KA-50 Black Shark 2 Training missions

[BigfootMSR]

My goal is to create an in cockpit training environment to help you understand the systems of the KA-50 Black Shark.

 

I'm sorry, but these missions will only work for Black Shark 2 and appear to only work in World 1.2.0 or later at this point.

 

These Missions have been integrated into the core game and will be found under the training menu by default instead of the old videos.

 

*TIP* It may be necessary to hold down a button such as the ABRIS buttons for the trigger to take affect.

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/173790/ *File contains ALL current training missions* Thanks PeterP for the menu integration.

 

**Known Issues with the missions**

- The advanced ABRIS training when it asks you to input the airdrome, none of the airdromes listed in the flight manual return. They all say "not found."

I have fixed this issue but I will leave this error here for the time being to ensure that it does not break something else. The fix can be found here http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/646047/

Simply extract the folder into your DCS World folder and allow it to overwrite. Now you should be able to make those RAIM calculations. The correct code for Kobuleti however is UG5X, not KBLT as the training mission states. I will be updating the training mission soon with this information.

 

Thank you everybody for your support with these missions. Your feedback is welcome and encouraged to make these even better.

 

In a somewhat related note, you can also view my A-10C JTAC coordinate training mission http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/99424/

 

*FUN FACT* Some of these missions have been downloaded over 3 thousand times! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

 

 

 

 

WARNING: If you don't want to listen to a history lesson. Stop reading here.

A lesson in History? Ok, maybe not so much. I absolutely love the DCS series and I am was blown away by its complexity and beauty all at the same time when I first sat in the cockpit of the A-10 and to this day. It was my first re-introduction to the genre from many years ago. I was immediately drawn in by the training missions walking you through the various steps of the cockpit and the true depth of the simulation. But I learned it in no time because I was able to see and follow the instructors instructions step by step and move the components myself. Then I found out about Blackshark2 and was very eager to have a helicopter to compliment this amazing A-10. Sadly, there were no training instructions, only videos which I have a hard time learning from. I watched a few a few times, picked up a few of the mandatory steps, but in the end, I got her started by flipping on all the switches. My buddies would say, "How do I start this thing?" and all I could say was. "I dunno, just flip all the switches".

 

I began asking questions on the forums here and reading about other people asking the same thing. I began to see the same thing over and over. "How do I do this?" In all honesty, I put the game down and went back to A-10. Though at the time there was a lack of missions available for the sim so I took it upon myself from my group of friends to get into the mission editor and design some missions for us to fly. While trying to teach myself the mission editor, I was dissecting the trigger system through the missions provided by ED. I began to see how the mission editor worked and then BAM!!! A stroke of genius hit me, I opened an A-10 training mission to see how it was done and realized that these same triggers and settings were available to me to use. After much more research and videos, I began creating my JTAC coordinate entry training because the forums were awash of "How do I enter the coordinates the JTAC gives me?"

 

Once I had released that mission, I thought I could apply what I had learned to the Blackshark and set out to do just that. I watched the official videos over and over again laying out the mission verbiage and style on paper then more research to figure out how to set the triggers to see the various components of the cockpit. After many long hours of research and asking questions here on the forum, we have the missions as they are today. While I personally feel there is always room for improvement, and I am all ears, I feel these missions are complete. Each of these missions took about 20 hours each with the cold startup taking approximately 40 hours due to a lack of knowledge to complete. The Advanced ABRIS training also took about 40 hours due to the amount of information and complexity it has. In the end, I am always open for suggestions and above all else, I hope this effort has been helpful in helping new pilots get flying sooner and enjoying the game faster.

Edited March 7, 2016 by BigfootMSR
Updated information

[AlphaOneSix]

Awesome, thanks for your efforts!

[TurboHog]

Ah I now see that I actually already tried your start-up tutorial! I'm very pleased with it and I think they should be included in the next patch some way :thumbup:. Quality is similar to the DCS: A10 Warthog tutorial.

 

Looking forward to try the ABRIS Tutorial!

[74th_Lunatic]

You must be commended for your time and effort. So on behalf of the 74th VFS "The Flying Tigers" Thank you.

[genbrien]

just tested the ''cold start prcedure'' and I must say WOW!

I never tried to learn as there was no training like the A-10, but now I'll try

thx alot!

[Tehrawk]

Like I said before, your start up procedure couldn't be better!

 

I am trying to do the weapons employment, but I have a very minor problem.

 

I use 3 monitors with Eyefinity. I had to alter a file to allow me to zoom out far enough in the cockpit. Or else I have a very restricting view. All people who have multiple monitors have to do this. Somehow this particular mission overwrites this, and I am left with the default zoom value. Though this is really a minor problem, for the sake of a tutorial anyway.

Edited January 27, 2012 by Tehrawk

[BigfootMSR]

Like I said before, your start up procedure couldn't be better!

 

I am trying to do the weapons employment, but I have a very minor problem.

 

I use 3 monitors with Eyefinity. I had to alter a file to allow me to zoom out far enough in the cockpit. Or else I have a very restricting view. All people who have multiple monitors have to do this. Somehow this particular mission overwrites this, and I am left with the default zoom value. Though this is really a minor problem, for the sake of a tutorial anyway.

 

Hmm... Are you having the same problem in the start up procedures? I am not sure what could be causing this issue to be honest. I will try and look into it some more. Which file is it that you are overwriting out of curiosity? Thanks for the feedback.

[EvilBivol-1]

Played the Weapons Employment lesson. Great job! Feel free to ask if you need any help putting these together.

