DCS and DCS WWII

[Skelthos]

5 hours ago, Boo said:

I remember when 1TB was furture proof.

Not to date myself but I remember when I was in middle school and we got our first computer with a hard drive(our first had 2 3.5" low-density disk drives), and we were sitting there wondering how we were going to ever fill the massive 40 MB hard disk.

[Boo]

6 minutes ago, Skelthos said:

Not to date myself but I remember when I was in middle school and we got our first computer with a hard drive(our first had 2 3.5" low-density disk drives), and we were sitting there wondering how we were going to ever fill the massive 40 MB hard disk.

Ill meet your LDD and raise you a Floppy!

Back on topic Im not sure Im fully onboard with this new map making tech that seems to be all the rage in DCS now. I think ED needs to re-evaluate how it renders ground textures and objects as what was ok in the geen maps really isnt cutting it in the dry maps. You cant punt out low res satelite imagery and expect it to stand up to the scrutinty of what DCS allows you to do when it just sits there unadonrned as a result of hacked optimisations made over the years. 

 

[Sea Serpent]

I’m looking forward to flying around on the Afghanistan map, when I get over my KSP fix, but my initial impression were Meh.  Part of it might be that the real area has large parts resembling a post apocalyptic wasteland to begin with, but even so, some of the textures do look a bit fuzzy.  This is helicopter country, and what it looks like down low is obviously very important. 
 

[Boo]

6 hours ago, Sea Serpent said:

.This is helicopter country, and what it looks like down low is obviously very important. 
 

Not to ED apparently. What started with the South Atlantic is now, seemingly, the future. The populated areas look good for sure but that only serves to make the majority of the map looking like a gpu error is in effect. 

Said it elsewhere - its a least its a change in approach from ED. Once we had maps without suiatable aircraft, now we have aircraft without suitable maps.  

[Sea Serpent]

Just now flying around in a helicopter on the Afghanistan map.  Yeah, far too much of this stuff from medium lowish altitudes.  It’s early access, so I suppose they'll polish it up.  One can hope, anyway.  I’m also becoming very aware of the transition as the grass comes into view during an approach.

On the other hand, for the very low, creeping around the terrain, and hovering kind of stuff, it looks pretty good and convincing, especially with the grass and trees blowing, although I clearly wasn't kicking up enough dust.  This little random place is like somewhere out of the Wild West:

Edited August 3 by Sea Serpent

[Boo]

3 hours ago, Sea Serpent said:

Just now flying around in a helicopter on the Afghanistan map.  Yeah, far too much of this stuff from medium lowish altitudes.  It’s early access, so I suppose they'll polish it up.  One can hope, anyway.  I’m also becoming very aware of the transition as the grass comes into view during an approach.

On the other hand, for the very low, creeping around the terrain, and hovering kind of stuff, it looks pretty good and convincing, especially with the grass and trees blowing, although I clearly wasn't kicking up enough dust.  This little random place is like somewhere out of the Wild West:

I can only advise you to come in with the sun at your back. The shadows on the small bushes really highlight the pop issue the other way around. 

Down very low it looks rally game circa 2005 ok but it doesnt make up for the blurry poppy and generally "meh/" 200ft transitions. 

I think Syria, even with all its own problems, remains probably the best helo map overall. Which is quite damning in and of itself. 

[Sea Serpent]

I finally read the Afghanistan map thread on the DCS forums, and it is pretty much my impression as well.  I gave it another chance, this time using it as an opportunity to get my feel with the Apache, a very neglected model.

I can't stand the way the Apache flies, and maybe its just me, and the Afghanistan map reminded me of FSX.

My go to helicopter map is Normandy, and I was now on a helicopter and scenery kick.  So I took an unloaded Mi-24 around London, in the 40s.

And yes, that's a stable manual hover.  Its hard for me to believe that I can fly the virtual Hind like a champ now, but the Apache D is such a twitchy, heavy thing, that I'd rather be flying the UH-1 for ease of controllability.  Such is flight simulation, and its path of learning, I suppose, and that's probably the point!

