Zilch

Excuse me, is there something I should know about?

(Throws down gauntlet.) Pistols at dawn, sir!

TAD is rad.

Ultrawide monitor...hadn't thought of that. Seems like the way to go. I imagine it would feel more natural when you use the TrackIR to look over the shoulder, since you're actually turning your head more. Maybe less disorienting? On the 19 incher, it felt like the motion was quite exaggerated and small head movements, if not calibrated just right, can cause all kinds of weird things. Does the wider screen help this? Wide screen should be nice for Star Citizen (my other addiction) as well. I am typing this on my 32 inch TV. It's awesome for FOV but, as expected, it's a bit fuzzy and I lose some clarity. Gotta love the sense of immersion that the large picture provides, though!

That was the problem...the F10 map didn't have their objectives anywhere. If there is a setting to reveal them, I could not find it.

I had such fun with Georgian Hammer that I want to try it again with CA enabled. I have flown and re-armed three times to clear out the area for the units on the ground, but now there's one problem...I have only a vague idea about where they're supposed to go for completion of the mission. The Briefing map is zoomed out so far that I can't see the actual point. Next time I'll try taking a screenshot and printing it, or perhaps writing down the GPS coordinates. In the meantime, is there any way to see on the map what the two ground units' respective objectives are without trashing the mission?

I even PAC all the time, bro! It didn't seem to be doing much for some reason, though. Maybe it glitched or I didn't have my EAC set. Also, thanks for watching my track.

I'm currently using a 19 inch Acer at 1680x1050 that's performed quite well for several years, but I'm finding that in DCS, especially WVR fights without labels, I'm seriously hampered because of two things: 1. No head tracking. I spend more time hitting buttons to control my view than my aircraft, and can't think in terms of tactics as well as I should. 2. Other vehicles appear only as tiny dots until it's WAY too late to identify them, much less maneuver for good positioning for the merge. I almost have to use labels to see anything, and that breaks immersion and feels like a cheat, both of which defeat much of the allure of DCS. Problem 1 is easily solved with a TrackIR, so I'll be getting one of those at some point. I've tried a homemade head tracking device, but after spending hours trying to calibrate it and getting nothing but severe eyestrain and headaches, I think there's something inherent with either my physical model, room I'm using, or software that's preventing it from aligning. Time to try the TrackIR. Problem 2 is why I'm here...I'm wondering if it's possible to get something like a 1:1 size ratio, or close to it, if I get a large enough monitor. It would be tons more effective to dogfight those MiG-15's if I could actually see which way they're pointing, how they're moving, and so on. Also, having cockpit instruments appear as large as they would in real life would eliminate a lot of zooming in and out that I end up doing. And, for immersion, seeing things as large as they would be in real life (or at least as close as I can reasonably achieve) would be amazing. I have two possible options. I happen to have an older 32 inch TV that runs at 720i that I could rig up for free. I expect calibration issues, but at least it costs nothing. I've read elsewhere that images come up all fuzzy. I may try it later today, but even if it makes the image larger, if I can't read the instruments or ID an enemy fighter because the image is fuzzy, there's no point. Has anyone else had success with a TV as a monitor, especially a 720? The other option is to buy a new monitor setup. I'd love to hear from other DCS folks about what they've rigged and how much I should expect to shell out. I'm considering a large, single monitor with my current 19 incher set up with Helios for instruments, or perhaps a three monitor setup. I'm totally new to the concept of multi-monitors. What are the considerations? My current GeForce 750ti has one each output for VGA, HDMI, and DVI. Is this sufficient, or would a second video card be a benefit? If so, do they need to be identical? Do multiple monitors cause frame rate issues? Further, could a large, single monitor cause frame issues? Do the three monitors allow for individual POV/FOV adjustment? That is, if I angle them inwards in a vague canopy shape, can you adjust for the fact that it would be like looking a few degrees off your plane's boresight, instead of looking straight ahead seated a couple of feet to my side? Thanks for any advice! I know I'll be dropping some money eventually, but now is the time for cost/benefit analysis and would love to hear from people have the same goals with their video gear.

