DCS Discussion

[Jarhead0331]

New patch is on Steam.

...with the Kiowa. Purchased.

Let us know how you like it.

I'm really enjoying it so far, but I've only done cold start tutorial and then zipped around Qeshm Island. It is a joy, I mean a real joy to fly. Very easy to get off the ground and maintain controlled flight. A little harder to get back on the ground, but totally manageable. Don't feel any need to manage saturation settings in cyclic. I don't think it's an inaccurate EFM either since Casmo has stated it's the closest thing to the real deal and even rivals the tools they had for training in the Army. A lot of loudmouths are complaining about textures and sounds, but it's all fine to me. It's certainly not perfect, and it will need patching and updating, but so far, it's everything I hoped it would be. A really nice mix of simplicity and modern systems, really easy to use weapons and a very robust multi crew AI, which I think is absolutely genius. The way you can control the pilot from the left seat is one of those, "why the heck didn't I think of that" things.

Anyway, if you're a rotor head, you shouldn't holdback, unless the price is an issue for you. Without an early access discount, it certainly isn't cheap.

[JudgeDredd]

I haven't found the knack of flying helicopters in DCS. I suck big time. I do the spinny spinny thing ALL THE FREAKIN TIME.

I have tried and tried. I've modified by rudders, making them less twitchy.

The Black Shark isn't as bad - but it still gives me trouble.

As for the F4 and this

But man, I had gotten used to flying the F/A-18, F-16, mirage2k with their modern fly by wire systems, insta-death smart bombs and deadly missiles.

yep. I don't have the F4 - but I do love the F14. But then I get in it and I'm like "Oh my god...this thing is so old". 3 waypoints! That's it! Plus some fixed stuff...but 3 waypoints!

Plus, I still do not have a clue what that MFD is displaying. Why does it have square blocks moving towards you?

[CaptainKoloth]

I thought ED would have learned from the epic fail they had with the Hawk and the 3rd party dev behind that.

ED had to discontinue the hawk altogether and those who bought the module got left with nothing.  ED disclaimer was, you took your chances by buying from a 3rd party, to avoid a law suit they made the hawk buyers maintain 2 dcs installs.  One non updated install contained the hawk in its state from 2018, but who really is going to do that....douche move on ED's part and causes question in consumer confidence.  It might be 3rd party but it's still the dcs brand, and ED should refund the consumer if modules become unavailable.

The hawk incident has come up again cause some feel this is what will happen with the Razbam modules.

ED should have learned from the hawk and already have in their contract that the source code goes to ED if the 3rd party defaults on the contract so it can be maintained.

You guys are right, both sides own parts of this turd.  Razbam are drama queens and should have handled it like heatblur.  But the way ED is handling this doesn't instill consumer confidence for me either.  Some say ED should have paid Razbam and hired lawyers to take action separately.  The way they are simply stiffing Razbam for contract breach is ghetto, and calls into question to their economic solvency.  I've never been happy with that Nick guy running dcs, kind of reminds me of Chris Roberts and Star Citizen.

I have a different take on this. I obviously have no idea what is going on so this is all speculation. But I do in my day job frequently deal with corporate disputes like this, so these comments are in that context.

In virtually any case where you have a contract and are not paid, you have very clearly spelled out recourse under the terms of that contract for dispute and can immediately go to court with a strong claim if your counterparty decides they're just not going to pay you for the hell for it.

You know what no company in its right mind in that situation would ever do? Instead of following those dispute terms under the contract, publicly attack your (more or less) sole customer and attempt to weaponize your/their customers against them. This is not good for your legal standing and it's not good for your future ability to prosper assuming the dispute is eventually resolved. Any lawyer with a pulse would have told Razbam this.

Furthermore, unless you do think ED is an outright Ponzi scheme- and maybe it is, but I've seen/heard zero evidence of that- you know what else a company in its right mind would never do? Wake up one day and say "you know what, I'm just going to not pay this major supplier. I can get away with that forever with no consequences." If ED really was having financial trouble, that's what bankruptcy procedures exist for. I have a really hard time imagining, even in the most mustache-twirling evil view of ED, what the thought it with respect to what they would gain from acting this way. If they really were in financial trouble, I seriously doubt it would manifest in this way unless ED is an actual criminal enterprise, which we have zero evidence off, screaming redditors notwithstanding.

All this to say, again with obviously no actual insight into the terms of the dispute, but having seen many analogous situations, it looks and smells to me like there is some genuine breach, or at least arguable breach, that Razbam committed and they're attempting to pressure ED in the court of public opinion because they know they lack a strong legal position. ED, being, bluntly, smarter, is not commenting on the legal specifics, but Razbam is meanwhile hurting everyone by stirring up the fanbase and hurting the engine that generates (I assume) most or all of their money.

Could be totally wrong of course.

[Jarhead0331]

Plus, I still do not have a clue what that MFD is displaying. Why does it have square blocks moving towards you?

The trapezoids on the VDI are supposed to assist the pilot with orientation (ie. which way toward the ground).

