DCS: Black Shark - Q&A **READ FIRST!**

[Sundowner.pl]

I just wonder...

 

I have 112 button controller, and since its more than Windows by itself can handle, the LockOn freaks out every time I want to bind any control to any button - it just randomly throw in buttons from 33-112 range. So to use my controller I have to use SVmapper, but that really don't cut it. Any improvement with this in DCS ?

[Sundowner.pl]

Right now, its Saitek Cybrog EVO stick, InterAct SV-242 throttle, self made rudder, and small 7 button panel, all wired into Mjoy16 USB-controller.

 

That controller gives me 8x 10bit axes, 64x pushbuttons, 16x double-toggle switches, 4x rotary encoders, and one 8-way hat switch.

[Nordic]

I just wonder...

 

I have 112 button controller, and since its more than Windows by itself can handle, the LockOn freaks out every time I want to bind any control to any button - it just randomly throw in buttons from 33-112 range. So to use my controller I have to use SVmapper, but that really don't cut it. Any improvement with this in DCS ?

Hi Sundowner,

this is not a joystick related issue. Apparently Lockon doesn't support devices with more than 32 buttons. I had the same problem with my plasma lite unit from betainnovations! I got it working now with a keyboard emulation software, but ED should really solve this issue.

 

This is what Leo says, the man behind www.betainnovations.com

Testing with a 32 button device will not help. The bug is very likely with LOMAC because they (devs) assume no device will have more than 32 inputs which is the standard from the ol win16 joystick API days, yet, DX now supports up to 128 inputs. So if they are only declaring an input buffer 32 deep, then any inputs beyond that limit will generate garbage since their buffer will return whatever random value exists beyond their 32 limit.

 

i.e. buffer declared as buffer[32]

buffer[0] = input 1

.

.

buffer[31] = input 32

buffer[32] = garbage

.

.

buffer[127] = garbage

 

They need to be careful and declare their input buffers 128 deep if they are using DX Direct Input OR limit the buffer to 32 and do proper boundary checking which it seems they are not doing since they do not expect any device to have more than 32 inputs.

[Colt40Five]

Is there any chance the full manual will be released as a download before DCS:BS is released?

[EvilBivol-1]

ED has considered releasing the manual ahead of the game. No final decisions at this point, but it is very much a possibility. Probably depends on how things will look as we near release.

[therion_prime]

Is this the way the helmet mounted display is incorporated in BS?

 

What does it show? Just a crosshair?

 

Looking funky ...

 

 

Image taken from an "E for all" video on youtube -> LINK

[TekaTeka]

Is this the way the helmet mounted display is incorporated in BS?

 

What does it show? Just a crosshair?

 

You can see a better screenshot here.

http://forum.lockon.ru/showpost.php?p=389932&postcount=315

 

And you can see the working HMS in the movie; TBS Part 1. (This was taken from a very early build of BS.)

http://www.thebattlesim.com/index.php?end_pos=133&scr=products&lang=en

[Allo]

http://forum.digitalcombatsimulator.com/showthread.php?t=175

There was no input from DCS in this thread.

 

Will there be a rewind and fast forward function in replays?

[VMFA117_Poko]

http://forum.digitalcombatsimulator.com/showthread.php?t=175

There was no input from DCS in this thread.

 

Will there be a rewind and fast forward function in replays?

 

Fast forward - ctrl + a - time x2/x4 ..., shift + a - time x1 - already in LockOn. But rewind would be usefull, indeed.

[Glowing_Amraam]

I wonder if it would be possible to have a seperate program for track files.... so it plays the track files, "records and monitors" them, and then saves them for you to manipulate within lock on..... Wouldn't this be helpfull? Or at all possible..

[EvilBivol-1]

The track system simply records the player's inputs into the game, everything else is run "live" when the track is playing. This is why tracks from different versions do not usually match up, because even though the player's input didn't change, the way the aircraft or the AI reacted to it might have, due to the changes coded in the latest patch. The great advantage of the track system is that it is able to keep file sizes down while providing the ability to reproduce the mission in the graphics engine.

 

ED has in fact recoded the track system for DCS, but I don't think rewinding will be possible. As mentioned above though, fast forward is already possible by accelerating the game.

[zaelu]

Maybe a version of a track like the Tacview files? Those exported files can be rewinded very nicely...all they need is the Lock On engine :) ...

