311Gryphon

I use HUD and/or TGP to get as close as I can. Usually with the TGP I can get right on the target. Then I slave the MAV over to the point. If needed I just try to slew the MAV from there so I'm not switching SOI. It's hard for me to slave the MAV sometimes though because of a combination of the controls and me not being very good at it (more of the later I'm sure). I don't like how my HOTAS slew control cuts out every time I try to change directions and I have to center it then move it again.

Great call. While I'm not expert, it seems the best modeled in terms of systems. There is a lot to learn but it is also forgiving. Additionally, there are different methods that get nearly the same results. All that is to say it is a great platform that scales very well to your knowledge, skills, and abilities. If you're new you can fly around fairly easily, gun things up, and even drop a few bombs and fire a few missiles as you progress. If you've gained a little experience you be dropping multiple JDAMs, firing AGMs in quick succession, and being pretty darn accurate with the gun. Then there's the CDU, weapon profiles, flight plans, etc, etc, etc. And I'm positive that even after that, if you chose, you can learn even more about the plane and its systems.

There is a lot of good information already in this thread. I'll give my very limited experience. I don't know why or how things work the way they do but I've had fun learning about it. I would point out that there is a difference between LRS and TWS and you can enter STT from both modes. Long Range Scan has a wider scan but as soon as you bug a target you are in Single Target Track. That means all your radiation energy is focused on that target. There are pros and cons of that. Your radar can build and maintain the track easier and thus has less chance of losing the target; however, the target's sensors know you're focused on it. As others have pointed out that fact also has possible pros and cons. Track While Scan mode means you can track a target while still scanning for other targets. It has a narrower field I think because of the extra time it takes to try to build the track for the bugged targets while maintaining a scan. The positive aspect of TWS mode is that you can bug multiple targets (up to 4) without losing any of them, and with the AIM-120 you can engage all 4 in order of the bug order. If you bug any target again it goes into STT just like if you bugged them once in LRS mode. You also get different information depending on which mode you are in. I usually stay in LRS mode to have a bigger picture of the sky. When I see targets I will sometimes switch to TWS mode but not always. It just depends on the situation. I like TWS because I'm normally rolling with AMRAAMs and I like to be able to fire in quick succession on multiple targets. However, that's really not that effective I have to admit. I'm still not great at working the radar quickly once things start to happen so it's my lazy way of doing things. I hope this helps.

I don't have anything intelligent to add to the conversation but I have gotten into quite a few situations where I lost control in the SU-27 and ended up in a very long, slow fall from altitude, upside down, unable to recover, with my plane making a really pretty whistling sound. It was completely my fault, as you can tell. I later thought I discovered that I could recover by extending my gear until the nose pointed down and stayed there. Then I could retract the gear and get my engines spooled back up. But when I tried to test that theory I couldn't get back into the uncontrollable position.

For me the A-10C was easier in a way. There is more to learn but you can get to a point where it is enjoyable sooner than the P-51. I say that, but it is just my own experience. I think the P-51 would be rewarding because I think it forces you to be a better pilot first. As for the sim VS game modes, I never played game mode until recently and with the A-10C I found it more difficult in many ways. You get more visual cues to help you figure out where targets are, so that was easy, but using the systems is easier once you learn to do it more or less correctly in sim mode. At any rate, good luck OP! Enjoy it!

Hmmm, I've never messed with curves on mine. I had to invert or un-invert the curves of course. However, I've never set any deadzones and they are a charm in the Hog. In the MiG-21 and F-86 it's a different story but I think that has more to do with my bad landings than the brakes or steering (steering stinks in both thought). Anyway, good luck to everyone struggling with it. I guess I've been lucky on this one for once.

