DCS Discussion

[Toonces]

You are dead to me, mikeck.

;)

[mikeck]

What can I say, the F-16 is a beautiful sexy woman...but the DCS version is missing her boobs and 1/2 of her butt. So I'll stick with her less sexy sister who has a full set

[Skoop]

Spent all day on the Fraternity server flying the JF-17.  The server was running a dynamic mission that was PvE only with human helo pilots having to shuttle troops in to capture airfields after all the AI op was wiped out by the human fixed wing pilots.  It was a blast, and accommodated any skill level.  You could do comms with voice or text or just watch for updates on where to go in the chat.  Worked pretty well.

[mikeck]

Jarhead, how are you enjoying the Jf-17?

[Jarhead0331]

Jarhead, how are you enjoying the Jf-17?

I like it a lot, but I haven't been too serious with it yet. I've gone back to the Hornet in preparation for carrier ops with the upcoming Super Carrier DLC.

That being said, I absolutely love the glass cockpit. It is extremely powerful and the capabilities of the aircraft really suits my play style. The lack of an AAR capability and limited payload, while technically undesirable, do not really impact my enjoyment of the aircraft since I generally only fly relatively short missions. I think it adds something unique to the DCS line-up being that it is the only late era 4th generation fighter, and as a result it offers new capabilities to explore.

As an EA module, it is very far along in development and mostly fully featured. So it has avionics and systems that even though some other modules will eventually feature them, they aren't available yet. Its definitely worth a buy for the DCS enthusiast.

As an aside, I too am put off by its China/Pakistan origin, but I still fly it against opfor exclusively, so I can turn the other cheek. It certainly feels like a western fighter, as it is very different from any other non-western aircraft presently available, and at least as far as cockpit philosophy and design, bears no resemblance to anything flown by the Russians/Eastern Europeans.

[mikeck]

I'm less concerned about origins and more concerned about having to learn a new plane. Feel good in the hornet and waiting for the viper to fill in. I already get confused hopping between...and that's only 2

But red needed a fleshed our high fidelity aircraft for sure

[Skoop]

Jarhead, how are you enjoying the Jf-17?

I like it a lot, but I haven't been too serious with it yet. I've gone back to the Hornet in preparation for carrier ops with the upcoming Super Carrier DLC.

That being said, I absolutely love the glass cockpit. It is extremely powerful and the capabilities of the aircraft really suits my play style. The lack of an AAR capability and limited payload, while technically undesirable, do not really impact my enjoyment of the aircraft since I generally only fly relatively short missions. I think it adds something unique to the DCS line-up being that it is the only late era 4th generation fighter, and as a result it offers new capabilities to explore.

As an EA module, it is very far along in development and mostly fully featured. So it has avionics and systems that even though some other modules will eventually feature them, they aren't available yet. Its definitely worth a buy for the DCS enthusiast.

As an aside, I too am put off by its China/Pakistan origin, but I still fly it against opfor exclusively, so I can turn the other cheek. It certainly feels like a western fighter, as it is very different from any other non-western aircraft presently available, and at least as far as cockpit philosophy and design, bears no resemblance to anything flown by the Russians/Eastern Europeans.

My thoughts exactly.  You can equip 3 external fuel tanks that help with extending the range but it will limit the payload to just one purpose.  The glass cockpit is a joy to use, and I pretty much only fly it for the blue side.  Most servers have slots for both sides.

[mikeck]

Since I fly the F-18 and will be learning the f-16, I've got my gen 4 fix. I'm looking for something different and sexy. I have the mirage but it seems like it is no better or significantly different at anything compared to the f-16/18. So, although it technically is a gen 4, I was thinking of picking up and learning the F-14. I think iof it as almost a gen 3+ since it was designed to take down bombers at high altitude like the F-4, does not have HOTAS or a fully functional HUD. I doubt there is a better interceptor in the game. Thinking the analogue might make it feel a lot different.

