PoorOldSpike

Okay, I presume you don't know the answer here..:)

And didn't I hear somewhere that real-life cat pilots stand on the brakes, then hit the afterburners and release them when the burners are glowing red hot?

Hmm decisions, decisions...:) Another thing- my young nephew got the free base game from the DCS store, so if I want to buy him a module etc from the DCS store, can I "gift" it to him so that he'll be able to download it directly from the store into his computer?

Thanks, this is getting complicated for a PC dummy like me..:) So if we've downloaded the free base game from DCS, we might just as well buy all further modules and DLC's etc direct from the DCS store too, and never touch Steam, is that right? Another thing- my young nephew has got the free base game from the DCS store, so if I want to buy him a module etc from the DCS store, can I "gift" it to him so that he'll be able to download it directly from the store into his computer?

Thanks..:) and BTW, If we've downloaded the free DCS base game directly from DCS , does that mean any DLC's we buy from Steam later on won't work?

You could consider taking early retirement like I did at 60 and go onto Pension Credit and be rolling in cash like I am..:) PS just to digress- does anybody know if we download the free DCS base game directly from DCS , does that mean any DLC's we buy from Steam later on won't work?

From experience, my main beefs with Steam are- 1- the download time is hugely long for most games. 2- they won't refund you if you've spent over 2 hours struggling to get a game to run properly. 3- They update games automatically (I haven't found an option to turn auto-updates off), which means you boot up your computer and sit down to play a game, only to find you've got to wait til its stopped auto-updating, which could take hours, grrr. So on the whole I usually try to buy direct from the game manufacturers rather than Steam. PS- If we download the DCS base game directly from DCS , does that mean any DLC's we buy from Steam later on won't work?

Hi mate I lived in Leicester in the county next to you for 50 years..:) I presume you've downloaded the free DCS base game from Steam, so meantime have fun flying the free SU-25 and P-51 in it while you're saving your pennies. Alternatively tell your parents you're thinking of joining the local street gang, and perhaps that'll encourage them to give you cash to buy flight sims so you can sit quietly up in your room each night waggling your joystick..:)

Stupid question perhaps, but is it best to buy from Steam or the DCS store? And I notice there seems to be a much bigger range of DCS products on Steam than in the store, or am I looking in the wrong place?

The only possible future real-world big naval task force operation I can think of is if China decides to invade Taiwan. Do you think America will try to help Taiwan resist it? Are there any other possible big naval ops around the world that DCS members can foresee?

I don't know if you doods are talking about the MavF or MavE, but what the heck, as a simplicity-junky I might as well post these MavF screenshots anyway (especially for the poor huddled masses of any popcorn-munching noobs who stumble into this thread from off the street) to show how I do it with no pod.. 1- Select Air-to-ground and fly that triangle over the target (in this case a fat juicy ship) and hit 'Lock', (I'm too lazy to fiddle with any 'slewing' stuff)- 2- Fire, people are on the pitch, they think it's all over! 3- It is now..:)

Can I just toss these screenshots into the playpen- Firstly, if we suspect our HUD is too dull in daytime we should double-check that it's not somehow reverted to the "night" low-brightness setting. I assigned these two key combos to check mine- (PS- don't ask me what all the other HUD-related keys are for above, I haven't a bleddy clue) Secondly below is my cockpit default view, the HUD looks okay- But usually I add a bit of zoom like this so I can see everything better- (They're only jpeg screenshots, the actual ingame screen looks much sharper) PS- on a medical note I've been almost blind in one eye from birth, it could have been easily corrected as a kid, but I somehow slipped through the net and it's too late now, grrr..but luckily I've always been able to muddle through with only one-and-a-half eyeballs..:)

It depends what the target ship is, and what missiles you're clobbering it with. For example it takes about 20 Maverick F hits to sink this Rezky frigate. I created this mission in the editor, just my Hornet using MavF's against the Rezky and it's an interesting little exercise. The ship begins locking me up with its radar (ominous beeps) at around 7 miles and lets a SAM fly shortly after (terrifying rapid beeps). So because the Mav's lockon range is also about 7 miles I have to launch a single Mav and then immediately U-turn to get the hell out, popping chaff and flares like crazy, then come back for a second Mav attack and keep repeating the procedure. I'd dearly LURV to launch several Mavs in quick succession whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh at 1 second intervals before turning tail, but we can't do that because after every launch the Mav goes back to boresight, meaning we have to manoeuvre the locking triangle over the bloody ship and lock it up all over again which takes several seconds per missile, so to fire 4 Mavs in succession would take around 20 seconds in the face of his incoming SAMS which would be suicide. Interestingly the Rezky doesn't fire at the incoming Mavs with his SAM's or CIWS or anything else, presumably Mavs are too small to show up on his radar? BTW one Mav only inflicts a few percent damage on him, so it's a long job to actually sink him because you need 20 hits or more, although if you're lucky you'll have knocked out his radars and made him catch fire before that. PS- and before anybody asks why I don't use long-range Harpoons, that's too easy and there's no fun in it, whereas with Mav's you have to get to within about 7 miles of him to launch, braving his SAM's..:) Eye candy- like I said, the Rezky can't/won't engage Mavs, but it will engage my Hornet with SAMS like here-

