questions regarding HOTAS commands

[fael097]

many questions, but they should be quick ones:

 

-manual says that while MAV is SOI, DMS commands control the reticle. what reticle? i control the mav pointing direction with slew. apparently DMS did nothing.

 

-DMS left short while in TGP does flir auto focus. focus like lenses focus, or it selects a target automatically? i tried, apparentl it did nothing aswell.

 

-DMS left short while in a-a mode says target toggle. dont understand. if i have two enemies in my HUD, it will switch between them?

 

-DMS left long says broadcast SPI. broadcast to who?

 

-DMS right short while in TGP does laser toggle. what does it change from LSS?

 

-TMS forward short stabilizes the hud when soi. i see no difference, what does it do? same thing with MAV ground stabilize and space stabilize.

 

-TMS left resets wcn. whats wcn?

 

-TMS right marks a point. how do i reset marked points?

 

-NWS button in air says lase / ar disconnect. AR like aerial refueling? whats lase?

 

-BOAT switch when MAV soi: black/white symbols doesnt always work. sometimes i press boat aft and it stays black. also, whats force correlate / auto?

 

-CHINA forward while aim-9 as soi: uncage. what does it do? wheres it supposed to be caged to, prior to uncage? how to cage again?

 

thanks in advance!

[KillaALF]

many questions, but they should be quick ones:

 

-manual says that while MAV is SOI, DMS commands control the reticle. what reticle? i control the mav pointing direction with slew. apparently DMS did nothing.

 

This is used for changing the boresight of the mavericks.

 

-DMS left short while in TGP does flir auto focus. focus like lenses focus, or it selects a target automatically? i tried, apparentl it did nothing aswell.

 

Lens focus. Were you in FLIR mode (BHOT or WHOT)?

 

-DMS left short while in a-a mode says target toggle. dont understand. if i have two enemies in my HUD, it will switch between them?

 

-DMS left long says broadcast SPI. broadcast to who?

 

Members of your flight, your wingman for example.

 

-DMS right short while in TGP does laser toggle. what does it change from LSS?

 

Laser - IR Pointer - Both = this is what it changes

 

-TMS forward short stabilizes the hud when soi. i see no difference, what does it do? same thing with MAV ground stabilize and space stabilize.

 

-TMS left resets wcn. whats wcn?

 

Warning, Caution, and Notes

 

-TMS right marks a point. how do i reset marked points?

 

You don't.

 

-NWS button in air says lase / ar disconnect. AR like aerial refueling? whats lase?

 

Lase as in the laser your TGP is equipped with (getting accurate ranging information, lasing targets for LGBs).

 

-BOAT switch when MAV soi: black/white symbols doesnt always work. sometimes i press boat aft and it stays black. also, whats force correlate / auto?

 

-CHINA forward while aim-9 as soi: uncage. what does it do? wheres it supposed to be caged to, prior to uncage? how to cage again?

 

thanks in advance!

 

I've answered a few of your questions, but what you really should do is RTFM

[311Gryphon]

I know this is an old post but I found it looking for some other stuff and thought I'd put my little bit of experience in here.

 

KillaALF is correct, reading the manual can be a bit daunting but is well worth it. If you find points in it that don't make much sense, skip them and note the pages and sections to review later once you've gotten enough experience and knowledge to help them make sense. For me, the sections on the CDU were very difficult so I put them off. I'm not likely to need the CDU for much yet anyway. I'll learn it when I want to step up the interaction with the sim. But the manual gives a lot of good real world information and good in game basics.

 

Second, for anyone that really wants to have fun with this sim, you might look into getting the Thrustmaster Warthog flight controls. I know it's a lot of money and I refused to buy them at first. Then I started looking at less expensive Saitek X52 controls but didn't really like the reviews and the idea of having to map everything to odd buttons. I managed to win an Ebay auction on the HOTAS and some Saitek Pro Combat Rudder pedals and saved a substantial amount of money. Those controls took me from not playing the game at all (I had an old Thrustmaster joystick that wasn't that fun to play with) to really enjoying the game. If you can use another setup that is awesome. You have my respect.

 

Third, many people play with TrackIR. This is another fairly large expense but is probably well worth it. It is very enjoyable just to fly around with good controls and be able to look out either direction as you bank, look around the cockpit, look up or back to scan the area, etc. I'm currently using FaceTrackNoIR with a cheap webcam. This is free software. You can make it work. It isn't as good as TrackIR but my total investment was $30 (for the webcam and a light - FTNOIR requires good lighting) instead of $150. It is a bit quirky but part of that is because I wear glasses and it isn't built to detect faces with glasses. They are working on a version for glasses wearers but it's slow going and so far hasn't worked at all for me so I use the regular version.

