So the full version is out. It's greatly improved in bugginess and performance, but not yet perfect. Still a few lingering track replay issues and multiplayer strangeness. Nevertheless, I'm having a blast, co-op multiplayer is awesome. I made myself a new head-tracking clip that just goes onto the side of my headphones, rather than going all the way around my head. I posted this video in another thread, but hey, I'm a narcissist.
In other news, DCS: A-10C is <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/61010/" target="_blank">on sale on steam</a> for a while.
I made some in-flight videos, explaining some stuffs: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=134AFB5C764A5F84" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=134AFB5C764A5F84</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=660F1B9D27C339F6" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=660F1B9D27C339F6</a>
Ahh flight sims... I remember playing a lot of Eurofighter 2000 and Falcon 4 many years ago.
Shame joysticks have died a death or I might give this one a try. Does look too hardcore for me, though!
Out of curiousity- and laziness when I should just google it- which role does the Warthog fill? The Steam screenshots make it look like some long-range support fighter.
Close air support. Can be loaded with a wide variety of air-to-ground attack munitions for total ground devastation, and not so much carries as is built around the mighty GAU-8 30mm gatling gun, one of the most powerful guns to ever be mounted on an aircraft. Also, a tough ###### that is virtually impossible to damage with small-arms fire - no losing your single engine or the pilot being wounded by a stray AK-47 bullet here.
Well, the A-10 is theoretically capable of limited self-defense. It can carry the AIM-9 missile, and its gatling gun was made to take tanks out of commission, so it will completely shred anything that flies. It's also pretty nimble. Unfortunately, it lacks the speed and sophisticated avionics of an air superiority fighter, so in reality it will always have to rely on air superiority or stealth to survive.
The A-10 is a flying brick. It can barely climb and turns like a boat with no rudder. The HUD has an aiming trace thing for using the GAU-8 in anti-air, but unless you catch your opponent sleeping you've got buckley's against a fast mover. I've only ever used the AIM-9s against helicopters. Like lolf said, if an A-10 comes under threat from air targets the pilot calls for help from another flight, preferably one that can do more than 300 knots.
The A-10's job is low-level support of ground troops. It's not a bomber, but it can and does carry bombs. It's not a SEAD platform, but it can operate in that role at a stretch. The plane's avionics are linked to a system called the Stability Augmentation System, and a subsystem called Precision Attitude Control. These systems take partial control of the flight surfaces of the plane when the pilot fires the gun, automatically accounting for recoil. You can fire the GAU-8 at a target a mile away and have all the rounds hit inside a 8 metre circle. This makes it awesome for shootin' baddies in close proximity to friendlies where bombs would be too risky.
Sherpa: The second mission video is a bit more exciting. I actually shoot some stuff!
It's not a bomber, because it's an attack plane. Actually, that's what in days past would have been called a light bomber, but that's a misnomer nowadays, so the expression has fallen out of use. Still, the ordinance it can carry is truly terrifying to anyone caught under it. It can't drop ######loads of bombs like a heavy bomber can, but it's gonna come in low and drop its payload right on top of you.
"Bomber" has nothing to do with how many bombs it can carry but rather its capabilities.
The A-10 is just too slow, defenseless, and limited in scope to penetrate enemy airspace for deep-strike missions, whereas the F-15E, a strike bomber, is not. They both carry about the same type and amount of munitions, but one can perform deep-strike missions, whereas the other cannot.
So ED have announced a few expansions to the DCS line. The first is a revamp of the original DCS game that simulated the KA-50. The new one take everything from the first one and puts it into the DCS:A-10C engine. This means KA-50s and A-10Cs can play against eachother in multiplayer. Dogfights between a CAS helicopter and a CAS brick! That makes a heap of sense! They're also doing the same thing to one of their older games that featured various fixed-wing jets, but none of them are simulated to the same degree of precision as the A-10C and the KA-50.
