Hi :). Need help completing my rig/setup. Newbie, be kind

Hi all. Been out of sims since.... well tbh around when I gave up sims around EA/Jane's USNF, F-15, Longbow etc.... Mainly been into FPS shooters :/. In real life I fly RC helicopters and planes :). Anyway, got the bug hard to get back into sims. Back in the day I had the Saitek X36 stick/throttle combo but as I understand, it doesn't work with Windows 10. Plus it's kinda nasty now. I dug it out and the plastic is "sticky" and moldy :(.

My comp:

8700k cpu @4.8ghz oc.

2x16GB Gskill PC3200 16-16-16-42 memory

1080TI Evga Hybrid

CL Soundblaster ZxR

Proposed buying:

Logitech G Saitek Pro Flight X56 Rhino vs Thrustmaster Warthog combo

VR setup: Would be my first VR ever. But looking at vids from Grim Reapers on youtube and remembering my sim days and frustration with looking about cockpit/around world/enemies. I cannot fathom trying that again. I'd want some sort of decent VR rig to be more immersive and have more control over my line of sight etc... I need help here. My wants/needs..... Something fairly easy to setup and good quality etc..... I'm not dumb, but I am very impatient. Something tedious and temperamental will not be tolerated ;p.

I dl'd the free DCS and have flown a bit on my old Logitech extreme joystick and even a mouse. I want in... Help me plz to find the best combo to complete my setup.

Also, will eventually add rudder pedals, but I don't want to go too crazy at first. I want to ease into the crazy so as to not feel like a total crackpot all at once. :pilotfly:

Hello!!

Welcome to the forum!

I have the Oculus Rift and I am pretty happy with it. My i7 2600k and gtx970 are pretty old but with lowered settings things are pretty good in DCS 2.5 I fly the Huey quite regularly and the immersion is fantastic. My hardware does not allow me to push the supersampling beyond 1.3 or 1.4 but since you have a much better rig there would much room for improvement at your PC. I also have vkb rudder pedals and thustmaster stick and throttle. Those things are pretty expensive but very sturdy and precise. The rift is ok as I mentioned but the resolution is the weakest point here. I bought it 1.5 year ago and have not seen too much improvement in the field. Ok, there is the vibe pro but it is twice the price of a complete thrustmaster setup which will last for a decade maybe. If you can wait one more year or maybe 2 you'll get a much better headset for your money probably. But......and it is a big but......waiting for the next generation hardware will keep you busy for the rest of your days...... I have always been planning and waiting for the next gpu, faster memory etc..before you know it dcs3 or Xplane 12 will be there requiring you to upgrade whatever you have at the moment.

So, if you have the cash, go for the rift and thrustmaster stuff. You won't be too disappointed. Your hardware is top notch so you can crank up your supersampling quite a bit. Some people say the Samsung Odyssey is very good though. You'll have to Google some reviews for that.

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask!!

Probably the easiest to get and best deal for joystick would be the TM Warthog HOTAS. Very popular and lots of folks in here use them. Add an extension and center mount at some point really makes it pretty nice.

VR - nothing like it. Very happy with my Oculus Rift. Got it on Jan 15th 2017, and have not gamed on the monitor since. It really is incredible experience.

I’m a recent Rift owner and while it is immersive, I’m not sure if it is a good setup for when you are learning DCS ... a TrackIR setup allows you to fly DCS while having the manual or guide open on a tablet and a notebook near for writing your own flight notes ... you can add the VR later on, once you have actually learnt the planes and adjusted your Hotas to your liking.

You don't mention storage devices, I assume with a new build that it has SSD, if not then I recommend it because it certainly makes a difference with DCS.

For your case, I recommend either the Oculus Rift ($400) or Samsung Odyssey ($400-500). The Odyssey has better resolution while the Rift is the better overall system. This is doubly true in VR shooters. Both take a bit of setup but the Odyssey doesn't require external sensors, and so is slightly simpler.

For controls, the X-56 is an excellent option as is the cheaper X-52 Pro and the vastly more expensive TM Warthog. The first two feature a twisty stick for rudder, the Warthog does not and so you will need pedals on day 1 if you grab that. Obviously pedals can be added later to the first two.

ok thanks guys.

Yeah I use a 512gb NVME PCI express boot drive(WD black performance-similar to 970evo specs) and a 960GB SanDisk SSD for storage on bigger files. TBH most of my games are on my boot drive b/c I generally only play CSGO, Diablo 3, Overwatch etc...

I may just buy a VR rig soon to use, so thx for the advice on the Rift, but I am intrigued on the Samsung as I do like higher resolution in my gaming. Not sure what I will lose otherwise with the Samsung vs Rift. I'll research that some.

Rudel_chw.... Yeah I didn't think of trying to read the manual with the VR on.... DERP! on my part lol. I'll figure something out there.

I'm leaning towards the Warthog, but the price compared to the Saitek is up there. In the end though I always tend to end up with the "better gear" so lately I've adopted the "buy once, cry once" philosophy, but it takes awhile to get my wallet to agree ;).

I will likely add pedals in the near future as well :)

thx for all the advice :)

On pedals, you can get by without - say twist grip or other - but boy does it make a difference, though if you're only flying fast jets, aside from the Harrier; you can do without, unless you're hardcore preserving energy with coordinated turns in a fight. Rotary wings and VSTOL, it is arguably a must.

yeah I recall from my old sim days I rarely used the rudder. However, after getting into RC helicopters/planes I find myself more used to coordinating turns and missing the rudder when trying to fly DCS with my current crappy setup ;p.

Good bang for the $ rudder pedals?

