New Player

Well, thought I would say hello to you guys. I'll be lurking around reading the stickies probably all night, haha.

I have very little experience in flight sims. Last flight sim I played was Janes Fighter Anthology and that was like back in the mid or late 90's, haha.

I'm playing off a laptop, Asus g74x. I just bought this game off steam and I couldn't find the manual for it so I think I'll download it tomorrow on the DCS website, I'm sure it's there.

But man, I just did the intro to this game, the first two tutorial missions, lol... I'm sure I'll be learning this game for the next few months.

Also, I bought a cyborg f.l.y. 5. I know it's not the best, but I'll buy a better one around april.

If you got any tips for me, even just quick ones, be it for my joystick or just in general. I'd much appreciate. I'm really confused about the joystick.

The directional view button works, and the center view back to normal works (as well as flight controls and the main weapon fire button) but none of the other buttons do anything. I think I have to load a profile for them? or bind keys, but I dont have a clue as to what to bind to my 11 free buttons.

Anyways, I'm sure I'll see you guys around, have a great night!

welcome! as you fly the tutorials, take note of the HOTAS control names, and what they do. As you see which are the most important, you will discover which ones you want to bind to where. Its likely someone has the same stick on here, and can help you a little more but read in the manual about China Hat, Coolie Hat, TMS, DMS. Those are some of the main controls you will want to be able to access without looking down. It is very likely you will need to use some modifiers as well.

good luck! have fun! welcome!

Welcome.

The manuals should (I don't have A-10 on Steam) be in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\DCS A-10C\Doc folder.

JANES FA hell I flew that.:thumbup:Great game in its day.. welcome to the farm..bring beer next time:music_whistling:

Thanks guys, I'll look for those manuals right now

And tomorrow night, I will bring the beer, haha. I just need to figure out the navigate to the store better in my thunder bolt, the tutorial had me navigating before the actual navigation tutorial

Night guys!

Welcome to the forums and to the Hog :) my tip is: go to the Wiki page (it is in "stickies"), you will find lots of tutorial videos prepared by people from this community, that will really supplement and enrich the in-game (sorry for the word, but in-simulation sounds wierd) training.

Also, ask any questions you might have here. And as ORboarder rightly said, learn where are all the most important switches (DMS, TMS, coolie etc) and what they do. Makes understanding the forum, tutorials and instructions much easier!

Well, thought I would say hello to you guys. I'll be lurking around reading the stickies probably all night, haha.

 

I have very little experience in flight sims. Last flight sim I played was Janes Fighter Anthology and that was like back in the mid or late 90's, haha.

 

 

If you got any tips for me, even just quick ones, be it for my joystick or just in general. I'd much appreciate. I'm really confused about the joystick.

 

 

Anyways, I'm sure I'll see you guys around, have a great night!

Hi, and welcome aboard!...I am new to this game as well, I've only had it a few weeks now. As you know it comes with a huge learning curve and is known as a true "study sim" which is a breed of game that had pretty much gone extinct years ago, at least until now :pilotfly:.

Here is what I think is the single most important tip for folks like us who are so new to this sim:

1. BE VERY PATIENT with yourself, the game and the tutorials you're about to weed through over the next couple of weeks. Some are not so easy to follow and not all have voice overs. Take it very slow, and one thing at a time.

...for instance..it's going to take you a few days or even a week to get your joystick buttons all setup just the right way to your liking, take a look at some other people's configurations to guide you but in the end it is personal preference and that will take some experience in using the sim to know whats most important to you...therefore it is likely that your setup will change a few times until you get it just right.

As far as joystick types, a full HOTAS system is what you really need for this game if you intend on getting away from the keyboard during combat missions. The Saitek X-52 Pro is about the cheapest FULL Hotas around that has enough buttons, switches and powerful enough software to accomplish some of the more daunting multi-keystroke and timed combinations that await you. Be aware though that you will likely find some driver issues in the beginning.

