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Do you not have an expensive HOTAS but still want to play DCS World? You're in luck! All my DCS World controller layouts can be found below! But first, please take a look at the following tutorial to make sure you set up your controller properly for using my profiles. This video goes over how to set up: Mouse Control on your Right Thumbstick Mouse Scroll Up/Down on your Left/Right Triggers Mouse Clicking on your Left/Right Shoulder Buttons Keyboard Left ALT and Right ALT on your Left/Right Shoulder Buttons (IMPORTANT!) How to download and import controller profiles into DCS World And finally, all my controller profiles can be found and downloaded from my User Files section on the DCS website: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/filter/type-is-profile/user-is-Tuuvas/apply/ Below are all my layout images for each one of my controller profiles, so you can easily reference where each control binding is: TF-51D Mustang Su-25T Frogfoot A-4E-C Scooter https://github.com/heclak/community-a4e-c A-10A Thunderbolt II / Warthog A-10C II Thunderbolt II / Warthog / Tank Killer AH-64D Apache (Pilot) AH-64D Apache (CPG) AH-64D Apache (TEDAC-only) Xbox Profile: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3332033/ Playstation Profile: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3332035/ AJS-37 Viggen (work in progress) AV-8B Harrier II N/A CH-47F Chinook F-5E-3 Tiger II F-14 Tomcat (Pilot) F-14 Tomcat (RIO) (work in progress) F-15C Eagle F-15E Strike Eagle (Pilot) F-15E Strike Eagle (WSO) F-15E Strike Eagle (WSO Hand Controllers) Xbox Profile: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3332032/ F-15E Strike Eagle (WSO Hand Controllers Simplified) F-16C Fighting Falcon / Viper F/A-18C Hornet F-22A Raptor https://grinnellidesigns.com/f22/ F-4E Phantom (Pilot) F-4E Phantom (WSO) F-4E Phantom (WSO Radar/TGP Only - for HOTAS users) F4U-1D Corsair J-11A Flanker B+ JF-17 Thunder (work in progress) Ka-50 Black Shark 3 Mi-24P Hind (Pilot) (work in progress) MiG-21bis Fishbed MiG-29 (A/G/C/S) Fulcrum Mirage F1CE (work in progress) Mirage M-2000C (work in progress) OH-6A Loach OH-58D Kiowa Warrior OH-58D Kiowa Warrior (MMS-only for HOTAS users) P-51D Mustang Su-25 Frogfoot Su-27 Flanker Su-33 Flanker-D UH-1H Huey

Hey folks, I made a quick video about a topic that I considered well explained in the manual, but given the feedback, it is apparently less intuitive than I thought initially. So, here is a neat navigation technique: "leapfrogging". Since the AN/ASN-46A can store only one point, the WSO (Wonderfully Sexy Operator) can apply this method to ensure no delays when switching waypoints. Also, it enables bullseye / other references whilst maintaining the ability to immediately revert to the current steer point and vice versa. The idea is well described in the manual: TGT2 is used for navigation, thus leaving the Target Counters free to be manipulated. As the SP gets close, the WSO can input the new point latlongs, then turn the Nav Comp Mode knob to RESET. This causes the memory to be overwritten. Now, the GIB (Gorgeous In the Back) can switch back to TGT2, and the BDHI will show the new nav info. If you are confused, check the video or the article below. Article: https://flyandwire.com/2025/01/30/f-4e-leap-frog-operations/ HB F-4E Manual: https://f4.manuals.heatblur.se/jester/navigation.html?highlight=leapfrogging#operation More F-4E Articles: https://flyandwire.com/f-4e-phantom-ii-articles/ I hope this is useful to you. The next videos will be about bullseyes in the F-4E (something I already mentioned here) and INS alignment (yeah, no AHRS shenanigans for land-based aircraft!!). Feel free to suggest more simple-but-not-really topics. Post scriptum: shoutout to HB and their SMEs. I have been accumulating content about the F-4 since long before its release, but every time I jump into it, I notice new, subtle but great details.

