BEB Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 Hi all, First of all, let me introduce myself ;) - I've been away from gaming in general and from aircraft sims in particular for years now... When I was younger (end of 80's and 90's) I spent hours and hours fly on PC sims: mainly FS (but also ATP)... In late 90's I flew a lot on EF2000 which I loved at that time ;). - In 2011, I bought DCS A-10C on a sudden impulse: I was impressed by the graphics & co, but I left it the aside because I had not enough time to learn it... At that time, I did not know that there was a free-to-play DCS World SU-25T + I did not imagine that A10C was true hardcore sim ! Anyway, since I got a new hardware (2nd hand) including an GTX 670, I downloaded DCS world + used a 60% reduction coupon to buy FC3... I've been playing for some hours now on SU-25T tutorials and I am starting to really enjoying it ;). I made my mind to keep A-10C aside => i'll probably try again to fly this plane once i'll get more confortable with less hardcore planes... However, it seems like tutorials have some few bugs (ex: tuto on autopilots => the voice does not go after the trim explanation although i'm playing with trim up & down)... I am also watching some tutorials on youtube... But I am asking myself a question: would it be easier to start learning with FC3 planes like the F15 or the A-10A (if I'm looking for air2ground attack) since cockpit labels are in english? Indeed, I love the "root" of the SU-25T, but having to learn the russian symbols (ex: cannon modes) of top of the keys add a bit of difficulty :). If someone has any advice ? PS: sorry for my poor english ;). Thank you very much for your feedback, BeB
T_A Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) I used the SU25T to ease my learning curve before starting to learn to fly the A10C they are completely different but you learn to work the Sim rather than the specific aircraft at first. also take into account the SU25T can do SEAD missions which no other player-controlled aircrafts can (or atleast- should), so sometimes you will prefer it over the A10C the A10C has great tutorials and within a week you will be flying and doing basic navigation/ target practice but without a good HOTAS i cant imagine how you can fly it (not saying you MUST have a Warthog but you need lots of buttons/hats etc. like the real thing) i have only tried the A10A for a few minutes to see how it was but never actually flown a mission with it so i cant comment. *edit* and as for cockpit labels on the SU25T , its not really important as its not a clickable cockpit and most indications are just on/off lights and symbols rather than letters. Edited May 25, 2014 by T_A IAF.Tomer My Rig: Core i7 6700K + Corsair Hydro H100i GTX Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7,G.Skill 32GB DDR4 3000Mhz Gigabyte GTX 980 OC Samsung 840EVO 250GB + 3xCrucial 275GB in RAID 0 (1500 MB/s) Asus MG279Q | TM Warthog + Saitek Combat Pedals + TrackIR 5 [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
Flagrum Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 I am not sure if this really helps you, but I post it anyways... :o) The FC3 aircrafts have simplified avionics and systems which would make one expect to be easier to learn. But somehow I never really got the hang of it - besides that I am probably already "spoiled" by already having experienced the depth of the A-10C, Blackshark, etc., I just find it HARD to learn to operate the FC3 aircrafts. And even the english cockpit of the F-15C doesn't really help me there. Why? Because it is all so "theoretical". I need to "grab" and "touch" things, turn knobs, push buttons... I need to experiment with things and observe what happens. But in FC3 all I have is a keyboard list of commands ... But when I see and "feel" where the switches are, what happens (or not) if I press them, I can memorize their function much easier. (but admittet, there is more to memorize in a full hi-fi DCS plane compared to a FC3 plan ... but you can always "cheat" and search the appropriate buttons in the cockpit! :o)
Zabuzard Posted May 26, 2014 Posted May 26, 2014 There is a option in the options menu where you can select cockpit language. That won't change the cockpit labels but it will change the HUD. In FC3 I started with russian airplanes and it wasn't hard to learn anything because the HUD was in english (looks very hard in the manual but with some YT vids it's pretty easy). Be aware of F-15C not having ground attack armament.
lmp Posted May 26, 2014 Posted May 26, 2014 If your ultimate goal is to learn the A-10C, I'm guessing knowing the A-10A should help. The flight model is almost (or exactly?) the same, so you would have learning that out of the way once you decide to upgrade to the C. Having the labels in Cyrillic in the Russian planes can be a chore or an interesting challenge, depending on how you look at it. I know Cyrillic because I learned it when playing Flanker 1.0 :). To me, it's always easiest to learn the planes that I have a genuine interest in. I'm just more enthusiastic about it. The main reason why I never properly learned the A-10C is that it's just not my thing. I just like Russian planes and helos more.
BEB Posted May 26, 2014 Author Posted May 26, 2014 Hi all, Thank you very much for all your responses ;). I think i'll continue learning this great SU-25T to get DCS basics (like said by T_A). When i'll be comfortable enough, I'll try the A-10C to "touch" and "grab" things ;)... I hope i'll pass the starting sequence ! ;) If I find it to tricky, maybe i'll try A-10A first. @Zabuza: thx for the tip regarding HUD language. i'll have a look. By the way, i'm playing with a Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X... But I still have to twaek it since by default, only trust and joystick seems to be configured. See you
Pinefang Posted May 26, 2014 Posted May 26, 2014 Okay so you have some experience now so it's time to jump into the A-10C. Why waste anymore time learning things that will only apply to a small extent. If your ultimate goal is CAS then jump in now. It is a long learning curve to be proficient in the A-10C but well worth the effort and time once you have it down. There is plenty of expert help on this forum so you will never be alone.
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