Not sure what the context is but I've struggled from time to time with the GBU-12. I tried different lasing times. A friend of mine starts at 18-20 seconds and has great results but if I do that I usually miss the target. From reading I believe the bomb is correcting too much and loses energy then falls short of the target. I've tried lasing less than 10 seconds and that didn't seem to work either. Finally I stuck with 12-15 seconds and just try to drop the bomb with wings level and in level flight. No wild climbing or descending. That seems to have helped quite a bit, but I'll confess that I haven't tried enough to know definitively.

Well done, Zimmerdylan! That's really cool. I don't mind entering this contest, not for me but for a friend who has a junk joystick. I'm guessing number #312. I don't mind paying shipping on it! Thanks again. Bummer, 311 was taken so I edited mine.

Hey, nice Jamison! I would love to add the L-39 to my livery, but just like with CCCC's contest I really think other people could get more enjoyment out of it than I will and will fly it more. Therefore I'll bow out and say "good luck" to the entrants! Merry Christmas everyone!

Hey, nice to see some giveaways again! I have the F-86 and thought about dropping in for the Mi-8 but I doubt I'd fly it much. Therefore it might as well go to someone who'll play with it, perform regular maintenance, and generally show it some love. So good luck to those who have entered and Merry Christmas!

It is one of the dumbest places in the USA in reality; however, it is fun to fly around in DCS and I do think the insanely long wait and the even more infuriating download was worth it (to get me back on topic).

I do understand where you're coming from but I'm a bit confused. Of course all of this is opinion and doesn't really matter; however, let me give it a go. I don't expect ED or any 3rd party dev to do a lot of development to test things (like multicrew functionality) and not get any return on it. Obviously if they wanted they could build complex systems like the F-14 and and a new engine to support it and push that out. The dev costs are high and it would take them longer to realize ROI. Not only that, but there are some real benefits to many simmers in training aircraft. Not so much to me, but the aircraft are beautiful, a bit easier to build for the devs, and allow them to test things that they can add into later modules. The same can be said for maps. At this point, I'm just happy to have somewhere other than Georgia to fly! My bottom line though is this. DCS World is free. DCS 1.5 beta was free. DCS 2.0 alpha is free (although for now you have to own NTTR to gain use of it). If in doubt don't buy them. Don't buy the trainers. There is nothing wrong with tooling around the Georgia map in an SU-25. Or an A-10 for that matter. Then when something comes out that you love buy it up. I don't always get the decisions ED and the 3rd party devs make, but I don't have to. It's their business and I pick and chose what I want to participate in. On top of that, the fact that DCS World is free and has 2 planes you can fly is awesome and a great move by ED to get people into the community. Well, my opinion rant is now over. I do see where you're coming from a bit but the end result confuses me.

I think Chuckles made some great points. The OP appears to me to be well informed and well written. DCS is actually a bit hard to research when a person is trying to determine if they want to get it or not. The beauty is that it starts at free and a new pilot can learn quickly that that mouse and keyboard just aren't going to cut it. Additionally, once a player knows a bit there are a lot of resources that can help. It just takes a large amount of time to sort through helpful resources and unhelpful ones, information that is needed versus information that is just handy, etc.

I feel your pain Mr. Burns! I think I had 3 failed DLs on just 2.0 and 6 (may have lost count) on NTTR. I started the process Monday night as soon as I got home from work (6:15 PM) and I finally got NTTR to get downloaded and installed properly this morning when I woke up (6:05 AM). To be fair it may have finished sometime in the night but when I went to bed at 11:30 it still lacked 5.5 GB. PAINFULLY SLOW and the 2nd worst download and install experience I've ever had. Having said that, I'm happy it is done and my 5 minute flight this morning was enjoyable and had decent performance. I remapped my F-15 controls and did a Mach run down the strip just above the palm trees. No windows shattered, but what do you want, right? Then I dove between the Hoover Dam and the MO-PT Memorial Bridge at just about 0.95 Mach. I did it a second time to see what was dropping off the bridge (turned out to be car shadows "falling" below the bridge toward the river [wanted to point that out]). The only other thing I noticed was that when I crash into the water (second dive to the river) the water crashes look very much improved compared to previous DCS versions. I can't wait to get back on it tonight after the kids go to bed and see what else I can find!