[PROJECT HALTED]Planning on creating a guide that aims to contain more realistic procedures and better system descriptions than already existing F-16 guides/manuals. This would be a guide for people who are interested in learning the F-16 deeper than other guides/manuals currently do. An advanced operation guide you could say. It's not supposed to be a true to life super detailed manual as those type of manuals already exists. The guide I would be making will contain advanced startup, takeoff, navigation, landing and shutdown procedures, while also having detailed system and switch description. The guide will also be aimed towards new ish players. People who know the FC3 stuff should be able to use this guide so that knowing the contents of the DCS:F-16 manual is not a requirement for this guide. The guide will most likely not contain advanced weapon systems or weapon delivery procedures, as that would require way more time investment from me than i am willing to do right now, but perhaps as time goes on I will add those stuff as well. The guide will most likely at first only contain information on how to operate the aircraft realistically in a non-combat environment. However the guide should be completely relevant for anyone interested in combat as well, just that the guide itself won't be covering those areas. What i am trying to achieve with this post is to see how much interest there currently is in a guide like this. If anyone’s interested make sure to let me know and it would also be great to get some recommendations about content that should be included. TLDR: I am making a more advanced/realistic guide for F-16. The guide is going to be aimed at people who at least know the basic FC3 stuff and who are interested in learning the F-16 to a more realistic level of detail than what other guides/manuals offers. If there is interest in such a guide, please give recommendations about what contents to include in the guide. Have safe flights everyone!

Update: Alle Videos dazu sind schön und gut, live im waren Leben scheint es technisch unmöglich zu sein. Ich habe extrem viel mit allen Variablen ausprobiert. Der Dämpfer verklemmt immer im äußersten Bereich und steht auf den letzten Zentimeter so sehr unter Spannung das in dem Bereich ein größerer Widerstand ist. Projekt ist gestorben für mich. Glaube nicht daß es in den Videos wirklich über den ganzen Bereich funktioniert, dafür ist der Hebelweg zu groß HIER ENTSTEHT EIN GUIDE. Der Beitrag ist in Arbeit, Die Fertigstellung erfolgt ca. bis 20.10.21 Bilder folgen, Punkt 6+7 folgt ausführlich Da ich selbst lange gesucht habe, mir aus vielen Quellen Anregungen geholt habe, jedoch es nirgends eine super Lösung gab, folgt hier mein Guide zum Umbau der Saitek/Logitech Pro Flight X55/X56 Sticks. Ich selbst habe den X55, jedoch sollte der X56 vom Chassis her identisch sein. Bei dem Umbau bleibt die Hardware weitestgehend unberührt und im Original Zustand, bis auf 4 3mm Löcher. Wegen eventuellen Garantie Verlust oder Schäden usw. weise ich darauf hin daß der Umbau auf eigene Gefahr ist. Kosten ca. 35-40€ (Material) Material Liste: - 4x RC Modellbau Stoßdämpfer mit ca. 4cm Dämpfer Bewegungsspielraum. 27€ (Nicht leicht zu finden, mein Modell: https://www.ebay.de/itm/4-Stueck-Aluminium-RC-Stossdaempfer-Daempfer-fuer-Axial-SCX10-Wraith-TRX-4-D90-90046-/164987293645?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=707-127634-2357-0) =120mm Variante - 8x M3/3mm x16mm Feingewinde Schrauben sowie 8 Muttern (hab eine Tüte mit 20St. im Set gekauft, 2€. - 8x 3mm Unterlegscheibe, unter 1€ - 4x M6/6mm x___mm Feingewinde Schrauben (Mein Joystick ist auf einer Holzvorrichtung geschraubt, wenn eurer direkt auf dem Schreibtisch oder ähnliches steht und ihr von unten nichts verschrauben könnt müsst ihr Maschinenschrauben mit Sechskant nehmen, also wie im GUIDE, nur entsprechend kürzer und diese mit dem Kopf von unten rein schrauben) 1-2€ - 4x M6/6mm Muttern 1€ -____x M6/6mm Unterlegscheibe/Bauscheibe (sind größer) ggf. - 4x Flacheisenverbinder 50mm Länge habe ich verwendet, jedoch festgestellt das 40mm vielleicht besser gewesen wären. Vorteil bei 50mm ist das man mehr Spielraum zum Variieren hat (Ausrichten) 1,50€ Werkzeugliste: - "Dremel" (oder auch die günstigen Hersteller) Schleifstein ca. ____mm Durchmesser - Dafür ggf. ein Dremel bzw. auch ähnliches Gerät, habe selbst eins von Parkside für 20€, da war der Schleifstein auch passend dabei, kann man aber auch in den Akkuschrauber/Bohrmaschine daß ihr das vor dem Bohren macht damit vom fräsen sich nicht die Löcher zusetzen und ihr nachbohren müsst. (Den Fehler habe ich gemacht und deswegen ist es so unsauber geworden). Teil wieder umgedreht, am besten auf einen offenen Schraubstock gelegt, leicht am Gewinde eingespannt (!Vorsicht: Bruchgefahr) vll. von einem Helfer fest halten lassen und an den 4 Markierungen je ein 3mm Loch Bohren und ggf. mit einem Cutter Messer entgraten. ___________________________ Das schlimmste ist geschafft, ab jetzt ist es nur noch Schrauben und etwas Fummelarbeit. 4: Das Teil von eben wieder am Joystick anbauen. 5: Die Verbindungsbleche müssen jeweils an einem Ende auf 6mm aufgebohrt werden, die vorgestanzten Löcher sind nur 5mm. 6: Verbindungsbleche anbauen________________ _______________ FOLGT 7: Stoßdämpfer anbauen___________ _________________ FOLGT Joystick wieder festschrauben und fertig ist die Sache. Arbeitszeit unter 60min. Herzlichen Glückwunsch, euer Mod ist fertig.

