ronht

Let's not forget the problems the original Cougar quickly had with the spiking pots! They looked and felt GREAT but after a few hours they were spiking as badly as a $20 off the shelf joystick from BestBuy. I think the key here is remembering that the $200 Cougar needed about $200 in modifications to get it to the quality that the highly mod-ed Cougars are still giving us today. I have mod-ed both my Cougar joystick and throttle with metal hats and hall sensors all around and it is a fantastic product that has held up nicely, but it took a lot more than the original purchase price to get it there. I love my Cougar and have no interest in getting rid of it, however, I am really looking forward to getting the new Warthog which my FedEx tracking says should arrive here tomorrow! :D ronht

Glad you enjoyed it. I've noticed the AFAC comms are slow to respond, but I'm guessing that has something to do with the Beta. I've found most of the time if you wait to contact the JTAC after waypoint 2, you will get a point upload from the AFAC before getting to waypoint 3. It's not perfect, but I don't doubt the real thing always comes off without a hitch either. Also, be sure and watch the Abrams force advance once they are on their way. It can be a pretty interesting show at the end. I was surprised to see one of the enemy tanks move to hide under the bridge. Awesome simulation and a great addition to Black Shark. ronht

Hello everyone, Here's a mission that utilizes the JTAC and Radio message control for various assets. It's best played with the labels off. Through the Radio menu, you will have AFAC information to guide you to the target. Through the "Other" radio menu item you will have an F-18 CAP flight, a F-16 SEAD flight, an Apache CAS flight and an Abrams ground force to use at your call. It's not unwinable, but it gives you a good workout on the aircraft weapon systems and control of other assets through the radio menu. Enjoy ronht Bridge Trouble.miz

Thanks for the reply and info

Hello All, I had a total melt down with my last computer and was unable to save anything from it. :( Good news is it was time for an up-grade so the new machine is here. :D My new computer came with Vista Ultimate 64 and I get a freee upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate 64 which will arrive in about a week and I'm planning on upgrading to Windows 7 Ultimate 64 when it arrives. My question is this - If I install Black Shark now, will I lose another activation when I upgrade to Windows 7? I've already lost one activation with the melt-down, so while I'd love to get Black Shark up and running again as soon as possible, I don't want to lose another application unnecessarily. Thanks in advance for your help/suggestions. Ron

I discovered this by accident. I'm not sure why it works, and as far as the logic, it shouldn't be necessary, however, since we're dealing with a computer instead of a helicopter I'm not sure it's worth a lot of over-thinking. I don't believe it maters which rudder pedal key you press, they both seem to have the same effect if pressed once right after the hover. It seems to be important to record the pause when scripting the macro or this doesn't work with the 940G as I believe it just sends the inputs out too fast for the sim to catch it all. This works every time for me and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE how the KA50 flies and trims with the 940G FFB both in and out of Flight Director mode. When doing a lot of maneuvering, I use the Flight Director mode, tap the trim just prior to going back to full AutoPilot mode and it's rock steady - no bobbing - slow to hover, hit the programed hover button on my 940G and again, the KA50 enters a solid hover with the heading locked where the nose is pointed using the above macro. Hope this works as well for you. ronht

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but if you're having problems with the heading drifting as you enter a hover here's a tip. press LALT T for Hover then press x I programed this to a button on the 940G and it works great. The heading remains rock solid where I was pointing the nose with one press of a button when I entered the hover. It also greatly improves the accuracy of the Turn on Target feature. When programing the 940G make sure you use "Record Pauses" when setting up the script. ronht

