SnowTiger

Each time I hovered (including today), I was well above the ground and nowhere near any FARP or Airport. This is Normal Recon Hovering at treetop elevations or much higher. Sometimes there is no issue and other times the Autopilot goes Ape S**T with the BANK, PITCH and HEADING Hold Buttons Flashing and having ZERO Control over anything. I fly with those three AP buttons ON (as most people do) and slow until I have no forward or lateral or vertical movement before engaging Hover Mode. This is the moment it all goes sideways on me. I have tried hovering at the airport prior to taking off and have had no problems. Other times I go to the target area and hover to Recon the area. Sometimes it's all good and other times it goes Ape as I have indicated above. I have triple-checked all of my Settings and Keybinds etc and Nothing has changed from what it has always been. Again, I point out that this developed immediately following the most recent Update (about 2 or 3 weeks ago ?). I tried to video record the event when it took place because a Track File would be too long prior to this issue happening but I discovered the NVidia Keybind for Recording also happens to coincide with a DCS function that Slows the Play Speed (Alt-Z) so I'd have to revise that in Nvidia. I haven't recorded any flight in Many Years so I just don't have it properly set up to record the issue. I thought of trying to record my Screen with my Phone but that is very difficult with a Quest 3 on my head. I hope ED is paying attention to this thread and may have a solution or can take a look in another configuration because this issue is making DCS unplayable for me. I only fly the Ka-50 and the Mustang and there aren't many Servers for the latter.

I apologize for not getting back here sooner. My health has not been great lately. I did fly last weekend in SP and everything was working fine until after about 30 minutes and then all of a sudden it all went haywire again. I didn't bother with the Track File because I figured it would take too long for anyone to find the issue. I hope to fly again tomorrow (Saturday) and if the problem still exists as I expect it will, I can only hope it'll happen quickly so I can keep a track file and/or video short. I just have to remember how to record a video from Nvidia. It has been years since I've even tried that. I have to admit, I am surprised no one else has mentioned having the same issue .. at least not in this thread. I can't imagine this is only happening to me ?

I will try to get back on DCS on Sunday midday to try it out in SP on Caucasus map and will upload a track file or report any difference then. Meanwhile, I noticed that the most recent update did have a correction to the Blade Tip Lights which I guess, were not tracking with the blade tips or something like that. It is my firm belief that any time DCS/ED touches anything .. such as Windshield Wipers or a Name Tag or whatever, something Completely Unrelated Gets BUSTED. It's been going on for Years. So who knows what this current issue is or if it's even the only one with the BlackShark. Anyway, I sound like I'm just griping now so I'll sign off and check it out again tomorrow. Thanks for the interest.

I updated to DCS 2.9.17.12034 on Thursday but didn't get flying until this morning. Fired everything up and chose to conduct a Hover over the pad and everything went haywire. The Moment you put the chopper in Hover Mode the Autopilot Lights ALL go Off and Flash ON/OFF while the chopper starts doing everything but hover. I didn't bother to see if anything else is Busted from the latest F-update. I fly as a single person on a Multiplayer Server so I rely on Hover when conducting Recon. I hope it's fixed soon because while I have MANY more mods, I only fly the BlackShark and the Mustang and there aren't many servers for flying the Mustang any more.

I'd just like to confirm that I was doing exactly that. Burning out the laser. I was just away from DCS for too many years to remember stuff and getting too old to learn much now. Thanks again for the help.

This is most likely where I have been going wrong. As soon as I get flying and am away from the Air Base or FARP, I arm my weapons AND turn the Laser switch ON. I was under the impression that the switch merely applies power but that the Laser wasn't doing anything until and unless I Lock a Target (which Ranges at the same time). I will be flying today (Saturday) and will most definitely be changing my habits, utilizing the information I have received since first posting this issue. Thanks to both Chump and Flappie for the replies as well as the detailed information provided. I will report my results ASAP. Have a great day Y'all.

