WynnTTr

Oh forgot - My next purchase will be either the 7970 or 680 but as I said in my first post that'll depend on whether the 680 will support NvSurround off the one card. If not, then it's the 7970 for me. From what I hear 6950 CF slightly edges the 7970 in games where CF works. That's pretty damn good for a single GPU and a bit temptation for me. What's not to like - one GPU matching my CF setup but without all the problems of CF/SLI.

If you're referring to me, then sorry, I didn't clarify my post. I've got a 6950 CF setup currently but at the time of getting my first 6950 (when they were first released) I did a lot of research on the performance of the card. That poking around led me onto the pros and cons of ATI/Nvidia and one of the pros for ATI was the fact that you could have Eyefinity off the one card v SLI requirement for NVsurround. So I thought cool, playing with three screens sounds neat and gave it a shot and it worked really well. Couple of months after I got my second 6950. Not for wanting the extra performance mind you but more for curiosity's sake. Doesn't make much difference in DCS as CF isn't optimised well. I still play DCS with CF off so effectively one 6950. I play @5760x1080, all settings maxed and get about 20-25fps on the ground with other aircraft. Goes up to about 30-45fps in the air so it's definitely playable.

I've never had to redo any of my settings, presets or profiles when updating AMD drivers. I just use the express uninstall and express install. Everything's kept as they were. Gotta say it's relatively painless. I started out with NVidia but after wanting to play with 3 screens the only choice (at the time) was an ATI card or Nvidia SLI. So ATI it was. With all the hype surrounding drivers I was hesitant in switching but when I did, I never had any problems in game with AMD/ATI drivers, everything worked as it should. My games still played. The driver issues were just all that - hype. In fact the only thing I missed was not having profiles for specific game exe's that Nvidia has. Now with the 12.1 CCC drivers that fixes that - CCC now has profiles but it sure took them long enough. Having said that the next purchase I might make is back to Nvidia IF they give NVSurround support off the one card. I might be playing for red atm but I started out with green and that's where my sentiments lie.

I agree with your post but there are assumptions that you're making that just doesn't apply unless you're part of the ED team. Your generalisations are just that - a generalisation and may or may not be indicative of how ED will progress with the fast jet. From what I've heard the Mustang was a side project by the developers that had already been worked on significantly and the call was made to release it instead of letting such work go to waste. I'll make an assumption here and say that the majority of the work's been done already (as seen by the screenshots) which implies that this has been going on for months now - maybe even through the Russian holiday period. If that's the case then any impact to DCS: modern theme is minimal if at all, hence Wag's line about parallel development. I think most of the outcry is due to exactly this:

Sorry but you cannot know ED's situation and how they're working - period. Whatever self reflections you may place on them doesn't mean anything other than to yourself. I'm qualified too and say that with some projects we can handle multiple things quite nicely while others have been a pita. But what I'm not qualified to say is how another team does their thing. Just because you cannot handle something does not mean that another team can't, unless you know how they operate intimately. Anyway, we have Wags saying the development is running in parallel meaning there's no delay with the fast jet. They're probably where they should be with the jet (ie we'd still have heard nothing about it) even without the Mustang been announced.

Can you tell me what the next jet is going to be? Cos it sure sounds like you know the ED team well and how they operate/should be operating and to what deadlines. Or perhaps you missed the part where Wags said: and

Well said Ethereal. I don't see what the problem is either - we're still getting our fast jet, Nevada, CA, FC3 as well as the Mustang in parallel.

That's true but isn't there a difference - TFC actually have the aircraft and can directly correlate? I'm not au fait with A2A pilot, does he have the actual aircraft available on call? There is a subtle difference between an expert that actually has the data and can produce it when necessary than an expert giving an opinion of what is right.

Time will tell but it's great that there's a choice. As to any claims about pilots on A2A etc... well if they're on the payroll I'd take whatever endorsement they make with a grain of salt. It's like those late night celeb infomercials - I mean Chuck Norris knows what he's talking about when it comes to the total body gym right?

Maybe it's the camera angle but it looks like you've got your stick to the right and in front of the edge of your seat. How does that sit with you? Because I'm thinking that you either swing your right leg out at an awkward angle or have them squeezed together (not doing your nuts any favours). It's a good job btw. Nice and clean.

If this is the case I guess my 6950 CF will still be good for the generation after.

Awesome vid. Well put together, both vid and pit

OR you can look at those vids I linked to. They have everything you need to know to get up and flying. Best to start off with those then go to the manual for actual technical data. Unless you actually like to learn solely from manuals.

BMS is the new king of F4 MP. It's as stable as AF. Alot of official VFW's have transitioned over to BMS. The only thing AF has going for it now is the campaigns but work has already been done in that department. Switch to BMS you won't regret it and as far as knowing the game Krause has created a whole set of tutorials that cover everything you need to know.

