Doc3908

Honestly, I find the current model close to perfect, but I do look forward to seeing what new features the developer has come up with. Mostly, I'm glad to see that the I-16 has not been abandoned.

Some formation flying in the L-39.

Just tried some flat spins. Works just fine - both upright and inverted. Not perfectly flat, but acceptable... I'll try again later to see if i can flatten it better.

Thanks. It's somewhat easier in the F-5 because the RWR tells you when the missile gets within critical range. You just have to time things carefully and get visual on the bandit after (hopefully) you defeat the 120s. I've done this same fight multiple times, and now that I know what to do, I win probably 75% of the time. For a real challenge, I tried the same exact mission yesterday, but in the A-4E (also with two AIM9Ps). There's no RWR in the A-4 other than an audio warning when you get locked up and when a missile is coming in. But you have no idea where the bandit is or where the missile is coming from. Got shot down probably 5-6 times before I managed to pull it off again.

LoL! Yeah, the F-16 had plenty of opportunities to bug out, but even in a guns-only fight, the F-16 has almost all the advantages. I'll defer to the experts on this forum, but I'm pretty sure that the F-16 can out-rate the F-5, especially when I'm low on energy from dodging missiles. Instead, the stupid AI decides to play its favorite vertical games. Pulling the same stunt against a human would be MUCH, MUCH more difficult (unless they make a mistake, of course).

Here's me taking the good old A-4E up against an F-16C (armed with two AIM-120C and two AIM-9M). Hope you enjoy the video! Doc

Ok, I can beat a fully armed F-16 in an old F-5E. Is there a greater challenge?? How about taking on that same F-16 with an A-4E? Enjoy!

Trying to beat the odds...

Hmmm... How can I make this challenge even more difficult?? Let's try an F-5E against an F-16C...

Why fight only one superior opponent, when you can engage two? In this video, I'm flying a MiG-29C (i.e. 'S') armed only with two R-73s. My opponents are two F/A-18Cs, each armed with two AIM-120C and two AIM-9M. The F/A-18s are flown by AI set to "veteran". We start at the same altitude (6500ft/2000m), 24km apart. The goal is to goad the F/A-18s into firing all their AIM120Cs, defeat the missiles, then engage the bandits in close with the R-73s and the gun.

I find that the primary difference in the AI behavior is how sharp its turns are and how much more energy it carries into the vertical. At "ace"/"excellent", the AI simply defies gravity at times: I've gone up after a bandit with plenty of energy, but he climbs and climbs, then when it finally seems like it's run out of energy (me too...), it levels off for a split second, then resumes its straight up vertical climb. Sometimes they also maneuver quite well with most of their control surfaces shot off (I have a video somewhere chasing an AI with both elevators and one aileron shot off, and the thing would climb and turn like it's fresh off the production line). Otherwise, all AI levels follow the same scripted scenarios, make the same stupid mistakes, are equally predictable, etc. I find that "veteran" offers the best balance between "realism" (sort of...) and challenge: "Rookie" is laughable, "trained" is too easy, and "ace" is still quite defeatable, but stretches the definition of "plausible" way too much to be enjoyable and immersive. Nice flying, by the way!

The next video is about Su-27 engaging F-15 and and F-16 at lower altitude (6500ft/2000m). This is easy against the AI, but still fun. Next up - MiG-21 vs. F-16. This one is more of a guessing game (When did he fire? What did he fire?), but there is some method to the madness. Frustrating and fun at the same time.

Thanks, Ironhand! Yeah, that's kinda what I'm trying to do. After defeating the second AIM120, I start climbing slowly to about 1800-2000m, keeping my speed as high as possible. Then I turn sideways to the bandit for a few seconds. As soon as he fires his AMRAAM, I reverse, drop all kinds of chaff and head for the deck. It's worked a couple of times, but the timing has to be perfect because the bandit is firing at 6-7km range and that AIM120 accelerates initially to mach 3.5, while I'm down to mach 1.05-1.1. By then, the distance between me and the bandit has shrunk to 4km or less, and he goes for his AIM9s, which I usually can deal with (haven't tried the AIM9X, though). How do I force the AI to come down low??

In the third video, the stakes are higher. I'm flying my trusty old Su-27 armed with R-73s against F-16C and F-15C AI ("veteran") opponents armed with four AIM120Cs and two AIM9Ms. Initial separation is 24km, initial altitude - 24000ft/7300m. After the first two AIM120Cs are defeated, I'm on the deck and the bandit is still high and fast and much closer - 7km or so. A large dose of LUCK is needed... (I'm showing only three successful engagements. My record currently is 4 successes and 7 defeats...) Anyway, hope you enjoy the video.

