DCS Tips and hints - Community suggestions

[Mad_Shell]

Things that imo would help a lot new players:

- access to the DCS and module manuals in game (make it an easily accessible and visible option! Like a big "manuals" option in the main game menu). If this is hard/long to implement, in the meantime AT LEAST clearly indicate in the game where the manuals can be found! So, so many new players don't even know the manuals do exist!

- tips explaining all the graphics/gameplay options when hovering the mouse above them. Currently about half of the tips don't work/exist.

- when joining a multiplayer server, a map for choosing a slot would be way easier than the current list system to understand the current tactical situation, especially for new players that don't know the locations by heart.

Things not specific to new players, but that would help a lot the game to be more engaging and improve new player retention as a consequence:

- a collaboration with the guy making the DCS web mission editor to make it an official DCS tool, because that is simply a game changer, providing great flexibility to easily and casually design missions even when away from the gaming PC.

- the DTC is sorely needed (yeah you're working on it, I know lol). I saw some time ago that the average DCS session lasts about 20 or 30 minutes. The average DCS player has little time to play (work, family... life you know). So when you have to spend half your playtime to manually set up all your aircraft systems, this becomes frustrating. Imagine the new player, with little time... is a game requiring button clicking for half your playtime before taking off engaging in the long run? I know it's a sim, and button clicking is a large part of that, but no need to make it worse than needed.

[Dragon1-1]

For AAR specifically:

Practice rejoins, not just plugging in. This is also a skill. Choose one or at most two alignment cues during in close. It can be a static HUD element or part of the canopy. "Aim" with this cue at a specific part of the tanker, you can watch a successful plug on YouTube to figure out which one. It's easier on probe and drogue aircraft but actually applies everywhere except the F-16, which is notoriously short on good canopy cues when connected. You should have a different cue for when you're plugged in and when you're just coming in.

For example: In the F-14, put the HUD in AA mode and place the right "30" pitch ladder marker on the hose. Ride it into the basket then transition to aiming at the pod with your gun cross. A high precision stick helps a lot, but isn't necessary to get good at AAR. 

[draconus]

Welcome to DCS, the most realistic digital combat simulation on home PC! It is as real as you want to immerse yourself. Take your time on settings and controls before flying.

Instant Action - whether you have only 10 minutes for play, want to quickly jump into action or just want to practice specific skill like cold start, take off, combat, air refueling or landing these missions are perfect for you.

Mission/campaign - if you feel like you're combat ready choose these to really put your skills to the test. Very rewarding and immersive military experience but be warned they can be hard and painfully realistic so you better be ready. If you're new to the aircraft it could be frustrating unless it's about training of course.

Mulitplayer - don't hesitate to meet others in the skies - it's fun to fly and learn together.

Training - your best bet for learning the new aircraft and procedures. Worth every minute spent. Don't forget to take a look in the manual whenever you want more details and explanations.

Encyclopedia - you've got to know what you're dealing with on the mission.

Mission Editor - you can easily and quickly make your own first mission, it's not that hard as you think. If you take your time learning though you can make true masterpieces here.

Exit - sorry to hear you go, see you next time.

[MAXsenna]

- Maybe integrate an PDF-Reader and link directly to the manual in the docs folder.
- Make the Manual accessible through the Kneeboard.
 

In some modules, (free ones actually, so that's pretty hilarious), you can access the manual by pressing "Escape" then choose the manual.

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk

[Epikboy710]

Near Rocks, Far Rocks, Check Lead, Check 6.

[Flagrum]

I understand that this is not a wishlist thread. Still ... you might want to consider:

- implementing some sort of "visual cockpit exploration mode". Tool-tips are ok to remind you of the function of some cockpit element. But with a dedicated exploration mode, a user could for example click on switches and gauges and get a small popup with some (brief) newbie-friendly explanation of what it actually does.

This exploration mode could either be activated when you are inside the cockpit, or maybe even as a new, dedicated training resource (accessible from the main screen). A dedicated learning resource could probably allow better to implement, for example, additional aids, like highlighting related cockpit elements, etc.

- implementing some sort of visual aid to help setting up the Snap Views. Using the shortcuts with 15 keys on the num-pad + 2-3 modifiers is a finger breaking exercise, and I avoid fiddling around with it like the plague.

[animaal]

"Consider adding a head-tracking solution (e.g. IRTrack, TrackHat etc) to make flying easier and to increase situational awareness."

[Lace]

1. Crawl, walk, run. 

2. You will not master this in five minutes.  Flying and operating these aircraft is a full time job IRL, and only comes after many years of building foundation knowledge.

