DCS World - Digital Combat Simulator

[Lucas]

I wanted to create this topic because:

A) Future reference for those who might get interested in this series
B) Because I figured that a game representing the absolute excellence for its genre, no matter how "niche" it might be, deserved its own topic.
C) Wanted to give some very basic starting hints if you feel intimidated by the whole thing
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Official website: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/world/ (free)

You can also get it on Steam for free here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/223750/

The "World" serves as the main infrastructure all the other ($$$) modules are based on.

With DCS World comes a free plane, the Su-25T "Frogfoot":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-25

and with it, a fully fledged mission editor, training, standalone missions and campaigns (plus the possibility of adding user modules) and multiplayer capabilities. In other words, yes, it's a real steal.
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"But Lucas, I heard the learning curve it's out of this world for this kind of games, I'll barely manage to taxi the damn plane to the runway!"

Well, no, at least not for the "free" plane that comes with DCS world. Yes, simulation for the Su-25t  is leaps and bounds above War Thunder and other military based games, but it's not "crazy detail mode -on" either (like the A10C Warthog module...feel free to look for the startup sequence on Youtube).

I won't give you a "you need X hours to learn Y procedure", but let's say that in 6 hours /played I can take off without crashing; I can navigate through various waypoints manually and with various kinds of autopilot modes activated. I can look at my ADI and HSI indicators and actually understand how my airplane is behaving; I...err, more or less try to land without crashing to the ground  . Now I'm finally starting to move on the combat side of things.

- Do you need a Joystick, or preferably, an "HOTAS" setup to enjoy the game at its full potential? Yes, you do. Still, since it's a free game, if you have some space available in your hard drive feel free to try it with a game pad, or even with just KB/M.

As you probably know, there are incredibly expensive HOTAS setups out there (like the X-52, Thrustmaster Warthog etc.), but there are also cheaper ones, like the Speedlink, or the Thrustmaster TFlight HOTAS X:

http://www.thrustmaster.com/products/tflight-hotas-x (about $50 on Amazon, I own this and will use it in Elite:Dangerous and the SC Dogfighting module)
http://www.speedlink.com/?p=2&cat=414&pid=21606&paus=1  (hmm...about $35, but I fear it might be a tad too cheap)

Or, of course, you can also decide to aim for a traditional (but possibly a bit feature-heavy) joystick.

Both on the official forums (or SimHQ) you can find a lot of help; and of course there are lots of YT videos with tutorials and whatnot.
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Have any of you actually tried to have a go at this series? I've been eyeing this series for about 3 years now and I finally decided to make the big jump :)

[Kail]

Have any of you actually tried to have a go at this series? I've been eyeing this series for about 3 years now and I finally decided to make the big jump :)

I've not touched World yet, I do have the old A-10 and Black Shark games.  Though the game always tweaks my OCD in Steam by putting Black Shark under "DC" ("DCS: Black Shark") and A-10 under "DI" ("Digital Combat Simulator: A-10 Warthog").  I think for World I've actually got Black Shark 2, A-10, and something called "Combined Arms" which I don't remember buying, but I haven't tried them yet.

The only one I've put any real time in is Black Shark, which I love because I have an unreasoning love of helicopters in general.  Unfortunately, playing it on a gamepad is problematic; I can startup fine, and perform basic functions (firing, aiming, etc.) in the test ranges fine, but in the actual missions you have to do it all so fast I always fuck it up and end up accidentally sideswiping a mountain or something while I'm looking at the combat computer screen thing to try to puzzle out what step I missed and why my missiles aren't shooting.  But I do love having a sim that has some actual realism and complexity in it, it's very fun.  Things like the autopilot and radio are mostly a mystery to me, maybe I should look in to that some time.

[Lucas]

Yeah, I imagine it must be quite an headache with just the gamepad: it was for me with the "easy" Su-25 when I was waiting for the TFlight.

It's very rewarding when you finally manage to accomplish something in the game, be it taking off or getting from airport to airport without any autopilot engaged. But after all, it's a "real" simulation: more often than not, if you visit the forums, you read posts by (well, allegendly) real pilots "playing" it. Inevitably, it lures a VERY specialized crowd, which often purchase a PC and other peripherals only for that specific game, something I've seen for ArmA, driving games, even Football Manager (minus the "peripherals" part, this last one :P).

