Learning the hog

[MerlinCH65]

Hi Lads

 

I am at the beginning of the learning curve :smartass:...

 

For the moment, I can see 3 options how to learn this sim:

 

a) Doing the training missions

 

b) Reading the whole manual first (as suggested somehow in the familiarization lesson)

 

c) Do some flights with the "short" manual and try to learn step by step the basics

 

I tend to lean to c) as the training missions don't help me that much - too fast, to much acronyms, just push this, click that but I don't understand why.

 

Reading the whole book first would break my neck :D

 

How did you actually learned it?

 

I'm curious to know your way of climing the hill!

 

Cheers

Merlin

[imac12]

Hi Lads...

 

How did you actually learned it?

 

Merlin

 

5 months of learning little by little.

 

Identify a problem you have during a mission, research it, set up a small practice mission if you want and practice that task/situation/operation until you feel like you have it down.

 

Rinse, repeat.

 

It's really a combination of flying, reading and just repetitions.

[Teriander]

I've only been playing for a week and I would say I have learned a HUGE chunk. I can successfully, start up, take off, correctly find and ID targets, drop bombs correct, and land.

 

I learned by spending the first two days doing the Training videos and training missions on difficult settings, then practicing actual missions, then turn to the Manual to fill in the information I didn't understand in between. Finally the forums for quick answered that the training mission and manual didn't answer.

 

I swear that was the best and fastest way to learn.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention, Some multiplayer missions say "Training" somewhere in them, I hopped on here last night and used Team Speak to communicate with the people playing, they quickly answered my question and this will help you a lot when you want an instant response.

Edited April 30, 2011 by Teriander

[Nu-NRG]

Well, I'm still learning it.

 

I'm taking kinda easy approach to it:

 

First i wanted to learn basic flight - takeoff, landing, startup, ILS, what is ATC telling me.

Then take on HUD and TAD ..

I am now with TGP and related stuff (SPI, markpoints, etc) ...

 

I always keep referencing with manual and watching lots of youtube vids as there is ALWAYS something new, something that I don't know yet :P

[PhiXX]

I would suggest a mixture - all of the above.

Learn basic procedures through training/youtube videos, complemented by reading the related pages in the manual.

Fly the hog, have fun. Discover systems and get curious how they function. Read it up in the manual (sometimes it's just impossible to figure it out by yourself), do some more training. Don't learn it all at once, it's still just a simulation :thumbup:

After a while you will enjoy reading the manual, concentrated information and procedures you just want to suck into your mind so next time you start her up, everything will work smoothly.

 

In the end, you have to find a method that fits you, not others. As long as the knowledge gets jammed into your brain :smartass:

[Speedbrake]

Review many of the videos that are available from YouTube for:

Wagmatt, GlowingAmraam, Tigerpwrr, Excessiveheadspace, JRainer78.

 

I also created a few easy mission in the mission editor and flew them over and over making use of Active Pause if needed.

[oritpro]

I learn the sim by using every method mentioned so far and I browse the forums a lot bookmarking items of interest along the way.

 

They don't call DCS:A10C a study sim for nothing.

[Frostiken]

I started off by jumping right into a ramp start to familiarize myself with the cockpit. I also like to test myself to see if I can figure out how to start up without reading any help (I failed, mostly because I didn't know the key-combo to push the throttle over the hump :D).

 

I then played a couple training missions, read/skimmed most of the manual (it tends to have a few skippable sections, like much of the CDU). Every time I'd complete a 'chunk' I'd go in-game and play.

 

All in all after about 10 hours in-flight I felt comfortable enough to fly missions.

[David A Sell]

What They said... Also It really helped me to do all the TGP / weapon training missions multiple times, like 5 or 6 times. It can be a pain to sit through the boring bits but the repition really helped me to grasp the mechanics and parlay them up to the next system.

 

Check the youtube links stated above..... those are gold.

 

Also i highly recommend you start with full sim realisim (other than outside views) if you plan on enjoying multiplayer. Labels are a BAD habit! :)

[Frostiken]

At the same time, lack of labels (even cut-down ones like I use) severely disadvantage people without oodles of cash to spend on ultra-high-res monitors, top-end computers to use them with, TrackIR, etc.

 

Not to mention the lack of labels is extremely unrealistic since a pilot's eyes are far sharper then the pixel pitch of your monitor...

[bartleby]

Study and print out the HOTAS section of the manual. This is the core section for learning to fly and fight the plane. Everything else will build off of your ability to manipulate and use those controls.

