sthompson

You do not say if you are using Easy Comms, Select Tunes Radio, or Instant Select, all of which could be involved. Also could be mission dependent. Try using an explicit "Select" command first. That should solve the problem if there is only one tanker with the given call sign. If there is more than one "Texaco" then you will need to select the one you want through the radio menu (e.g. using "Tanker, Options, Take ...," etc.). This is true even if they are on different frequencies. It's a limitation of the software. I hope it gets fixed someday. As MAXsenna said, the way to getting the comms menu to stay open is to keep the TX key pressed until you are done giving "Take" commands. If you release the key then the menu will instantly close.

I'm not sure why you say that. In his log file VAICOM found both a release and an openbeta version of DCS and made suitable modifications to both. That's normal. You apparently do not have the release version installed, or if you do, then the registry key for it was deleted, because VAICOM is not finding it.

I don't see how AOCS could be pre-recorded since it repeats everything in the mission briefing if you let it. I suspect that VAICOMPRO is calling Microsoft text to speech directly and not using the Voice Attack settings. You might change the default voice in the system settings to see if that makes a difference.

Guys. This is the FAQ thread. Please create a new thread for your problem.

Make sure the TX you are using matches the radio. You can test using the PTT tab of the VAICOM widget once the radio is turned on. I notice in your log that you are giving "options" on TX5 and "bogey dope" on TX2. But other times you are pressing TX1. There is only one radio in the F-5 so you should only be using one TX node, except possibly to talk to ground crew or invoke F10 menu options.

More questions then: Do you have "Use custom path" checked in config? If so, what is the path? Do you have Open beta selected in Config? Where is your dcs open beta installed? Is it possible you have more than one copy of open beta on your computer? How do you start DCS? Please report the exact path you are using to start DCS open beta. Are you running VA as administrator?

Two thoughts: (1) You might be using Steam version but VAICOMPRO is unable to find a registry link to your steam installation. (The log file says it can't find a Steam version.) Or (2) you are starting DCS before you start VoiceAttack, so that the changes that VoiceAttack makes are not seen because those files were loaded already. Nothing looks out of place in the log file, so you will need to provide a lot more detail about exactly what you are doing and how your installation is set up in order for someone to help you.

Could someone explain what is meant by "limited airframes?" I assume that is different from limited slots, since there were plenty of F-5 slots available when I have tried to use the server.

I've read good things about this server as a place to fly the F-5. I tried several times recently, and each time I get decent pings (70-90 range), no problems contacting the server, selecting a slot, or getting to the briefing. But as soon as I push the "Fly" button I get an external view of Anapa and a spinning wheel that never goes away. I've waited a long time for things to load (i.e. over 15 minutes). There is very little disk or network activity while I'm waiting. Each time I've had to kill DCS. Can anyone suggest what might be the problem. I'm flying on other servers no problem. I've tried this with several different missions active in the rotation.

