Madmatt_BFC

I too have encountered this problem pretty frequently under Windows 7. For me, I have found two reliable ways to get around this problem. The first option, if you want to only play a stand-alone mission and don't need to read the briefing, is to use the excellent DCS Max program and automatically load up into the mission. If I need to read a briefing, or need to play a campaign mission, I have found that if I first load up the Multiplayer module, then exit from multiplayer (I don't need to join or host anything, just load it and then exit) and THEN load the normal single player module, that I don't get the error when loading a new mission. Not sure why that second option works, but it does for me, every time. Madmatt

I was seeing that same issue in Windows 7 myself but was able to work around it by always loading a mission first in Multiplayer mode, and then exiting and then opening the Solo mode. By doing this, I never get that intermittent Launcher error anymore, which would sometimes occur after clicking FLY in missions and campaign battles in Solo mode. Still, I like using this new utility to load up certain solo missions where I don't need to read the briefings. Very cool! Madmatt

Did you remember to increase the throttle to Auto? You have to hit the Page-Up key twice once the engines are all spooled up and running. the throttle levers and the yellow ones on your left hand side, but you have to use the keyboard commands to move them. Madmatt

Yeah, as I said, I have seen this phenomenon as well. If it were simply trying to focus on a pre-designated target (for example a active TP on the PVI-800) or a Ingress target via the PRTz+ABRIS then it wouldn't continue to move as if it were tracking a moving vehicle the way I have seen it do. As I said, the only time I have seen this happen for myself is after engaging and killing a moving ground target and it also doesn't always occur either. I will probably try and do some testing on this soon although I am a little busy with work tonight. Madmatt

By the way, I know that some people have mentioned that at times it seems that the Shkval will constantly move all on its own. This is not the auto-sweep function either (activated by hitting the uncage button a second time) which just pans side to side. This is something different all-together that I am referring to. I have seen this same thing occur before as well and seems to occasionally happen right after engaging a moving ground target. It doesn't matter if I enable/disable the autotrack switch either. The only way to get the Shkval sensor to stop moving (and it always moves along the relative motion of the former target) is to cage it back up and then uncage it again. Simply moving the sensor in any direction or even re-centering as some have suggested doesn't seem to do anything. I have to say, knowing what I know about how the Shkval is supposed to work, this would appear to be a bug but I am not 100% certain just yet. I will try and get this recorded as a trk file so others can have a look. Madmatt

I believe the actual term is "Castering" not catering. When I was young I toured with a few bands as a roadie and we had all those big Marshall PA stacks on casters (free turning wheels) which allowed us to move them easier in any direction we needed. Madmatt

Right, it's just an abstract coordinate point. The ABRIS doesn't care what's REALLY at that location. It's just a referenced point in space to it (generated via the Shkval and the laser range finder, which feeds back to the INS system I guess) and the PRTz Ingress function is there to point you in that direction. I remember how I figured this all out actually. I was playing online doing some MP datalink testing and it frustrated me that I could use the PVI-800's to autoslew to a TP point, yet there didn't seem to be a way to do it to a Datalink target. I sat up all night thinking about this and then read about the PRTz's Ingress button functionality (meant to orientate the craft to a designated PVI-800 TP while en-route apparently) then did some more testing and worked this all out. Madmatt

If you have a Target Postion (TP) selected in the PVI-800 and you uncage the Shkval, it will autoslew to that position (or as close to it as it can get, sometimes its beyond visual range of course). The other way to get it to autoslew is using the Ingress button on the PRTz Datalink in conjunction with the ABRIS as I described above. Of course, you can also use your HMS system. In fact, when I am in a controlled hover and I don't feel like screwing with using my rudder pedals, I will activate my Helmet Mounted Site, look over in the direction I want to yaw to, uncage the Shkval (which then tracks to the HMS spot) and then select the "turn to target" button. Voilla, my bird does a nice controlled spin to the new location and I didn't have to stretch my toes to use my pedals! ;) Madmatt

