animaal
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Posts posted by animaal
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I must say, this is the best thing about the DCS community. I came here wondering why I was finding my canned mission difficult, and I end up understanding how disruptive the introduction of the B-52 must have been, and how worrying it would have been to any remaining Mig-15 units. Not to mention the pace of development back then.
Thanks again!
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Another simulation tackles this by making all maps playable by everybody in multiplayer, even if you haven't bought them. However, if you haven't bought the map you can't play it in single-player mode and in multiplayer mode you're stuck with the basic planes.
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Thanks all. On the bright side, I probably did well to down the B52 at all.
I see a mod to create a B29, so I might try it over the weekend...
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Hi, I'm new to Soviet jets generally, and the Mig15 in particular, and looking for a little advice on realistic missions.
I set up a little intercept mission, with the target being a B52. Is this a natural situation? I ask, because the Internets tell me that the wingspan of the B52 is 185ft, which translates to 56m However, the wingspan dial for the Mig-15 gyro sights only goes to 45m.
Secondly, at 25000ft, the B52 seemed to be as quick as I was. I spent ages chasing him in a circle, 1-2km away, with me at maximum power. I eventually caught him somwhow, and downed him with a single cannon round. What power those cannons have!
I know the Mig15bis appeared in 1950, slightly before the B52 in 1954, but wouldn't the Mig-15 have been Russia's primary defense against it?
Or am I on the wrong path? Is there a more suitable/realistic intercept target for a Mig-15?
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I wish there was a way to shake my virtual fist at whoever shot me down :)
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The NTTR never really engaged me. I acknowledge that it's skillfully designed and artfully created. But it's a desert region; I live in a country that rarely sees a sunny day. Flying over a desert feels completely alien to me; I may as well be flying in Elite Dangerous over Mars.
Secondly, it's a training range; that killed some of the immersion for me.
But I'll be getting the Persian Gulf as soon as it's available. I'd rather a non-desert landscape, but I'm excited by the variation that we'll have with carrier- and land-based combat in a region that could realistically see skirmishes.
(Also, despite my comments about desert landscapes, I think it's somewhat easier to see other planes against the ground - the variation in colour makes it more difficult in the Caucuses)
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Will there be an option to hide the control stick, so as to make the centre MFCD easier to see?
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Is there a difference between Steam and Non-Steam content?
I prefer Steam, but is there reason not go with Steam solution? (I've already downloaded Non-Steam ver.)
I went with the non-Steam version. My reasons might not be valid for you, but here they are:
1. ED usually has earlier access to new modules and updates (although Steam is getting better now)
2. Steam sales are less often than ED discounts
3. Normal ED prices are cheaper than normal Steam prices (in my part of Europe anyway)
4. Non-steam DCS can still be added to the Steam launcher if desired
Really I didn't see any advantage to sticking to Steam. Also, some of the older keys can be bought on Steam and transferred to the non-Steam DCS. But even then, there's rarely an advantage to doing that.
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I can't get over how much we are allowed to know about the F-35. Videos on Youtube; pictures of the cockpit (I wish those screens flip around to expose "real" gauges :) ); articles about its weaknesses. Whatever happened to cold war secrecy?
I was amazed to read that the F/16 and Hornet were first deployed in the early 1980s. That's around 30 years ago. The first simulation of the F/16 that I considered realistic was Falcon 4 in 1999. The delay may be due to the speed of evolution of consumer-level technology rather than the lack of publicly available information on the F/16 before that. If the latter, then we probably can't expect an F-35 module in DCS for another 20 years.
Given the multinational aspect to the F-35, I wonder if sufficient information will be available in coming years to allow reasonably accurate simulation?
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Thanks. I must say, TacView should be an essential addition for anybody who flies DCS. I frequently find I've been shot down, with no idea how or why. It's only when I view the replay that I see where I went wrong, or (more often) how I unknowingly avoided near death many times before finally succumbing.
One question - is it possible to customise the models? E.g. the Harrier uses a default "paper airplane" model, I'd prefer to use one of the other built-in models. And the new Tarawa carrier is represented as a block, which is fine, but I'd like to change its size to be more representative of the true size of the carrier.
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Thanks for all the feedback. I only have two things to give back to the helpful community here - how I have my HOTAS set up, and how to crash spectacularly when landing on a carrier.
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I uninstalled 1.5 today; the only version I need is 2.5. I find the performance generally good in 2.5, although my laptop and playing style might not be the same as everybody else's.
I'm delighted to have just one install to worry about, as opposed to the three I had a month or so ago.
The issues that affect me most are the unresolved issues in DLC campaigns - e.g. some missions that can't start, or others where the new Caucuses map obscures landing areas or other objects of interest. But I know these are things to be fixed in the campaigns, not in DCS itself.
All in all, I'm far happier being able to fly the 2.5 Open Beta than being still in 1.5 and being told that 2.5 is "coming soon".
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Aha, thanks - I'm relieved to see this thread.
I spent a couple of days struggling to follow the Hinds when they stop to almost a hover, and then rise to go over steep hills. I can slow down, I can rise, but I found it hard to slow/stop and then climb without burning out the engine.
