Aluminum Donkey

It's very nice. Try it out and see :) Unfortunately, with deferred lighting on, you can't read the HUD and everything appears rather washed out. It's an open alpha--they're working on it. In the meantime, you can fly with DL turned off.

Greetings, I may be able to get hold of the above monitor, it's a 32" job with 2560 x 1440p native res. I tried a small (28") 4k one from AOC and found everything too tiny, and the monitor itself was glitchy, so it was a no-go. The 4k one was also very 'leaky'--lots of backlight glow. Is anyone here familiar with the Pavilion 32? It has VA panel, I believe, and response time is 7ms. Just wondering if it's worth the trouble of going to grab it! Thanks AD

GTX 1070 is highly recommended. I have the Zotac 'Mini' version of the card, which was the cheapest 1070 I could find :) The stock cooler is excellent, and while you said you don't overclock, it's very easily done and my cheapo-1070 easily goes over 2.0 GHz, making it about as fast as a stock GTX 1080. The 1070 is good for 4k and in my own experience, gives nearly the same framerates at 3840 x 2160 as it does at normal 1080p. So, it's fantastic for 1440p displays, which are a very nice resolution to use. The new 10-series cards are all great for high res displays and have lots of video memory. Keep in mind, I clamp my framerate in graphics.lua to 50 FPS, so if you're one of those 300 FPS types, you're better off with a 1080 Ti. Speaking of which, if you want an extra 'edge', don't bother with the GTX 1080. I'm not really sure why they even make them. Get a 1080 Ti--yes, it's much more expensive, but also gives a massive performance improvement for the money. The normal 1080 just doesn't seem like very good value to me. Just overclock your 1070 with a couple clicks, and you're almost at 1080 performance. Finally, drivers have recently gotten better and I've noticed higher framerates with them. Peace and happy warfare :) AD

Greetings Rhino, As a general rule, conventional helicopters (single large main rotor, small horizontal tail rotor) are very challenging to fly. The Mi-8 is no exception--although unlike the Huey, it has an autopilot, so once you have it trimmed out nicely, you can set the 3 autopilot channels for pitch & roll, yaw, and altitude, and take your hands off the controls just like the Ka-50. When flying around and maneuvering though, you leave the autopilot off in the Mi-8, unlike the Ka-50, where you use Flight Director mode. Also, unlike the Ka-50, you must use the yaw (tail rotor) control all the time, so make sure you have a good set of rudder pedals. I'm just using the thumb stick on my Cougar throttle right now, I need pedals! All in all it's a really great module, very detailed and nicely done. The flight model is very convincing. Just don't get it stuck in VRS as someone else mentioned! :) Peace and happy warfare AD

If you want to play DCS, why bother with a laptop? A well-chosen desktop setup will give you better performance at one third the cost. If you absolutely insist on a laptop, just get the most expensive, lightning fast one you can find. It'll still be worse than a decent desktop and will cost 2 or 3 times more.

That i5, RAM and mobo sounds great to me! Whatever you do, don't listen to anyone telling you to get a ridiculous amount of RAM. No, 16GB isn't enough, you need 32GB. No, that's nowhere near enough--you MUST have 64GB or you'll have "performance" issues. 128 GB is almost enough! I have a pretty decent video card (GTX 1070) and 16GB is more than enough system RAM. If anything, save that money and get a GTX 1080 Ti if you want to use a VR headset--you'll have much better performance than dumping money into tons of system RAM that you'll never use. Video cards are vital for good framerates with high settings, and the fastest one you can get is essential for VR. If you absolutely insist on using a VR headset, I wouldn't waste my time or money on anything less than a GTX 1080 Ti. Forget the normal 1080--the 1070 is very close in performance and much cheaper. The 1080 Ti is far ahead in performance, and if you're going to get a super-expensive vid card, the 1080 Ti is the one to get. Also, don't waste your money on an expensive i7 CPU--they don't perform any better in DCS World because it only uses two threads, and an i5 really will overclock just as high. It just isn't hyperthreaded--which makes no difference at all in DCS.