More excitingly, they're releasing a different expansion that lets a dude take control of ground forces, from the ground perspective. S/he can also act as a JTAC for directing airstrikes from other players. Instead of dealing with a shonkily scriped AI to direct your fire you can deal with a human who can fire out coloured smoke and lase targets. Pretty sweet.
Sounds awesome. It's a shame that- from what I've read- the minimum you need to enjoy the game is a £100 joystick/HOTAS and trackIR, otherwise I'd definitely give it a try!
Yeah, the absolute minimum is a Saitek x52 and some form of head tracking. I use freetrack which costs a wiimote, some LEDs and a coathanger, but trackIR is many dollars.
looks shiny..cheapest one you can find online is 350$
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The natural successor to Thrustmaster’s decade-old all-steel F-16 replica HOTAS Cougar, the HOTAS Warthog improves on its forebearer by using 3D magnetic sensors rather than potentioÂmeters (which notoriously wore out under heavy use with the Cougar). The flightstick—which feels so solid and responsive you’ll never want to go back to plastic—features an eight-way point-of-view hat, three four-way hats, a dual-stage trigger, and four push buttons including a removable paddle switch (for A-10C realism zealots who don’t want this F-16 feature on their Hogs). The throttle body is similarly impressive. Crafted from mostly steel components, the weighted base incorporates an impressive array of LED-illuminated buttons and military-quality switches that emulate the exact throw and resistance of the real thing (Thrustmaster purportedly even measured the “volume†of each switch click for additional authenticity). Friction resistance on the split throttle is easily adjustable and, in keeping with the “hands-on†principle of the original USAF design, incorporates a mouse hat with push button, an eight-way POV hat, a four-way hat, and assorted three-position switches. You can lock the throttles together for synchronized operation, and there are also lift and push/pull detents for the idle and afterburner ranges.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
In other news, DCS:A-10C is on special again. $20. Geddit*.
--Scythe--
*Probably don't geddit unless you can honestly get excited at the thought of sitting down with a 650 page manual and 3 hours of in-game flight tutorials.
Only suckers need those. The only reason I couldn't get it ramp-started my first time was because I didn't know the keyboard command to fingerlift the throttle :D
This thread made me realize IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is out, the original Il-2 had the most realistic feeling of flight of any simulator I have used, so high hopes.
That_Annoying_KidSire of TitlesJoin Date: 2003-03-01Member: 14175Members, Constellation
Microprose f-15E strike Eagle was the be all end all simulator
bar none
A-10s can also take a boatload of punishment, this dude flew one with most of a wing and the vertical stabilizer blown off back to wherever he took off from. They literally make the plane around the gun / titanium bathtub cockpit.
<!--quoteo(post=1887258:date=Nov 28 2011, 01:19 PM:name=Sops)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sops @ Nov 28 2011, 01:19 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1887258"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This thread made me realize IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is out, the original Il-2 had the most realistic feeling of flight of any simulator I have used, so high hopes.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Be warned, the last time I played CLOD it was a godawful mess. Unplayably poor performance on minimum settings. Don't know if that's changed in recent times.
MonkfishSonic-boom-inducing buttcheeks of terrifying speed!Join Date: 2003-06-03Member: 16972Members
Clod was so broken that they fired the lead guy (oleg?) and the sound designer since they found out he had absolutely *no idea* what he was doing so they're pretty much rebuilding the graphics and sound engines from scratch. Watching the whole thing play out was pretty tragic.
<div align='center'>breathtaking skill amazing pilot
<!--coloro:#000080--><span style="color:#000080"><!--/coloro-->(hes pulling the fire extinguisher like a monkey with rabies)<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></div>
Comments
<center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QeDUaG5Fxl0"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QeDUaG5Fxl0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
--Scythe--
It's pretty neat though.
<img src="http://www.acesim.com/image12.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7IV_xSDl4rE"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7IV_xSDl4rE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
<div align='center'><img src="http://www.tjhowse.com/misc/ahcp.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
The labels are temporary until I can get my acid etching process working well.