Is it worth playing with it I'm only using it single player? I know Jester is back there but is it one of those things where you CAN play SP but it's really designed for MP so your missing out

[Skoop]

The f-14 is great in SP the jester feature is great and you'll be up and flying fast with him supporting you.  As you progress though, you'll start to see jesters deficiencies and want to do the RIO yourself.  There's a pilot AI modeled in SP so you can switch to the RIO for combat.  The power of the f14's radar with the Phoenix missile is best when your in the RIO seat.  The module is well done and for sure worth the money, but you'll probaly fly multi role aircraft most of the time.  You can drop Lgbs in the tomcat too though.

[mikeck]

The f-14 is great in SP the jester feature is great and you'll be up and flying fast with him supporting you.  As you progress though, you'll start to see jesters deficiencies and want to do the RIO yourself.  There's a pilot AI modeled in SP so you can switch to the RIO for combat.  The power of the f14's radar with the Phoenix missile is best when your in the RIO seat.  The module is well done and for sure worth the money, but you'll probaly fly multi role aircraft most of the time.  You can drop Lgbs in the tomcat too though.

Can I switch between pilot and Rio during a single flight? Rio for bvr and then hop in the front? Or do I have to choose at the beginning?

[Jarhead0331]

The f-14 is great in SP the jester feature is great and you'll be up and flying fast with him supporting you.  As you progress though, you'll start to see jesters deficiencies and want to do the RIO yourself.  There's a pilot AI modeled in SP so you can switch to the RIO for combat.  The power of the f14's radar with the Phoenix missile is best when your in the RIO seat.  The module is well done and for sure worth the money, but you'll probaly fly multi role aircraft most of the time.  You can drop Lgbs in the tomcat too though.

Can I switch between pilot and Rio during a single flight? Rio for bvr and then hop in the front? Or do I have to choose at the beginning?

You can switch in flight.

As I've posted here at length, I just could never wrap my head around the F-14 cockpit. As such, I never got comfortable with it and I put it away. I'm just too dependent on MFDs/DDIs and I cannot go back to something that looks and feels so antiquated. I mean, hell, I even struggled to figure out how to read the analog speed and altimeter. Why this basic info. is not on the HUD I will never understand.

This is painful for me, because I anticipated this jet more than any other. When they released the preview video announcing early access, I was literally in tears, it was so god damn beautiful. My childhood dream was to fly that jet and this module is the closest I would get to realizing that dream. There was something very emotional about that to me.

In any event, I'm glad its in my collection. It is beautiful to look at and fun to fly around...but I'm not sure when I will have the time, patience and fortitude to really sit down and learn it.

[mikeck]

I'm afraid I will have the same problem. I never could read altimeters or understand oil pressure guages. I'm not adept at turning big nobs and manipulating multiple switches to do things. I like to push buttons..simple, intuitive buttons with easy to read digital displays.

I have also gotten used to the fly-by-Wire systems of the F-16 and F-18. I was competent flying the AV-8b but let's be honest, I'm not pulling 10gs at Mach 1.5 in the thing,  I think I'll have issues flying the F-14 within tolerances without the FCS. I'll rip the wings off, flat spin it and stall that bitch at the start of every dogfight.

[Redwolf]

I have an odd problem.

When I start DCS in non-VR mode it often comes up in VR mode for Rift anyway. Nothing short of a machine reboot seems to be able to stop that behavior when it happens. One time I went as far as removing the entire Oculus software suite.

Possibly related, I had DCS go into endless loops of starting itself, multiple times.

Any ideas?

[Rekim]

There is a check box in the configuration options to start DCS in VR mode. Don't remember which tab you'll find it in (think it is the VR tab) but suspect that unchecking it will fix your issue.

[Yskonyn]

DCS often defaults to VR mode even if you have unchecked the box.
Make a new shortcut with the following command line option added:

—force_disable_VR

Include the 2 dashes at the front.
Use this shortcut to start DCS in non VR mode and the regular one for VR mode.