)

Back when I was just beginning practicing with gun runs, I had a nasty habit of pulling too late and and too hard and snapping wings like balsa wood. I have no idea how I managed to rip both of them off at the same time, but this aileron-free flight back and landing at Batumi was the result. Good times. :pilotfly:

BoneSaw: Z if you're using a keyboard (QWERTY), Y if you're using a kezboard (QWERTZ). The LAlt (slow down), LShift (reset to 1x), and LCtrl (speed up) modifiers remain the same regardless of keyboard layout.

A quick clarification about Yurgon's advice: He is right about the deicing systems going together, but note that engaging the engine anti-ice system requires bleed air and will further sap engine power when you may well need it most. Be aware of this if you're up in the mountains where the air is thinner - and where you will most likely find yourself turning on said anti-icing systems... The INU heater is not modeled however. Feel free to ignore that switch. In fact, the only functioning controls from that bank on the back panel are the INU power switch and the center rotary for ballistics data for impact point calculation of unguided weapons (rockets, gun pods, bombs). You may safely ignore the rest of that panel. :)

I'll happily recommend this one to all pilots. I was lucky enough to get to help test it, and Smokey has got a knack for mission design. The structure and pacing are excellent, the default load-out is carefully considered, and there are some especially fun environmental touches that he has built in as well. I think it supports up to six pilots? But it works very well even with as few as two. Well done sir, I tip my cap. :)

Fantastic work Viper. MP is where this sim really shines, so anything that helps people understand how they can work together is hugely appreciated. Many thanks!

I couldn't agree with you more, Tyger, but it is a difficult problem to solve. How do you get random people to join a teamspeak server? You can ask them nicely, even try to peer pressure them once you've got a couple people on. But with player counts that large it is quite possible there is already a group of players on their own private server, not saying or communicating or otherwise completing ignoring the rest of the server population who is trying to work together. (That is my own greatest pet peeve. Join the server-provided teamspeak and make your own mini-channel, guys! At least you'll be a part of the larger group!) And if you're on a public server that doesn't have a dedicated teamspeak, it's even worse trying to convince people to join an ad hoc one. What I wouldn't give for some kind of integration with the game itself - not even an entire VOIP system, but anything, to try to encourage people. Sigh. I can dream. :) The server was smooth and pings perfectly reasonable even across the pond when I hopped in briefly to watch and listen to some of you doing refueling. Very impressive and well done. I need to work on that myself yet. Somehow most tankers I try practicing on end up in a fireball of one form or another. Entirely coincidental though, I'm sure of it! Edit: I know about TARS and have used it myself. It is incredible and really adds to the immersion. But by its very nature of requiring more software, it only makes the problem of getting public players into a teamspeak server even more difficult. Obviously for a private server there's no harm in using it though.

Well if he was working on Blackshark files and had missed the obvious trackirfixer bit but had remembered to toggle freetrack's output to the freetrack protocol rather than the required trackir, or visa versa, I assume it wouldn't have worked. Remember that selecting the correct output interface still matters. He's smarter than I am though and evidently doesn't overlook the painfully obvious steps. :) But I agree it isn't vital we have Blackshark support and don't want him stressing himself over it. The only real reason to seek it is to silence the foolish trolls and paid shills from NP who grasp for any excuse to try to justify NP's artificial monopoly and stifling of innovation. Shutting them up for good is worth a little effort, don't you think?

sam: Is there any chance it is something as minor as you're currently working with a trackirfixer'd dll and not the original? I don't know a thing about the internals of the files, I'm just throwing out something that seems like it could matter and be simple enough to easily overlook. :)

Works perfectly Sam! You've helped make DCS awesome. Do you know if I can drop your solution into Black Shark as well, or is that something you will/can look into?