New player - need some hints

[Bersagliere81]

Hi there, as I said I am new here. I am trying to figure out differences between modules, steam versions bla blaa... and I hope you can help me making this short.

 

I downloaded the Steam version althought I didn't buy any modules yet. However, now I see there is a special offer for the Hawk here in the website, in which I am fairly interested. Now I am downloading the DCS lancher (site version) just in case.

Here comes my first question. do you reccomend me to use the steam or "site" version?

 

Thanks to wikipedia, I discovered what are SFM, SSM and so on.

Is the Hawk worth to buy it? I belive it is ASM and I see it is SFM, but I can't see it anywhere if it will be upgraded to EFM. Will it be for free?

 

Other than that, feel free to give me all suggestions you think for modules and understand what should I look for.

 

Thank You!

[Coxy_99]

Theres really not much difference between steam and standalone, Yes standalone you can pre purchase and get betas and alphas but thats about it.

 

Edit: Hawk is SFM at the mo and we are waiting for the EFM very soon, If you buy the Hawk you get SFM and then EFM upgrade for free like any other module in DCS. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=161473

 

As for learning DCS i would recommend Flaming Cliffs 3 to start out. Also make sure your pc meets the requirements of DCS

Edited February 27, 2016 by Coxy_99

[apolloace]

If you want to study an aircraft deeply & immerse yourself into hours of learning, then the A10C Warthog is the top module.

 

With FC3 you will get a lot of airframes to fly, but all of them are not high fidelity models.

So it is easier to learn than the A10C.

 

I have not flown any other module to give an opinion about, but the the M2000 & Mig21 along with the NTTR Map is something you can consider.

 

:)

[Zimmerdylan]

Hi there, as I said I am new here. I am trying to figure out differences between modules, steam versions bla blaa... and I hope you can help me making this short.

 

I downloaded the Steam version althought I didn't buy any modules yet. However, now I see there is a special offer for the Hawk here in the website, in which I am fairly interested. Now I am downloading the DCS lancher (site version) just in case.

Here comes my first question. do you reccomend me to use the steam or "site" version?

 

Thanks to wikipedia, I discovered what are SFM, SSM and so on.

Is the Hawk worth to buy it? I belive it is ASM and I see it is SFM, but I can't see it anywhere if it will be upgraded to EFM. Will it be for free?

 

Other than that, feel free to give me all suggestions you think for modules and understand what should I look for.

 

Thank You!

 

 

OK......To steam or not to steam. All I can tell you about this is that 1. I have never used steam and am very happy about that. 2. More often than not, I hear so many people saying that they wish they had not gone through steam exclusively for their modules. There are serial number issues, you don't get things on sale as much, and you have to wait longer for certain things. I have never heard any complaints about the way steam itself works as far as software, but I hear all the time that people regret not going directly through the ED sight for purchases.

 

The Hawk??? The hawk is a fun module. I enjoy it. But you have to be aware that it is in Beta and there are some bug issues with it. It may not be a good first module unless you are willing to be patient and realize that you are purchasing a beta with some bugs. This is not to say that it is not a good product. It most definitely is. People just don't realize that some of these modules are in stages of development where there are some issues. All of these modules have been through this stage. Things get ironed out and they all turn out great. But the Hawk is still kind of in early development.

 

Some other, easy "fully functional" modules are: the F86,and Mig15. They are great fun to fly and pretty simple as far as functionality. The Mig21 is a little bit harder but still great fun.

Some modules that are more in line with simplicity are: F15, SU-25, SU-27, A10A. These are also fun but they are set up with less cockpit functionality. They are basically just simplified.

 

The A10C is the best module here. The problem with it is that its very complex and it discourages a lot of newcomers. Although it is one hellofa module, and it is truly a work of art. It discourages a lot of potential DCS pilots. You need a lot of patience and a pretty good memory to learn the A10C. But it is the golden egg of DCS so far as I am concerned.

 

The WWII planes and helis are all very accurate as far as functionality and flight. But they are challenging to newcomers and I would wait to get into them also.

 

Of course this is all just my opinion, but I went through the same thing that you are going through now (as did most of us here) so I can only offer advice based on my personal experience.

 

I guess that you should be aware that if you purchase Flaming Cliffs, the F15, SU-27, A10A, SU-25 all come with it. So you get all of those AC in one purchase. So that may be the way to go.

 

Good luck, and welcome.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Zimmerdylan

[Sryan]

If you want to use steam you can do that and if you'd ever change your mind you can take all purchases over here to the standalone. It doesn't work the other way around though. You can only use steam purchases with the steam version.

