Baldrick33

Yes to both. I would find taking off in the 109 (and any of the WW2 planes come to that) very hard without rudder pedals.

Set the governor off and map increase rpm & decrease rpm to buttons (or use the keyboard) and press them either way until the gauge on the right goes to 12 o'clock. That said I don't find the 109 too hard with the governor on. I just use differential braking at the beginning until the rudder is usable and push the stick forward a bit to stop it rotating too quickly. I work the rudder pedal a lot to keep it straight, just constantly correcting in small movements. It certainly isn't by the numbers but I just fly it by the seat of the pants. My background is sim racing/rallying so I am used to being busy with the controls, probably make it hard for myself but I find it the fun way to fly if not by the book Edit: I don't bother with trim either just use the controls to keep the nose pointing where I want it.

I could not find this previously reported so apologies if it is known. I had an issue with losing all my mapped controls in the Spitfire. I then realised I was in the clipped wing variant in the mission I had selected. Although there are separate folders for controls only one is displayed in the controls drop down menu. So I loaded up the standard version in instant action and also had lost all my controls. Fortunately I had a recent backup and copied both Spitfire folders over. Tried the standard version and my controls were back. So I copied the sub folders of the standard Spitfire to the clipped wings and that worked too. I then repeated the process with the Mustang. I had set up my controls using the 30 version. Loaded the 25 and sure enough my controls were missing. Loaded the 30 and they were missing too! Again copying from backup files from the backup 30 folder to both 25 & 30 solved it. It seems that one variant of the aircraft can mess up the controls of another.

DCS World is so many things to so many people to be able to recommend how to get the best from it. I agree with your viewpoint up until "We're just not at a good spot yet". I have been having a fabulous time with DCS in VR since I got a Reverb in 2019. It is my primary gaming entertainment. I have spent ages "perfecting" my VR sim rig with button boxes and experiments with modifiers but in my case the time has been worth it. I create simple missions that are neither too taxing for my system and my limited combat flying abilities and compromises of running VR (probably more the former if truth be told!). It would be great to fill the skies and ground with dynamic objects but right now I can enjoy VR in DCS immensely. It really depends what you want. Big scale multiplayer missions are going to push the performance window and spotting in VR against those who aren't is probably too great a challenge for many but it can be a great experience for some of us who choose not to do those things - right now!

They have the same number of switches, the small up,down,push switch is a pretty good alternative for zoom.

I have been happy with my Warthog, though I have been under no illusion it is the best out there. Thrustmaster are more of a mainstream vendor that makes a range of race and flight sim products which are reasonably available in most countries. The Warthog and TPR pedals are their top of the range stuff and certainly vastly superior to the entry level kit. The T Flight range is definitely budget but it is good to have the options. I think the Warthog's reputation as "premium" is in relation to the typical kit you can buy in shops or mainstream online vendors, be it Thrustmaster's own range or Logitech and lesser know brands. The higher end flight sim vendors kit typically has to be imported and often with long lead times. This is just the nature of these companies providing for a very small niche market. It isn't really until you get into flight sims you learn about them.

The point about force feedback was that in sim racing the hardware is aiming to simulate the feeling of steering of the real car, with a device that works somewhat differently from the real thing which is mechanical. It isn't unreasonable to believe that a manufacturer would make a joystick which aims to replicate the feel of a non fly by wire plane. How successful they may depend on cost of course. It is like motion simulators that use motors to simulate all manner of mechanical devices and air flow over surfaces to try to feel close to the thing it is simulating. I think it is a fair question, how does moving a stick in an aircraft which is operating mechanical devices feel? Is there any resistance from these parts which make it different from a fly by wire stick which is disconnected from the controls in terms of feel. My belief is they would be very well engineered and smooth (even if physically hard under certain conditions to move)

force feedback steering wheels aim to provide the feel of mechanical steering devices in cars, my Frex shifter does a decent job at providing mechanical feel of a sequential shifter in a race car, in spite of only sending a simple micro switch signal to the PC. The point of simulation is to aim to replicate what they are simulating, be it using electronic devices to simulate mechanical ones. So comparing the flight sim hardware to real world mechanical ones is very valid in my view

Having tried a number of solutions including PointCtrl my preference is to use muscle memory and reach out and press a physical switch or button. I have several button boxes and mfds around me all of which are surprisingly easy to find by reaching out. I did recently add some 3D printed knobs to replace say one rotary in a group of four to ease identification. I also have the mouse controls mapped on my joystick (I use the CMS hat on my Warthog) so can look at a control and click it and have a rotary mapped on a button box for wheel. This allows me to press switches and buttons for startup and things like weapon controls but be able to look at controls and click the hotas mouse buttons for non mapped controls or if I need to quickly operate the MFD. For me this option works best and I have spent quite some time finding what works best for me. PointCtrl is an elegant solution but I still found it like pointing at a switch rather than pressing one (I guess a clue is in the name!). My pit isn’t particularly pretty, lots of different types of button boxes, quads and mfds but once the headset is on it doesn’t really matter. I fly lots of different aircraft so that involves a fair bit of setting controls but worth it in my mind. For flying a single aircraft I think a 1:1 cockpit would work surprisingly well in VR with maybe just a few cues added to aid locating switches in groups of similar switch types.

