RampantCoyote

Friday the 13th strikes again!!!! :D

Thank you for the file!

Acknowledged, and thank you for the response. Bad timing for VR players, but I'll make it work!

Question: What version of DCS does the server use / is using? As a VR player, 2.5.6 is still pretty bad. Just unfortunate timing (and maybe tomorrow a patch will come out that fixes VR performance). Or is it on Stable?

Just adding to the chorus here. Pimax 5K+ with a 2080Ti. Was pushing 45 FPS before the 2.5.6 patch, and now I'm normally down to around 25 even after lowering my visual quality, and around 14 on the ground at an airbase. It's really, really bad. Slightly higher framerates in the FC3 aircraft, BTW. I don't know if it's the lighting or passes inside the more complex modern cockpits, but I could get up into the mid-30s in the A-10A. Still bad by comparison, but much more playable.

Due to the time and date, I'm going to have to bow out. Hopefully next time around!

Name: Coyote Squadron: VFA-106 Gladiators Country: USA Sign me up!

If that was a consistent problem across all aircraft and their displays, I might agree. But in VR, those problems are unique to the F-16 for me, and for many other VR users.

My hat is off to Deka Ironwork not only for the JF-17, but also the "Quick Guide." I am saving it in case it disappears after early access, replaced by a more boring (yet more complete, and better edited) manual. Seriously, this documentation is full of gems. Whoever wrote this has a great sense of humor and has made an effort to turn what is normally a pretty dry document into something fun to read. "Chenglish" and all.... it's hysterical. Some of these gems for those who haven't done any RTFM: "For most modern weapons, the moment you press launch button is like the day your daughter get married – the rest has nothing to do with you. But C-802AKG is different, at specific mod, you can control the weapon from launch to hit. C-802AKG has three launch modes: DIR, COO and MAN...." "Before learning JF-17’s air to air combat, you must realize that JF-17 is a very small fighter jet with about 14,000lb empty weight. Although it has a decent radar (KJL-7), not too bad medium range A2A missile (SD-10) and very powerful datalink system, plane’s size naturally limits its speed, loadout and range. So… Don’t do stupid thing…" "Maybe you guys think JF-17 is a “REDFOR” fighter jet, but in fact from design to operation this is a typical “BLUEFOR” fighter. If you want to experience true “REDFOR”, please wait for our next module… I’m not sure why Chengdu still kind of conserved about the control stick, maybe just because the stick has enough buttons. But for the throttle grip, they decided just choose this thing..." Deka: You rock. :)

This is the F-16 forum, so of course those of us haunting it are predisposed to have a serious interest in the Viper. My Hornet has been gathering dust since the F-16 came out. However, that's not a slight against the Hornet, simply a matter of how much I love the F-16, even in its current state in DCS. However, I'm definitely anxious to see more weapons and systems become available and working as they should be on the A2G front. Right now, I'd say if you don't already know the answer *for you*, then you should probably go with the more complete Hornet. Otherwise, you would have bought the F-16 already. :) Anyway, six months from now, it will probably be a different story, or at least a more challenging one. Get what appeals to you, and have fun learning and flying

True, but it is offset by the fact that many users (more casual players... so much as that exists in DCS) won't really care about the difference. So maybe half the audience (pulling a number out of the ... um, air) wouldn't be interested in the full-fidelity F-15C so long as they have their FC3 version which is "good enough." Of course, sign me up. I'd pay $80 for high fidelity F-15C *AND* again for the F-15E. :)

Define "sure" :) I was going by the cold start procedure in the original release of the manual. Admittedly, I've done it a lot less since the INS calibration time was added.

F-14, Christen Eagle, MiG-19, F-16, I-16, Fw-190 A-8, and now the JF-17. Record year. 2020 is going to have a tough time matching this, although the Kiowa Warrior and P-47 are a good start. I would love to see a bunch of aircraft exit Early Access, too - particularly the Tomcat, Hornet, Viper,and Razbam aircraft.

I have both the Pimax 5K+ and the Index, and I prefer the Pimax over the Index for DCS. I haven't had that problem, and I have my base stations mounted higher up on the walls not far from the ceiling. What I may do that is a little different is that I have my headset and the lighthouses all plugged into the same power strip, so when I'm done playing (and exited SteamVR), I shut everything down with a single switch. Doing that consistently has removed almost all incidents where it wasn't recognizing one or both lighthouses immediately (although that was pretty rare for me, anyway).

There's also the upcoming CBU-105, which as I understand is the CBU-97 with the wind corrected munitions dispenser. Which should solve the problem of wind drift on the submunitions. As to the CCIP and CCRP correcting for winds, I haven't noticed a problem with wind on slick or retarded fall munitions (although those are dropped at low altitude anyway, so less drift), but with a stiff breeze the center of the damage radius moves.

