Pajeezy Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 I apologize for a lot of incoming text. Okay, I've been very back-and-forth with this sim for a while now. It's quite intimidating, yet I feel I must play it. My only obstacle at this point is the outrageous cost of the best equipment for the game. I've made posts before in regards to this, but currently I only have a 3D pro joystick. IIRC, the list of things include: -TM Warthog HOTAS -TrackIR 5 -Rudder pedals of some sort Other than that I'm not sure what else to get. Unfortunately this entire setup would cost me around $600 it seems :/ which is a LOT of money to dump into something I may not fully get into (depending on how it goes). I'll preface the rest by saying that I'm pretty much at square one as far as learning any aircraft (including FC3). So, I was planning on starting with and sticking with that, maybe learning the F-15C and keeping the more complex sim aircraft, like the A-10C, on the backburner. If that is the case, could I simply do without the HOTAS for now and use my simple joystick? I feel as if the TrackIR would make the most difference for me at this point, and it's only 1/4 the price of the full setup, so I could start out by just getting that. What do you folks think? One last thing. If I do end up getting the TMWH HOTAS, will it work just as well and be adequate for any other aircraft I fly in DCS? Or even if I were to go to BMS? I understand it was made specifically for the A-10C, but for $400+ I would expect it to be the end-all be-all. Thanks for putting up with my incessant posting and for any opinions/information anyone can share. This forum has been an awesome help thus far and it keeps me coming back.
Davis0079 Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 you'll never be as happy with anything that you buy, be it a stick, throttle, full hotas, whatever....as you will be the first time you fly with trackir...... I simply refuse to play without it...but I can live without a throttle and rudders for a while when they mess up.....once you get one your life will never be the same... I literally flew the Blackshark for about a year with an xBox controller because of hotas problems and never complained....but I stand by my previous statement..."I will not fly without trackir ever again"... unless something better comes along!!!!?????.... It only takes two things to fly, Airspeed and Money.
blksolo Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 Nothing can touch the TM Warthog,buy it.TrackIR is awesome but it will be rendered obsolete in a year or two. I think having the warthog makes the learning process 10 times faster because its plug and play,and at the beginning for me all this DMS up,China hat forward stuff was hard to remember on a stick that didnt have those buttons. Intel i7 6700k OC 4.7ghz Asus ROG Maximus VIII Hero Motherboard Zotac GTX980ti 6GB Amp Extreme 32 GB DDR4 3200 RAM Oculus Rift CV1 Thrustmaster Warthog
Pajeezy Posted December 30, 2013 Author Posted December 30, 2013 Nothing can touch the TM Warthog,buy it.TrackIR is awesome but it will be rendered obsolete in a year or two. I think having the warthog makes the learning process 10 times faster because its plug and play,and at the beginning for me all this DMS up,China hat forward stuff was hard to remember on a stick that didnt have those buttons. I see your point, but like I said before, I'm not going to be playing any of the complex aircraft modules like the A-10C. I'll most likely be playing strictly with FC3 aircraft to start, so the HOTAS doesn't seem as necessary for me at the moment as having something like TrackIR to look around much more effectively.
cichlidfan Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) TIR will make whatever you fly more enjoyable. Yes, in a few years you might not use it anymore but until then it will be the best money you spend on gaming hardware. Edited December 30, 2013 by cichlidfan ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1 :thumbup:
green_sunfish_ Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 Nothing can touch the TM Warthog,buy it.TrackIR is awesome but it will be rendered obsolete in a year or two. I think having the warthog makes the learning process 10 times faster because its plug and play,and at the beginning for me all this DMS up,China hat forward stuff was hard to remember on a stick that didnt have those buttons. huh, i don't get it... why would track iR be useless in a couple of years? so, is the thrust master warthog compatible with all flight sims or just dcs a10? [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]best brawler fish in the world! setup: asus PB298Q monitor, alienware x51 i7, track iR5, CH products, & gunnar glasses!:thumbup:
BigMotor Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 Pajeezy, I'm flying DCS A10c with a CH pro throttle. It took a while to figure out a good switch assignment scheme but it works great for me. (The only task that is a little awkward is switching from white-hot to black-hot on TGP). I would have loved to own a Warthog stick but I'm just not that specialized in my flight simming, regularly flying BMS Falcon, ROF, BOS, Condor and IL2 not to mention all the FC3 aircraft and Black Shark. The CH works great for all those but you will need a large notelbook to keep track of all the assignments.
