Worth for an old lonee-wolf pilot?

[LordOrion]

Hi, as  many of you I guess, I started playing flight simulators on my beloved C64 in 1989, and grown up as a fixed wing pilot.

I made some experience with helos when Jane's released its own AH-64D Longbow 2 but I left that game tanking dust on the shelf when Jane's Released F-15E the very next year.

I don't think to be a real "choppa guy": I bought BS2 (discounted) when started with DCS but never actually used it (and I don't think I will buy the BS3 update), howerver I always liked the Apache and I'm really tempted to give it a second chance and add it to my modules collection.

So here are the real questions:

- Is the module playable alone or you need a CPG?

- Is it flyable with my HOTAS Warthog + TFRP or do I need some extra fancy controller?

Thank you for your reply.

[admiki]

Yes, you can play it alone and yes,  your controls will be fine. That being said, it does benefit from full crew. And it is way more fun.

[sirrah]

I've never played with a human crew member (not enough time for MP commitment), but still the Apache is my favorite module.

I must say though, I play (and enjoy) both the PLT and CPG stations. If you really only want to play the PLT seat, you can. But imho, you'd only be using like 75% of what this awesome module has to offer. If you're ok with that, the Apache is a blast!

 

 

Another small side note, which will probably be contested by other community members , if you're not using VR, I'd advise you to stick to fixed wing until you make that plunge. I did enjoy the Ka-50 & Huey when I was still using a flat screen, but I kinda sucked at flying 'em. After I switched to VR, my skills improved drastically and with that I also fell in love with DCS helo ops.

Edited December 25, 2022 by sirrah

[MrReynolds]

I too am a lone-wolf.  Fly in the CPG seat and it's GREAT.  

[corbu1]

The AH64 is now on DCS 14 Day Trial offer.

 
So you could test it free for 14 Days and see if fits for you.

[Ram69]

Yeah. Give the trial a go. My opinion is that it's totally doable and a lot of fun as a lone wolf once you start getting a foundation for the basic controls and mappings. 

 

Controlling george ai pilot from cp/g seat is actually quite simple too, imo, to get him to fly a path, hover, etc. Quite fun to practice your flying and get to a place, then hop up front and start lobbing hellfires at stuff Of course, you can let george do that for you as well, if you're keen to only fly.

 

Good casual fun that doesn't need a ton of complex learning to get to that point, flying a route, hopping up front to wreck some <profanity>. Using the gun from front is a lot of fun as well (or as pilot if you have trackir or vr). Hop back into pilot seat and fly home. 

 

While you're practicing and learning to tame the beast in the pilot seat, hopping up front as gunner can be a nice break from that for some fun blowing stuff up. The better you start to get at flying it, the more you might want to stay back there. Until then, front seat is a fun way to break things up. Piloting can be a bit frustrating at first. My 2 cents as a novice/casual dcs'er. Bs3 is 10 bucks to upgrade to btw, if you already own bs2.

[pii]

5 hours ago, LordOrion said:

Hi, as  many of you I guess, I started playing flight simulators on my beloved C64 in 1989, and grown up as a fixed wing pilot.

I made some experience with helos when Jane's released its own AH-64D Longbow 2 but I left that game tanking dust on the shelf when Jane's Released F-15E the very next year.

I don't think to be a real "choppa guy": I bought BS2 (discounted) when started with DCS but never actually used it (and I don't think I will buy the BS3 update), howerver I always liked the Apache and I'm really tempted to give it a second chance and add it to my modules collection.

So here are the real questions:

- Is the module playable alone or you need a CPG?

- Is it flyable with my HOTAS Warthog + TFRP or do I need some extra fancy controller?

Thank you for your reply.

The warthog is a extra fancy controller.  however the stick has a very stiff spring that can make small adjustments hard to do on the 64d. You can easily remove it and not use a spring or buy a lighter spring Called a blue sprint. I have a WH and I repleced it with a Virpil base paired with the WH stick and that was perfect but cost about 250.00 . 

I also bought new rudder pedals but thats a personal taste . I didn't really need them but they improved things somewhat so I'm good with that cost.

The new stick base and rudder pedals made a massive difference in controlling the helo. All the helos.

Good luck

4 hours ago, sirrah said:

I've never played with a human crew member (not enough time for MP commitment), but still the Apache is my favorite module.

