VC

Thanks, I'll have another go tomorrow probably. Yet another little frustration to the DCS MP experience but good to know there's a way around :)

Having practiced enough with my MiG-21 to feel confident taking it out online, I was really looking forward to actually playing on this server. However, I couldn't join because my ping was too high. I have excellent quality internet and no lag issues on other DCS servers or indeed other online games. I assume my ping being too high is simply due to the server being hosted in a different continent to me? I'm in Europe. Just wondering if there's anything I can do, or if maybe the server ping limits are a bit too draconian?

People keep saying blue planes with PFM. You realise all the FC3 Russian jets have a PFM, right? Mig-29 just got one and it's awesome. Cockpit isn't clickable and some of the lights don't work, but other than that it looks very good. Anyway, I thought the usual complaint was that the simpler systems make FC3 planes too strong in MP, not too weak. OK the F/A-18 has fancy toys like 9X but that has nothing to do with PFM.

I'm just sinking my teeth into the Mig-21, done the training missions but no "real" fight. However, I already foresee a potential problem with dogfighting. I can turn gently and keep my speed up, but the cockpit visibility isn't exactly great and high speed hit and run inevitably ends up with the target behind you at a fair distance. This is made worse by VR spotting. In one training mission I had to use the F10 map to find a target that spawned slightly behind me, I turned towards it and didn't see it until I nearly hit it. How am I supposed to keep sight of enemies when I'm zooming away and trying to set up for another pass? Any techniques for how I should manoeuvre and where I should keep my target so I can see them?

Reciprocal means in the opposite direction to you, not towards you. If you're heading 0 and the target is heading 180, then the vector will point straight down irrespective of whether the target is ahead coming at you, or passing by 20 miles to your right. That's the information that vector is giving you (I think, based on my understanding). B-scope makes no inherent assumptions about vectors, it only means the bearing scale is distorted so that bearing lines are vertical. What vector is shown is simply a choice on top of that. It's just a line that's giving you some extra information. If the vector is pointing down a bearing line it doesn't mean the target is coming towards you on that line, it's showing the target heading is 180 degrees off yours in an abstract way. Again, based on my understanding so far, as I'm still learning about this. But that's how I see it now with the information I have.

It's heading relative to yours. So reciprocal will be straight down, same heading will be straight up, etc. The reason this is not the same as TA is because of the wonderful ways B-scope distorts.

In which case it's correct, assuming that other F-15 you're targeting is in fact on a reciprocal heading to you. The attack display and HUD are deliberately showing you different things. CNATRA P-825, which I believe refers largely to the Hornet, makes a big point that the attack display shows TA not heading. So I guess Eagle and Hornet are different.

If you look at it by imagining you plane is in the middle of the bottom of the display, then the TA is correct relative to an imaginary line extending from that point to the target. BUT, I believe from my understanding of US radar attack displays that this is indeed wrong. This is a B-scope, not a PPI. I don't own the F/A-18, but I assume it shows the TA as what it is regardless of the bearing of the target? As Kula says, the display is distorted, so the TA should be relative to the vertical grid, which clearly it isn't.

Each one is a different autopilot function, but I don't know off the top of my head which is which. One that's on all the time is the pitch damper, you can turn this off as well but it requires holding "reset autopilot" for 3 seconds. One I think is just a generic "AP is on", then additional lights for what type e.g. roll hold, altitude hold etc.

I don't remember the default key bindings because I don't use the keyboard. But you need to press "Reset Autopilot" followed by "Reset Trim". At least that's what I do.

The autopilot works by adjusting the trim. When you cancel the autopilot, you're "in control", just the plane is trimmed weird depending on what you were doing e.g. if you cancel autopilot in a turn. If you want it back 100%, you also have to reset the trim.

This forum has too many sub-sections... XD good to know for future. In this case I know exactly what I did wrong I was just tired and flew a bit lazy. Looks like I'll really need to make sure my head is in the game for this campaign!

No I just resigned myself to the workaround as I'd rather spend my free time flying than de-bugging, but next time I have some time to dedicate to DCS I'll dig deeper. It started when I expanded my collection and bought my first full module (Mig-21). In the Mig-21 I use the same bindings for kneeboard and they work fine, and don't get wiped/broken by me messing with them in FC3 planes, but that's when the issues started in the other planes. I did import some profiles too for new FC3 planes I had bought, didn't have conflicts so I assumed all was well.

That sounds like it could be similar, definitely odd. I don't want to re-map all my planes though, I might try mapping completely different buttons for those functions first.

Yup, I need to think context rather than blindly following the route. I just didn't make the leap that CAP is exactly what it says on the tin, I was expecting something to happen at each WP without fail. I guess that means the missions are actually very well designed and my expectations are misplaced as being too simplified and gamey! Now... if I could actually succeed the mission...

Move the throttle forward and back to idle before you start up, just to make sure the game knows where your controllers actually are.

If that's the case it's really not obvious you're meant to go back and forth between WP2 and 3 until told otherwise. I've not experienced a trigger like that in other missions/campaigns, usually they're more linear. It's made more confusing by the fact WP4 is pre-programmed into your nav despite the fact you're explicitly told not to go there at first. So when you hit WP3 your course updates to WP4 and nothing on comms... it's counterintuitive to have to double back on yourself and wait instead of just following the route as you would basically any other time.

OK I've found a workaround but it's still quite badly broken. If I map the controls from the main menu (must be main menu) for one plane, and immediately fly that plane, the controls work. But as soon as I try to map those controls on multiple planes, it randomly clears them on the others. Just Kneeboard controls, it's crazy!

I bought this DCL campaign, flew the first mission, and I'm enjoying the immersion of the pre-recorded chatter. But I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with the triggers. So task is to patrol from WP 2 to 3, fine. I can see there is a WP4 off to the right, bit of a spoiler but OK. So I get to WP3, no tasking. I follow the route to WP4, nothing, back to WP5... NOW I get the trigger, telling me to... fly from WP3 to WP4! So I do that (again) and nothing happens. Back to WP5, then turn around AGAIN to WP4... NOW I see the enemy aircraft on my RADAR. Doesn't seem right to me. Is there a fix? I failed the mission so I need to fly it again anyway. I hope this is not indicative of the quality of the rest of the campaign, this is paid for content after all.

Some days ago my mappings for Kneeboard commands stopped working in FC3 aircraft. When I look at the bindings, only "Kneeboard on/off" is mapped. When I map Next Page, Previous Page and Mark Position, they don't work. When I re-start the game, those mappings are empty again and those buttons unused! Any ideas what's going on?

I did not realise it had a basic/free version. Definitely will try that! The biggest reason I would still need to click though would be the dynamic/bespoke radio menu stuff that some MP servers and campaign missions run.

I've been looking at VA for a while, I might get it eventually. If (or more like when) I get the F-14, that will probably he the final push, so I can talk to Jester properly. Until then though, just looking for an interim solution, though I can't test right now.

Ah interesting, I didn't realise how far you meant. I will give that a try later!

I did not see this, I was hovering on the menu, up and down different items and clicking, nothing happened.

Playing in VR, reaching the "F" keys to go through the "/" radio menu isn't really possible. Which is fine, because you can use the mouse to click on the options and get what you want. But this only works in FC3 planes. In clickable cockpit modules, even when you bring up the radio menu, your cursor stays as the "blue cross" and clicking on the radio options does nothing. Is there a way to force the cursor to become normal, to be able to click the radio menu?