PS on the VR. I doubt I'll use it for anything other than this sim. I don't have a ton of free time to play games, and the one's I do, I tend to be hella OCD about getting better at. So, I usually just focus on one game, and maybe one other game I'll play as a diversion when I get sick/tired of the main game. Plus, I think my time to learn in this game will be LONG as it seems very complicated/realistic.

For what it's worth, my X36 works great in Win10. No drivers needed, just plugged it in. I didn't have any mold, but a good cleaning got rid of the sticky feeling.

hrm. Did you just use the USB or how did you get around the game port?

I may have to give it a go :)

corn322.

Thx bro. I tried the X36 and it does work. The dials on the throttle won't bind, at least I cannot figure out how to in game. Got rest of device setup., Stayed up till 5am playing and already back at it today.

I bought FC3 campaign and have been learning the F15 briefly, and more the Su27. Mainly b/c of the tutorials etc... Having done other sims I can takeoff/land and basic maneuvers. Dogfighting is a PIA and I'm getting my butt kicked in the quick starts, but it's fun :).

Really see the need for track IR or VR. It's so damm hard to keep track of threats in a scrum. Keep getting shot from who knows where :(.

My old X36 has mode switches, but I cannot map them as no software for Windows 10. Does anyone know with the X56 Saitek/Logitech if the mode switches work as follows. I would like to set mode 1 for nav/takeoff/landing etc... have various buttons bound to startup procedures, flaps, gear etc.... I would like Mode 2 for AA combat. Some of those switches I had bound to ground stuff, I would like to rebind to AA applicable stuff. Mode 3 for AG etc... Is this possible and if so any links to tutorials?

When it comes to VR and quality..ehhh...you better ground yourself and correct your expectations imho.

There is - NO - VR-Kit out yet that can match the picture quality of even FullHD in DCS. There are other titles, some made for VR, that get much closer to that region of quality, but none has reached that yet and won't for the forseeable future. There is neither a VR Kit nor a GPU that could make both experiences match.

VR is for immersion, it's BEYOND of what you can imagine, you'll be blown away just by that effect and most accept the lower overall appearance of the sim in VR.

Just be told, that is how it is.

I can also only second the suggestion to also get a TrackIR5-Pro kit and a decent Gsynced monitor.

For some parts of DCS it is just better to fly the "old" way, your opinion might differ once you actually have both, you have to question yourself what can be done in VR and what not with your current learning curve in DCS, the Hotas setuo also plays a big role in VR, you aint see anything but VR..!!

Your rig is fine, it wont get faster unless you go Titan V or wait for the next "bigger" standard GPU to arrive.

my 2 cents

ok thx :)

I may do the Track IR then and see how that goes. Programming this old x36 is a PIA. I can't imagine what a newer more capable joystick will be like.

Huge learning curve so far ;p

Does windows see the buttons at all? Or are they not usable/visible in Windows? If it is, you may be able go with this:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3521439&postcount=1

I can see all the buttons on the joystick and remap everything but the 2 dials on the throttle, and the mode switches won't remap commands across modes.

I will try that Joy to Key :)

thx

Ordered a Logitech X56 to try out. See if I like it enough to keep. May end up with the warthog, but man oh man is the learning curve steep for me on this sim ;). I have a feeling my teething pains will continue for some time.

I am going the route of a track IR or similar instead of VR.

Ordered a Logitech X56 to try out. See if I like it enough to keep. May end up with the warthog, but man oh man is the learning curve steep for me on this sim ;). I have a feeling my teething pains will continue for some time.

 

I am going the route of a track IR or similar instead of VR.

This teething problem comes again and agin, with every new module :pilotfly:

THIS is why many LOVE DCS, not because it is easy but because it is hard.

There is no easy way like hop in da pit and fight & win, get behind a book and study, then fly and study for another month, then you "may" go ahead..usually.

ok thx :)

I may do the Track IR then and see how that goes. Programming this old x36 is a PIA. I can't imagine what a newer more capable joystick will be like.

 

Huge learning curve so far ;p

You have a good PC for DCS, this one of the big things most need if you want a really good experience in most flight sims these days. The next is a good hotas control setup.

Take you time Randy_Lahey and enjoy the journey, you will never stop learning when it comes to aviation even if simulated, especially at this level of detail. Then there's all the air or ground combat tactics and weapons of the different aircraft and time periods.;) Just stick to something that your very interested in for the time being and learn all the in's and out's "quirks" of setting up DCS.

Got the X56 last night. Flew on quick mission with F15C and compared to my X36 setup, even w/out all my binds etc... the flying was superior. Well not my flying lol, that still is pretty bad. But, my impression of the flying ;p.

I need to ground myself from buying more modules. So far got FC3, Nevada map, 2 of the F15 campaigns one SU27 campaign, and last night bough the F86 and Persian Gulf Map :/.

My internet is terrible. I have Satellite with caps(all I can get in rural Illinois/USA) and it took 12 hours to DL the F86/Persian gulf map.

I need to find a way to DL this stuff at work and then transfer over to my home computer when I buy big DL items.

That said, I am grounding myself from buying more modules until I can get some more stick time. I got so damm excited the other week watching Grim Reaper vids on Youtube and had such a hardon to get up to speed to play on similar servers or with them. I see now that's a LONG way off in all probability.

Really liking the F15C though right now. Flying the Vegas tour through that course is pretty damm fun. Can't wait for my Ebay Track IR type setup to come. Setup the X56 more and I think I may not move more than 20ft this entire weekend

Anyone have any good servers to recommend to practice on? I hit multiplayer tab once and most servers seemed locked down or unpopulated