I just completed an install of DCS on a new computer and thought I would share my experience with some helpful tips. http://pcwiseman.com/downloads_files/DCS_New_Computer.pdf Please comment via private message. Good luck!

Hello! I've been benchmarking recently and here's my guide to maxing out image quality and performance. My benchmarking right now is in the A-10 flying in the Caucasus and Vegas, singleplayer only. I'll include Strait of Hormuz and Syria later. I will update this thread with more information as I encounter new situations causing performance issues. Here's what you can expect in the end: (After having played all included A-10C Caucasus scenarios, I consistently get 60 FPS +/-15 at worst.) Step 1: Set all the graphics options to absolute minimum. Step 2: Set anti-aliasing to match your desired initial performance, ideally about 50% above your desired final performance. For instance, if you currently have 144 FPS on minimum, set the level of anti-aliasing that matches the desired initial performance of 90 FPS if your desired final performance is 60 FPS. You can measure this in any appropriate scenario. It's all you gotta do on your own! SSAA 1X MSAA 1X (-0% performance) SSAA 1X MSAA 2X (-10% performance) SSAA 1X MSAA 4X (-20% performance) SSAA 1.5X MSAA 1X (-30% performance) SSAA 1.5X MSAA 2X (-40% performance) SSAA 1.5X MSAA 4X (-50% performance) SSAA 2X MSAA 2X (-60% performance) SSAA 2X MSAA 4X (-70% performance) Finally, in the NVIDIA Control Panel set "MFAA" to "On" for significantly improved anti-aliasing (-2% performance)! Note: the performance values above are based on how they affect your final, not initial, performance. Note: I intentionally skipped SSAA 2X MSAA 1X. I recommend never using it as performance matches the superior image quality SSAA 1.5X MSAA 4X. Alternate method: if you set "Antialiasing - Mode" to "Enhance the application setting" and "Antialiasing - Transparency" to 2X, you substantially improve anti-aliasing at substantial performance change, which is interesting as it allows you to use SSAA 1X with image quality comparable to SSAA 1.5X and +16% performance; however, the image may not appear as sharp. Also, screenshots will appear aliased for technical reasons. Step 3: Set all graphics options that don't affect performance. Civ. Traffic: Personal preference Heat Blur: High Resolution: Personal preference Aspect Ratio: Personal preference Monitors: Personal preference Res. of Cockpit Displays: 1024 Every Frame Lens Effects: Personal preference Preload Radius: 100 Chimney Smoke Density: Personal preference Gamma: 2.2 Messages font scale: Personal preference Scale GUI: Personal preference Rain Droplets: Personal preference Vsync: OFF (Use NVIDIA Control Panel) Full Screen: Personal preference Cursor Confined to Game Window: Personal preference Step 4: Set the graphics options that are extremely situational. Depth of Field: Personal preference (Affects performance greatly only in third-person view, -50%?) Clouds: Ultra (Still searching for situation where it makes difference) Clutter/Grass: 1500 (Affects performance weakly in cockpit, -2.5%/-5% at 750/1500) Forest Visibility: 100% (Affects performance greatly in woods, I recommend 67-80%) Forest Details Factor: 1 (Still searching for situation where it makes difference) Scenery Details Factor: 1 (Still searching for situation where it makes difference) Step 5: Set the graphics options that measurably affect performance. Upgrade the graphics options in any order until you're at your desired final level of performance. Textures: High (-1% performance) Terrain Textures: High (-1% performance) SSLR: ON (-3% performance) Cockpit Global Illumination: ON (-3% performance) Shadows: High (-3% performance) Water: Medium (-5% performance) or High (-10% performance) Motion Blur: ON (-10% performance) Anisotropic Filtering: 2X (-2% performance), 4X (-4% performance), 8X (-8% performance), or 16X (-12% performance) Terrain Objects Shadows: Flat (-5% performance) or Default (-15% performance) Visib. Range: Extreme (-17% performance) SSAO: ON (-25% performance) There's also one option in the gameplay menu: Mirrors: ON (-10% performance) My recommendation (click to view graphics options, Imgur): I have a 3070 graphics card and these graphics options give me an image quality matching the maximum graphics options with generally 60+ FPS. If you have set all of the above and want higher performance I recommend setting these in order until you achieve your