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I think VJoy put me off a little too when I initially opted for Joy2Key but its not been a problem so far. Yes you're right though, Joy2Key would be absolutely fine for the problem presented and its a great utility.

I used to use Joy2Key for a very long time (liked it enough to pay for it). Having used Gremlin for a few weeks now i'd say the one thing it has a distinct edge is if you use multiple modes. Namely it can inherit from other modes if you have common functions per button (e.g. weapons release, TDC) rather than requiring copy & pasting over, plus you can make it send additional keystrokes when you switch mode (e.g. when I switch to AA or AG specifics mappings in the F-18 it sends the appropriate keystroke to DCS to set the plane's master mode).

Drop me a DM if you get stuck and i'll try and help as much as I can. I'm assuming the 3rd program you mentioned you saw might've been HID Guardian? I didn't need this for DCS. The game detects both the virtual controllers and the 'real' controllers but you just make sure you're only binding to axes/buttons on the virtual ones (just make sure Gremlin is running and the profile you're using is enabled).

No. Having never tried before (I just knew it was an option) I just managed to set it up in under a minute only using Joystick Gremlin (mapping the analog mini-stick X & Y axes on a CM3 throttle to the mouse). This video gives a decent representation of the process. If you're setting up Gremlin for the first time you'll want to set up virtual controllers (for which you use VJoy, which is a dependency of Gremlin) but its a one-time process usually and pretty painless.

I agree. RAF retired them from inventory at least a decade ago and I don't think they ever carried them on anything but the Tornado.

Yeah, who doesn't love the idea of having a big number of very accurate bombs to lug around that still pack enough of a punch to do the job? Almost like baby unitary JSOWs.

There's no conflict as such. If you don't need to use a Gremlin profile for a given title then just don't enable the software and your controllers will just work however you flashed them to work with the native utilities. I have a VPC stick and Virpil throttle and only use respective flash software for calibration and setting up the axes etc. All the button -> keystroke and mode management stuff I do with Joystick Gremlin on a 1 profile per module basis (then just load whichever profile for whatever jet i'm flying). For some games like MSFS where I don't want multiple modes configured then I don't use Gremlin at all and just configure directly in the game.

Joystick Gremlin doesn't do anything to the device. It's basically sits as a layer in-between the device and the game (hence you bind in-game to the virtual devices it creates and not the underlying hardware), whereas the VPC software obviously does affect the controller at the firmware level.

I've got quite long digits so I can quite easily reach that lever with my thumb or forefinger (depending on where the throttle is advanced to) without my hand coming off the throttles. I like the idea of that finger slider, i'm just not a fan of how its been executed.

Fair enough. I just found the slider a little too fiddly to be precise versus the longer throw (and lack of detent) on the flaps axis and didn't want the faff of fiddling with the axis settings in DCS to get an acceptable 'normal' for me at the detent. I'd love to swap it for something momentary if I had the time/means/skills to do it.

Had a CH Pro for a number of years, only recently upgraded to the big heavy expensive Virpil. It worked pretty well and the switches lasted. As its mostly old school tech then the throttle axis potentiometer got a bit flaky after a few years but you can still source spares for it and it was easy enough to change yourself with nothing more than screwdrivers needed. The only other criticism would be the CH software is unsupported and now flaky on Windows 11, although the device works perfectly well with free alternatives like Joystick Gremlin and Joy2Key.

Having had a CM3 for a couple of weeks now I have to say that particular slider is easily the weakest and cheapest feeling part of the product (or at least it is in the context of DCS and how its sometimes has dual purposes on some planes for some axes). You'd think it'd be useful for stuff like radar elevation or zooming but that centre detent and/or the short throw on it up and down just seems to screw up a lot of use cases. Admittedly DCS itself doesn't help sometimes (e.g. the F16 radar elevation axis mapping seems to expect a momentary axis to be used, so its actually quite hard to finely adjust with that particular slider). FWIW in DCS I use the flaps lever axis for zoom and control actual flaps by other means (generally map one of the three on-off-on switches to step them up/down a notch). For zoom control that axis is perfect (good range, no detent, easy to find & reach).

