How do you fly with keyboard?

[Kuro6]

Hey guys,

 

Are any of you flying with keyboard? I don't have a HOTAS or even a joystick and really can't afford one for the prices they are asking. Does anyone know how you are supposed to use trim when flying with keyboard? As far as I can see, trim just keeps the joystick, rudder, etc. in place when you release them. So I guess on a stick, you would get the aircraft going where you want, hit the trim button once, then release the stick, rudders, etc. Anyone know how to do this with keyboard? And if you only hit trim after getting the craft where you want it to go, aren't you fighting the FCS? Im really not understanding the FCS on here. This craft is really hard to fly. Sometimes it just goes crazy and no matter whether I keep the FCS on, go to director mode, or just cut the whole thing, I end up crashing into the ground. It just wants to wobble and porpoise everywhere.

[Guest]

I would go out and buy a stick, even if it's $5 and shows it. You will not be able to fly the BS without any sort of analog input.

[slug88]

Hey guys,

And if you only hit trim after getting the craft where you want it to go, aren't you fighting the FCS? Im really not understanding the FCS on here.

 

This is why many people hold down trim while maneuvering. The FCS hold channels are disabled while the trimmer is held down.

 

As for flying with a keyboard, I can't imagine that it will ever work out. I think a joystick is necessary to play this game. Even a cheap $20 joystick will suffice.

[joey45]

you need a stick mate....

[leroy1964]

yep

 

you need a stick mate....

 

So you have something to hold onto as you crash :megalol:

 

I know it has helped me as I spear in to pull like a mad man on the stick as i spin down to the cold hard earth...:pilotfly::joystick::doh:

[CAT_101st]

How do you fly with keyboard?

 

you don't!!

[Boberro]

With keyboard? It is not FC where keyboard is one of the best controlling devices... Here joystic is a must. Even simplest - to fly control. Rest things as weapons change, Shkval modes ect you can do with keyboard.

[EinsteinEP]

How do you fly with keyboard?

Put one in each hand and flap vigorously until liftoff.

[Peyoteros]

This sim is too complicated to fly it with keyboard mate... Unfortunately... And nova days this is an expensive hobby... sorry, I couldn't fly it with keyboard and if Bobbero says no way, means no way... (Bobbero flew Su25T with keyboard and flew it well).

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

It can be done but I don't know how well it would resemble actual flying............

[joey45]

So you have something to hold onto as you crash :megalol:

 

I know it has helped me as I spear in to pull like a mad man on the stick as i spin down to the cold hard earth...:pilotfly::joystick::doh:

 

at lest there's the option to pull the cord and become the 'rocket man' or woman....

 

Edited May 19, 2009 by joey45

[EtherealN]

I don't have a HOTAS or even a joystick and really can't afford one for the prices they are asking.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826102204

 

That's 24 dollars, and good enough to use for aerobatic simulation training at my glider club (though we ripped out the potentiometer for the twist-stick and turned that into a homebew pedal set with a few DIY cartwheels and pieces of wood. :P ). It's definitely not a permanent option of course, but if you are on a budget it will definitely do the job. Has enough buttons for you to map the most common functions, it has a hatswitch for view panning or Skhval panning (I prefer the latter for a singular hatswitch, but on the other hand I have a TrackIR and even before that I was used to using left-hand mouse to pan view).

 

For the money, awesome kit.

 

I did find another even cheaper stick in there, 14 dollars, but that didn't have any twist so no rudder control, and that's something you'll need.

 

Another option to further improve your DCS:BS experience cheaply is Cachya. If you have a webcam you are only some 15 dollars from a fully functioning head tracker that some users here have given glorious reviews that in their mind rival the ten times more expensive TrackIR solution.

 

If these are not an option, quit smoking/drinking/eating or whatever for a few days to build up the savings for that stick. I suspect you could theoretically run it in game mode on keyboard, but even there you are robbing yourself of a massive part of the experience. So even if it means skimping on smokes or something for a while, save up for a stick like the one linked.

 

(Though obviously, find yourself some reviews first to inspect your options. The one linked there is simply the one budget stick that I have experience of.)

[joey45]

if you quite smoking that would save you quite alot.

[EtherealN]

Well, depends on where you live. You UK people have even higher prices on the smokes than we do here in sweden, but if you're russian, polish or american it's not quite as bad on the wallet.

 

Still massive savings, though. :P

[spyda]

maybe try arcade mode, u can fly in arcade with a xbox controller no prob's

but if your wanting to play in Sim mode u need a stick

[Kuro6]

Well, actually have it flying pretty well now with keyboard. Had to learn to meld with the FCS. Only problem is you really can't use the trim, as its not a joystick. That and the auto hover just doesn't seem to work. The catcha program looks pretty nice.