 

Edited August 5 by Sea Serpent

[Boo]

Today my own personal DCS experience has taken a major leap forward in the form of a Meg of t'internet. Now I can have the satisfaction of deleting maps in anger, safe in the knowledge it'll be the work of minutes when I reinstall them again a day later......  

hmmm....might dowload MSFS just for S n Gs whilst I make some toast.. 🙂 < smugface

 

[Sea Serpent]

Many months ago, I started in on the Apache tutorials, and I just couldn't force myself.  I still can't!  However, it pissed me off that I was so bad a flyer in it, so I forced myself to practice it today, and also see if I could make any sense of the weapons system.  Never fired a shot before today.   I didn't read the manual or watch any tutorials, but hey we have a Master Arm, a 4 selector Weapon Select hat, and so that gets the eye-pointing gun thing going.  Also, since I know how to use Petrovich AI in the Hind, I figured George works the same way, and apparently he does.  So here is me f**ing around randomly with the Apache's weapons, and maybe even getting a little better flying it.  I really don't have an understanding of the systems -at all-, but the weapons are coming off the rails, and hitting, so I'm a little bit less intimidated by the Apache now.

George AI firing off Hellfires on the practice range, Guam.

Some Chain Gun action with the monocle.  Even though Helmet mounted cuing systems are not uncommon in DCS, starting in the very beginning with the Black Shark, I still think the ability to look at a target on screen, and have a turreted cannon fire at it is one of the coolest things.  The Apache’s chain gun appears to be able to traverse at least 90 degrees to the side.

All in all, some pretty cool stuff.  Just goes to show that sometimes these aircraft can sit around for months, or even years, and then one day, I pull them out and finally start to learn them.  I owned the Ka-50, seriously, for like 5 years at least before I got around to seriously learning it.

Edited August 5 by Sea Serpent

[Sea Serpent]

I knew that what was screwing me up in the Apache was its insistence on trimming the pedals along with the Cyclic, I just didn’t realize how much. And I didn’t know how to work around that. After reading an old thread, I switched my pedal trimmer mode to “without springs”, even though my pedals have a spring, I just have to hold the input in…no big deal to a virtual helicopter pilot, as you do it automatically.  Or, I guess I could just unhook the spring… It looks like it’s essentially disabling the yaw trim, but the stab aug system thinks it’s trimmed.  The difference is night and day.  Now the Apache is feeling similar to the Mi-8.   This is awesome.  It’s like a really stable helicopter now, and I’m psyched!  It’s nice to make such a small settings change, and have it go from an unmanageable Beast to something I can actually fly decently.

Now, it feels like I have a helicopter.

 

Edited August 6 by Sea Serpent

[Boo]

6 hours ago, Sea Serpent said:

 Now the Apache is feeling similar to the Mi-8.  

 

 

[Sea Serpent]

A lightly loaded Mi-8 in DCS seems to me to be a pretty peppy and maneuverable helicopter.  I was mainly talking about the way they trim on the cyclic (now that I’m past my pedal trim bs), being more responsive to the rapid press/release method on the force trim.  I can throw the Hip around the sky, with a lot of confidence, but I’m not there with the Apache just yet.

edit:  here is some Hip porn!  

 

Edited August 7 by Sea Serpent

[ZachariasX]

DCS is sorely missing out on FPV drones. Especially since those are now going after „big“ helos as well. 

Edit: I could put up videos that show how Hips etc. are being attacked and in some instance downed by cheap FPV Drones, but as most such content is somewhat delicate for reasons and often controversal, I won‘t. But I guess it is obvious that today, flying a helo in a contested combat zone slower than 100 km/h is especially risky, not just because of ocasional stingers, but the obiquitous humming in the air…

Edited August 7 by ZachariasX

[Trooper117]

8 hours ago, Sea Serpent said:

here is some Hip porn!  

That was rubbish... the pilot kept missing a gear, he was slipping into reverse all the time!!!  😇

[Boo]

Nothing says "unannounced change of government" quite like a Hip. 

[Sea Serpent]

2 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

DCS is sorely missing out on FPV drones. Especially since those are now going after „big“ helos as well. 

Edit: I could put up videos that show how Hips etc. are being attacked and in some instance downed by cheap FPV Drones, but as most such content is somewhat delicate for reasons and often controversal, I won‘t. But I guess it is obvious that today, flying a helo in a contested combat zone slower than 100 km/h is especially risky, not just because of ocasional stingers, but the obiquitous humming in the air…

I previously saw the video. Of course nobody in their sane mind wants this forum to be a overrun by Tankies, or anybody else spouting off political nonsense, but as far as “don’t mention the war, Sybil” regarding Ukraine, this is an American forum, so screw that, Imho!  I agree that it’s in much better taste not to showcase current wars, with sometimes graphic imagery…Although I’ve never quite figured out how long a war has to be over until human beings make a video game out of it.  I think that if humans were a more noble species, we wouldn't make games out of such things, ever.  And yet, here we are. 

OK, back to my Star Trek marathon…

 

[Bremspropeller]

@ZachariasX did you take the plunge into the F1 already?

