wickedpenguin

I'd just like to make an "aside" of sorts. When so many other games and sims are having serious issues (Rise of Flight, I'm looking at you), I'm thrilled that we can play a simulator whose only problems are minor technical niggles like an engine running "a little hot".

I'd love to play DCS: Mujahideen. "RPG ka-boom helicopter!" (Please... someone get that reference...)

I agree with this. Some of my favorite moments in the sim have been emergencies as well - whether caused by a system failure or enemy fire. "It's time to shine," as they say. I'll be cruising along, keeping an eye outside the windows, thinking about a plan of- BOOM! The helo jerks left. "Right engine fire." Right fuel cutoff. Cut the right fuel pump. Left throttle to emergency. Watch that airspeed... don't let it drop... don't want to loose translational lift. Unload the rocket pods. Squeeze off the Vikhrs. "Main hydro". Lower the gear before the hydraulics bleed out. Fire's out. Engage the APU to burn off fuel weight. Dive for the deck, get low out of firing range of whatever hit me. Scan the instruments. Airspeed indicator's out. I look up. My pitot tube's been blown off the nose. All I've got left is GPS ground speed. That'll do. You go from calm to living on the edge in mere seconds. I love it.

My stories tend to be a bit gritty, and most fall under the steampunk/alternative history genres. This is one of the few that's pure historical fiction. I'd never heard of those instances during the Bolshevik revolution. I just looked up some information on the famine from 1920-21. Quite interesting - and disturbing. Learn something new everyday.

EveryDayFiction.com just published a new 1000 word short story I wrote, set during the Siege of Leningrad. It's probably my darkest story yet. Many people here seem to be Russian history buffs, so I figured some here may appreciate it given its historical setting. Click to read: "Day 483" Hope you guys like it.

But honestly, do we really watch aviation movies - like Chevaliers du Ciel and Top Gun - for plot? No. It's for the aviation pr0n factor! :) And I don't mean the TG volleyball scene either!

For a little variety in missions, I started using the Mission Poll features available on certain servers (I believe the ones with the Servman mod). It works nicely to break up mission monotony. I mean, by now, how many of us have played the Convoy Hunting mission to death? The other day I tried the poll and found this mission where you start off at an airbase that's under fire by enemy artillery across a harbor. Talk about an "abbreviated startup checklist"! Another one started you off in a canyon where insurgents lined the cliffs. Just open up the chat window and type "/mizpoll". It'll give you options to vote on the available missions on the server.

How about the best of both worlds? Make a Yak-141. Supersonic for the go-fasters. VTOL for the hover honies. :pilotfly:

On one hand I do like the back-and-forth of the missions. It makes it feel like a real wartime "front" as I take two steps forward, then get knocked one step back by a counteroffensive of sorts. On the other, I really just want to progress through them. Each mission takes a while and I'd prefer not to have to redo two missions instead of just the one I failed. Quite frankly, my gaming time is precious and I really can't waste it redoing things I've already completed. For instance, I just attempted The Other Side mission - the one where you need to start climbing immediately to get over mountains near the target. That is a long, slow, arduous mission. The target is a long ways away and you're moving so slowly since you're fighting for altitude. Even the briefing says it'll take an hour to reach the target. I lost two of my four wingmen in the firefight, and was almost done mopping everything up. At the last moment I freaking overstressed my helicopter maneuvering and smacked my own rotorblades together. So stupid and frustrating. But guess what? I backed up my logbook .lua file. I can just go back and redo that single mission, instead of having to work through the one before it first.

