A2597

Going from the perspective of "We all have virtual war stories we want to share", but that many times things don't go to plan, I figured we could share some of the stories of when we didn't make it. (And possible lessons learned). Or, if your into the whole Acronym of the internet trends. "...And That's How I Died" (ATHID) My latest entry: Flying my first mission in the F-18. Been learning it for a couple months, but never tackled any of the included combat missions. Chose the last one on the list, Close Air Support, take out 50% of the advancing ground units. Enemy has SAM launchers, helicopters and a few planes. I do a quick check of my armaments, fuel, systems and launch from the catapult. I see a few approaching planes at 4 o'clock, but then wind up being friendlies. Proceeding on to way point 2, I double check my program for the cluster bombs I'm carrying, survey the battleground and set up my approch. I find a nice grouping of targets, and have a near perfect CCIP run. I fly in VR, so I look back and see the bomb hit perfectly, taking out 4 targets. I was banking to the left to both watch the fireworks and to ensure I didn't go too far into Red territory. I look back forward to get ready to fly out and back in for another run, leveling off as I looked forward. As I looked forward I had just enough time to notice a trail of smoke to my right and as it dawned on me that it was a SAM I saw the missile. I swear it hit the canopy, I could make out the details of the missile before it blew up in my face. ...And That's How I Died. In VR it was quite a jolt, not my first SAM hit, but first time I saw the missile practically hit me in the face. Happened so fast and I was so immersed that it took me a few moments to collect myself to give the mission another go.

I'm planning to do so soon. I just flew my first F-18 mission last night (one of the included missions where I was bombing targets and needed to destroy 50% of them, bottom of the list on included missions), First flight: Dropped bombs on my first pass, looked back to see the fireworks and see if I got a good hit (I did!) Looked back to where I was going and had just enough time to notice the SAM before it hit me. I swear it flew into the canopy. I fly VR and I actually had to stop for a few moments after that to re-collect myself. Intense. Second flight: Dropped bombs, took out an enemy helicopter, did two more passes and got mission goal accomplished. But I still had bombs. On my next pass I saw my wingman get taken out by a SAM, dropped my bombs and then I also got hit. Ejected and watched the battle from the ground for a moment. One more try... Third flight: Never made it to the battlefield. Never saw what hit me, but pilot was killed instantly. (didn't watch track, my guess was a missile from a red-team boat? Maybe some AAA from an enemy boat? Radar was clear and I didn't see any enemy planes nearby). Still, love this in VR. Absolutely amazing.

has anyone tested performance between the two? I'm assuming quite similar, but always curious.

Umm... The F-18 is the only one I own...and I'm just getting to where I feel like I might take it online. Still need to be more familiar with the Comms system and making adjustments to the radar though...

I've been wanting to make something like this, by dismantling a wireless mouse to make it a "Place anywhere" box, no wires needed.

I run open beta on steam, and see no delay.

Sounds like this is the open beta branch, so steam beta, not stable.

Awesome work, any way to add shadows back in?

Long in the tooth and started with Jane's? *feels old* I started with Strike Commander, the first 3d flight "sim". Then moved to F-22 ADF and TAW. Jane's was next level compared to those games.

still targeting a $175 price point? I'm quite interested, but with the holidays I can't afford to jump on one just yet. :)

To clarify, he flies himself. (Along with rest of my family). Small plane, not much room once packed up, plus the vibration of a smaller plane on a desktop concerns me. I just saw that laptops are using the desktop 1080s, not a 1080mobile variant, that's incredible and makes it much easier to go that route!

Part of the need for a laptop is that my dad flies, so space and weight are at a premium for him, not to mention desktops generally dont like to be tossed around in a small plane....

So I'm getting ready to purchase a laptop for my dad to play DCS, dedicated VR setup (it needs to be laptop to be more portable for him). I currently play on a desktop with a GTX 1080 (non TI) with 8GB RAM and a Ryzen 5 1600 and the performance is adequate for him, but better obviously preferred. (More RAM and a recent i7 would help) There are laptops with a GTX 1080 in it, but it's the mobile card and from what I can tell that means a 30% reduction in speed. I also see eGPU enclosures, meaning we could get a 1080ti or RTX 2080...but does anyone have experience with those in DCS? (And then how to find a good laptop to pair it with for maximum return). So, all input welcome, budget is around 2500. Thanks guys!

Awesome work getting this together! Thanks for donating your system Bananimal and thank you Mover for playing and talking about it!

So, settled on the F-18. (After a month of flying the community MB-339A). One week in, 100% VR flight. -Full checks Cold-Start of the aircraft is now second nature. -Air-to-Ground CCIP bombing and Rockets are getting more accurate. (Although still learning) -Waypoint Navigation is being learned. -Successfully landed every time, save for a quick mission where I had total electronics failure after taking some AA. Tried a belly landing in a field (couldn't make it to runway, and gear wouldn't extend) blew that plane up, but pilot ejected safely). Landings are getting smoother too. Starting to notice how much of the plane is incomplete at this phase, but I still have plenty to learn in the interim. I haven't done any carrier operations, haven't touched Comms. No Air-to-Air experience... so much to learn.