I have spent a great deal of time getting into the inner workings of the Datalink system and the ABRIS and figured out some cool little tricks. To answer the question above about autoslewing to a ABRIS target, actually you can. You do it by using the PRTz Datalink's "INGRESS" button/function. Here is how. First, store the target you want in your ABRIS. This can be an Ingress Point, an armored vehicle, a SAM vehicle/position or the "other" type. If you don't already have a position stored in the ABRIS (for instance if one of your wingies already sent it to you via the PRTz Datalink) just use the Shkval to lock up the position, select what sort of "target" you want it to be (armored vehicle, SAM, 'other' or an Ingress Point) then click on the PRTz SEND key to add the position to your ABRIS display. Now, reset the targetting system (you can actually just recenter the Shkval, you don't have to turn it off), select the target using the proper PRTz button. Once you see it flashing on your ABRIS, click the PRTz INGRESS button. The target will now have a cross over it. Now, uncage the Shkval (O key) and it will automatically track to that designated point. Now, if you select the "turn to target" function, your helicopter will also rotate to that position as well. Once you lock up the target, you should click the INGRESS button again to turn it off. Remember, once you deal with the first target, you have to have the Shkval either caged (off) or reset it to center before you can start the process over again and get the next target location to *blink* (be selected) on the ABRIS. So, it's reset or recenter the Shkval, then select the target position you want to slew towards on the PRTz panel, then click the Ingress button, and then uncage Shkval (and activate "turn to target" if you desire) and click the Ingress button again to turn it off. If done properly, the target position will be dead center in your Shkval's targeting gates, awaiting you to unleash hell as you see fit! ;) I use this process all the time, and by doing it this way, there is no need to send the targeting position data to the PVI-800 as a TP, although you can do that too and that process is detailed in the manual. Another neat trick I have learned is to use the Datalink to get your wingmen to fly between two different points that you designate on the ABRIS. The key is to place an ingress point on the ABRIS and then a target point. Remember, you don't have to designate a LIVE target, you can designate ANYTHING you want and make it a target point. If it's not a real target, your wingman will still fly to that location via the Ingress point and then come back to you. Just remember to send him via the datalink the target point first and then the Ingress point you want him to use. Using this system, you can basically get him to fly to two different waypoints in sequence. First he flys to the ingress point and then on to the target point and then he returns to you. Doesn't have much practical use at this time, but it is fun to do. You can actually make him loiter at a fixed position, then send him to an Ingress point and then to an attack point and I think he will return back to his loiter position as well. I will need to test that some more. I know I got one of my wingmen to do something like that before. Madmatt

This probably isn't the place to get into lengthy discussions about Combat Mission and what the grogs did or did not want with regards to CMSF but I think I can speak with more authority than ANYONE ELSE here on this matter, since I am one of the designers of the game. While people did express a desire to have the old-style automap maker and QB generator in CMSF, it didn't have anything to do with them not liking the prebuilt scenarios or what was in CMSF needing to "catch up" to something in a earlier generation of game. More than anything they just didn't appreciate that the way those tools worked in the CMx1 engine would not work in the newer CMx2 engine. The automap builder wasn't possible (at least not yet) because of the massively more detailed and varied underlying terrain mesh and the older style QB generator wouldn't work in the new system for a host of reasons but most notably because of all the advances in the A.I. routines. In CMx1, the AI in play in QB's is pretty simple and based on controlling basic objective points (by and large). However, the entire scoring and mission structure in CMSF is more complex (due in part to the nature of the conflict depicted but for other internal reasons as well) and it simply wouldn't translate the same. CMSF uses a different approach in the Quick Battles, notably the fact the maps must be pre-created and the A.I. pre-issued various "action plans" which are embedded into the QB map itself to help determine how they are going to behave, based on the intended objectives and requirements of the QB itself. That is why you have certain QB maps now in CMSF that are meant for say a Meeting Engagement centered around a small town and another which is the same exact town and terrain map, but meant for a Static Defense. It's not the map itself (in this example) which changes, its the underlying strategic component of the AI that differs in the two QB maps. This sort of thing was simply impossible in the earlier engine. So, when people first got into CMSF and found that one tool (the automap) was gone and the other (QB's) was so different, it took some time for them to get acclimated to the new system. In subsequent patches (and we have a new one about to be released hopefully next week) we added even more variety to the QB maps and that has also gone a long way into maturing the QB aspects of the game even more. I hasten to add though that QB's were never and WILL never be the focus of the CM game series. We believe in professionally created, designed and "tweaked to a shiney gleam" type scenarios and campaigns and feel that they will always out-perform something generated on-the-fly. Anyway, if you guys want to get into more details on the QB elements behind CMSF, it would be best to either do it in private, or on the Battlefront.com forums. That is why they exist afterall... My appologies to the Mods if I stepped out of line by clarifying this point. Madmatt

You know, its weird, because when I first started playing I thought I noticed the same thing on occasion. The bird would start acting very loose and I would look down and notice all three AP channel disengaged. It got so bad that I maped an emergency AP re-engage button to automatically turn them all back on, but over the past week or so I have not seen it occur since. The only thing I could think of was that I might have had something else on my HOTAS mismapped and was engaging the emergency AP override or something. Either way, I haven't noticed it occuring in all my recent flights/missions and campaigns. As I said above, the only way I see it "really" happen now is if I try to engage Autohover very low to the ground. If you do that, you will see all three channel buttons blink and then turn off. Maybe there is something else that could cause them to disengage though that is happening to you? Madmatt

