Exorcet

Figuring out how to get additional variants into DCS would be a nice improvement. I imagine the most sensible way is through module upgrades that expand the range of modules. However it happens, if it happens, I'm all in.

Roll and yaw are coupled, so if you trim for roll you need to trim for yaw to keep the plane from sideslipping.

The rotary is for rudder trim. The stick controls pitch and roll. The F-18 being FBW means you don't need to touch trim as much as in a non FBW aircraft. Trimming is very important for flight because the aerodynamic balance of a plane changes constantly, but planes like the F-18 handle most of it for you. Most of the time you only really need to worry about roll trim to deal with asymmetry. You can try flying the standard TF-51 or Su-25T to see what happens when trim isn't automated if you'd like.

Yes unfortunately. I do feel like most modules are underpriced considering what they are. I have no insight on the subject but I do wonder what would happen if ED increased the price for niche modules. They could also simultaneously increase sale discounts to retain the interest of bargain hunters. Though if I recall the Yak at least came from a contract outside of DCS itself, so figuring out where the balance lies on priorities might be complicated. Something like CA seems like it would be a good module to tie into this, among other things.

Seconding this, if ED does add smarter slotting options (like choose a plane, etc) this should be part of that menu/revamp.

This sort of exists already. BS2/3, A-10 2, etc. We're on the 4th release of FC. ED will never run out of modules to sell. The current business model has no obstacles that I see on the horizon, though I personally would like module sales to be tied more closely to DCS core features. If they need more money, which there is no indication of, they can just keep updating modules.

This is a long standing issue impacting all maps and aircraft.

Be aware that Push and Set are different. Set wipes all other tasks the AI has while Push prioritizes a task without wiping everything. In order to push an action it needs to be added to the triggered actions, not waypoints, for a group. Was this done?

Those two things aren't mutually exclusive.

I looked at mission 1 and it worked for me, though I noticed there is an attack WP for the player flight and the AI will fly over this if told to engage mission. You might want to put a switch waypoint command before it so the AI doesn't overfly air defenses unnecessarily.

Caucuses looks great to me, I don't understand the complaints against it. It's also the only map with seasons. I don't use it much anymore because of the close proximity of all the airfields and the lack of any airbases in Turkey, but as is it seems fine.

Thanks for looking at this problem. There is a track in the first post. EDIT Recorded a new track AI_jump_route_2.trk

I think something like an AWACS could be branded as CA type product but focused on command and control. If so then it doesn't have to be extremely detailed, and it would still add a lot to DCS. I'd take a detailed aircraft module too, but just having a person replace the AI in the seat of even a simple AWACS could completely change the feel of a mission.

It might be a fuel issue then. If the AI uses too much fuel they refuse to start attacks.

I'm not sure if I fully understood, but here is a mission with triggers for your requests. If you play it you should see this: An A-10 orbits and drops flares every X minutes while a Helicopter switches orbits depending on if an enemy is near, messages saying what's happening are output as text. What's happening: A-10 Every X minutes a flag is turned on and pushes A-10 Flare bombing task. The next waypoint after bombing returns to original orbit and the cycle repeats. AH-1 Has two orbits. The second orbit is within a trigger zone. If enemy planes enter the zone, the AI will go hide further back at a predetermined orbit. Once the zone is clear, the AI resumes its mission. AIsetup.miz

Setting AWACS to its own frequency is a good idea, just make sure it's in the mission briefing so people can see it. A possible alternative is to remove the default AWACS task and instead use an AWACS triggered action that turns off after a set time and link it to F10 radio. Players could call AWACS through F10 which would then push the AWACS task that will only run for as long as the duration is set. Still not perfect and I've not tested it, but if it works as I expect this should at least keep AWACS quiet when no one is asking for updates. One small downside is that AWACS won't call out nearby threats automatically. I'm also not sure how datalink information will be affected.

Having it native to DCS would be nice. As would being able to fly the AWACS, even if not FF.

It doesn't matter where ED puts the price sticker. It all goes into their pocket. Charging for the core won't change anything. The modules they sell right now depend on and fund the core already, there is nothing that forces modules sales to only go to supporting module development. On the topic of subscriptions, I remain against because of increased user cost for no benefit.

AWACS won't report missiles of any kind, probably intended to reduce clutter, but it's annoying when dealing with large missiles like cruise missiles.

True, I was imagining that this would be on the way in before weapons were used, but it could be used after as a quick rearm. I think DML has a tool to penalize slot swapping so maybe that could be setup to prevent it after the first time?

They're going to have to switch slots. Mission Start > Slot in to plane at airport > Fly to tanker > Exit slot to despawn plane and then respawn in the air in predesignated slots. This disallows choosing weapons/livery though.

One way to utilize the speed difference between the two is to have the fixed wing perform passes over an area while helicopters loiter around the perimeter. The idea being that fixed wing comes in higher and faster to avoid being in the sights of air defenses while helicopters sit waiting for the defenders to shoot or be spotted by fixed wing and pounce on them when they do. The two can communicate with each other to coordinate as well so it doesn't have to come down to hoping that they end up at the same place in the same time. The idea can be expanded to armed reconnaissance where fixed wing cover more ground and search larger areas by flying higher and faster and then point out targets for helicopters to strike. Fixed wing can make attacks too and then revert to recon when out of ammo if fuel allows. Something else that might apply that I've tried in single player missions, but not MP as I don't have a server, is to create dynamic objectives. A pilot is briefed for one mission, but an emergency happens while enroute and they are retasked, or an objective of opportunity is detected and the pilot is given the option to engage with it. These can be designed to call whoever happens to be around and then let them figure out how they will cooperate, or they can be designed to call one asset to another, like calling fixed wing to an area where helicopters are fighting but don't have the tools to overcome an unexpected obstacle like a moderately armed ship or a medium range SAM.

The example was about dropping off the troops and swapping into one of them, not having the pilot get out of the helicopter.

While CA is a mess, I don't think I've seen anyone outside of DCS really complain about it. It doesn't compete with bigger games because it didn't manage to attract a wide audience. DCS ground troops would probably be the same and just compete within the simulator niche. DCS FPS will have to make some compromises, but that is fine. It doesn't have to be the pinnacle of FPS games. It only needs to provide us with some way to allow player controlled troops to interact with aircraft. Even just adding controllable infantry to CA is a good start. There are some issues of scale when mixing aircraft and ground combat, but it's not a massive problem. I've made missions where I interact with ground forces for more than 5 minutes, and even if one pilot can only stay around for 5 minutes you can have more than one pilot available to extend the interaction time between air and ground.

They are set to "Start from ramp" meaning they need to do a start up process before taking off. For the B-52 this can take 15 minutes. Ctrl Z will let you speed up time. How much you can go is machine dependent, but as this is an AI only mission you should be able to speed up pretty far. I was able to run this mission at 100x speed. Shift Z brings you back to 1x speed and Alt Z slows down time. In the ME you can also change the first waypoint type from Start from Ramp to Start from Ramp Hot, this will make them start taxi sooner as they will already be started. Or just make it takeoff from runway or turning point to start on the runway/in the air.