Archer7

No matter what I fly my fly-time is only recorded under TOTAL in the logbook and I don't think I've ever seen any time logged under any of the specific aircraft in the logbook... known issue or am I doing something wrong? Edit: I viewed some more pages and apparently it's very well known. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=124532 http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=126897

Thanks. Indeed interesting years would be first flight, first and final military service, first and final combat, upgrades and finally what exact year model the DCS version is based on more specifically. What does IOC mean? The F-86F first flew in 53 from what I've been able to see but I've added the original model dates.

Su-25T was included in FC2 at least: http://lockon.co.uk/en/flaming_cliffs_2/

In order to understand the DCS aircraft I’ve attempted to establish when the different aircraft first flew and entered service, for comparison and contrasting. I’ve only googled around a bit but here’s what I’ve yet found on first flight/upgrade dates: 40's 1944: Bf 109 K-4 Kurfürst 1944: Fw 190 D-9 Dora 1944: P-51D Mustang / TF-51D (modified P-51D, not actual TF-51D) 50's 1953: F-86F Sabre (Original model 1947 and Service in 1949) 60's 1967: UH-1H Huey 70's 1972: MiG-21bis Fishbed 1975: A-10A (Manufactured 1975-1984, Delivered 1976, Combat 1991, upgraded to A-10C cirka 2005) 1975: Su-25 Frogfoot 1977: MiG-29A Fulcrum (IOC 1984) 1977: Su-27 Flanker (Inventory 1984, Assigned 1985) 80's 1980: F-15C Eagle 1982: Ka-50 Black Shark (Manufactured 1990-now, Service 1995-now) 1987: Su-33 Flanker (Inventory 1993, Assigned 1994) 1988: Mi-8MTV2 Magnificent Eight 90's 1990: MiG-29S Fulcrum 1990: Su-25T Frogfoot 1993: MiG-29G Fulcrum 00's 2005: A-10C Warthog Can anyone help me correct this and fill in dates? Thanks. Indeed interesting years would be first flight, first and final military service, first and final combat, upgrades and finally what exact year model the DCS version is based on more specifically.

The DCS World simulator is completely free and supports campaigns, single missions, mission editing and multiplayer however doesn’t actually contain any content. If you want content you will need modules. Two modules are free and the other modules cost money from $5-ish to $50-ish. One module usually contains only one highly detailed aircraft with a highest quality flight model and a completely clickable cockpit complete with digital documentation, a campaign and several stand-alone and training missions. When you have bought a module you are given a key code that you can write down or access on the DCS website and use to download the game as many times as you want and you don’t need Steam. The clickable cockpit and highest quality flight model modules are the A-10C Warthog, Bf 109 K-4 Kurfürst, F-86F Sabre, Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Ka-50 Black Shark, Mi-8MTV2 Magnificent Eight, MiG-21bis Fishbed, TF-51D Mustang, P-51D Mustang and finally the UH-1H Huey. Some of the newer models have varying degrees of documentations and included missions. Then there’s Flaming Cliffs 3 which contains the A-10A, F-15C, MiG-29A, MiG-29G, MiG-29S, Su-25, Su-27 and Su-33 all together in one very cheap compilation. However the FC3 aircraft have mixed quality flight models and I believe only the F-15C and soon the Su-27 have the highest quality flight model and NO cockpits are interactive. The MiG aircraft have very low quality cockpits that are not fully 3D, you can't move around in them with 3DOF (3-degrees-of-freedom). The Su-25T used to be a part of FC3 but is free with DCS World and as such it does not have an interactive cockpit and I believe the flight model is medium quality. As such I believe it is a bad demo aircraft because the interactive cockpits is the cool thing about DCS. Flaming Cliffs 3, 2 and 1 are what Eagle Dynamics worked on before DCS basically and they have been brought into DCS and updated instead of being discarded and that’s why they exist even though all other DCS aircraft are full quality. The other free aircraft is the TF-51D which is full quality however is basically a P-51D without weapons so not much action. Currently DCS World 2.0, 1944, three or so new maps (currently there’s only one available) and half a dozen new aircraft are currently in development and expected within 2014-2015. I and everyone else would recommend starting with the A-10C. Easy to understand and flies easily but very deeply detailed. It, the Ka-50 helicopter, the P-51D and FC3 are the cheapest modules. Oh and finally there’s the Combined Arms module which lets you control ground units a bit like a strategy game. Edit: oh and FC3 contains the MiG-29G also... I'm not sure why this is such a big secret and it's not mentioned on the website or in the documentation but it's in the editor. Also note that the A-10A, F-15C, Su-25 and soon the Su-27 can be bought separately from FC3 but they are identical to the FC3 versions... only the manuals are different I suppose. The FC3 manual covers all FC3 aircraft except for the G and it doesn't have as much detail as the individual manuals.

