Varis

Helis are a whole different world and a new level to DCS so nobody should eventually miss out. I started out my simming with fixed wing in the 80's but since mid-90s (HIND) I've been more into helicopters. Their principles of flight are completely different so many will find them a very delightful, even if frustrating at first, experience. When/if the more detailed terrain model hits DCS they will be even more fun than they are today - we'll get more out of the sneaking, hiding and terrain use aspects that are focal to the helicopter world. Naturally there's as many opinions on what's the best/easiest as there are pilots. Ka-50 can be a bit overwhelming for the systems as it's the most complex. Then again it has the most powerful weaponry as well and is the only real attack helicopter we have. If you select the english language cockpit and just use gunpods/rockets there of course isn't that much of a difference. Gazelle can be a great choice if you're into a very light scout helicopter. With a good array of weaponry it also has the most advanced visual sensor system (Vivian) which can be a great fun to lurk and spot targets with. At first it will feel very lively and twitchy to fly, but not too much for experienced helicopter pilots. Otherwise I'd say it's not really harder to learn than any other module. The Huey and Mi-8/17 are older and more transport oriented helicopters. The modelling is great and many pilots swear by them as well. When I first started out with DCS (Ka-50) I used to die to the vortex ring a lot. The helicopter modules are supported directly by ED, with the exception of the Gazelle; the Gazelle is also the only one which doesn't have separately sold campaigns available as I recall. Edit: the ED helicopters are supported with after market campaigns well enough for it to be an actual major selling point - for Mi-8/17 I count three separate campaigns in the shop, not counting the CA one, which is pretty darn great for any DCS module! The next upcoming helicopter will probably be the legendary Mi-24 from ED. It's an older aircraft than Ka-50 but has a broader mission profile as a transport/gunship and there's a fair deal of excitement about it, even from some pilots who otherwise tend to stick to fixed wing. Also the Ka-50 is getting an upgrade in the Black Shark 3 module which will be sold separately.

Where are you based btw? Also check out the thread in my sig. Really great discussion on progressing in DCS. Baby steps is the key. DCS is a huge learning challenge. Especially if you try and learn multiple aircraft like the vast majority do. Might help to concentrate in an area eg. helicopters/fighters/air-to-ground and also western vs eastern equipment. (But don't be afraid to experiment either!) There's always that rush of excitement when you realize you have learned a new aircraft, learned to do something useful with it for the first time, the first time in multiplayer, then the first time in a multiplayer tournament... you get the idea :-D Veterans often seem to fly the Mig-21 for the extra challenge and savoring the masochism. Mig-15 is much easier to get to and is probably quite fun for a new pilot... there are pitfalls of course, it's an older generation aircraft :-) But it's simple to learn.

The DCS engine has come forward a lot in the last 10 years and I wouldn't imagine any off the shelf engine being able to deliver similar. Consider the size of the maps for starters. Regarding helicopters vs multi-role fighters, I think the reasons have to do with commercial aspects and politics in Russia. Ka-50 was completed about the time the USSR collapsed and never saw mass production. (Contrast with Mi-28, any news of that coming to DCS?) Kamov had much more pressure to promote their products - there was even an action movie made in Russia where the helo starred; later they developed the Ka-52 which we probably won't see in DCS for a couple of decades. Same for other helicopters in active service. With Mi-8/17/24, we're talking a base system that's quite long in the tooth and just about everyone in the world has them now, including a few NATO countries with operational aircraft I think. Maybe the Mi-24 isn't that central in the near future of Russian armed forces and the systems haven't been that heavily upgraded. On the other hand Mig-25, 29 and Su-27 have developed onwards with new variants and derivatives, the systems have been upgraded but in many places probably build on the past capability. The designers don't need any special promotion to the flight sim community etc because the government is buying. (The story with export possibilities might be more mixed?) I don't think we'll see ED being very forthcoming on what the real pain points are here but we have the vague idea and any details are basically more or (often) less informed speculation.