 

Now if you guys can just get a lot better terrain ( it always looks like the barren fields of Kansas with some old blockish buildings tossed in ) and put a good fps into this. If you don't mind getting your asses kicked by veteren ground forces... :lol:

[kiss4luna]

keyboard is ok, i have 9-year-experiance using keyboard control Flanker 2.5, Janes IAF/Longbow2, NFS5, GTR, IL2, LockOn, FS, Richard Burns Rally, Colin McRay Rally, and now DCS:Ka-50. you need lots of practice to get the feeling, and basically you should start from a Race Game and a Flight Shooter then go to a Race Sim and a Flight Sim after you totally understood how the keyboard works in the game.

 

i have a video on youtube and its name seems to be "fun with boats"(some goddamned bitches blocked our access to youtube and we haven't been able watching youtube for a long time and i forget my own video's name), you can search it. it was controlled totally by keyboard and done just 1 or 2 weeks after i bought DCS. the only problem using keyboard control is that it can't do a very accurate move.

 

also you should config your keyboard in windows control panel, setting your keyboard for the fastest response

[leroy1964]

Thats some good advice

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826102204

 

That's 24 dollars, and good enough to use for aerobatic simulation training at my glider club (though we ripped out the potentiometer for the twist-stick and turned that into a homebew pedal set with a few DIY cartwheels and pieces of wood. :P ). It's definitely not a permanent option of course, but if you are on a budget it will definitely do the job. Has enough buttons for you to map the most common functions, it has a hatswitch for view panning or Skhval panning (I prefer the latter for a singular hatswitch, but on the other hand I have a TrackIR and even before that I was used to using left-hand mouse to pan view).

 

For the money, awesome kit.

 

I did find another even cheaper stick in there, 14 dollars, but that didn't have any twist so no rudder control, and that's something you'll need.

 

Another option to further improve your DCS:BS experience cheaply is Cachya. If you have a webcam you are only some 15 dollars from a fully functioning head tracker that some users here have given glorious reviews that in their mind rival the ten times more expensive TrackIR solution.

 

If these are not an option, quit smoking/drinking/eating or whatever for a few days to build up the savings for that stick. I suspect you could theoretically run it in game mode on keyboard, but even there you are robbing yourself of a massive part of the experience. So even if it means skimping on smokes or something for a while, save up for a stick like the one linked.

 

(Though obviously, find yourself some reviews first to inspect your options. The one linked there is simply the one budget stick that I have experience of.)

 

I say shop around, I managed to get hold of quite a good joystick for a resonable price, paid $39.00 for a logitech 3D extreme pro. Having said that you really need (at a minimum) a throttle and collective if you want to play on real, I agree with everyone here, you will find it to hard otherwise.

 

Hope this helps you:thumbup:

[Boulund]

Hey guys, it is very possible to fly with a keyboard only. It's a bit more of a mess controlling the collective, but still very doable!

In this post I show a track with me lifting off, flying a small stretch and then coming back to land in full realism(!) using only my keyboard (didn't even have my stick connected when I did this).

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=687488&postcount=16

You might want to fast forward all the boring parts with me doing a lame start up sequence probably full of errors after almost two months without flying!)

 

About the OP's question about the trim it's very easy: the keys maneuver the joystick position and when you stop holding down the key it just stops there, sitting nicely trimmed where you left it (within reason). As for rudder it does not trim though, so you have to keep playing with the keys if there are strong winds about.

[Belphe]

You don't...

[Jg2001_Rasputin]

This thread could be named "How do I sleep with a woman without spending a lot of money on her"

 

Very hard, but some guys say its possible

[Total]

You really need a HOTAS

 

If you are indeed on an extremely tight budget, I would suggest picking up the Saitek Aviator.

 

The average price is about $40 new. The forward throttle controls work well for "lap operation" The 4 two-way toggles on the front provide 8 functions and, when combined with a 3 mode switch, can accomodate up to 24 functions using the Saitek profiler.

 

I tried flying with the keyboard lat night just to see how it was and, well, crash was not a good enough description lol!

[Mugenjin]

nah, HOTAS is not necessary. But a joystick is. ^^

[SuperKungFu]

Its hard but not impossible to fly with a keyboard. But yes I highly recommend a HOTAS joystick and Trackir. Those are a must have.

[slowhand]

you can always stop by your loc. thrift shop... you never know what ya might find...5x5

Edited May 20, 2009 by slowhand