Microstuttering is usually caused by the game, graphic card incompatibilities, SLI, RAM/VRAM issues and slow HDDs. I suppose overheating, clocking and other stability issues could also be the cause or excessive background processes. In case of any disorder in a game you should always start checking your CPU/GPU/RAM/VRAM and HDD use using the Task Manager/Resource Monitor and MSI Afterburner (works with non-MSI products) first. There are tons of troubleshooting steps that are commonly mentioned everywhere that never helps anyone though.

A quite annoying bug. Makes you feel like you haven't got the F-15C. I wish all aircraft you owned was displayed down there including all FC3 aircraft.

I thought the A-10 was easy as cake... up, up and away we go... First time I tried getting the Ka-50 off the wrong I just wobbled and exploded though. Everyone's different ;) Oh and if you're trying to learn to fly this using the X52 joystick immediately maybe you should start off using the keyboard so you can use the built-in tutorials effectively until you understand what the coolie is for example. Gotta understand the switches.

Defrag never does anything. Assuming you are computer-savvy enough to come here. On an SSD it does even closer to absolutely nothing... absolutely nothinger. Slight stutter is usually because of memory issues or maybe because you have an archaic HDD.

There's always more with this thing isn't there? I just noticed that there are two switches down on the front of the joystick which of I suppose one is the disengage lever but what's the other one, if anything? Also are slew and trim the only analogue buttons/switches (excluding sliders)?

One more thing about the Hog HOTAS: keybindings. I believe the HOTAS has at least two buttons that are not actually modelled in DCS: Z-axis slew and the friction wheel. So what if anything do HOTAS users bind them to?

Great. If you can jump in and out of an aircraft while also commanding stuff on the ground I can see CA being a lot more fun than only watching a map and controlling ground vehicles. Can’t wait to see how the ground graphics improve with DCS 2.0.

I'm considering doing the same this in December. Hopefully there will be a winter sale, maybe some new modules, maybe some modules cheaper than now and some multi-craft bundles would be great.

Can you jump back out?

Okay, searching around a bit I couldn’t really find a joystick or cyclic with more buttons than the Warthog joystick and throttles don’t seem to come with a lot more switches either. But where do you place it though? On two coffee tables next to your chair? Does it work comfortably up on your desk?

Well... I'm only searching for other sims to see what sort of variation they can offer outside of what DCS is doing and if they're simulating the same aircraft as DCS at best compare them in which case I doubt any simulator has bigger boobs than DCS especially with 2.0. Variation is the key word. I doubt any other simulator can compete with the ASM modules of DCS but I don’t know so that’s why I’m asking.

Mmmkay... not even in the chit-chat huh?

Hey, I'm considering eventually buying a Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS if I experience a sudden surge of money however I have some questions. How does it work with other aircraft than the Warthog? Does the HOTAS have enough buttons to control other aircraft and how does using the throttle work for controlling helicopters? How does it work with other games than DCS? Can buttons and switches easily be bound to say… any game? If the buttons are all wrong to be able to control other aircraft effectively with it then it wouldn’t be as interesting however I imagine most aircraft have about the same or fewer HOTAS buttons than the Warthog and as such you would generally have some switches to bind to other commands? I’m also curious about what users think of it. Anything anyone should know? Big? Heavy? Uncomfortable?

Move me if I'm in the wrong place. I’ve never enjoyed vehicle simulation games but now I’m a bit curious about military vehicles specifically. When it comes to flight I’m considering going all-in with DCS because it seems to be the cutting edge in the industry however I also ought to get an understanding of the alternatives. I’ve (obviously) heard of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X and X-plane. Microsoft’s seems to have numerous military addons and some even seemed to have interactive cockpits too! It’s the one DCS feature I’m the most interested in. As a gamer I’ve been flying this and that from paper planes to spaceships since always but I’ve never had to understand as much of the machinery as in DCS interactive cockpits. But I’m suspecting Microsoft can’t offer anywhere near as good military scenarios as DCS? Since it mainly seems to be a civilian sim I assume there may not be enemies and such and it’s all about the flying really? And how are the graphics? As for X-plane I don’t believe I’ve seen any military content for it. Does it exist and how is X-plane different from Microsoft’s sim? I’ve also heard of IL-2 Sturmovik which I only now notice is an entire series it seems. WWII, nice graphics… how many aircraft and how detailed is it though? I’ve believe I’ve heard there are very many aircraft for some version of it but just how detailed are they? Interactive cockpits anywhere? Any other significant flight sims? Also as a parenthesis I’m interested in other military vehicle sims too but there doesn’t seem to be too many. Steel Beasts for tanks and a few different for submarines, it seems? Oh and I’ve also seen that “anti-flight” sim, SAMSIM… a very funny idea though I haven’t really got into it.

