WytchCrypt

Help! Having the exact same problem. Try to go "offline Mode" and get "Can't enter offline mode: error 500" followed by error 401 on retry. Verified my PC clock and time zones are set correctly. Also removed all mods and ran DCS_updater cleanup and DCS_updater repair and still have the error. Next to last line in DCS.log: 2024-08-10 18:01:21.423 ERROR ASYNCNET (18548): Entering offline mode failed because server returned an invalid reply. FYI: Don't know if it matters but I only fly single player...also I didn't install yesterdays update and am still running 2.9.6.58056. Thanks!

Hey all, I'm trying to keep an old Hornet mod called Smokewinders working. It hasn't been updated in a few years and old payloads I defined with Smokewinders still work in the game, but the ME won't allow me to add Smokewinders to any new payload or change the color of ones I already defined. I want to debug this and have been searching but can't seem to find the actual file where mission "payload" definitions are stored. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!

Didn't know where else to put this so mods feel free to move if appropriate! I've been very vocal in my disappointment of the replay system for years - which until the Oct 2023 2.9 release was seriously broken. I started with Su-27 Flanker back in the 90's and the replay system was one of the reasons it remained my #1 flight sim as it evolved over the years. It was especially distressing when I watched the replay accuracy degrade over time. I only fly single player Hornet missions so obviously can't speak for all DCS flyers but I can happily report that replay has been rock solid for me ever since last October. Took some months off but have been flying many hours the past few weeks and replay has been absolutely perfect. Even my Carrier Ops missions that used to break it 100% of the time (start hot on the carrier, taxi, catapult, loop around and Case I landing) now have been rock solid for me. With replay back working I'm having more fun flying DCS now than I ever have! Since my posts are usually asking for help or complaining about the broken replay system, I thought it would be nice to post something recognizing the developers for doing a great job fixing replay for this single player Hornet guy THANKS!

Just as we have the portable TACAN Beacon (Ground Unit->Fortification->TACAN Beacon TT53030) making it easy to setup TACAN for any field (especially useful as I like to fly my Hornet on the Normandy2 map). I'd love to see a portable ILS unit as well. Isn't there also a precedent for a real life version of this technology used to train Navy pilots to simulate carrier landings on ground airfields?

Doh! Oh well, I've d'loaded yours anyway as it's much more detailed and complete than the quick measurement session I put in... Thanks! Very useful

Well, just had a detailed measurement session. Looked on the Caucasus map for a baseline and all airfield runways are at the least 1.3nm with 4 or 5 1.5nm or larger. On the Normandy map nearly all the airfield runways in both France & England are around 5,000ft which is about 83% of 1 nm (and many of those aren't paved). The only ones I found comparable to the minimum required length as defined on the Caucasus map are: England: Manston (1.5nm) & Heathrow (1.5nm) France: Creil is the only large scale modern airfield at 1.6nm and the next closest is Abbeville at 5300ft which would be quite a challenge to get a Hornet down and stopped in time. While that seriously limits mission planning options at least there is something suitable on both sides of the channel that can accommodate a Hornet - or should I say a somewhat less than perfect Hornet pilot

Hey all, I bought Normandy because I love the geographical area but I only fly the Hornet. SuperCarrier ops missions are great here but are there any airfields in France or England long enough to successfully land a Hornet? Thanks!

Thanks guys...the launcher was the problem...everything back to normal

Hey all, in the newest version (2.9.6.58056) and the previous one I was running (2.9.6.57650) the "Hide Control Stick" option isn't being saved when I exit a session. I click the option as I always have and save, but now when I restart the game the stick appears in the cockpit and when I go to Options->Gameplay to check it out, "Hide Control Stick" is unchecked. Did a search and couldn't find this so I don't think anyone else has reported this yet (though I could be wrong). Thanks!

Now that I'm getting accurate track replays in my single player missions, I wanted to post a method I use to preserve the replay that even survives new DCS releases After flying the mission and reviewing the track, if it's a keeper I use the GeForce Experience screen record feature that came bundled with my NVidia GeForce and make a movie out of it. I just replay the track and activate the GeForce record when I'm ready (no need to record a whole 10 minute track just to get the last 2 minutes of action). Since it's a screen recorder it records all view/zoom changes. When I've captured the section I want I just toggle off the record function and it creates an mp4. If I want to further edit or do fancy fade ins/outs or other things, I use a free video edit tool called Shotcut Video Editor (https://shotcut.org/blog/). Now a record of my mission lives outside DCS so it's immune to any DCS changes. Of course, it's no longer a track that can be interacted with so no view changes, but it's an easy and fun way to create a movie from any track. When I got my GeForce I had no idea it was bundled with this screen recorder, but I stumbled across it one day and was blown away. It makes me think those out there with other video cards might also have the same kind of software available with their card.

Update: The DDI display changes, caging of TCN & ILS and button pushes on UFC keypad are now reflected in the replay as expected! Problem appeared to be I used triggers to preset the DDI's/AMPCD/cockpit lighting/etc to specific settings before the mission begins and replay ignored that always starting the mission with LDDI=HUD, RDDI=FCS and AMPCD=SA. Once I removed the triggers associated with the DDI/AMPCD screens and manually did the same setup actions while sitting at the cat, the replay showed everything as expected. Some FYI's: 1) I fly the Hornet 2) I just flew the same CarOps mission and watched the replay at 8x speed and it remained accurate. In fact, I flew the mission and after a successful trap, I messaged the ground crew to prepare for another launch, taxi'd over to a cat. Took off again, flew another loop and this time bounced the landing and couldn't catch a wire and ditched. Watched the entire replay and it was all accurate. 3) I change camera angles frequently during replay and no problems 4) I still notice a minor shifting motion in the F2 view while on the cat awaiting TO. I can guess that might be to make sure the plane vs carrier position remains accurately updated to insure a successful replay but if that's the trade off for an accurate track it's well more than worth it! I'll definitely be flying more now that replay is back operational!

