Journey of a new pilot...

[Maximus_Lazarus]

When playing, for instance FPS , sitting very close to a small monitor is preferable.

 

Probably has something to do with the pathetic human eye's FOV which is only a couple of degrees . (FOCUSED fov i mean of course)

 

On the other hand, you probably get the same effect from sitting further away if you have a bigger monitor.

 

I call "it's all preference" on this one. Altough my feels say that a smaller monitor would actually give ME a better oversight.

[USARStarkey]

I don't have much time so I'll be a bit blunt :)

 

Yes, everyone's bag of tricks can be different. It's all driven by training in RL.

 

Here we're talking about realistic training vs. gaming. There are some things you can do in a game that you can't do in RL - eg, some people will dodge high-energy missiles head on with a last-second pull. To put it mildly, BS, but it's the way the game works.

 

So yes, you can have your wheel, but it's based on the game. And that's fine.

 

 

 

The USAF, for example, has so few slots and so many applicants, they'll reject you because you can't recall the punctuation on your emergency procedures. You're not dealing with the average person.

 

 

 

No brush, no cigar. There's very little art if any in this. Most things IN GAME are game-isms that people exploit heavily. Can't complain about it, but it doesn't give you a realistic picture of air to air - I refer in particular to BVR, and in some cases WVR (especially now, the F-15's PFM has problems in a regime where the F-15 is supposed to excel).

 

In the end yes, it is all about how you want to have fun. Me, if I critique a dogfight, I look at it from a particular perspective. Others look at it from another.

 

However, when it comes to correctness, I'll try to give correct answers. They might be vulnerable to game-isms, but game-isms can be vulnerable to being phased out.

 

Labels can help with training when you're not fussed about having to maintain sight. They work great, and if you do things right, you'll learn how big things look at different distances as well. Labels let you focus on the BFM itself.

 

And yes, keeping sight is too hard in DCS - it is an artifact of representing things on a 2d screen that's less than the resolution of your eyes, and more importantly, attempting to put an FoV somewhat equivalent to that of your eyes in a much smaller space.

 

Which is why I've always wondered why DCS doesn't use some kind of pixel/size enchantment so that distant objects use more pixels. Every other sim ive played does this.

[Buckeye]

My 46" monitor is too small.

 

Noted. The girlfriend won't let me do a TV (we live in a modern flat with an open concept, so my desk sits in the main living space), so I ordered this today as a compromise...I'll sell my 23".

 

 

Can't wait for it to show up on Thursday.

[GGTharos]

Very nice. Hopefully you'll enjoy it a whole lot :)

[USARStarkey]

I'm waiting on my oculus rift! :)

[GGTharos]

Let me know how that works out :)

[Buckeye]

Very nice. Hopefully you'll enjoy it a whole lot :)

 

Thanks, man! Now if AT&T would just get their sh!t together and give me an internet connection so I could get online...

 

I'm waiting on my oculus rift! :)

 

Truth be told, I will probably get one too...but I will not be an early adopter. I want to wait until they have the bugs worked out, high resolution in place, a solution for switch flipping in cockpit, etc...which will probably be 2 years or more. I want the OR as much as anyone else but I'm not going to buy something until I think it's ready...and hopefully this monitor will help me to bridge that gap of time.

[Stuge]

I gave Oculus dk1 a spin at my friend's.

 

The level of immersion is incredible. The resolution was, obviously, horrible :) reading gauges was impossible.

 

But still.. hovering with helicopters felt easier for example!

 

The only time it would screw with my balance organs was if I went backward with helo at low alt, that felt just weird :D

[Buckeye]

The new ultra-wide monitor is here and set up, I'm in love with it. I see why multi monitor displays are so common amongst flight simmers. I very much prefer the wider FOV, and having this monitor be an IPS vs my previous TN panel, it just makes DCS look even better visually. I can't imagine what it will look like once EDGE is out.

 

I gave Oculus dk1 a spin at my friend's.

 

The level of immersion is incredible. The resolution was, obviously, horrible :) reading gauges was impossible.

 

But still.. hovering with helicopters felt easier for example!

 

The only time it would screw with my balance organs was if I went backward with helo at low alt, that felt just weird :D

 

That's awesome man, the unparalleled level of immersion is what makes me want one so badly in the future (just not until the resolution is up to snuff).

[Buckeye]

Question: What is the story with the multi-firing of the AIM-120B vs C missiles? With the B's it seems like if I bug multiple targets in TWS and multi-launch the missiles, the T value that should signify pitbull activation is pretty much worthless. Unless I let the M estimated intercept value get below 5, it's pretty much a certain miss...at least on the first target in the launch sequence. With the AIM-120C variant it seems like the T value during multi-launch is more accurate and relevant - is this generally accepted as truth?