Okay, I broke down and tried this ^ and it's still creeping along at the same rate. Oh well.

I disagree. I mean, I see your point, but the beauty of DCS is accuracy and I would not want fictitious bases all over the place. I've studied maps of the area and I knew what I was buying because it is real. So I could pass on this and buy maps further down the road, or stick with Georgia, if I didn't like the map.

Each time it looks for an update it acts like it downloads a new updater. I can't pretend to know how it works. almost 24 hours after I started I'm not halfway through. Is there a solid answer for making it go faster? I don't want to cancel the DL if I start it again and it goes this slow. This is the second time I've tried, first with the torrent and now with HTTP. Both were creeping.

Not yet. I did wind up cancelling the NTTR DL and downloading four of my modules last night and those went lickitty split like normal. Then before bed I started NTTR. The torrent wasn't moving at all so I cancelled that and went to the normal DL. After about 9 hours it was 20% done so at this rate it will finally finish Friday at 03:30 central. Assuming no power outages or errors. Oh well. My friend told me he's not going to bother downloading it at all until a week has gone by at least. I still think it is going to be worth it.

Wish I could answer. I've been trying to DL for over 24 hours now. I finally got 2.0 installed after 4 failed updates and trying torrents and regular downloads. Now NTTR can't seem to DL. I know there are a lot of folks bottlenecking the servers and I'm trying to be patient...but geez. Best case scenario I'm flying the SU-25 around tomorrow night because I'll still be trying to download one of my modules other than NTTR.

I say that's above and beyond! Good on you!

I have to respectfully disagree in part while also agreeing! :megalol: I think it is absolutely about personal preference and getting the best that you can/want. However, pedals are in my opinion vastly different than HOTAS controls. There are so many controls that need to be handled by your hands that I couldn't fly DCS at all without them. Because of this it stands to reason that the better HOTAS controls you can get the better time you'll have and the easier you'll find it. I do not feel the same about pedals. I wanted decent pedals with toe brakes. End of story. If they are somewhat comfortable and or easy to use then so be it. Since the only function they fulfill for me is rudder control (most of the time I don't bother), ground steering and braking (and I did require differential braking capability) then I don't need to spend boat loads of money on higher quality controls. Having said that, one of these days when I own my own shooting range on my own large acreage, have all the guns I want, and have 4 nice PCs all with Thrustmaster Warthog controls so me and my friends can all fly DCS, and I wind up with a few hundred bucks burning a hole in my pocket, I'll probably by some sweet pedals just so I can have better controls than my friends.

As always, Ironhand, you're very helpful and easy to understand. I have to mention it because I appreciate your patience with all of us "noobs" and the straightforward and concise way you provide information. Cheers.

I second that. Thank you.

I'm not expert by any means. I get shot a lot and I find it quite tricky. One thing to remember though is that you won't get a warning from an IR missile until the warning system detects the rocket motor. Somewhat like when your wingman fires an AGM. So if you go in on an attack run and there is a Strella down there you aren't going to know it. Likewise if a plane slips in behind you without radar and fires an IR missile the first notice you'll get is the warning that there has been a missile launch. The next step is the one that I can't get down. If you have no radar warnings and then you get a missile launch warning I think you are fairly safe using flares and maneuvers to defeat the missile. I never can think that fast or remember the right way to hit my CMS. That's obviously only part of the problem though. There is still the issue of friendly units firing and if they are all AI you don't get much warning at all. But the same is true for enemy units firing at other friendly units. They aren't firing at you but you don't know that. With radar guided missiles it is sometimes easier because you get the warning and the system pretty much knows if they are targeting you, but the IRs just give me problems.

Good luck to all the entries! Nice looking screens. Thanks Eagle Dynamics for making it easy to get good ones with 1.5!