Gush

[Echo38]

I wanted to make this thread a couple of days ago, but I didn't, because I reasoned that it is unnecessary. And it is. It's preaching to the choir, it probably won't be read by the developers (because they're probably working on the sim instead of browsing on the forum), and it won't convince anyone who disagrees. But I just feel like I need to say this.

 

This is the first time I've ever felt this way about a flight sim. Oh, I've been fond of a couple of different flight sim games, but it's never been right, and so it's always been a love-hate thing. There's always been something wrong, and a pretty big something. Lots of big somethings, actually. Not here. Can't find anything wrong with the flight sim itself. Sure, one can find tiny little things here and there if one really tries, but, in the big picture, this is right.

 

A true flight sim will teach someone how to fly the real airplane, as much as can be done without actually getting in the real airplane. A P.C. flight sim will be less capable of this than a military full-mock-up-cockpit flight sim, but a true P.C. flight sim will still teach how to do the real deal as well as can be done with the limitations of the hardware. This, by all evidence, is true of DCS: A-10C. It is the first true P.C. flight sim of a fixed-wing military airplane, to the best of my knowledge. Any other attempts (e.g. Falcon 4) have had serious errors or great missing gaps. Not DCS.

 

I liked LO:MAC back in the day, although by now it's rather dated, and it's "lite" in comparison to A-10C. As a result, I'd been following with some interest the development of DCS, from the beginning, but it was from a distance--the Starforce DRM used in Flaming Cliffs (and E.D.'s sticking with it for future products) turned me off, and I never bought any of the Flaming Cliffs series, nor the early DCS. But, recently, a friend renewed my interest, enough to do a little research on the latest versions of the DRM. Concluding that the new stuff was almost acceptable, I abandoned my principles in favor of a good flight sim.

 

And, wow, what have I been missing! I just can't get over how real this feels. Never mind the visuals (which are great themselves), I'm talking about the feel. The systems & avionics, the flight model, even the ground physics--unmatched. I can't believe that, in this market so hostile to serious flight sims, a product like this has actually been made. I'm in love. I can barely wait for P-51D to be finished. That's where my heart really is, in the WWII birds. My fondest hope for the virtual world is for there to be a DCS: P-38L, but that would be too good to be true. Nevertheless, I hear that the Fighter Collection is in the possession of a Republic P-47, and that's my second-favorite airplane of all time ...

 

But, the A-10 will have to do until the P-51 is complete, and then the P-51 will doubtless be quite sufficient until, perhaps, a P-47 is made. In the meantime, this A-10 is more than I've ever hoped I'd ever see in the virtual sky. I simply cannot express my amazement and my delight with this simulation.

 

It is silly and unnecessary to thank a company for creating and selling a product, and I'd usually even call it perverse to do so. But, in this case, I must make an exception, because this seems to be more than simply a money-maker. Despite there being some problems of interface and stability and such, this is superior, above and beyond what the market demands. Someone, or rather quite a few someones, appear to genuinely love flying, perhaps as much as I do. So, thank you, all who have made this flight simulator possible. Fly forever.

Edited August 11, 2012 by Echo38

[Highwayman-Ed]

Well said, and despite many of the niggling little posts that we all make about x could be better, or y should be implemented, deep down the majority of us feel the same way, and all of us want DCS: something, nothing wrong with that... as long as ED realize that it has to be DCS: AH-64 of course ;)

[Echo38]

When I am King, there shall be several hundred DCS titles, all with the same level of fidelity as we see in A-10C, and we shall all have pie. (Also, I'm planning on doing away with the whole money thing, along with hunger and disease and all other ills.)

I agree 100% Echo!

[BigfootMSR]

Heh, well said. Another superior aspect of this game is its endless modding capabilities. If you want to build yourself your own cockpit with real toggle switches ect, it is completely doable. In this case, the sky is the limit. Welcome to the sim :)

[Yurgon]

Very well said indeed. I felt pretty much the same when I learned about Black Shark. I had abandoned all hope of a high fidelity chopper sim when I found that amazing gem. I just started flying the A-10 a couple of weeks ago and the same amazement struck again. It's incredibly rewarding to take the Hog for a trip to the bad guys and then safely land again (although it's even more fun to do so with one engine and part of the wing missing :lol:).

[Echo38]

I still can't believe my good fortune in having stumbled across this sim. I just had some air-to-ground practice on multiplayer, and I found myself shouting hysterically over the comms like a total noob, heart thundering wildly.

 

Other flying sim-games have never had this effect on me, no matter how realistic the flight model, and no matter how difficult the fight, because with simplified avionics, a virtual aircraft is still more like a toy than a real airplane. DCS is so special. I wish that other sims would take a big page out of this book.

[Furious]

P-38! I'm with you on that one!!!

[HTLNOR]

Well said, I have been waiting with DCS A-10 untill last week because I did not want to get the game without also having the Trustmaster A-10 set.

And I found the Trustmaster a bit pricy, but finally some one convinced me to get both and I am speechless how god this sim is.

Not only is the DCS A-10 an excellent sim, but it comes with a very good mission editor.

 

I have not had so much fun since my old Falcon 4.0 and Janes F-18 day.

 

Thank you DCS :thumbup:

[Echo38]

My amazement hasn't faded in the slightest way. I've never seen anything like this sim. Was just spectating a friend making a successful crash-landing in a mountain pass, flying just over power lines and narrowly avoiding a cliff. It seemed so real.

 

Later, I experienced something for the first time, despite my having flown flight sim-games since before I could ride a bicycle. I tried to keep formation with a friend while he made a kill, without otherwise participating in the fight. Did a pretty decent job of it, too, although we kind of bungled our formation landing later. It really felt like a scene from the movie Battle of Britain, albeit with a different setting and aircraft.

 

I love DCS so much. Why can't other sims be like this?

[agathorn]

I love DCS so much. Why can't other sims be like this?

 

I say a small prayer every night that we will get a DCS F18 or F14 with Carrier ops. In fact in my little perfect world there would be a DCS Naval version of Combined Arms, and a DCS Naval bird like the 18 or 14.

[Echo38]

I mean, I understand the market reasons why other sim developers don't make sims like this, so that was a rhetorical question. But, it would be nice, wouldn't it, if all flight sims were of this quality.

[Hamblue]

Hit the nail on the head.

Sometimes If I have a quick half hour I jump in the ole plane and take a quick flight and land. Don't even have to shoot to enjoy.

[WildBillKelsoe]

F-35 JSF <3

[EddieMuntz]

A 10 takes me back to the golden age of sims from Microprose. Learning and putting in to action.

A great many thanks to everyone who supplied all the vids and pdfs on the Wiki (fish, tyger, warriorx, chrisakky to name but a few).

and thanks to the colour photo coper at work which enabled me to have half a dead tree on my PC desk.

Great Game - Great Community.

 

Just hope they put the AH-64 on the list, so i can reach sim nirvana.