Bucic Posted September 21, 2013 Posted September 21, 2013 (edited) Related topics: On presentation of DCS RECORD AVI - a Mission Editor tool* *Post #10 is of high importance. Some information there may be outdated. Please speak up if you know any of the '???' Please differentiate between LCtrl vs RCtrl etc. if you provide key commands. There may be blokes out there not familiar with the possibilities DCS gives to moviemakers. Here's a quick introduction. Maybe someone puts together another fan-made promo. I wrote this with Mysticpuma in mind but there's no reason not to post it for everyone. Hi there! I haven't played DCS in years but back in the days these were true (few useful, general tips, not exhaustive!): DCS has well documented camera control key commands. They used to be shipped with the game in a RTF file named key commands and can be found ... ???. Most camera controls are spread across F1 through F12 and Numpad. There are controls for moving camera in/out (often confused with zoom) "Num*" / "Num/" as well as for changing FOV (Field of View) "RCtrl - Num*" / "RCtrl - Num/" LShift makes some camera actions faster while LCtrl - slower. LCtrl - F11 free camera - you can place the camera >anywhere< or even fly it. LCtrl - F11 camera can LOCK on an object - 'Numpad .' This way you can make an 'airshow camera'. Spookyskytrain @YT 1 day ago (edited) a little tip. if you zoom in on F10 map then press Lctrl + F11, your free cam will spawn looking down exactly where you were looking on the map. You can reverse direction of the current view back and forth using ??? key command. (I'm guessing it's LCtrl + [function key for the view]) You can cycle through objects in various views, plus some "enemy", "own" etc. filters. Do not use camera jitter enabled in-game for video rendering in the Record AVI tool! For normal recording with e.g. FRAPS do some tests to see whether the jittering doesn't introduce animation choppiness. Lock another plane with F5 (external) and use Numpad arrows to get extraordinary, dynamic angles! May work in other views. You can edit the F4 camera (??? link to tutorial) to be attached anywhere on the plane and directed at any angle. You can even place in front of an aircraft, point it forward and use it as a flying camera. The cockpit 6DOF camera also has controls for free placement anywhere in the cockpit when TrackIR is not used. This includes far upper right corner of the cockpit Hold Middle mouse button to move about the cockpit. (only in one (vertical-lateral???) plane and use "RCtrl - RShift - Num*" / "RCtrl - RShift - Num/" Cockpit Camera Move Forward/Back to get control 'over the missing dimension' There's a camera flying with a weapon once the weapon goes off. Key command is *"RCtrl - Num+" *Camera ordnance tracking. DCS and FC series have a tool rendering videos from replay (trk) files. It does not happen in real-time so you can render a 60 FPS video from insane in-game settings on a slow PC. For more see http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=53839 There's A LOT of info regarding video compression for preserving maximum possible quality in the thread as well. Worth reading BEFORE you shoot your scenes. WARNING: http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1907747&postcount=14 Get crisp-clear textures in-game without any FPS hit - often overlooked. See point No. 2 here http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=884734#post884734 Cockpit view can be controlled with mouse. To switch between operating switches and mouselook... Use RAlt C Show the pilot http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1879998&postcount=195 To get your camera very close to the ground you need to disable the camera ground limitation ??? "RCtrl - Enter" - Controls indicator - it shows positions of all of the aircraft controls (rudder, stick etc) as an overlay. Invaluable for training videos! Keep in mind that some things used in one view may work in other views (see the F5 example). EDIT: Regarding #11: SkateZilla said: Once in Cockpit: RCTRL+RSHIFT+NUMPAD / and * to move forward and backwards. RCTRL+RSHIFT+NUMPAD Up(8 ), Down(2),Left(4), Right(6) to Move Camera Up, Down, Left, Right. NUMPAD Up(8 ), Down(2) to rotate head up/down NUMPAD Left(4), Right(6) to rotate head left/right NUMPAD / and * to Zoom In/Out. NUMPAD 5 To Reset Position NUMPAD Enter to Reset Zoom RALT+NUMPAD0 To Save as Default View/Position for This Aircraft. Thanks to other forum members for supplementing information and corrections! TODO: Investigate (F11) http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2730125&postcount=5 Disable cockpit camera bobing AND shaking/jitter. Camera long axis tilt. Constant vector camera a la x-plane. Alt + F2 change the external camera rotation point Scrapbook: Glowing_Amraam said: Hi, so you are basically describing how the F2 view works, but you want the same camera control in the default F3 flyby view? No, this is not possible. The closest you are going to get is to hit F2, move and orient the camera as you wish, then click CTRL-F3 to "toggle" the flyby function from this angle. Same goes with the F11 freecam view, if you hit CTRL-F3, the camera will start tracking your plane (or whatever was the last object in the F2 view). Hope that helps. Camera at a specific altitude: Frischi234 said: You can do it in the F10 Map. Just go to the Place, zoom in for altitude. Then press LCRTL+F11 [DCS] External Filming Techniques by Clutch - YouTube — EDIT 2022-01: A great tutorial by Adlertag ! blank space Edited January 13, 2022 by Bucic 5 1 F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
