Gun Jam

I have heard a lot about VR but couldn't make up my mind my main concern is that its too new of a technology still...but then a friend got a play station head set and ace combat 7 (running on PS4) and pretty much insisted that I stop by and check it out. I figured it would be like full range of motion track IR and some slight improvements in depth of field. Not sure if anyone here has played acecombat 7 I haven't. Its an arcade game and doesn't pretend to not be. In this case it starts out in a hangar with like an f-18 and some people walking around. I started on the tv and it looked like anything else no big deal whatever.... but when switching to the VR HMD there was a pretty significant wow moment. I had no idea that it would produce such impressive scale and depth. One thing that I noticed immediately was the creation of true depth and not just a simulation. A menu screen was floating in front near the observer the jet was much further away and the hangar wall was much further than the jet. To clearly see each object you had to focus on that object just like in real life...actual depth. That was quite surprising. The image was okay it was not fantastic but neither was the image on the TV. In both cases reading the text on the gauges was tough but it was a bit better than I had expected considering the VR Headset and the PS4 combined cost less than half of what my video card alone cost which is also nearly as large as the entire PS4. So now I want to give it a shot...people seem to really like it and with an extra 2,500 dollars of hardware over the PS4 (not counting the head set) I would expect the image to be significantly better to the point where one can read gauges, huds and text. to start I have questions about windows mixed reality and steamvr Im not really sure what they do other than provide a VR enviroment like a little game to test equipment with. But they seem required to play DSC in VR. Is that true and if so what do they do??? I figured this would just take software like track IR does that would have options to setup VR and then simply start DCS and its good to go....It seems like its more complicated than this. It looks like the Samsung Odyssey + the HTC Vive and the Rift are the most popular. The Odyssey is suppose to be the best image can anyone confirm or deny that? Does the Odyssey need cameras like the Vive...I dont see them in pictures and cant find any reference to them...how does it track head movement? Thanks for your help

yep that did the trick thanks!

I have the MS Force feedback 2 and apparently DCS has had issues with the FF2 since before DCS world. I know it was all backwards with A10C. Well now im trying to trim out the A10c in DCS world and not only is it still totally mixed up. (nose up trim is left wing down trim...ect) but now I cant get enough nose down trim to fly level. Its bad enough that empty at 300kts I cant engage autopilot. Any solutions to this? Thanks

I'm having a tough time with instrument reflections and sometimes sun glare off the canopy when trying to follow targets. Since everything is at the same distance there really isn't a way to focus past these obstructions. In my car I dont notice bug splatters, scratches, or reflection from the dash at all until I focus on them and they become very noticeable then I look at my object that might be 20 feet or 20 miles away and all those issues with the windshied are instantly filtered out by a focus change and the declutter programing built into most human brains that accompany a a focus change. This doesn't work in DCS because the target 1 mile away and the gun site reflection off the canopy are actually at the same distance (about 2.4 ft) and Im having issues dealing with this. Is there a mod to tone down the reflection in all aircraft to more accurately simulate a focus change..or just remove reflections? Thanks -Gun

While DCS might not be the MOST demanding game it does require a modern system.... I am not opposed to this. I just got DCS world when I saw the f-14 was being released. I played DCS A10c stand alone and that ran okay on my PC. DCS World 2.5...not so much but it does look much better. I had been debating building a new system to replace my current 7 year old PC. Now I have a good excuse. Ill probably spend 3,000 bucks and not touch it again for 7 years. I typically try to build with about 5 to 6 years in mind. Ill be throwing the new RTX card in this system with a 5Ghz i7 8086k. This is the rules of the game we play its been this way since D0om. Devs need to keep pushing hardware limits or we wouldn't have things like DCS / heat blur's f-14 or other very visually appealing titles. I welcome it but realize its also a bit of a love for abuse thing.

well if none of the planes appeal to you and you dont like one more than the rest then I think you should ask the following questions: Do I want to do CAS / ground attacks or air to air? (Ground targets dont move so much might be considered easier thats opinion) Do I like mechanical stuff before computers (get in and fly) Then wwII korea... Do I want to learn avionics? then everything else (this is the steep learning curve) the A-10 has very advanced weapon systems / nav systems / fire and flight controls..etc That can help narrow it down to a few planes...Then go to the forum for those planes and maybe ask some more specific questions perhaps about how much others enjoyed the training missions and offline campaigns (both are excellent in A-10c stock OEM) What after market missions are available... do any of those sound like you would be interested. That's probably the best you can do. in my opinion (talking bone stock here no mods which could solve some of these issues) The Su has a terrible set of training missions and no interactive cockpit so you are learning key combs and not visual locations of switches that you typically interact with. making it WAY harder to remember how to do something...this is a bummer. The rocket pods are pretty fricken cool though! The 2 barrel 30mm cannon is total crap and does not put rnds on target well (coming from the A-10 so im spoiled) the gun pods you would think would help they just take a bad situation and make it even worse...what a crap setup. The gun / rocket sight is often lost in the clutter of the hud which obscures my target. The worst issue I have is the lack of view from the cockpit this is a system that you need to see well out of to be proficient and its totally horrid. There's a big 25" CRT monitor blocking a nice chunk of ground on the low right, The hud has a big piece of that blue lumpy 3" thick shower glass to reflect off of and you cant see past it worth a damn in good lighting. in bad lighting its totally opaque. The canopy has large pillars all over which obscure view in many directions. The seat and fuse block view from the rear what you can see out of the back is often glare off the high radius sections of the canopy. I had 0 of these issues in the A-10 which was tough enough without those additional problems. So hopefully this helps you make a decision as you have to wade though others opinions to form your own the trick is to narrow the scope of what you want to do and find most appealing then see whats left to fill that nitch.