I take a break from the forum for a day and a half and the thread doubles in length! BN suggests it's going to be closed soon. Probably just as well. Here is a summary of my views for posterity in case anyone cares. Written mostly for my own benefit. I won't post again in this thread: First, I've been flying DCS for years and have spent probably the equivalent of weeks at a full time job trying to do AAR without ever once connecting. And I've spent much more time than that practicing formation flying. So I completely reject the opinion that it's just a matter of practice. Practice undoubtedly is important, but it's not enough for me. I doubt if real pilots learn without any teaching assistance, so I'm not very sympathetic to arguments that teaching aids are unnecessary. That some people have learned without them does not mean that all people can. I'm also not sympathetic to views that some people will never get it even with better teaching aids because its hard. That's unproven, and even if true for some people it does not mean that teaching assistance would not help other people. There are lots of different kinds of people flying DCS. Some may be able to learn by practice alone. Others might never be able to learn. But there just might be some people who could learn with a bit more help. I hope I'm one of those people. Something is missing in my technique but I don't know what it is. I'd get help from a squadron, but real life prevents me from committing the time that most squadrons want. Furthermore, it isn't clear to me how such help would work. For those of you who have learned from a squadron, or successfully taught someone else online, I'd like to know more about how that worked. I typically fly planes that use the basket, and I have not tried AAR in one of the boom planes. Most of my practice has been in the hornet, but I've also tried using the SU-33, F-14B, and JF-17. It's clear from videos that connecting with the basket is about flying to an invisible point in space relative to the tanker and staying there by flying precise formation with the tanker. I would at least like to have some visual impression of where that point in space is as a learning aid. If DCS can have green gates floating in midair for training then surely they could provide a similar visual aid for AAR. Perhaps just lock the basket to the magic spot instead of having it dance. Such aids are unrealistic, but then I only want it for learning. I would fully understand if it were turned off for competitive MP missions, but it would seem entirely appropriate for practice servers, or for servers running training missions where AAR training was part of the mission. As for SP, what I turn on or off for SP would seem to affect only me and isn't any of your business. I've done quite a bit of searching for helpful information on AAR in manuals but haven't found much apart from procedure checklists. Certainly they do not provide a "how to." There do not appear to be any AAR training missions (as distinct from practice missions). There are lots of Youtube videos but its hard to watch one while you are flying and difficult to know what exactly you are supposed to take away from them in terms of "picture" or procedure. They offer no real time feedback. Furthermore I've noticed that the "sight picture" often varies from video to video even for the same plane and tanker, presumably due to differences in trim, loadout, altitude, DCS version, head position, etc. Many of "tips" given in those videos (e.g. line up HUD feature X with tanker feature Y) clearly are dependent on head position, trim, loadout, etc. So I try to focus on what the tanker looks like, ignoring the basket as is universally recommended to DCS pilots (but presumably is not the recommendation to real pilots). But that has not been enough for me to be successful. The best of these videos do describe the visual clues on the tanker that the author is using, and that has been quite helpful in helping me understand the basic idea of how to fly formation in the right place. Despite this, I never seem to connect, and if I start hunting for the invisible sweet spot in invariably end up in PIO. I've shot that tanker down so many times in frustration! Significantly for me all of the tips that have been posted in this thread are ones that I've seen or read many times before. Telling people how to do it is helpful but only goes so far. I'm personally not interested in an auto-refuel option but I can see why some people might need that due to lack of coordination, poor hardware, etc. A system that works by expanding the size of the sweet spot would be my recommended version if such a thing is enabled. Ideally it would be set at the client side for an individual pilot, but with restrictions imposed by the server to not allow the aid, similar to something like easy comms. It's been argued that AAR isn't a needed skill because you can use unlimited fuel, or land more often, or because fuel isn't a constraint in many or most missions. If you believe that, ask yourself whether DCS would have the same appeal if AAR were removed from the game altogether. I doubt if anyone would like that, even those of us who haven't been successful learning AAR. We would love to be able to do AAR in a realistic fashion. We are looking for ways to join the club, not to create our own. Relatedly, I'm not worried about splitting the MP community, which is a whole other topic that would hardly hinge on this one feature. I sincerely doubt that offering AAR learning aids or even auto-AAR as an option that can be disabled by the server would cause more fragmentation than is there already. The hardcore servers would leave it turned off, and the less hardcore pilots would avoid those servers just as they do now. The only potentially legitimate argument I've heard against introducing learning aids is that it takes resources away from other development at ED. If that is the concern, then I suggest a better approach would be to create your own "wish list" items about what you want, rather than try to argue that what others want is unnecessary. Nothing about DCS is necessary for any of us. This is not RL. It's entertainment. Ask for what you want. Respect that others might want something else. Bye for now.

Apparently at least for a while the AI will be able to see through the new clouds but we won't be able to. I guess that's the same as at present, but could be more of an issue if there start being more clouds in missions. The newsletter also does not say whether clouds will be synced in MP. Has a definite statement been made on that?

Go read the OP. He wants it for his group's MP use. So whether you consider it unfair or not, that was the request. It presumably would be disabled, like easy comms and many other features, on hardcore MP servers.