But would you have a target area in FSX? :P My point is this: I fly flight sims in order to experience an aircraft in its natural habitat. I'll fly a Cessna when I want to take a pleasure flight from Miami down to Key West. I'll fly a 747 when I want to simulate an airline flight from New York to Frankfurt. I'll fly a Beechcraft Baron when I want to play light cargo hauler and dodge thunderstorms trying to deliver my freight. I'll buy FSX addons that can't do what the stock airplanes will do. I bought the Embraer 170/190 so that I could have the fully functional cockpit systems and FMS. I bought the Flight 1 Cessna so that I have more realistic flight model and performance. Now, each of those aircraft is a transport. It gets you from point A to point B - that's its purpose. The Black Shark is a combat aircraft. Why would I buy a KA-50 for FSX if the only thing I can do with it is takeoff, cruise around, and land? It's essentially no better than the stock Jet Ranger, except for the flight model. There's no combat in FSX, so most of its functions and capability are unused. I'm just saying, if you're going to fork out $40, may as well get the best representation of the aircraft, one that's set in its natural habitat.

Why would someone buy this... http://www.alphasim3.com/store/product_info.php?currency=USD&products_id=255&osCsid=b8ad0aa2afc05a36769f09aed72467eb ... and not just spend the same amount of money on Black Shark? They're both $40. I mean, just look at these screenshots. http://www.alphasim3.com/Gallery/albums/helicopters/Ka50/2008-8-6_22-56-9-668.jpg http://www.alphasim3.com/Gallery/albums/helicopters/Ka50/2008-8-6_22-34-43-779.jpg http://www.alphasim3.com/Gallery/albums/helicopters/Ka50/2008-8-6_22-19-34-702.jpg Is it terrible? No. It actually doesn't look all that bad as far as FSX goes. It's just that everything seems to be such lower fidelity than DCS:BS, for the same price. The model is blocky,the textures rough. The cockpit has everything in the right place, but their spacing is "off" (just look at the targeting panel). The HUD is a joke. Plus, in BS, you get, I don't know... an actual world and battlefield to fight in... working weapons... working datalink system... fully operational systems beyond "the MFD accurately represents the Ka-50's moving map system"....and so much more. You know, a real simulation, as opposed to a half-baked facsimile of a helicopter. Just thought it was funny.

I see what you're working with. With a sim like DCS:BS, you really do need some more buttons to keep your hands on the controls instead of back and forth to the keyboard. IL-2 and Rise of Flight would work fine, but not BS. Once you get your X52, you'll see a world of difference. When I upgraded from my dinky MS Sidewinder to the X45, everything just became so much easier. Having a gaming keyboard helps as well. I've got a Logitech G15 keyboard which has 18 "G" keys on the left. You can assign macros to each of those keys instead of having to remember obscure key combinations. For instance, instead of having to press A-Left Shift to engage the autopilot altitude hold function, I created a macro on my G11 key that does it. Or to turn my Weapon Master Arm on/off, instead of pressing W-Left Alt, I macroed that to my G9 key. In short, I've got my autopilot buttons, master on/off, laser designator on/off, and my entire datalink panel macroed in to those "G" keys. Makes it very, very quick to operate.

I will agree that it is possible to "game" the AI. For instance, in online multiplayer - or even in offline - when you attack a group of enemies they just sit there. In RL, if a column of vehicles were sitting around at a pit stop and two of their vehicles suddenly exploded, everybody would be hauling ass and scattering like ants for cover. In DCS:BS, it's like a shooting gallery. They'll fire back if you get close, but they sure as heck won't run away. As far as handing all the controls, practice, practice, practice. It's a heavy but manageable workload. I'm not sure what control setup you have, but find a system that works for you. I've got every major combat function mapped to my Saitek X45 HOTAS - and that's without TrackIR. Let's say I'm entering the combat area and am scanning with the naked eye. I see something in the distance. With my right thumb, I spin Rotary #2 and zoom in slightly on the object. Ok, it's vehicular. I turn the helicopter with the cyclic in my right hand and the rudder rocker underneath my left middle finger. Thumb down on Hat Switch #2 drops the HMS in front of me. My left index finger pushes Hat Switch #3 to the right, turning on Moving Ground Vehicle targeting. I'm now facing the target. Using my thumb Hat Switch #1, I slew my view -and HMS - over the target area. With my right index finger, I press a button that activates the Shkval and slews in the vicinity of the target. My left thumb now uses the mini joystick on the X45's throttle to slew the Shkval view. I see the target. It's a BMP. My right thumb first presses Hat Switch #2 to the right and selects the Vikhrs, then presses button #3 to lock the target. In the meantime, I'm slowing the helicopter to a hover. I trim with my right thumb on button #8 on the throtttle. As the airspeed drops to zero, I engage with Auto Hover with my right pinky on the stick's Pinky Switch. Left index finger pushes Hat Switch #3 down, activating Auto-Turn on Target. The helicopter is hovering and stable, rotating to face the target. Tweak the cyclic and rudder slightly until the Vikhr circle covers the target. Right thumb presses button #2 on the stick and whoosh - missile away. Seconds later, boom. It's all about finding a system, learning it, and practicing with it.

