WynnTTr

Yeah my bro and I got all Arma2 games when it was on sale and been playing it most of the last week. All I can say is that it's an armchair soldier's wet dream. It's probably as real as you're going to get without actually signing up - when it works. The bugs and poor AI are still very much present and sometimes they're so frustrating they're a game killer. Poor scripting, dumb behaviour, weird glitches and bugs, you name it, Arma2's got it. HOWEVER while frustrating that didn't stop us playing it for hours. The multiplayer gameplay is fantastic. Give us a mission and then it's up to us how to execute it. It's so far removed from CoD the only way to describe it is Einstein v neanderthal in a debate about relativity. It's several layers above AAO in realism and mission objectives. One former poster said there's no objectives - um, you have clear cut defined missions. How you go about it is up to you. Clear the village of IEDs, assault enemy locations, taking out a high priority target as a sniper team then try and extract. The mission objectives are what real military are facing. It most certainly is not red v blue with 4 possible spawn points that have easily coverable corridors of entry. This game you have to know the terrain, you have to know enemy placements as moving in without intel WILL get you killed and a restart/respawn. Despite the bugs and AI, I'm really enjoying AO and its DLC. The PMC 2 man coop is particularly fun at the moment. Well worth the purchase.

You can't just lean forward with Trackir to zoom in? That's what I do and it's more realistic

To be technically correct, it's two gpus in sli configuration soldered onto the one board. So you'll still have sli/multicard troubles. may as well sli to get all your ports. If you do want multicard configs, better to go with ATI - the ability with DP to run a helluva lot of monitors and CF scalability makes ATI multicarding a no brainer. Nvidia have made one awesome card with the gtx 580, but multicard wise, they've dropped the ball with sli. A 6950 CF setup will beat sli 580's due to CF's insane scalability right now.

Yeah I'm hanging for the new career mode. The current one is like a cheap hooker - it serves it purpose for my urges but doesn't give no lovin' Just read my email about the new Gotha. The bomb sight is in the forward gunners position and the rear guns has both a top and bottom guns... so you have to climb between the two a la Millenium Falcon.

Remember to plug the WH directly into the computer and not a hub. If anything for the firmware update. There have been reports that the firmware doesn't recognise it if it's through a hub, even a powered one.

How's the 5850 Eyefinity? Is it doing ok for you on max settings? Hmm.. yeah I was hoping that the 2Gb on the 6970 would be enough to turn on some AA on max settings.

I'm in the process of choosing a new gpu. I've always been an Nvidia boy but the thought of being able to run Eyefinity as opposed to SLI is a big factor in my book. I've always preferred a single card v multiple ones. Less fiddling and more compatibility. Anyone running a single 6970 Eyefinity with 3 monitors (3x 1920x1200)? Want to get an idea of what to expect realistically.

Yeah, I did a big naughty - bought Wings of Prey when it was on sale from Steam. Sorry, blonde moment. Steam is teh debil.

Modded it's still a great HOTAS but the cougar's been dethroned. The King is dead! Long live the King!

Care to quote the source? Sorry, I'm a stickler for real data so we can see the spread of this problem. That's the first step in real feedback to TM and they can address (and hopefully fix) the issue once and for all. But given the number of throttles that bricked before the firmware and after, so far it's pretty clear that the firmware was positive in that regard. Which ofc doesn't help you - but it would seem the only recourse for you is to get a replacement. Make sure you flash it asap :)

So far I've noted only one person (Dastardly in this thread) who claim that their throttle bricked after firmware. Loz in the other thread didn't get to complete the firmware - his stopped at 75% then refused to go further after which his throttle bricked, which leads me to suspect that it was on the way to be bricked regardless of firmware or not. It would seem, just going from these forums, that the firmware is a positive fix for bricking.

I had the Pro before the WH. The Pro is a good HOTAS - smooth, responsive, accurate and was still going strong for over two years. Then I upgraded to the WH and all I can say is it's like joining the big boys. The material and construction make the Pro seem like a cheap toy. There is no other way to describe it. I also had a Cougar and to me both the Cougar and Pro seemed to be at the same level - not build wise obviously, but to me they were on the same level of HOTAS. Not so the WH. The WH is for the serious simmer though. The price tag alone ensures that. So if you're not going to be simming seriously (not necessarily the A-10) then don't even bother buying it, it'll go to waste. But if simming is the only type of gaming that you do, even occasionally, then it'd probably be worth it cos you'll enjoy it immensely.

That firmware was released a number of weeks ago. You didn't update earlier?

