New Pilot - Looking for Basic Instruction

[DragonSoulkin]

Hello,

 

I've had DCS installed for a few years but rarely play it due to just feeling overwhelmed every time I try to play. I've got over 1,000hrs in War Thunder Air SIM and have tooled around in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 since its launch and I would really like to get into this as well since I've spent the money on a few aircraft such as the F18 and A10C.

 

I live in the US in MST (Mountain Standard Time) time zone. Figured that's relevant information since planning times for instruction/training can be difficult when you're across the pond 7hrs ahead of me.

[draconus]

On 6/19/2022 at 4:36 AM, DragonSoulkin said:

...I would really like to get into this...

So what's stopping you? What have you problem with?

[Lange_666]

On 6/19/2022 at 4:36 AM, DragonSoulkin said:

I would really like to get into this as well since I've spent the money on a few aircraft such as the F18 and A10C.

I would pick one aircraft to start learning, not multiple since you can mess up yourself if you start mixing both.
There are lots of Youtube channels who offer a complete step through one step at a time.
A few examples:
A-10: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF779D43F5153AD8E

F-18: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLer9oF4AanvFOfG4sSZSHJQZeMQx7YGr6 

and

F-18: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLer9oF4AanvGAo-V9XWyHsyMaGE8r22RH

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Lange_666

[Glide]

Mission building is a big part of DCS. 

Get to know the mission editor. 

I like to fly recon missions over an area that I think would make a good battle zone, identifying bridges and roads that my units will move along, checking lines of sight, etc. 

Build a mission with no threats that has a populated world of air, sea and ground units. 

I like making mach loop missions for each map. 

Build a combat mission with a handful of ground units that move toward an objective, then add defending units, then add air defence, etc.  Fly the mission at each stage to ensure the units are behaving correctly.  Build up the missions until you lose more often than you win.  This will establish a nice level of challenge. 

The mission generators are a great way to build larger missions, but they can be a challenge for beginners.  There are great youtube videos on mission building.

Edited June 20, 2022 by Glide
additions

[SharpeXB]

4 hours ago, Glide said:

Mission building is a big part of DCS. 

Get to know the mission editor. 

Honestly as a new player I’d skip the mission editor. Learning the aircraft or even just one is enough. I’ve played DCS for 10 years and have never needed to touch the ME

[The_Nephilim]

well if you played WT you have some basic flight ability now just learn the weapons systems of desired plane.. Try the A10C training missions 

[DragonSoulkin]

2 hours ago, The_Nephilim said:

well if you played WT you have some basic flight ability now just learn the weapons systems of desired plane.. Try the A10C training missions 

I've been doing the training missions for the F18 actually and downloaded the flight manual for her.

16 hours ago, Lange_666 said:

I would pick one aircraft to start learning, not multiple since you can mess up yourself if you start mixing both.

I've noticed. I was working on the A10 initially but was getting a bit confused when I was setting up my keybindings, and this was before I got VR. I started working on the F18 and noticed right away that the keybindings didn't transfer over like they do for WarThunder, and that the terminology on some things is even different on the keybindings themselves. Since then I've pretty much stuck with the F18 although I haven't gotten very far outside of just running off of the autostart sequence and using the gun. I'll still tinker in the training missions though, try to get things ironed out at a minimum.

18 hours ago, draconus said:

So what's stopping you? What have you problem with?

Nothing is stopping me, there's just a lot more involved in this vs. what I've played in the past and some things get very frustrating when I don't exactly have anyone I know to be able to ask for help on.

[draconus]

5 hours ago, DragonSoulkin said:

...some things get very frustrating when I don't exactly have anyone I know to be able to ask for help on.

Well then don't get frustrated. Jump in the forum and ask questions preferably in module specific sections:

https://forum.dcs.world/forum/130-dcs-fa-18c-hornet/

https://forum.dcs.world/forum/149-dcs-a-10c-ii-tank-killer/

Yes, each module has its own set of individual controls, named differently sometimes, and there are even more profiles for some modules game/sim mode or pilot/2nd pilot.