leafer Posted September 21, 2013 Posted September 21, 2013 Exactly what I needed. Thanks, Busic. And why haven't you been playing DCS? What is wrong with you!? :D ED have been taking my money since 1995. :P
Bucic Posted September 21, 2013 Author Posted September 21, 2013 Exactly what I needed. Thanks, Busic. And why haven't you been playing DCS? What is wrong with you!? :D I've been hunting down people getting my nickname wrong :sly: 2 F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
Mysticpuma Posted September 21, 2013 Posted September 21, 2013 Thanks for the link. Much appreciated. I was reading through the camera controls and found quite a few. Not sure how to control the F11 camera, still working that out. I have Track IR and use it all the time. Is there a.link for a more detailed explanation of the 6-DoF camera positioning you mention in point 11? Sounds really useful. I also tried to turn the pilot body on by hitting Right-Shift + P, (in replay mode), but no pilot body appeared :( Does it have to be recorded in the trk to appear in a replay? Thanks for the info. Cheers MP 1
Bucic Posted September 21, 2013 Author Posted September 21, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the link. Much appreciated. I was reading through the camera controls and found quite a few. Not sure how to control the F11 camera, still working that out. I have Track IR and use it all the time. Is there a.link for a more detailed explanation of the 6-DoF camera positioning you mention in point 11? Sounds really useful. I also tried to turn the pilot body on by hitting Right-Shift + P, (in replay mode), but no pilot body appeared :( Does it have to be recorded in the trk to appear in a replay? Thanks for the info. Cheers MP Could you upload the current complete Key commands somewhere and share the link? F11 camera: mouse - look around mousewheel forward/backward - accelerate forward/decelerate Numpad. - lock on an object; hit again to lock another object altitude (height) up/down control - ??? 6DOF in cockpit - it was all using Numpad arrows and modifiers (ctrl, shift, alt). I don't remember the combinations. You could also try calibrating your TrackIR to high sensitivity, place your camera in the cockpit where you want it and then maybe disconnect the TIR. The camera could stay where it was. Edited September 21, 2013 by Bucic F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
ED Team Glowing_Amraam Posted September 21, 2013 ED Team Posted September 21, 2013 "8. - Do not use camera jitter enabled in-game for video recording!" IMO, this isn't exactly a rule of thumb, maybe a more personal choice/opinion. I tend to use it quite alot, depending on the camera angle, situation, scene, zoom level etc.. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgJRhtnqA-67pKmQ3A2GsgA ED youtube channel https://www.facebook.com/glowingamraam My facebook page
Bucic Posted September 21, 2013 Author Posted September 21, 2013 "8. - Do not use camera jitter enabled in-game for video recording!" IMO, this isn't exactly a rule of thumb, maybe a more personal choice/opinion. I tend to use it quite alot, depending on the camera angle, situation, scene, zoom level etc.. Camera jitter = high-speed small camera movements. It requires high FPS to look smooth than any normal in-game animation. You usually render videos to ~30 FPS. This makes the camera jittering look clunky. It can be remedied by using high blur values for video rendering (i.e. production/encoding). It was meant more like a warning to a newcommer. I'd recommend at least doing some solid testing if one plans to use the jittering during recording. Disabling camera jitter is mandatory for the Record AVI tool. Video rendered with it enabled turns out really clunky. See the example (external view is with camera jitter enabled, in-cockpit - jitter disabled): F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
ED Team Glowing_Amraam Posted September 21, 2013 ED Team Posted September 21, 2013 I guess it might look a little weird using the .AVI tool, but for fraps (my preference) this doesn't seem to be that big of an issue. 1 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgJRhtnqA-67pKmQ3A2GsgA ED youtube channel https://www.facebook.com/glowingamraam My facebook page
Bucic Posted September 21, 2013 Author Posted September 21, 2013 I guess it might look a little weird using the .AVI tool, but for fraps (my preference) this doesn't seem to be that big of an issue. OP edited. The point converted into just a reminder. 1 F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