The switch to turn it on is hidden behind the Cyclic stick (left-hand side of the INS Landing Lights and Voice Warning Panel) or you can use the keyboard shortcut which is Rshift+L to turn it on. It's a three stage switch: On/Retract/Off. Madmatt

That will happen if you engage the Autohover-AP and are too low to the ground. I don't have the manual handy to reference but their is a minimum height (20 meters maybe?) you must be at BEFORE you engage Autohover, otherwise it will do what you are seeing. Madmatt

Hey guys, thanks for the kind words. I am still around as much as ever, but I try to take a much lower profile when I am on somone elses board. DCS Black Shark is the game I turn to when I need a *break* from working on all of our in-house stuff! Well, this and the newly released Jutland. ;) AlphaOneSix, I got this situation I mentioned before to occur about half a dozen times last night so I will try and get a track of it again today. Probably never happen again now that I am TRYING to get it to replicate though. ;) Madmatt

So, the 3 minute repair function, will it also fix battle damage? Madmatt

Yeah, I tried to keep my airspeed around 200km/h but if I got much higher than that, I did seem to pick up more ice warnings. Very cool to see that all modeled! I will be back online tonight to try some more with this mission. There are a few AAA units that I am looking to get some payback on! Madmatt

Does that 3 minute repair function occur automatically or do I need to establish comms with the ground crew first? I have seen some EKRAN errors indicating problems about the Transmission or Oil Pressure to the Left Engine, so perhaps that was what was happening (Starter shaft fault). As I said, I can pretty much get everything working fine under normal conditions, but this being real life, sometimes something inadverently occurs (cat jumping on the keyboard hitting random keys, dropping my HOTAS on the floor etc..) and I was looking for steps to do to try and get that failed engine to fire back up. So let me ask this then, under what conditions, in game, would I ever want to perform a Crank Start? Is that ever really needed? Madmatt

Hi guys, thanks for the replies so far but they assume that I want an answer to PREVENT this from occuring in the first place. That's not it at all though. I know how to properly start the engines fine and can do so reliably. What I was hoping to get was a procedure to do AFTER there was a unintentioned screwup of some kind. So, in my situation, the Right Engine is now running at full RPM's and the engine selector has been reset to the Left Engine, but it still won't fire up again (it began to run earlier but lost power and shut down). In this case, what are my next steps to try and get it to start? Do i need to do a Crank Start and if so, what about the need to have the Rotor Brake Engaged? Do I need to properly shut down the right engine and basically start all over? When I have done that before, the left engine would refuse to start no matter what I did, but I could get the right engine to fire up every time. Remember, in my situation, the Left Engine RMP guage will not budge at all when the engine was attempted to be restarted aftaer the intial failed/aborted start (the Start VLV light comes on though). What would that seem to indicate? Also, If I did actually break the starter shaft, how would I know this since I see no warning lamps lit. Madmatt

I have been doing a lot of training lately with the proper startup procedures and with the use of the various checklists and tutorials available I now have it down pretty well. What I am trying to work on now though are the engine restart procedures but I am having some trouble. Some of this is because I want to know how to do this, and sometimes because I have made a mistake in my normal startup-checklist and end up with one engine running and one that simply won't do anything. I read through the procedures to perform the "Crank Start" steps but I can't tell if I am doing them correctly and could use some guidance. The situation I seem to encounter is that I will have one engine work fine but the other engine, after an aborted stop, will simply no longer "kick over". So, lets assume I have one engine *hot* and running fine, but another engine didn't start up fully. APU is still on as well. In this situation, what should I do? The manual talks about having to wait until an engine properly shuts down from an aborted/failed start and cools off. How do I determine that? Also, in the section about performing a crank start it says to re-enagage the rotor brake, but is that safe to do with one engine already up to speed and the rotors moving? I have had this problem several times where my Left Engine began to start and usually due to some mistake on my part, shut itself down. The Right engine however fires up fine. From that point on, when I try to restart the Left Engine, all I get is the Start Valve indicator lighting up for a few moments and then turning off. The engine RPM guage for engine 1 (Left Engine) doesn't budge at all no matter what I do and the Ekran seems to repeat errors about the Oil pressure in the Left Engine and the guage seems to report extremely low (0 even?) pressure as well. I would assume, perhaps incorrectly, that because the Left Engine began to run but then shut down, that I need to do a crank start to purge the fuel from the system and then try and restart it. If so, what is the proper procedure to do that, because when I tried to do it as the manual stated, it hasn't worked. Any help is appreciated. Madmatt

