As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

[Flight Sims] DCS open-beta approaches something modern: Using more than one CPU core!

2456735

Posts

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    Woo, what a landing that was. I feel all pumped up now, haha.

    ATC guided me in horribly, and I ended up on runway heading, but with the airport 25 degrees nose left, so I had slow the jet down with a pretty aggressive left turn, rolling in to a reversal right bank to re-align to runway 2-0L and come in 5 degrees down slope at about 165 knots, slowly bring the 2.5 glide slope line back to me, I finally got her at ~2.5 degrees 200 or 300 feet before the flair point, flaired up and kissed the runway really softly.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    MS FSX has an issue with DirectX 10 and dual monitor setups. It'll always launch the simulation on your secondary monitor, no matter what output you choose in the options. This is a longstanding issue and it's probably never going to get fixed. There is a pretty simple workaround for this, just alt+enter for windowed mode, move the screen to the proper monitor then hit alt+enter again. When you are done flying and you are ready to exit the simulation and return to the front end you just go back to windowed mode. Afterwards when the simulation starts it'll launch windowed on the proper monitor, then you just fullscreen it and play. A bit annoying but whatcha gonna do. It's just a couple of extra steps.

    And as a newbie to MS FSX it looks like it's going to be a pretty fun sim to mess with. It has a lot more game style elements and comes with a nice variety of planes right out of the box. X Plane is a bit sparse out of the box but it is far easier to enhance with plug-ins, planes and scenery and it has a much sharper focus on realistic simulation.

  • ErlkönigErlkönig Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited February 2015
    I've always been a fan of flying the Bell 206B from Bellingham, WA down to Seattle while following I-5. I just imagine flying NOE and terrifying the poor sods driving along the freeway.

    EDIT - in MS FSX, that is.

    Erlkönig on
    | Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
  • SyngyneSyngyne Registered User regular
    Any opinions on the MFG Crosswind pedals?

    5gsowHm.png
  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    edited February 2015
    e: Wrong pedals.

    GnomeTank on
    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    I think I have to break down and buy a TrackIR. I was trying to hold out until Oculus went consumer, but I just can't dog fight without one. My awareness of the rear quadrant of my aircraft just isn't there. You spend more time looking to your sides and behind you than you do looking forward.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    I was able to sell my old Logitech G940 HOTAS (with the anti-slick coating peeling off/becoming sticky) for a surprising $250+ on eBay, and put that towards an X-55. Love the look and feel of them, even if Saitek's software still leaves a lot to be desired. God, if only there were a (singleplayer) MechWarrior game to use it in. I also need to get a USB extension cable for my TrackIR 5.

    I recently picked up FSX: Steam Edition much cheaper off eBay (that's what I get for missing the initial $4.99 sale back in December), in part because of promised bug-fixes and better stability. Speaking of OP, really, anyone with an iota of knowledge of the U.S. flight simulation market could have told you Microsoft was going to be the last major US company to still publishing flight simulators--just look at the Flight Simulator series as a whole. FSX came out well after the genre was terminal in the US. Who else would have done it?

    That aside, does anyone have any recommendations how to get FSX not to look quite so much like ass, particularly over more cluttered ground terrain/cities? I've got a PC that can handle all features turned up to maximum, but that only seems to do so much. I've long heard about modded scenery packs that really do improve things, area by area, but the only ones I've been able to find are third-party products that don't seem all that impressive (given the cost). Aside from getting X-Plane, which does look a lot better, what do people recommend? FSX modding for me was primarily about adding aircraft.

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    edited February 2015
    Pretty sure there are some community terrain and texture packs out their for FSX that raise the texture resolution considerably.

    That said, X Plane is always going to look a lot nicer, since it uses a much newer rendering engine.

    GnomeTank on
    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    GnomeTank wrote: »
    Pretty sure there are some community terrain and texture packs out their for FSX that raise the texture resolution considerably.

    That said, X Plane is always going to look a lot nicer, since it uses a much newer rendering engine.

    I do wonder how X-Plane's aircraft library holds up nowadays, I can't imagine playing FSX without a ridiculous number of add-on aircraft for every occasion.

    Sorry for the hand-holding, but do you have any community terrain packs/texture overhauls you'd recommend? Google brings up links to Simviation and the like, it's a lot to parse through.