[Redwolf]

In virtually any case where you have a contract and are not paid, you have very clearly spelled out recourse under the terms of that contract for dispute and can immediately go to court with a strong claim if your counterparty decides they're just not going to pay you for the hell for it.

As I understand it RB is somewhere in South America and ED is mostly Russian registered in Switzerland.

I kind of doubt that there is enough money in the DCS ecosystem to file, much less prosecute, a lawsuit under these conditions. Especially in Zürich where a lunch can bankrupt you.

My expectation is that we won't here from this dispute again.

[Jarhead0331]

The Kiowa is really awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in flying helos. It is all I'm flying at the moment with the F-4 sadly being grounded in my hanger as a result! I find it to be the most user friendly helicopter module in DCS so far. Very easy to pick up, get in the air, learn how to handle and even start shooting things. I usually take weeks or months on a new module to start focusing on weapons. Here, I started machine gunning things in the first flight! It sort of reminds me of the Harrier in that it hits a sweet spot between simplicity of operation with avionics and weapon systems that are advanced enough without being overwhelming. Honestly, the most complex system I've encountered so far are the comms. There are five different radios. But once you understand it, its no problem.

It has decent tutorials for all the major systems, even though I do wish they were voiced. CasmoTV on youtube has awesome tutorial videos covering everything. He flew KWs for over 10 years and acquired 2,000 hours before transitioning to the Apache. 

If I can fly this thing, anyone can!

[JudgeDredd]

Personally I would like these content makers to make good tutorial missions for purchase. I'd like to learn in game as opposed to switching between the sim and YT.

Kind of like the Red Flag campaigns but for training.

[Jarhead0331]

Personally I would like these content makers to make good tutorial missions for purchase. I'd like to learn in game as opposed to switching between the sim and YT.

Kind of like the Red Flag campaigns but for training.

I agree. I much prefer good interactive in-game training missions where procedures are voiced and instrumentation is highlighted. However, these are a mixed bag and vary from module to module. Also, they often times include procedures by the book, which includes a lot of the checks that I have no interest in performing. So a Cold and Dark start tutorial that should really only last five minutes can end up lasting 30 minutes, plus. No thanks! The KW missions are decent, but not on the level of Heatblur or Razbam. I spend so much time watching YouTube videos anyway, might as well take advantage of all the great content from SMEs out there. I'm so much enjoying the KW that I have even been taking notes while watching Casmo.

[Jarhead0331]

Still going strong with the Kiowa. It is the first and only helicopter that I can reliably control at speed at lower than tree level. I'm having awesome fun just whizzing through forested roads and between buildings in urban areas. It's the way this helicopter is meant to be flown. Admittedly, I'm still figuring out slow speed and landings as anytime I start dropping below 30 kts, the thing just wants to fall back to the ground. I find that hovering from takeoff is dooable, but getting back into that controlled state from speed and altitude is the only flight challenge I'm having here. 

The pilot AI is fantastic too. Extremely easy to control from the CPGs seat. I have a hat on my throttle that controls altitude and speed and another that controls heading. This allows me to focus on the MMS or some of the more complex weapon systems (ie. Hellfire) from the left seat position. Navigation with the HSD is a cinch too.

If you have reasonably good peripherals (good HOTAS and pedals, but no collective needed) and you're interested in but have not had good luck with helos in DCS, I once again highly recommend that you give this one a shot...

Be quick about it though, the CH-47 drops on 6/26. 

[JudgeDredd]

I'd like to trust you...but as mentioned I've got so many helicopters I can't control.

If they were doing a free trial, I could find out first hand.

But I kind of feel like I should learn to control one of the helos I've already got before I try out another

[Jarhead0331]

I'd like to trust you...but as mentioned I've got so many helicopters I can't control.

If they were doing a free trial, I could find out first hand.

But I kind of feel like I should learn to control one of the helos I've already got before I try out another

True, but they are all going to fly differently so mastery of one may not have any appreciable impact on another. I thought that by getting good at the Kiowa, I could revert back to one of the other platforms and be more successful, but that hasn't been the case yet.

In any event, your reluctance is certainly understandable. I'm sure there will be a free flight opportunity in a few months and by then, maybe the KW will be discounted for a sale.

[Redwolf]

I think the 2 hour refund window on Steam applies to DCS modules.

[JudgeDredd]

I think the 2 hour refund window on Steam applies to DCS modules.

You can't buy a module on Steam if your version of DCS isn't from Steam, can you?

I thought there was a limitation there...maybe it wasn't, or they lifted that limitation?

[Jarhead0331]

I think the 2 hour refund window on Steam applies to DCS modules.

You can't buy a module on Steam if your version of DCS isn't from Steam, can you?

I thought there was a limitation there...maybe it wasn't, or they lifted that limitation?

No. You cannot. You either go full blown DCS on steam or must buy through the ED site. No mixing of modules.

[CaptainKoloth]

You can "import" from Steam to DCS, but you can't do the reverse.