ashcanpete

I agree that at the very least it'd be nice to be able to use the mission editor with just WWII era units. Then you could relatively quickly make your own WWII missions without tons of scrolling through modern planes and vehicles. I'm not sure why this doesn't exist already. Does anyone really have any interest in flying a P-51 against SA-8s and Mig-29s? It's just not realistic or enjoyable.

Serial no: 11019 Loc: Arlington, VA, USA

Ok right so I understand what you're saying about markpoints, but the problem is I don't know how to get exact distances between markpoints (ie in meters or feet). What I really wanted to use this for is to quickly figure out distances between vehicles in formation for ripple intervals, and to measure overall size of groups for HOF settings on CBUs. Also, if you could quickly estimate distances then you could time a vehicle traveling a short distance on a road and thus determine its speed. Then you could more easily time/aim unguided bombs or JDAMs to intercept moving ground targets (especially ones on roads). I just figured that the TGP should have the DTS "knowledge" to do this easily, but maybe its just not something they included in the interface on the A-10.

Yeah I know about the yardstick crosshairs but it is only useful to measure the distance btween objects that lie in a plane perpendicular to the LOS of the TGP. I kinda figured with the Digital Terrian System the A-10 has, the TGP should be able to take advantage of it to display distances between targets.

Is there any way to get the TGP to measure the distance between two points? It seems like it should be a very easy thing for the TGP to display, but I can't find out how to do it.

What you said is simply wrong. What frostiken said was not a different way of saying the same thing. What he said was right, what you said was wrong. Thats not a reason to get angry. I'm wrong all the time, and while I don't always like it, I try to admit it and learn something from it.

So I was curious about the underlying workings of dynamic weather/ static weather in DCS. I was considering trying to make a mod for real world weather in DCS. I have some experience with scripting, and have a lot of friends who are software devs that could help me out. Of course this is likely a very big task, but I was wondering if anyone could answer a few initial questions about the feasibility of such a mod: 1. What kind of control could you get over dynamic or static weather conditions through config files and/or lua scripts? 2. Specifically, is is possible to change weather during gameplay, or can weather only be modified before the map loads? 3. Is it possible to have static weather that is different in various zones of the map? 4. Is it possible to get more control over where specific weather areas are using dynamic weather? Could you specify coordinates for each baric system you create? 5. Is ED considering radically changing/updating the weather design in the game anytime soon?

Yeah, here is a real world pic of Batumi, note the clearly visible tire marks on one side only. Though, as shu77 mentioned, in some places the wind comes from one general direction pretty much all the time. I'm not sure if Batumi or any of the other airports in DCS have that kind of weather, but if they did, that would account for the tire markings. However this wouldn't necessarily mean that if the wind did come from another direction, ATC would still have to use that same runway. I guess what I'm trying to say is that two things could be going on here: 1. In real life, the wind always blows one way, so only one runway is used, and that's why DCS modeled the ATC like they did. In this case, any wind you set in the ME that causes downwind takeoffs is actually an unrealistic setting and thus shouldn't be used. 2. There is some safety reason or urban development that causes ATC to only use one runway in real life, thus DCS modeled it likewise. I'd bet that number 2 is the case for the runways modeled in DCS. On a further note, I'd be interested to know if there is recurrent/dominant weather patterns in Georgia that we could simulate in the game for added realism.

Lol. True but I'm thinking any bridge strike will mess things up pretty badly :D

I think you mean 130 knots, which would be over 200 km/h. Not sure if 200 km/h was actually a real figure or more of a guess though.

I like this plan, but i think it may be beyond the level of fidelity you can reasonably expect from ED. :D "Man I really would like to see more detail during my birdwatching sorties..." You can fire weapons from the ground in 1.1.0.9, but don't try it with a Maverick, they just hit the ground and blow up about 10 feet in front of your plane, causing all sorts of damage. It's really too bad though, I would've liked to have been able to eliminate my wingman before he hit me during takeoff for the 20th time.

These kinds of discussions are why I can't get enough of this forum. I love the way these threads always start off with a suggestion to read the manual, only to be followed by a 4 page intensive exposition on far more material than is ever covered in the manual.

There's the fact that no F-86's are in front line service anywhere in the world. So having them engage an A-10C at all is pretty silly and takes away any realism from the game. If you were going to have a realistic and enjoyable F-86 simulation, then I'm expecting that the entire world (friendly units and enemy units) would be from the same time period. Just throwing the F-86 into a modern world would be ridiculous. If they actually do a Sabre module, I highly doubt there would be compatibility between modules.

Yeah that's part of why I was curious about a military customer. If the military wants a sim for a two seater, then that's what we will get. But if the next module is just for the consumer market, I feel like a two seater might have a hard time selling as successfully as a one seater, given that not everyone plays MP (though they probably should), and hot swapping seats can be difficult to implement, and sort of takes away some of the fidelity of the sim. Also, as I said before, if military customer is involved, aircraft for previous eras are unlikely, but if its just for consumers then any time period is a possibility. Also, what do you have against the F-86? I'd love to fly that thing over Korea for an FAC directed napalm strike. Though on the flip side, any past-era fighter would seriously hinder any possibility of future compatibility between modules.

