How did you find out about / or get into DCS?

[Dangerzone]

For numerous years I have googled what is the best flight simulator. Now I know that my google-fu ain't that great - but I was always getting hits on "the 3 more known flight simulators" (that I won't mention here due to forum rules). I don't recall ever getting a hit on DCS, or if I ever did - it didn't stand out to me for some reason.

 

I only found out about DCS as being a interesting flight simulator because a friend started playing it and put me onto it. (Even then for whatever reason I wasn't that taken in by it thinking it wasn't a well known sim but decided to give it a try as it was free to start with). It didn't take me long to get involved (although was mostly because I was playing multiplayer with a friend 'learning' the different systems to start with).

 

And how - I have invested more on hardware, peripherals and DLC than I have on any other game or simulator in the history of simulators (and by a significant amount too) - all in a matter of less than a year. (OK - COVID Lockdown may have helped me review a little harder as well ), but still - for me - this untapped gem was virtually unheard of until I came across it word of mouth.

 

Just wondering how others found out about DCS, whether it's more widely known than I realise and my searching for simulators is really poor?

[Nealius]

Way back around 2006~2009 I often flew one of the LOMCAC series, when Crimea was still part of the play area. Around the 2009 timeframe I started messing around with the OG Falcon 4.0 series, then discovered the subsequent mod that these forums don't like being mentioned. Around 2010--I think that's when the A-10C standalone came out--I found out about the A-10C and tried it, but my computer was too weak to run it. So I continued with that Falcon 4.0 mod that shall not be named. Once I got a better computer around 2013 or 2014, I went to revisit the A-10C and found that it had evolved into "DCS World" and I've kept up with it ever since. 

Edited December 17, 2020 by Nealius

[The_GhostRider]

I started with the Original Flanker, 1.5, LockOn, etc. and have stayed with it ever since. I have flown many sims over the years, but in terms of longevity DCS is king, Flanker 1.0 was years before Falcon 4.0 or any of it's mods, spinoffs or adaptaions.

[Nodak]

Used to be a thing called PC magazines that occasionally ran articles about simulations or had ads, seen one about Flanker 2.0, had to have it, rest is history.

[Mars Exulte]

Tbh, I'm not sure how I found out about it. I think it was version 1.2 back then, back in the early days of DCS World integration. I bought the Ka-50 and FC3 and maaaybe the A-10... and then never actually played it, if I remember right.

 

Back in like 2014 I started up a clan for Star Citizen (please, don't ridicule me too harshly), one of them was a big DCS guy and maybe planted the seeds. After a while I ended up playing with the Su-25T training missions a bit and struggling terribly, frequently complaining about ''what kind of neckbeard wants to read a 600pg manual?'' before wandering off to play War Thunder for a few years. Eventually came back to it with an enhanced if clumsy understanding of flight and quickly went from the Su-25T to the Harrier to a half dozen other things and most recently the Ka-50. I also have dumped several thousand dollars on peripherals and PC VR upgrades... guess I'm one of those neckbeards now.

[FrankA]

Back in late 2014 I was actually searching for an M1A1 Abrams tank sim and DCS World came up in the search. I initially bought the combined arms and FC3 modules. Now 3 progressively better computers later, a good joystick/throttle, track IR and a an s#$% load of modules I guess I'm hooked.

[Steel Jaw]

Been with ED since Flanker 1.0 for W95 circa 1996.

[ㅤStalker]

I first laid eyes on DCS while it was running on a friend's computer. For some reason he had decided to leave the Frogfoot on autopilot, and there it was, flying over the hills of Georgia. I've never been much of a gamer, but my interest was piqued. I got into it in 2017.

 

For me DCS was the first taste of flight, and it has sparked a broader interest in aviation. I've always liked military history, but never considered looking into combat flight simulation. And no, before I saw it running, I had never heard of Digital Combat Simulator. Now I only wish I had discovered it three or four years sooner. I've invested heavily and plan to explore the virtual skies for years to come.

[Jetguy06]

I saw a YouTube video of the A-10C. It was a step-by-step tutorial, IIRC of how to drop a GBU-12. This was also back when DCS Ka-50 and DCS A-10C were both stand-alone programs, pre-DCS World. I was enamored by the clickable cockpit and the depth and reality of the systems and avionics. It took a little while for me to take the plunge, long enough for DCS World to become a thing and the Ka-50 and A-10C to be integrated into one program. I dove in then and haven't looked back since. I remember when the first third-party module, the MiG-21bis (by then-Leatherneck Simulations) was announced, and vivid memories of the Christmas screenshot of the Christmas tree air freshener hanging from the canopy bow

 

That was when I started collecting modules, and I haven't looked back. The only ones I don't own now are the P-51, Spitfire, P-47, Bf-109, Fw-190D9 (I do own the A8), I-16, Hawk, C-101, JF-17, WWII Assets Pack, Channel Map, Normandy, quite a few campaigns, the NS430, and of course, the modules not yet released or available for preorder.

[Oceandar]

Been with ED since Flanker 1.0 for W95 circa 1996.

Same :D

[Furiz]

I always loved fighter jets, but I didn't play any modern jet sims cause I simply didn't know one existed with gen 4 jets, so I played a lot of IL2 Sturmovik, I knew about DCS and that it was realistic but it didn't have gen 4 fighters last time I was checking (those are the ones I want to use), I knew they had A-10 but that one is not my cup of tea, I like a plane that can do anything basically, and that is gen 4 plane,

anyway one day I was googleing something about those planes and I stumbled across a youtubers video and saw F-18 in DCS, and then I said lets go ;D

 

I bought F-18 then after a short while F-16 too, tons of stuff to learn on those planes and that's why I like it, its not arcade game it is rly something interesting.