Been using it a while now, and everything works well! Now all I need is to build a nice set of rudder pedals. A decent 4K screen would be good too, even though I don't really need it :)

If it makes you feel better, you can always 'defect' and shoot down your own German wingmen, then start a new mission flying the Fw-190 on the American side :) In sim world, you can do anything you want.

Another 2 weeks :) Which means, another 6-12 months... ...and when you translate that into real-life time, it works out to about 3-7 years. So, yes, ED have announced a MiG-29 PFM a long time ago, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Honestly, I'd prefer that over the Normandy map, or Su-33 PFM--or even the Spitfire. But, good luck waiting. We'll all probably be a lot older when it's polished up and released (and it was probably actually done quite a while ago). Personally I've given up on it, although it might pop up in a few years. I'd prefer the new Caucasus map and DCSW 2.5 first, but as we all know, this stuff is a huge amount of work and takes ages. IIRC, ED first announced Version 2.5 and the new Caucasus map back in April 2016, and it's now May 2017!! If anything, my hat's off to the ED folks for sticking with DCSW all this time instead of abandoning it. I wouldn't work that hard for that long to be an astronaut, never mind a PC flight sim developer :)

Here's a suggestion: instead of being too anal about memory timings and quantities, get an i5-6600k or i5-7600k CPU and overclock it to more than 4.0 GHz. Get a decent mobo, nothing over-the-top fancy and expensive, because it won't help! Neither will an i7 CPU, because DCSW only uses 2 threads--one for the simulation engine, and one for sound. Get 16GB of decently fast DDR4. Forget about that GTX 980 Ti--yeah, they're pretty good, but the new stuff is better. Get yourself a GTX 1070 8GB, or even a 1080 Ti (11GB!) if you particularly enjoy the acrid smell of burning money. Forget about the 1080--the 1070 is much cheaper, is just about as fast when overclocked to 2000+ MHz (which they'll all do) and both have 8GB of VRAM, which means you won't need 32GB of system RAM. I'm not entirely sure why they make the 1080 anymore, it's only about 20% faster than the 1070, but costs 50% more. For a 'killer' rig, don't mess around and get that 1080 Ti! 16GB system memory is plenty when you have 11GB VRAM. With the cash you save on a fancy/expensive i7 CPU, expensive mobo, most expensive RAM, get a great video card. Trust me--it's money well spent, unlike all that other stuff, which looks impressive in a sig, but doesn't improve your actual gaming experience any. Now, you'll have a system that REALLY performs well, instead of just "Hey everyone I own THIS!!" bragging rights on the Internet.

Ok, just did a bunch of flying in the 109 and 190, both of which I use the second stage trigger to fire the cannon (first stage for slug guns, second for slugs & cannons). Everything still works! Oh man, this has been such a pain in my tush for so long, it would rock if it were finally fixed. And no circuit board hacking!

I just swapped it out (gun trigger second stage) for one from the stick that I hardly use--the pinky paddle, and so far it's working really well. I really pounded on that trigger switch, mostly out of anger and frustration :) But, it still works well in the paddle switch position. I only ever use that for wheel brakes though, so it's not combat-essential. Imma be REAL pleased if this still works after lots of use and the fix is permanent. Man, that would make life easier! Even though the Cougar is a pile of crap, it's so nice to use and fly with after you rebuild the awful gimbal, and make some mods to it so it centers really well and doesn't have tons of slop. I also swapped out the original X and Y stick pots with Hall effect sensors and magnets, so it's *really* nice to fly with now. Hopefully the stick is all ready to rock now and I won't have to muff around with it anymore! Thanks for the moral support guys :) Peace and happy warfare AD

OK dudes, it's still working right now. Again, only time will tell. :music_whistling: Each switch has four terminals, and they're in pairs (normally open switches have only two connections internally, and each contact has two external solder lugs). In the Cougar, two terminals are used for the switch signal to the circuit board, and one remaining one is used to daisy-chain to other switches. So, if the internal connection gets flaky on one switch, that string of switches no longer works (or only works intermittently, as in my case). What they should have done is used one piece of wire for all the common connections and soldered them to one terminal on the switches, instead of alternate terminals, but that's how they do it and that's probably why it behaves the way it does. Swapping the #4 and #6 switches seems to have worked. We'll find out one day if it quits!