desired final performance: Anisotropic Filtering 8X, 4X, or even 2X, Motion Blur OFF, Mirrors OFF, SSAO OFF, Terrrain Object Shadows Flat, Water Medium, Water Low, SSLR OFF, Cockpit Global Illumination OFF, and Shadows Low. Comparison screenshots: All Minimum, My Recommendation, All Maximum. My recommendation has about 4X the performance of all maximum and you can hardly tell, right? A few of my key insights here are: Performance should always be objectively measured in %! There are graphics options that don't affect performance and for that reason should always be on. Ideally for performance you should have 95%+ GPU usage, 95%- CPU usage, and 95%- VRAM usage. I recommend checking this on occasion using Afterburner. The anti-aliasing combination SSAA 1.5X MSAA 2X MFAA On is extremely effective at reducing aliasing artifacts. MSAA reduces aliasing of 3D objects (e.g. houses) and SSAA reduces aliasing of sprites (e.g. trees). These are examples of spatial aliasing, while MFAA reduces temporal aliasing only observable in moving images. It's generally a good idea to set Visib. Range Extreme and Forest Visibility to 80% (matches Visib. Range Ultra), 67% (matches Visib. Range High), 45% (matches Visib. Range Medium), or 35% (matches Visib. Range Low) instead of lowering Visib. Range, at least if the forest is causing the performance change such as in the Caucasus terrain. This significantly increases the geometric quality of objects.

Hi guys, So basically, I need help. I'm going completely mad with my VR performances so far and I'm questionning what I've been doing wrong or if my rig is faulty. I hope somebody here will be my savior. Let's start with my setup then I'll explain point by point what I've tried and noticed. Setup Motherboard ASRock X299 Steel Legend Proc Intel® Core i9-10900X RAM GSkill 32GB DDR4/3600MHz GPU Zotac GeForce RTX 3070 Storage 1TB Samsung 980 PRO M.2 PCIe NVMe Cooling Corsair Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Liquid Coolin VR Headset HP Reverb G2 Flight Gear Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS Stick & Throttle Trustmaster TPR Pendular Rudder UserBenchmark done today: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/45006662 Nvidia details Driver 471.41 See screenshots for settings Windows Settings HAGS - Off Game Mode - Off Fullscreen Optimization - Off DCS.exe vrcompositor.exe vrserver.exe all in High priority, added through Regedit Graphics performance preference - DCS.exe set to High Performance HPET - Disabled in Device Manager System page file - 32Gb Performance Options - Adjust best performance for Programs WMR Settings All by Default SteamVR Settings Using OpenXR at runtime. OpenXR Settings As I understand it, OXR settings don't apply to DCS even though SteamVR uses it at runtime for the G2 DCS Settings VR Settings by default (Pixel Density at 1, Force IPD Distance unticked, no bloom) Hotplug disabled. Environment No Chrome, no Spotify, no nothing but fpsVR. No DCS Mods but the VR Shaders I also have OpenVR FSR: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/45006662 Mission Environment I have a small multiplayer mission I scripted, nothing funky. Starts in Vaziani. I do all my performance tests and changes in the cold and dark F/A18. Attached is the .miz Mi-24P - Saving the 'murican convoy.miz Experience so far Okay so I guess it gives a proper idea of what I have in terms of setup and settings. I barely hold 30fps, cold & dark on the ground, with that whole configuration which is pretty disappointing for me considering the visual compromises and my setup that i would qualify as decent (it's a month old, all new pristine parts). I have followed several guides to improve performances. Guide specifically for the G2, guides specifically for the 3070, guides specifically for the G2 AND the 3070. When i see some posts on these forums showing 45 to 90fps in average with "weaker" setups, I'm just wondering what the heck I've done to Saint VR to be stuck at 30fps in a cold Hornet. Just to be clear, I am not a FPS chaser. I aim at 45 to 50 without multiplyer and without streaming/recording so that i can have a steady 30 to 35 when both in MP and streaming/recording. I have tried to put all the settings down to the bare minimum and got different results (which i can't really explain either). -90 fps (fpsVR) in the cold & dark hornet when i start the mission for the first time after booting the game up from SteamVR (meaning starting SteamVR first and then inside the