[Lace]

Played a lot of flight sims in the late 80's to mid 90's, MSFS, Falcon 3.0, SWOTL, Chuck Yeager and the many Microprose offerings.  Once into my 20's I kind of lost the interest/time for simming but came back to it about 10 years ago when I restarted flying IRL and picked up FS9 again.  I had an old copy of LOMAC somewhere which I dug out and then bought the first full-fidelity A-10C module.  I've only really been seriously flying DCS for the last 3-4 years, i.e. actually being able to effectively employ the aircraft in combat, rather than just bimbling about as there just wasn't the time available which this 'game' demands in order to truly learn the modules, especially with a young family.  I guess I'm at the stage now that after spending several thousand pounds on hardware and software for DCS I am pretty competent in 3 or 4 modules.

[Nick220584]

В 2007-м купил диск с авиасимуляторами, на котором был и LOMAC 1.01. С тех пор, что называется, затянуло . DCS - однозначно лучший симулятор в мире!

Edited December 17, 2020 by Nick220584

[Flappie]

I knew about one of its ancestor, LockOn: Modern Air Combat, thanks to a popular French videogame magazine named Joystick. It was in the December 2003 issue (pages 106-110). I bought it a few weeks later and tried a few missions: I got killed almost instantly because I didn't know much about fighters and SAMs at the time. I uninstalled the poor thing, thinking this was way too complicaed for me.

 

Later on, I got to know simpler WWII combat flight sims and started playing multiplayer with a few friends met online. In 2005, when the Flaming Cliffs addon came out, we all bought it to give it a try in multiplayer. And then I was hooked forever.

[Northstar98]

For me, it was this:

 

 

[Tippis]

Not so much “find out”, because its existence wasn't exactly hidden…

But there was one video that made me actually bother to get into it:

 

[QuiGon]

14 hours ago, Dangerzone said:

Just wondering how others found out about DCS, whether it's more widely known than I realise and my searching for simulators is really poor?

 

I found out about it about 10 years ago, when a games magazine I was reading (in paper form) had a review of DCS A-10C Warthog, which was a standalone game at this time. The magazine refused to give it a rating, because "it doesn't fit into their rating categories, as it is more like a professional sim, than a entertainment product", so I went ahead and bought it.

 

But yeah, it's indeed a bit odd how unkown DCS still is compared to other flight sims...

Edited December 17, 2020 by QuiGon

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Back in the '90s I played every sim (both fixed and rotary wing) I could get my hands on, including the Flanker series, which I very much enjoyed.
I also quite enjoyed LOMAC and loved Black Shark (yes the original stand-alone one) so much I bought 2 copies. Afterwards I though the flight sim genre was pretty much dead, and I switched over to MMORPGs instead.
Almost 4 years ago, I ran into some Grim Reapers videos on YouTube. Happy to notice the genre was very much alive still, I bought myself a new PC and new peripherals, and joined GR.
I was a complete n00b back then, but continued to grow steadily since

[Zad Fnark]

Lomac here, as well as the Flanker sim before it.

 

The Flanker sim always wowed me back then.  Directors on the ships would track their targets, which was a first for me.

[Cunctator]

Originally in the early 2000s, when LOMAC was first released and was the only up to date jetfighter sim left on the market. A few years later I was heavily invested in FSX when Black Shark was released and got a lot of praise, I then returned for FC2 and A-10C.

[Resection]

I started with the original Flanker 1.0 many years ago. Stopped playing flight sims about 10 years ago but always was aware of the existence of DCS. My wife bought me an Oculus Rift S as a present last Christmas and after messing around with titles from the oculus store I wondered what flight sims would look like in VR. Remembering that DCS was “free” I decided to download it. I was blown away with the VR experience and haven’t stopped playing since

 

That “free” download has led to multiple module purchases, a Thrustmaster Warthog hotas and an incoming Ryzen 5900X+NVidia 3080 system. 
 

I am still only competent with the Huey and F5 so feel I am still at he beginning of my DCS journey.

 

 

[Napa]

My journey started from Su-27 Flanker (Developed by ED and published by Strategic Simulations Inc.) as a demo on my first PC back in the 98'. It had shitty graphics, but for some reason I got captivated by its realism and authenticity of flight dynamics and weapons modelling. I remember going into a video game store in 98' and seeing it on the shelf standing in the middle of a plethora of other civil and combat flight sims with far superior graphics. The salesman kept telling me - "Son, this game is no good. Take a look at the other ones here. They look much better." But..... I knew better, because of that demo  

 

After a few years I found out that Flanker 2.0 came out and when nuts... the rest is history. I witnessed the growth of Eagle Dynamics from a handful of people to what it is today. And of course the birth of DCS World. 

Edited December 17, 2020 by Innerloop

[Outlaw24]

I started with the first Su-27 Flanker in 1995 running on Windows 95, been with them every since.

[notproplayer3]

I was a lot into arma 3, then in my youtube recommended I get a su25 video showcase in DCS, never heard of this sim before watching the video. Got me interested and have been hooked ever since that day (2017).

Edited December 17, 2020 by notproplayer3

[Quid]

I found out about it from another flight simming site back around 2009-ish as a follow-on to LOMAC (when it was referred to as "DCS Black Shark"), but it didn't particularly interest me at the time.  I picked up the A-10C in 2012 and was on-again-off-again with it over the next few years (I didn't even have a forum profile until 2019), finally really committing to DCS after Heatblur released their Tomcat and building up my hangar from there.