Harlikwin made some of the main points indeed. I'd echo Delta and QuiGon that early on the trainers and older aircraft can be a good pick too, much quicker to master due to fewer electronic systems etc. The learning aspect is huge with DCS and you should never ignore it. DCS is a platform where many pilots might start with the charismatic well known aircraft but then gravitate to the more quirky and exotic ones, eg. vintage aircraft from behind the Iron Curtain :D And it's quite unlikely you'll end up owning just one or two modules, curiosity is a big thing and there will be more sales down the road... If you look at what's out there and what's coming the selection is actually pretty fantastic, so start doing your research ;) In my case, I started out with the Ka-50 when there wasn't much else, DCS with that heli was a little bit too complex and too much. Took a 7 year break and things moved forward during that time. Picked up the SA-342 Gazelle in a sale and it was a blast to fly... L-39 or Mig-15 should be even easier to get into. If you browse the forum you'll find numerous similar threads, will give you plenty of idea. F-14 of course is just lovely if you're already a bit deeper into things and don't mind a complex, but vintage system, and have a buddy to fly with to get the best out of it. Regarded one of the best modules out there for sure. RAZBAM is developing the Strike Eagle, but probably a few years before there's any point in getting excited about it. Warthog and MFG are pretty standard h/w for active pilots. Have those myself and would recommend the MFGs as well - about the cheapest premium pedals you'll find and they work great, quality is good, delivery reliable and configurability fantastic.

Yes - it's quite interesting to fly. Will be a while before you start bumping into the bugs, even for Harrier... That said almost no product is perfect here and even the Viggen is considered somehow beta/EA.

Congrats on an exciting buy :smartass: Didn't buy anything as I have about half of the modules already and could maybe take some time to learn to fly a half of them. Plus a few untapped campaigns. The really exciting stuff is the things that are currently on radar, both platform and module side...

Take it easy and slow, there is a lot to learn. Air starts can save some time, you can quickly make some simple scenarios/tests in the editor if you put in a bit of effort to learn it... DCS is a lot about digging in to the systems and keeping it fun.

Believe or not this tank actually does get modelled in games. But a DCS / SteelBeasts level implementation is required to really let its peculiarity shine, I think. PS. Why this is relevant to HB - they seem to prefer Swedish equipment... so why not - perhaps they could mentor a budding high-fidelity content creator or something, the world is full of surprises. (An AI/CA unit could be nice too... but... the above!)

If there ever is a high-fidelity ground vehicle... please make this one :smilewink: https://youtu.be/IlS9HaSrhzU Even more bizarr.. I mean unique than the Viggen :wub: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stridsvagn_103 PS. Did you notice the awesome speech synthesis in the vid?

Welcome back! Make sure you have good pedals and take a spin with the helicopters as well :thumbup: For performance - it's not just the hardware, much work and optimization has been going on with the engine itself. Looks pretty today. There is even multiplayer with squadrons and dedicated server software nowadays.

A helicopter of course... for experiencing a different world, and they are all very good.

Sounds nice if you can do manual hovers etc. I have autohover bound to the throttle stick, also the collective and follow camera settings. Autohover is a challenge but it's another enabler as well. You can start to try and hover behind/between buildings, trees, etc for a challenge.

They also work strangely quickly in most scenarios. FWIW I think Aviodev added at least an electricity cabinet/cart as a prop.

Awesome stuff! Anybody can tell us a bit about this aircraft?

I like how you put forward those ideas, just having some slight issues with some of the ideas themselves. Probably not, if they have to drive it all the way to AO. (How well can they just hide? Because mostly they'd do just that.) It's already a pain to fly helicopters to the AO, and these guys are much slower... (HT missions have been designed with the sole focus of helicopters so much less an issue than normally.) Things like these are what I meant with the mission requiring iterations. Also in the Helicopter Tournament you could see some issues which were ironed out over the couple of rounds before it started really clicking. And that was without all the issues and deficiencies that CA has in DCS, making most players shun it. (Still I think it would have tons of potential...) L39 could work. SU25 I think too powerful, CC101 - maybe not yet ready for prime time? L39 may be too powerful against the weaker helicopters.