headset to start DCS) -45 fps with the EXACT same settings and the EXACT same configuration after moving up some sliders and settings, applying them, starting the mission (crying because 20fps), stopping the mission, going back to settings, going all the way back down for everything then starting the mission again. -40 to 45 fps when launching the game not from Steam but from the shortcut on my desktop (I have the standalone version that i added as a non-Steam game on Steam), no matter if it's the first execution of the mission or not. -Randomly less then 20fps and huge stutters after starting the mission several times because i'm trying to tweak the settings and got back to the lowest possible Performance results As I mentionned, i barely hold 30fps with that configuration but here's a more in depth summary. GPU Frametime is 15 to 18ms in average depending on where i look in Vaziani GPU is at 58°C GPU is used at 35% in average SteamVR SS is shown at 50% GPU Mem is shown at 7.5 out of 8 Retro-projection ratio is shown at around 60% in average CPU Frametime is at 30ms in average CPU is at 65°C CPU is used at 65% in average CPUs are at 85% 20Gb out of 32Gb of RAM 2 dropped frames after 5min of time Overall smoothness is ok, the view doesn't "grip" when looking quickly around me. Obviously as soon as the aircraft is live and i have, let's say, the FLIR and a MAV on each DDI, I get stutters and the fps drops at 24/25fps in average. Conclusion What do you guys think? Is there something really obvious that i missed? I hope one of you's gonna be my angel because i'm literally clueless. Thanks for reading, -Hina

As I haven't seen a complied, all inclusive guide on how to set up multiple dedicated servers using a single installation of DCS, I have created a guide that I hope will be of help to new and existing server hosters. I have also included a method I developed for automatically restarting all servers running off a single installation. This guide is meant for those with local hardware, though it may work for hosted methods with modification. Your mileage may vary. _____________________________________________________________________ I have found these methods to be most reliable for setting up multiple dedicated DCS Servers running from a single install of DCS. These methods will also allow for easy automatic shutdowns and restarts of your servers. This has been tested with many 24/7 servers over long periods of automatic restarts utilizing a combination of Task Scheduler, Powershell, and the DSMC Mod by Chromium. (6+ Months server run time, 300+ automatic restart cycles per server). I had collaborated with Chromium, DSMC now includes a working auto-restart as part of the mod if you wish to skip the powershell and go that route _____________________________________________________________________ If you would like to have auto-restarts without the use of DSMC, I will leave it to you to figure out a way to terminate your server process and not cover that here, though it should be easy to implement a modified version of the auto-restart method for auto-shutdown. GOOGE DRIVE: GUIDE - CLICK HERE

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/upload/iblock/ed6/87v22jwd1xh51i3rgki944xsf503istq/DCS_User_Manual_EN_2020.pdf @BIGNEWY Can we pin this please?

Nach ein «bisschen» rumtüfteln habe ich eine Lösung gefunden, wie einen gewünschten Steerpoint ¹ (Waypoint ² im Missionseditor) direkt im CDU ³ oder via UFC ⁴ und MFCD ⁵ (CDU-Seite) auswählen kann. Variante [A] CDU: Im AAP Steerpoint Schalter auf «MISSION» stellen Page Schalter im AAP ⁶ auf «STEER» drehen Gewünschte Nummer des Steerpoints im CDU eingeben LSK ⁷ -Taste 3 neben dem bedienen ± Zeichen Variante [B] UFC und MFCD: Im AAP Steerpoint Schalter auf «MISSION» stellen Page Schalter im AAP auf «STEER» drehen «FUNC» „Taste auf dem UFC drücken Taste «0» (STEER) wählen Gewünschte Nummer des Steerpoints im UFC eingeben Im rechten MFCD (Voreinstellung) die CDU Seite auswählen MFCD OSB ⁸ -Taste 19 neben dem ± Zeichen bedienen Abbildung [1] Schritt 1 und 2 zu Variante [A] und [B] Abbildung [2] Schritt 3 und 4 zu Variante [A]: Abbildung [3] Schritt 3 bis 5 zu Variante [B]: Abbildung [4] Schritt 6 und 7 zu Variante [B]: Fußnote: ¹ deutsch: Steuerpunkt ² deutsch: Wegpunkt ³ Control Display Unit ⁴ Up Front Control ⁵ Multi-Function Color Display ⁶ Auxiliary Avionics Panel ⁷ Line Select Keys ⁸ Option Select Button * * * Dieses Tutorial setzt einen Luftstart (englisch: Air Start) voraus.