OK, I just opened 'er up and swapped the #4 switch (pinky paddle) with the #6 (trigger stage 2) and stuffed it all back together. Everything seems to work now! Only time will tell, but one solder connection on #6 seemed really flaky and came apart when I pulled lightly on it... Since I hardly ever use #4, that switch was in like-new shape, so I moved it to the #6 position. The old #6 switch had taken a pounding, and is now in the paddle switch position, but it seems to work--let's hope it keeps working! That would be awesome, if I could just use the blinkin' Cougar now instead of constantly farting around with it. I know many of the switches are daisy-chained (share a common wire) and the #6 and #4 were like that, so it makes sense that one crappy solder joint would interrupt both switches. Man I hope it keeps working! Getting hold of circuit boards for the Cougar is a major pain in the arse, so it would rock if everything worked well now. So far, it seems good. Peace

Doesn't ANYONE have a clue how to fix this stupid pile o' crap?

Greetings kitty users, These 2 stick buttons on my Cougar are intermittent: Button 5 (NWS, A/R Disc., Missile Step--the index finger button on the right side of the stick) and Button 6 (second stage gun trigger). Sometimes, re-flashing the firmware and re-applying the profile in CCP helps for a while, but not always. It seems to work when it wants to, and conks out on me at the worst times (i.e. when I need to use it!) Everything else always works. The 2 buttons themselves seem electrically OK, they always fail together, and start working again randomly. Any ideas on how to fix it permanently? Circuit board mod or anything like that? Maybe new resistors/capacitors on the board? I figure getting a replacement circuit board is completely out of the question at this point. And no, I don't want to buy a new TM Warthog setup for $600 :) Windows 7 has never had any trouble detecting the stick, Foxy programs, response curves, calibration etc. have always worked well. Just those 2 annoying buttons! Thanks for any suggestions.

I've been wondering about this for one heck of a long time now, but didn't want to be a rectal orifice and actually ask on the forum, so thanks for doing it for me :) The ED team members have their own lives and their own concerns, and ultimately it boils down to this: They'll do what they feel like, when they get around to it. Personally, I'd love 2.5 with the updated Caucasus map, and a really good PFM for the MiG-29, but I think it'll be a very long time before those things become available. It gets done when it gets done, but only when the development team feels like getting around to it, and when they aren't preoccupied with other more pressing matters (such as doing the kinds of work they can actually make a living at!) I'm not entirely sure, but I believe DCS World is actually a side project for the fine folks that comprise the ED development team, and they, frankly, have more important things to attend to than DCS itself. I could be wrong, but this is truly a niche product and I can't imagine anyone earning a living with full-time development on PC combat flight sims, especially not one like DCS World--it's too enormous in scope and complexity (as well as drive space!), but it appeals, by its nature, to only a very small number of people. In other words, don't hold your breath! Peace and happy warfare

I've thought about getting the Mirage... What exactly is it about it that you don't like? Is it a module you have already but don't want to fly because of something you think is wrong with the module, or is it just an aircraft you're not interested in? Peace