3. Don't be afraid to ask questions.  

4. Use the included training missions.  

5. Learn how to create simple missions to tailor your own training and practice reps.

6. Learning modules is like learning a new language, the more you already know, the easier subsequent ones are to learn. 

7. Go do a flying lesson IRL.  This will give you a real appreciation (although massively diluted) of the workload and physical forces acting on you during flight, and a greater understanding of key principles of flight than hundreds of hours of stick wiggling in a game will.

8. Don't read the manual start-to-finish.  It is not a novel, it is a reference book.  Pick the relevant sections for the new skills or procedures you are learning, and focus on that.  See point 1.

9. You don't need to know everything to have fun.  There is nothing wrong with an air-start, guns only engagement.  Not every flight has to be a 3-hour, IMC slog with multiple AAR, complex attack profiles, strict comms etc.

10.  You don't need expensive kit.  I do a huge amount of my flying with a cleverly-mapped X-Box controller, and can still be 100% combat effective, and can AAR with button throttles and a thumbstick (not a boast, just a evidence that an expensive set up is not essential).

That'll do for now. 

 

 

[dudeman17]

LCtrl + S to mute game. 

Lifesaver when spectating

[Poop Spoon]

Several things I figured out that seems to be relatively unknown.

F18 you can flip the battery, APU, crank and both engines to idle in one go and it'll start fine. I usually do this, turn some volume sliders down and oxygen on before leaving the panel. When I come back I crank left, set takeoff trim and reset FCS. Similar practices work on other planes but I haven't streamlined those yet.

A10C 2: There's a fast align. On the MFD press INS > Alt Align > Fast. If it doesn't select you took too long, turn the EGI and CDU switches off for a few seconds and back on then it should work. Didn't realize it took people years to figure this out.

Also A10C 2: Autopilot not working? After alignment, click the EGI/steerpoint nav buttons behind the stick and the EAC switch (behind throttle) on. The EAC switch will bounce back if you messed up, but it'll stay if you used a keybind (yet won't function)

Graphics settings: you can hover over the text for options to see how much of a CPU/GPU hit you're going to take, also usually there's descriptions.

IPD: has nothing to do with actual IPD, in VR it scales the world around you. I've noticed 45-50 to be a sweet spot outside of some exceptions

MAVs: [referencing F18] you can click it twice on the stores page and the three minute cooldown will start even if the manual says it won't until you're in the air.

No ground crew in fast mission: go into advanced options/mission editor, change the faction of your airport from neutral to your side. This is something that really should be done automatically. I usually check first thing by asking to remove wheel chocks regardless of having any.

Oculus users: get oculus tray tool (the second most recent version, current is bugged), turn ASW off, GPU scheduling off, CPU priority on high. If on a physical link manage that with OTT also.

Briefing Room/TTI is probably your best bet for a fast mission-esque mission but with far more customization and detail.

If you're pulling hard to the side consistently/can't pull up for takeoff etc., you likely have another input device interfering (oculus users, unbind the axis controls on the controllers for every plane or it'll do this - likely the same with other HMDs). Still if you're in a dual engine plane, check you remembered to even start the second one; it happens.

Again for VR users; the desktop resolution is JUST for the mirror, you can turn this way down. Same in OTT for the window but keep it above 720p or you won't be able to click some UI elements.

Mig21: I forgot how but you need to delete the mouse profile if you want to be able to bind the mouse for clickable cockpit like every other plane has. For some reason you can't assign this to the mouse otherwise

If you need to change a modifier, open the input file for the device in wordpad or something, use find and replace and just change the button (eg find BTN2, replace with BTN3). Stops you from having to do this for every single bind.

And for the love of god please don't run this game on an HDD

Last I can think of for now is non-most potato CPUs should probably be on the MT build unless it's causing abject issues. There's a separate MT launcher in bin-mt. BN OF ANYONE CORRECT THIS IF NEEDED and smack me on discord for good ol times. You were the one handling MT topics is all.

If any of this is wrong please correct me. For those of you in the discord I'm sterg so you know I have a habit of being wrong.

(ED pls stop giving me neutral airports in fast mission)

Edited July 2, 2023 by Poop Spoon
imagine not editing a post 500 times in 5 minutes

[Poop Spoon]

So I was going to make another post but it turned into a "potentially realistic ways to improve quality of life" thing as I kept trying to off offhandedly cram solutions into "tips for circumventing issues"

If this is too off topic feel free to delete it. I understand "suggestions" exists but the  "pls add hatunse miku liveries" types/"ideas guys" aren't really the same audience.

