Help please.

[marchand73]

Hi everyone,

 

New to all this. I spent a while learning how to engage planes with the F15 APG63 at long range and have come across a problem:

 

My radar screen (left hand side, not the RWS- forgot the name) does not appear the same as in the training video lesson. On the training video he locks up a target manually with the enter key and there then appears a PDT. Once he has this PDT on screen, there is a small margin down the right hand side called a DLZ. I do not have this little DLZ bracket on my screen and can not get it to display. This DLZ bracket apparently represents the guaranteed hit range/no escape zone.

 

Any clues as to why my plane is different from the training lesson? I can not work it out.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited March 2, 2015 by marchand73

[marchand73]

In addition, there is another problem I'm having:

 

Can't hit much with AIM120 AMRAAM. I set up a mission in the editor with a transport plane coming straight at me to learn how to shoot these missiles and use the different radar modes, etc. The stats say the range is 45km but I don't have a hope of hitting anything unless it's at about 10 miles/16km? The missiles keep gliding on past the enemy airplane. How are you supposed to put these missiles on target at long ranges like the R27ET? I am entering BVR mode, put radar on TWS, press enter key to select the plane and then fire at will.

 

However, I can hit every time with R27ER at 45km. It seems very short ranged compared to this missile.

 

Thanks for all the help.

Edited March 2, 2015 by marchand73

[OnlyforDCS]

There is a problem with the missile guidance systems (applies to most missiles not just AMRAAM), still you should be hitting stuff at 10 miles pretty regulary. As for your first post the DLZ should be displayed on your HUD, not at home ATM so I can't check if it is displayed on the radar scope in the latest build.

[marchand73]

There is a problem with the missile guidance systems (applies to most missiles not just AMRAAM), still you should be hitting stuff at 10 miles pretty regulary. As for your first post the DLZ should be displayed on your HUD, not at home ATM so I can't check if it is displayed on the radar scope in the latest build.

 

I see. So what is one supposed to do against 45km effective range of R27ER? There is a massive difference in range of these 2 missiles I'm finding.

Edited March 2, 2015 by marchand73

[OnlyforDCS]

I see. So what is one supposed to do against 45km effective range of R27ET? There is a massive difference in range of these 2 missiles I'm finding.

 

Climb higher? The performance/range of the AMRAAM is best when fired from a high altitude and if preferable from a higher altitude than the bandit. As for difference there is quite a bit of difference between these two missiles because they are different missiles.

 

Also if all else fails, you can install IAGTSG's missile mod from the mod section. It's a stop gap as it doesn't fix the underlying guidance problems, but it has been rather well recieved by the community as an interim fix.

 

If you are flying online though, your best bet would be to learn to use the missiles as they are. You have to work with what you have.

[TAW_Blaze]

My radar screen (left hand side, not the RWS- forgot the name) does not appear the same as in the training video lesson. On the training video he locks up a target manually with the enter key and there then appears a PDT. Once he has this PDT on screen, there is a small margin down the right hand side called a DLZ. I do not have this little DLZ bracket on my screen and can not get it to display. This DLZ bracket apparently represents the guaranteed hit range/no escape zone.

 

Make sure you are in BVR mode, and you have the appropriate missile selected.

 

As a note, there is no such thing as guaranteed hit range or no escape zone. NEZ is most often referred as the point where the missile cannot be defeated kinematically. That doesn't mean it'll always hit. :)

 

Can't hit much with AIM120 AMRAAM. I set up a mission in the editor with a transport plane coming straight at me to learn how to shoot these missiles and use the different radar modes, etc. The stats say the range is 45km but I don't have a hope of hitting anything unless it's at about 10 miles/16km? The missiles keep gliding on past the enemy airplane. How are you supposed to put these missiles on target at long ranges like the R27ET? I am entering BVR mode, put radar on TWS, press enter key to select the plane and then fire at will.

 

However, I can hit every time with R27ER at 45km. It seems very short ranged compared to this missile.