Spend 2 minutes creating a mission in the editor, your Hornet vs a big slow Tu-142 Bear; don't touch any of your default radar settings and the radar should spot it 30 miles or more away. Then go back into the editor and add a few smaller planes and choppers and see how your radar does with them, there should be blips all over the place if they're in the frontal cone of your radar. Usually the smaller and more modern the plane, the shorter the range will be at which your radar will be able to spot it. (also some might have radar jammers or something) And like I said, leave your radar on default settings at first and only tweak them later to see what they do. PS- If you've got Sidewinders you don't need to lock up the target with the radar anyway, just fire when the missile begins screeching.

Yeah guys, and when we throw jamming and counter-jamming etc into the playpen there's no knowing how a real-world big modern-day naval engagement would go. Personally, speaking as a soul-less unrepentant wargamer, I'd probably simply press the nuclear button to take out an enemy task force on the high seas (ie far from shore) without hesitation. Okay, it might give a few fish headaches but hey that's war..:)

Speaking of the Kutz, it transited the English Channel in 2016 en route to the Mediterranean, what cheek! Just to digress, I play naval wargames and find that the only sure-fire way to sink or cripple a ship or carrier is to do an insanely massive "saturation" attack with a "locust swarm" of antiship missiles to completely overwhelm its defences, and I suppose that's true in DCS too?

Only about half my carrier landings are successful because I snag a wire, but the rest fail and I can't understand why. The recent update is not to blame because it's been happening even before the update. I plonk the Hornet down smack in the middle of the wires, the hook scrapes along the deck below the wires throwing up sparks but doesn't catch a wire half the time and I go off the end of the deck. Do the sparks mean I've bust the hook by landing too heavily or what?

Yeah just to clarify, yaw is when the planes nose swings left or right (usually when we waggle the rudder), but drift is when the whole plane slides left or right with the wind even if all controls are central.

If you're landing straight into the wind, (or if there's zero wind) there should be no yaw at all. What mission is it?

1- I never use slew (too fiddly) so you're more of an expert with slew than me. 2- What exactly do you mean by 'ship switch'? Is it to do with the MavF? I just lock a ship and launch the MavF at it, piece o' cake..:) PS- and I only use the MavF, it has a seeker head that can lock onto high-contrast targets using some kind of TV electro-optical system (experts will know more about it than me). The other Mav is the 'E' version which needs a laser designator pod (or ground units) to designate a target, but i've only dabbled with that and need to test it out a lot more.

My screenshots are not fullsize so don't read too much into their below-par resolution. The A-10 is on my wanted list so it'll be interesting to compare its graphics..:)

Most manuals and tutorials and vids become outdated in time, so the best that can be said about them is that they only give us CLUES how to make things work..:) Personally I find an excellent approach is to create a small simple mission (it only takes a couple of minutes) on an empty map containing just our plane loaded with MavF's or whatever other weapons we want to play with. Save it as aaa-MavF (the 'aaa' is so we don't get it mixed up with stock missions) then just fly around locking up buildings and things and zapping them. Also keep a written note on a piece of paper in front of you like i do to remind you of the key sequence, for example with MavF's its simply- Master Arm 'On' Select Air-to-Ground mode Click top left MFD button twice to get MFD seeker head screen Fly the HUD triangle over target and hit the lock button. Fire when the X vanishes. There are other ways of doing it, for example by slewing the seeker head around, but the above no-frills sequence does the job..:) PS- If you create a mission, start with the plane already airborne, as I think that eliminates the need for the annoying countdown clock. PS again, I posted 5 screenies of a MavF launch in another thread only yesterday using the above sequence, check it out- https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=4383381#post4383381

Thanks guys, yes like you say, we should usually try to fire when the cross is in or near the centre of the screen before it drifts too far off centre. The advantage of not flying head-on at a target is that it makes it harder for him to hit you with his guns if you're flying non-head on, ie across his sights rather than down his throat.

Yeah like Kengou said, the cross is for information, and after locking onto the target, as long as you can see the cross anywhere on the MFD you're good to fire as these screenies illustrate- 1- I've locked a MavF onto that oilrig, and the cross is there at the centre of the MFD obscured by the waves- 2- But if I bank the plane away from the oilrig, the cross (i've circled it) begins to drift towards the edge of the screen to remind us that the seeker head will lose its lock if the cross reaches the edge of the MFD. Don't worry when the cross doesn't stay on the oilrig, it's not important as the Mav is still locked onto the rig no matter where the cross is- 3- I fire now before the cross drifts off the MFD- 4- and as the MavF is still locked on, it veers towards the rig- 5- And that's a bingo, the rig gets a toasting..:)

Thanks, at least we can have fun using the static ships for target practice or landing choppers on them..:)