For more on this, I posted couple of tracks illustrating problems with the damage system. I got a Hind with my P-51 for over 800 rounds of 50 call before it died. It's worse if they're already on the ground. Today I posted a track of me strafing some Su-25's with my Hog. One of them absorbed over 200 rounds from my cannon. Another was hit by a few dozen 30mm rounds, a Sidewinder, *six* Mk-82's and a Maverick before it died. I think a damage model overhaul is in the works at some point after EDGE 2 comes out.

Hell's bells! I'll have to pay more attention on the load out screen.

OPERATION FROGSTOMP This is, hands down, the silliest "mission" I have ever flown in DCS. I set up four Su-25's ready for takeoff at Kobuleti and tried to wreck them in my Hog. In this amazing track due for blockbuster release this summer, you will see some crazy things. Su-25's taking 206 rounds from my GAU-9 before dying, another one stopping its taxi due to ejecting after hit by fragments from the first one I strafed, shooting AIM-9's at ground targets just to see what happens, hitting a Su-25 with 86 rounds of 30mm, six Mk-82's, an AIM-9, and an AGM-65 before finally giving up the ghost, and me landing on the target runway and running over an ejected Frogfoot driver with my nosewheel before parking next to the final, undying Sukhoi. It was fun as hell. Maybe you folks will get some chuckles out of it. Operation Frogstomp.trk

I'm sure F/A-18C will make this much easier. That, and I'm hoping a Corsair springs to life at some point.

I'll try the mission again and see what results I get.

How is the Georgian Hammer with CA campaign? Does it add more options or merely more headache? I just started it a day ago and am trying to figure it out. I'm thinking that if OP already has A-10C, it may be worth picking up,

I dunno. If an AMRAAM, plus 113 rounds from my GAU won't do it...

Actually I messed one up. Of the four Su-25's in the mission, one actually did get shot down by F-18's. It's the one with the AIM-9 hit. The fourth one did get strafed to hell and back, as the in-game shot shows. Unfortunately I don't know the exact hit count, but I remember it being in the "way too many not to kill it seven times over" bracket.

Having completed the Georgian Hammer campaign and enjoying it quite thoroughly, I decided to test out the Combined Arms version instead of letting the CA module waste away, unloved. I ended up failing the first combat mission due to ordering my M2 platoon to move through guarded territory. Totally my fault. Next time I'll clear the path better. In a fit of rage and self-hate, I decided to end the digital lives of every single enemy combatant, including three Su-25's that were parked or taxiing. What better way to humiliate them than strafing them on the ground? So, I roll in with a full load of CM rounds and give all three planes a huge dose in one run. That didn't seem to do the trick, so I gave them a second strafing run...then a third and a fourth, until I ran out of CM. During the third run, I saw the pilots eject and figured I'd get credited with some kills. Debriefing says otherwise...apparently, despite me ripping the units apart (at least visually) and seeing the pilots make full use of zero-zero ejection seats, I got no credit and the Su-25's were not listed as destroyed units. Checking my hit count revealed that the Su-25's had taken hits from the following: Su-25 #1 62 AP 31 HE Su-25 #2 54 HE 1 AIM-9M (not my missile.) Su-25 #3 42 HE 71 AP 1 AIM-120B (obviously not my shot, either.) Screenshots of the results. Now, I'm no munitions expert, and I know the Frogfoot is a pretty rugged plane, but damn. I think these munitions would have easily killed any T-80 at the range I was at (between 0.5 and 0.3 nm,) but they failed to register a destroyed unit for the grounded Su-25's. Still...fun as hell. Again, DCS is the best thing to happen to my brain since I started drinking coffee, so I'm not complaining. Instead, I post this as a suggestion: Until the DCS damage models have some adjustments, don't waste your precious GAU-8 ammo on grounded aircraft. It seems that although your gun may disable systems (including entire wings,) the actual kill may not register until the target aircraft impacts the ground. If the plane is already on the ground, you won't get the "gravity assist," and unless you use something explosive (Mavericks seem to work just fine,) don't bother attacking them. Just an FYI!