Hey folks! I have spent some time studying the basics of the INS mounted on the F-14. It's definitely not brand-new technology, and it suffers from a few quirks but, generally speaking, is an outstanding piece of kit. One of the issues affecting the avionics is related to the Naval employment of the Tomcat (and not only the F-14, definitely the A-6, probably the F-4 too). A recent bugfix was recently released that sorted out the primary method of addressing this problem. Thus, I took the occasion and put some stuff together, something that I hope you can find interesting. Rather than go too much into the technical details of the problem, I'll keep this short and straight to the point. At the end of the posts, there are a bunch of links to a more in-depth look at the issue, and a study of the AN/ASN-92 INS. So, where do we start? Carrier. Big carrier. A lot of metal. The carrier causes some parts of the avionics to go nuts, namely the ones that should indicate the aircraft's direction. Let's call it "compass". This causes issues to the relatively rarely used non-INS navigation (DR & pilotage, Aerodrome charts, specific instructions, etc) and, especially, Air-to-Air. As mentioned, until recently, the only reliable fix was flying straight and unaccelerated (even non-continuously) until the AHRS re-synchronised. The ratio was ~9°/minute. This is why many never noticed the problem, but sometimes this is not a sufficient solution (especially if you YOLO from the catapult). The dedicated function to address the de-sync of the "compass" is located in the front seat, in the Compass Control Panel: the HDG Pushbutton. Now that the HB devs sorted it out, it can sort out the "compass" in a matter of a few seconds, rather than minutes. A lengthier article is available here; it provides a few more details. A more in-depth short study about the INS is here. This article contains the tests I made and a few other observations. I hope you can find this stuff interesting. Feedback is always welcomed. PS: fun fact, this is probably my first post in this subforum

Introduction Over the years, i have installed and tried to learn how to fly in DCS multiple times. After couple of hours sorting keys for the free SU-25T (with Cyrillic labels in cockpit and HUD), watching multiple guides, going through tutorial and several deaths on the first mission in campaign, I gave up and uninstalled. About year or so ago, i installed DCS again and decided to buy FC3 right away and start with F15C. All that, because i felt like it’s the only way I can learn this (with English cockpit, it will be easier). And in the end – i did it. Because of the money spent, i did not gave up so easily and i spent hours playing with settings, reading and watching guides, testing, flying, dying and playing with settings again. I used to fly planes and helicopters in ARMA before, so i thought, i already have experience in „combat fly simulator“ ... looking back, how ARMA looks arcade-ish now, boy was i wrong. Reason I am making this „guide“ is to give DCS newcomers – like i once was - a head-start. There will still be a lot to learn to fly in DCS, but i wanted to share my experience and help people, that like to fly in military games like ARMA, Squad etc., to step into new level of combat flying and enjoy this unique simulator faster and have better experience starting and show them, how to do all of this without building entire cockpit in your basement. Disclaimer: I would like to say, that are things mentioned bellow are my subjective opinions how I see and experienced things. I am still a beginner in this game (as i don't play it frequently) and i don't have all the knowledge about this game, but that's the kinda the point of this post. Game and modules First we need to install DCS – I recommend installing standalone (no steam) beta version. I have always used this and never had any issues – i don't see reason installing stable version. About modules. After login on DCS website, you can go to E-Shop - > Modules and there you can „Trial“ any plane or helicopter for 14 days (and after 6 months you can do that again). I started learning in F15C, but i can not recommend it now, because Russian planes from Flaming Cliffs 3 are just easier to fly. I recommend starting with SU-27, SU-33 and J-11A – these 3 planes are EXTREMELY similar, they all can do Air-to-Air as well as Air-to-Ground combat and they are easy to fly and easy to land. This way, you will have 6 weeks of free flying and you have enough time to learn everything. If you decide to buy, please don't forget, that you have 50% off on first buy. I do recommend to buy Flaming Cliffs 3. With the sale its about 25 dollars. For that price, you get multiple jets to fly. Yes they are all low fidelity models (non-clickable cockpits), but that's a good thing for start. Starting on full fidelity plane would be complicated and overwhelming. I play DCS (not frequently have to say) for about 2 years now and i am now considering buying first full fidelity