Thinking of buying this but is it really hard to learn?

[Dudester22]

I have FC3 and I was thinking of purchasing A10C. My only problem with this is that this sim looks so damn hard compared to FC3. So my question before I Purchase it is this, is it really that hard to learn this sim and to all those who fly it - Just how long did it take you to learn most of it and what did you start to learn first and then finish with?

[jay43]

still learning and everyday you learn something new best game I have had in years as its just not that easy although it does come in sim mode and game mode within the game itself but I have never tried game mode so I don't know what that's like.

[Nerull]

The manual is like 640pages long (if I remember correctly) and there's still a lot of info to get from tutorials and the forum. So yes, it's a tough nut to crack.

Is it worth it? HECK YES!! If you enjoy FC3 enough to consider buying the A-10C you should love it.

I'm still learning (when I find the time, so not enough) and I'm loving it.

[winz]

Hard? Complex would be a more fitting word. The best approach is to take baby steps, learn one thing at a time. Cold start, taxi, take-off, basic manoeuvres, landings....etc. It sounds like lot of boring stuff before you get to the juicy parts, but the opposite was true for me. The learning process is very rewarding (because of complexity of the sim) so even your first cold-start will no doubt leave you with a sense of achievement.

 

How long did it take? Around a day before I dropped my first LGB the way I wanted. Much much more till I felt proficient with the platform. But, basically, you'll never stop to learn - that's one of the best part of DCS A-10C, I bough it in beta and there are still system and procedures I have little to no understanding of. :)

 

If it appeals to you, go for it. You might feel overwhelmed at start, but is well beyond anything you can experience in FC 3 in terms of ground attack.

[GreyBadger]

As jay points out the difficulty settings scroll right down to an arcade mode. In that way you can tailor the amount of learning required to what suits you best, so you really can't go wrong in that regard.

 

I'm guessing though that an arcade mode is not really what you want and while I've never flown "FC3", I did fly "Lockon Gold" and I'm guessing the two are not a million miles apart. Based on that comparison I'd say that you're absolutely right, "A-10C" is harder to learn than that.

 

Ultimately though you shouldn't be making your decision based on how hard you think it might be, (trust me,, I would't be flying it if that were the case) but rather on how much fun you think it will be.

 

You'll certainly end up scratching your head with this game and if that puts you off there's no shame in that and there are plenty of more accessible sims out there to jump into the cockpit of. But if you think you might enjoy the feeling of satisfaction to be had from rising up to all of it's individual challenges, then frankly I don't think I've quite met its like in all the years I've been dabbling in flight sims and I can't recommend it enough.

 

In closing I would also point out that you're not learning alone. This forum is stuffed to the gills with new and experienced enthusiasts, who from what I've seen so far are only too happy to share their experience with you. They're a friendly and knowledgeable crowd and I've asked them questions ranging from "I can't read the HUD text" to "Can anyone help me find my missing sock". All questions have been answered and as yet I've not managed to stump them. I will keep trying though. :)

 

Badger

[jay43]

you need to dedicate a lot of time and patience to this sim its not just jump in and fly there are many procedures to follow correctly or things won't work.

Plenty of folks on here to help the community is one of the most helpful I have ever come across hats off to everyone.

[NhiTrac]

One thing about this sim is the more effort you put in, the more rewarding it is. almost drug like. So far I've sunk about 60 hours into the A-10 and have only skimmed the very basics (cold start, navigation, air refueling, jtac, weapon release etc) but strangely enough have not gotten bored one bit. Before this I didn't know what DCS was.

 

So to answer your question, it's not hard to learn however due to the high detail in which almost all systems of the real A-10 is simulated, you will need to put aside quite a bit of time before you can even do a basic combat mission. However as stated above, once completed, damn its an amazing feeling.

 

One word of warning however, you may get into trouble from your Director of Finance (wife, girlfriend, partner) for spending a wee bit as you build up your 'cockpit'... Thrustmaster Warthog, rudders, track ir, thrustmaster mfds, etc just to name a few. Of course you don't need to get those exact devices but all the better if you can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get it.

Edited May 22, 2013 by NhiTrac

[Yaricks]

Tough? Yes. But, I've never had so much fun in a simulator ever as in the A-10C! I remember fireing it up the first time and being seriously overwhelmed, but after running the first tutorial cold and dark test 3-4 times, it becomes really freaking easy and you get so much enjoyment out of it! It's fantastic!

 

I introduced the A-10C to a friend of mine, who has NO flightsimulator experience previously. NONE. Never touched anything like FSX etc. Took him through the cold and dark startup and on his second startup (after he crashed on takeoff, LOL) he remembered most of the things, and after a week, he's actually really good at it!

 

Get it! So worth the money!

[Buzpilot]

And it's a lot easier to learn if you get Warthog Hotas.

