Guns only dogfight is a PITA!

[draconus]

9 minutes ago, FR4GGL3 said:

Sometimes it might help to accept the idea that DCS is still a game.

It's no secret that combat flight simulation has always been a subgenre of games but it's on the player how serious one wants to treat it. It's not perfect, we know it but it gets better. We're already at a point where real manuals, procedures and tactics can be used to play this game so it's natural to try to act like RL pilot would, react to the situation at hand and adapt - that's the whole point of realistic simulation - to immerse oneself. Or you can win the "dogfight" in 10 seconds by putting the crosshair on the enemy and squeezing the trigger

[FR4GGL3]

I know that. But some topics sound like people are really angry about such things. For me things like DCS are there to have some fun. So I tend to ignore some minor flaws and keep on having fun. Let the Flanker sharpshoot at the merge, let it jink like there's no tomorrow. It is part of the fun.

[bonesvf103]

6 hours ago, FR4GGL3 said:

Sometimes it might help to accept the idea that DCS is still a game. Even if no one likes that. That mindset could help stopping frustration and accepting a few things that could be optimized - do it sporty.

I mean, after all it is not the real thing. You can have almost all the fun without the pressure and the risk. Because of this, I would call it a game.

Thank you for that.  It's a good point.  It's 20% frustration but still 80% fun.

v6,

boNes

[Dragon1-1]

6 hours ago, FR4GGL3 said:

I mean, after all it is not the real thing. You can have almost all the fun without the pressure and the risk. Because of this, I would call it a game.

Remember that we're talking about Zone V, which is about a training scenario in NTTR. IRL, the only difference in that scenario is that they feel the Gs and don't get to see the fireball (they sure like to imagine them, though). Risk is minimal during those fights, pressure is kind of still there, but that's only because they get paid for this, and everyone will know it if you suck.  

Of course, that doesn't change the fact it's not real humans in the other planes, and the AI leaves a lot to be desired. AI is getting better at pretending, but we're not there yet, and it'll never be as good as trained Topgun instructor. No AI, especially one running on a PC, can beat flying with a human teacher in MP.

[LanceCriminal86]

1 hour ago, Dragon1-1 said:

Risk is minimal during those fights,

I don't think I'd go that far, many Naval Aviators have lost their lives during or as a result of ACM/BFM training hops. Even the daily "norm" of the job was dangerous, accidents happened, aircraft had failures, and folks perished doing what should have been routine flights.

[Despayre]

8 hours ago, FR4GGL3 said:

Sometimes it might help to accept the idea that DCS is still a game.

Blasphemer! You shall be cast out!

[Dragon1-1]

30 minutes ago, LanceCriminal86 said:

Even the daily "norm" of the job was dangerous, accidents happened, aircraft had failures, and folks perished doing what should have been routine flights.

Certainly, flying a real fighter, especially in those days (today less so, they learned a thing or two from those deaths), wasn't without risks, but even in the 80s, the safety record was pretty good. Even in accidents, the ejection seat usually worked. I don't know the apples to apples numbers to compare, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was less likely to kill you than your daily commute (though admittedly, the numbers for the latter are far worse than they have any right to be). The days of pilots routinely dying in flying accidents, as was happening in 50s and 60s, were long past at that point.

Sure, sitting at a desk is much safer than either flying or commuting. I wouldn't say, though, that ACM training in the post-Vietnam era carried more risk than anyone here would accept. With a crash rate of less than 9 per 100k flying hours, and most of them survivable thanks to the ejection seat, I'd fly a Tomcat to work if I could (well, that and a host of other reasons ).