How good are you guys at this?

[R1Lawsy]

Hey,

 

Just wondering if you guys are good at these sims? I find most survivability in the F15. I fly the Black Shark, FC3 and the A10 . I find that I fly really low all the time to avoid threats. I know this is not the correct tactic but it works in all conditions. Most enemies don;t detect you until its too late if you stay low enough...

 

A2A is a struggle at the moment in FC3 with the indestructible AI.

 

I rarely survive missions on the first attempt if I stay high and don't have labels on.

 

Do i just need to keep practising and learn better tactics?

[Hamblue]

Try goining to a mp server with teamspeak and ask for some pointers. Usually you'll find someone willing to help. You'll also find a better mix. Some will be easier to kill and some will be much better than the AI.

[Frogisis]

I'm no ace but I think I'm pretty good with the Hog and passable with the Eagle, and not entirely helpless in the Mustang or Shark, though still crummy enough I would be a drag on an actually skilled team.

 

I find the core skill is patience. Most of us have probably built up a lifetime of expectations and reflexes for more traditional video games, and they come to the fore when you're sitting in front of a screen with any kind of controller in your hands, but you have to unlearn a lot of them for more serious flight sims.

 

Most games (and media in general, actually) are structured - as they should be - to eliminate all the fat and show you only the interesting parts you came to see, so you get the idea that what you're supposed to do is fight fight fight, but DCS is almost in slow-motion in comparison, so you'll really screw up if you try to get ahead of yourself instead of taking the time to back off and line things up right, or easing off on the stick to keep your plane at the apex of its flight envelope in a dogfight (I think this is part of the appeal - Staying balanced is a more interesting challenge than mindlessly pushing everything to its extreme). Keep your eyes on the enemy, but at the same time have the patience to know they won't ever magically teleport behind you, either.

 

You're also entirely responsible for your own situational awareness, so before you even start the mission, learn what to expect and where (this is big - It feels somewhat unsporting, but it's exactly the 'intelligence' that's so often the MacGuffin in action stories), and if you're not sure what's waiting for you in an area, treat it like a closed door in a horror movie and just don't go in. At least not until you've taken time to hang back and look around (with your radar or eyes or RWR or an AWACS) until you're confident you won't be surprised, or that you can use terrain well enough to stay hidden and safe. To use the more traditional video game metaphor again, think of a 'sneaking' level instead of a straight-up battle.

[Konrad Friedrich]

I find the core skill is patience.

 

 

Frogisis,

you put it in a nutshell.

Patience is the essence of this sim.

[SimHog]

Hey,

 

Just wondering if you guys are good at these sims? I find most survivability in the F15. I fly the Black Shark, FC3 and the A10 . I find that I fly really low all the time to avoid threats. I know this is not the correct tactic but it works in all conditions. Most enemies don;t detect you until its too late if you stay low enough...

 

A2A is a struggle at the moment in FC3 with the indestructible AI.

 

I rarely survive missions on the first attempt if I stay high and don't have labels on.

 

Do i just need to keep practising and learn better tactics?

 

For A2A combat I found this little gem helped me back in the days of Falcon 4 .. and yes I know it was released to compliment Falcon 3.

 

Edited May 4, 2013 by CoderX71