On the Fence, need some help

[Icedragon122]

Hi all, i've been recently thinking about buying this game and have almost everything required to make it work.

 

I have two questions for those of you who have purchased it.

 

1) I dont have a Track IR and really dont really have the money for one right now. I fly il2 sturmovik alot and use my mouse to move the pilots head around in the cockpit. I understand you use the mouse in DCS Black Shark to click the switches, but can you set it up so the mouse moves the pilots head around and can still click on the switches?

 

2) How does the campaign work? i really can find any information on how it works or what it does? is it linear or dynamic?

 

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me! i'm really interested in this game and would love to fly it.

[Mugenjin]

As of right now, 1) is possible due to a glitch, when you press ESC twice. Anyway that option will be implemented as an official option in the next patch afaik.

[LazerPotatoe]

2) About the campaign engine: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=30053

[slug88]

2) How does the campaign work? i really can find any information on how it works or what it does? is it linear or dynamic?

 

There are two campaigns: one is a fairly traditional, highly scripted linear campaign, that focuses on anti-insurgent operations. The other is a very large, semi-dynamic campaign, focusing on a fictional war between Russia and a Georgia-NATO coalition. From the FAQ on the main website, here is a little bit of info on how the semi-dynamic campaign works:

 

Q: Will DCS include a dynamic campaign system?

A: The initial DCS campaign system will not self-generate missions. However, it will consist of any number of phases, which can include any number of missions. The player will move forward or back through the phases depending to his mission performance. When combined with the mission editor's trigger system, it can provide high replayability value and a sense of player impact on the campaign.

[EtherealN]

As of right now, 1) is possible due to a glitch, when you press ESC twice. Anyway that option will be implemented as an official option in the next patch afaik.

 

Should add that a quick key combo switches between moving the head and moving the mouse. So after the coming patch there will be three modes:

 

1) Click the cockpit. (Everything is available on keyboard commands though as well.)

2) Move the head.

3) Both at the same time.

 

OP, if you are a fellow mouser (somehow a lot of people found it difficult to do that in IL-2, but I've played it regularly since the first IL-2 came to me as a review code and always did it on mouse) you will be right at home even without a TrackIR. That said, I did get myself a TrackIR and it really is worth it when you get the money.

 

If you are on a budget but do have a webcam, you can have a look at Cachya. It does the same job, costs only some 15 dollars, and with a bit of tweaking will be almost indistinguishable from TrackIR. There's a few TrackIR vs Cachya threads around here, search for them and you can evaluate that as an option.

[Topgun505]

Welcome Ice.

 

It looks like plenty of people have commented on the campaign so I won't touch that. But ... like you ... I do not have a Track IR either (though I do plan to get one asap). But, so far, I have survived just fine without it. Currently I have a x52 Saitek system. One hat switch on my stick is set to Shkval slew and other is set to move the head view. One of the buttons on the stick is also set to Center View so that if things get hairy I can snap my head back forward in an instant (for times like getting caught in a vortex ring or need to get yer head outta the instruments to look for targets, etc).

 

The only thing you will have trouble with is trying to get a bead on an air target.

 

But yeah ... in general you can survive without a Track IR. It is just VERY recommended. :)

[Vapour]

The thing I find trackir the best for ingame is moving the shkval with the helmet mounted sight.

 

Yes it will give you great situational awarness, we know that anyway. But i've flown many times without it and without a problem, when the sun shines throught the window trackir is useless. So during the day if I play then its with the hat switch.

[slowhand]

hey bro, get off the fence...and into the fight.. you don't need a trackir...but it helps alot..5x5

[Jack McCoy]

...when the sun shines throught the window trackir is useless. So during the day if I play then its with the hat switch.

 

Analog solutions: Curtains? Moving your computer?

[EtherealN]

I've never had any issues whatsoever with using TrackIR when the sun is shining. I have however seen many reports of Cachya being sensitive to light sources. Vapour, I would recommend that you open the TrackIR settings and change it's sensitivity if by some miracle it is corrupting it's reception.