Glad to be corrected on this but I don't think you can do this via the Virpil software alone as it stands. Joystick Gremlin & Joy2Key can both provide this for you though (and are easier/more flexible for doing other things helpful to DCS IMHO too like mode/shift states).

This. Just open the thing that shows you throttle/axis positions and you'll see ground idle is lower with WoW versus idle in flight. Also, when you say you've set a deadzone then do you mean within DCS? There are (probably) better ways of doing it via the VPC software (the only fettling in DCS axis tuning I had to do is that the % throttle for AB to kick in for the F-14 is slightly different to the other AB jets I own so I had to put a slight curve in for that to work right at the AB detent).

Yes, i'd observed the same (F-18 SC Cat 1 mission in the Persian Gulf map). 'Request Launch' gets teams sent to all 4 catapults but only 3 & 4 will only bother to actually get you set up and launched. Another run of the same mission I ended up (think it was on my 3rd trap) with the radio telling me to hold position repeatedly every time I tried to taxi back to the catapult for another go, and even the crews on 3 & 4 were not interested that time in getting me set up for launch. I ended up just restarting the mission so no huge inconvenience, but there didn't seem to be any way to move forward without the restart.

I get the impression that the list that was posted of what will be in the initial release is more high level highlights and not 100% exhaustive. At the end of the day, we will get on Day 1 what we are given on Day 1 and there isn't much you or I can do about it.

Ah, good shout. I don't think I bothered with the Vietnam one but did pick up Wings over Europe in a sale (which did do an A-7 as I recall). That family was very much a 'lite' sim though as I remember it.

The Intruder I seem to recall they said they were working on an AI version a couple of years ago with a flyable module to eventually follow. I can't even remember the last time I heard where the AI version was up to, so i'm certainly not expecting a full module any time soon!

Except this is ABS and traction control on cars that don't have them in real life (e.g. F1 cars), so in that context they are an optional artificial aid added to make the game easier. Each to their own but i've put quite a lot of time into AAR, still mostly suck at it and I'd say its a harder skill to master than driving 10-20 laps at a reasonable lick without binning it. Less axes of travel to manage for one thing (unless things go really badly) and acceleration/deceleration is a lot more responsive.

I was more on about the change in handling over the course of an entire mission rather than in AAR. And like I said, the luxury of unlimited gas is a gateway back into other bad habits.

As others have mentioned before, you miss out on aircraft handling changes with changes in fuel load and it can also make you lazy and use reheat more than you reasonably should be doing. So in those ways 'unlimited fuel' as an alternative is an un-learning aid. Its just making arguably the hardest bit (unless you're having a crack at formation aerobatics) a bit more forgiving and letting those who find it a tough nut to crack have a safety net whilst learning.

The 'forgiving basket/boom' kind of idea would still necessitate learning some 'gateway' skills of locating the tanker, radio calls, getting in some semblance of position (i'm not suggesting you can just hit a button from half a mile away and/or fly by a tanker at +100 kts and magically hook up). Once you've mastered the first part you can then have a couple of cracks and if it still isn't happening for you that time then you have the option to chicken out and not completely bin the mission you're trying to enjoy.

Going off the rest of that list of car game assists pictured, there's a few of them i've used at one time or another in a few titles (line assists, ABS, degrees of traction/stability assists) until i'd improved my skills (because I wanted to) to the point I no longer needed them (whilst still being able to enjoy the game without binning it every half a lap). Just because a kid might get training wheels on their first bike, it doesn't mean they'll want or need to ride with them their entire life.

AFAIK it was always intended to do stuff at low level and many of the systems reflect that capability (LANTIRN, TFR etc). In practice when you're up against an enemy that has had its SAM & fighter capability severely curtailed then you're probably going to switch to doing your thing from upon high because its much safer. Much like the RAF Tornado force switched from low level to high level attacks in the first Gulf War because it became safer to do so and what losses they did suffer mostly came from ground fire at low level.

I don't think i've actually sat in any fighter or bomber, although I did get to go up the ladder of a Vulcan for about 30 seconds and have a nosey once.