[Ghambit]

I had a snarky reply but I'll just say that I have yet to find a modern flight-sim that approaches the brilliance that was modded Falcon 4.0.  A good dedi-server campaign in that sim. is the most hardcore you'll ever get; and the most rewarding.   I was in a clan once that actually let the thing run realtime until the campaign was over.  Amazing experience, and really shows how futile it is trying to grok the logistical prowess it takes to run an active air wing in a combat zone.  We got rolled every time.  

I've thumbed through DCS before but never found a module with dedi. dynamic campaign support.  If it's there I'll DL it yesterday.

[Lucas]

At the time Falcon 4.0 got out (and subsequently modded) I was on a long "hiatus" in regards to flight-sims (my interest originally sparked waaay back when F-19 Stealth fighter was released for Atari ST, then "Strike Commander" and US Navy Fighters in 1994), but I read and heard great things, yeah (especially about the short manuals  ).

Regarding campaigns, I don't know, I still have to dabble with them in DCS but yeah, I always got the impression that the fidelity of the airplane "how to" and physics came first, and then structure certain campaigns around each one of them. Falcon 4.0 and the other games, beside the sim aspect, were much more "battle oriented" and well-thought out when it came to the complexity of campaigns.

[Ghambit]

Your story is the same as mine.  I'm an F-19 era kid (fuck I'm old); older even!!  MS Flight Sim (sopwith camel) bishes!.  I actually was looking for a usable F-19 copy the other day (complete with keyboard overlay and maps) after this MH370 nonsense.  Still one of the greatest sims ever made - regardless of flight model.   As you say, more of a logistical game, but then again that's the way stealth flight is (you fly via keyboard).   I never had a hiatus though, until after Falcon 4.0.  Nothing really grabbed me after that except ARMA (on the ground).  Maybe I'll get back into it someday, which pretty much requires active membership at simhq.  My Saitek and TrackIR have 2-inches of dust on them.

In Falcon the F-16 flight model was fine, it was the rest of the aircraft that were modded that were suspect.   Especially the Navy variants.  Landing on carriers??   

I still believe there's an MMO out there that could utilize the Falcon 4.0 style of play.   It'd take an insane server infrastructure to do it (recall even WW2O really cant handle many units at a time - let alone fast-movers), but eventually we'll get there.

[Viin]

http://www.totalsims.com/ has online game play with less-simmy aircraft/etc. More like BF2 style controls.

Haven't played or even thought about Falcon in ages, let alone F-19! Problem is, I don't have time to learn a whole manual just to take off, so something a bit more casual but still realisticish would be nice.

[Ghambit]

I dunno, there's something empowering about knowing how to rampcheck and coldstart the most expensive/powerful military hardware on the planet.  Makes attending airshows a tad more interesting too, as you stare and say to yourself "hmm, I actually could jump in there and probably take off."  You think that's tough though?  Try playing "Sub Command."  Or running "Orbiter" missions completely manual.

[Ghambit]

Oh snap!  Remember this!?
The Art of the Kill

I still have my book and all my materials actually.  Man, those were the days when devs put a lot of love and care into every aspect of their game; especially the box.   Falcon3.0 probably got more people into sims then any game prior.

[Lucas]

LOL...The neckbeard is strong in this thread 

I'll answer with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRgP0qi4HWE
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Anyways, with the Su-25t, things are getting serious now that I have to learn how to carpet bomb those puny tanks/military vehicles on the ground, using CCRP or CCIP mode; still, not forgetting that I also have KMGU dispensers at my disposal.....

...yeah, I'm still in the middle of this phase



..but enjoying it (actually, I'm slowly starting to understand how to dive then bomb without crashing next to a tank :P).

Eventually I'll be all

[Viin]

I'll answer with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRgP0qi4HWE

That's actually pretty cool. Might learn something useful in real life if you ever wanted to pursue a pilot's license.

[Ghambit]

The best thing to do is fire up FSX + Vatsim.  The latter app will track you across the world and link you with live ATCers who are themselves practicing.  On a busy night you can have radar service throughout an entire flight plan, talk to other pilots, etc.   Many run with total realism, running events (air shows, races, and so forth), having achievements, and on and on.  Quasi-MMO of sorts.  Similar to a racing league in some ways.

Recall, virtual flight time now counts towards your ratings also.  I just think it has to be a registered console or some such.