Whee!
--Scythe--
I made some in-flight videos, explaining some stuffs:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=134AFB5C764A5F84" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=134AFB5C764A5F84</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=660F1B9D27C339F6" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=660F1B9D27C339F6</a>
--Scythe--
Shame joysticks have died a death or I might give this one a try. Does look too hardcore for me, though!
Out of curiousity- and laziness when I should just google it- which role does the Warthog fill? The Steam screenshots make it look like some long-range support fighter.
Nice videos btw, Scythe. Your passion for the game made up for the dud random mission you were given!
The A-10's job is low-level support of ground troops. It's not a bomber, but it can and does carry bombs. It's not a SEAD platform, but it can operate in that role at a stretch. The plane's avionics are linked to a system called the Stability Augmentation System, and a subsystem called Precision Attitude Control. These systems take partial control of the flight surfaces of the plane when the pilot fires the gun, automatically accounting for recoil. You can fire the GAU-8 at a target a mile away and have all the rounds hit inside a 8 metre circle. This makes it awesome for shootin' baddies in close proximity to friendlies where bombs would be too risky.
Sherpa: The second mission video is a bit more exciting. I actually shoot some stuff!
--Scythe--
The A-10 is just too slow, defenseless, and limited in scope to penetrate enemy airspace for deep-strike missions, whereas the F-15E, a strike bomber, is not. They both carry about the same type and amount of munitions, but one can perform deep-strike missions, whereas the other cannot.
More excitingly, they're releasing a different expansion that lets a dude take control of ground forces, from the ground perspective. S/he can also act as a JTAC for directing airstrikes from other players. Instead of dealing with a shonkily scriped AI to direct your fire you can deal with a human who can fire out coloured smoke and lase targets. Pretty sweet.
--Scythe--
--Scythe--
Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog flightstick and throttle
looks shiny..cheapest one you can find online is 350$
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The natural successor to Thrustmaster’s decade-old all-steel F-16 replica HOTAS Cougar, the HOTAS Warthog improves on its forebearer by using 3D magnetic sensors rather than potentioÂmeters (which notoriously wore out under heavy use with the Cougar). The flightstick—which feels so solid and responsive you’ll never want to go back to plastic—features an eight-way point-of-view hat, three four-way hats, a dual-stage trigger, and four push buttons including a removable paddle switch (for A-10C realism zealots who don’t want this F-16 feature on their Hogs).
The throttle body is similarly impressive. Crafted from mostly steel components, the weighted base incorporates an impressive array of LED-illuminated buttons and military-quality switches that emulate
the exact throw and resistance of the real thing (Thrustmaster purportedly even measured the “volume†of each switch click for additional authenticity). Friction resistance on the split throttle is easily adjustable and, in keeping with the “hands-on†principle of the original USAF design, incorporates a mouse hat with push button, an eight-way POV hat, a four-way hat, and assorted three-position switches. You can lock the throttles together for synchronized operation, and there are also lift and push/pull detents for the idle and afterburner ranges.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Highly recommended though.
--Scythe--
--Scythe--
*Probably don't geddit unless you can honestly get excited at the thought of sitting down with a 650 page manual and 3 hours of in-game flight tutorials.
bar none
A-10s can also take a boatload of punishment, this dude flew one with most of a wing and the vertical stabilizer blown off back to wherever he took off from. They literally make the plane around the gun / titanium bathtub cockpit.
O__o
Be warned, the last time I played CLOD it was a godawful mess. Unplayably poor performance on minimum settings. Don't know if that's changed in recent times.
--Scythe--
:>
--Scythe--
<center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/huVi6rdPE4I"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/huVi6rdPE4I" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
--Scythe--
--Scythe--
<div align='center'>breathtaking skill
amazing pilot
<!--coloro:#000080--><span style="color:#000080"><!--/coloro-->(hes pulling the fire extinguisher like a monkey with rabies)<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></div>