 

The training missions are helpful, but I learned mostly by reading the manual and repeating instant action. That gives you various targets and a fully prepped, configured and armed plane to practice with. Ramp start procedures are pretty easy to pick up later.

 

Definitely turn on labels too. You can always turn them off later if you want.

 

You really should read the manual, though. 99% of the info you'll ever need is in there. However, with certain things (notably CDU usage), the information isn't laid out in a way amenable to learning. If there's some section that is just totally opaque or confusing, do a search in the forums here and odds are someone will have produced a video or a document explaining it. The community information is really helpful and well done. The wiki has a page with listings here: http://en.wiki.eagle.ru/wiki/DCS:_A10C_Training_Supplements

 

You can also hop in a MP server and ask. Most people are eager to help out online.

[WarriorX]

Hey MerlinCH65, welcome to the forums.

 

Just before the Steam release, I started a thread to help answer some of your questions. Hope you find some valuable information in there.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=72125&highlight=pilots+inbound

[Bushmanni]

People have different styles to learn which is dependent on what kind of things we tend to pay attention the most. I think in images and imaginary physical actions. Rote memorization by reading doesn't do a squat for me as I can't remember things well that I can't translate into cohesive whole in my mind. I tend to forget detached bits of information but I can remember things I understand and which make sense in one go. Warthog manual is bad in that regard that the information is somewhat scattered and it's hard for the newbie to build connections to things he already knows. But Warthog manual is definitely better than Blackshark one so we are on the right track and I hope the next DCS manual is even better.

 

My method was to try things first on my own to get some understanding of the problem and then find the answer from the manual. Then I would try out some new system and then again study the manual about it afterwards. I think that learning the HOTAS buttons would be the number one thing to do. Mix of systematic study and having fun is propably the most effective way to learn. You need to have fun in order to have motivation and motivation improves retention. Being systematic stops wasting time on redundancy which speeds up the process.

[jaykinch]

Hi Guys and Gals

I got the game yesterday and WOW lots going on at the same time

I feel so lost in this game its a pain i downloaded the game so manual is online so no quick read ups lol (printer broke)

 

But anyway I've started the training missions i've got up to the first weapons on the lighting?? bombs maybe they called??

 

Now when i get so into the mission the instructor seems to stop talking i think im missing the last instruction is there anyway to repeat his last message.

 

I've still not shot or bombed anyone yet

please help me kill lol

[Phantom88]

I haven't dropped a bomb or fired a missile yet,I've been just practicing,start-up,take-offs,following way-points and landing.The DCS A-10C is The Best PURE Flight Simulator I've ever experienced.

 

Once I learn to Fly Her,I'll learn to Fight with Her.

[shu77]

You know the thing to remember is you have 95%+ of a real attack jet in this sim, it does more often than not feel like work, oddly enough because it is for some people. I figure the best advice is take your time, have some fun and write notes. It gets easier after a while but even the guys that fly al the time forget the odd thing now and then (One very experienced pilot today remarked about 30 minutes in that he'd left his APU on ) Happens to us all from time to time :)

[USAF77]

I was doing the navigation training last night and kind of got overwhelmed with all the systems and settings. Mind you Im familiar with the use of waypoints to navigate but it was all the A-10s settings that overwhelmed me.

 

I see this as a endeavor that will take an hour or two every day to grow with. Its not to difficult but its challenging to someone thats never been in such a realistic sim. However anyone that has experince as a flight gamer will be a step ahead cause you'll know how to set up controls and how to actually fly. The first time I got in the bird I was able to taxi, takeoff, fly around, and then Land.

 

Everything else will take time and repetition. Frankly I didnt expect to get so much enjoyment from a 6 min startup procedure, or having to learn so many processes of an war bird. But I do. Learning and Utilizing the systems is actually more fun then flying the bird itself.

 

And the bird does fly like a dream. For such a Lethal thing its very enjoyable to just fly it.

[sdmccorm]

In Cockpit Mission Plan

 

Fellas-

 

I checked the keyboard command list and either didn't see it or missed it, but is there a keystroke that will bring up the mission summary In-Cockpit so when I'm doing my start-up and get to the radios I have a clue what to set them to?

 

Or is this the ole write em down before ya go in routine?

 

Thanks.

 

Mack

Edited April 30, 2011 by sdmccorm

[bartleby]

Fellas-

 

I checked the keyboard command list and either didn't see it or missed it, but is there a keystroke that will bring up the mission summary In-Cockpit so when I'm doing my start-up and get to the radios I have a clue what to set them to?

 

Or is this the ole write em down before ya go in routine?

 

Thanks.