In any case if this is appropriate for the thread I'd appreciate [constructive] feedback. If not feel free to delete this post.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gc1iDFIx3uEbGrU2hSNlCmPIndWYA84LUoZXR-C9Iwo/edit?usp=sharing

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Poop Spoon

[Exorcet]

The first few that I could think of:

Instructions to find the manuals
Some of the best help is in the manuals, while video tutorials are popular these days they can be slow and clumsy to use. Text help is generally faster.
 

Aircraft jumping
Poorly documented
Useful for missing testing or flying campaigns after being shot down
 

Aircraft runway operations 

For those inclined to use the ME. These are obscure in ME and have a huge impact on missions (ie active runway, taxi paths, etc), new players could save a lot of time knowing how to get planes in the air quickly (or even instantly by placing them in the air vs starting from the ground).

Group Copy and Paste
Excellent for setting up large missions, not just for multiplying groups, but for creating fast templates, example create a CAP flight with preset options and waypoints, then when adding other aircraft instead of adding a new group, copy the CAP flight and make needed changes. This saves time in the form of skipping waypoint creation, copying visibility settings like hidden on MFD, start conditions like Late Activation, liveries, etc
This also serves as a work around for DCS ME naming issues (ie to change names of units to match a group, place a group to copy, then name the group, then copy the group, the change the name of the original group, lastly paste the group. New pasted group has all unit names matching the group name)

Autostart

Time acceleration and Active Pause

Radio channels (if using realistic radio)

Create Fast Mission and the ability to edit these in the ME

Explanation of the DCS User Files and how to download missions

Link to DCS forums

[Nedum]

Pro Tip:

 

-> before <- opening a problem thread, do the following steps:

1. make sure the game is updated

2. disable ->all<- Mods

3. do a ->slow<- repair

4. delete the folders fxo and metashaders2 in c:\user\*username*\saved games\DCS(.openbeta)

 

If that all was not successful, use the ->search option<- to look for a thread which could have an answer for your problem.

If you need to open a thread, because your problem is new, give us all the possible information (dxdiag, your game settings, and so on) you have access to.

[BIGNEWY]

Hi all, 

please continue to add tips and hints here. 

Remember this is not a wish list thread, this is for showing helpful tips in game. 

thank you

[Hiob]

Tipps on basic flying skills or module specific habbits:

e.g.:

Remember that in almost all aircraft the different controls surfaces are interdependent. If you experience trouble to initiate a roll in high AoA, try using the rudder with or instead of the ailerons.

[draconus]

CONTROLS

Whenever you start DCS for the first time or have just installed a new module make sure to go and check your controls before the flight. Many aircraft come with default preconfigured bindings for most popular joysticks and HOTAS however it may not suit you or even can be configured wrong in some hardware setups. Most important is to check the axis category. Make sure only one axis on one device is configured for the specific command. Double bindings make the controls fighting each other or moving one axis can move other axes inadvertently, so avoid that. In the axis tune submenu you can make further changes to the axis settings. Use slider option whenever your axis is not self-centering. Use invert option if the control input moves the axis wrong way. Add deadzone when the center is unstable and produces unintended inputs. Add positive curve when you feel the sensitivity is too high around the center but be warned that it also makes the sensitivity higher at the extremes. After starting the flight press Rctrl+Enter for the in game controls indicator where you can test your control inputs on-the-fly. Make sure the axes go from 0 to 100% on both extremes and there are no unintended inputs.

Basic controls axes:

Use X axis of the stick for self-centering roll control input.

Use Y axis of the stick for self-centering pitch control input.

Use one axis for throttle slider control. If you have dual throttles use one for the left engine and the other for the right one. For single engine assign only one of the throttle. If you have single throttle use throttle both command for two engine aircraft.

Use one axis for self-centering rudder/yaw controls (it's usually pedals, stick twist or rocker switch on the back of the throttle). If you have physical rudder pedals with toe brakes use the separate pedals to bind them to the left and right toe brakes commands.

Edited July 22, 2023 by draconus

[Hotdognz]

Pro Tip for a new user and existing user

When you add a new controller to your set up it will map any and all axis it has across every module you have on the X,Y,Z RZ, RX axis and so, so please remember to go back into every module and unbind the ones not needed, other wise when you spawn in a module it will more than likely take off or act strange to these new axis bindings you did not want.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Hotdognz

[BIGNEWY]

Hi all, 

just to revive this thread a little, we would still like to hear from you about what tips and tricks you think would help new users. 

thank you

[VF19_Congo]

In the mission editor, please set Historical button to OFF by default.

It was an absolute nightmare to figure out why I could not choose coalitions as country of origin.

A novice in the editor will be able to place any aircraft much easier without tearing out their hair and

poking their eyes out trying to work out how to place / fly an aircraft, particularly with custom skins.

