coolts

Are you guys playing the Steam / digital version? Amazon are bumbling about saying delivery next week for boxed copies!

Just to get things back on topic here, (admonishes self), I wonder hot ED are going to handle comms in the new game and how we are going to therefore handle it on the HOTAS. I don’t know about you guys, but I devoted a whole 4 x way throttle hat in BS & FC to comms, (ATC, tanker, wingmen management), as doing this on the keyboard whilst in the heat of battle was not practical at all as well as very immersion breaking. If ED/TM say, “that’s your radio tuner hat”, or some such, I am still going to have to say, “mmm no, that’s going to be my wingman comms hat. I think that there possibly no way round that as TM and ED are appreciably set on maximum realism on the avionics and interface fidelity and IRL there are no comms macros you press to ask for wingman cover. Even 1st person shooters have never nailed squad management, (arma2’s layered menus anyone?), and maybe voice activated comms maybe the answer (as trackIR, etc was the eventual answer to view movement). Shouting at a computer on purpose though……….might have repercussuions.

In that case go into a ‘parallel diversion strategy’. When she buys a new top / bag and asks your opinion, you say, "that looks amazing darling, but i think you might need to accessorise with some new shoes or something to go with it". She will immediately confirm this, (as secretly, she was thinking the same), and use your confirmation as an excuse to buy a whole co-ordinated outfit. Then. Amazon àTM HOTASà job done!

Guys, you have your tactics all wrong. You simply defer the ‘woman rage’ by getting her something shiny/glittery, (or encoraging her to get a new bag / shoes), to act as a counterbalance. Also, just swap out your HOTAS and don’t tell her. Will she notice your new man toy? Not if you don’t make a big fuss and hide the box. This will all fall apart though if you run around the house with your boxer shorts on your heads with your arms outstretched going “bbbrbrrrrrrrrrrrrrr na na na na na “, when the postman delivers your new HOTAS. In the words of Gandalf, “keep it secret, keep it safe”. Just think though. Out of the box compatibility between HOTAS and DCS: A-10. Symbiosis of game and controller. Sort of like a grown up Nintendo Wii, (with bombs and no pokemon)

Heh, no way hose. DCS is a different ballgame. We are lucky ED updated FC2with DCS terrain and MP at all. That was an easter present! (ish) In any case, if you are spending that much time looking at shadows then you are too far from the engagement zone! turn 180 and get back to the fight! :pilotfly: [PS. i will check my shadows tonight as i dont think mine are as stepped as that]

Ah, yes! If that goal had been allowed........... .......it woud have changed nothing. Overpaid, pampered, underperforming.....grumblegrumblegrumblegrumble :mad: Still though, Sep Blatter has to go surely? Even tennis has line technology these days.

Exactly. I can totally see people having trouble with the asking price. I was a student myself not so long ago. As an example though i recently decided to transition to the SU-25T in FC2.0 to get a start on the AFM in prep for DCS:A-10, and then spent most of saturday morning mapping controls and tweaking my HOTAS. I can now fly and fight but have all the autopilot stuff to do map. At some point on saturday afternoon i had a, "i might as well be at work" , moment when i was deep into a Foxy file for the umpteenth time. I would rather be dropping ordnance than flashing firmwares! If TM Hog gives me out-of-the-box DCS functionality, then, unless TM totally balls it up they have sold one right away.

Having seen the quality of the TM HOG in the SinmHQ preview, you can see where the money has been spent. Couple that attention to detail, (accurate trigger spring weightiing, endorsed by US armed forces, etc), with the DCS simulations, "if its on the plane, its in the game", approach and fidelity, makes a match made in heaven IMO. I'm sold. The fact that ED & TM have been working together on this has the potential to make these separate projects complementary benefits far greater than the sum of their parts. "As real as it gets" ? Reckon so. And i wont have to spend a month farting about with Cougar profiles :book: (thats worth about 40E just there!)

:doh: I thought that was just in DCS:BS? I wil try. just cofirmed that dumb rockets fire just fine. I must be doing something daft. DOH! you were absolutely right mate. I had a feeling it was somethig daft i was doing. Have been playing A-10's and F-15's too long, (he said sheepishly) SORTED! now to rain down some death from above [EDIT - can I take rep off myself? I really need a slap for forgetting the reticule thing :doh:]

Having completed the NATO campaigns’ I am transitioning to the Su-25T and have hit a very basic problem. I can’t fire any ordnance. I have started setting up a cougar profile and understand that it uses space = “weapon fire” I am in range, have a SHKVAL lock, ViKhr’s selected, laser armed, launch authorised, PICKLE – nothing happens. :joystick: (I had a similar issue in FC1.12b but that was because the SU-25T used different picklebutton in that. "Release weapon" IIRC) I have tried hitting the space bar to remove the HOTAS from the equation. Same thing. This is in the “instant action” BTW. Do these things come with the safety on now? This may just be a case of “late Sunday night, England got shafted 4-1, not thinking straight”, but its got me baffled.