OK. I don't know whether the game could teach me how to do AAR (which is off topic from the OP's request for easier AAR). I won't have any information about whether such teaching works until the game tries to teach me, and as has been pointed out there currently are no assists or training missions in the game, and thus there is no actual information available about what might be possible--only beliefs. I do not believe AAR is mandatory for every flight, but I would like to use it in the flights for which it makes sense. (Unlimited fuel doesn't really make sense for any flight in my view.) I'm not sure if AAR requires special hardware. I've heard mixed opinions on that, but the only direct evidence I have is with my own CH Fighterstick and Pro throttle, and I don't know exactly what line you have in mind between special and not-special hardware. Now that I've given you explicit information about how my views line up with your criteria, please tell me (a) how many hours I've practiced AAR in the Hornet, and (b) how many more hours I need to practice before I've "really tried?" Numbers please.

Please tell us how you can tell. Specific examples please.

I think you missed the point of my question. I I have a button set up for Radio 3 in SRS. How do I use that same button for MIDS? Is MIDS mapped to SRS radio 3 by default in the Hornet? If so, that's news to me.

That's a ridiculous statement. (I would use stronger language but for forum decorum.) You have no idea whether or how much others have tried, as you have showed repeatedly discussing this topic. You just believe it's true, and refuse to accept it when others say it isn't their experience.

You have that exactly backwards. The fact that campaign designers feel compelled to offer work arounds is an acknowledgement that it is a problem that many customers can't complete the task. If it wasn't a problem they would just require AAR in their missions and live with the consequences (reduced sales at least) when customers couldn't complete the missions.

I have a very similar setup and it works fine. However I'm curious how you use the radio 3 switch for MIDS (in the Hornet I presume) but for radio 3 in the A-10C. Do you change your SRS setup depending on module?

Mr Tides: Good for you for being inclusive and recognizing that older folks sometimes have challenges. As someone getting pretty old myself it's really heartening to see this kind of attitude. I hope I'm still flying in retirement, which will be pretty soon. Would love to know more about your squadron. Don't let the naysayers get you down. They seem to forget that this is a wish list and their comments only make sense here if they are wishing that DCS not be accessible to less capable pilots.

When I read comments like this (and I don't want to pick on Razorback specifically since there are lots of comments in this thread that are similar) I have to wonder whether people are bored with the features already present. Personally I feel as if I have years of learning to do and enjoyment to be had even if no new features are released. And I've been flying DCS for years now. Why all the urgency for new features? The old ones are fantastic! Yes I want bugs fixed and promised features delivered on products I bought based on those promises. But I'd rather that whole new modules and updates are released when they are ready and don't see any need for date promises.

Interesting. I'm seeing the same thing. Seems to be a copy of the files added to DCS as part of VAICOM's kneeboard extension. I agree that it shouldn't be there. I suggest you report it as a bug in a separate thread in the main VAICOM forum. This thread is so long that it will be easy for the dev to miss your report. BTW, nothing about these files is reported in the VAICOM log even with debug turned on. Seems like these files should be in the list of files "reset" upon initialization.

I've thought it too bad that you can't optionally specify that a client plane be displayed as a static object if not selected. I'm imagining a mission where you drive down the flight line in a Humvee (using Combined Arms) and then stop and select the plane you want to fly from among those in front of you. It doesn't work like that now because you can't see clients until they spawn with a human pilot in them.

I have read in other forums that sometimes a copy of config\view\snapviews.lua gets embedded in a mission file and causes this effect by over-riding the one in the Saved Games directory. If the mission file is then used as the basis for other missions it gets carried over. So it would be easy for it to happen without the mission designer even realizing it. I was able to open one of your mission files in the mission editor and found copies of snapviews.lua and snapviewsdefault.lua in the config\view subfolder among other files. Unless your missions have some need to over-ride the user's view settings you should be able to just delete that folder entirely from your missions. I tested this on your mission 2 and it solved the problem. Of course next time I do a repair it will be back.

I have a few custom snap views set for the F-5. For example I frequently use the "view in" snap view (KP0) to get a close up view of the instrument panel. When I fly these missions my custom snap views are not available and I get the defaults instead. I suspect they are being over-written by config files in the missions. After flying one of these, if I then fly an instant action F-5 mission my custom snap views reappear. Can you delete the snap views from the missions?

No it doesn't. That is optional, and not turned on by default.