[Flagrum]

I like to fiddle around, experiment with stuff, take things apart to see, how something works, etc. (sometimes i can even put things together again ... lol). So my approach was the "unraveling the ball of wool"-method: grab one end of the thread and pull a bit here, drag a bit there until you untied the first knot... then do the same at the other end of the wool ball ... continue until the ball is unraveled. (i am not yet there, lol)

 

What I mean is:

 

Step 1: try to get a rough overview - what does what? Going through the startup procedure helps here a lot, imo. You soon will realize, which system are there and why they are there and how they depend on another (i.e. devices need electrical power, some A/C, some D/C ... now you know why you turn on your battery first, and the inverter, then the apu, etc.).

 

Step 2: Then dive deeper into, one device at a time. Whatever your curiosity dictates. Read the manual about it. Search the forums about it. Watch the youtube vids about it. While doing so, you certainly will find other aspects or devices that draw your attention to ... now go to step 2. :) It is a somewhat recursive process ;P

 

As I said, I love to fiddle around with stuff and learn something new. So, a good portion of the fun I get out of the Hog is actually just by learning stuff. If I were forced to get all the detailed knowledge into my head - as in school - in order to be able to do the fun stuff afterwards ... I could not enjoy this sim. But for me it is just exploring - and that is fun to me.

[jctrnacty]

Its not that hard, but i am speaking for myself :-)

 

I didnt read manual at all , just went throught the interactive training missions and watched youtube videos playing dcs a-10 ,there is a lot of them , there you will learn a lot. took me 2 month to master most of the sim.

problem is that i play sims since 1990 :-)

[JaBoG32_Prinzartus]

When you are already thinking about getting DCS-A10C, you're obviousely bored with FC3.

If that's the case isn't learning something new considered to be fun? :smartass:

 

If you ask me, then go for DCS-A10!

[npole]

3 days are enough to learn and 1 week to handle the essential functions to flight and weapon engagement. It requires much more to know about every single function of each switch and takes the most of the plane, but this may comes with the time and experience.

 

What's most important: it's not a matter of difficulty, it only depends if you like the simulators or not, because if you expect to be immediately in the air at shooting things, then you may not have the patience for this. Most of the time spent in the A10C is about route planning, weapon handling, instruments settings.. the moment of firing at something is really a couple of seconds (and is NOT the funniest part of course).

[Irregular programming]

Half the fun is learning the game.

 

Yes you should buy it, the harder you think it is the more fun it will be. (but no, it's not difficult to learn, if you can use a computer you can learn the a10) :)

 

And yes I also never read the manual to learn the game, thanks to the community I would not recommend doing so as a way to learn the how to play, instead you should read it whenever you want when you get some time over, even if you do not buy the game just because it's a really well written and very interesting book in itself.

Edited May 22, 2013 by Irregular programming

[einstein_84]

Hard to learn....no. It just takes patience, time and effort. There are TONS of great resources on this forum and YouTube that I have found. Hard to master....yes. It just takes time and practice. I have owned the sim for just over a month. I can state from personal experience that as long as you put a little effort to finding tutorials and yes, reading the manual some, it will all come along, then just PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! I love this sim and find myself spending about 3 hours messing around without realizing how fast time is passing. Once you get in, and get past the initial hurdles, it's more addictive than crack. You're gonna love it. Take the plunge and join the community of HOG drivers, you won't regret it.

[311Gryphon]

I have FC3 and I was thinking of purchasing A10C. My only problem with this is that this sim looks so damn hard compared to FC3. So my question before I Purchase it is this, is it really that hard to learn this sim and to all those who fly it - Just how long did it take you to learn most of it and what did you start to learn first and then finish with?

 

Yes and no. It can be frustrating but I personally think it is worth it. I'm still not all that good but I enjoy it quite a lot. I've had it for over a month and haven't had a ton of time to play but it gets easier every day and then I move on to something else once I learn.

 

I probably would not be able to play it without a HOTAS though. I can't say that the Warthog is necessary because I've never tried any other HOTAS controls, but I had a cheap stick that was a pain to fly with because it still required the keyboard commands which I hated and never could get figured out.

 

I can also say that this forum is pretty darn good when it comes to giving help. Between it and my friend who bought the game when I did (who has a photographic memory) I've gotten through some more frustrating operations in the A-10C.

[Greeniegriz]

When I first tried A10C and DSC World (flyign the SU) I did not like it. I couldn't figure a damn thing out and after 2 hours of trying to figure out the controls I just gave up.

 

I let it sit for a month and then took the time to read about the systems, controls and what they all did. I watched some videos and started running the tutorials.

 

I realize now that I was to impatient when first stating the game up. I wanted to get into the air, and not take the time to learn.

 

After fixing this personal problem, I absolutely love this game!

 

As someone said, its not "hard". Its just complex. Very complex in fact that it could be very intimidating and frustrating. It is also very rewarding when things go right and all time you've spent allows you to rain destruction down on those pixelated tanks!

 

Moral of the story: Buy it!