First of all, thank you for your reply, Flappie. I definitely am using the correct Bindings thingy (definitely Ka-50 III) but I will concede that the laser may be getting burned out before I start trying to use it. Now.. I "think" I actually tried it out before even taking off and/or I "think" I even tried it in a newly loaded and Auto-Started chopper but I will admit, I do flip the Left Side Console Laser Switch ON often before I even take off or shortly after taking off. So my question is, if I have the Laser Switch ON, is it heating up even though I haven't Targeted anything yet ? I'm pretty sure during my last flight (attempt), before my live wingman and I left the base, I wanted to try sending my wingman some Target DATA while hovering over our spawn position and I couldn't even get the laser to work then .. in a fresh chopper. BUT ... I am going to go in tomorrow and try to see what I'm doing exactly while considering what you have suggested, just to double-check everything before I say any more. My recollection of my last flight(s) is more of Frustration than having a precise account of all that I did or did not do. I will double check everything and report back, especially if I find that I'm just being Dense and/or whether one of your suggestions plays a roll Thanks again for your time.

As of this weekend, I sometimes could not Lock a Target and even when I did, I was not getting a Laser RANGE TO TARGET. NONE ! As such, I never knew exactly how far the target was from me and the Vikhr Missile often fell short (even when inside 3km's) ! I checked that All my Controls were working and recognized in the Controls Settings. I even changed which button (on my Throttle) that I use for Locking and Ranging a Target and that didn't affect anything. Still no Range shown. I should note that I usually use Auto Start to save some farting around, especially using VR with a Bad Back and Neck which negates my ability to look at either of the Rear Panels or many of the switches etc on the Right Wall Panel (towards the rear). My Master Arm is ON. I do have Vikhrs Missiles. The Laser switch is ON. The "Laser Rangefinder/Designator Mode Switch" is on MANUAL and the Correct Pylon has been selected indicating I have 12 Vikhrs. It's also important to note that I am NOT in Gun Mode. So I just don't understand what is going on. Last weekend, everything worked just peachy. This weekend ... Hair Pulling was in order !! Somebody Please Help me understand wtf is going on ? PS> While I was away from DCS for Years, I have been flying Black Shark 3 every weekend for the last 2 months but I'll admit, I had this same issue a month ago or so. It all worked just fine last weekend.

I came up with a different solution for this problem because sometimes I have a hard enough time finding my mouse cursor on my Desktop/Monitor. So I went into Control Panel and Mouse Properties and Selected or Checked the Bottom Option on the "Pointer Options" TAB. Now any time I can't see or find my mouse cursor, I just tap Either "Ctrl" Button (on my keyboard) and I see a big, black Circle around my Cursor. It comes and goes in about 1 second or less. It's enough time to find it and away I go. EDIT: I neglected to Attach this screenshot of my Mouse Properties. Note the Very Bottom/Last checkbox "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key."

I can't seem to find any missions or campaigns for the Black Shark III. I have The Republic but it's useless. Might just as well be flying in DCS 1.5 considering the Enemy Air Defences can see through Trees and Buildings which means there is no hope of getting through even the First Mission. I'd love to have One Decent Campaign and a few SP Missions for the BS 3. I did search in the User Files but couldn't find anything that has been created in the last 10 years. If anyone has something they are willing to share, I'd be grateful.

This issue with the Trees STILL Exists. Here I'm in the Black Shark 3 in June of 2025 and wondering how and why are SAM's seeing me and taking me out when there are Trees and Buildings between me and them. In fact, unless you know exactly where to look and can lock onto the targets and fire very quickly, it is almost unplayable. I have flown the FIRST mission 8 times and 8 times I got shot down even though I was being very methodical with my approach and I changed tactics with every new turn. The Republic might as well be DELETED from the game to regain at least some HD space for future Fk-updates.

Awesome. Thanks again.

10-4 The more I explore in DCS, the more I realize ED's policy is somewhat like that of most governments. "If it makes sense ... Don't Do It" ! hehe PS> ED/DCS ... that's meant to be "humour" .. not an attack.