Please bear in mind that helicopters can be limited for operational envelope - weapon choices, deployment, etc. I have some doubts a 100% player driven BMP destruction derby would be serious fun with DCS. But as an occasional/experimental event it'd be the bee's knees. You have to iterate and adapt the idea. Eventually player controlled ground forces could be combined to the regular heli tournament. Was having a bit of the same train of thought after HT4. Helo vs helo is a bit artificial - though it's a fine and fun tournament format, of course. Anyway, you're probably the best person to make this work, please do it! :thumbsup: :pilotfly:

How is your CPU and RAM situation? Also the SSD may be a rather slow one. Discounts tend to happen a few times per year so you can plan your acquisition strategy with that in mind. Also do notice that getting proficient in an aircraft can take months of time and you often fall in love with machines you never intended to. Clickable cockpits usually come with much more realistic systems and quite possibly a better detailed flight model. That translates to many more hotkeys - the less often used hotkeys are hard to remember for the vast majority and just flipping a switch or two in the cockpit is much easier. We tend to fly with a keyboard + HOTAS for the other hand. Immersion is also a major selling point. When you are cold starting an aircraft and preparing for a multiplayer mission with your wingmen & flight lead chatting on the radio, the atmosphere thing can go through the roof at times...

ED is aware that WW2 aircraft can rake in some real money. Mostly it's just that making succesful simulator products is very difficult and takes time. ED's problem may be that they have a strong competitor. They don't have a good strategy for making WW2 the focus and also they don't have a strong team that could focus on WW2 yet. That is why it's not their priority area for the time being I think.

If you are able to engage the customer base and collect information on needs and wishes - or perhaps even some good ideas - then it makes sense to release information before product launch. In other words, the customers take part in creating the product (or at least, the marketing). Otherwise I would prefer the resources being spent on developing the products. Of course some marketing is necessary to get the word out, but the information I need is more related to what exactly we are getting about when, in order to make my plans and expectations for the future. All the myriad teasers and eye candy and fan service... not always that valuable in my mind, I'd rather concentrate on what we have now and how to make it better. That said, I've thought HB is one of the most professional actors around here. I do appreciate the way they've informed us of delays and the philosophy behind their release thinking, can't really see that severe faults in what communications I've seen to that effect.

@BaD CrC don't read too much into it... Chit Chat is basically the forum for "DCS World, but more interesting". @[105]-Rahon for sure attack helicopters would sell better than transports (Mi-8 over Mi-24 huh? :huh:), but everything being "this is basically all the rage for the last 30 years, like apache, mi-24 etc etc" gets boring very quick. Not many simulators I can remember model the Gazelle or Ka-50 for that matter, so we're into a very new experience. Given the multitude of roles there is a chance to build and study a full tactical environment. Regarding being given unworkable roles... just look at what's happening in the Helicopter Tournament! Vietnam is on the roadmap I believe. And going to the 2020's with mostly single player features in mind... not sure if that strategy would really fly (pun intended) any more.

:thumbup: Nice observation there. The Ka-50 is one of the most modern modules, period. Did I mention it's Redfor? Let's hope 2020 is the year of the Rotor and we'll have a new helicopter bundle for christmas! :music_whistling:

Not many on the multi-crew list to pick of? L-39 is the obvious one, and while C-101 seems to be good it's less mature. Too bad we don't have any really good multi-crew helicopters. Going through the Mi-8 startup with 3 crew seats and a ton of switches on all walls, and the ceiling, and down consoles, together with all the DC/AC buses etc systems that need to be powered up before you're airborne and ready to deploy weapons systems *sigh* that would leave an impression I'm sure :lol: That said, the gazelle has been succesfully used as multi-crew and it can be a blast as well.

Strange but I think you captured my sentiments exactly. Don't forget the light helicopters that are coming too - I think we had a chat on them a couple of pages ago. Wouldn't place any bets on them arriving before the Mi-24 though.