Lace

Played the demo mission one over the weekend. Very well designed I thought. I'm often reluctant to buy the DLC campaigns, as I feel they are overly scripted and and feel a lot like starring in a movie rather than fighting a war. There is too much characterisation and storyline, rather than just well designed, credible and realistic combat employment. However, after trying this one, while there is still a lot of chatter (I realise a lot of this is to help new players learn the aircraft and procedures), I think it has the makings of a great campaign, and I am looking forward to the full release.

When held.

More simple aircraft, not simplified (i.e. FC3) modules. Think 'A' models of current aircraft - A-10A, F-16A, AH-64A, which would make great 'lite' versions of the current offerings, which new players may find intimidating. I know from a commercial perspective these would not make sense, and apart from a few more niche users, the majority will always chose the newer, more capable models, but I think they would be a great stepping stone for new players, and a greater challenge for those with more experience (manual bombing, rear-aspect missiles etc.). In terms of new modules though, F-117, F-111, Buccaneer and Jaguar would top my list. I would really like to see the whole EW and ASW elements expanded in time.

Snap. Want the throttle to replace my Cougar. No use for the panel.

Actually, they are not exactly the same. The CMS switch on the Viper stick is only a 4-way, without push, like the original TM Cougar grip. The Warthog grip has the CMS push function.

Nooooooooooo. As a VR player I hate the 'Press Spacebar to Continue' prompts. Read faster.

I had an attack on the Moskva's sister ship the Marshall Ustinov in one of my Nordkapp missions. The only way I could write in any chance of success was to have the vessel heavily depleted of ammunition, and empty of SA-N-6 missiles (plausible after several days of hostilities). Even then I had an AI 4-ship of F-16As armed with Penguin ASMs, and the player flight 4-ship with AGM-65Gs to simulate more Penguins. Your chances against a fully operational Slava Class Cruiser are slim to none, since our Viper lacks the ability to carry Harpoon, and you would need a significant number to overwhelm their defences. Perhaps if you can get it in port, using terrain masking and a lofting attack with some GBU-31s, you might be able to kill it, but in open water, that's not happening. C:MO is really good for testing different strategies for these kinds of attacks. Most DCS players seem to seriously underestimate the survivability of modern warships. They are highly sophisticated ships capable of resisting multiple simultaneous attacks. Since Slavas carry 64 SA-N-6 missiles, plus CIWS, you have to consider that your ASMs will also be shot down, Any serious attack will require you to deplete the long range missiles before you launch your ASMs, or go in with >64 missiles, which is a significant strike package (16 maxed-out Hornets) Unless of course you are the actual Moskva. Only IRL can the Russians lose their Black Sea Flagship, in a land war, against an opponent with no significant naval power.

Ok, so I tried again last night and all was well, so I guess the issue was the 2 minute LL entry. Thanks @_SteelFalcon_ for the reminder.

Yeah, I did put them in, but it might have been after the 2 minutes. TBH I'd forgotten about that stipulation.

Normal alignment and LL entered into the DED. I'll try again later today. My brain might have still been 'thinking in F-15E', so it's possible I did something incorrectly. The problem with so many excellent FF modules, is that every time I learn a new one, some penguins fall off the iceberg!

1. Crawl, walk, run. 2. You will not master this in five minutes. Flying and operating these aircraft is a full time job IRL, and only comes after many years of building foundation knowledge. 3. Don't be afraid to ask questions. 4. Use the included training missions. 5. Learn how to create simple missions to tailor your own training and practice reps. 6. Learning modules is like learning a new language, the more you already know, the easier subsequent ones are to learn. 7. Go do a flying lesson IRL. This will give you a real appreciation (although massively diluted) of the workload and physical forces acting on you during flight, and a greater understanding of key principles of flight than hundreds of hours of stick wiggling in a game will. 8. Don't read the manual start-to-finish. It is not a novel, it is a reference book. Pick the relevant sections for the new skills or procedures you are learning, and focus on that. See point 1. 9. You don't need to know everything to have fun. There is nothing wrong with an air-start, guns only engagement. Not every flight has to be a 3-hour, IMC slog with multiple AAR, complex attack profiles, strict comms etc. 10. You don't need expensive kit. I do a huge amount of my flying with a cleverly-mapped X-Box controller, and can still be 100% combat effective, and can AAR with button throttles and a thumbstick (not a boast, just a evidence that an expensive set up is not essential). That'll do for now.

First time in the Viper for a couple of weeks. Cold start and full INS as normal, and then depart Nellis. I noticed that there was no STPT distance or ETE information in the HUD or the backup HSI, and I was unable to engage STR SEL A/P mode. I don't think I did anything unusual during start up, but I couldn't find anything obvious as to what was wrong. Has something changed? The route was showing up fine on the HSD page of the MFD, I just wasn't getting STPT info. I checked in A-A, A-G and NAV modes. I can post a track, but though maybe I've just missed something in the changelog.

Works fine for me. Are you sure ALT HOLD is engaged?

Unlike some other modules, NWS is enabled on touchdown, so you need to use the paddle switch to disconnect it until airspeed drops sufficiently for the rudders to become ineffective, usually around 60-70kts.

I've always found Razbam modules to be underrated and offer great performance optimisation. The Strike Eagle is another fantastic example, and has raised the bar yet again.

The NAV coupled autopilot does a good job for a non-contested airspace mission. You can then jump in the back and play with the toys to your heart's content.