Thank you MAXsenna for your reply. I'm not sure I have the mental power to set it all up properly but I certainly would like to get it to work. It just seems that there are so many external things that must be learned to fly in DCS that my old brain might not be totally up for ... but I will give it a go. When I do start setting this stuff up, might you be willing to connect via Discord (or whatever) to help make sure I'm on the right track ? It'll likely be another month before I'm ready to start getting it going but it could be sooner too.

But what if I have Never had any MFD's or Exported Views ? How does this apply then ? It seems that ultimately, the solution is OpenKneeboard. Great .. one more thing to have to learn.

I thought the mouse is supposed to start wherever you are Looking ? Or basically, centered on wherever you are looking at that moment ? In other words, look where you want to look and then move your mouse. You should see it directly ahead or centered on your viewpoint. If you haven't done it already, you might want to set the mouse to stick within the Game Window (see General Graphics Settings / Bottom Right Corner of options.

I've been away from DCS for quite a while. So long that I'm having to relearn practically everything, especially with all the new features and interface etc. I own both Voice Attack and Viacom Pro. I thought we use either one or the other. I had no idea they were meant to be used together. My question is: Can I use Voice Attack WITHOUT Viacom and if so, what is the disadvantages or advantages ?

Does anyone have any idea when the F-16's Tutorials might be redone ? I find that half of them don't work or are obsolete/outdated. I just tried the Maverick Tutorial yesterday (I forget the exact title of it) and while it showed which buttons to select, absolutely nothing happens when you select those buttons. This starts about 1/3rd the way into the tutorial and remains busted throughout the remainder of the tutorial, making it 100% USELESS. I have found an watched DOZENS of YouTube Videos but many of those are out-of-date now as well. I'd be happy knowing of ONE Video that shows me all I need to know to make something go BOOM with a Maverick. The simplest method would be great (because I know there are several). I'm just looking for quick, easy and effective and most of all .. Working.

@MAXsenna Thank you. I did NOT know that. In fact, I'm not 100% sure what you are saying but it sound like IF I'm in VR and in a cockpit and go into the Controls menu that I could have a Hat or 4-way buttons or something to essentially Navigate through a list or something ? Or are you referring to the actual Operation and Tuning of RADIOS using a Hat (for example) ? Pardon my ignorance. I'm knew to VR even though I purchased a brand new HP Reverb G2 but only used it for a few minutes during a time when I took 6 years away from DCS due to too many frustrations. By the time I returned, the G2 was obsolete. So Much has changed in DCS that I feel like I'm learning all over again (after flying since 2008). Anyway, I thank you for your reply and anything further if I'm "out to lunch" on my interpretation of your message

I certainly am since I just started flying in VR with a Quest 3. I can "sort of" resize or reshaped the kneeboard but I can't (for example) grab a corner to Scale it down or to Move it elsewhere. I also noted 2 other things that erk me a bit. One is a Ghost Outline of the Left Side/Border of the kneeboard all the way over on the Left Side of my view (outside the left window essentially). The other issue is trying to actually do anything with the kneeboard until I get looking in the right spot and get the Cursor in the right spot, and only then can I click on anything in the kneeboard .. like Change Page etc. There most certainly is Room for Improvement.

Thank you kindly for your reply. I certainly don't want to be "smacked in the eye" by anything ! LOL It took me a minute to find the UI Layer .. In truth, I have NEVER seen that there before. I noticed when I selected "Toggle VR Zoom" with the button(s) I used to Zoom In/Out when using TrackIR, the Options Window (at the bottom) shows that I use the same button for Zoom in other aircraft modules BUT it doesn't seem to imply there is any Conflict. It just appears to be showing that I use the same button elsewhere. I hope this is Normal and won't have any negative effect ? In any case, I can't wait to try it out. Thank you so much for turning me on to this because I would have NEVER found this on my own. Happy Flights and Fights my friend.

