DCS Discussion

[JudgeDredd]

jeez - give me a chance  ;D ;D

[Grim.Reaper]

jeez - give me a chance  ;D ;D

Will be waiting for your report since likely won't have ti è until later:)

[JudgeDredd]

Ha. After a half hour, I worked out how to change position - but I'm currently sitting in the gunners position with the AI pilot doing naff all. Engines on but just sitting there.

I short, I'd need to investigate more before even getting off the damn ground and - honestly, I ain't sure it's worth it. Flying this thing is a pig and shooting looks to be a mare too. I might save my enthusiasm for helicopter flight for the Apache.

[Jarhead0331]

I might save my enthusiasm for helicopter flight for the Apache.

...and therein lies the biggest damn problem I have with DCS. My mind just can't manage maintaining proficiency with more than one module at a time. The various systems, key combinations, procedures, etc. It is just too much. I'll make great strides and progress on a module and then something new and shiny comes along and all of the knowledge I've acquired on the older modules slowly disappears. Of course, it does not help that many of the modules are in early access and so if I step away over time, the older stuff gets updated, systems change or new features come online. It gets tiresome starting over. There is very little here that seems to be like "riding a bike". Maybe I'm just getting too old... :hide:

[JudgeDredd]

I might save my enthusiasm for helicopter flight for the Apache.

...and therein lies the biggest damn problem I have with DCS. My mind just can't manage maintaining proficiency with more than one module at a time. The various systems, key combinations, procedures, etc. It is just too much. I'll make great strides and progress on a module and then something new and shiny comes along and all of the knowledge I've acquired on the older modules slowly disappears. Of course, it does not help that many of the modules are in early access and so if I step away over time, the older stuff gets updated, systems change or new features come online. It gets tiresome starting over. There is very little here that seems to be like "riding a bike". Maybe I'm just getting too old... :hide:

Remember the days when you got a flight sim - Janes USAF perhaps? - where it was the same damn key that fired the missiles or guns, it was the same keys to move the cursor to lock the target, it was the same keys for...blah, blah, blah

I mean - I guess we asked for this (indirectly).

But yeah - your problem is a real problem that's felt by many - including me. I do want to stick with one - but I'm like a kid in a candy shop...there's so many flavours and colours I just can't choose and I end up jumping in and out of individual modules only to be poor at all - and therefore not even enjoying my time in there.

It's success has become a burden in some ways - from my perspective at least. I often fire it up and close it down after a few minutes of trying one or two modules and not really spending any decent time in one - because I know even if I do spend time in one, I'll end up trying a different module in the future and then not remembering anything from my last session...and so it goes on.

It seems daft to moan about having such a fantastic simulator with so many modules...but it is what it is - a beast that simply can't be tamed - not in it's entirety at least.

I often wonder what the answer is? Remove all my modules but one I'm going to stay focussed on? For what benefit? To learn it to forget it when I decide I've learned it and move onto something else?

It makes no sense and I've made my own bed. £1500 - £2000 and I wonder what if. 

Is the answer to get out of simulation mode? But - again, why? That's what we wanted right?

I have no answers...just a very expensive simulation begging me to play and putting me off playing - both at the same time and in equal measure  ;D

[Grim.Reaper]

I might save my enthusiasm for helicopter flight for the Apache.

...and therein lies the biggest damn problem I have with DCS. My mind just can't manage maintaining proficiency with more than one module at a time. The various systems, key combinations, procedures, etc. It is just too much. I'll make great strides and progress on a module and then something new and shiny comes along and all of the knowledge I've acquired on the older modules slowly disappears. Of course, it does not help that many of the modules are in early access and so if I step away over time, the older stuff gets updated, systems change or new features come online. It gets tiresome starting over. There is very little here that seems to be like "riding a bike". Maybe I'm just getting too old... :hide:

Remember the days when you got a flight sim - Janes USAF perhaps? - where it was the same damn key that fired the missiles or guns, it was the same keys to move the cursor to lock the target, it was the same keys for...blah, blah, blah

I mean - I guess we asked for this (indirectly).

But yeah - your problem is a real problem that's felt by many - including me. I do want to stick with one - but I'm like a kid in a candy shop...there's so many flavours and colours I just can't choose and I end up jumping in and out of individual modules only to be poor at all - and therefore not even enjoying my time in there.

It's success has become a burden in some ways - from my perspective at least. I often fire it up and close it down after a few minutes of trying one or two modules and not really spending any decent time in one - because I know even if I do spend time in one, I'll end up trying a different module in the future and then not remembering anything from my last session...and so it goes on.

It seems daft to moan about having such a fantastic simulator with so many modules...but it is what it is - a beast that simply can't be tamed - not in it's entirety at least.