Mysticpuma Posted September 21, 2013 Posted September 21, 2013 Here are the default controls I have for Keyboard input (file attached). Cheers, MPDefault Camera Controls DCS.doc
Nate--IRL-- Posted September 21, 2013 Posted September 21, 2013 11 & 15 - Use ALT C to switch mouse modes. Use Middle button to move about the cockpit. Nate Ka-50 AutoPilot/stabilisation system description and operation by IvanK- Essential Reading
Bucic Posted September 21, 2013 Author Posted September 21, 2013 (edited) Thnaks, Nate! MP, is there anything you'd like to ask us? Please do. Someone may be able to answer your question from the top of his head. I've filled in most of the unknowns in the first post. If you have any questions regarding the RAT please ask in its dedicated thread. Thanks. "LShift - F1" Camera transpose mode (press and hold) What's that? :) Edited September 21, 2013 by Bucic F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
Bucic Posted October 16, 2013 Author Posted October 16, 2013 [+] Controls indicator F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
White Owl Posted October 17, 2013 Posted October 17, 2013 I'll point out that the ingame AVI tool can produce very high quality videos at the expense of harddrive space, but it suffers the flaw of DCS' track playback. What gets played back isn't necessarily what happened when you flew the mission. Which is, of course, infuriating. Don't let this happen to you! Run FRAPS even if you don't intend to use the footage. That way, if something cool happens you'll have proof, without depending on track playbacks.
Bucic Posted October 17, 2013 Author Posted October 17, 2013 Good point, WO. Has it happened to you? Does the risk increase with complex events? I think I should add such a warning to the main RAT topic. I've never thought about using RAT for anything other than catching scenes for fancy videos. F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
Mysticpuma Posted October 17, 2013 Posted October 17, 2013 Hi Bucic, I will be looking at DCS P-51 in detail in about a weeks time. Currently I have been bogged down with the Team Fusion update for Cliffs of Dover which has taken up a huge amount of personal time. I intend (probably next week) to sit down and go through some tutorials and see if I can take off. Literally I will be starting this Sim from scratch, so it could be messy ;) My only 'problem' so-far is I cannot seem to find any way to assign my Thrustmaster Cougar Throttle to the P-51 Throttle control. Currently I have it assigned to a rotary as I just don't see how to use the HOTAS throttle for it? Cheers, MP
SlipBall Posted October 17, 2013 Posted October 17, 2013 (edited) [ATTACH]89661[/ATTACH]Hi Bucic, I will be looking at DCS P-51 in detail in about a weeks time. Currently I have been bogged down with the Team Fusion update for Cliffs of Dover which has taken up a huge amount of personal time. I intend (probably next week) to sit down and go through some tutorials and see if I can take off. Literally I will be starting this Sim from scratch, so it could be messy ;) My only 'problem' so-far is I cannot seem to find any way to assign my Thrustmaster Cougar Throttle to the P-51 Throttle control. Currently I have it assigned to a rotary as I just don't see how to use the HOTAS throttle for it? Cheers, MP What you need to do MP is clear the entries, then enter them from the dropdown. Here is my rudder but it is the same for the others. press clear then press add, choose from the dropdown Edited October 17, 2013 by GT 5.0
Hansolo Posted December 1, 2013 Posted December 1, 2013 (edited) I'll point out that the ingame AVI tool can produce very high quality videos at the expense of harddrive space, but it suffers the flaw of DCS' track playback. What gets played back isn't necessarily what happened when you flew the mission. Which is, of course, infuriating. Don't let this happen to you! Run FRAPS even if you don't intend to use the footage. That way, if something cool happens you'll have proof, without depending on track playbacks. Good point, WO. Has it happened to you? Does the risk increase with complex events? I think I should add such a warning to the main RAT topic. I've never thought about using RAT for anything other than catching scenes for fancy videos. I am pretty sure this happens when using e.g. Helios. The commands Helios is sending via UPD is registred when you fly the aircraft. However they are not stored in the track. This is IMHO why the tracks are not showing the same as when you flew the mission. I tried a long time back where I had the landing gear set for Helios operation via a touch screen. In the "real" mission I flew 20 minutes before engaging some tanks. In the track I flew 5 minutes before crashing into a hill side. At replaying the tracks all over I noticed that the landing gear did not retrack. Since replay of a track is re-flying the mission with the recorded inputs given to the aircraft the ended up a different place. I have started using a video recording tool called Debut Video Capture Software from NCH because it lets me choose the area I want to record. P.s Thanks a lot for the list in post #1 :thumbup: Very useful Cheers Hans Edited December 1, 2013 by Hansolo 132nd Virtual Wing homepage & 132nd Virtual Wing YouTube channel My DCS-BIOS sketches & Cockpit Album