There's also ED/DCS discord if you use that - it'll be way faster to get answer.

Of course tutorials, training missions, videos, guides and manuals are your friends too. Good luck and have fun, you don't have to know anyone - the community will be glad to help!

[rforce]

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-uSpZROuEd3THNZeGZMYzF5M0E?resourcekey=0-N8V2z2L3K8inja1HK07iEQ&usp=sharing

is also higly recommended

PS: welcome to the Forum

[Lange_666]

8 hours ago, DragonSoulkin said:

I started working on the F18 and noticed right away that the keybindings didn't transfer over like they do for WarThunder, and that the terminology on some things is even different on the keybindings themselves.

Yep, DCS differs from that compared to other games/sims. They all have a total general setup, same for every type of plane you fly. (WT, IL-2, MSFS etc...).

However, in general, jets developed by ED have almost the same terminology, pre-DCS (Flaming Cliffs jets) differ a bit from these but can be considered as a group, same for all warbirds by ED which use again use a bit different terminology (except for stuff that specifically to a certain aircraft). Aircraft by 3th party developers then again differ here and there.
But depending on the software (if any) you use for the controllers, you can single write a lot of general stuff which you can then use across all aircraft. Also, i set up my controllers +/- the same for each airplane regardless of reality. Result are less brainfarts.

 

8 hours ago, DragonSoulkin said:

Since then I've pretty much stuck with the F18 although I haven't gotten very far outside of just running off of the autostart sequence and using the gun. I'll still tinker in the training missions though, try to get things ironed out at a minimum.

Nothing wrong with autostart, i can only manually start the A-10C, for all others i use autostart. With this in mind you can spend some more time to get other stuff ironed out. You'll need it...

Edited June 21, 2022 by Lange_666

[Yurgon]

11 hours ago, DragonSoulkin said:

I've been doing the training missions for the F18 actually and downloaded the flight manual for her.

That's a great choice and a good way to get started!

Contrary to what Lange_666 just said, I'd actually recommend to do the cold start training mission, and then try cold starts yourself until you get it to work reliably. Also, use the manual to help you out. Pilots don't memorize start-up sequences. Although they could surely do it in their sleep, they do use checklists so they don't accidentally skip or miss an item, and so they always do stuff in the right order.

The big bonus of the cold start is that you'll get a good look all over the cockpit; you get to know all the buttons and knobs and panels, including the less important ones that you'll only touch once and the more important ones that you'll use many times every time you go flying.

And then I'd first focus on basic handling: Take-off, flying a circuit around the base, and landing (long straight-in landings, and then traffic pattern and overhead-break landings with much less time on final approach), then basic navigation using waypoints, TACAN navigation and so on.

Of course it's fun to toss in some guns only dogfights every now and then, but the learning experience will go a lot smoother when sticking to a more or less straightforward path: Basics first, then more advanced topics later. The 2 really hard things in the Hornet are aerial refueling, which is close and very precise formation flying with a tanker aircraft, and landing on a carrier. Using proper real life procedures (Case 1, Case 2, Case 3 approaches) makes it a bit more demanding, but also more rewarding when it works, plus it prepares players for realistic missions and means they'll be more compatible with other players in a multiplayer environment.

But, again, first things first. Get a feel for the Hornet, slow speed, high speed, clean config or tanks and  bombs hanging under the wings, that kind of thing, and be able to land in less than ideal conditions (short runway, low visibility, rain, single engine approach) - there's enough stuff to learn for years and years to come.

Enjoy the ride!

Edited June 21, 2022 by Yurgon

[Hiob]

Roam through the user-files in the download section. There are tons of Single-player missions or even campaigns for free. Especially for the F-18. I would encourage you to mess with the Mission Editor at some point, but you certainly don't need to. There is plenty of content without it.