 

Just flew on Halfghanistan yesterday night. Two Kiowas pacing along a road with a full moon overhead. Racing an A-10 (we lost, duh) to a waypoint 40nm down the road to kill a couple of "roadblocks" - two tanks and two Shilkas.

The A-10 was then pulverized by an AI F-15 and we followed suit a couple of minutes later. Then we took two F-4s and got smoked by an AI Fulcrum.

Not great, but we still had fun that night 😅

[Boo]

I've never found it as easy to dismiss terrains from my install as I have with Afghanistan and Kola. 

 

 

[Sea Serpent]

49 minutes ago, Boo said:

I've never found it as easy to dismiss terrains from my install as I have with Afghanistan and Kola. 

I’m pretty confident that Afghanistan map will be revised.  Many people thought SW area would be “complete”, and maybe some statements were made leading to that impression, but they’ve since pointed out that SW Afg is still very much WIP.  No way they’re going to leave it looking like the way it currently is.

[Boo]

58 minutes ago, Sea Serpent said:

I’m pretty confident that Afghanistan map will be revised.  Many people thought SW area would be “complete”, and maybe some statements were made leading to that impression, but they’ve since pointed out that SW Afg is still very much WIP.  No way they’re going to leave it looking like the way it currently is.

Perhaps. I have less faith given its been in the works for 2 years and havent seen anything from ED other that "SW is feature complete". Im not sure where anyone is getting that EA vibe from other than their own optimism.  Orbx has also made no comment on the terrain element of Kola other than attempting to hide it under snow. If it were easy to tile away the fuzz it would have already been done. If rocky outcrops where to be a feature, they would already be a feature and not be represented by brown smudges on jellymould hills.  Thankfully I already has so little faith in RazBum, I at least dodged the SA bullet. 

The maps work well for jets at 5000ft plus but lack anything appraoching the granuality required for helos (at least for me). Ive seen nothing from ED to disuade me from my view that that wont change anytime soon. My feeling is DCS does enough in simply providing Helos to a grateful niche that is doesnt have to do anything more for most of them to be happy. 

Wow, I sound soooo angry. Im really not. When i get a bigger M2,  ill reinstall both. Im sure I can find a use for them in a jet if nothing else. I just dont buy into  the "things will improve" sentiment and, yes, I think ED and OrbX sold us all pups. 

For now I got a couple of hundred gig back to do something useful with and Syria as a fall back. 

 

[Sea Serpent]

My point of view doesn’t come from a cheery optimistic demeanor by nature, it comes from Nineline’s addition to the FAQ emphasizing this is early access and “Even in the SW regions, this is still very much WIP.”  I also think that the reception to the map has been so poor, that if they didn’t improve it, lots of people would never buy another map from ED ever again, and I think they know it.

[Boo]

1 hour ago, Sea Serpent said:

My point of view doesn’t come from a cheery optimistic demeanor by nature, it comes from Nineline’s addition to the FAQ emphasizing this is early access and “Even in the SW regions, this is still very much WIP.”  I also think that the reception to the map has been so poor, that if they didn’t improve it, lots of people would never buy another map from ED ever again, and I think they know it.

Yeah , Im aware of the NL FAQ addition. Im afraid the only impact it had on me was to cause a shake of the head.

Essentailly "when we said it was feature complete we didnt mean it was feature complete, well we did but those features may not be complete and  we dont know yet just how feature complete other features we havent completed will be when we do complete them, if we complete them". 

Anyhow, Ive just spent more on a crappy KFC than i did on the map so I aint gonna die in a ditch about it. 

[ZachariasX]

9 hours ago, Bremspropeller said:

did you take the plunge into the F1 already?

Hi Brems!

Nah, not yet. Just got over the RB M2000 situation. That kind of made me watch the dumpster fire burn and wait. But now that I have my new rig almost up and running (needed to get some of the more productive stuff up and running first), I guess I will get the F1 at some point. I mean, it is one of the crates where you have to enjoy getting AMRAAMed just for the sake of it...

But it's still vacation time here and when the boys are around all day, I better spend my free time motivating them in the plastic model building (the older still has his Zeke to finish) and teach them how to get a Tamiya >150 km/h on a road with a speed limit of 30.

But I usually pull the trigger at some point on sim content... I will let you know.

[Sea Serpent]

Search for downed P-47 pilot south of the landing beaches:

My GPS system must be able to read signals from 50 years in the future.

Edited August 12 by Sea Serpent

[Boo]

15 hours ago, Sea Serpent said:

Search for downed P-47 pilot south of the landing beaches:

My GPS system must be able to read signals from 50 years in the future.

.....or he'd been waiting patiently for a very long time....