Edited September 12, 2023 by VF19_Congo

[Bucic]

For the F-5E you might want to start with the undocumentend settings in special:

- Joystick mode (linear, FFB, etc.) see https://forum.dcs.world/topic/323919-joystick-and-y-axis-asymmetry-question/

- sight camera

F-5E Tips:

"Real aircraft controls use longer arms and better sensors than commercial joysticks. You can get around some of the shortcomings using Axis Tune - Curvature (e.g. 15%). Dead zone only as a last resort."
"Trimming is balancing the aircraft. It's necessary with speed changes and you're going to use that often. Map trimming controls to your joystick HAT switch."

"F-5E has lower structural stress ratings compared to contemporary fighters. Refer to the manual for G (acceleration) limitations."

"You can silence the low-speed warning beeping sound by pressing the [I] key."

"The weapons panel as well as the radar warning receiver panel (RWR) both contain volume knobs you can use to lower the sound volume for the respective system tones."

"You can find cockpit texture mods in DCS user files section at https://dcs.world You need one. Get one."

"F-5E is rather particular about the weapons panel switch positions. E.g. leaving a jettison switch flipped after you got rid of a certain weapon may prevent you from firing any remaining weapons. Please refer to the manual."

* pilot body show/hide

* RCtrl+Pause CYCLE for performance metrics
* RCtrl+Enter for controls indicator

* one-liner about basic camera controls - cockpit

* one-liner about basic camera controls - external

"wishlist" :

- redefine the default Numpad0 cockpit view in to show more instruments

- general: redefine audio balance between cockpit and external views ; the external audio level is far too high

General:

LShift+R for goodness sake! restart mission

other general universal key commands like briefing, rearm, chats and what not

Edited September 14, 2023 by Bucic

[Mud]

For faster coordinates entry into items like the F-16's DED, A-10's CDU, ... I bind the numeric keys from the keyboard numpad to the respective numbers on the aircraft key pads.
This speeds up things considerably for me when entering coordinates, even with a VR headset on.  Less clicking required.

Of course, it does help if you're used to using the numpad blindly.

[draconus]

34 minutes ago, Mud said:

Of course, it does help if you're used to using the numpad blindly.

That inspired me to write more on the subject:

As a new VR user (and probably not using cockpit replica) you may struggle to use some keybinds wearing headset on. Use your HOTAS buttons and axes as much as possible even for commands that are not there in RL aircraft. Remember you can multiply the number of available button/axes by using or creating modifiers (either as toggle on/off, like Caps lock or press and hold, like Shift key) - any key or button can be your modifier. That will help you to have them easily available without reaching for the keyboard or mouse. If you use the mouse for the cockpit switches/buttons keep it close to your HOTAS to reach it any time you need it without looking. If you still insist on using the keyboard more avoid complex binds with modifiers and use the keys easiest to find without looking like Space, separate arrow keys, separate 6-pack (Insert, Home, Delete, End, PageUp/Dn), Backspace, Numpad and F keys (they are usually grouped in 4 so you can ex. easily find F7 knowing the second group is F5-F8 and the F7 is the one before the last, same as F10 will be second key in the third group). Also notice there are external apps like Voice Attack/VAICOM that allow you to use voice commands.

Edited September 14, 2023 by draconus

[ngreenaway]

2 hours ago, draconus said:

That inspired me to write more on the subject:

As a new VR user (and probably not using cockpit replica) you may struggle to use some keybinds 

 

On the topic of VR users & keybinds, sticking a few self-adhesive bumps on your keyboard can be very helpful: only a few are needed for either important keybinds or helping navigate thru a cluster of them (for example, f1,f6, & f10)

 

https://www.amazon.com/Adhesive-Bumper-106-PC-Spherical-Square/dp/B06XPCLN23

[Nipil]

On trimming and it's importance.

On various BFMs (maybe with illustrations shown instead of aircraft pic on loading screen).

On tactics of going very low and not emitting.

On Free Trial.

On manuals and their location.

On User Files section on the website.

Some basic airmanship facts for the uninitiated: barometer setting, IAS vs TAS, AoA's importance, stall recovery, transition altitude, ground effect etc.

Terrain masking, ground clutter, doppler notching.

On true and magnetic bearing.

On aerial refueling (fly the plane, not the basket, remember to turn off radar).

Propeller pitch.

Eye/head tracking (that it exists and greatly enhaces flying experience).

[Rebel28]

When adjusting and setting up the sim:
In the settings menu have a tooltip show when hovering over the settings:
This setting will impact the CPU
This setting will impact the GPU
This setting will affect CPU & GPU usage
This setting uses your system memory
This setting uses your GPU memory
As it is now there is no way without trial and error. This frustrates many trying to setup and play. And is the questions most asked by both new and current players.