[Tehrawk]

Hmm... Are you having the same problem in the start up procedures? I am not sure what could be causing this issue to be honest. I will try and look into it some more. Which file is it that you are overwriting out of curiosity? Thanks for the feedback.

 

Yeah it is totally fine in your start up tutorial, and any quick mission I loaded. It really is not a major issue, it is just a little bit too zoomed in, but still totally playable. Here is the method I used to fix the it.

 

Just finished the weapon deployment mission. Took me a while, because I forgot that "Release Weapon" and "Gun Fire" were completely separate buttons. Maybe you could add a note to the text just to clarify this.

 

Other that slight misunderstanding. Yet another great tutorial. Easy to follow, and I couldn't break it. No matter how fast I tried to get through the steps.

[genbrien]

The only ''negative'' thing I found is when the blades are turning, your voice is barely auditable.

Would it be possible in your next missions to popup your voice volume please?!

Thx alot and keep up the very good work!

(btw, took 2 times of your cold start mission for me to be able to start it alone!)

[Tehrawk]

The only ''negative'' thing I found is when the blades are turning, your voice is barely auditable.

Would it be possible in your next missions to popup your voice volume please?!

Thx alot and keep up the very good work!

(btw, took 2 times of your cold start mission for me to be able to start it alone!)

 

Just turn down your "World" and "In Cockpit" volumes in your sound options. Everything will be crystal clear.

[genbrien]

Just turn down your "World" and "In Cockpit" volumes in your sound options. Everything will be crystal clear.

 

but what I found strange is that ATC/ally chatter is crysal clear all the time, and before starting the engines I hear him as loud as the ATC coms.... but then barely...:huh:

Anyway, will try your advice thx

[PeterP]

Hmm... Are you having the same problem in the start up procedures? I am not sure what could be causing this issue to be honest. I will try and look into it some more. Which file is it that you are overwriting out of curiosity? Thanks for the feedback.

 

That is caused because people at TH-Setups need a higher FOV as the default max FOV setting that is 120° - a setup with three 16:9 monitors have to use at least 140° for a good view that isn't unpleasantly zoomed in... and to play save I recommend a 160° setting.

 

Your mission saved also the FOV and overrides the user setting. -this happens in a Mission when you record a track - open this track in the Mission editor and save it as mission again.

 

Seems you have not done this with the cold-start-training.

 

I didn't tried out the weapon training up to now - but I will do as soon I click "Submit Reply".

 

Damn.. I wish I had this training some years ago! :P

 

And again: Great job at the cold-start mission!

(maybe also tell the user at the beginning to turn the cockpit/world sliders down to 50% at the beginning -like EvilBivol-1 has done it in A10)

And I will look into the *.miz how to fix this.

- normally this is done easily by opening the mission with win-rar and editing the view-.lua inside this rar file. and than packing it again and renaming as *.miz

 

So If you want to be on the save side that you mission is good playable at TH-setups:

Please higher also your max FOV to 160°. - you will have no disadvantage by using this tweak.

>>> http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=1384106#post1384106

 

EDIT:

Great job!

 

I fixed the FOV issue by deleting the View folder inside the .miz file (Weapon_Employment.miz\Config\View)

Now it is good playable for all TH-Setups.

 

-and I also added "Lower the volume of "World" and "IN-COCKPIT" to 50% if you can't hear the voice-over." in the Mission briefing.

Download:

Weapon_Employment - no FOV restrictions.miz 6.48MB

 

 

additional note:

it would be good to have a better mission naming for future upgrades...

something like: BS_interactive_Weapon_Employment_Training_rec_in_1.1.1.1.miz instead of Weapon_Employment.miz - because you can also load it in A10... :)

Edited January 28, 2012 by PeterP

[DaddySchlich]

Thanks for the training mission! Quick question - what's the best way to increase the volume of the voiceover, compared to the other sounds in the pit??

[PeterP]

lower the volume of "World" and "IN-COCKPIT" to 50% in the AUDIO menu if you can't hear the voice-over

[baton_bb]

Yes. Great thing!

 

ED please, if You don`t want to do (or have not time) interactive training missions, pay to BigfootMSR, and he can do this missions, instead of You.

 

He`s doing a great job for many virtual pilots of DCS BS2.

 

 

Best regards!

[genbrien]

Bigfoot*: do you know wich 1 between the ABRIS and the Countermesure you're going to do 1st ?

[BigfootMSR]

I am working on the countermeasures system first. The ABRIS is a bit more technical as there is a lot of information. I'm still doing some research to figure out how to properly relay relevant information and still keep it simple. The countermeasures will be up later tonight or tomorrow. I will keep my first post updated as I go.

Edited January 30, 2012 by BigfootMSR

[elproducto]

These are awesome.. thanks!

[BadWX]

Thank you very much for continuing to make these tutorials.

[elproducto]

Played these last night.. gotta say they are amazing. Nice and short and to the point, perfect for a quick refresher if you are away from the sim for a while.

 

Keep it up!!

[Grimes]

Looking forward to the ABRIS tutorial. Do you have plans for additional tutorials of other systems?

[BigfootMSR]

Looking forward to the ABRIS tutorial. Do you have plans for additional tutorials of other systems?

 

I was thinking about doing a datalink mission as well. I am open for suggestions however.

[Grimes]

Datalink would be a useful one. As for suggestions, maybe autopilot or PVI-800 navigation?

[elproducto]

I'm not sure if it's doable with your style of mission, but perhaps a landing/shutdown tutorial?