 

Finally, things like this HOTAS control chart: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=69610 and this HOTAS function list: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/38315/ are really quick and easy guides to help learn the different functions. I've used both and they really helped me start learning the commands. I still have to look at them but enough use will get it all in your brain and you won't have to look any longer.

 

I'm fairly new to DCS and I still struggle to make everything work. I can take off without help but I still forget things sometimes. I only got my first MAV kills 2 nights ago. I've yet to get any bomb kills. That's how new I am. And I love the game. It's the kind of simulation I've always wanted. For people who are new and getting frustrated, I understand, but study a little and don't get discouraged. It's worth it. :pilotfly:

[Yurgon]

Good post, good advice! :thumbup:

 

Mastering the A-10's systems is definitely a challenge, but I think your approach is exactly the right one, taking things step by step and coming back to stuff that doesn't make a lot of sense in the beginning. A worthy thread resurrection. :)

 

Concerning the hardware, I'd say a good face tracker is actually more important than a good HOTAS. Seeing as you've already got the HOTAS portion done, the upgrade to TrackIR may well be worth it as soon as you have the funds available. But I've never used FaceTrackNoIR so I can't really comment on how much better (if at all better) TrackIR is going to be, I just know that I loved mine right away. :)

[112th_Rossi]

If you're going to go down the FaceTrackNOIR route, make sure you get a cam thats capable of at least 60fps.

 

No substitute for TrackIR 5 though.

[311Gryphon]

I think TrackIR is much simpler and hassle free for sure. I think I'm going to buy it at some point. I have the money for it currently but I just don't want to give up on the FaceTrack just yet. It almost works. Mainly it just trips out when I have to do a lot of looking around the cockpit. And while I know TrackIR has some of the same issues if you have to deflect your head too much it isn't nearly as bad. My friend (who has been the "devil on my shoulder" and also a fellow ne'erdowell in our attempt at playing this simulation) has TrackIR and he clearly has less hassle than I do.

 

So to any new players, if you want face tracking these guys are correct, TrackIR is the best. But you can get away with much cheaper if you must. And they do sometimes sell on ebay so keep an eye peeled.

[112th_Rossi]

A TrackIR 4 if you can find one second hand will do the same job too.

[intx]

A TrackIR 4 if you can find one second hand will do the same job too.

 

Is the difference between TrackIR4 verses 5 so small that it isn't worth the cost difference? The gist of my question is: would I regret not forking over the extra $30 - 50 to have TrackIR5?

[311Gryphon]

I'll second that question. I passed up a used TrackIR once for a little over $50 if I remember correctly and I think I may regret that. I'm curious if it would be a noticeable difference.

[Yurgon]

I've only had a TrackIR 4 device, currently in use with the TrackIR 5 software. That works very well. I considered upgrading to TrackIR 5 but concluded from what I read and heard about it that the upgrade is not really worth it.

 

If I bought my first TrackIR or if I had to replace mine, I would go for TrackIR 5, but I'm entirely happy with the one I have right now. I don't think you'll miss out on much if you went for TrackIR 4.

[311Gryphon]

I tried to post a table but couldn't make it work. So this will be less "fancy".

 

From Natural Point's website:

 

TrackIR 5 has 51.7° horizontal FOV compared to 46° for TrackIR 4.

 

The resolution of TrackIR 5 is 640 X 480 compared to 355 X 288 for Track IR 4 (which can be "doubled" to 710 X 288???)

 

5 has sub-pixel resolution of 1/150th of a pixel while 4 has 1/20th.

 

5 is slightly bigger than 4 in terms of size.

 

So it looks like the main difference is a slightly wider field of view, better resolution, and much better sub-pixel resolution (thus reporting resolution) though I have to admit I don't know what that means.

 

I'm still not sure if the extra cost is worth it to me. I found a TrackIR 4 Pro for less than $90 with free shipping.

[dburne]

Going from a Track IR4 to a 5, is not that big a difference. Yes there are some differences per the post above, the wider field of view is nice, and it may seem a little smoother, but if one already has the 4 it is more than adequate. I went from the 4 to the 5, I am not sorry I did cause I had the money, but it was not a big perceptible difference.

 

Now if one does not have a Track IR, or one of the older ones like the 3 or before, then yes, I would go for the 5 to have the latest. And if you like wearing a headset, the Trackclip Pro would be nice to have as well.