plane. Please also note, that the sale is for the ENTIRE first order, so consider testing any jet you like before actually buying something, because you can save 50% of that full fidelity plane/helicopter price too. Peripherals Another big topic. You really don't need expensive hardware to play this game. That said, i don't think it is possible to play this game on keyboard+mouse only. There will probably be people, that will disagree with me, but even though it can be „possible“, i think even cheap joystick will work better for gameplay, overall experience and it will be more immersive. So, what do i play on? I have Thrustmaster T16000M. Bought this joystick way back for flying in Arma 3. In my opinion, this is best entry-level joystick you can get. I have mine for about 8 years and it still works like new. I actually just bought another T16000M with throttle, so now i have joystick+throttle for planes and double joystick for space sims. The most important keys can be mapped on the joystick itself, rest of the functions can be controlled on keyboard with the left hand. When i started, I used joystick hat to look around. It was ok-ish for flying, but combat was absolute nightmare. So i started looking for the cheap headtracking. I didn't want to invest into trackIr or similar „hardware“ tracking devices, because i wasn't sure at that time, that i will stick with DCS. After a while i found Aruco tracking. How it works is, that you have to print sort of „QR code“ and put it on top of your head (headphones) and opentracker then use webcam to track this QR code. After using it for a month or two, i still was not satisfied. The looking was twitchy and light (or absence of light) was making issues with tracking. For example, i have window on my right and when i looked right, the light reflected by the paper QR code made it unreadable to my webcam and headtracking in game lagged. After that i discovered AiTrack and after more than year flying, i can say, this is best headtracking available (if i don't count TrackIR and other rather expensive hardware solutions). Took some time to get the settings right, but it works like a charm, it has no problem with too much light or too low light. I wear glasses and it works well with them too. For the headtracking i use my old Logitech C720p HD WEBCAM (i don't think they even make them anymore). If you don't have webcam, you probably can use your phone (or old phone) with proper app or you can go and buy some cheap webcam. I actually have my webcam resolution down-scaled to 640x480 to maintain stable 30fps. If you are going to buy webcam for this purpose, look more for FPS than resolution, if you can. Here you can check my video to see AiTrack in action along side with the modded SU-27 cockpit Learning how to fly Just briefly, because there is tons of materials on this topic. If it is available, do the in-game tutorials for the plane you want to fly. If there is no official tutorial, take a look on Custom files on the DCS website. There you can find user-made tutorials similar to official ones (like this one for F15C for example) Look at the Youtube (i recommend Grim Reapers). If you know how to control the plane, you can jump on some PVE multiplayer server first. I like 4YA servers, where you can test and train your skills in a persistent pve scenario and cooperate with others as well. My „starter pack“ I have put together this „starter pack“ and this is main reason i wanted to make this post as i believe, that this pack will improve the experience for new players. If you have T16000M joystick and webcam, then this .zip file will have everything you need to get you started. Inside you will find following: Keybinds for (i think) all FC3 planes for T16000M joystick in form of exported files – so you can simply import it and you are (almost) good to go Word file containing schema of these keybinds for each plane (not so good looking, but usefull and editable) Headtracking (AiTrack and opentrack installations) including setup guide Profile for opentrack i use (i have flat settings in DCS and all tuning is done in opentrack) – you will probably want to modify this soon or later, but i think this is great starting point Kneeboards, Liveries and mods: Kneeboards for each plane, with info about loadouts, landing and take off speeds, etc. which you can display in-game (made by Goldwolf - https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3318384/) Liveries – English cockpits for FC3 Russian planes (made by musolo (https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3318997/) Mods to make FC3 planes partially clickable (made by Redk0d https://redk0d.gumroad.com/l/fvkodo) ReadMe file with notes and installation guide My „starter pack“ can be downloaded here. I hope, that this guide will help at least some struggling pilots jump into the DCS, but i have to warn you. Once you learn how to fly and fight in DCS all the other games will look like arcade game for kids

