An Idiots Guide?

[Eames]

I just got the game, I also own dcs black shark but never got the hang of it after following guides such as "how to take off and blow up stuff". It just didn't click with me and I couldn't gel with the speed needed to input commands and the correct order of clicking buttons and so forth.

 

I just got a10 and I'm finding it a bit easier, the ingame tutorial I am following but I feel I don't really want to know the full start up procedure and so forth. I just want to take off and blow up stuff. I am happy to use the left win + home or whatever equivalent this game has to cheat the start up, and tbh learning something like that is a bit beyond me.

 

Are there any idiots guides to dcs a10 available? I searched for dcs a10 tutorials on google and found some youtube videos but there wasn't really a good step by step guide that I could find anywhere.

 

The guide for black shark "how to take off and blow up stuff" is the sort of thing I'm after but it seems the guy who wrote that has not made a equivalent guide for this sim.

 

Please help, I would like to learn how to play this sim without knowing what every button/switch does I just want to be able to...take off and blow up stuff.

 

Thanks :thumbup:

[Eames]

I was thinking would lock on suit me better, I have the original lomac and its a pretty easy game to just fly around and shoot stuff in.

 

Is flaming cliffs 3 still as easy to pick up as the original lomac, I think I will go down this route.

 

I would still like to learn dcs a10 though just thinking out loud.

[LordWolf]

 

You can either read the manual, watch youtube vids or play arcade crap like 99% of the world

[Meatwod]

The game is designed such that if you don't do things correctly you will blow yourself up. Getting air born shouldn't be too hard. Watch Humanvegetables video and you'll see what I mean. Staying airborn for more than a few minutes in hostile terrority will take considerable effort on your part to learn the system you are flying and the ones you plan on attacking.

 

A pilot requires a PHD's worth of knowledge to survive on the battlefield. What's the point of blowing stuff up if you get killed in the process. There is a more laid back "arcade mode" that simplifies the avionics so you can focus on learning how to avoid getting killed. But the appeal of this game for the vast majority of people in this forum is earning that sense of accomplishment. If you don't think flying a 4 hour mission doing nothing but air refueling is not appealing then this probably isn't your cup of tea.

[Freelance044]

Write down the steps to taking off. Taking off is the easy part anyway, it's controlling weapons and landing that's the hard part.

 

Air refueling is the hardest thing to do in-game and RL in my opinion.

[Exorcet]

I was thinking would lock on suit me better, I have the original lomac and its a pretty easy game to just fly around and shoot stuff in.

 

Is flaming cliffs 3 still as easy to pick up as the original lomac, I think I will go down this route.

 

I would still like to learn dcs a10 though just thinking out loud.

 

Yes, you want the FC3 A-10A and not the DCS A-10C.

 

As for the A-10C, there is a game mode that makes thing simpler, though I think there are a few bugs plaguing it (I don't know, I've never used it, just saw a couple threads mentioning this).

 

If you try to fly in full sim mode, there isn't much you can do. You need to memorize the controls. Investing in a good HOTAS is a good step, but it's expensive if you're not going to master the A-10C and let it collect dust.

 

I suppose if you haven't already set up the plane to start in the air from the mission editor. This will let you just flip the master arm to on and all your weapons will be properly set up. You still need to know how to use them though.

[Yurgon]

Is flaming cliffs 3 still as easy to pick up as the original lomac, I think I will go down this route.

 

Just go ahead and find out: Download and install DCS World. It's free, and it includes the Su-25T. IMO the Su-25 is a bit harder to fly than the A-10, but that may be coming from 100+ hours A-10C vs. 2 hours Su-25, so don't quote me on it. :)

 

I would still like to learn dcs a10 though just thinking out loud.

 

From your description thus far, it seems that FC3 would better fit what you look for.

 

For me, I'd rather invest 100 hours in a single, complex aircraft:

First, learning the startup and shutdown procedures, then ground handling and basic flight and so on before proceeding to targeting pod basics and then, after some 20 hours or so, dropping the first GBU or firing a Maverick. For me, learning the aircraft and its systems is not what's standing in the way of enjoyment - it is the enjoyment.

 

If I read your post correctly, you'd probably get more enjoyment out of Flaming Cliffs instead, so I think you should go ahead and try that.

 

Regarding the "How to blow stuff up" approach, the training missions for A-10C are very well done, but this requires a lot more time than Para_Bellum's most excellent Ka-50 guide. I'm not aware of such introductions to A-10C, and IMHO it wouldn't make much sense. What's the use of blowing up some reds if you can't land safely (that is, if you even know how to find the next friendly airport :))