Edited June 22, 2022 by Hiob

[Pikey]

On 6/19/2022 at 3:36 AM, DragonSoulkin said:

Hello,

 

I've had DCS installed for a few years but rarely play it due to just feeling overwhelmed every time I try to play. I've got over 1,000hrs in War Thunder Air SIM and have tooled around in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 since its launch and I would really like to get into this as well since I've spent the money on a few aircraft such as the F18 and A10C.

 

I live in the US in MST (Mountain Standard Time) time zone. Figured that's relevant information since planning times for instruction/training can be difficult when you're across the pond 7hrs ahead of me.

Check out the squadrons forum and join the Eagle Dynamics Discord and plug into the social first by finding a group of people to talk about your chosen airframe - would be my first suggestion. A group and social will help you break down the huge task. You need to unlearn any concept of becoming proficient or good and learn to enjoy the discovery of learning itself and mastering a small bit at a time else you will go insane.

Doing this on your own is possible but it could become difficult to find the motivation just from yourself. Sure, you might be very good at that, setting yourself a task to become capable at say "cold start" or taxi>takeoff>circuit>landing or learn the VIS mode of the AGM-65D, but if you don't set those types of tasks yourself, you would become lost as to the point of the excercise. WIth people around you, the goals will self sustain. For example you plan an evening flying doing XYZ - so you check out the lessons and videos on it beforehand.

To extend the metaphor, if Warthunder is school, DCS is university. In school, the tasks are simpler, you have the books given to you, you read them in class. In university, you get a reading list and the odd lecture, but most of it has to come from you.

[Tomcat388th]

I'm still learning the hornet and one thing that I have done while practicing is to make yourself invulnerable. This has really helped me with sam sites for getting a feel for being defensive against them.  

J

[CBStu]

There are a couple of ways to do this but I set up my screen so that the standard windows border across the bottom of the screen is still there when flying DCS. So I can hit the pause button, then I can go either to the web or to my 'sim flying' files, or to Chuck's Guide. This way I fly until I have a problem, hit pause, do some research, and come back to DCS. Especially when setting up weapons where Chuck has a 30 step procedure, this really helps. In that case I will use 'active pause' which stops my plane from moving but leaves all buttons and controls active. I have even made DCS take up just half screen and sized my reference to take up the other half. Once I get the weapon set, I go back to DCS on full screen, un-pause, and then use the weapon. I am 2+ years at flying the FA-18 and still have plenty to learn, but I am having a blast.

[Dscross]

On 6/18/2022 at 10:36 PM, DragonSoulkin said:

Hello,

 

I've had DCS installed for a few years but rarely play it due to just feeling overwhelmed every time I try to play. I've got over 1,000hrs in War Thunder Air SIM and have tooled around in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 since its launch and I would really like to get into this as well since I've spent the money on a few aircraft such as the F18 and A10C.

 

I live in the US in MST (Mountain Standard Time) time zone. Figured that's relevant information since planning times for instruction/training can be difficult when you're across the pond 7hrs ahead of me.

You are welcome to come by the AIN discord. We have...well it sort of a instruction squadron, and just poeple who enjoy flying togeather. we can get you sorted on the F/A-18 or A10 without too much trouble. Drop by whenever, and just ask for help, it's a good group. Here's the discrod invite. 

 

https://discord.gg/JuBydbsfDn

[pmaura]

would recommend getting used to cold starts because it's gets you used to where everything is located in the cockpit and it's functions which in turn I found helped me out. as I am a relative noob as well.

[fagulha]

And start to learn the basics of the ME (Mission Editor) i started with no knowledge and went from zero to hero (a lot of Youtube Tutorials; here on the forum there´s a lot of help too when needed). It will take your missions to another level with time. Now i have my missions populated with statics, with random air traffic (great for intercepts) that spawn always in different locations improving a lot replayability, spawning ground units in different locations, a real IADS defence using a script (not possible with default DCS), and list goes on... you can create so many scenarios. Take small steps and if you need help i´m sure that you´ll find always here on the forum.

Enjoy.

 

F.