Doing that doesn't reset your flight? I've done that before, but in the interest of saving the environment (so I can later waste it with Fuel-Air Bombs and CBUs and leave it covered with the smoking hulks of M1 Abrams covered in slowly-cooking-off depleted uranium armor) I was wondering if there's a built-in digital method. Hm, good idea. I've got a dual monitor setup (only use 1 for BS - Vista) so that would work nicely.

Yeah, that article's a bit ridiculous. Unlimited turn rate? At some point the drag of the fuselage and vertical stab will prevent the helo from spinning any faster. Of course, by that point the pilot would have lost consciousness... or be dizzier than any man has a right to be. :prop: And the whole bit about it not being by affected wind strength and direction is ridiculous. It's just as susceptible to weathervaning as any other helicopter. What's different is how it counteracts the effects.

Is there a way to display at least the text of the mission briefing after you've already clicked "Fly" and are in-cockpit? If not, I'd like to request that option. The campaign missions are easy to understand, but sometimes the user-created online missions can be a little convoluted. I'd like to be able to go back and refer to them at some point. Maybe a small popup window or virtual kneeboard would work. The map is not necessary - just the actual briefing text.

Well then... My bad. :P That Wiki article must've been created by a Brit. "Our helos have all the crap those Yanks' birds do, but the manual's written in Olde English... so it's better! Nyah!" :)

TBH, more than an Apache sim, I'd like to see an AH-1W Cobra. If the sims are all supposed to be set within the same region, I think the Cobra actually makes more sense since it would be deployed off "amphibious flattops" offshore, supporting a US Marine invasion force. It could of course deploy to FARPs and airfields as well. It doesn't have the payload of the Apache, but it does have day/night capability and - something I'd look forward to - the ability to use Sidewinder missiles. In an ideal situation, I'd love to see the new AH-1Z Viper upgrade modeled. More powerful engines, FLIR, full glass cockpits, and it packs 8 Hellfires, rockets/unguided weapons, and a pair of Sidewinders on the newly lengthened stub wings. It also uses the Longbow radar mounted on a wingtip station. http://www.gesomoon.com/zboard/data/comm_article/AH_1Z_Viper_001.jpg I thought this was a cool quote from Wikipedia: "During the 1983 Marine multinational force operations off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon during that nation's civil war the AH-1 was deployed. Faced with the possibility of a threat involving the suicide delivery of airborne explosives loaded on light civil aircraft, the AH-1s were employed armed with sidewinder missiles and guns on a ready-alert status as an air defense asset in the absence of carrier based fixed wing cover or STOVL fighters." Helo CAP :) Overall I think the mission profiles would be broader and more interesting. On top of all the regular land missions we have in Black Shark - escort, rescue, antitank, bunker buster, etc. - we could have some of these: * Riding shotgun for a flight of MV-22s carrying SPECOPS personnel in-country. * Softening up beach defenses for a coming invasion. * Provide fire support for Marines already on the beach, helping them break through. * Engaging enemy missile boats who pose a threat to the fleet. * Protecting a civilian cruise liner from pirates or terrorists. * Provide cover for civilians evacuating via the sea. * Helo hunt - track down a flight of enemy helos transporting a VIP. * Engage in anti-shipping operations to cutoff the enemy supply lines In that vein, if they do make the Apache I hope it's the British version, the AgustaWestland Apache Mk1. They were designed with shipboard ops in mind. It features more powerful engines, folding rotors for shipboard storage, and anti-ice protection for the rotors to allow ops in Arctic conditions.

