Ian_L

AirTito, I understand your answer, but I think you misunderstood my post slightly. The suggestions that I am talking about (and I realize that by now, for release being imminent in 2008, no new things can be added) are ways to make the sim more accessible to people who can practice less, but without compromising too much on realism. Auto-Hover: Great! Labels: I know labels are already in Lock-on, however, when talking about "intelligent" labels, I mean something like labels popping up at realistic ranges for different units types, dependant on altitude, weather, etc... Campaign: Again, the scalability doesn't necessarily mean the AI, but adjust the opposing forces that you would face depending on the level of difficulty chosen. Example: At "hard" a column would contain AAA and SAM, at medium, just AAA, and at easy, perhaps no air defence. Or an opposing CAP at "hard" would be composed of 4 SU-27, at medium of 4 MIG-23, and at easy of only 2 MIG-23... Just ideas. They could also apply to modders creating campaigns and mods. Ian

In the same line of thinking as the post about the joystick files, I decided to make a suggestion of my own, but at a different level. Reading all the forums, I find that my gamer "profile" is not too often encountered online, but must be a BIG part of the sim audience: I like to describe myself as a serious but casual simmer. What does that mean? I like everything about simulators, I watch all the shows about planes and boats and all of that on Discovery, I know all the planes and weapon systems, my friends and family consider me a geek but... I do not have the time to play maybe more than 4 to 8 hours per week. Result: I do not play online because I am nowhere near the level of people playing there, yes I am still struggling in dogfights against the AI even just set at "good", etc. However, when we are talking about a game's difficulty level, does that mean that I want unlimited fuel, easy flight model, and approaching a Patriot SAM site that behaves like a blind Hawk site? Of course not, because then I lose all the immersion factor! Therefore, my suggestion to the developpers, and I am not sure how easy it is to do that, is to make the difficulty scalable, but NOT by removing the realism that differentiates sims from arcade games. Suggestions: create shortcuts to complicated procedures: - Have an auto-hover button; - Have an intelligent label system (to facilitate spotting); - Have multiple levels of difficulty for campaigns: for example, at the easy level, less SAM sites spawn, I'm fighting a 2 ship CAP instead of 4 ships, I have more fighter cover, etc... NOT the AI behaving like an idiot because I set it on easy. I hope that this makes sense, and helps. Happy flying! Ian

On that, I only have the Logitech twist stick (extreme 3d pro)... I have a feeling (like BGP said) that this will not be sufficient either. Thanks for the answers guys!

Watching the video, it becomes more and more obvious that Black Shark will REQUIRE trackIR to enjoy it... I cannot imagine trying to do all of these maneuvers while trying to manipulate the view with the hatswitch. Damn... another item that I need to convince the girlfriend to put on our budget! Any of the beta testers flying the helicopter without trackIR?

Thanks for the instructions. Great skin (in fact, it's the first one ever that made me want to take the time to download and install).:thumbup:

4 pack would be great...

Hey guys, noob question here: I've never installed any mods in Lock on. I've downloaded the skin, but how do I install it? Do I simply drag the content of the folder in the bazar folder? What is the lma3 file? Thanks for your help. Ian

Also, I don't remember if this has an effect on a runway attack, but make sure that you select to attack with "bomb only" in the targeting box that Rich just mentioned. Nothing more annoying than watching an AI plane trying to finish off a target with its internal gun...

Speaking of what ejection will do to the pilot, did you guys see that special on Discovery where the F-15 pilot lost consciousness and ejected at something close or over the speed of sound?:shocking: Both arms and both legs where bent backwards over the seat, with multiple fractures in all limbs, if I remember... ouch. Sick discovery channel even did a 3-D re-enactment of the legs breaking backwards over the seat and the knee ligaments all tearing. Ok, enough said. He never flew again I think.

Thanks alot for all the info. I really appreciate your guys taking the time to educate me!:thumbup: I will try your tactics tonight and make tracks to share with you, that way you can all have a good laugh, and maybe I can learn a thing or two myself by rewatching my mistakes! Ian

Good evening gents, In between campaign missions in the A-10, I was trying to practice my air to air skills in the fast battle planner. 1 vs 1 against AI at excellent. I'm in a Su-33 (I find the russian fast jets to be easier to learn than the F-15 systems). First I managed to win against all the russian jets, from mig-23 to su-27, in the first 1 or 2 engagements. Now I am by far not getting enough practice, so I thought that this was pretty good. Moving on to the US planes, I first take on the F-14....:doh: So far in 4 engagements, I always get downed by the Phoenix. This guy can launch at such a range that when I am trying to run the missile out of energy, I always lose my SA and when I don't actually get downed by it, I am so defensive that his next shot gets me. Any tips?

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately I think that I will have to settle for something less fancy than the widescreen based on what you just said. I'll wait until the next complete upgrade to go for it...:( Probably a 17'' or maybe 19'' LCD will have to do for the moment. At least they can be very cheap, even Samsung. Doh! didn't know... thanks!

Hi guys, Haven't posted here in so long that I forgot my password and had to create a new account. Glad to be back!:) Through some miracle turn of events, I have managed to convince my girlfriend that investing in a new computer screen was a good idea! So before this opportunity vanishes and I'm forced to buy something at Ikea instead, I thought I'd consult with you guys for your recommendations on the good choices out there, and more importantly how you think a new screen will affect the performance of my system. This is a pretty big concern for me, as the system is fairly old (p4 2.6 w/800 mhz fsb, 9800 pro, 1G ram) and while I can run FC comfortably, there's not alot of horsepower to spare. Namely, because my current monitor is a standard 15'', I am satisfied with low resolution (1024x768). However, with a new screen I will have to run FC at a much higher resolution. Also, what do you think about widescreen (16:10)? Are all flightsims supporting that format, and is it a good choice? I'm looking forward to hear your comments and possibly see what you guys are using as a display, and how you think my system can handle a new bigger screen. Thanks!