I completed the mission eventually, by staying significantly behind/above the Hinds.
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Spotting was basically impossible using normal zoom, which I feel like shouldn't be the case since I would presume that one should be able to see aircraft within a few miles without using binoculars.
I agree it's very difficult.
I assume that the aircraft sizes are properly calculated. Remember, at normal zoom you're seeing the whole front window of the cockpit on a computer monitor. In real life, that front window would fill a lot of your field of vision. I wonder if the planes would be easier to spot on a huuuuge monitor? (I only use a little 15" laptop screen, I haven't tried it)
I'm not sure what the solution is - ideally the plane sizes would vary with monitor size. But that's unlikely to be implemented, because I don't think a PC can reliably discover the size of a connected monitor. It would be open to cheating in multiplayer.
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2.9 mil and it doesn't even come with a Chuck's Guide?
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Astronomical Spring is: 21'st March to 20'th of June.
Metoeorogical Spring is: 1'st March to 1'st June.
Lucky for you to consider February for a Spring but the Winter ends in March while Summer begins in June ;)
The whole idea of seasons is a cultural construct (some cultures have 6 seasons).
Meteorological or Astronomical measurement of seasons is perfectly logical... but there's also a logic to having Midsummers Day (or the longest day of the year) in the middle of summer.
In this case, I'd rather ED uses the ancient Celtic calendar :D
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Well , Looks like Hornet will be available 1 April at the earliest, and 21 Jun Last day of spring :music_whistling:
I was wondering about that, but I didn't want to appear pushy.
Where I live, Spring is usually considered to be February, March, April. (Summer is May, June, July - centred around the longest day of the year, in the second half of June). So reading that the Hornet would be made available some time from April to the end of Spring appeared to be a fairly narrow window!
Not to mention that in the Southern hemisphere, Spring is later in the year.
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during a recent ED sale, I bought the F86. Not sure why I did, I knew nothing about it and had no real interest in it.
But having the plane, it made sense to also get the Museum Relic campaign.
Wow!
It's so much more than a collection of "Go here, bomb this" missions. There's a story/progression to it, and it really feels like I'm having an impact on an ongoing engagement.
Better again, it's suitable for all skill levels. I'm terrible at spotting other aircraft (middle-aged eyes and a 15" 1080p screen probably don't help!), but the missions are designed so that it's not necessary to spot and kill all hostiles to complete the mission. I frequently replay a mission after completion, to see if I can do better. Also, all the missions that I've seen so far are based around the same geographic area, so becomes familiar. More time flying, less time looking for landmarks on maps.
I'm not finished the campaign yet, but I can see that I've been gently introduced to many of the features and capabilities of the Sabre, without feeling like the campaign is pulling me through a check-list of skills.
This experience has me re-thinking other modules (more advanced than the Sabre) that I had previously bought and hastily written off because I thought there wasn't much to them (Hello F-5E!)
I don't see any other campaigns from Apache600, but I'll be keeping my eyes open for the next one!
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Very interesting and valid points, thanks.
Working mostly at a desk, I don't have to worry about broken arms etc when I think about ergonomics.
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Having gathered a few DCS planes, something strikes me as a little odd. It's the positioning of the stick in combat planes.
In the old days, the stick was placed between the pilot's legs, with the throttle by/on the left armrest. I guess this made sense - the right hand on the stick, the left hand on the throttle. The stick needs more precise movement, and most people are right-handed. In extreme situations, both hands can be brought on the stick in order to apply extra force.
But with fly-by-wire (e.g. M2000C, A-10C, F15), why is the stick still often between the pilot's legs? Surely this leads to the body being twisted/offcentre for extended durations. In an office situation that would be less than ideal - I can only imagine what it's like under high-G. The F16 has the stick in what I would think is a much better position.
I've never flown any of these planes in real life; do combat pilots suffer more than most people from RSI? :)
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I've recently posted a thread describing issues I've had (and fixed) with my X52Pro. One issue us the same as the one you describe here; an issue with jitter when using the slider for zooming.
Would you object to starting an extra application while using your throttle?
If you install vJoy and Freepie, you may be able to create a new virtual device that filters the output of your slider. In effect you're smoothing the output.
It works for the X52Pro, I think it should for the Warthog too.
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I’ve got a Saitek X52Pro, and after a lot of bad decisions, I’m eventually settled on a configuration that I’m happy with. I hope a few of these might save time for other X52Pro owners.
I’m attaching a zip file with my default X52Profile for DCS, and the Freepie script referred to below.
Before starting DCS, I have to plug in the X52Pro, then start the “FreePie” application. But for me the extra step is worth it.
Wrong Approach:
Originally, I started with a separate X52Pro profile per DCS module. The thinking was that I could keep the default key configurations in DCS for each module, and use the Logitech profile editor to create an X52Pro profile per DCS module, mapping each HOTAS button to the keyboard key presses expected by DCS for that module. This worked, but had a few problems.
1. Every time I moved from one plane to another in DCS, I had to Alt-Tab to the desktop and select a different X52 profile.