As Brit said, get the F-15e book as well. Very good read. I wish someone would do a similar book on A-10's in peration Allied Force as that conflict will probably be more enlightening come DCS:A-10C, because, in Iraq, A-10's could fly high, whereas, you try doing that in FC and you will avoid IR SAMS but radar SAMS will get you for sure. Hopefully SEAD will do their thing in DCS:A-10c before sending in the hogs! I've just ordered "thud ridge".

Pre-ordered on amazon. Should keep me busy tilll DSC:A-10 and the TM A-10 HOTAS Warthog are released!

As its running a tweaked and improved version of the DCS engine, I would expect it to run on any machine that currently runs DCS with acceptable frame rates. Of course, ED's plan of iteratively upgrading the engine means that we will get extra features / eye candy with each module, therefore your mileage will vary depending on how your rig currently handles DCS: BS. If you are currently right on the edge.......you will have to turn something off. Dual core / 2 GB RAM and a decent, (preferably, not onboard), GFX card. Mostly CPU dependant assuming decent (past 2 years – 512mb) GFX card. (my best guess BTW ;)) ps. As this was a trade show, there would have been a kick arse PC under that pit. The last thing you would want the gaming press to see would be frame rate issues, etc.

Cool! Going to try that. I never managed to get the "target step" to work, (or properly understand it anyway). I will give this a go.

Is the testing phase finished? (he said sneakily):music_whistling:

Weird vegetation tile pop-up when camera moves. Nice high alt cirrus clouds though. Oh, and the a-10 pit is amazing! That targetting pod. Cant wait to play with that for precision strikes. Is it september yet?

Viper - please stop talking about small MFD monitors! :surrender:mmmmmmmmmmmmsmallmonitorsmmmmmmmm

you do realise guys that we are going to have to get the MFD's as well? the TM/ED thing and auto configuration for the warthog hotas will make them very attractive. so thats; new hotas+MFD's+DCS:A-10 = few days holiday i reckon! I will tell girlfriend they "came as a set"

I may have to drive a steamroller over the metal cougar for that excuse to be valid. "look honey. the nasty old steamroller just reversed over my joystick" seriously though, the new stick/throttle looks amazing. i have started putting money aside. the fact that ED and TM are working together gives me nerd-goosebumps

As far as I can make out, its not an "either" but an "or", assuming HL is updated for FC2.0 I could then use that or the built in server browser, (if and when it is hopefully updated). The best would hopefully prove most popular and the least popular would improve or be marginalised. Give me HL and let me make my mind up, (do we need to buy the author a copy of FC2.0 to make this happen? I'd pay a euro or whatever for a better multiplayer interface any day). My two-pennies-worth.:thumbup:

My god! That looks amazing! And you can use existing modded cougar bases so all those guys who have spent £££'s can carry their investment over! Full software program capability. Backlit throttle controls. All metal contruction. silent dertents, (afterbutner one easily removeable). detents require throttle lift to pass as in real life "The switches on the throttle base are solid and have a very satisfying click when they are moved. Most of the lettering on the throttle base is backlit in green, and the lighting state should eventually be controllable in the programming software." mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMM:P:P My boxes are well and trully ticked!

None of the reviews mention systems operation. Still looks like a good book though.

Apologies for my flippancy. It was an 8.30am and-i-dont-want-to-go-to-work-whats-the-world-coming-to type moment. Seriously though, i hope, (as do many others), that ED do a "DCS: kick arse fast jet sim" after A-10. Would love an F-15, possibly an eagle / strike eagle double, but that’s just me, (I loved the flexibility of combined A-A and A-G operations in that game beginning with an “F” that we don’t mention here. And without….that particular aeroplane, the F-15C & E would be a complementary duo). As for your point, you don’t see many avionics mods about. LEAVU / ERI notwithstanding and no FM mods that i can recall. Not sure you can actually mod the flight model directly. And besides, you would need the resources and skills of aeronautical engineers and access to military / engineering data to get anywhere. A co-ordinated team of modders maybe with specific and complementary skillsets. That’s how a lot of software companies get started nowadays though. Modders to professionals.

Ah, that explains it. I thought I was doing something daft and "n00bish". I have done a few hairy handbrake turns out of the hanger before i remembered to cut the throttle.