 

Don't bother practicing anything against AI. It'll teach you the wrong habits and it'll be more difficult to unlearn them. (Albeit flying against the online crowd will also teach you some wrong habits :) )

 

One parameter ranges are worthless in any missile discussion. Whether the missile will hit is defined by the position of the launching aircraft relative to the target, and the target's dynamic behavior post launch, or in case of a nonmaneuvering target, the lack of it. Once you upgrade the 'beatup' to a 1v1 fight things get more interesting because you want to avoid the other guy's missiles while delivering yours. This is generally done by maneuvering and some more maneuvering. You preferably want a good starting position aswell. There are a million threads about BVR, just hit the search button and click on advanced, then select search for titles only, and search for the keyword "BVR".

[marchand73]

Thanks for all posts. Ok really need some help now- I've identified what the problem is.

 

Guys, this is getting amazingly frustrating and convoluted. The problem lies in that I somehow can not fire a missile from BVR the normal way in STT mode. Let me explain:

 

As I mentioned before, it seems I am doing something wrong because my VSD is different from all training videos/youtube AFELIUM videos. The problem is that I can never lock target as they do with the TD box and enter key (afelium uses tab key). I have the enter key set to missile lock but nothing happens. I slew the TD over the target and press enter but it doesn't change to STT mode. In fact, I have never seen STT mode before because it does not enter it.

 

Also I have a strange red box that I have never seen in any videos. Wtf is going on and why is this such a headache I wonder? Here's a pic of what my screen looks like. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=401771373

 

Thanks guys.

Edited March 2, 2015 by marchand73

[Tombstone]

Also I have a strange red box that I have never seen in any videos. Wtf is going on and why is this such a headache I wonder? Here's a pic of what my screen looks like. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=401771373

 

Never seen it before, but this is how I imagine game avionics mode. That's probably reason of discrepancy. Those training videos are probably shot with sim avionics.

[marchand73]

Never seen it before, but this is how I imagine game avionics mode. That's probably reason of discrepancy. Those training videos are probably shot with sim avionics.

 

Wow- that was it. Thanks!

 

That was an amazing headache and so overly convoluted; a game avionics mode was enabled that meant I could not lock targets the way I had seen in all training videos. I had never seen STT mode before and could not do anything to get into it. Seemed amazingly convoluted, and all because a poxy obscure arcade option was on by default... I wonder what's the point of this mode and why it is on by default?

Edited March 2, 2015 by marchand73

[shagrat]

Thanks for all posts. Ok really need some help now- I've identified what the problem is.

 

Guys, this is getting amazingly frustrating and convoluted. The problem lies in that I somehow can not fire a missile from BVR the normal way in STT mode. Let me explain:

 

As I mentioned before, it seems I am doing something wrong because my VSD is different from all training videos/youtube AFELIUM videos. The problem is that I can never lock target as they do with the TD box and enter key (afelium uses tab key). I have the enter key set to missile lock but nothing happens. I slew the TD over the target and press enter but it doesn't change to STT mode. In fact, I have never seen STT mode before because it does not enter it.

 

Also I have a strange red box that I have never seen in any videos. Wtf is going on and why is this such a headache I wonder? Here's a pic of what my screen looks like. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=401771373

 

Thanks guys.

You fly in arcade mode, or at least have game avionics activated!

All tutorials etc. use the Simulation settings!!!

Arcade mode uses a simplified control setup that is totally different from Sim mode.

As you go on a multiplayer server, arcade mode will most definitely be blocked anyway, you should switch to Sim mode immediately.

Expect the flight model to be more agile and tricky, but that is half of the fun.

As well, as not having the 360* radar mockup in the upper right corner. :D

[marchand73]

You fly in arcade mode, or at least have game avionics activated!

All tutorials etc. use the Simulation settings!!!

Arcade mode uses a simplified control setup that is totally different from Sim mode.

As you go on a multiplayer server, arcade mode will most definitely be blocked anyway, you should switch to Sim mode immediately.

Expect the flight model to be more agile and tricky, but that is half of the fun.

As well, as not having the 360* radar mockup in the upper right corner. :D

 

Yes thanks, that was the culprit. What a headache. Problem was I had never expected DCS to have an arcade mode and it doesn't make any sense to me. I was flying with 'game avionics' mode on- never saw it. I can now shoot missiles at long range!

Edited March 3, 2015 by marchand73