 

Mack

 

Currently you can't in single player. It will be added in the next patch. In multiplayer, hit escape.

[sdmccorm]

Tower Comms

 

Does tower comms (ATC) come automatically in every single mission - either downloaded or stock - or does it have to be 'programmed' into the mission?

 

I haven't gotten one reply from ATC for a Start up yet.

 

I verify what Airfield I'm at (via F10 overhead map) - I set the VHF to the correct frequency - I select ATC (F5) from comms menu - I select the correct Airfield (usually F1) - and then I request a Startup.

 

I make sure the VHF is set to TR (even though upon close inspection it says TK in the cockpit).

 

I never have gotten one response.

 

I gotta be doing something wrong....

[bartleby]

Does tower comms (ATC) come automatically in every single mission - either downloaded or stock - or does it have to be 'programmed' into the mission?

 

I haven't gotten one reply from ATC for a Start up yet.

 

I verify what Airfield I'm at (via F10 overhead map) - I set the VHF to the correct frequency - I select ATC (F5) from comms menu - I select the correct Airfield (usually F1) - and then I request a Startup.

 

I make sure the VHF is set to TR (even though upon close inspection it says TK in the cockpit).

 

I never have gotten one response.

 

I gotta be doing something wrong....

Pretty sure it's a stock thing and doesn't need to be added specially. That is odd, though. Are you on easy comms? Sure you're pressing the correct VHF mic switch?

[Frederf]

Need APU GEN power for the AM or FM radios.

[Helios]

Does tower comms (ATC) come automatically in every single mission - either downloaded or stock - or does it have to be 'programmed' into the mission?

 

I haven't gotten one reply from ATC for a Start up yet.

 

This situation sounds familiar :-) A couple things I experienced, (a) making sure the right frequency is set on the radio for the ATC (at that airport), and (b) I think APU power needs to be on before they will respond to engine start-up request - at least that's how it worked for me.

 

On the broader topic of learning (which I'm going through that process myself), there was an interesting post over at SimHQ about how to sequence topics for learning. Made me think it would have been really nice to have a kind of Wiki curriculum for self-assisted learning.

 

I've started to create various missions for myself, but some times it's a bit much to be your own instructor and research everything (including "what should I practice next") by searching the forum, watching youtube videos etc. Even real-life pilots who have the luxury of flying this thing as a full-time paid job don't have to be their own instructor, and I assume they are not searching the web for answers ... A kind of simplified online curriculum with lessons, video examples, Q&A, relevant missions to practice etc. - as a device to sequence the learning with a nice and manageable progression - would really help.

 

/ Helios

[WarriorX]

Does tower comms (ATC) come automatically in every single mission - either downloaded or stock - or does it have to be 'programmed' into the mission?

 

I haven't gotten one reply from ATC for a Start up yet.

 

I verify what Airfield I'm at (via F10 overhead map) - I set the VHF to the correct frequency - I select ATC (F5) from comms menu - I select the correct Airfield (usually F1) - and then I request a Startup.

 

I make sure the VHF is set to TR (even though upon close inspection it says TK in the cockpit).

 

I never have gotten one response.

 

I gotta be doing something wrong....

 

Hi sdmccorm, there is a link in my signature line to the Radio Tutorial that I put together. Check it out, and please write back in this thread what it was that was hanging you up. That way others reading this thread can learn from your experience.

 

Hope you find it helpful.

[jireland607]

Learning the hog

 

You're quite fortunate learning now as there is a massive amount of tutorials on this forum and youtube to look through. Can't beat getting up there and flying though. I would do this:

 

1: Find a good startup/shutdown checklist and print it off, most will tell you which panel to find the switch/button. Keep sticking to it and before long you will be able to do it without the check sheet. Your startup times will decrease considerably.

 

2: Use one of the practice missions instead of a training one.

 

3: Check out some videos on using the TGP and Mavs (they are really easy to start off with and you don't have to get too close). Write down the steps required to find a target, set it as SPI, then slaving your maverick to it. Setting the SPI with your TGP/HUD/TAD is arguably the most important thing to learn for combat and if you are using HOTAS, probably the most fiddly as well.

 

4: Once you have got the Mav's nailed, then learn about dropping Jdams and LGB's

 

5: Its now that I would learn the JTAC, its not as complicated or difficult as it sounds or looks.

 

Remember that Active Pause is your friend, you can pause your plane, then use your TGP and Mavs to pick off targets without worrying about crashing; or practice selecting your SPI etc..

 

This guys posts are very good - http://www.youtube.com/user/ExcessiveHeadspace