cichlidfan Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 The Warthog works fine with other sims. ROF, CloD, P3D/FSX, BOS, and all of the DCS aircraft are working just fine for me. ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1 :thumbup:
Davis0079 Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 TrackIR is awesome but it will be rendered obsolete in a year or two. I guess Oculus Rift is going to be given to everyone for free when it comes out ....or mabey they will create a full size pit that just magically poofs around you in a cloud of fairy dust every time you start up a flight simulator.... the freeware and facetracking stuff are not going to push Trackir into extinction, they simply dont work as good...and as of right now....full HD projection screens 20 foot tall and Virtual Reality stuff are just to expensive to be consider a realistic trackir replacement for normal working ppl maybe in 3-4 flight sim weeks.... It only takes two things to fly, Airspeed and Money.
blackbelter Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) One thing to take note of: if you get TW, a pair of rudder pedals will be necessary. The only axis on TW that can be assigned to rudder is very inconvenient to use. If I were you, I would stick to the current stick, and get TIR. Or better, get X52 and TIR. I know there are a lot of simmers on this forum who hate X52 (and Saitek, the company producing X52). But at least in my case, it has served me very well for the ~5 years before I sold it to a young simmer. It's cheap, has lots of buttons, and has enough precision. It also has a very convenient axis to which you can assign the rudder. Edited December 30, 2013 by blackbelter
Vedexent Posted December 30, 2013 Posted December 30, 2013 I would also vote for the TrackIR 5. The price is total gouge - for $200 what you get is a 100g of plastic and circuit board with a USB cable and it's NOT new or amazing technology - it's tricky to calibrate, and the so called "Pro" clip is made of Kleenex and will snap in half if you glare at it. I also would never ever ever ever fly a flight sim without it. Best piece of hardware as far as added experience in the game, ever. Once I had it all setup, and so long as I have it running when DCS world fires up, I don't even notice it's there: I just "look around the cockpit" naturally. I've never tried any of the free webcam tracking alternatives, but one of our squadron pilots has one of them, and while it is functional, he has occasional issues - especially when DCS updates. I would also recommend getting pedals and a HOTAS, not a really good HOTAS without pedals. I have the X52 Pro and the Saitek flight pedals. Would I get the Warthog, and the Saitek combat pedals if I could justify the cash? Probably, but I'd go for a medium quality set over a really good HOTAS and non-existent pedals, if you can't justify that kind of cash. One word of warning: if you fall down this particular rabbit hole of a hobby, you will end up spending a fair amount of money on hardware, over time. $600 here for your initial controller setup here, $1000 for 2 more monitors and a second video card there, $400 for a fourth touch screen monitor under your main so you can just tap on click-able cockpit controls with your finger, etc. ... ;)
Gisen Posted December 31, 2013 Posted December 31, 2013 Don't bother with track ir initially, just try freetrack with a wii remote or webcam, or facetracknoirfor£free then if you like the sim you could upgrade if necessary. But you certainly don't need to spend 600 dollars
PureEvil Posted December 31, 2013 Posted December 31, 2013 Don't bother with track ir initially, just try freetrack with a wii remote or webcam, or facetracknoirfor£free then if you like the sim you could upgrade if necessary. But you certainly don't need to spend 600 dollars TrackIR is very well supported by DCS and most of flight sims, it can also be used in other games like some FPS and racing simulators. STEAM asus p8z68-v gen3, 2600k@4,5ghz(w/c), 16gb, 1080ti(w/c), ch fighterstick/gvl224-4000-8, ch pro throttle, Oculus Rift CV1+Touch, thrustmaster tx
Thick8 Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 If it weren't for a 22" touchscreen monitor and Helios I wouldn't be able to fly this sim at all. Having access to all of the buttons and switches without having to remember key combos or holding my head still while punching in Coordinates and such is a game changer. I also have a TM:WH, pedals ans headtracking though. All of my posted work, ideas and contributions are licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0,) which precludes commercial use but encourages sharing and building on for non-commercial purposes, ©John Muldoon
Gisen Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 TrackIR is very well supported by DCS and most of flight sims, it can also be used in other games like some FPS and racing simulators. ...as can free track ....