Since DCS does not have a weathering guide for texture artists, I made a small one, if you want, have a look. this guide is valid for photoshop Livery Art Group https://discord.gg/2MXy8RktSe https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3331241/

***17MAY21 Update*** F/A-18C Hornet - Weapons QRH Quick Reference Handbook / Checklist / Kneeboard by Pokeraccio V.2.0 17.05.21 ***NEW VERSION 2.0 is here to celebrate the DCS 2.7*** Just a simple DCS F/A-18C Hornet Weapons QRH made up by 10 pages (+10 pages night friendly). Since update 1.7b added as a test 1 more page LIM (Limitations) also give it a sort of ipad look both clean/dirt version (removed since V1.8), to print or use as kneeboard with some useful info about F/A-18C Hornet Armaments/Weapons/Flight Deck procedure, very basic but handy especially during the first missions. Tested in Open Beta, used also in Stable just some feature may not be present, yet. If you need for any reason an older version drop me a line here on forum page. To have it in Kneeboard, just unzip and copy png files accordingly (if folders are not there, create new ones): \Saved Games\DCS\Kneeboard\FA-18C_hornet or \Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Kneeboard\FA-18C_hornet The basic idea has been developed by others in various way, I just made my own version for personal use. As per request,(https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=247119) I'd like to share it. I've uploaded the file in the user file section: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305957/ ZIP file: 10 Png (+10 pages NV vers). this is a DAY/NIGHT PDF version: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3316602/ If you find some errors, update, DCS armament logic changes, anything please just share it here and when I'll get the chance I'll update them. Since release V1.3nv I added some Night friendly version for all the "Night lone wolf mission lover" out there... Cheers Pokeraccio My references and original ideas developers are: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=212282 by Chuck From page 140 Weapons and Armament section, on Page 143 there is a useful spreadsheet called F/A18C-Hornet Armament Matrix by Twisted-Biscuit https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305134/?sphrase_id=18908065 by Bailey https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3304428/?sphrase_id=18908171 by Arinc429 https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3300643/ and https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3302559/ by Sydy https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=189564&highlight=armament and also several You Tube Channels tuts by the well known gurus of DCS. I suggest also the very useful Windows APP Kneeboard Builder by AlaskanGrizzly https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=129341 especially if you want to resize the Kneeboard Disclaimer: This is a personal, self made, QRH that I am pleased to share with the entire community of DCS-WORLD F/A-18C enthusiasts, also to thank all the users that share their files with us all, and contents creators which I referred to when I made this document. I hope you’ll find it useful. Please, DO not use for real world OPS or training - Use this guide only for DCS - F/A-18C Enjoy. Cheers by Pokeraccio Changelog: V2.0 -NEW VERSION is here to celebrate the DCS 2.7; -New document, layout, colors, graphics, overall adjustments; -Clearer Resolution, quite ok also in VR; -AGM-88C HARM PreBriefed Mode/Code List added; Self Prot. - PullBack Sub Mode; -BDU 45/ 45B Training Bombs added; -AGM-84H SLAM-ER added (so we'll be ready); -added one page and revisited page numbers; -Correction of inaccuracies in general on the whole document; -updated system logic up to Open Beta 2.7.0.5659. V1.9 -GBU-24 Paveway III added; -added one page and revisited page numbers -Some layout adjustments -correction of inaccuracies in general on the whole document V1.8 -AGM-84E SLAM added; -some small system update (TGP), -ZIP Content: PDF Frame vers, PNG Frame and No Frame vers, glass and dust version removed as not so useful (If you liked I can provide it). V1.7b -Small Update, correction of inaccuracies in general on the whole document, added as a test a new page on DAY version (Limitations), graphics enhancements with ipad look, dust and finger prints, both version clean/dirt available in zip. V1.7 -General Update, corrected SMS settings for Unguided Bombs, pages/color, added 2 page (total of 7 pages) on LEP-List of Effective Pages= changed/new pages List since last update V1.6 -General Update, pages/color/order/dimensions, added 1 page (total of 5 pages), added AGM-62 Walleye II Pages updated record: P1/5 v1.3 P2/5 v1.5 P3/5 v1.0 P4/5 v1.3 P5/5 v1.2 The same for Night Vers. V1.5nv -Update pages 2/4 and 2/4 NV with MAVF/TGP Checklist V1.4nv -Update pages 1/4 and 1/4 NV with a TGP Checklist V1.3nvBis -Update Store Settings for CBUs Page 3/4 V1.3nv -added Night friendly version V.1.3 - Page Order - switched pages 2 and 3 - Harpoon Added on Page 2/4