Hey, I've had my eye on CA since I dig strategy games and so. Something I can’t quite understand is if you can dynamically jump in and out of aircraft or only the ground units though? Say, in the Georgian Hammer Combined Arms campaign (which I’ve seen because it’s actually included with the A-10C), can you start the mission as the A-10C if you own that module and play the mission as an A-10C mission then when it’s time for the ground units to move you switch over and command them and then jump straight back into the A-10C again? I’ve heard this ISN’T possible. But I also believe I saw someone start as a CA commander then jump into an A-10C but then allegedly wasn’t able to jump back out again? I'm also curious about how many campaigns and stand-alone missions are included in CA, if any?

Am I the only one who was very, very surprised by this newsletter? Silence and them bam they’re discussing DCS 2.0, 1944, three new maps and about a dozen new modules/updates and most of it seems to be coming this year hopefully. Oh and there’s a sale 20-70% off too. I’m currently a bit busy but I’m planning on maybe really getting into DCS this winter. Does anyone know if there will be a x-mas sale too? Do they usually have 4 sales a year or something such? The current sale is great but if there was another one in December then that would really be perfect for me anyways.

Well, d'oh. I meant DCS Black Shark/Warthog which are the modules I mainly use and basically the DCS flagships both cost $20... I have no idea what Warthunder is but I doubt adding mouse support will turn DCS into it unless Warthunder is DCS with mouse support. I care, shitbrains.

Why not? Exactly how would a mouse make the flight model any worse? Maybe you should use arguments instead of excuses. And if you’re going with some sort of elitist idiot argument such as that you should only be allowed to play DCS with authentic controls then I suggest that they cut out keyboard controls from the game immediately and block use of any joysticks other than the £300 Warthog HOTAS! Besides how is flying with a KEYBOARD more authentic than flying with a mouse? Because that’s where a lot of users will are in any of the situations I’ve mentioned. Besides I don't believe the DCS devs can "cheapen" their product much more considering it's only $20 and slightly less during sales too I believe. In my opinion a cheap £50 joystick just doesn't cut it and then there’s a big, empty void and then you’re up to £300. The only HOTAS available in Sweden are the £300 Thrustmaster Warthog, the X52s and the cheap Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X. Unfortunately I don’t enjoy the design of the X52s which means the only one I’m interested in is the Warthog and at £300 it’s a commitment and to exclude anyone who isn’t up to that sort of commitment is elitist. My only economically viable option seems to be to wait for the Thrustmaster Warthog to pop up at around £200 (apparently they did sell new at £200 in Sweden a few summers ago, may happen again)… Until that happens I’ll probably be using a mouse… which I’m not allowed to fly with.

Never use? How do you: 1) Know that 99.9% of DCS players currently use joysticks? 2) Know that statistic wouldn’t change if they had an accurate, free analogue alternative? I bet you don’t. DCS is a video game. Computer vehicle simulations were basically born in the early 90s as a central computer video game genre and they were sold to and bought by video gamers. During the 90s shooters and strategy games broke through and dominated the computer video gaming market and then computer gaming became more similar to and eventually completely dominated the console gaming market. As such simulators have deep connections with video games and especially DCS which is sold and marketed as a video game and analysed by video game critics. It is also not obscure among the minority of video gamers interested in flight simulators which I can tell you is a lot more users than they who are willing to pay £400 for a quality joystick, pedals and head-tracking. So any attempts to claim that any easily available ($20) computer “simulator” (especially one as visually appealing as DCS) is not being discovered by thousands of casual players by any means are useless. Sure, equipment beats no equipment and I’m sure old pilots are having fun building entire cockpits but here we have an easy way to instantly make DCS more playable any day of the week you can’t be bothered to dig out your joystick. I will add that official implementation of mouse control would take about one guy one hour and a dedicated modder should be able to un-darken that “AXIS ASSIGN” button in a lot less time than it takes to create a brand new aircraft module… Mouse control in video games is not a difficult thing to achieve. It can been done. Indeed denying someone else a completely acceptable means of analogue aircraft control is elitist, nothing else. Can Xpadder do this?

It is my understanding that it is impossible to use your mouse as joystick in DCS. Can’t anyone create a mod that allows this?! I strongly insist that you shouldn’t have to buy equipment worth hundreds of dollars to enjoy a game, or simulator. I’ve played many, many other games where you fly aircraft with the mouse and never had any issues with it. Currently players must play with very challenging keyboard controls or go buy a joystick despite there being a great alternative. Because of what… blatant elitism or an evil scheme to sell joysticks? If DCS allowed mouse controls then it would instantly become that much more attractive to anyone who is new to flight sims and doesn’t already have a joystick they are happy with. If you don’t want one, if you can’t afford one, while you’re saving for one, if yours breaks, if your desktop is small… and why the hell not? Implementation should be easy. What do you say?