There's always lots of discussion over what hardware to get. For starters, if you have a video card with 6GB or 8GB of memory, then you can probably get away with only 8GB of system RAM. That's a total of 14-16GB and is probably all you need--that's why some people have 8GB system RAM and don't have problems running DCS World. You're better off with very fast system RAM rather than tons of it. I went with 16GB (two 8GB modules) of DDR4 3000MHz memory and it's actually kind of overkill, since I'm using a GTX 1070 video card and it has 8GB of VRAM. CPUs: lots of discussion on these, but keep in mind that DCS only uses two threads: one for the main simulation engine, and one for sound. Core i7 CPUs are always regarded as the ultimate thing to get, but in reality, for DCS World, single-threaded performance is king, and the i5's really are every bit as good. I got hold of an i5-6600K and get outstanding performance in DCSW, and although my chip is an average overclocker, it still easily runs at 4.5 GHz at about 1.32V. So, you can go ahead and get the most expensive i7 you can find, but it won't make any difference in DCSW or other games, really. A fast i5 will not only give you the best possible performance, but will save some money that you can put into the video card, which is what will make a huge difference especially if you like 4K or multi-monitor setups, or have a fondness for flying around Vegas in 2.0 with all the graphics settings on max :) The i7 is only faster in the beginning because it has a higher default clock speed. If your computer's main 'gig' is DCS World (and you run other games on it), you're still getting the best performance but saving some money by getting hold of an i5-7600K and running it as fast as it will reasonably go. Even the 6600K is excellent, but the 7600K may clock slightly higher and give off less heat, so you can still get the best performance while using an inexpensive air cooler. Oh yeah--when overclocking, select "Sync All Cores" in UEFI before experimenting with voltages and multipliers, so your core clocks don't drop when loading up the CPU on more than one core. Finally, in my own personal experience, the GTX 1070 is not only a great card for DCS World, but it works well with single 4K setups. It will run DCSW 2.0 at about 40 FPS over Vegas with all settings at max. If you run a multi-monitor setup, especially 2 or 3 4K monitors, skip the GTX 1080 and splurge for a 1080 Ti. They're expensive as holy heck, but will give you the rendering performance you need for hefty multi-display setups. Remember, DCSW only works well with single video cards, not SLI/Crossfire--so for that killa triple-4K rig, a 1080 Ti (or Titan Z!) is what you need to pull that off really nicely. When you start talking about that kind of money, you could start taking some flying lessons in a real plane :) Just my 2 cents Peace and happy warfare

Wow! Lots of discussion of converting the Cougar to Hall effect sensors. It's a very easy mod to do, no 'kit' of any kind is really needed. I bought a pack of 5 Allegro sensors off eBay for about $4, price included shipping from China! I just un-soldered the existing Cougar potentiometer leads and soldered them to the Hall effect sensors. A couple of little bits of old fiberglass circuit board in place of the original plastic pot mounts held the sensors in place, and I glued the magnets directly to the gimbal frames with a drop of super glue. Almost any plastic or old circuit board material will do for mounting the sensors, and while I made little strap clamps to hold the sensors in place by the 3 leads, you can probably just glue them in place. The leads were bent 90 degrees to allow the face of the sensor to face toward the magnet on the gimbal frame. Plug in and re-calibrate, and you're good to go for years. A fantastic mod for any flight stick, these sensors never wear out or get jittery, and the center position doesn't drift over time. They're also very linear, and you can fly with a very slight degree of exponential control (S-curve) in your stick setup, so high AoA flight is more controllable and it's overall more realistic. Peace and happy warfare!

It certainly does, and looks amazing. I have a GTX 1070 and tested it out on our 4K 60" TV... Vegas in DCS 2.0 is incredible! I got 40+ FPS over Vegas with all max settings, you'll be pleasantly surprised if you're using a 1080!

DCS Nevada uses a *lot* of memory with all graphics settings set to high! I have a GTX 1070 8GB card, and flying around Nevada (including Vegas) for a while has used about 7.6GB of it--and that's in addition to another 12 out of my 16GB system RAM! Visual assets (models & textures) normally load into VRAM first, how much of it depends on your preload distance setting. This sim can use an unbelievable amount of system resources--it's easily the single most demanding game out there, bar none. Since there's nothing else quite like it, we'll forgive it for that :) Peace and happy warfare Ian

I can attest that the 1070 is mighty nice for a single 4K display. Tried mine out (see my sig for box details) on the living room 60" 4K... very nice indeed!! I can only imagine the 1080 is even better, but the 1070 did a great job flying over Vegas with just about everything on max settings. About 40 FPS minimum when you're flying down the Strip. Excellent card for DCS and just about anything else on a single screen, even 4K. Enjoy your new monitor! (DANG those are expensive!) Peace and happy warfare

Whew! That post was more entertaining than actually flying the sim!

Shoot it down!