Is there any way to rearm/resupply? I've tried with the comms panel but never get a response from the runway. (Engine shut down, canopy open)

So glad I saw this thread, My dad is very interested in this sim (I got him playing it in VR at my house) but he doesn't have internet to his house now. (LTE to his phone and Ipad covers his needs). Been trying to see how best to set up his system for it, and this will help considerably!

Still been having fun flying this plane, it's been my go-to plane for the past week! I fly 100% VR, so on phantomknight's point on the click zones, I can confirm that several of them are off, a little higher than anticipated. I've already compensated, but for several controls it's left me wondering if it was clickable or not, moving the cursor all around the object to ensure it was or wasn't. (Oculus CV1) Been having fun doing some A2G work with rockets, and just flying around. Thank you so much for releasing this!

Excellent idea and the implementation sounds well thought out and troubleshooted. Subscribed, and likely to buy once it's out!

I'm having a lot of fun flying this while I save up for a study level module. One question, is there any way to get a target reticle for the rockets/bombs? Or totally eyeballing it?

I have voice attack, I'm looking for something more tactile for this. Re: zero delay controllers, how did you work those with a dial? I used one when I built my pinball t vertical arcade table, but no wheels in those...

I didn't even see the Input and Output forum, that's awesome! Mods feel free to move, this belongs over there...

So still just getting started in this game, and loving it. One thing I'm looking at is ways to improve the VR interaction. Right now, it's the mouse. Currently we have headlook / zoom to look at the switch/dial you want, then scroll/left click/right click it. And I got to thinking...why not create a custom panel that has these functions? Specifically, re-creating the mouse functionality with a custom controller that has the following: A push button (mapped to left mouse button), A Momentary Switch (mapped to left mouse button, a momentary switch stays centered, preventing any confusion while looking at a switch in VR, both up and down on the momentary switch is left mouse button) A Dial (mapped to Mouse Wheel), A Click Dial (mapped to left and right mouse buttons). Thus covering all the functionality of the mouse, but with tactile options that can easily be identified by touch/muscle memory, and don't need to be mapped to a specific button in the cockpit. Possibly cheaply enough that you could build two, so you could even use whichever hand is available at that moment. I suppose a small touchpad or trackball might be useful for making small adjustments so you don't have to look too closely at the exact button/switch you want. I'm pondering buying something like this to take apart, as it has all the inputs I need , then it's just a matter of building the control board and re-mapping the inputs from the mouse to that panel.https://www.amazon.com/EIGIIS-Trackball-Ergonomic-Handheld-Portable/dp/B07GQGXCRY/ref=sr_1_37?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1539281111&sr=1-37&keywords=trackball+wired I found a similar project on indestructables, which should cover the majority of what would need to be done. (More actually, as we're looking at four inputs as opposed to 13). https://www.instructables.com/id/Lets-make-a-game-controller/ So my first thought is...did I miss anything in my controls? Any other thoughts / ideas?

Still around. I did fly the F18, and had an enjoyable time in it for the one hour I got to play with it. Now torn between F-18, Viggen and AV-8B. All have various pros and cons. Viggen is looking most likely. (Lowest cost entry point is a plus, still lots to do with it, and the speed...buahaha) with AV-8B and F-18's main detractors being that they are still WiP (and a big pro being they are in english and can do carrier operation and A2A refueling, just more to do as time progresses). That said, I'm not overly keen on spending $80 for something that is very much in progress. Think Viggen for the next year or so is a good call. Again, thank you for all the feedback, I honestly was not expecting so much interaction and it's appreciated!

Getting to fly the F-18 for free is quite nice, and gives me a good idea what to expect from the study sims. (I used my lunch break to go through the cold start training and then fly around for a bit. Failed my landing because I was out of time but wanted to land before turning it off and rushed it. Came in too slow and low and wound up hitting the water right in front of the runway at around 120 knots). Was amazing to fly. I bought the Oculus and a GTX 1080 for this exact purpose, and while it isn't perfect (some limitations with current hardware in VR) it was still breath taking to go through all the procedures of a "real" cockpit to take off, and the thrill of flight was wonderful. (Did a little 500+ knot run through the mountains, a nice rush! Also was happy to nail flying under a bridge on my first try (I fully expected to hit the deck or the bridge, but didn't!). Also, the F18 is much more responsive with flaps on "Auto" rather than "Half" as I learned after about 10 minutes of flying wondering why it didn't perform as anticipated...lol still pondering what to get. Seems like the F18 will be a module of choice at some point, but still pondering the Viggen. I've watched hours of ground strike footage from it and it is certainly appealing. As for multiplayer scores...no so interested there. I'd probably be making scenarios for my dad and I to fly, so we'd be working together.