I must say though, I play (and enjoy) both the PLT and CPG stations. If you really only want to play the PLT seat, you can. But imho, you'd only be using like 75% of what this awesome module has to offer. If you're ok with that, the Apache is a blast!

 

 

Another small side note, which will probably be contested by other community members , if you're not using VR, I'd advise you to stick to fixed wing until you make that plunge. I did kinda enjoy the Ka-50 & Huey when I was still using a flat screen, but I kinda sucked at flying. After I switched to VR, my skills improved dramatically and with that I also fell in love with DCS helo ops.

I contest!  while VR is cool i don't think it improved my flying at all. It doen't show you anything you can't see on a flat screen. It also blurs the view on my headset so for serious times I go 2d with a clear screen and able to see all my controls. but thats just me.

[poochies]

Get it ! A work of art ! I play solo and with the very limited friends who actually have it and are willing to learn the front seat targeting which is pretty easy imo . I do a lot of solo flying and the george AI for the gunner is fine. Or fly from the front and be the gunner as well , though you'll need another controller like a gamepad or have an alternate switch setup for binding your flight stick for tedac targeting. I've modded my saitek X45 joystick took out the spring and added clamps to the axis gimbals so stick stays where I put it and did same to rudder tiller, made it so much better I laugh now that the Apache is too easy to fly and hover, even with its flight model still under construction. It's my go to module anymore ....

[Ram69]

You can also experiment with your pitch and roll axis curves to land on something that works well for you and for your stick. And your curves might change over time as you get more adept at controlling it. Higher curves in the beginning will make hovering easier, but can also make things feel a lot less responsive. As you get better you might land on a lower curve where your stick is more responsive, but where you're not bobbing and weaving everywhere trying to hover.

Your mileage may vary with your stick vs. mine, as I have the long curved extension from virpil with a virpil base, so I have a good long throw on my stick. I started with a high curve (like 25 or 35, even) at first to practice and get more proficient at hovering. I've worked my way down to a much smaller curve as I've gotten better at controlling it in general, as it's a lot more responsive. Hovering needs real fine adjustment, which is tough at first. It gets easier. Practice is a real thing for the Apache vs. some of the other dcs helos, imo. 

I use a twist stick for rudder. I have pedals, but I also have a bad back and pedals aren't friendly to it, so I get along fine with a twist rudder, even still. 

Again, the 2 cents of a very non pro DCS'er. 

[LordOrion]

Thank you guys, I will put it in my wishlist!

[SPAS79]

On 12/25/2022 at 12:35 PM, sirrah said:

I've never played with a human crew member (not enough time for MP commitment), but still the Apache is my favorite module.

I must say though, I play (and enjoy) both the PLT and CPG stations. If you really only want to play the PLT seat, you can. But imho, you'd only be using like 75% of what this awesome module has to offer. If you're ok with that, the Apache is a blast!

 

 

Another small side note, which will probably be contested by other community members , if you're not using VR, I'd advise you to stick to fixed wing until you make that plunge. I did enjoy the Ka-50 & Huey when I was still using a flat screen, but I kinda sucked at flying 'em. After I switched to VR, my skills improved drastically and with that I also fell in love with DCS helo ops.

 

All very well said. Esp. the VR part. 
And aside from the fact that, despite still having my physical copy of Lock On Modern Air Combat I ignored DCS until I heard that it had a pretty gud Huey model in it, and that's what drew me in. 

10 yrs later and I can now fly the A10C, the Hornet, the F5E, the Huey, Mi8, Ka50, and now the Apache. All in magnificent VR. 

On 1/8/2023 at 6:26 PM, LordOrion said:

Thank you guys, I will put it in my wishlist!

Dude just do it.

If you need someone to practice in Italian, count me in. I am dying to try this thing in w multicrew (even if apparently it suffers badly from desync issues). Also, it's in the free to play program so it does not hurt to try it for a couple of weeks. That's what I did and I clicked "buy" like three days later. 

 

[FalcoGer]

No need for commitment. Just find random people on discord and usually you'll have a good time.

Wingman Finder (also has multicrew text channel): https://discord.gg/dcs-wingman-finder-454442975590612993

Multicrew Finder: https://discord.gg/Vf4vcjSe

Just ask and you might get a replay to hop in with you and fly on one of the many servers that host generic, campaign like missions, like hoggit, grayflag, flashpoint levant, rotorheads or any of the others. or you could self host.

Personally, I think george isn't good enough to replace a real person. A real person can handle all the systems and radio comms for you, george can barely shoot straight.