 

The content gets released on the standalone first and when it's more polished you'll find it on steam. As an example, you won't find the Nevada terrain and the Mirage 2000C on steam yet.

 

You're correct that the hawk is ASM/SFM right now. the EFM update bound to be released shortly though. In the current condition it flies fine except in edge of the envelope flight and the ground handling looks almost comical. But I have it and I find it fun to fly both for some aerobatics as well as a light COIN ground attack aircraft.

 

and welcome to dcs!

[Bersagliere81]

I really appreciate your answers. The A10C may be my best choice then, I love challenges and watched few videos on youtube. I liked the hawk because it looked somthing new from usual flight sims.

Anyways, still practicing with stock planes, then I will take my decision.

Cheers

[stallin]

If you want to use steam you can do that and if you'd ever change your mind you can take all purchases over here to the standalone. It doesn't work the other way around though. You can only use steam purchases with the steam version.

 

The content gets released on the standalone first and when it's more polished you'll find it on steam. As an example, you won't find the Nevada terrain and the Mirage 2000C on steam yet.

 

You're correct that the hawk is ASM/SFM right now. the EFM update bound to be released shortly though. In the current condition it flies fine except in edge of the envelope flight and the ground handling looks almost comical. But I have it and I find it fun to fly both for some aerobatics as well as a light COIN ground attack aircraft.

 

and welcome to dcs!

 

You can use steam purchases in DCS World, I bought the A10c through steam and installed it in the standalone.

[Sryan]

If you want to use steam you can do that and if you'd ever change your mind you can take all purchases over here to the standalone. It doesn't work the other way around though. You can only use steam purchases with the steam version.

 

You can use steam purchases in DCS World, I bought the A10c through steam and installed it in the standalone.

 

exactly what I said. only on steam you can only use steam purchases.

 

 

A-10C is a good choice :) great module. The ka-50 is also very good in my opinion.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Sryan

[probad]

mig-21 is tons of fun

 

it rhymes so its true

[Fab]

Imo Mirage 2000C is best plane..... and then Mig 15.....

 

That said, I have used a hell of a lot of time in the Flanker..... Its a good model to get into DCS with...

[WinterH]

MiG-21 is a must have in my opinion. Depending on what you like, just about every module are great. Only 3 I'd say "better wait a bit" are Hawk, C-101 and Mirage 2000C. Mirage is enjoyable but have a good bit of work left to be done on it. However, RAZBAM are doing a good job of constantly and quickly updating it. But unless you want to support RAZBAM, I'd say wait a bit on it.

 

C-101 and Hawk just don't do it for me to be brutally honest. However, Hawk is to get all the bells and whistles that will make it enjoyable in about a month or l, dare I say, may be less than a month. C-101, we still don't know when can we expect EFM and armed CC cersion.

 

The ones I enjoy most are :

MiG 21

F 86

Bf 109

Su 25

UH 1 & Mi 8

P 51

A 10C (perhaps the most feature rich, and I enjoy it when I fly it, but unlike others I don't feel like going back to it, not my cup of tea I guess).

[some1]

If you are a beginner to DCS World, I would pick the modules that are fairly finished, with manuals, training, missions, and most features working as they should. While it is (sometimes) fun to play with the module that is in active development, I wouldn't choose it as a first purchase if there are more feature complete alternatives.

 

A-10C is a very good choice, while it's a complex aircraft, it also has an extensive documentation, training missions, additional training campaigns, tons of tutorials and extra materials, so it will be fairly easy to learn. Hawk, on the other hand, has still a lot of issues that should be patched in a month or so, but at this moment it is barely usable and almost everything you touch is broken in one way or another. If you are interested in a similar aircraft, the recently released (out of beta) L-39 is a better choice.

Edited February 28, 2016 by some1

[Bersagliere81]

At the end I bought the A-10C. I was seriously about to buy the Hawk but considering I do have the hotas warthog (and the super sale!), I was morally "forced" to buy the a10 :D

 

Thank you all for your help

[DarkFire]

When you have the time / inclination / money I'd definitely recommend getting FC3 as well, purely because you get so many aircraft for your money:

 

F-15C

Su-25A

Su-25T

Su-27

Su-33

MiG-29 x 3 variants.

A-10A

 

All great fun and though they don't have the same level of system modelling that the A-10C does most now have advanced flight models and are amazing fun to fly & fight.

 

Welcome to the forum :) never be afraid of asking questions - there will probably be many other people with the same question as you and this is by far the most helpful & friendly game forum I've ever been a member of.