SharpeXB

Most people want EDs effort spent on more worthwhile things.

Already been done. It’s like 2:1 against.

The level of help being asked for here is more like Easy Auto Takeoff or Landing. Not just assisting with one control axis. The trouble with that sort of progressive help in AAR is it seems like it would require new flight models. Like Game Mode which if you notice has been discontinued. If the player’s goal is to progressively improve then they can do that without a helper and indeed that’s probably less interfering. I imagine a slider helper for the flight model actually interfering with learning of these reflexes.

Why is one sort of imaginary any better than another? Unlimited fuel is at least already in the game. It requires no extra work from the devs.

You can just pretend you’re managing the fuel. How is that different than pretending that your refueling?

You would get the same reaction with this attitude in any game or sport or activity.

Sure it can be a training aid. AFAIK you can still attempt refueling with this enabled. So if you’re not confident in your AAR ability but want to fly a mission with it, you can still practice and if not successful you haven’t spoiled the flight. If you want the broader experience of managing the fuel then that’s a reason to learn AAR.

I’m not aware of any game no matter how arcadish that has helpers on the level of actually playing the game for you. So what’s being asked for here just isn’t done in games at all. At that point they wouldn’t be games anymore they’d be videos. Key word in interactive entertainment is interactive.

You’ll be frustrated every time until it clicks and you get it. Then you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about.

You’re wasting your time. Nothing has been said here that hasn’t been said already. If you put this effort into learning AAR you’d be able to do it by now.

Good luck with that. They’ve stated repeatedly over many years that they aren’t going to do this. You’re wasting your breath on a well worn topic.

That would indeed make a great addition to the WWII roster. It fits the European maps too.

You can select Clear Category for each controller. Is that what you’re looking to do?

I don’t mean to be combative in asking this. Just trying to understand the issue. Which campaign? As far as I’ve experienced AAR isn’t required for the campaigns in this game. In fact what you experience after putting in all the work to learn this is you hardly get to do it. Every campaign I’ve tried has some sort of workaround. The only campaign I’ve played that flat out required it was the A-10 Qualification Course where that’s the goal. There already is one. Select unlimited fuel. I originally learned AAR in order to get through a campaign. What better reason do you need?

See this has all been discussed before including ideas like this and many others in the 17 pages of the previous discussion where ED already stated they had no plans for this. It’s all been said before. So there’s no real consensus about what this is and how it would work. The trouble with this idea of a progressive helper that gets more and more difficult as you dial it up. Where your goal is to get it to zero %. You can do this already. That’s how you teach yourself to do this. Step by step. Why does your plane magically filling with fuel help you learn at all? You can practice with unlimited fuel if you want to. Or try to just connect. Then to stay connected etc. No change to the game is needed for that. And I gotta ask again. Why do you need to do AAR so much? Why does this matter? It’s a fun and rewarding thing to learn but how does watching the AI do it for you add anything to the sim experience?

Although AAR training missions logically seem like a good idea and they might well be, this discussion makes me realize why there aren’t more of them. Training missions are for beginners. AAR is an advanced skill. You see in these discussions many beginners who somehow think this is something they need to tackle right away but they really don’t. There is hardly any use for this in normal DCS gameplay. Putting this right there in the training roster along with Startup and Landing etc would lead new players to think it is required and would just frustrate them. Like you see here. AAR can wait until you’ve mastered many other tasks in the sim. When you’re ready and willing to put in the effort you’ll be able to figure out how. But putting it right there on the menu in front of someone new really isn’t a great idea.

Oh I get it that VR might help just pointing out that many people are able to do this without it. One video I saw of actual A-10 pilots using DCS for training they were indeed using VR and training at AAR with it. Well we don’t even know what the hypothetical assist would do or how it works. But unlimited fuel is already in the game. AFAIK you can AAR connect with it enabled. So it’s not an impediment to practice during a mission. The effect of changing fuel weight while you’re tanking is minor or unnoticeable.

I’ve worn VR headsets and I’m surprised you could lose the mouse cursor. But I guess that’s possible.

Although VR might indeed be a help with AAR the majority of player are using monitors. Imagining 3D on a 2D screen is something everyone does their whole life of watching video and playing games on a screen so it’s no too unusual. Sorry to see you have inadvertently stumbled on a well worn topic here. It’s all been discussed at length many times I’m curious what sort of gameplay or module you are trying to do in DCS. Because as a new player AAR isn’t something you should attempt right away or maybe never do. Again it simply isn’t essential for playing DCS.

You can see the probe from the Hornets cockpit. How is it a mystery to know where you’re supposed to be? At some point in any endeavor you have to help yourself just a little bit. Yeah they could have training missions but anyone willing to put in the effort can teach themselves this stuff. I’m sure the vast majority of players never touch AAR. It’s rather an advanced skill.

A few hours here and there is all it takes. Ok a lot of hours. But anyone can learn. Like anyone can learn to ride a bicycle. It’s kinda the same. It’s not a roadblock. As far as I know every campaign has a workaround for it. And again there’s unlimited fuel. They’re both imaginary. How is imagining your plane magically fills itself up any different than it magically not running out of gas? And the other game aids like unlimited ammo or fuel don’t actually play the game for you. Wanting the game to actually do things for you is a whole other level of handholding you don’t see in PC games at all let alone sims like this. How about an autopilot that just flies the whole mission for you while you watch? But it’s not a key feature or necessary task in the game. You can play this game for hundreds of hours and do lots of things and hardly run out of challenges without ever doing AAR. Why do you just want to pretend you can do this? How about just learning for real?

You already can. Just select unlimited fuel and fly behind the tanker. Well if you want some extra challenge in the sim now you’ve got a reason to learn AAR. Plus you can experience managing fuel on shorter flights. Not every flight involves AAR. Easy. Just select unlimited fuel and try some tanker practice on your missions. Then when you feel you’ve got it, take off the training wheels. Simple. This indeed. I’m guessing the people who complain about being incapable of AAR actually have hundreds of hours in the game. They’ve just chosen other things to do with that time. And time is all it takes.

That’s indeed a tough one but I imagine you’re using visual references on the tanker which are very visible. For any of the other aircraft a screen graphic isn’t needed because you can clearly see where your plane needs to be. Knowing where you need to be isn’t the problem. Doing it is what takes practice. A little savvy goes a long way in determining who knows what they’re doing. It’s not too hard to figure out. Certainly having more training missions for this isn’t such a bad idea but that’s not the obstacle.

There are practice missions. That’s really all that’s needed. Again this is like 2% instruction and 98% practice. The actual steps in the cockpit like extending the probe and such are very simple. There are tons of tutorials for this on YouTube. Honestly this is something only very few people do so the investment in some interactive training missions probably isn’t warranted. I think the Harrier has one. Maybe the F-15E too, I don’t recall at the moment.

AAR isn’t necessary to play the game. There’s plenty you can do on shorter flights without it. In fact most people probably don’t play long enough sessions to even need it. If you manage your fuel correctly you can fly across the entirety of these maps without it. Any of the campaigns which feature it always have a workaround. Then of course there’s unlimited fuel as a gameplay aid. So there’s no real need for Easy AAR unless you just somehow want to pretend you’re refueling. Which you could still do with unlimited fuel, just fly behind the tanker and pretend. It would be the same thing.