I've had a couple of days with the G940 and wanted to pass along my thoughts. First of all, I've had the following HOTAS setups - Saitek X36 Saitek X45 Thrustmaster Cougar with the IJ Uber mods, hall sensors and Simpad rudder pedals. And for those of you that have been around SimHQ and other forums, I was the creator of the SaitekHelp web site several years ago. That said, I do NOT have any connections to Logitech or Saitek. I won't go over most of the appearance issues that have already been covered. My impression to-date is that the G940 is a quality product. If there is anything I would physically change with the G940, it would be to make the rudder pedals a bit wider and allow a bit longer throw. The Simped pedals have spoiled me big time. The G940 has a bit of a learning curve, setting it up with various games as it's seen as 3 separate controllers in some and not others. For instance, the Joy X axis on the joystick is pitch and you may find that Joy X axis is used on the throttle as well when the throttle is seen as a different controller. So it takes a bit of trial and error to get everything set up to your liking if you're not used to assigning separate axis to separate controllers. Also some games require you to invert the axis to get a correct response in game. The G940 easily adapts itself well to assigning buttons directly through the game, as in Black Shark, LockOn, Rise of Flight, FSX and others, or by use of the Logitech programing software. In addition, you can use a combination of the two - As an example, the Logitech software does things like cycle commands which you can't do with the same DX button in a game, or you can assign a button to one of the in game modifiers (like RAlt) that is used in Black Shark to get more than one command out of a DX button assignment in-game. It also takes some trial and error getting the Force Feedback and axis sensitivity set up to your liking. As an example, I've set the rudder axis to the lowest sensitivity at full range to get the best response in Black Shark. (which is needed due to the short throw of the rudder pedals causing the rudder response to be oversensitive at any other setting) One of the biggest issues to understand with the G940 with Black Shark is in order to achieve the correct trimmer stick response you have to put a piece of tape over the optical dead-man switch or the joystick will not hold the trimmed position when you let go of it. This is not a big deal, and in other games you'll find that you'll need to take the tape off. As an example in Rise of Flight, the bumps on the ground are felt through the stick on landing. It's a great effect, but if you let go of the stick with the tape still on, the stick will continue to buck it's way across your desk. So far I've used the G940 in Black Shark, LockOn, Rise of Flight and FSX and overall I have been very impressed with the immersion that FFB adds and how well the G940 performs. The tactical feedback the G940 provides in game is impressive. This is THE HOTAS for Black Shark. With the dead-man switch covered (so the stick remains in the trimmed position) Black Shark becomes a whole different game. It may take a bit of re-learning to get to your current comfort level flying in Black Shark, but once you see how the trimmer really is supposed to work and discover the accuracy that the Flight Director mode offers in strafing, attack runs and free flight it will change how you look at this simulation in my opinion. LockOn, Rise of Flight and FSX also all have a different and more realistic feel - especially with trimming and flying on the edge of the performance envelope. The tactile response the stick provides in these simulations is nothing short of great. Overall, I'm very impressed with the G940 HOTAS, and would highly recommend it to anyone. That's my 2 cents anyway. ronht

You might try what Pogo listed below from another thread -

I am still amazed at the immersion that can be achieved in this simulation. I finally had some time to get my second monitor hooked up and running in Black Shark. I'm using the second monitor set up on the right for the Shkval only. For those that have the opprotunity to use a second monitor, while it's a bit of a headache to understand in the beginning, the results are well worth the time and effort. I'm running my main monitor at 1680x1050 and the Shkval at 1280x1024 in Vista 64 with no problems and no perceptable performance hits. If you're looking for instructions on setting this up and don't want to read through 22 pages of posts in the other thread go to - http://www.vaaf.net/wiki2/index.php5?title=Black_Shark_MultiMonitors For Vista users, one of the most important things in his instructions is this line - options.lua on Windows 7 (and also, reportedly, Vista) appears to be read by DCS in the folder C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Eagle Dynamics\Ka-50\BlackShark\data\scripts, rather than in [root]\BlackShark\data\scripts. One person recently spent a week banging his head against a wall because of this. This one point above should be highlighted in bold print (in his instructions) because it was the key to getting my set-up working. It seemed that BOTH of my options.lua files (the one above and the one in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Eagle Dynamics\Ka-50\BlackShark\data\scripts) folder had to be edited and exactally alike. Once that was done, my 2 screen set-up worked perfectly. ron

Good luck, I spent an entire day trying to get this to run on 2 monitors under Vista by carefully reading and following everyone's instructions with no luck.

Couldn't agree more with the highlighted part above. Adjust your joystick dead-zones and this new trimming logic is a fantastic improvement! :thumbup:

I have been an adamant follower of the computer flight sim community for many years and it is absolutely amazing to me how quickly, regardless of the product, some among us become our own worst enemies. Remember the Jane's series? The Falcon series and others? One of the reasons that they are no longer supported by their original companies is because the flight sim community eats it's young, there are constant complaints about the product, due mostly to the 9 million different compatibility issues each of us have with our computers set up, and the producers just throw up their hands and put all their development into arcade X-box games because in this business, you truly can't please everyone all the time. Part of the problem is that we have now become an "instant" society. We want everything yesterday and can't BELIEVE that ANYONE would dare make us wait for ANYTHING!!!! I think this Youtube video says it best - In the mean time, I would like to remind everyone that Black Shark is one of the most intricate and intensive study sims this community has seen for years and one of it's GREATEST accomplishments is that it has been delivered to this community with the fewest glitches and problems of any simulation that I can ever remember. Just think back to the unplayable crash happy state that Falcon 4 was released in to realize what I mean. In the mean time, thanks to all who's hard work on Black Shark have given this community a true simulation which many of us thought we would never see again, in a playable (bug free) state that boggles the imagination for the detail that Black Shark provides. Give them a minute to get it done and if you can't enjoy what you already have, you need to seriously consider that your anxiety is a product of your own doing. ron

