Walkthrough missions similar to the training missions?

[hayesj23]

Hi everyone,

 

This is my first time playing any DCS game. I completed all the training missions thinking that would prepare me for the missions. First thing I did after completing the training missions was go into the campaign and try the first mission. I had NO idea what to do. I just sat there listening to all the radio commands and nothing seemed directed towards me giving me permission to takeoff or anything. I went back and read the mission debriefing but was unable to understand any of it.

 

Is there some sort of mission that has a walkthrough style of gameplay similar to the training missions? Something that will show me what the important parts to take note of in the mission briefing are and what to do once the mission is started etc. Something tailored towards someone who has never played a DCS game before.

 

Previous sim experience includes plenty of hours in FSX flying PMDG level aircraft etc.

 

further info:

 

in-game settings are set to "simulation" preset.

 

Thanks. :helpsmilie:

 

p.s Are there any must have add-ons for this sim? In terms of graphics or performance add-ons? I know in FSX there were tons of add-ons that without made the sim a pretty mediocre experience. Just wondering if it's the same for this sim.

Edited March 19, 2012 by hayesj23

[Booger]

http://en.wiki.eagle.ru/wiki/DCS_A-10C_Guides,_Tutorials_and_Reference_Documents

 

Incredibly handy collection of resources on that page.

 

There's no mention of what HOTAS you use. Getting a Warthog profile is a HUGE step forward...you can always tailor/personalize it as you progress.

[hayesj23]

http://en.wiki.eagle.ru/wiki/DCS_A-10C_Guides,_Tutorials_and_Reference_Documents

 

Incredibly handy collection of resources on that page.

 

There's no mention of what HOTAS you use. Getting a Warthog profile is a HUGE step forward...you can always tailor/personalize it as you progress.

 

Thanks for the link. Here's my controller:

 

Saitek Cyborg X.

 

It's budget, but that's because i'm on a budget :).

 

I basically went crazy with the modifiers so that I could use the TMS, DMS, Coolie, Boat etc. functions with my hat switch.

 

Shift + Hat switch = TMS,

 

Ctrl + Hat = DMS

 

and so on...

 

 

Do you know of any videos that show someone going through some of the stock missions from start to finish (for example, a video with a voice over that starts in the mission briefing section explaining how they go about planning for the mission and then executing it etc.).

 

The training missions had such a nice learning curve lol, but beyond that it's like a brick wall o_o.

Edited March 19, 2012 by hayesj23

[spikenet]

yes its a deep plunge going into the Campaign.

 

There are other discussions about how to play these correctly. There is a bunch of stuff not covered anywhere you need to understand, such as SEAD, CAP and use of the F10 radio menu to be effective.

 

The main thing I have learnt is to read the brief and stick to my mission plan, call in the CAP when I get air threats and talk to my JTACs about targets.

 

I have never seen video's doing a walkthrough, its not a bad idea actually and would make it all alot more accessible.

Obviously you could learn all this playing multiplayer and that way you can ask questions :)

[baltic_dragon]

Hey,

 

My advice is to do one thing at a time. Training missions are certainly not enough. Once you finish them, practice navigation - free flight mission is perfect for that. Change your flight plans, change the weather and try to take off, then follow the plan and land at the destination airport. While at that, you will start using different devices, like your CDU, radios etc. Watch the tutorial videos so that you are sure that you understand everything. Once you get a hang of it, play some easy training missions (or set them up yourself) in order to practice the use of ordnance. Once there, find a SP mission for JTAC training (there is a very good one with only tanks and trucks, don't remember the name now). Once you feel comfortable with JTAC, do the same but with a wingman, so you can practice giving orders. Then focus on countermeasures a bit. And then choose some smaller SP missions. Only after that try the campaign..

 

I am now 14 sorties into the campaign and I know it is overwhelming in the beginning. But now I can see a huge difference in the way I play the game - and I've learnt most of it on my own mistakes.

 

Practice, practice, practice. And ask here should you have any questions.

[derelor]

Is there some sort of mission that has a walkthrough style of gameplay similar to the training missions?

You could try the single missions "Hideout" or "Serpent's Head" using my mission guides.

[hassata]

This is great as well:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=73194

[PeterP]

>>>Jtac UTM coordinate training mission

 

 

Training mission that shows you how to input coordinates into the CDU from a JTAC 9 line UTM command line.

 

In this training mission, you will learn how to input coordinates received from a JTAC 9 line command into your CDU computer.

[Harzach]

Another good beginner mission involving simple coordinate entry and target acquisition, plus a little atmosphere to keep things fun: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=78748

[aces_full85]

Hi everyone,

 

This is my first time playing any DCS game. I completed all the training missions thinking that would prepare me for the missions. First thing I did after completing the training missions was go into the campaign and try the first mission. I had NO idea what to do. I just sat there listening to all the radio commands and nothing seemed directed towards me giving me permission to takeoff or anything. I went back and read the mission debriefing but was unable to understand any of it.

 

Is there some sort of mission that has a walkthrough style of gameplay similar to the training missions? Something that will show me what the important parts to take note of in the mission briefing are and what to do once the mission is started etc. Something tailored towards someone who has never played a DCS game before.

 

Previous sim experience includes plenty of hours in FSX flying PMDG level aircraft etc.

 

further info:

 

in-game settings are set to "simulation" preset.

 

Thanks.

 

p.s Are there any must have add-ons for this sim? In terms of graphics or performance add-ons? I know in FSX there were tons of add-ons that without made the sim a pretty mediocre experience. Just wondering if it's the same for this sim.

 

The campaign assumes you have a certain amount of situational awareness and experience with the jet. Take it slow at first and practice working with the airframe and systems in the easiest (lowest threat) environment possible. The learning curve is hard enough to climb without having to worry about an SA-9 lurking down in the shadows!

 

Take what you've learned in the training missions and run the mission, Shooting Gallery or Sitting Ducks. Either of these two will be a nice small step forward that'll let you practice flying, navigating, target acquisition, attacking and general sensor operation, all in a very low threat environment.

 

If you're anything like me, you'll come up with a lot of questions quickly! Run through the training missions again, watch videos on youtube and read up on the forums. Theres a ton of training material waiting for you on the internet and the more reading you can do about the sim, the more progress you'll make.

 

Just remember though, this is a long term kind of game and nobody learns it over night. Have fun and enjoy the ride!

[hayesj23]

Thanks for the tips everyone. One more very noobish question:

 

How can you tell when a mission is actually over? I did the sitting ducks mission as suggested in this thread and destroyed all the targets ("Destroyed all targets" showed up on the top right) but nothing happened afterwards; no "mission success" notifications or anything. I tried following the rest of the mission waypoints which led to a landing at Senaki airport. I did that, and taxied to parking as guided by ATC but still nothing happened.

 

Is standard protocol after completing a mission to hit esc and pause the game and quit? Or will a "mission success" dialog appear that takes you to the mission report screen?

[Booger]

Yeah. If you look at a few guides you'll see the Mission Success banner displayed.

[aces_full85]

You might get a 'mission success' message in the corner of the screen, but it won't take you out of the game. You have the option to hit escape and exit the mission or to fly back to a base and land "properly".

[baltic_dragon]

By the way, it is a pity that we don't get any debriefing after completing the mission - only info about targets that were destroyed. It would be nice to actually get some description of the results of our efforts :)