I'm not sure why this request has triggered such a negative response from some people. 1. Air starts are perfectly valid for time-constrained training purposes. Sometimes you just want to practice a particular element of the aircraft and don't need the cold-start reps. 2. Not everyone maps every switch to their HOTAS or has a physical simpit. The whole point of clicky cockpits is that you don't need to map and remember everything, you can just click on the controls as required, so the 'sync with HOTAS' argument is not necessarily valid. 3. Just because there are other higher priority issues with the Viper, does not mean we shouldn't raise these smaller issues too. It is something which has annoyed me slightly. Not enough to report it, but it is a little frustrating sometimes. 4. Since not everyone can 'sync with HOTAS', then all things being equal, surely it would make more sense to have these controls correctly set for those who can't? i.e. Master Arm SAFE, HMCS bright, correct CAT I/III config, etc. Those who do 'sync with HOTAS' won't see any difference, those who don't will have a properly configured jet. Finally - if any real Viper pilots can confirm, I'm slightly sceptical about the landing light being left on. I know it will switch itself off on gear retraction, but I would still turn the switch off, as any failure in the auto power off would result in an overheated and burned out lamp by the time it came to landing time when it might be needed. I don't really see any reason why it should be left in the LANDING position, rather than OFF. As a pilot and an engineer, I have learned, through experience, not to rely on interlocks, as they can and do fail.

I can highly recommend the SimGears ICP. They have also just released a DED which looks good too, but since I play in VR I have no use for it. F16 ICP Replica - USB Controller - Simgears - Flight Simulator Part Replicas for Gamers

Pages 298-300 for A-A RADAR, pages 378-379 for A-G RADAR, and pages 411-412 for LANTIRN are the ones to print out for Qref. They give you all the relevant functions in each mode and with various preconditions.

I've been here a while, and my experience with OB patches, is that it is often one step forward, two steps back, but long term things get sorted eventually. MT is still unusable for me, for instance, but I'm confident ED will get there eventually. With module announcements coming sometimes a decade before release, patience, when DCS is concerned, is most definitely a virtue.

My point was, that while these issues should quite correctly be raised, in order for ED to address them in subsequent Open Beta patches, the language used was overdramatic. To describe a minute or two of additional loading time as 'obnoxious' suggests to me that a little perspective is sometimes required. The fact that the person I responded to took it in good spirit means my comments were not unjustified. I'm sure he/she appreciates your 'white-knighting' though, and thank you for your valuable feedback.

The Mud Hen doesn't like sustained inverted flight. Around 10 seconds to double engine flameout at 300ft made for an interesting end to that particular sortie. I guess that's one reason the Thunderbirds use Vipers.

The three things, QHN, QFE and field elevation are linked, and knowing any two you can calculate the other. 1mb of pressure is approx 27ft, but to make the maths easier we can call it 30ft. If you know QNH and QFE then the difference in mb x 30 will give you the field elevation. If you know the field elevation and QNH (arriving from a cross-country, un-manned tower, no ATIS, paper chart in your grubby mitt), then QFE is QNH - (field elevation/30). For example, if the field elevation is 600ft, and QNH 1021mb, then QFE is QNH-(600/30) or about 1001mb. Setting this should give you an accurate 1000ft AGL circuit and will read zero on the ground. If you have no chart or QFE, but a RADALT, then either do a run and break at 1000ft AGL along the runway and make a mental note of the pressure altitude, and use this as your circuit height, or do a standard overhead join with 2000ft on the RADALT over the departure end of the runway, and again, make a mental note of the pressure altitude, then subtract 1000ft for circuit height. You can use these methods with any pressure setting, as you are simply flying a constant altitude, through the circuit. I hope that makes sense.

QFE is mostly for circuit work or visual rejoins, and as razor correctly states, will read zero on the ground, and your height above the airfield when in the air. As a result it is only really of any value in the immediate vicinity of the airfield. The jets modelled in DCS mostly have a RADAR altimeter, which will only read height (not altitude), and therefore is the primary reference for low-level flight. QNH will read your altitude above MSL. Each airfield will have an elevation value from a datum point (which may or may not be where you are parked). With QNH set your altimeter should read the same as the airfield elevation. QNH is usually the same as the Regional Pressure Setting, and will give you an accurate altitude over a greater area of land. On a low level cross-country flight you will receive several RPS en-route and will adjust your altimeter accordingly (if you didn't adjust and were flying towards an area of low pressure, then your altimeter would begin to overread, i.e. you would be lower than you think - which could lead to CFIT). For high level flying, once you cross the transition altitude (varies by country, USA 18000 ft, UK much lower at around 3000ft - we don't have any high mountains) you will set 1013mb. This will ensure all aircraft are at the correct Flight Level. At these heights it is more important to harmonise traffic than to know your exact altitude above MSL. With everyone working with the same std pressure setting, then deconfliction is made easier. FL is reported in 100s of feet, so FL300 is 30,000ft. The issue with some of the Sinai map, is that some of it is below MSL, which makes accurate altimeter setting difficult (or impossible). However, as stated, use your RADALT for low down work, and a standard pressure setting for high level and you'll be fine.

The new F-15E has the ability to set Offset Points and Aim Points directly in the mission editor. I know the A-10, Ka-50 (and I think Viggen, but I don't fly that) also have similar mission editor aids. Is there any chance we can get the ability to add VIPs and VRPs through the mission editor until the Data Cartridge is introduced please?