Actually, in the Russian download version flying in snow would black out the shkval and require you to operate the shkval wiper every once in a while to get a view back. That does not appear to be working in the English download version. At least that's what I've seen so far. ron

Feel free to use and edit as you wish, I'm glad you enjoyed it. ron

I also set a "landing zone" trigger and a "unit below altitude" trigger over the airbase so when you return to land after completing the mission you get a success message or a message that tells you to re-arm and go back to finish the job. Take a look at my Command Center Down or Trouble at the Dam missions to see how I set up those triggers. ron

I have found that a vikhrs followed up by cannon fire can be very effective even against abrams. I'm currently finishing up a mission where, because of the low visibility in snow, you are forced to make attack runs on abrams rather than stand off and snipe. Also don't forget that using the "long" burst setting will fire 2 vikhrs at once (with a stable lock-up) and that has the best success rate against main battle tanks. I'll have the new mission out soon. ron

Thanks for the comments guys - glad your enjoying the mission. ron

Hello Dragon, I have also found the triggers to be a bit finicky to downright frustrating at times. My guess is the problem is based on your APC group being triggered by the Leo2's that are not present at mission start and not recognized long enough to set the trigger for the APC trigger to spawn the APC group. Try using the "Front Condition" or "Continuous" call for your APC group and see if that works better. I have found that sometimes the "Once" call doesn't get triggered properly. Another possibility would be to set flags based on the events rather than the units. For example - Once - Leo2's Dead - Set Flag 1 Once - Flag 1 true - Activate APC Group. Hope that helps.... ron

My understanding from a previous thread is that the map and the real world coordinates don't match up at this time and that it is being addressed in a future patch. ron

hi guys, Just finished this latest mission which is intended as a single player mission. This is intended to be a scramble - jumping into a cold/dark cockpit with the clock working against you to stop a terrorist threat. Time is limited and the opposing forces you face changes randomly. I'll paste the briefing below. While this mission is intended to be a Cold/Dark start, I have also included a Hot start up and running version. You can download one or both at this link: http://public.me.com/ronht enjoy ron Over the last several months insurgent groups have been threatening to contaminate the reservoir north of Dzhvari. These threats, if successful, would have a devastating effect throughout the entire valley as all the surrounding cities rely on the resources contained within the reservoir. Today, it appears that threat has become a reality. A skirmish has taken place with authorities within the last hour on the northern skirts of Dzhvari and again with security forces at the dam. The conflict north of the city resulted in several dead and we are currently unable to contact security forces stationed at the dam. We have two security forces heading for the damn now but they will not arrive in time to turn back the terrorist threat. Witnesses have reported a bus escorted by a heavily armed group heading up the dam highway. It is believed the bus and truck are filled with toxic chemicals and the insurgents are going to carry out their threat. They MUST be stopped before reaching the dam! SCRAMBLE - SCRAMBLE - SCRAMBLE!!! You are to launch immediately, there is no time to re-fuel your Ka50 or re-arm your wingman. You must make every attempt to stop the insurgents before they reach the dam. A spotter team will call updates on the position of the bus. Primary targets are a white and blue civilian bus and other vehicles that are traveling together up the dam highway. The dam highway is heavily traveled, however, because this is a dire situation you are cleared HOT on all traffic on the dam highway. While we want to sustain as little collateral damage as possible, civilian losses have been accepted as a possible result of this operation. Be advised the insurgents have been reported to have mobile SAM's and are using civilian automobiles to transport personnel equipped with manpads. Your wingman is armed only with gunpods and your fuel load is minimal, however, there is no time to waste! Use your wingman in "Over watch" formation or in any capacity you deem necessary and stop those vehicles! Get Going and Good Luck!

Thanks guys. For the questions above - Just drop these files into the "Mission" folder then start Black Shark and they will show up by title in the Mission area. The Su 25's are activated via a trigger by your removing the SAM threat around the Command Center and Ammo dump. The interesting part is that depending on when the opposing CAP launches (could be at mission start or much later) and depending on where (as in how close) and what type of fighter cover the Su 25's get (that is also random) their ability to destroy the ammo dumps will change with different attempts of the mission because of the threat they face with the opposing fighters. If you get a chance after the Su's are "cleared hot" hover next to the hill and watch an outside view of the carpet bombing of the ammo dumps, it can be pretty impressive. Glad everyone is enjoying this one. This simulation is simply amazing and I'm sure will continue to get even better. Best to all ron

Thanks guys, I have another one I've been working on that should be ready later today, I'll post it as soon as it's done. Glad your enjoying them. ron

You're welcome, take care and have a great holiday! ron

Yeah.... I ejected and landed within a few feet of the guy that shot me down, when I walked up to him I wish I'd had a gun or a club or something.... but all I could do is stand there staring at him. I hope he was embarrassed as I walked away :D