Thanks David for the link. This is excellent news any DM improvements will be greatly appreciated. I wish the article would have given more detail about the visual side of things. I get the feeling they are talking about visual damage to the craft its self and not about improving / adding large volume flames and smoke. Im glad work is being done in this dept so thats good news.

I would very much like to see something actually happen simulating fuel burn. Im watching this missile track and hit head on and rip into a fighter. I get a puff of smoke and then a few faint trails of smoke with small localized fires as wings and other pieces fall to earth. In that case I want to see a massive fire ball like 5 times the size of that plane then a large plume of flames follow the main chunks down with some thick smoke this could diminish over time if it fell for many 1000s of feet Also smoke from crash sites seems weak. Not every hit needs a fireball what we have now is okay in some situations but when a fuel tank(s) gets ripped open and disperses 4,000 pounds of fuel in to the air and another 2,000 is trying to find it way out that would be much improved over what we have now.... which is about equal to an impact on a plane with no fuel on board. Like this is a good example and matches the first case. Example of fuel dispersion I doubt im the first to mention this but I couldn't find any reference to this topic. What has been discussed so far? Thanks!

For whats its worth. If there is a plane that you like for example you thought it was cool as a kid or for whatever reason then absolutely buy that plane that will likley make DCS much more enjoyable for you. Most have a very steep learning curve so pick one to master or at least be proficient in I always though the A-10 was cool as hell and Instantly bought it when I saw what DCS had done for that plane in terms of immersion and depth. This was before DCS world it was stand alone on CD. I totally loved it an amazing experience and made me a DCS fan. I just recently got DCS World because Im again excited for the f-14 and DCS world is now a requirement. Im pretty sure that if I had attempted to determine if DCS was worth the money by messing with the su-25t I would have walked away and missed out on what I got from the A-10c. I am not a fan of Su at all for many reasons im constantly frustrated with it. So by all means BUY the plane you want and learn on that dont waste time messing with a free plane unless the su-25t is the reason you got DCS world. -Gun

Absolutely.... I got the feeling 1 was hoping he didnt have to make another pass. In the back of his head I suspect it always feels like a bit of a dice roll despite the confirm from the guys on the ground

Thats a great video thanks for sharing. "Dude I said cover" lol.....He always got the tally first but never did he shoot he just sat back as flight leads got the kills and when Lead would **** him over he never would complain the thought never even crossed his mind....

Thanks for this info I'll look into that

Hello I have a question about how a given planes instruments and hud are intended to be viewed....in other words what is the correct seat position for best view out the window and still have proper view of hud and gauges. Commercial airliners for example the CRJ 600 has an alignment system that is intended to allow the pilot to properly adjust the seat so the view of the instruments and windows are set as intended by the manufacturer. If im sitting in the A-10 how would I know my trackir's center position is actually giving me the optimal seat position. I have found the a-10 to be quite picky about seat position when attempting the view the hud usually the compass is out of view and I find myself have to move around a bit to see all the hud items....so I suspect there maybe an issue here. I just got DCS world. I have DCS a-10c on CD and have been playing with the su-25t as its pretty much the Russian version of the a-10 except so far I feel its an absolutely miserable plane to use. The plane actually handles okay but I cant see out of it...its got 8 pieces of the worst glass between me and the outside (pretty sure they used those glass bricks for showers) and enough canopy pillars to hide a c17 thats 500 feet away the HUD often obscures the A/G gun sight. No fault on DCS here as I suspect this is quite true to life. With this in mind are there any tricks you guys use to help maintain situational awareness in those conditions? any TIR tricks to help with that? As for ideal seat and head position for a given aircraft like the p51 , a-10 and su25t is there anyway to make the TIR center button = to the ideal position? I get the feeling the TIR center doesn't account for z ? I hope that makes sense Thanks -Gun

Ive had DCS A10-c before DCS world and with the upcoming f14 module I decided to check out DCS world. I was instantly surprised at the somewhat lacking terrain. My instant reaction was "well after 7 years I figured this would look better" One of the first things I did was look to see if I was missing any detail settings because I was sure it could look better and came across this post. I installed this update and was like "yeah there we go" Thank you Mustang for taking the time to improve this! -Gun