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    I don't, sorry, I'm not an FSX expert.

    As far as X Planes library, it's been expanded pretty significantly by user mods as well as paid plane packs from both the X Plane developers and third parties. Some of them are pretty expensive (costing as much for one plane as the entire game), but they are available.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    Part of the attraction of FSX was that a lot of the best add-on aircraft were 1) fairly well ported from FS9 (which meant they probably looked rather aged, but could match the quality of any first-party aircraft if a virtual cockpit were added) and 2) usually free. Until I bought the Steam edition 10 years later, I had no reason to pay any additional money for FSX.

  • DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    edited February 2015
    X Plane has come a long way. X-Plane.org is the main place for plug-ins and add-ons. They advertise premium planes as well as freeware from the community. Browse the downloads and see what's for offer. Installing mods is generally as easy as dropping a folder into the appropriate folder. To get the most out of FSX though from what I've seen (I'm total FSX noob) it requires application of .ini tweaks. For that I guess you are just going to have to look around the net and see for yourself since that's going to be dependent largely on your system specs and hardware.

    I spent some time with FSX yesterday and it was enjoyable, even though I had some issues getting it to display on the proper monitor. It already comes with some nice planes and there is a lot of nice content available so it's definitely worthwhile, that's a no-brainer. Still I suspect that X Plane is going to get the bulk of my time. It's just easier to get into the cockpit and start flying in whatever situation and location you want. Do you want to try landing a 737 on an aircraft carrier? That is easy to set up. And it's super easy to expand. Last night I added in some fun sports planes and grabbed some local regional and municipal airports. It was a super easy process and I was flying new planes out of new scenery with zero hassle. That's worth the X Plane premium to me right there. FSX feels like an amazing piece of entertainment and education software, and I'll spend a lot of time with it for that reason. X Plane's authenticity, flexibility and direct usefulness makes it the winner in my book. I'm already salivating over a pile of premium planes and scenery.

    Drake on
  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    The dual-screen problem in FSX sounds like (though is almost certainly unrelated to) Nvidia's adamant decision of deciding that certain LCDs TVs are automatically "primary displays" when paired with certain LED monitors, which are secondary displaces--and with absolutely no way of correcting it (short of going back to +2 year old Nvidia drivers).

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    It's actually a known FSX issue with DirectX 10. It likes to decide your secondary monitor is your primary. The community accepted solution is to hit alt+enter, drag the FSX window to your primary display, then alt+enter again to full screen it.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    Yeah I got that worked out last night after a little googling. Honestly I may just stick with DX9. The DX10 implementation doesn't seem to really be all that.

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    I'm just gonna skip over FSX and go straight to X Plane for my civilian aviation. DCS and Falcon BMS are working out great for my combat aviation itch.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    I can't disagree with that assessment. I think I'll enjoy the activities and stuff in MS FSX but usually I just want to fly and X Plane does that so well. Here are a couple of shots from todays session, cruising the Pensacola coastline after practicing some circuits at the NAS. Lighter sports planes really feel the air, it's pretty exciting flying them. I messed around with a DR 400 Robin that I found browsing the free planes at X-Plane.org but I forgot grab some screens. It's a slick plane, next time I take it up I'll grab some. This is a C400 that's included in X-Plane and it's pretty fun to fly.

    JcclYBZ.jpg

    WnHXByl.jpg

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    edited February 2015
    I think I'm going to put together a 20 minute "Here's how to start, taxi, take off and land the F-16" video for BMS. There are tutorials that cover all that in various detail, but not one simple, 20 minutes, in the air, back on the ground, here's ONLY the details you need to know, rather than 45 minutes of exposition on radar cone angles and slewing.

    GnomeTank on
    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    Yeah that's the sort of thing that's left big gaps in my aviation knowledge. Military aviation stuff glosses over a lot of the basics and gets into detail on weapon and sensor packages. It's great for learning how to put iron on targets but it can make for difficulties when trying to just fly formation or get back to your airfield and land. Some basic aviation stuff done from the cockpit of military aircraft is a nice gap to fill.

    In civil aviation stuff I'm really impressed with XPFR, a group of French speaking X Plane content creators. Lots of beautiful free planes and scenery. I'm thinking I may tour France a lot now. Flying the Alps could make for some great challenges.