I'm really curious as to how they're going to accomplish this. I hope that, for online play, they have two options: 1) A "Solo" flight option, where you can fly online but only with an AI-controlled gunner or pilot. It essentially locks out everyone else from your helo. This would prevent some jackass from jumping in your helo and deciding to practice flying into buildings. And, well, sometimes I just like to fly alone. 2) An "invite" feature, where you can click on a player's name and "invite" them into your helicopter as your gunner or pilot. As a some-time ATC tower controller in Microsoft FS X, I always found it fun to work aircraft with two people "aboard" flying together. For instance, I'd have a CRJ-700 doing practice approaches, and the two pilots would trade off for each approach. You'd have the pilot flying and the other guy working the radios. Very cool stuff.

Uh, no. Let's say the position's being fired upon by the USA's M109 mobile arty system. That's got an effective range of 18km. Or what if it's being blasted by a BM-30 Smerch, who can fire its rockets from 33km away? "Heard" you coming? They likely can't even see you. Unless there's a forward spotter who can radio them to stop - not modeled in the sim as far as I know - the arty crews have zero idea you're coming. They're given a target location and told to fire on it until told otherwise. Even if told to hold fire, what about the rounds in flight? If you fly into an area that's being pummeled by arty and get yourself blown out of the sky, that's your problem.

Before DCS:Black Shark, I hated helicopter sims. I'd tried out the FSX helicopters and simply couldn't get a handle on them. I'd be upside and on fire before I could blink. But DCS just feels right. The controls are smooth, the engineering and modeling perfect. The first time I was flitting about at 250kph, spotted something suspicious to the side, and smoothly side-slipped myself into a hover with the Shkval on target, I felt like a million bucks. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm flying an aircraft. It feels more like a Wild West gunfighter. I know it sounds cheesy, but instead of strapping into the helicopter, it feels more like you're strapping it on. It becomes a part of you and operating it just comes naturally. I also like the balance of the campaigns. They slowly ramp up the difficulty, allowing you to slowly increase your knowledge and your confidence. The scenarios I've done have all been surprising and very fun to play.

The rockets seem so very uneven. I was playing online last night, attacking a column of M1 Abrams, M109s, and Humvees. I fired a 10-round rocket barrage at an M1 and - to my shock and awe - the tank blew up. Then emptied my remaining rockets on several M109s. Not a single one of them blew up. As far as the Escort mission referenced in the OP, the Rescue mission in the insurgency campaign has a very similar instance. You've got a treeline full of enemy soldiers firing on a little house containing a downed friendly pilot. I engage them with my rockets and not a single one dies. Not ONE. I had to attack them with my cannon and snipe each soldier one by one with HE shells. Utterly ridiculous.

I personally use my nose spike to impale enemy insurgents, like Emperor Ming in Flash Gordon. All that AOA and airspeed stuff is just extra gravy. Cue Unreal Tournament 3 announcer voice: "ROAD RAGE!!!" :D

Yeah, 'cause he's too fat to move now. But Chuck Norris, on the other hand... Chuck Norris doesn't fly backwards. He punches the Earth until it rotates away from him.

Mid-air wingman collisions have happened to me several times. A couple of times, of course, I was maneuvering hard and BANG, we hit. But overall, he just seems so hell bent on getting to close-in 5 o'clock position that he'll fly directly over me, under me, or beside me just to get there. There have been times where I've done a little pop-up maneuver just get a peek over a hill, and BANG - he's right freaking there. That happened to me yesterday in the "Rescue" mission of the insurgency campaign. Had to start the whole thing over again because the guy flew right over the top of my helo. It's gotten to the point where if I can hear him, I don't move and take a clearing look around before I do anything. I wish there was a "Stop riding my a$$!" command for wingmen. :)