I see a lot of people speculating about the F-15E strike eagle. You guys think that the next module will really be a two seater? That would really change the way the game is played. It seems like it would really take MP to the next level (and pretty much make it essential). Same goes for the F/A-18 D and F (and AH-64D, but it seems that a US fixed wing is confirmed). Also I feel like the possibility of an aircraft from a different time period was specifically mentioned as well. Flying the F-86 would be sweet! Heck I'd go for the F-4 or the A-6 or even the A-1 Skyraider. (Though I'm not sure if it is confirmed to be a fighter or not, could someone link to where they got that info?) I don't know much about ED's history and future plans as far as military involvement go. Was Black Shark also developed for some military body as A-10 was? Do you think that the next module will also have a military customer? If that is the case I can't see why they would focus on any other time frame than modern aircraft. Anyway I'm sure I'll be playing the next module, whatever it is, whenever it is.

Slacker, thanks for the reply. A few questions: 1. Does the FF DIST setting just not do anything? I feel like it would be really easy to model different timer settings for the LUU-2B, maybe this could be easily changed in lua files? I know that this setting is normally changed on the ground by the crew but it seems similar to the LGB laser code situation, where they let you change it in the DSMS pages. 2. So do you mean to say that the M257 HOT setting works now? I wasn't able to input a value for this in the profile (it just kept saying CDU input error). 3. Is the 9000m ignition range true to real life for A-10 employment? I noticed that the document I linked to specifically references firing from a helicopter, so maybe A-10 crews use differently timed M257s set for longer range?

I was trying to figure out how to effectively deploy illumination for night missions. I discovered through experimenting that the LUU-2B illumination flares go off pretty much immediately after leaving the plane and then burn as they fall at around 17 mph for about 3500 feet (unless they hit the ground first). However, in the manual it says: "After ejection, a programmable timer deploys a parachute and ignites the flare candle." I was curious, how you go about programming that timer? I messed around with the FF DIST (which I thought might mean Free Fall Distance) in the INV page of DSMS, but that didn't seem to change anything. It seems that it would be relatively useful to be able to drop the illumination flares from much higher (i.e. above IR SAM range) and then have the flare drop to about 4000 feet before deploying chute and burning. Also, I was equally curious about the M257 Hydras and how to set how long they fly before deployment. I saw in another thread that the HOT (Height Over Target) setting is not functional, but it seems there should also be some kind of a timer setting here. EDIT: found this document: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/docs/hydra_info2.pdf On page 8 it explains the M257 has an interal setback fuse that ignites after flying about 3000 meters, so I'm guessing that can't be changed, even on the ground. Is that 3000 meter figure accurate to how the M257 is modeled in DCS?

Lol, that does have less steps...

So I tried to triangulate the position of several different SAM positions using the RWR and I found that it was pretty accurate. You could probably do it several ways, but the method I used was: 1. When I first get painted by radar, fly so it lines up with a tick on the RWR. Usually I'd beam it or put it 135 degrees back (45 degrees back from beam). Also I guess you could fly straight away. It doesn't matter as long as the letter/number in the RWR symbol lines up exactly with a tick on RWR (don't fly right at it and get shot down). 2. Then I just find the same tick around the HSI and note the bearing, while at the same time hitting the "Mk" (create overhead mark point) button on the UFC. (lets call this Mark A) 3. On the CDU, I then created an new offset from that markpoint about 100 miles in the direction of the SAM (from the HSI). This will be called MSN0xx. (for this example lets call it MSN006) 4. Next, I flew around the SAM until I got painted from a different angle, and again noted the exact bearing by comparing the RWR to the HSI, and I created a markpoint at that spot. (Mark B) 5. Created another offset from the second markpoint in the second direction for about 100 miles. (MSN007) 6. Built a flightplan using the following waypoints: A, MSN006, B, MSN007. 7. There should be lines connecting all your waypoints on the TAD now. In the center the two big lines should cross. This is where the SAM is. 8. Placed a markpoint where the lines crossed on TAD (TMS right short, Mark C). 9. Added Mark C to flightplan and slewed TGP to steerpoint (or set Mark C as SPI and slave all to SPI). 10. Find SAM (usually it was pretty darn close to Mark C). So I dunno if this is helpful to anyone, or if anyone has a better (faster) way to implement this idea. Also, I was curious if anyone knows if this is ever done IRL? (maybe in a different aircraft with a better RWR and a computer thats set up for it?) Anyway, I found this to be pretty useful for finding SAMs if you don't have any SEAD to call in and you can't get the SAM position from your wingman's superhuman vision.