The current state of the Viper is finally a bit further along than the Hornet was at release... took it a month, but most of the core functionality is there, as well as first-pass TWS radar, LITENING pod, etc. Eventually, there will be a lot to know, but based on my recollection of things like Falcon 4.0, etc., it won't be quite as complex as the A-10C, or even the F/A-18. The startup process, in particular, is cake compared to either of those aircraft. The advantage of getting this module *NOW* is that you won't have quite as overwhelming a learning curve. There's still plenty to learn, don't get me wrong, but you can probably keep up with development on your learning stages. :) At least that's the way I look at it. And as people have stated, there is a lot of commonality between the A-10C and the F-16. So you should have no problems.

That's certainly possible. Maybe because I spent a lot of time in Falcon 4.0 back in the day, the Viper now seems slightly more at home to me than the F/A-18 does. I also use VR, so there's the whole thing about where I position my head and how it "feels" relative to the nose of the aircraft, so that could be a thing. The MiG-29 and Su-25T have similar functionality, and while you are pretty much doing the same thing with all of them, there's a slightly different "feel" that probably goes along with your sight picture as you line things up.

Unless you are in an extremely steep dive, you will be in post-designate mode with this weapon in CCIP. I like to dive steeply enough so that the Time Delay Cue isn't too far from the pipper. Then pickle, hold, and do your best to get your flight path marker over the steering line by the time the solution cue crosses it. You can pull up a bit when you designate the carpet while you are holding the weapon release button, but for best results you want to be flying straight when the solution cue hits the flight path marker. You will also need to manually correct for wind, because even a moderate breeze will carry the parachutes pretty far at 1500 feet before they start working their magic.

I have always been a bigger fan of the F-16 than the F/A-18 (result of being an Air Force brat, I guess), so I have definitely been looking forward to it with greater anticipation. The Viper is a smaller, zippier plane. The Hornet has more complexity overall, and the DCS version can handle more weapon variety. It's a bigger plane, with different advantages. Both are (and will be) hella fun. But I think my favorite will be the Viper. It's a dogfighter at its heart, and makes the Hornet feel like it's floating through molasses by comparison. While I prefer the mud-moving role where that agility isn't as important overall, it still just amazingly fun.

Here's the missing track file when I reproduced it. Very easy to reproduce... just try to hit the Emergency Jettison button after it has switched over to the EPU. NoJettisonOnEPU.trk

In a flameout condition, after the EPU kicks in, hitting the Emergency Jettison button does nothing. (Attempted at 10,000 feet, landing gear up, GBU-10s on positions 4 and 6, flameout occurred due to scenario setting - deliberate - with zero internal fuel, about 297 starting airspeed. Yes, I was practicing flameout landing procedures).

I managed to pancake a Hornet after a rocket run in the mountains in MP last weekend because I thought I could fly it like a Viper. So... not quite. But mainly I was just jokingly referring to the sheer joy of flying the plane. Anyway, back to the original post: The A-10C, Viggen, Harrier, Hornet, Viper, and upcoming (before year-end?) JF-11 Thunder are all fixed-wing aircraft with strong multi-role or attack role capability, and have high system fidelity in DCS. It really comes down to preference / style. I'd caution against getting the Viper *today* only because if you don't know what you are getting into (a very early release that will be changing substantially over the next few months), it might not be a great experience for you. Right now, it's really intended for the people who want to beta-test elements of it as they become available.

I was just going over the pros and cons of the Hornet vs. the Viper with a friend yesterday. Advantages of the Hornet over the Viper: Great nose authority & high-AoA maneuvering Can carry up to 12 AMRAAMs. Can carry the Harpoon anti-ship missile, the Walleye TV-guided missile, MK-83, AIM-7, Shrike (eventually), Sea Mines (eventually), Mk-77 Fire Bombs, SLAM and SLAM-ER (eventually). You can take off and land on a carrier. Advantages of the Viper over the Hornet: CBU-97/105 YIPEE-KI-YAY, MOTHERF***ER!!!!!!!! In my opinion, "Y.K.Y..." advantage, encompassing the default 9G limiter, the bubble canopy in VR, the thrust-to-weight ratio, the small size of the aircraft, and all that, overwhelms all of the Hornet's advantages. :D Naturally, your mileage may vary.

WOW! I *WISH* that was what the MFDs looked like in VR! All I get is semi-bright green (not bad), almost-invisible dark green, and 1/256-color-value-different-from-background maybe-dark-green.

I fly with the Pimax, and the cockpit of the F-16 is top-notch, with the exception of the MFD issue. The lines are dim and hard to see, and anything that is supposed to be more faded / darker green is nearly invisible. The translucent panel w/ the reflections over top are kind of distracting, and I wonder if in VR they are making everything behind them harder to see. The HUD and HMCD could stand to be a little brighter / more intense, as they can be hard to see against sunlit clouds, but that might be realistic. No big complaints there. Just the MFCDs. Everything else... dang. The F-16 cockpit is a reason to own VR, and to own a Pimax, all by itself. It even edges out the Tomcat.