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    Don't get me wrong, I really like all the in depth tutorials out there. Especially for BMS, there is some really nice in depth stuff...but I had so many gaps in small knowledge like what the heck is INS, and why do I need to let it align. I think a nice 20 minute video of just the very basics of how to fire up, take off, steer and land an F-16 would be a neat video to put together.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    It annoys me that everyone says the Warthog should be "plug and play" for the A-10 in DCS, and it's decidedly not. At least it doesn't appear to auto map, unless it "just works" in the game I guess.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    edited February 2015
    Well that took several hours, and much script, but I got my POV hat to function the way I want in DCS, until I can get a TrackIR:
    
    // In my mapping func
    MapKey(&Joystick, H1U, EXEC("PovPressHandler(VIEW_UP);"));
    MapKeyR(&Joystick, H1U, EXEC("PovReleaseHandler(VIEW_UP);"));
    
    MapKey(&Joystick, H1D, EXEC("PovPressHandler(VIEW_DOWN);"));
    MapKeyR(&Joystick, H1D, EXEC("PovReleaseHandler(VIEW_DOWN);"));
    
    MapKey(&Joystick, H1L, EXEC("PovPressHandler(VIEW_LEFT);"));
    MapKeyR(&Joystick, H1L, EXEC("PovReleaseHandler(VIEW_LEFT);"));
    	
    MapKey(&Joystick, H1R, EXEC("PovPressHandler(VIEW_RIGHT);"));
    MapKeyR(&Joystick, H1R, EXEC("PovReleaseHandler(VIEW_RIGHT);"));
    
    // Code
    
    define HOLD_THRESHOLD 20
    define VIEW_DEFAULT 0
    define VIEW_LEFT 1
    define VIEW_RIGHT 2
    define VIEW_UP 3
    define VIEW_DOWN 4
    
    int holdCount = -1;
    int snapMode = 0;
    
    int ResetView()
    {
    	if(snapMode != VIEW_DEFAULT)
    		ActKey(GetSnapViewKey(snapMode));
    
    	PulseKey(KP5);
    	snapMode = VIEW_DEFAULT;
    }
    
    int GetSnapViewKey(int mode)
    {
    	if(mode == VIEW_LEFT)
    		return L_WIN + KP1;
    	else if(mode == VIEW_RIGHT)
    		return L_WIN + KP2;
    	else if(mode == VIEW_UP)
    		return L_WIN + KP3;
    	
    	return	0;
    }
    
    int GetPanViewKey(int mode)
    {
    	if(mode == VIEW_LEFT)
    		return KP4;
    	else if(mode == VIEW_RIGHT)
    		return KP6;
    	else if(mode == VIEW_UP)
    		return KP8;
    	else if(mode == VIEW_DOWN)
    		return KP2;
    	
    	return	0;
    }
    
    int PovReleaseHandler(int mode) 
    {
    	if(holdCount <= HOLD_THRESHOLD)
    	{
    		if(mode == VIEW_DOWN)
    			ResetView();
    		else if(snapMode != VIEW_DEFAULT)
    			ResetView();
    		else
    		{
    			snapMode = mode;
    			ActKey(KEYON + GetSnapViewKey(mode));			
    		}
    	}
    	else
    	{
    		HoldKey(GetPanViewKey(mode), 0);
    	}
    	
    	holdCount = -1;
    }
    
    int PovPressHandler(int mode)
    {
    	holdCount = 0;
    	DeferCall(10, &PovTimerProc, mode);
    }
    
    int PovTimerProc(int mode) 
    {
    	if(holdCount == -1)
    		return 0;
    
    	if(holdCount > HOLD_THRESHOLD)
    	{
    		HoldKey(GetPanViewKey(mode), 1);
    	}
    	else
    	{
    		holdCount = holdCount + 1;
    		DeferCall(10, &PovTimerProc, mode);
    	}
    }
    

    Basically it works like this: If I just press and release left, right, or up, it snaps me to custom snaps in DCS that are straight back over my left wing, straight back over my right wing, and straight up respectively. If I touch one of those buttons again, or touch down, it resets the view. If I HOLD any of those (L, R, U, D), it pans my view in that direction instead.