Ok I think we're agreeing here. I see your point about rotational moment of inertia, I also did not consider that. Though I doubt it would have much of an effect, as any initial "tilt" to one side would be centered by drag from tail fins, and since the centering is sort of a wobbling oscillation, I'm guessing that any course deviations would average out to the same average course. I feel like the overall effect of releasing while the plane is rapidly pitching up is that the bomb would have greater effective aerodynamic cross-section and thus would fall short of the target. But the computer inaccuracies must have a much greater effect on the flight path than the wobbling, because lobbed bombs are commonly going long.

He didn't forget inertia, the tangent is the same vector as the velocity vector at the moment of release. It makes no difference to the bomb's trajectory whether or not you are pulling G's at time of release. Acceleration vector depends on whether you are pulling up or not, but that vector ceases to exist for the bomb the instant it is released (instead the acceleration vector becomes 1G pointing straight down plus a little backwards due to friction with the air).

I was also interested in putting the trims on wheels or sliders on my x52. I understand that a hat is how its done IRL, but I feel that for this sim a slider would be better for me. One of the main differences between this sim and a real life A-10 is the lack of any feedback from the airplane's stick. IRL, when setting the trim (which doesn't use trim tabs in the A-10 I think), it basically moves the default position of the stick. So if you are sitting in a real A-10, and you want to trim, you basically fly level with stick, then just adjust trim until you don't feel any more pressure on the stick. Unfortunately, you can't do it that way in a sim, instead you have to pay attention to how the plane pitches and rolls on screen as you change the trim. I feel that IRL I would be able to set the trim much easier than I can in the sim using a 4-way hat. I am not trying to complain, but I just feel that using silders or wheels for trim would be much quicker, and in that aspect at least, somewhat closer to real life. I am curious if anyone knows any way to assign trim to an axis. Actually, I wouldn't mind spending some time trying to figure it out myself, if someone could even point me in a general direction. Also, if any of you specifically know that its not possible (i.e. Speed) then let me know and that will be that. With respect to using a slider for zoom, I also had problems with the "jitteryness" of x52 sliders and wheels. What I did as a workaround was use a modifier when setting the zoom axis (I used the right pinky button). That way, once you set the zoom and let go of the modifier button, the jittering goes away.

First of all, I just wanted to thank ScherzkeCks for the post, I am also just getting into this sim and had some of the same questions. I had a few more newb type questions to add (if this needs to be a new post, let me know or move it) 1) With regards to multiplayer, I wanted to if there is any prerequisites in general before attempting to play online. I am pretty proficient at startup, takeoff, landing, navigation and weapons use, and have read a lot of the manual (but of course there is still tons more to read). I saw that some of the squadrons have training/qualifications, but many of them don't say if there do or not. Also, I there some way I could maybe spectate/sit in on some MP sessions to see if I could handle it? I am really getting into this sim, and I feel like playing online would really take it to the next level. 2) I am also having some framerate issues (lag) and I was wondering if you guys could tell me which part of my system may be the culprit/need to be upgraded. It usually occurs when low to the ground or at takeoff/landing, and when my TGP or Mav cams are on the MFCDs. My setup is: 3.0 GHz AMD quad core 8 GB RAM Windows 7 x64 ATI Radeon HD4870 1 GB video ram also I am using iControl DCS on my iPad 3) This is more of a suggestion to other newbs like myself. I recently upgraded from a AV8R to a x52 and got TrackIR, and the difference is amazing! If you can afford any HOTAS setup and trackIR (or you could try FaceTrackNoIR if you have a webcam), I think you will find that you will not regret the investment. TrackIR has cut my startup times in half and tripled my situational awareness. 4) Also had the same question about unguided bombs. Do most of you just wait until all SAM's are eliminated to use them, or just not really use them at all if there is a threat (or do you try to drop from 15k and pray?)

First of all, I'd just like to thank you Wim for spending so much time on FaceTrack, and specifically working to implement it in DCS A-10. I've just started to really get into DCS Warthog, and my experience with the community has been great so far. It seems like you (Wim) and a lot of the other people on this forum really go out of your way to add to the game and improve it with mods and interfaces such as FaceTrackNoIR. It seems like every time i think, man this game would be better if someone did this ... I look on the forums and someone did it already! (i.e. x52 HOTAS setup, Quick Startup Guide, and now FaceTrackNoIR). Anyway, I am very exited about the possiblities of FTN, but I can't seem to get past the "Failed to register camera category" error. I saw this mentioned before on other forums, and I tried everything listed to no avail, including: -Uninstalling all codec packs -Shutting down absolutely anything else that might use the camera -Using Filmerit to delete DirectShow filter errors -Installing and uninstalling both FTN and the HeadTrack demo and my webcam drivers countless times -Shutting down and uninstalling all additional webcam software -Tried both my Logitech C500 and my Kinect to see if a different camera would help I am at my wits end here and any help would be appreciated greatly. The only other solution I can think of is reinstalling windows and I hope I don't have to do that. I just donated for all the hard work you've already done, and I would be infinately greatful if you could get FaceTrack working for me. BTW, I'm running Windows 7 x64, AMD 3.0 GHz quad core, 8 GB RAM, if that helps at all. Let me know if you need any more info.