I often wonder what the answer is? Remove all my modules but one I'm going to stay focussed on? For what benefit? To learn it to forget it when I decide I've learned it and move onto something else?

It makes no sense and I've made my own bed. £1500 - £2000 and I wonder what if. 

Is the answer to get out of simulation mode? But - again, why? That's what we wanted right?

I have no answers...just a very expensive simulation begging me to play and putting me off playing - both at the same time and in equal measure  ;D

This is where ThirdWire flight sims came into play....although not the best graphics, they had decent campaigns and "good enough" manageable controls....interesting titles too.  It's too bad they decided not to evolve them.

[Jarhead0331]

...what was that we were saying about no new modules?

[Sigwolf]

Amazing plane... annoying trailer.  >:D

[Jarhead0331]

Q&A

https://forums.eagle.ru/topic/291784-frequently-asked-questions-the-dcs-f-4-phantom-by-heatblur-simulations/

[Toonces]

That announcement trailer is timely.  As I was reading JD's posts I was composing a reply in my head about not being sufficiently enthusiastic about any one aircraft in DCS that I'm willing to devote the appropriate time to it above all others.

Well, the F-4 would be that aircraft.

In all fairness, it is unreasonable for anyone to think they can master each of these study-sim modules.  We all have a tendency to over-buy the next shiny thing, but I wonder how realistic we are with our expectations of being able to fly all these modules to their potential.

Not the discussion for this thread, but I'm been very much moving away from these ultra-realistic study-sims.  There is a middle ground out there.  For me, personally, Freefalcon was the perfect balance of realism and fun.  Flying the different jets - with the same F-16 avionics and button mashing - was just different enough to be fun, without having to re-learn each jet from scratch.  With the dynamic campaign to give everything a cohesive reason to exist.

Now, increasingly, I'm looking to non-DCS prop sims to get my flight sim fix. 

An F-4 and a dynamic campaign would probably be enough for me to really spend the time with DCS to learn to play it well, though.

[JudgeDredd]

This is where ThirdWire flight sims came into play....although not the best graphics, they had decent campaigns and "good enough" manageable controls....interesting titles too.  It's too bad they decided not to evolve them.

They'll get you - one way or the other

[JudgeDredd]

...what was that we were saying about no new modules?

That actually gave me a way forward I think.

I would play the hell out of a Falklands Campaign - and from what I understand, there's work in the pipeline for such a thing. So perhaps I need to - just to get enjoyment out what I have - is to play the campaigns I have and not focus on "wasted time" learning controls and flight just to forget them. If I go through a campaign learning the aircraft and systems, then perhaps that will be enough not to worry about whether I'm going to forget everything - because I'll have gone through (and enjoyed hopefully) a campaign.

I think that will do. I think I may start with the A-10 and the Red Flag campaign (though I have actually flown the first two missions of that campaign several times) - so switch off invulnerability too perhaps?

I don't know. I do know I need to either stop buying modules that sit and do nothing on my drive or I have to find some way to get enjoyment out of them - and I'm not sure I have the balls to perform the former 

One thing I have done often in the past (when I decide to jump in and then bail eventually) is whilst I'm in a game, I'll load a video from Grim Reapers of something I need to do. So If I'm dropping GBUs on something, I'll load up one of their videos and watch it bit by bit to learn the systems needed...helps alot.

[JudgeDredd]

In all fairness, it is unreasonable for anyone to think they can master each of these study-sim modules.  We all have a tendency to over-buy the next shiny thing, but I wonder how realistic we are with our expectations of being able to fly all these modules to their potential.

Absolutely. No-one to blame here but myself. I've even bought things I wasn't that interested in (Mi-8 as a clear example)

I just need to be tougher with myself 

[Skoop]

Dude, it's not that bad.  If my 50 year old fried Jeff Spicolie brain can do it, any one can.  The key is a good hotas, pick one aircraft and just do that for 3 months.  Then move onto the next one.  I do it ass backwards though, I don't read the manual.  I jump in mess around and see how much i can figure out, then I look through the manual.  Then I get in the air and start blowing stuff up for the self gratification, then I read more manual to start progressing proficiency.  After a week of this, I'm flying on servers and knocking jets out of the sky.  I can't do it the right way where I learn every detail for start up, I gota get in the air asap and start blowing stuff up because that's what motivates me to learn more about the aircraft.

[JudgeDredd]

Jumped in the A-10C Red Flag campaign last night and I had actually completed 3 missions with 12 ground kills. I didn't know I had progressed past mission 2 which is area familiarisation.

Whilst I was in the air, I paused and went and watched a video from Grim Reapers about weapon employment. Worked a treat - as it has done in the past.

Enjoyed it again - as I always do when I jump in.