d0c.snak3 Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 (edited) Hello everyone, I acquired DCS A-10C on steam this past weekend. I'm mainly a first person shooter player (BF3 primarily). I haven't seriously played any flight games since the seriously arcade-y Novalogic games like F-16 Multirole Fighter. :music_whistling: Before that I had fiddled around with Microprose's Gunship series and even before that, Chuck Yeager's Air Combat. :pilotfly: I'm really loving A-10C; the level of detail is satisfying to me even though this is my first "study" simulation. Plus it makes flying in Battlefield look pretty silly. Needless to say, I have not invested much in flight game peripherals so I've been rolling with a basic microsoft joystick and keyboard controls. Will HOTAS be a good investment for long term enjoyment of A-10C? If so, any recommendations? I'm aware of the Thrustmaster Warthog, but I'm not sure I'm ready to spend quite that much! Also, when I fly in the training missions the aircraft seems to like to pitch up to 10 degrees or more with no control input?:helpsmilie: Thanks! Edited December 1, 2011 by d0c.snak3 My Gaming Rig: Intel Core i7-2600K, OCed to 4.5 GHz -Cooled by a Noctua NHD-14 ASUS Sabertooth P67 ASUS Geforce GTX580 DirectCUii 16 GB G.skill RAM @ 1600 MHz dual channel Corsair HX750 PSU Fractal Design R3 Midtower
nomdeplume Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 A HOTAS is definitely a good/great investment, and so is some kind of head-tracking system like TrackIR. You might want to consider getting some of these items second-hand to save a few dollars. Saitek's X52 is a pretty decent HOTAS for the price. I was happy with mine for years before I got the TM Warthog. Regarding aircraft pitch, are you trimming the aircraft? You will need to apply trim any time any aspect of your flight parameters change, i.e. speed, altitude, pitch, ...
kylania Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome to DCS! :) Saitek X52 is a good "second best" HOTAS system. It's great quality, lots of options, decent performance and superb software. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Christmas Cheer - A Landing Practice Mission : Beta Paint Schemes : HOTAS Keyboard Map : Bingo Fuel - A DCS A-10C Movie
Username455 Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 I have the x52 pro and its great. Plenty of buttons to do the job well. Also, look into Track IR. If you dont want to spend that money, look into freetrack or facetracknoir (free alternatives). Also, make sure force feedback isnt enabled in the options menu (I think its on by default?) I heard that can cause weird behavior with sticks, might fix the pitch issue. Or it may just be trimming as suggested above System: i7 920 @3.8ghz; GTX 560ti 448; 6gb DDR3 1600 ram; 750gb HDD; 750w PSU; Win7 64bit; x52 Pro; TrackIR 5
elchacal Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 X-52 or X-52pro are good HOTAS systems! [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
WildBillKelsoe Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 Will HOTAS be a good investment for long term enjoyment of A-10C? If so, any recommendations? I'm aware of the Thrustmaster Warthog, but I'm not sure I'm ready to spend quite that much! Also, when I fly in the training missions the aircraft seems to like to pitch up to 10 degrees or more with no control input?:helpsmilie: Thanks! Welcome aboard! Study sim always needs hardware. If you are like me, casual simmer, get the X-52 by saitek or the cheaper T-flight HOTAS x by thrusmaster (which I own as a replacement to an amazon.com DOA x-52). It plays well with the shark too. As for the nose up issue, you generally will get nose up if the engine is at max throttle without input. To correct, you need to trim the nose down a notch or two. I suggest you assign trim to your HAT switch with a modifier from one of the buttons on the stick. AWAITING ED NEW DAMAGE MODEL IMPLEMENTATION FOR WW2 BIRDS Fat T is above, thin T is below. Long T is faster, Short T is slower. Open triangle is AWACS, closed triangle is your own sensors. Double dash is friendly, Single dash is enemy. Circle is friendly. Strobe is jammer. Strobe to dash is under 35 km. HDD is 7 times range key. Radar to 160 km, IRST to 10 km. Stay low, but never slow.
d0c.snak3 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Posted December 1, 2011 Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll look into the X58 for a Christmas gift to myself. =D Ah, trim. Totally forgot about that. I tried assigning it to a modifier + POV but the POV still does POV even with the modifier. I think I need a new joystick. The button numbers are extremely confusing because DCS acts like there are 4 different POV controls when there is only one... My Gaming Rig: Intel Core i7-2600K, OCed to 4.5 GHz -Cooled by a Noctua NHD-14 ASUS Sabertooth P67 ASUS Geforce GTX580 DirectCUii 16 GB G.skill RAM @ 1600 MHz dual channel Corsair HX750 PSU Fractal Design R3 Midtower
Evil.Bonsai Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 HOTAS is definitely a game changer. My first was Ch Flightstick Pro and Pro Throttle. Lasted many years, and would probably still be used if it weren't of the 'gameport' variety. I did try using a usb-gameport adapter for a whiile, but USB was the future. That's when I bought TM's Cougar. Use it now though it seems to be on it's last legs. If I can't convince myself to upgrade to the Warthog, the Saitek setup is definitely next. Also, don't undersell TrackIR. Being able to look around by actually LOOKING AROUND is quite awesome!
WildBillKelsoe Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 Also, don't undersell TrackIR. Being able to look around by actually LOOKING AROUND is quite awesome! I'll second that. AWAITING ED NEW DAMAGE MODEL IMPLEMENTATION FOR WW2 BIRDS Fat T is above, thin T is below. Long T is faster, Short T is slower. Open triangle is AWACS, closed triangle is your own sensors. Double dash is friendly, Single dash is enemy. Circle is friendly. Strobe is jammer. Strobe to dash is under 35 km. HDD is 7 times range key. Radar to 160 km, IRST to 10 km. Stay low, but never slow.
Mule Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome to the forums. I have an X-52Pro gathering dust on a shelf after i purchased the TM Warthog. The latter has changed the way i fly the sim in that i don't need to set it up. I plug it in and DCS A-10 takes care of the rest with the exception of a few minor adjustments. It feels amazing and the novelty of such a great bit of kit has not worn off at all. Saying that my X-52 Pro served me proud for a good few years and is a good investment if your just getting back into simming. My days of plastic are long gone i could never go back. The grass is greener in this case. Track IR is a must :) Happy flying! Fighter Pilot Podcast.
bluepilot76 Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 Loads will sayto buy a TM warthog, because their amazing etc, then some are going to say X52 because the Thrustmaster is all bling and too much and unreliable and X52 will get the job done, then the real hardcore old school sim guys are going to say get a CH thing because they last forever and it doesnt matter that they look like there off a nuclear submarine or something. Probably everyone is right so pick your budget. my oipinion which I seem to be in a minority of 1 about... Thrustmaster T16000m, costs 30 quid or something, has same Hall sensor (the important bit) as warthog, enough buttons to do everything you need, wont take up your entire house. Most important, and 99% will agree is get a Track IR, but then a loud minority will say to get a free version that we will then decide is actually pretty clunky, low resolution and will slow you sim down. Thats my 2p Technical Specs: Asus G73JW gaming laptop... i7-740QM 1.73GHz ... GTX460m 1.5GB ... 8GB DDR5 RAM ... Win7 64 ... TIR5 ... Thrustmaster T16000m
LostOblivion Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 I would seriously get TrackIR before a decent joystick. I used the Microsoft Sidewinder joystick until I got my TMHW for years. Then it took about 2-3 months from I started with DCS until I got my TMHW. TIR is a must in any combat flight sim where you need immediate awareness of your surroundings IMO. Nice plane on that gun... OS764 P930@4 MBUD3R M6GB G5870 SSDX25 CAntec1200 HTMHW
Geskes Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 I would seriously get TrackIR before a decent joystick. I used the Microsoft Sidewinder joystick until I got my TMHW for years. Then it took about 2-3 months from I started with DCS until I got my TMHW. TIR is a must in any combat flight sim where you need immediate awareness of your surroundings IMO. I agree. Then again, with good view system you can come a long way. As an example, the top 5 online competitors in Rise of Flight, which is nearly only dogfighting, do NOT use TIR. I7920/12GBDDR3/ASUS P6T DELUXE V2/MSI GTX 960 GAMING 4G /WIN 10 Ultimate/TM HOTAS WARTHOG
Headspace Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 I recommend the Saitek as an inexpensive but quality brand. I had an x45 that I used for nearly eight years until I switched to a more advanced HOTAS. I still use their rudder pedals.
Spetz Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll look into the X58 for a Christmas gift to myself. =D Ah, trim. Totally forgot about that. I tried assigning it to a modifier + POV but the POV still does POV even with the modifier. I think I need a new joystick. The button numbers are extremely confusing because DCS acts like there are 4 different POV controls when there is only one... Whatever POV switch you are reassigning, make sure you delete all the commands for it in the ingame settings first. A nice thing with A10C is that in the settings menu, you can move the switch you want to change, and the settings menu will go to that input, making it very easy to find. Delete the pre-set input for that switch and then put you own in. DCS A10c actually have more than one POV switch in the game (look at your in-cockpit stick, you'll see them). It will be hard to use it with only one POV on your actual joystick. Like everyone said, x52 (pro) is a great starting stick..Been using mine for 2 years now, and will not be upgrading until it thunders in on me.
d0c.snak3 Posted December 6, 2011 Author Posted December 6, 2011 Whatever POV switch you are reassigning, make sure you delete all the commands for it in the ingame settings first. A nice thing with A10C is that in the settings menu, you can move the switch you want to change, and the settings menu will go to that input, making it very easy to find. Delete the pre-set input for that switch and then put you own in. DCS A10c actually have more than one POV switch in the game (look at your in-cockpit stick, you'll see them). It will be hard to use it with only one POV on your actual joystick. Like everyone said, x52 (pro) is a great starting stick..Been using mine for 2 years now, and will not be upgrading until it thunders in on me. Thanks for the advice on setup. I'm in the middle of a term paper right now, but once finals week is over I'm going to be flying more. My Gaming Rig: Intel Core i7-2600K, OCed to 4.5 GHz -Cooled by a Noctua NHD-14 ASUS Sabertooth P67 ASUS Geforce GTX580 DirectCUii 16 GB G.skill RAM @ 1600 MHz dual channel Corsair HX750 PSU Fractal Design R3 Midtower
wolfstriked Posted December 6, 2011 Posted December 6, 2011 Problem with snap views is that the huge amount of buttons you must press on the HOTAS are gonna get in the way of the snap view buttons.In a WW2/WW1 type sim you can easily do it and it actually makes you more in tune with your angles to the enemy plane and the ground. For me trackIR sucks until I turn off all the axis and just leave pitch and yaw on.When I run 6DOF in DCS:A10 the view looks extremely off and just throws me off. No one mentioned the X65f annd its in between the Warthog and the X52Pro. "Its easy,place the pipper on target and bombs away." :pilotfly: i7-8700k/GTX 1080ti/VKB-GladiatorPRO/VKB-T-rudder Pedals/Saitek X55 throttle
kylania Posted December 6, 2011 Posted December 6, 2011 For me trackIR sucks until I turn off all the axis and just leave pitch and yaw on.When I run 6DOF in DCS:A10 the view looks extremely off and just throws me off. Try Wags' profile. It felt the best for DCS of all the profiles I'd tried. As for snapviews, you only really use them while on AP or on the ground so it's OK to take your hand off the stick to start them up quickly. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Christmas Cheer - A Landing Practice Mission : Beta Paint Schemes : HOTAS Keyboard Map : Bingo Fuel - A DCS A-10C Movie
leafer Posted December 6, 2011 Posted December 6, 2011 No, noo. If you're tricked out hardcore then you'll bend it old skool like me and do all there is to do in A-10C with my ghetto keyboard. W0RD! ED have been taking my money since 1995. :P
wolfstriked Posted December 6, 2011 Posted December 6, 2011 Kylania,thanks will give it a go.I actually like to fly with trackir and also with snap views for quick switch changes by pressing the NUM 0 key.....view is dead stable and allows me quicker switching. "Its easy,place the pipper on target and bombs away." :pilotfly: i7-8700k/GTX 1080ti/VKB-GladiatorPRO/VKB-T-rudder Pedals/Saitek X55 throttle
Smasher Posted December 6, 2011 Posted December 6, 2011 Also, don't undersell TrackIR. Being able to look around by actually LOOKING AROUND is quite awesome! Thirded [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] ------------------------------------------------- DCS A-10, LOMAC(FC2), Falcon 4.0(BMS) ------------------------------------------------- Intel i7 2600K (OC: 4.8GHz) Liquid Cooled, EVGA GTX 570 HD, 16GB RAM, ASUS P8P67 PRO,SB X-FI Titanium HD
Fleshpiston Posted December 6, 2011 Posted December 6, 2011 No, noo. If you're tricked out hardcore then you'll bend it old skool like me and do all there is to do in A-10C with my ghetto keyboard. W0RD! Awesome :megalol: [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] AEF Flesh | 161 SQN System: 965BE / 5850 Toxic / TrackIR 5 Pro / 120gb Corsair Force 3 GT / 2TB Raid10 / 6GB RAM /TM HOTAS Warthog / G13 / Combat Rudder Pedals..... and lots more :doh:
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