Hello Ive been a long time owner of DCS A10c I got it on CD before DCS world existed or at least before it was required. With the upcoming F-14 im finally motivated to install DCS world 2.5 Its my understanding that DCS world 2.5 acts as the core for graphics or a foundation that can be added to. We purchase modules that operate in this environment or core which can include terrains and aircraft like the Nevada test range or the f-14...is that fairly accurate as to how the "world" can be described? Now I download DCS world 2.5 and right away Im going to want to plug my A-10c into this world. If I have it on CD how is that done? The missions and campaign that came with it on cd does it transfer over or is it just jet sitting there and I go and buy a campaign that looks like it worth money or what? What about the training missions? What else should I know before installing DCS world 2.5? Thanks -Gun

Im doing these landings in heavy rain / thunder storms with cloud deck at 300m about a 20knt crosswind and some turbulence. In this case and ILS approach is needed. By keeping the wings and rudder neutral and using light roll angle to correct for needle drift landings have become much much easier. This method is far more precise than rudder and or rudder mix. Simply watching the needle, thinking a bit ahead and using slight roll commands makes keeping the ILS bars in check much easier. Landings have improved a bunch. Thanks guys!

cool thanks!

Im pretty sure I found the issue. Im landing in a 25 knot wind with a good portion of that acting as a cross wind. The TVV has an arrow through it so I assume its not the true solution that's why the ILS bar and the plane come off center-line despite the TVV being dead on with the wp square the whole time. I assume this is also why I have to keep the TVV off the WP square and well into the wind (opposite the TVV arrow direction) to keep the ILS bar and the plane on the center line. And that brings us back to the initial problem / question. What can I use as a reference point to keep the ILS bar on center-line? Does this help explain any of my issues? In short if you've got an arrow through the TVV this means the TVV symbol is not the true vector correct? What do you do now? Thanks -Gun

Thanks Magician Maybe Im simply letting the plane drift too far before I get the TVV on the WP indicator. Now if the cross wind is constant shouldn't I be applying a predictable constant corrective input? In the last sentence you seem to imply that I should fly down the runway center line without using rudder or roll concretion with wings level this obviously wont work as the plane would be blown off center line just like a bullet in a crosswind so I should be using a constant amount of roll angle as I head towards the runway correct?? Thanks again -Gun

Hello Thanks for all your help. Following the advice and using roll angle into the wind rather than rudder yaw alone has made improvements! I found that I was having to use a bit of rudder as well to stop the plane from descending while maintaining a roll angle. now my question is this Magician suggested using the TVV to keep the plane inline with the runway during a cross wind approach. This would be great as it provides a ton of feedback allowing correction before the ILS bars get out of line. By my experience has been that the TVV only indicate a point of impact not a heading of impact.. if placed on a ground object the plane will impact that location but it does not seem to correct for wind drift. In a crosswind approach if I keep the TVV on the threshold wp marker the plane seems to fly and arc as it approaches the runway so that by the time I am within 2 miles of the runway I am approaching the runway way off center-line and mostly pointed into the wind (remember this started out as crosswind) It seems to keep the plane on the center-line the TVV must remain upwind of the wp marker and not centered in the wp marker box as it would be in zero wind. Is this correct or am I screwing up? Thanks -Gun

The trouble im having is determining how much rudder should be applied to keep the ILS bars lined up on the ADI. For example im 6 miles out on approach on the glide slope with the horizontal ils bar on the dot in the center of the ADI. There is a crosswind that is attempting to blow the plane off the runway center line so I apply rudder correction to keep the plane on the center line and the vertical ILS bar on the dot in the center of the ADI. The problem I am having is I'm always chasing the vertical ILS bar because I have no reference of where my slip angle should be to compensate for the crosswind. I watch the bar and I see it move to the left so I add more corrective rudder and it comes back to the center and I start reducing rudder in hopes it stays in the center but Im always off just a tad so its always drifting off center. What other reference points can I use along with the Vertical ILS bar to determine how much more or less rudder I should be applying at any given time??? Thanks -Gun

My track Ir got here a few days ago and im slowly getting use to it. I downloaded WAG's profile and made a few mods to the curves and still making adjustments but its getting close! When in the setup software track ir works perfect. In DSC A10 it works perfect when looking forwards but when I look back over my shoulder the Zoom axis becomes the horizontal slide axis (the two switch places)... any ideas??? -Gun

problem solved! Thanks man.

Hello I would like to get track ir 5. It appears it comes in two flavors one with a setup for a hat and one with a clip that fits to a headset. I have heard that the track clip is the way to go...plus i dont want to wear a hat. It appears that "track Ir 5 ultra" comes with the track clip but I cant find it easily (at all maybe) for sale in America. The prices I have seen (240.00USD) seem out of line since track ir 5 sells for 130 on amazon. How should I go about buying this do I buy the stuff separate? Who should I get it from?? Thanks -Gun

Thanks Peter That FOV adjustment is just what I was looking for I set it to 85 and it was good and then tried 90 and I felt right at home. Looks pretty amazing! Now maybe its time for a head tracker too :) I guess I have one last question regarding the dell u2711 mostly off topic but one thing I noticed was blu-ray movies actually look a bit grainy. It looks a lot like ISO noise (to anyone familiar with photography) Im assuming this is normal and due to image being unscaled from 1080 to 1440. Im also using correl win dvd pro 11 to play the blu ray. Im also using the sRGB color profile I would be thankful for any additional tips that may help fully utilize this new monitor. Thanks again -Gun