 

Unless you mean that you have the window directly behind you. Then the fact that there's disturbance is a bit of a "duh" thing, really. Of course a strong IR source (like the sun) is going to upset an IR-based system if it's in the field of view. Rotate your desk or play with the sun in your face instead of your back - the sun is made to be seen anyhow. ;)

[Safari Ken]

I've never had to use it, but I think the TrackIR control panel has a Threshold setting (forget what it's called, and I'm at work so I can't check) that's specifically used to filter out erroneous IR sources. Of course it won't fix a big open window behind you, but like Ethereal said, that's not really the unit's fault. The only issue I've ever had was lighting cigarettes, but that just lasts a second and goes back to normal.

[Vapour]

Analog solutions: Curtains? Moving your computer?

 

Business office, and a wife who thinks diseases are caught from a sewing machine.

 

I have hinted believe me. She asks what I need curtains for in the office.....what I want to say is "honey it's for my head tracking device so I can play sims when I should be working" :helpsmilie:. What I really say is "it's too bright in here". Maybe next year.

[coder1024]

there is no dynamic campaign in DCS Black Shark, you build a bunch of static missions and put them in a campaign and can move through the campaign and the mission outcomes effect the campaign state, but nothing that I'd call a "dynamic campaign" since that term suggests something like what Falcon has. I'm hoping they add this in the future, as imo, a dynamic campaign is where its at. let the battle unfold around you dynamically, none of this scripted nonsense :) seriously, though, its a great sim, and worth buying. but if you're a Falcon fan you might miss the dynamic campaign.

[nemises]

I've never had to use it, but I think the TrackIR control panel has a Threshold setting (forget what it's called, and I'm at work so I can't check) that's specifically used to filter out erroneous IR sources. Of course it won't fix a big open window behind you, but like Ethereal said, that's not really the unit's fault. The only issue I've ever had was lighting cigarettes, but that just lasts a second and goes back to normal.

 

yeah, its called "filter" , and it literally clamps the light source value.

 

In a good (ie. dark, or low ambient) environment with track clip pro IR LED' emiters, there is no reason why you cannot set the filetering to it's highest value...infact I do this, and even with sunlight shining in perpendicular, I have never had tracking problems (at least not realted to FOIV...I alleways has FOV tracking problems when I lean in too far!...also get gimble lock, but thats not trackir's fault!)

[Safari Ken]

In a good (ie. dark, or low ambient) environment with track clip pro IR LED' emiters, there is no reason why you cannot set the filetering to it's highest value...infact I do this, and even with sunlight shining in perpendicular, I have never had tracking problems (at least not realted to FOIV...I alleways has FOV tracking problems when I lean in too far!...also get gimble lock, but thats not trackir's fault!)

 

As I understand it, that's the big advantage of the TrackClip Pro, that it actually emits IR light, rather than just reflecting it. I use the regular clip without issue though, as I wouldn't ever voluntarily put a window at my back while I'm on the computer.

 

Speaking of which, Vapour, your answer to your wife could be something like "Why do I need curtains, you ask? Because the glare is killing my eyes! I'm used to only being blinded by your beauty, and now I wonder how much longer I get to enjoy it!" You should have curtains the next day... :thumbup:

[Giantsfan24]

As I understand it, that's the big advantage of the TrackClip Pro, that it actually emits IR light, rather than just reflecting it. I use the regular clip without issue though, as I wouldn't ever voluntarily put a window at my back while I'm on the computer.

 

Speaking of which, Vapour, your answer to your wife could be something like "Why do I need curtains, you ask? Because the glare is killing my eyes! I'm used to only being blinded by your beauty, and now I wonder how much longer I get to enjoy it!" You should have curtains the next day... :thumbup:

 

I sense a married man among us...or a man that has dug his way out of the dog house more than once.

[Jack McCoy]

"and now I wonder how much longer I get to enjoy it!"

 

'Cause if I get to choose between BS and your B***S***, baby, the choice is clear!