I've been trying to practice merging in close with AI-controlled aircraft (F-15, F-16, F-18) in a Su-27 armed only with a pair of R73s. I started with the bandit armed with two AIM120Cs and two AIM9Ms, and eventually switched to four AIM120Cs and two AIM9Ms. The initial separation is 24km and I vary the initial altitude. The AI is set to "veteran". It's easy at low altitude (6000ft), because the AI F-16 holds off firing his AMRAAM until he is 13km away, so I can easily f-pole and by then I'm close enough to engage him with the R-73s. At 25000ft, he fires immediately, and that's easily f-poled. Then he fires again at about 13km, and I reverse away from the missile and dive for the deck, dragging the missile into the ground (my radar is off by then). The problem is that now I'm on the deck doing mach 1.2 (and decreasing), while the bandit F-16 is till up high, chasing me at mach 1.4+ and soon closes to about 6km. I try hiding in the hills but he's usually has no problem finding me and sending another AIM120C my way from above at a distance of 4km or less. I've gotten lucky a few times and evaded the third missile, but then comes the fourth AIM120C... In about 10-12 engagements, I've managed to kill him 3 times and only because he closed in and tried firing the AIM9s instead of the AIM120C. Once we are merged and I have visual on him, I have no problem. But after the second or third AIM120, I have no idea where that F-16 is (usually up high). I play VR, so I have to physically turn around and scan the sky for him and the resolution of my Oculus is pretty bad. By the time I see him again, there's another AMRAAM coming my way at close range... Any ideas about how I can improve the odds (other than loading up R27s...)? I can post tacview vids of different engagements if needed.

The second video starts at (medium-)high altitude (24000ft/7300m) and initial separation of 24km. The first two engagements are virtually identical - against an F-16 and an F-18 armed with a pair of AIM120Cs and a pair of AIM9Ms. The third one is against an F-4E armed with four AIM7s and two AIM9s. All opponents are AI set to veteran. In each case, my Su-27 is armed only with a pair of R-73s (and a gun, of course).

Just came across this video on Youtube... Can't wait!!!!!

Maybe you didn't save it? Curious... At any rate, I updated my most recent video posts. Took about an hour or so - not too bad. Interestingly, some of the old video links still worked without me having to do anything. Other links showed [YOUTUBE]xXXXXxXx[/YOUTUBE]. Those can be easily auto-converted by the forum managers - it's a simple script to add "https://youtube.be/" in from the the "xXXXXxXx" string and then delete the [YOUTUBE] tags... Either way, let's home it's smooth sailing from here onwards. Best wishes for success with the new forum!

Apparently, you simply paste the sharable link that you get from Youtube into the text area and it's automatically recognized as a Youtube video. Just updated one of my threads, but I have probably 50+ video links. Really sucks that they have to be updated manually...

Hi, All my links to DCS videos in Youtube are gone since the update. I tried searching the forum for related info, but couldn't find any. Is it part of what is still being worked on during the forum upgrade? Or do I need to re-enter all the links in every thread I've ever posted??? Sure hope not. Sorry if this has already been addressed. Doc

In this series, I want to explore/practice getting in close for a gun kill or an IR missile shot while evading BVR missiles. Lately, I have been focusing mostly on my guns-only dogfighting skills and have completely ignored missile evasion. Time to correct this issue. The first video in the series puts me in the cockpit of an Su-27 going up against an F-15C. Low altitude, running and hiding in the hills until his AIM120s are gone, then merging for the kill. (The next video will show a different approach using standard f-pole.)

Su-27 Bomber Intercept: Almost a year after I started flying in DCS, this mission is as scary and challenging as ever...

Point well taken. There is no such thing as "identical opponents", of course: Even playing against people, skills vary and even equally experienced opponents can make mistakes. Playing against the AI is both easier and harder: The AI is VERY predictable - experienced flyers are typically not. On the other hand, the AI, as you pointed out, uses a simplified model, which allows it to do stunts human players cannot possibly perform - infinite climb, super-maneuverability even with most of their control surfaces shot off, etc. My purpose here was two fold: 1. To explore (for myself) strategies in different aircraft against an opponent who, at least in theory, is flying the same airframe. Often, people speak about using the advantages of your aircraft again dissimilar opponents. Well, what if the opponent is flying the exact same aircraft? 2. To test how the AI performs with different airframes. Surprisingly, the AI is ridiculously easy to beat in some aircraft (e.g. Su-27 - it's almost embarrassingly simple), while in other aircraft (MiG-15, MiG-19, Fw-190D-8), the AI is REALLY hard to beat (at least with my limited "skills"). I'll summarize my observations in another post with more details. At the end of the day, none of this is scientific. I know some people take this sim very seriously, but for me, it's all about having fun. I'm just sharing my experience with people who are interested and care to watch the videos. Cheers, Doc

After the P-47, naturally, it's the P51D's turn. Frankly, the Pony never really clicked with me - I have the fewest hours in it compared to almost any other DCS plane. Still, it's fun to take her our for a spin once in a while, and this test wouldn't be complete without her in the mix. So, here is P-51D vs. P-51D:

Let's try the US warbirds next. First, the Republic P-47D: