Purchased BS2, my feedback

[WildBillKelsoe]

First of all pros:

 

* Shadows dynamic with facing and backing to sunlight.

* Vikhr and rockets are damaging to tanks, with 1 vik or 2 tops for light and cheese or cheese kaboom..

* better engine sounds, eliminated right engine cutoff overlap sound over already spooled lefty (although a reverse approach solved part in BS1)

* better wheel down/retraction sound

* new cockpit door click sound on touching rubber gasket

* Less annoying overspeed and RPM warning beeps

* Better textures reflecting an aged but powerful aerobatic coaxial

* Better APU startup sound

 

Second of all cons:

* No pilot corpse :mad: (RshiftP)

* No pilot head movement from exterior in SP with those using trackIR

* Less head bobbing in cockpit

* controls somewhat less smooth than before (axis issue)

* Menu music is A-10c? c'mon.. I'll make some music and throw it to ya just for the next patch

* FPS issues: Previously on BS1, I had no trouble running all medium with textures high only. All other things minimised for performance. ATi driver catalyst forcefully set to performace, and killed via task mgr.

Now in BS2, I have to set textures to medium to get some FPS.

 

* No support for fraps recording just like A-10c... It crashed the second I hit the record key. BS1 could support recording real time. BS2 RAT tool untested. Will try it and give feedback as well.

 

* Price is too much for people already having steam BS1, and due to boner rash and tickle, I had to nerf 40 bucks from my credit card. I'm somewhat indifferent. Maybe I need to cool off.

 

 

 

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Verdict

 

* with a little more effort, ED could have given us a more polished product (such as FPS improvement, corpse, head bobbing like before)

* over commercial disputes with steam I had to buy the license from ED, denouncing my right for the cheaper steam update (which wasnt in effect).

* I'm happy it worked limited for the fact I'm part of a clan now, and I had to get it to be more active and expand my options.

* happy with the sounds upgrade, lighting and shadows update.

 

* not happy with $ tag unless ED would release a patch addressing some of the issues.

 

Rating:

 

Graphics 9/10

Sound 10/10

Control smoothness compared to BS1 6/10

Shits and giggles 7/10

Overall compared to BS1 (8/10) not tied to above ratings.

 

Sincerely,

 

Noc_ortho

[einar-st]

Fraps works just fine with me, and also I get better FPS in BS2 and A-10C than in BS.

 

So, you know... different people, different experiences.

[Luigi Gorgonzola]

FULL ACK noc, nothing to add here!

[Irregular programming]

You can't make a dx or opengl game and not support fraps since fraps read output directly from the API.

 

And you can't assume that BS2 should have the same performance as BS1 had on a system that struggles to play even that game. My guess is that your grafics card doesn't keep up with the changes made to both models and textures in the world. Have you tried adjusting the tree slider? I hear that can be a performance hog (pardon the pun).

 

 

Your fraps issue sounds weird though, no idea what could cause that.

[WildBillKelsoe]

You can't make a dx or opengl game and not support fraps since fraps read output directly from the API.

 

And you can't assume that BS2 should have the same performance as BS1 had on a system that struggles to play even that game. My guess is that your grafics card doesn't keep up with the changes made to both models and textures in the world. Have you tried adjusting the tree slider? I hear that can be a performance hog (pardon the pun).

 

 

Your fraps issue sounds weird though, no idea what could cause that.

 

Believe me, trees were set in every game to 1500.. Its the A10 engine they used. I'm no techno geek, but in simple terms, the hog engine rapes the GPU that fraps is left with little to nothing from memory. Anyways, I would prefer the long tiresome process of RAT with maxed out graphics taking as long as it needs to produce high quality video with impeccable encoding and compression. Hell I even purchased an OGV converter which I use to convert A-10 OGV to AVI. It has never failed me. Next I take the output to premiere elements 8.0 onboard and splice it.

[winz]

You forgot the AI wingman upgrade...that one thing made my BS experience 1000% more enjoyable....

[Puddlemonkey]

You forgot the AI wingman upgrade...that one thing made my BS experience 1000% more enjoyable....

 

The main reason I purchased BS2 was for the improved AI, particularly wingmen and the hope they would now be useful. After installing it and setting up my joystick again, I didn't have much time left so decided to give the wingman a quick test of his skills.

 

Something I have always wanted to do is be able to drop the wingman off in a tactical position or have him fly to one and wait before we launch a well orchestrated attack. In BS1, he would just fly off into oblivion and I'm glad to say he doesn't do that anymore. When I asked him to hold, he flew a figure of 8. He obviously thinks he's in a fixed wing aircraft so he'll be in for a shock when he gets home. I can live with that though.

 

When I asked him to fly to a datalink point, he had me in stitches. He flew there so I was hopeful. Then he started flying backwards until he hit the ground and blew up.

 

Here is the track file. You will want to fast forward past me trying to remember how to operate the data link.

 

BS is great and the AI is better than it was. I can't help but be disappointed though because in my opinion, the whole point of a heli is the tactical advantage you gain from being able to hover, pausing and waiting, coordinating and so on. Maybe we can have an option in the communications menu along the lines of 'park your butt there and don't let me see you move it one inch'.

Crazy Wingman.trk

[sobek]

When I asked him to hold, he flew a figure of 8. He obviously thinks he's in a fixed wing aircraft so he'll be in for a shock when he gets home. I can live with that though.

 

That has nothing to do with thinking he's a fixed wing. Keeping a certain amount of speed up is much more fuel efficient than hovering. In certain circumstances (depending on load, athmospheric conditions and altitude) it might even prevent busting the power restrictions of the engines, which most people are still unaware of.

[WildBillKelsoe]

it might even prevent busting the power restrictions of the engines, which most people are still unaware of.

 

Hey sobek, please enlighten us further.

[sobek]

Hey sobek, please enlighten us further.

 

The engines have certain power restrictions that go above those enforced by the EEG. If you have a look at the engine power gauge at the front of the right upper panel, there are several markers that depict the takeoff and maximum continuous settings (and one more IIRC, haven't flown the shark in quite a while).

 

I don't know the times for the individual power settings off the top of my head anymore, but i think it's somewhere along the lines that you are not allowed to stay in maximum continuous for longer than 8 minutes at a time, the engine overhaul cycle is shortened.

 

I'll have to find the old posts by A16 to be sure.

 

Edit: Mixed up the numbers a bit.

 

There you go, straight from a helo mechanic.

Edited December 8, 2011 by sobek

[Xxx]

Bit off the original topic this, but interesting. Is it modelled or not? I recently had an engine fire due to excessive(GG) RPM during a hurried take off.:)

 

The book says the Electronic Engine Governers control fuel flow at high gas generator (GG) RPM and will shut down the engine in case of power turbine overspeed. The max is GG RPM limitation of 101%. Thats some 20,000RPM phew! Build em strong dont they?

 

Anyway, when max GG RPM is reached the Left Engine PWR Limiter and the Right one will come on ( regularly see these lights, cause I dont have to pay the mechs!:D) The next step should be the PT protection, which generates a shut down command signal ( flashing MWL and the left and Right engine overspeed RED lights on the left part of the main panel.) You then should get the sexy Russian lady telling you that you have a PT overspeed. I have never got that so far. But it does depend upon the ambient tem and baro pressure!

 

Like I said, I have had an engine fire on take off when I thrashed the engines! But I dont know if the GG failure contour is modelled? In my You Tube vid "Mountain Rescue" I am hovering half way up Mt Erebrus! and have the warnings on continuously, but never get a critical shutdown.

 

 

The Engine Power Indicator measures the compressors outlet air pressure , seen as yellow markers on the scales. Centrally there are three red markers.."B","H","K". These are compressors outlet pressure at take off, max continuous and cruise modes.

 

 

As for th OP topic. I'd say your laptop does very well to run these sims! There is more useage of the GPU as ED has increased the graphic beauty, but can be run with a CPU at 2.80 Ghz. Your vids are a testament to that! My i7 at 4.20, in a Coolermaster Cosmos, (that so big I have a spare bunk bed in it), still has micro stutters in places.......:D

 

Cheers.

[Puddlemonkey]

Flying backwards into the ground busted more than engine power restrictions :doh:

 

That has nothing to do with thinking he's a fixed wing. Keeping a certain amount of speed up is much more fuel efficient than hovering. In certain circumstances (depending on load, athmospheric conditions and altitude) it might even prevent busting the power restrictions of the engines, which most people are still unaware of.

[ALDEGA]

No pilot corpse :mad: (RshiftP)

For DCS:BS2 the cockpit model was converted to another format (used by new models in DCS). Since DCS-WH doesn't have a pilot body either, I think the pilot body feature has been permanently removed. The pilot body partially blocked the view to the controls so you'd have to turn it off anyway.

 

... due to boner rash and tickle ...

?

[213]

the blocked instrument panel was never a problem for me. i just memorize the hot keys or mouse over the buttons to get their name. so i'd like to see the pilot body return even if it's just legs.

 

as for head bobbing in cockpit, i don't notice a decrease. although when turning on camera jiggle inside the cockpit, the effect is more subtle and fluid, and much better than it was before. i turn it on to simulate the vibration.

[WildBillKelsoe]

although when turning on camera jiggle inside the cockpit, the effect is more subtle and fluid, and much better than it was before. i turn it on to simulate the vibration.

 

 

Whooaaa!!! I didnt know jiggle works in the cockpit too :mad:. I will try it and give feedback.

[Nate--IRL--]

I will try it and puke from motion sickness.

 

Fixed that for you :)

 

Nate

[WildBillKelsoe]

Fixed that for you :)

 

Nate

 

Thanks nate. Still nothing to be done here till next Thursday after I finish that goddamn proficiency test.. Wish me luck fellas!