 

Can someone please explain what the best launch practices/sequences are for these missiles, and what the T and M values really mean in terms of the game?

[Stuge]

I haven't fired AIM-120B in a loooong time so I can't say much about that.

 

T and M mean just what you think they do. The M timer is often quite inaccurate, and I'm not sure how well the T to M transition corresponds with pitbull.

 

But once the missile goes active (M timer starts counting), it shouldn't matter what you do after this. The missile is on its own. (in this game that is, IRL it's different)

 

In multilaunch, only the last missile launched shows the timer. But I believe more than one get command guidance, maybe someone could enlighten us with this info? :)

[TAW_Blaze]

Even TTA can be inaccurate so you can imagine how much of a guess TTI is. If the target does anything it'll be way off.

 

The DLZ we have in DCS is logically wrong, it can help to give you an idea but it's better if you shoot based on experience.

 

But I believe more than one get command guidance, maybe someone could enlighten us with this info?

 

As long as they are bugged, I'm pretty sure all of them get MCG.

 

What is the story with the multi-firing of the AIM-120B vs C missiles? With the B's it seems like if I bug multiple targets in TWS and multi-launch the missiles, the T value that should signify pitbull activation is pretty much worthless. Unless I let the M estimated intercept value get below 5, it's pretty much a certain miss.

 

This is just probably the B being inferior in range to the C. I'm not sure what you mean with that 5 seconds TTI though, if you have 5 sec TTI at launch you're already merged and kinematics won't be a probelm, if you have 5 sec TTI post launch at any given time it's totally irrelevant, it'll be already active and holding your lock doesn't do anything (well, not in the game).

 

Can someone please explain what the best launch practices/sequences are for these missiles, and what the T and M values really mean in terms of the game?

 

Well, that's a long story. I'll try to make it short :)

 

First you need to understand one of the most basic concepts of BVR: get the advantage before the shooting starts. You do this by having more energy - being higher and/or faster. This will put you a step ahead of that guy and if you use your advantage well there isn't terribly too much he can do. There are some exceptions when you don't want to have the advantage or you don't need to have it. But it's better to learn the rule first, not the exceptions right?

 

I'm not gonna talk about how generous you want to be with your missiles, how many you can afford to spend per target will always be defined by a lot of things and this is not really the subject anyway.

 

The next thing that'll be essential in judging your shots is the DLZ. As I said it's fundamentally flawed but it can be helpful. Forget about any Rmax or close to Rmax shots. They don't even have the mathematical chance to hit in most cases.

 

I'll make it as simple as I can for you. As a rule of thumb, just take the distance between Rtr and Rmax on the DLZ. Take the middle of that range, if the target is above that on your VSD you're just gonna waste your shot. If he's below it might have a chance of doing something. Obviously you don't always fire to actually kill the guy, there are some cases where I'll shoot outside Rmax too.

 

Having a lot of experience will help you to correct the DLZ and get better shots off. But you don't have a lot of experience :)

 

Timers are probably the last thing I ever look at. I pretty much only use them when I'm taking long shots to make sure I don't drop the bug too soon. Timers are estimations based on estimations that are based on other flawed estimations. On top of that, they don't follow target maneuvers. Nor does the DLZ.

 

Oh, and you usually want to center the steering dot on the ASE circle before you shoot.

Edited July 4, 2014 by <Blaze>

[Buckeye]

Thanks, fellas. I'm actually mildly proud of myself because I knew the vast majority of what was said (or thought I knew it at least, just needed validation that my understanding was correct). I guess watching hours of BVR YouTube tutorials was kind of worth it after all :)

 

I'll continue ditching any of the B model missiles when I rearm going forward. I had kind of learned that they were inferior myself through watching them constantly miss unless I was too close to the bandit, glad to know I'm not just imagining things. I play the "Instant Action" F-15 mission a lot though, and the default armament there includes them...oh well. I also had been using the mid-point between Rtr and R-Max as my first true available launch point...I try to hold off as long as I can to get as close to Rtr as I can, but I don't want to be overly aggressive. Like you said Blaze, the midpoint has been my standard compromise point where I will fire if I feel I need to get the shot off ASAP. That said, I do fire missiles in certain situations to put the bandit on the defensive...my understanding for when that is/isn't appropriate isn't quite "there" yet though, but that will come with experience. Something I didn't know (at least in terms of in game) was about centering the ASE dot. In the tutorial I watched it was old and it was back when the dot could be outside of the circle and still be fine...I have always made sure to have the dot inside the circle, I have just never put enough focus on centering it. Also, your point about using the energy advantage to keep and hold the advantage makes sense to me too, I guess I knew this from readings, etc., I just never thought about it in the right way.