Wow. Nice guys. I'm happy for you cos you'll get to see what a great piece of hardware this is. I'm slightly jealous of the price but I'm not the sort that has patience when something new and shiny comes along. I figure a few extra dollars is the price to pay for that earlier time actually playing with the thing.

Just to cover our bases - you have bought the A-10 beta haven't you? That should get you into the beta forums. If you have and still can't get in, check out this sticky.

There are a lot of little illusions that make up the sense of speed in RoF. One is the open cockpit v enclosed one of the ka-50. You're primarily looking at your instruments/monitors rather than enjoying the outside view. If I looked outside the left window I get a sense of speed when sipping along. Another is the way helicopters fly. IMO when you're drifting slightly but still going where you want to go, you lose that sense of full forward motion. Again, that's IMO. Collective/cyclic v full thrust throttle. Have you ever noticed in those documentaries/films that show views outside a helicopter? It's hardly like you're zooming along. Even a WW2 fighter seems to roar past while modern Black Hawks look like they're floating forward. I also find that the wind sound in RoF greatly contributes to the feeling that you're really flying. The wind rushing through your hair (er.. speakers) particularly if you lean left and right. I think I've almost shouted out to the missus once I got so caught up in the illusion of it. But the biggest contributor of the sense of speed at low altitudes is the graphics. Obviously RoF's engine does trees and ground detail a lot better. BS has a sense of speed, particular if you're flying it right, it's just different.

This is being blown out of proportion. As Frazer said, it's only for ONE particular piece of flying that the WH lets him down - precision formation leading. Other than that, he even acknowledges the WH is a fine piece of hardware. Like it or not, it is the most solid and high quality stick (overall) out there on the market. It is the best you can buy aimed at us home simmers and as noted in other reviews, the quality is something you'd see in real aircraft or high grade simulators. The WH is more than satisfactory. I bet if you opened the x65 they'd be some cheap plastic in there too. It really is your loss that you have this attitude and really, it's nothing off our backs. I'm more than happy with the purchase. Would I buy it again? - in a hearbeat. Until another company releases something of this calibre and quality. CH listening?

That would probably be cheaper than TH2Go or Eyefinity. I found that thread on SimHQ. Dunno what the cost is for an Eyefinity card v TH2GO but if the OP is thinking of shelling out for TH2GO, this might be a better option. Dunno. All I know is that herculean screen is impressive.

Thanks for that Taipan. Exactly what I needed. Now I'm itching to give it a try but I'm at work. Only go on the forums at work - why read forums at home when you can fly. Yeah, it's as I suspected, I don't know enough about the planes to fly and exploit them properly. Nothing a few hours won't fix. +1 rep :)

Try WWI and RoF. Now those were crates with wings. But those types of early planes are a challenge to fly and fight in. Today's planes take a lot of piloting out of flying - when compared to WWI and II era planes. When I play BS/A10 it's almost clinical in deploying weapons. Sure it's fun as hell strafing that convoy but imagine trying to do that when the target's moving in the air. Sure the adrenalin gets pumping when you're being shot at but again, nothing beats trying to shake that bandit off your tail. It's a different skill set. Different enough for me to enjoy playing RoF, BoBII and DCS. I gotta admit though, I was hesitant in buying RoF cos I had no interest in WWI era planes. I knew that I'd probably be frustrated by not being able to climb vertically (and I was) but was I ever pleasantly surprised. It takes a whole different set of flying to perform in these planes.

hardcore is the only way to play BC2. No minimap, no kill cam, no tagging enemies, no crosshairs for mounted weapons, friendly fire and it usually only takes 1 bullet to kill. Good snipers are super deadly as it's really one shot one kill. You'd think that the game would be full of snipers but hardcore mode isn't. I find there's alot more organised squads and people that actually want to complete the objective than just get kills. Ironically I find it a lot easier to play as a team as you can actually do covert raids before the enemy knows where you are. No tagging means you actually have to communicate with your squad in calling out enemy locations and attacks.

Try the X series of games - like EVE but without the monthly subscription!

Yeah just imagine the whole plane itself around you... just think about what you're sitting on top of.

Might want to have a look at Nvidia Surround and ATI Eyefinity options. I'm not sure all the pros and cons of each, hell I'm not sure if TH2GO is the better tech, but I have seen (youtube) some impressive results from just one nvidia/ati gpu across three monitors. Hell there was a guy that posted his setup of A10 on SimHQ using Eyefinity (or maybe NSurround) on a curved herculean projector screen that filled an entire room - and this was with one GPU - wasn't even top of the line.

Yeah I'm liking the looks of the 570 too. having just purchased the hog, I've got to moderate somewhat and the 570 is starting to look ideal. Might wait a bit and see what impact the 6970 has on the prices.