You could use universal controller remapper to create a virtual combined axis using vjoy for the clutch and throttle inputs. I used this for a while with HE pedals before getting rudder pedals. https://www.autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=12249 Optionally given you will have both the native pedals and vjoy device available in DCS you can use a modifier to switch between rudder input and toe brakes. Just assign the axis to a redundant control when not wanted (I used the camera controls which aren’t used in VR) e.g. with modifier not pressed vjoy combined axis = rudder Clutch = redundant axis Throttle = redundant axis with modifier pressed vjoy combined axis = redundant axis Clutch = left toe brake Throttle = right toe brake Start up, press modifier, taxi to runway, modifier off on takeoff run to enable rudder. Vice versa on landing.

Flying with a light load seems much easier. I downloaded an agility test mission which included the Mi-24 and can throw it around the course, fly inside hangars and so on. Fully loaded for a mission and I need a lot more care and can run out of right tail rotor if I mess up!

I use an old CH Flightstick as an analog brake and have 3D printed a brake lever to replace the grip. With a decent amount of travel it is easy to control the brakes just as I imagine using the lever in the real Mosquito. I think the biggest issue is the hardware we have rather than the brake model. That said given most of us don’t have decent analog brake levers a workaround is needed to use what we have.

I would imagine a variation of this change, though you would have to work out the names? http://tech.blog.dg4sfw.de/single.php?date=1640509860

The digital switch implementation of the wheel brakes were instantly full on, so I believe reducing the pressure allowed them to be less full on. The latest patch has changed them to work like the Spitfire, pressing and holding the button gradually increases pressure, so by tapping the lever it is possible to apply and maintain lower pressure.

Yes, you can transfer the licenses from Steam to Standalone: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/support/faq/500/#3303126

I am first and foremost a sim racer and dabbled with flight sims but it wasn't until VR reached a level (Reverb for me) that flight sims suddenly gripped me. Conversely I found the extra dimension of height that is so critical in flying and struggled to get a sense of with monitors. I love driving in VR but I always found monitors translated better to portraying the feel of driving than flying and could easily switch between them with race sims albeit preferring VR. Maybe it is a lack of familiarity flying with monitors but I just felt instantly at home with flying in VR and switching back to monitors is a real struggle just to land an aircraft.

The same debate exists in sim racing forums. I think we are doing race and flight sims a disservice and they have done an excellent job of fooling our brains into feeling like driving and flying even back in the nineties with crude resolutions and simplified physics enforced by lack of computing power. As hardware, software and knowledge improves sims will always get better. Hence the argument that changes prove the simulation was wrong is moot in my view. There have been several milestones in hardware and software releases that have been game changing for the genre, accelerated graphics cards may seems a distant memory now but it had a dramatic effect. Track IR for flight sims is another. VR is definitely another for me. I accept it won't suit everyone be it for motion sickness, comfort, isolation and so on but in terms of enhancing the feeling of flying it is a game changer. However, like with sim racing for competitive gaming monitors may prove a better solution hence why we talk so much about immersion with VR, there can be a trade off with spotting in combat flight sims or peripheral vision using triple screens in sim racing as examples. Personally I would always take immersion but there is never a right answer but I do feel that the driving and flying in the top tier simulations are quite spectacular at making us feel we are controlling vehicles and planes and VR has become a key component into fooling my simple brain at least.

Another one returned due to a sticking WSS here. I didn’t feel it was as well constructed as the A10/F16 grip and found the switches a bit too “clacky”

Same here, regardless of settings 60Hz is a no go for me, the flickering is unbearable.

We all have our personal levels of acceptability. Having had VR since the DK2 days and having had several headsets including Rift, Odyssey+ and Pimax 5K+ it wasn't until the Reverb that DCS became a "VR title" for me and have loved it ever since. I would highly recommend a G2 to anyone looking to get into VR for flight sims.

No matter how seriously we might view it, combat simulations are our little fantasy worlds and casting judgements on how we go around blowing stuff up is a route to insanity. It is an opportunity to fly cool stuff and play fantasy war games without needing to question each actions relevance in RL, just as people run around shooting people in FPS games. The stuff we have to play with now is deadly in RL and used for questionable actions in terms of acceptability (as we saw today in Yemen) which form part of a debate that is way out of scope for DCS, which is providing entertainment for people that like military stuff irrespective of any beliefs about war time actions.

It makes me feel I may have lacked ambition with my profile!

@SoftailerYou need an analog axis to tune as described above. You don't have that with a keyboard and mouse for controls. Things get a lot more controllable with a joystick and rudder controls, I can't really imagine trying to do with a keyboard so hats off to you if you can!

The UI Layer controls has been moved to the top of the list. Can you expand on the gaze function you are now missing?

It maybe hidden in the system tray? If so, click on the up arrow to the left of the system tray to view hidden icons, then right click on the SSA icon and left click on settings. Turn off start minimized in system tray and show hello balloon.