PureEvil Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 If it weren't for a 22" touchscreen monitor and Helios I wouldn't be able to fly this sim at all. Having access to all of the buttons and switches without having to remember key combos or holding my head still while punching in Coordinates and such is a game changer. I also have a TM:WH, pedals ans headtracking though. FC3 don't have that many key combos to remember or need to punch in coordinates, for fighter planes TrackIR is a must, for a10a and su25 it's not :smilewink: ...as can free track .... from what i've read, with trackIR it's a lot easier, install drivers, plug and play (from own experience). STEAM asus p8z68-v gen3, 2600k@4,5ghz(w/c), 16gb, 1080ti(w/c), ch fighterstick/gvl224-4000-8, ch pro throttle, Oculus Rift CV1+Touch, thrustmaster tx
danilop Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 TrackIR is necessity if you want to fly DCS NOW. Untill it gets obsolete, you'll probably change 2-3 PC configurations. TrackIR simply works (well free trackers kinda work too, but are sometimes pain in the butt to set up properly if you're not DIY inclined). On the negative side it's sort of expensive and PRO clip is flimsy. Oculus may be the next big thing, but it will need to mature to be completely acceptable for flight sims like the TrackIR is now. It's still vaporware (in consumer sense), keyboard integration in VR is questionable, and development kit has low resolution display which is useless for serious instrument flying / combat (it is "promised" that retail version will have "high" resolution display).
PFunk1606688187 Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 Funny thing is I know someone who is an avid flight simmer, would fly PMDG aircraft on FSX in real time between airports on VATSIM, go to bed with the aircraft on autopilot, wake up in time to contact approach control and fly in on a new continent. Right now he's getting his real world pilot's qualification in a Cessna. He owns a Tackir but simply hates using it in the sim. Says he hates holding his head still. In any case, I think Trackir is the single greatest investment I've made in my gaming peripherals. I can think of alternatives to everything I use, different gaming mice or keyboards, a different stick, better rudder pedals, but the Trackir is simply the thing I want to have and keep as it is because it works wonders. Fine, the one problem is that there's a light in my room I have to turn off or else it starts to spin my virtual head around, otherwise, perfect. I'd put Trackir at the top of the list of anything you're getting for your "required" set up. A cheaper HOTAS to allow you to get rudder pedals is in my opinion smarter because in the end you'll need rudder pedals anyway and good ones will push your price after a TM warthog and a trackir into crazy town. I bought 2 X52s used on Craigslist, and a third new in box on craigslist packaged with new in box rudder pedals. I spent on my sticks and rudder pedals no more than my Trackir cost. I'd happily pay full price for the trackir again. I am content with never having paid full price for my HOTASes. :D Warning: Nothing I say is automatically correct, even if I think it is.
cichlidfan Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 He owns a Tackir but simply hates using it in the sim. Says he hates holding his head still. Quick OT here: Your friend just needs a bit more of a dead zone in the center, and if hitting switches is an issue, having the TIR pause (or even just Precision Mode) on a handy button will help with that. ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1 :thumbup:
PFunk1606688187 Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 Quick OT here: Your friend just needs a bit more of a dead zone in the center, and if hitting switches is an issue, having the TIR pause (or even just Precision Mode) on a handy button will help with that. Been there, done that, he's just weird. :P Warning: Nothing I say is automatically correct, even if I think it is.
cichlidfan Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 Been there, done that, he's just weird. :P Well, there are those rare (I think) folks, that TIR just doesn't work for. Damn, glad I am not one of them. It's one of my favorite toys! :) ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1 :thumbup:
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