 

Cheers,

 

GG

[JetlinerX]

The best thing you can do to really get the most out of the first few flights is take notes on the Quick Start Manuel (44 pages). It's what someone told me to do last night, and I am now shooting Mavericks, and making gun runs like I was born to. After that, play the tutorials, and try to memorize the start up procedure, as well as shut down. This part isn't really mandatory, but satisfying for us hardcore simmers. Finally, run around and get a feel for each system. Look around, and find something you wana learn about. Tinker with it for a while, and then go look it up in the full manual, and figure out how to use it. It should be pretty easy by the time you finish the Quick Start Manual. It's great fun, and I would say, if you are a HARDCORE simmer, you should definitely get it. But if you are looking to get it to play in "Game" mode, you are paying for a ton of features you will never use, and I would not spend the money on it if that is your goal.

[dr_After]

I don't think it is hard to learn, but I think the manual is really badly written. I read it all and didn't have knowledge about tactics, valid and effective procedures, etc. (Side note: the BEST manual I have EVER encountered in the sim is a manual for Dangerous Waters - it's a joy to read and it is useful).

 

But we have forum and youtube. And that helps A LOT! I can now easily use any weapon that can carry Warthog. I have some techniques with targeting (that takes practice). Still learning (and it is fun!).

 

But, as someone said here before: I strongly recommend buying TM HOTAS Warthog to control this beast. Comparing to my older joystick it is like driving an Aston Martin vs. driving a cheapest Tata car. And there are so many controls that are now just in the right place! I don't think I would have a patience to learn A-10C without this gear. (sorry if it sounds like marketing, I am not connected with this company, just like it a lot ;))

[Dudester22]

I think the main problem for me is learning all the keyboard commands like in FC3. I have to say this drove me that nuts I ended up making a keyboard mod using photoshop and hard card. (I have enclosed a pic of my creation below) It's not my best creations, but it sure does help with some stuff and when I need to press something really quickly. The hotas is out of the question for me at present, that is unless I wanted kicking out of the house and maybe crawl back in a few weeks. I have one final question before I decide to purchase this. Will I have to learn all these keyboard commands again, or does the fully clickable cockpit take care of this problem?

Edited May 22, 2013 by Dudester22

[JetlinerX]

TL;DR - Controls are easy enough to use with a keyboard, I dont use a HOTAS (yet) and haven't had too much trouble (I'm almost as new to this as you), I recommend you do not like that scare you away.

 

Ah yes. The same issue I had. Since I dont have a HOTAS, and am still debating on getting one, I am in your boat. I have to use the keyboard for a lot of stuff. However, as long as you map out trim, and autopilot to your stick, the plane will fly itself as you get all the nitty gritty done. There is a lot of clickable in the cockpit, but for simple munitions dispencing, the only things you really need to hit on the keyboard are the camera slewing for the Mavs and Pods which is (.)(,)(/)( ; ) (like arrow keys, but not), setting your SOIs with H,K,and U. and the rest is pretty clickable.

 

I would say dont let the controls discourage you. I have not found them to be an issue yet, and I am almost as new as you.

 

Then, in the future if you're really getting into it, get a Warthog, or x52 HOTAS, and you'll be flying like the pros.

 

Hope that helps

 

PS: Mind if I steal your idea for the keyboard layout? I love that, and it would help me so much since I have a spare keyboard! :D

Edited May 22, 2013 by JetlinerX

[Darkwolf187]

Go and get a HOTAS. That's the number 1 piece of advice I can give you. Seriously, if you have a HOTAS like a Saitek X52 or similar, you pretty well never need to touch the keyboard at all.

 

I found A-10 complex, deep, but manageable. Being a plane, you can get it into the air reasonably easily, and as long as you take it easy you can fly around and do stuff with little experience. But when you want to explore the systems in depth, that depth is right there waiting for you.

 

Oh yeah, while it's a really good idea to learn how to do a ramp start on your own so you know what the systems all do, if you just want to get started you can use the Win+Home cheat key to have the PC run the ramp start for you. That's handy when you just want to start flying.

[JetlinerX]

I think the stress on a HOTAS by the community is a little loud. Personally, I am fine with reaching forward and pushing a button on my keyboard. It doesn't really effect me, and makes me feel like I am kinda touching the consoles of the aircraft a little.

 

A HOTAS is great, dont get me wrong, I would love to have one. But the fact that people stress NEEDING one, is a little, meh, in my opinion. If you really get into it, it's worth the investment, but if you are just wanting to learn, and get started before you start throwing hundreds more dollars at the sim, I personally think holding off on the HOTAS is the way to do it.

[shagrat]

Keep in mind the A-10C, Black Shark, P-51D, UH-1H and all future DCS level planes have a clickable cockpit. For me remembering weird key presses in FC2/3 was more challenging, than learning the A-10C. You simply learn to "click" switches and buttons you see. Together with EAC (autopilot) and snapviews, you can easily learn this... not that there isn't a lot to learn, but the switchology is not the real challenge.:thumbup:

[JetlinerX]

Could no have put it better myself! ^ +1 for you.