2. The keys sometimes clashed when used with modifiers. A made-up example: Wheelbrake might be ‘Shift-W’. Nosewheel-steering might be ‘S’. When I press both together, the X52 profile generates the keypresses “S” and “Shift-W” simultaneously. DCS might see ‘Shift-S’ instead of simply ‘S’. Let’s hope ‘Shift-S’ isn’t anything like Eject!
2nd Effort:
I created a single X52Pro profile for DCS, and customised the controller configuration of each module in DCS. DCS is now reading the joystick input directly, rather than just seeing the keyboard presses simulated by the X52 Profiler app. This addresses the two problems described above.
Rather than using the X52 Profile editor to manage Pinkie-shift states, I let DCS do the work. In the DCS control configuration, I can set up the pinkie button (Button ID #6) as a modifier. It simplifies the X52 profiler profile for DCS. To allow DCS manage the pinkie modifier, remember to disable the Clutch mode globally for the X52 pro. Be aware that this will also affect all other games.
The single X52 profile configures a few global functions, such as using the Clutch button on the throttle for TeamSpeak/Discord, and the throttle ministack bands for radio commands.
Problems/Solutions
Problem: I use VoiceAttack/Vaicom sometimes. But not when the family’s around. How to use a single set of HOTAS actions to activate the radio by Vaicom or Function key?
Solution: I generally don’t like to change X52 mode states while flying. So in my one X52Pro DCS profile I define Mode1 for F-Key comms, and Mode2 to be for VaiCom comms. These X52 DCS profiles are identical other than Mode1 having the throttle mini stick defined to activate the radio using F-keys and Mode2 activating the radio using Vaicom TX commands. When starting DCS (or at any later time) , I can choose Mode1 on the stick for Function key comms, or Mode2 for Vaicom voice comms.
Problem: The X52Pro slider is great for mapping to the view-zoom. Except it’s jittery.
Solution: Install VJoy and FreePie. Set up a new device in VJoy, with just one slider control. This is a virtual joystick that Windows thinks is a physical device. A Freepie script can provide a filtered/smoothed view of the X52pro slider through this virtual device. In DCS, the slider on the virtual device is used for zoom view. This approach was originally described here:
Problem: I want to use Fire B with the Pinkie modifier to activate “TrackIR recentre view”. With DCS (rather than X52 profiler) managing the Pinkie shift states, I need to disable Clutch mode globally for the X52 pro. But Freepie has a problem. Freepie can translate HOTAS button presses to keyboard presses, but only sends these key events to the active window They aren’t picked up by other background apps.
Solution: Freepie uses Python, so a chunk of Python code in the Freepie script can cause native Windows key events to be generated, bypassing Freepie’s keypress generation.
Problem: The X52pro throttle has 2 scrollwheels and two buttons below the LCD screen, but these aren’t available through the X52 profile editor. Can DCS make use of them to simulate mouse clicks/scrolling? This would be useful in VR.
Solution: Yes. I mapped the two buttons as mouse left and right click, and one of the scrollwheels as mouse scroll. This was more code for the Freepie script. The button IDs in Freepie are:
Left Scroll wheel up/down: #34, #35
Right Scroll wheel up/down: #36, #37
Upper/Lower buttons: #32, #33
Problem: The latest X52Pro drivers and profile editor are provided by Logitech rather than Saitek. But the Logitech version doesn’t support a “default” profile that’s loaded automatically on startup.
Solution: The Logitech software does support default profiles, it just doesn’t expose the option to specify the default profile. To set one yourself, edit the registry and create a new key
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Logitech\Configuration\StartupProfiles
Within that key, create a string value. Mine’s named:
{75BB6CC8-FB40-4BE1-BF2B-4B10397A98A8}The string value is the path to a profile. See the attached screenshot.
Now, when I plug in the HOTAS, the DCS profile is automatically selected.
By the way, the X52Pro Mode switch can be used as a modifier in DCS. In DCS, you can create a modifier called "Mode1" using button ID #28, a modifier called "Mode2" using button ID #29 and a modifier called "Mode3" using button ID #30.
X52Pro Profile and FreePie script.zip
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Avro Vulcan
This would be so cool...
I wonder how well it would work in a sim like DCS, with it (in real life) typically flying with a crew of 5. E.g. the navigation radar and ECM have dedicated personnel.
If it's not possible, then how about the Blackburn Buccaneer?
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How do you use the Depressed Attitude Symbol (Witch Hat) in STOL ? What does it show ?
I'd love to know this too.
It seems to be fixed in relation to the main axis from tail to nose. Although the word "Depressed" may imply it's offset somewhat from this axis...?
Mission 5 - other pilot not taxiing
in Campaign
Posted
Hi... I'm having trouble with mission 5 of the M2000 campaign. I can start up (despite the torch being very dim), change to Green channel 2, and I can hear the other pilot receiving clearance to taxi. I wait a minute, in case he needs to start moving before me. Then I start rolling too. Is that him to my left? He never moves.
I've tried numerous times with minor adjustments, but always the same result.
If this was a bug in the campaign somebody else would have seen it. It's probably something I'm doing wrong. Could anybody please advise? I have a .trk file below.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Auvq9HPqW3PAhDHOYcJq1iL8qjeH