Yeah, I was having trouble on that mission last night too. I noticed that even though I had rotor and engine de-icing on, at times I would get those icing warnings and eventually loose power in my engines and crash. The key in that mission is to maintain a low relative altitude as you ascend up the valley. Keep your altitude around 200 meters or less above the valley floor and you should be okay. If you begin to climb beyond that it appears that you get into colder air and your engines can freeze up. Someone online also mentioned that airspeed could be a factor as well (perhaps the faster you are traveling the greater chance of icing up?) although I didn't verify that myself. Madmatt

I can't say if this is all a desired behavior or not but I have done some testing and noticed that when I enabled "Easy Flight", neither the Autohover Autopilot, Descent mode or Turn on Target modes seemed to work. I was wondering if maybe this was linked to the FCS system utilizing the Advanced Flight Model or something else, but I found nothing in the manual or the GUI guide to explain this discrepancy. I first noticed that when I compared how Black Shark worked on my gaming PC (which had Easy Flight disabled) with how it flew on my work PC (which had Easy Flight enabled). I then conducted the same tests (Easy Flight Mode on and off) on my gaming PC and sure enough if I have Easy Flight on, those three functions will do nothing although their respective indicator lights/switches and hud symbology do all activate/illuminate. Of course, when I play with the normal flight mode (AFM), those functions work exactly as described in the manual. Perhaps, if this is indeed the case, it would explain why some people have reported problems with getting those functions (especially the Auto-Hover) to work properly? Anyone else seeing the same thing as I? I tested this on two different PC's and was able to replicate the issue with no problem at all on both of them. Just curious is this is meant to work like that, or perhaps there is something amiss. Madmatt

Good news, I got it working! Although my "fix" was a little severe, after formating my C drive and reinstalling Windows XP from scratch, I am now able to load the game and play. Woohoo! Obviouslly their was something with my old install of Windows which Black Shark was conflicting with. Not sure what it could have been but i still have about a million Windows updates yet to install so i will let everyone know if I get the old crash back. For now though, I am going to blow the crap outa some armor! Madmatt out!

I finally got the game installed but when i launch using the Singleplayer mode desktop shortcut, the game crashes with a lua-gui5.dll error but I can run it in Multiplayer mode okay. "AppName: launcher.exe AppVer: 0.0.0.0 ModName: lua-gui5.dll ModVer: 0.0.0.0 Offset: 0002b58f" This occurs on my main gaming PC which is a dual core E6850 3.0 GHZ Intel CPU, Windows XP SP3 and a Nvidia 8800GT (latest nvida drivers 178.24). However on my older single core 2.8 ghz cpu, XP with a Radeon x850 system, the game loads fine (albeit a tad slow). I do Tech support for my companies own games so I have tried all the obvious steps including; excluding the game from the DEP settings, playing with video settings in the drivers, running the game on a single CPU core via the affinity settings etc. I do NOT overclock either. Same problem no matter what i do. It would appear that for some reason the main game GUI doesn't want to run for me but as I said I can get in the *back door* via the Multiplayer mode just fine. At least I can create missions on my old PC and run them on the new one, but this is a far from an ideal solution since I still have to hand edit files to configure my graphics/gameplay settings etc since I can't get into the Options panel. Any ideas on this one? Madmatt

Looks like its okay now as I was able to download the files this morning. Unfortunately I am now having crash issues just launching the game in single player mode. I have posted a new thread about that. Madmatt

I posted this already in the DCS Black Shark forum but it was suggested that I should post this here as well. Here is my problem as originally posted: Well, I couldn't contain my enthusiasm any longer so i went ahead and ordered the Russian version "DCS - Black Shark (Rus)". Luckily, due to my job, I have become pretty profecient at reading and understanding Russian. Anyway, the order process went smoothly and I got the email confirmation of my order within moments from Protx HOWEVER, its been over two hours now and when i go back to the Products section of the website in Russian, I am not getting my serial code or download links. :( All i continue to see is the link to order the game again via the Protx gateway. I have contacted support via email so hopefully its just a minor glitch between the payment portal and the download system. Trust me, I can understand these issues all too well. I have checked to make sure I am indeed logged into the DCS website and i am, still I am unable to get my game serial code or download links. Any help would be appreciated as the product has been payed for but I am unable to obtain it still. Madmatt p.s. Protx transaction ID available if needed. My login account name on the DCS webpage is "Madmatt".