Wow is right! I've been away for awhile...just came back and updated to 2.9.1.48335. Ran one of my favorite simple single player Carrier Ops missions from the Super Carrier (launch from Roosevelt, loop around and perform a case III landing). For the first time ever, the replay worked! There were a couple odd things, F2 view shows me a little jittery while sitting at the cat, and none of my cockpit actions like changing any of the DDI displays or punching in TCN or ILS data were reflected in the replay (even the navigation screen didn't reflect me caging the TCN & ILS...but this is the first time I've EVER had a successful replay when launching from a Super Carrier! Thanks ED for giving some much needed attention to the replay function!

That was it! I wonder if defaulting to "external lights = off" on the boat post daylight is a new behaviour as I've never noticed this before? Anyway, I run a CH Eclipse so don't have HOTAS access to the pinkie switch but just hit "L" to get it done Thanks Swift! Also: Just spent more time playing with this and it appears the Hornet's external lights default to off on the boat as soon as the deck crew break out the light wands

Hey all, just fired up DCS and installed the new update. Noticed something very strange regarding the Hornet formation/position/strobe lights. When I begin a mission on the carrier in the daytime my formation/position/strobes all function as expected. When I change the start time of the same mission to early evening or later, the formation/position/strobe lights won't operate...completely dead...no response to changes made to the switches in the cockpit. They even remain dead after I launch and get miles away from the boat. I tested and found this behavior on both SuperCarrier Roosevelt & Stennis. To make things more interesting, if I take the same after dark mission and simply change my Hornet start position from "on" the boat to "turning point" above the boat, the formation/position/strobes all function as expected. Also working as expected is starting a mission from land. I've even found a specific time of day when the external lights go from running to dead. I'm running the Mariana's map, mid August, no clouds. If I begin the mission at 18:00:00 all is good, if I begin at 18:30:00 or later the external Hornet lights are dead. I don't know if this is a Hornet or DCS bug so thought I'd begin by posting it here. Has anyone else seen this behaviour after the latest update? Can anyone try this and confirm I'm not crazy

Which map were you playing that had the problems 20 minutes into the mission?

Unfortunately not. It's highly unpredictable and I could never conclusively tie it to any mod, type of mission, or action I was taking after a mission began. I've seen it on both the Caucasus and Mariana's maps which are where I spend nearly all of my time. It's like everything's fine and then bang...the ocean is gone. And of course replaying the track of the mission doesn't repeat the problem. Extremely frustrating as 95% of my missions are carrier based

This leads to an interesting question...what RAF aircraft were actually able to chase down V-1's and take them out by wing tipping or guns?

Agreed, nobody gets a free ride on the flight deck and why it's the most dangerous workplace on the planet. My brother-in-law served for many years throughout the 70's and early 80's and his cruises were always on a carrier. He was never on the flight deck though but a couple dozen stories below in the machine shops. He told me most cruises they'd lose one or two of the flight deck crew to accident or just losing their bearings and falling off the boat...

That is amazing! And the LSO only gave you a "C"? After that landing they should have made you Fleet Admiral. When I get too cocky about my carrier ops skills I'm giving this "Head wind 97 kts. Boat 24 kts" setup a try

Thanks for the info all

Hi all, I'm a long time sim jet guy (Flanker 1.5 Su27/33 since the mid 90's then DCS Hornet) but also a bit of a European theater WWII history nut. I've always wanted to fly a Spitfire and take out incoming V1's! What DCS modules/terrain would I need to make a mission like this happen? Obviously the Spitfire Mk IX and then either the Channel or Normandy map (recommendations please). Do I also need the WWII Assets Pack? Right now DCS is having a cool bundle of the Spitfire & Channel Map, though I've heard the Channel Map is significantly smaller than the Normandy map. Not sure I care though...as long as the Channel Map has the white cliffs of Dover Also, I'm a single mode only player and make my own missions. Thanks!

I'm experiencing the same thing...any way this could be added under DCS for d/load as a User File?

That sounds great, as long as we start with a functional mobile ICLS for field carrier landing practice first

This has been a major nit of mine for many years. Back in the Flanker 1.x DOS days the replay system was perfect. As the sim evolved in complexity it got more and more unpredictable. I recall it still being solid in LOMAC but starting to get flaky in Flaming Cliffs and beyond into DCS. I fly very simple single player missions I create in the mission editor and I have noticed one thing that affects the accuracy of the track. Let's say I'm practicing carrier ops...if I start the mission in air to practice Case I or III landings the track replay system works fine. I don't believe I've ever had one of those missions turn into fiction on replay. OTOH if I take off from the carrier, absolutely zero success playing back the track. Also taking off from a land base on landing on the carrier never works for me. As far as tracks not surviving DCS version updates...absolutely true for me. Because of losing so many cool tracks after DCS updates I decided to take a different approach. After a mission that I want to make a movie of, I go into track replay and give it a try hoping it works. If the replay is accurate I use the NVidia video capture function software to record the playback of the track then edit it in Shotcut video editor. Works great and I have an *.mp4 of my mission that never goes bad...of course it's all dependent on the DCS track editor succeeding in the first place! I really wish DCS would throw a resource at fixing this problem once and for all...making movies of my flights is one of the main reasons I love DCS so much!

Now that we have the mobile Tacan Beacon TTS 3030, I'd love to see a mobile ICLS beacon as well. Someone in a recent thread mentioned there is an actual unit called an AN/TPN-22 that was used in Iraq circa 2005 that supports ICLS. Could we get that modeled and available in the mission editor? Thanks!