Sérvalpilot Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) After a few years of digging into DCS systems and exploring what's possible, I learned a lot about the limitations of DCS modding. This is a list of what stuff can be achieved in mods, with some suggestions on improving or expanding the modding capabilities. External flight model ("EFM") Replaces the standard flight model (SFM, which is awful in my opinion) Aerodynamics, thrust and controls. Transfer of variables using parameters. Digital instruments (ccIndicator) HUD, HDD, HMD, and screenspace indicators. Electric system (avSimpleElectricSystem) I'm not too sure what this does other than enable other systems like RWR and radar. Fire control system (avSimpleWeaponSystem) Station selection, firing, and jettisoning. Air-to-air infra-red seeking missiles have parameters for seeker lock and target angles. (AIM-9, R-73, R550, etc.) Pairs, salvo, ripple, release intervals can be done, albeit coded manually. Dispense chaff and flares as well as use ECM (just an on/off toggle). Some parameters for gyro gun reticle and rocket piper (which doesn't really work). Can still fire all weapon types, but most guided weapons are pretty much useless (more on that later). Radar warning receiver (avSimpleRWR) Receive signals, can be distinguished by type. Azimuth, elevation, and other info can be accessed. Can be used to make search, lock, and launch warnings. Radar (avSimpleRadar) Search and track flying objects as well as scan terrain. IFF, checks if a contact is on the same coalition. Guidance for semi-active radar guided missiles. (AIM-7, R-27R, S-530, etc.) Guidance for active radar guided missiles. (AIM-120, R-77, etc.) Can be linked the seeker of infra-red guided missiles, very useful in a dogfight. Can NOT sense anything less than 300m away, making it frustrating to use in a dogfight. Lock (STT) has a tendency to break for no reason. Night vision (avNightVisionGoggles) Self-explanatory and very simple, just a toggle and brightness up/down controls. Radio/intercom (avIntercom, avUHF_ARC_164) For something so ubiquitous, this is surprisingly very tricky to set up. Declaring the devices using Lua alone doesn't work. Mods use a link to some core DCS stuff using a C++ dll link, which is a headache. Radio navigation systems (avLuaDevice) Get beacon data such as position of course, some have a direction value for runways. Can get data for all the beacons on the terrain, including ILS, TACAN, VOR, RSBN, etc. What's interesting about this is that it an all be done "manually" in theory. What can be improved with existing devices: Radar: Ability to change parameters like deadzone (which I think causes the 300m unlock), sweep speed, ground sensing. Sweep width and height can theoretically be edited "manually", but having it all streamlined would be nice. Reduce or eliminate the tendency to lose track of contacts when they are flying away. Radio/intercom: Less tricky to set up, preferably eliminating the need for some external dll trickery. What could be added: Laser designator/rangefinder. Cameras: optical and infra-red ("FLIR"). Infra-red search-and-track (IRST). Guidance for more weapon types, preferably all. (The AGM-45 "Shrike" on the A-4 and F-4 mods use what is essentially "guesswork" for a firing cue.) Edited January 30 by Sérvalpilot Added more information. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copprhead Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Semi active-radar homing missiles can be done when having a STT lock with the avSimpleRadar. avSimpleWeaponSystem also allows gyro gunsight lead calculation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucic Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Is there absolutely anything (with or without DCS-BIOS) that we can tap into to derive information on buffeting and vibrations? I'm less after G load as I'm sure this is available. Purpose: F-5E audio modding, in-game sound or external device https://forum.dcs.world/topic/333449-no-audio-feedback-on-buffeting/ https://akaagar.github.io/briefing-room-for-dcs/ F-5E simpit project https://forum.dcs.world/topic/318106-f-5e-simpit-cockpit-dimensions-and-flight-controls/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sérvalpilot Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 19 hours ago, Copprhead said: Semi active-radar homing missiles can be done when having a STT lock with the avSimpleRadar. avSimpleWeaponSystem also allows gyro gunsight lead calculation. True. I forgot to add that, I'll edit the parent post. avSimpleWeaponSystem can also dispense chaff and flares, I forgot to add that too. 7 hours ago, Bucic said: Is there absolutely anything (with or without DCS-BIOS) that we can tap into to derive information on buffeting and vibrations? I'm less after G load as I'm sure this is available. I don't have the F-5 so I don't know how it works. My guess is that it's a combination of angle of attack and g load. Also, this topic is about creating aircraft mods from scratch, not really looking at existing ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucic Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Oh, sorry. I'm so ignorant in the field of modding that I didn't even notice https://akaagar.github.io/briefing-room-for-dcs/ F-5E simpit project https://forum.dcs.world/topic/318106-f-5e-simpit-cockpit-dimensions-and-flight-controls/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sérvalpilot Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 I want to mention the very special case of the A-29B Super Tucano mod. The IR camera + laser designator pod was achieved using rather complex code wizardry using core DCS dll files, which makes it the most impressive mod in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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