Hello everyone. I started using my new Quest 3 VR headset along with the DataLink Cable. It has taken 4 full weekends to get things working nicely (as far as visuals go). I do NOT use the Quest 3 Controllers in DCS although I did see early on that the Left Controller had/has a Zoom button (or button combo ?) that worked for Zooming in. However, I found the controllers to be problematic in DCS at best. The problem I'm having is that None of the Zoom Mapping I have done on my VKB Gunfighter MCG Pro Stick or my Warthog Throttle are working. These are the same Buttons (etc) that I have always used for Zooming In/Out/Normal in DCS. In some modules, I have also used the Warthog Throttle's Lever/Slider thingy for Zooming In/Out but even that isn't working any more. I'm hoping another Quest 3 user can help me resolve this issue ? The graphics are decent enough but DCS is unplayable without the use of Zoom because the Quest 3 just doesn't have the Resolution. I'd appreciate any input, especially if you have already dealt with this issue and have resolved it. PLEASE and THANK YOU. PS> My PC Specs are below (I think).

I have since discovered some things that made a HUGE difference in my graphics. First of all, I don't put ANYTHING in the Pixels Per Display Pixel Override slot any more. I leave it a Zero which is what it defaults to every time I restart it anyway. I have also increased my Encode Bitrate (Mbps) to 900 and today I adjust the "Graphics Preferences" SLIDER all the way to the Right or 1.5 (off hand I don't remember what the resolution is now but it's maxed out). It greatly improved my graphics and actually seems to be more in tune with what I'd expect if plugged directly into my GPU. The only shortfall from doing this (that I've found so far) is that now I get a bit of a stutter when I move my head too quickly and mostly only when looking outside the cockpit. I'm sure there is something I could tweak to make it better. I just hope I find said solution .. before it makes me puke ! In DCS I've also reduced Sharpening to 50% whereas I had it at 1 (slider all the way to the right previously). I don't know if this helped or did anything but it was a suggestion in the video that showed me how, why and where to adjust the Graphics Preferences (slider). Here is the video link if you care to see for yourself. Essentially, it's all Greek to me but that one thing has done more for me than the last month of farting around changing settings. https://youtu.be/51oc4lrYB4E?si=OjRIyyhUtyEJ16ad PS: I do NOT use SteamVR. I only currently use my Quest 3 for DCS Standalone and that's it.

I figured out what/where the "set PD to 1.8, turn off ASW (disabled), set bitrate to 500" settings go. I have attached another screenshot of the revised Debug screen. PS> The other person had me set the first line to 1.200000. I have revised it to reflect your suggestions. Thanks again for that. I guess I'll have to input the 1.8 each time I open and use the Debug tool right ? OR Is there a way to save it ? Also, I didn't realize that the Debug tool was required to remain Open while playing (albeit Minimized) ? I never even had it on during my last couple flights so I'm interested to see what it's like with the Debug tool open which I will be doing very soon today. Thanks again.

Thank you kindly. I will try your settings out, most of which I believe I already have set but I was using the Oculus Debug app but wasn't sure it was actually doing anything. It also appears that the settings I've input do not stay set. In other words, I have to input those setting each time I want to fly. I have noticed a couple things you have recommended which I will try which differ from what someone else had recommended (re: Oculus Debug tool) such as Bitrate which someone else suggested 900 vs 500 you mention. Now I don't know what ANY of these settings do but I'm willing to try anything to get the most out of my headset. I will set it to 500 as you suggested. BTW - I was told I should put 800 (or something like that ... I can't remember now) in the very first line re: Pixels Per Display Pixel Override. Whatever I did input there, never stays. It always reads 0 (zero) every time I open the debug tool. Is there a way to save the settings ? I'm also curious where to find "PD to 1.8, turn off ASW (disabled)" because I don't see them in the debug tool ? I'm including a Screenshot to show my Debug tool window. Once set, should these settings remain OR will I need to input these settings each time I fly using the Link Cable ? Here's another question. My Data Link Cable has a USB C port near one end for Charging (which I thought the Link Cable did among other things). Somewhere along the line I either Read or saw in a Video that suggested I can Plug the Quest 3 charging cable and adapter into that port. I have done that a couple times but then I get a message about 10 minutes into flying that says "something like" "Your Cable has Gotten Wet therefore .. something or other .. is being turned off" which seems to imply the Charging feature is turned off. I don't know because it's all Greek to me. Thanks again av8orDave