    When I'm formation flying I can deal with the lazy pan on hold, but when I'm dog fighting, I need the snap views on press.

    e: This really only works for the Eagle, as a side note. You're giving up your trim hat for this to work, and the only plane in DCS there is no point trimming is the Eagle. For two reasons, one because it has decent ATT/ALT hold, and because the Eagle in DCS is bugged as shit and the trim takes HUGE steps, making it impossible not to over trim. You basically just don't trim the Eagle, you use auto pilot. In something like the A-10, losing your trim would suck...but you could use MapKeyIO and MapKeyRIO to map trimming to the shifted pov hat.

    GnomeTank on
    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    edited February 2015
    France is gorgeous and the Sbach 300 is magical. I really can't overstate how great the work that XPFR is doing. Their scenery and planes are top notch.

    LFkdWUF.jpg

    edit: This is still X Plane 10 btw. I freakin' love this sim so much.

    Drake on
  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    Spending quite a bit of time working on my control setups right now, trying to get them a bit more modular so I can more easily setup new aircraft. Finally got a macro file for DCS's commands, so I can reference them by name and not by the actual key codes, which is nice.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    I'll pick up X-Plane 10 probably the next time it hits a big sale, depending on finances. I was very tempted to get it during the Christmas sale, but I had already bought FSX, which I still haven't spent any time with. I haven't really done much simming since we moved a couple of years ago. I should rectify that.

    It's a shame you guys don't respect the best plane available to fly, the A-10C. I guess I can still associate with you. :P

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    edited February 2015
    Are you kidding? I love the A-10C. It's one of my favorite jets, I just fly a lot more A-A.

    The Viper will always, always be my favorite jet, but I love the Hog.

    GnomeTank on
    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    Oh, well.... Carry on, then.

    I love BMS too, and need to reinstall it. So fun to fly.

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    I've landed after an A-G mission in the A-10C after having two SAM's explode near me, rip half my left wing off, bleeding fuel all over the place, total fuel imbalance in the jet...thing is a tank, I love it for it's intended purpose. Just hope you have fast mover cover when you're operating is all.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    One time I was flying with @striderjg and I hit a bird on takeoff, breaking my nosewheel and leaving it hanging down. I had a warning klaxon blaring at me the whole time, but I finished the mission and managed to belly land it on the grass.

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    edited February 2015
    Though I have to say, nothing makes you feel like a bad ass as much as shooting down an Eagle or a Flanker with an AIM-9 in the Hog. Sure, it's 90% luck...but you still feel like a boss afterword.

    GnomeTank on
    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    @Sir Carcass If you get BMS installed, or want to do some A-10 flying, let me know. I'd be happy to run some BMS missions or some A-G strikes in the A-10. Always more fun to fly with others.

    Though, if you do install BMS, grab the Israel theater from the BMS forums. it's REALLY nice, and models the newer Israel I variant Vipers.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    I'll see if I have time this weekend to get everything set up, but sure, I'm up for some mp. I'll just warn you ahead of time that it can be dicey since I have 2 young kids. My 6 yo son likes to walk up and start hitting buttons, so if a missile grazes you, it probably wasn't me.

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    Haha, no worries. If you get grazed by a missile from my jet it's probably because I did fire it, because I forgot my HOTAS mapping and hit the wrong thing.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    I keep pages of reference handy for DCS A-10C, but sometimes it isn't enough.

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    To be fair, it's pretty hard to hold pickle randomly on accident, hehe...but it can happen I guess.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    I'm going to end up reading the BMS manual at work tomorrow, aren't I?

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    Probably yes.

    If you want this weekend, we can go up in BMS and you can pepper me with questions if you have any. I know the Viper pretty well.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    Aw man, that sucks. I can't use my Black Shark 2 upgrade key in Steam. At least my A-10C key worked.

  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    You might log in to your DCS account on their site and check there for a Steam key. Or maybe email them. They may exchange your non-steam key for a steam one.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    GnomeTank wrote: »
    You might log in to your DCS account on their site and check there for a Steam key. Or maybe email them. They may exchange your non-steam key for a steam one.

    I doubt it. They said on their forum upgrade keys couldn't be used in Steam, which is odd because I have BS1 on Steam. They said you'd either need to buy a BS2 key, or use the standalone DCS World. Oh well.

Sign In or Register to comment.