 

The "track" could be very nicely and easily edited by adding new cameras in that simple interface like Tacview has and then resaved and played in the main engine and recorded with a video capture program.

[mibsk]

small wish (maybe it was answered a many times before but didn't see/didn't look for): Is it possible to code multiplayer servers selection to be editable by name (which will have assigned editable IP address (viceversa)) ... I'm a lazy man ... and don't like to remember all the IPs ... which one is which server ...

 

thanks ;-)

[urze]

Maybe a version of a track like the Tacview files? Those exported files can be rewinded very nicely...all they need is the Lock On engine :) ...

 

The "track" could be very nicely and easily edited by adding new cameras in that simple interface like Tacview has and then resaved and played in the main engine and recorded with a video capture program.

 

I think it would be possible in a different environment than 'Black Shark'. But there for all data of the engine has to be known... and so long DCS is still alive I don't think that you will see something like that from a 3rd party .

[Bushmaster]

I understand that AH-64A is meticulously modelled and am happy about it. If and when Longbow is being modelled, how hard would it be for the programmers to base the modelling on top of the already existing code for "A", or do they have to model the Longbow from scratch?

 

I can safely say, there are tons of people waiting a good sim since Jane's...

[urze]

I understand that AH-64A is meticulously modelled and am happy about it. If and when Longbow is being modelled, how hard would it be for the programmers to base the modelling on top of the already existing code for "A", or do they have to model the Longbow from scratch?

 

I can safely say, there are tons of people waiting a good sim since Jane's...

I think not 'that', ...but you need the data first.. or you have to built one up your own and than you can speculate about what's wrong and what's correct.

[joey45]

just the pits and some externals.. and the FM

[EricJ]

It's bad enough as it is with just one aircraft, the Apache would be great, but let's get BS finished first :thumbup:

[britgliderpilot]

just the pits and some externals.. and the FM

 

You forgot one big thing - the radar model.

 

None of the announced DCS aircraft have radar, they all use electro-optical targeting systems.

 

As such, if ED were so inclined they could produce all three without major advances in the underlying code - however, to produce an aircraft with well-simulated radar (suspect AI use a simpler approximation) is probably going to require a big under-the-skin effort.

 

It's probably something ED will have to do at some point, but it does mean that adding a Longbow isn't a simple task.

[f-18hornet]

Well, BS is a new game so can you make a new models and skins for those planes from Lock-On, please?:)I think, you will use engine and some models from Lock-On, will you?

A-10A "Thunderbolt II"

F-15C "Eagle"

Su-27 "Flanker B"

Su-33 "Flanker D"

Su-25 "Frogfoot"

MiG-29 "Fulcrum A/C"

F-14A "Tomcat"

F-16C "Fighting Falcon"

F/A-18C "Hornet"

Tornado IDS

MiG-31 "Foxhound"

MiG-25P/R "Foxbat"

Su-17M4 "Fitter"

MiG-27 "Flogger"

Su-30

Su-34

 

[Boberro]

Question: When we press keys to run engines (or click in cocpit needed buttons) in wrong way, it'll broke up, or explode? What we have to do to broke Ka-50 example short-circuit or burn?

[AlphaOneSix]

Question: When we press keys to run engines (or click in cocpit needed buttons) in wrong way, it'll broke up, or explode? What we have to do to broke Ka-50 example short-circuit or burn?

 

Pretty much everything is either idiot-proof or has a circuit breaker (or both). You could always start the engines without turning on the fuel pumps. That could break your fuel controller on the engine, but all that will happen is that it won't start, ever. Electrically, modern aircraft are nearly impossible to break just by flipping switches. Mechanically, there are plenty of things you could do wrong that could break the aircraft, but not catastrophically.

[RvETito]

Question: When we press keys to run engines (or click in cocpit needed buttons) in wrong way, it'll broke up, or explode? What we have to do to broke Ka-50 example short-circuit or burn?

 

Most likely the engine wont start if you miss something. You can't make a fire but you can do other things (with not so obvious indication) that will leave you grounded.

[VMFA117_Poko]

What political background will throw as into the battle in Georgia? Can someone share such an info?

[EvilBivol-1]

What political background will throw as into the battle in Georgia? Can someone share such an info?

Not yet, but given the real situation in the region, one hardly has to use his imagination to create a simulator campaign. Georgia just went through a national state of emergency...