GottHold Posted July 5, 2014 Posted July 5, 2014 How did he archieved that camera perspective and is this possible without hud? Have a nice day!
Bucic Posted July 5, 2014 Author Posted July 5, 2014 How did he archieved that camera perspective and is this possible without hud? Related topic: On presentation of DCS Please speak up if you know any of the '???' Please differentiate between LCtrl vs RCtrl etc. if you provide key commands. There may be blokes out there not familiar with the possibilities DCS gives to moviemakers. Here's a quick introduction. Maybe someone puts together another fan-made promo. I wrote this with Mysticpuma in mind but there's no reason not to post it for everyone. Hi there! I haven't played DCS in years but back in the days these were true (few useful, general tips, not exhaustive!): DCS has well documented camera control key commands. They used to be shipped with the game in a RTF file named key commands and can be found ... ???. Most camera controls are spread across F1 through F12 and Numpad. There are controls for moving camera in/out (often confused with zoom) "Num*" / "Num/" as well as for changing FOV (Field of View) "RCtrl - Num*" / "RCtrl - Num/" LShift makes some camera actions faster while LCtrl - slower. LCtrl - F11 free camera - you can place the camera >anywhere< or even fly it. LCtrl - F11 camera can LOCK on an object - 'Numpad .' This way you can make an 'airshow camera'. You can reverse direction of the current view back and forth using ??? key command. (I'm guessing it's LCtrl + [function key for the view]) You can cycle through objects in various views, plus some "enemy", "own" etc. filters. Do not use camera jitter enabled in-game for video rendering in the Record AVI tool! For normal recording with e.g. FRAPS do some tests to see whether the jittering doesn't introduce animation choppiness. Lock another plane with F5 (external) and use Numpad arrows to get extraordinary, dynamic angles! May work in other views. >>>You can edit the F4 camera (??? link to tutorial) to be attached anywhere on the plane and directed at any angle. You can even place in front of an aircraft, point it forward and use it as a flying camera.<<< The cockpit 6DOF camera also has controls for free placement anywhere in the cockpit when TrackIR is not used. This includes far upper right corner of the cockpit :) Hold Middle mouse button to move about the cockpit. (only in one (vertical-lateral???) plane and use "RCtrl - RShift - Num*" / "RCtrl - RShift - Num/" Cockpit Camera Move Forward/Back to get control 'over the missing dimension' There's a camera flying with a weapon once the weapon goes off. Key command is *"RCtrl - Num+" *Camera ordnance tracking. DCS and FC series have a tool rendering videos from replay (trk) files. It does not happen in real-time so you can render a 60 FPS video from insane in-game settings on a slow PC. For more see http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=53839 There's A LOT of info regarding video compression for preserving maximum possible quality in the thread as well. Worth reading BEFORE you shoot your scenes. WARNING: http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1907747&postcount=14 Get crisp-clear textures in-game without any FPS hit - often overlooked. See point No. 2 here http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=884734#post884734 Cockpit view can be controlled with mouse. To switch between operating switches and mouselook... Use RAlt C Show the pilot http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1879998&postcount=195 To get your camera very close to the ground you need to disable the camera ground limitation ??? "RCtrl - Enter" - Controls indicator - it shows positions of all of the aircraft controls (rudder, stick etc) as an overlay. Invaluable for training videos! Keep in mind that some things used in one view may work in other views (see the F5 example). Thanks to other forum members for supplementing information and corrections! :thumbup: To be honest I wouldn't know how to enable the HUD :) Try the F4 first. I'm pretty sure it will not include the HUD unless you fiddle with other options. F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
airdoc Posted July 5, 2014 Posted July 5, 2014 How did he archieved that camera perspective and is this possible without hud? I can't be completely sure about it, my guess is that he is probably using the Shift+F4 camera that is attached to the nose and then he used the numpad keys to twist it looking at the back. Another possibility is that he used one of the standard external cameras which he unhooked from the plane and then hooked it back at that point. I don't know about the HUD, but it seems reasonable to suggest that it could be possible. The three best things in life are a good landing, a good orgasm, and a good bowel movement. The night carrier landing is one of the few opportunities in life to experience all three at the same time.