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation. Like you said, you can't teach me experience, but at least this way the experience I do gain is under the proper understandings.

[Stuge]

I don't want to be overly aggressive.

 

Just to annoy you, I want to take this completely out of the context :D

 

Aggression is what really racks up the kills. You gotta want the kill, enjoy the kill, get excited about it, visualize it before it happens etc..

 

A pilot who doesn't crave the kill really isn't that dangerous...

 

My personal opinion. Before anyone tries to say it is not so :P

[Buckeye]

Just to annoy you, I want to take this completely out of the context :D

 

 

 

Aggression is what really racks up the kills. You gotta want the kill, enjoy the kill, get excited about it, visualize it before it happens etc..

 

 

 

A pilot who doesn't crave the kill really isn't that dangerous...

 

 

 

My personal opinion. Before anyone tries to say it is not so :P

 

 

I live for the kill my man, haha. What I meant is that I won't wait until I'm only 5 nm away, where I'm very likely to have a very high pK but also be very susceptible to get beat to the punch, to engage the bandit.

[Stuge]

I live for the kill my man, haha. What I meant is that I won't wait until I'm only 5 nm away, where I'm very likely to have a very high pK but also be very susceptible to get beat to the punch, to engage the bandit.

 

You're completely right, you shouldn't get closer than the range you think you'll survive at :)

[Buckeye]

Stupid question: When I bought my rudder pedals a week or two ago, I had read that I should invert the axis. The more I think about this, the more I'm not sure that is accurate. If I push the right rudder pedal up, which direction should my nose yaw?

[GGTharos]

They're talking about the toe brakes.

[Buckeye]

They're talking about the toe brakes.

 

Yeah initially after a little bit of head scratching (and thinking my pedals were broken or I mapped everything wrong) when I first started using the pedals in I got that one figured out, haha. Thanks GG.

[Iberian]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned, but one thing that helps me is, I try to pick where I want to fight, that way I have a exit door in case I need to re-position. Or hit them where they don't expect it, many times I just fly around them and come from their backs, they figure my signal is of a friendly aircraft...and boom, easy since so many pilots just scramble and straight line it to the front lines xD

[Buckeye]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned, but one thing that helps me is, I try to pick where I want to fight, that way I have a exit door in case I need to re-position. Or hit them where they don't expect it, many times I just fly around them and come from their backs, they figure my signal is of a friendly aircraft...and boom, easy since so many pilots just scramble and straight line it to the front lines xD

 

Thanks man. In the case of trying to fly around them to get behind them to attack from their six, would you just see them coming towards you at a significant distance ahead, then go into a steady climb and place a bet on what altitude is higher than what you think they have the ceiling of their radar at and fly above that? What is usually a good assumption for that altitude? From their, what would you do? Just pass over them in TWS so you know their current altitude when you merge, then go into a dive on their six while requiring them to bug them for missile lock?

[TAW_Blaze]

Thanks man. In the case of trying to fly around them to get behind them to attack from their six, would you just see them coming towards you at a significant distance ahead, then go into a steady climb and place a bet on what altitude is higher than what you think they have the ceiling of their radar at and fly above that? What is usually a good assumption for that altitude? From their, what would you do? Just pass over them in TWS so you know their current altitude when you merge, then go into a dive on their six while requiring them to bug them for missile lock?

 

If you're painting some guy for a while closing in and he never bothers to identify you he's either baiting or he's a complete retard. The latter is far more common.

[Buckeye]

If you're painting some guy for a while closing in and he never bothers to identify you he's either baiting or he's a complete retard. The latter is far more common.

 

lmao...watch it, pretty soon I'll be that retard :pilotfly: AT&T should be here on Friday to get me set up with my internet connection (finally, after plenty of arguments and headaches). I'll be looking for flight lessons from anyone who is willing on Saturday, I've got a ton to learn and I'm sure I've engrained a ton of bad habits from having to fly against the AI for this long.

[TAW_Blaze]

lmao...watch it, pretty soon I'll be that retard :pilotfly: AT&T should be here on Friday to get me set up with my internet connection (finally, after plenty of arguments and headaches). I'll be looking for flight lessons from anyone who is willing on Saturday, I've got a ton to learn and I'm sure I've engrained a ton of bad habits from having to fly against the AI for this long.

 

:D

 

Nice to hear you're finally getting internet. 21st century huh'

[Buckeye]

:D

 

Nice to hear you're finally getting internet. 21st century huh'

 

These five or six weeks really have taught me to appreciate it much more than I did before, that is for damn sure.