Just remember not to do what I did, and use them in a strafing run. It throws off your CCIP solution and you won't hit much. Ideally, you're pretty swank with the gun and don't need to slow down to aim, but if (like me) you need to slow down, do so in your pop-up maneuver and then ride the coaster on down through your attack.

Now, THAT sounds useful. Is there a Cliff's Notes Edition on how to accomplish this? I feel like I'm getting competent with the A-10C and the CDU and aerial refueling seem like the last frontiers I need to get the hang of before making an ass of myself in multiplayer.

Your Saitek software sounds very similar to my CH stuff. It is insanely powerful once you get used to it. Personally, I haven't used it much for the A-10C, since my real world HOTAS buttons closely resemble the real setup in the plane and unless I need an OSB, I rarely take a hand off the controllers. However, keep that macro system in mind for other aircraft! You could, for example, write a one-button macro for a startup sequence, weapon configuration, or perhaps a weapon engagement sequence if you're really fancy. I'm thinking of these to shortcut some configurations for some of the older craft (P-51, F-86, FW-190, etc.) At first I resisted this idea. I was thinking that this would be unrealistic, since those planes didn't have a HOTAS. However, I think it's even less realistic to have to use my POV hat to look down into my on-screen cockpit, zoom in or out to see what I'm trying to hit, and then use a mouse cursor to (hopefully) hit the right switch. This is especially confounding in a plane where the switch is obscured behind something and you don't have TrackIR. For example, the rocket select knob in the P-51D is obfuscated behind the flight stick. In the real plane, no problem, but to hit it with the mouse, I need to roll my plane to the right and take my eyes off target...This kills your SA and it may well kill you in the process. Nuts to that. Sitting in a real cockpit, a person would just reach out and hit a knob, probably without looking since you've spent so much time training it the craft, like we do with our car stereos and headlight switches. Since it's a simulator, you can use these setups to "simulate" the effect of being in a real cockpit with switches you can hit without thinking about it too much. If you think it's cheating, you can even program in a delay between when you hit your HOTAS button and when the effect takes place in the sim to simulate hand travel time.

And then, you're very nearly flying old school, like the A-10A. This is why I'm thankful for my prior LOMAC/FC2 time. It prepares you for when your TGP, MFD and PAC all get shot out and you have to get a bit more hands-on with the bad guys, and how to operate low level, using eyeballs to acquire targets. That said, the TGP and especially the PAC are awesome and I use them constantly. More tools for the toolbox. They directly lead to me getting more GAU-8 kills and fewer times getting shredded by those pesky damn BMP's. "Hey, wait, I no longer need to get within their guns range to detect and ID the target? My Pk on gun runs is higher, so there's one less bad guy to shoot my engines full of lead as I egress?" Awesomesauce! Survivability goes way up. I am certainly more effective with the -10C than I ever was in LOMAC/FC2 with the -10A, but it's nice to be able to adapt when things aren't going your way after you dive to the deck away from those MiG-29's.

Logical. It's quite possible that it was developed for the PVO and the GDR picked them up, as well.

It was donated to the museum by the German Luftwaffe. It is formerly of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany.) I'm not sure if the original variant was intended for the PVO or not. Honestly, I was hoping someone else here could fill us in on this particular model, as I am no expert on the MiG-21. I understand instrument flight, but having your front vision about 60 or 70% obstructed seems pretty insane. :) This cockpit felt...eh, "cozy."

Yeah, that's an accurate description. I'll have everything going right, and then plug in my headset for that one MP match, and bam, there go my DCS settings. Once I unplug it, it goes back to my previous settings. So I guess this is a Windows/DCS issue, and not a CH one?

I'm betting on F6F Hellcat, P-38 (awesome!) and F-14.