Shahdoh Posted July 5, 2014 Posted July 5, 2014 Another method is to modify the server.lua file (copy it from the DCS World\config\view folder to your saved games\DCS\config\view folder - create folder if not already there). In here are lines that look like this: ViewSettings["P-51D"] = { Cockpit = { [1] = {-- player slot 1 CockpitLocalPoint = {-1.500000,0.618000,0.000000}, CameraViewAngleLimits = {20.000000,120.000000}, CameraAngleRestriction = {false,90.000000,0.500000}, CameraAngleLimits = {200,-80.000000,90.000000}, EyePoint = {0.025000,0.100000,0.000000}, ShoulderSize = 0.15, Allow360rotation = false, limits_6DOF = {x = {-0.050000,0.450000},y ={-0.200000,0.200000},z = {-0.220000,0.220000},roll = 90.000000}, }, }, -- Cockpit Chase = { LocalPoint = {-6.250000,1.800000,0.0000}, AnglesDefault = {0.000000,-0.500000}, }, -- Chase Arcade = { LocalPoint = {-21.500000,5.618000,0.000000}, AnglesDefault = {0.000000,-8.000000}, }, -- Arcade } To edit the location of the SHIFT F4 view for a particular aircraft, find the aircraft you want to change after the Viewsettings value, then go to the values listed after "CHASE" First 3 numbers (LocalPoint) are your x/y/z position from the center of the aircraft. 1st number should be forward/back. 2nd number should be up and down and 3rd number should be left/right. The AnglesDefault numbers are which way the camera is pointing, 1st number being left/right orientation ( I think based off 180 degrees, so use negative numbers for 1 direction, positive for the other). The 2nd number is up/down. Be careful to not to change the punctuation or layout of the lua file or that will cause problems. Best to use a text editor like Notepad++. Here is a picture with SHIFT F4 moved to the tail of the Mustang with the above configuration: %5Bimg%5Dhttp%3A//i113.photobucket.com/albums/n208/Kormyr/Screen_140628_115906_zps20e5c47f.jpg~original[/img] 1
GottHold Posted July 7, 2014 Posted July 7, 2014 Shift f4 only let me go behind the plane but not in front of it. Did i miss sth? Have a nice day!
Bucic Posted July 7, 2014 Author Posted July 7, 2014 (edited) Shift f4 only let me go behind the plane but not in front of it. Did i miss sth? Yes. Editing the respective lua file. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=126322&highlight=f4+camera http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=119371&highlight=f4+camera http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=107909&highlight=f4+camera http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=101216&highlight=f4+camera And probably using numpad view controls/mouse. Edited July 7, 2014 by Bucic F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS
GottHold Posted July 7, 2014 Posted July 7, 2014 Yes. Editing the respective lua file. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=126322&highlight=f4+camera http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=119371&highlight=f4+camera http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=107909&highlight=f4+camera http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=101216&highlight=f4+camera And probably using numpad view controls/mouse. Mate in that thread stands nothing about changing the lua only about, trying to change the perspective :D thanks anyway Have a nice day!
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