You'll note I was quoting you buddy, read your post again about how boring the BS is and where the fun factor is and how fun it was for you to fly as a commercial heli pilot. You obviously didn't play the BS campaign... or the user made campaigns such as the VEERGEV campaign. But to each their own I guess. If you think being a courier is fun who am I to say otherwise? I bought Take On, played it for an hour, got used to the FM (such that it is) and instruments (the ones that you can actually work) in about 20 minutes. Then started to try to play the game for real, all the time thinking I could be hugging the terrain looking for an opportune time to do a pop up attack against AAA that was trying to track me. Take On didn't even last that week for me. I'm not saying it's the worst game ever... but whatever, like I said, if the commercial scene is your thing then I suppose it would be fun. Personally after a full day's work I try not to nod off when playing a civilian sim. Buzz me when that happens. Incorrect. Show me a RL a pilot that does everything in a war. Besides you've gone off on a tangent. Show me where the conflict is in Take On. I knew I should have waited until Take On was in the bargain bin or on Steam sale but curiosity got the better of me and I bought into the hype a little so it was kind of a let down to play the finished product. Ah well, I'll check back in a few patches and when the modders do their magic.

haha... you have crossed the event horizon and falling into the black hole that is hardcore simming. Welcome! TIR5 - absolute must. Buy this before you buys anything else.. even a HOTAS. I can fly without my Hog, I can't fly without my TIR. You won't regret buying it. I don't think I've heard of anyone that has. HOTAS - buy what you can afford. Obviously the Hog will be your best bet for DCS products and it helps that it's the best quality joystick on the market out of the box (with the price to match). But what you will want is a HOTAS and not some play thing such as a combined joystick. MFD's - if you have an iPad or any tablet they're not worth it. You can easily set up your ipad to have anything you like using a some freeware software. The one I use is Touchbuddy for DCS and BMS. It's really simple stuff of just setting up an image map using HTML - all of this can be done with a GUI rather than coding. If you're going to build a pit then obviously the MFD's will be better but remember they're just a frame with the buttons on it. They don't display anything. You can just use Helios and a touchscreen/Ipad to get the same effect.

Like what? Tons and tons of what? Not really a good argument when you have to resort to "lots of stuff". Whatever it is, BS is still the standard in heli sims. And you must have missed the fun factor in BS cos you make no mention of how fun the actual game is. You conveniently forget that aspect. But going by your analogy, I'd rather try and blow up a tank than cart around containers. So you want to replace the RL experience of a military attack chopper pilot with the RL experience of a commercial civil helicopter pilot? I know which one I'd rather choose. You're right though, Take On is a sim lite and given the hype it generated before release (Ultra realistic FM) a little gloating would probably be expected. Me, I'd rather try to experience heli flight as close to the real thing as possible and that's not Take On atm.

Let us know what you think Cali

You mean you never noticed the points you get from healing, reviving, distributing ammo, repairing, following squad leader's orders? Or the ribbons for top squad? Well hell, why not just make it so you insta explode if you go outside a certain radius of your squad leader. It's a mass market product so don't expect any level of co-ordination but here's a cliched thought - why not get 3 buddies and make a squad if you can't stand pugs. Don't blame the tools.

It's a game! Not an infantry training simulator. The people you're playing with are in the teen demographic and not trained in any way whatsoever, virtual or real, on combat tactics. You can lead a horse to water... But you can tell the squads that are: they'll come in and basically clean up the map, have the best K/D and are near unstoppable.

Who's alot? I'd counter by saying a lot more are using their Pro than not. I've got both and use both depending on the surrounding circumstances. Playing alone, with the lights down, curtains closed and no light source behind me I'll use the reflector. With other people in the house and I have to wear headphones, if it's a bright day or if I wanted better tracking I'll use the clip. The Pro tracks better and is much more reliable for sudden movements. You can test it out by suddenly turning your head side to side and see the responsiveness of both. I agree with your second point though - the wire is a nuisance.

Get TIR5 with Trackclip Pro. The Pro is a LED clip that you clips on the side of your headset. The standard TIR package comes with the vector reflector that sits on top of your cap. The difference is that the Trackclip are emitting LEDs that will allow for easier and more accurate tracking. The vector is just reflective material so it's not as accurate, particularly where you've got alot of ambient light. It still works pretty well though. So don't have a light source behind you and you should be fine.

Topol - Why don't you write to the USAF with your thoughts? I'm sure they'll find it most enlightening and will be slapping their heads as to why no-one there thought of it before. I'm sure the idea of deploying a radar a la targetting pod would be a revelation. ED are just developers that have delivered a faithful re-construction of what exists in the military. If you want to know why there's no radar, go to the source itself.

Ha! I already get weird looks from the wife when I play with TIR clipped on and moving my head side to side. Ah well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Gonna have to get the anti-rollseyes suit on. If MS are going to aggressively push Kinect for PC gaming you can bet that other developers will follow.