As far as the game...one thing at a time, and slowly...so spend a few days just learning the plane itself and how to start it, take off, navigate around the map, and landing it. Once you can start, fly and navigate in your sleep then spend another few days just getting to learn the guns and rockets, then another few days learning the Maverick missiles...and so on. Spend lots of time with each weapon getting to know one at a time as well as you can and what it IS and is NOT capable of doing for you out in the field.

There are tons of tips for this game that will help you...but it all starts with the learning process itself so that is why im stressing that aspect. If you rush it, and push yourself into combat too soon you will not enjoy the experience at all.

Also, if you are looking for someone to practice and learn with feel free to shoot me a Private Message on here with your email address and we can get together on voice.

Good luck!!...and enjoy it!

Hi, and welcome aboard!...I am new to this game as well, I've only had it a few weeks now. As you know it comes with a huge learning curve and is known as a true "study sim" which is a breed of game that had pretty much gone extinct years ago, at least until now :pilotfly:.

 

Here is what I think is the single most important tip for folks like us who are so new to this sim:

 

1. BE VERY PATIENT with yourself, the game and the tutorials you're about to weed through over the next couple of weeks. Some are not so easy to follow and not all have voice overs. Take it very slow, and one thing at a time.

...for instance..it's going to take you a few days or even a week to get your joystick buttons all setup just the right way to your liking, take a look at some other people's configurations to guide you but in the end it is personal preference and that will take some experience in using the sim to know whats most important to you...therefore it is likely that your setup will change a few times until you get it just right.

 

As far as joystick types, a full HOTAS system is what you really need for this game if you intend on getting away from the keyboard during combat missions. The Saitek X-52 Pro is about the cheapest FULL Hotas around that has enough buttons, switches and powerful enough software to accomplish some of the more daunting multi-keystroke and timed combinations that await you. Be aware though that you will likely find some driver issues in the beginning.

 

As far as the game...one thing at a time, and slowly...so spend a few days just learning the plane itself and how to start it, take off, navigate around the map, and landing it. Once you can start, fly and navigate in your sleep then spend another few days just getting to learn the guns and rockets, then another few days learning the Maverick missiles...and so on. Spend lots of time with each weapon getting to know one at a time as well as you can and what it IS and is NOT capable of doing for you out in the field.

 

There are tons of tips for this game that will help you...but it all starts with the learning process itself so that is why im stressing that aspect. If you rush it, and push yourself into combat too soon you will not enjoy the experience at all.

 

Also, if you are looking for someone to practice and learn with feel free to shoot me a Private Message on here with your email address and we can get together on voice.

 

Good luck!!...and enjoy it!

Okay, I'm at work reading your post, and after reading all of it, alls I can say is thank you... also, I don't think I'm going to get much done today at work, well at least real work, haha. I'm sure I'll get a few hours of tutorial videos in.

But yeah, I hear yah. I was looking at a video last night and a guy said to take notes and I thought that was a good idea, so I started writing down practically everything.

One thing that worried me was that when I was flying around, it seemed that I had to always keep the nose of the plane down. As in if I let go of the stick, it would start to climb. It seemed to diminish when I went higher in elevation, but I'm not 100% sure about that. I hope it's not my stick or something, I just bought it, but it was a cheap one.

As in if I let go of the stick, it would start to climb.

Rather then it being your stick - it's just that you will need to learn to trim.

Default key commands should be:

; RCtrl = Trim: Nose Down

. RCtrl = Trim: Nose Up

, RCtrl = Trim: Left Wing Down

/ RCtrl = Trim: Right Wing Down

Here's an article describing it:

http://www.simhq.com/_air/air_003a.html

Hope that helps some.

Rather then it being your stick - it's just that you will need to learn to trim.

 

Default key commands should be:

; RCtrl = Trim: Nose Down

. RCtrl = Trim: Nose Up

, RCtrl = Trim: Left Wing Down

/ RCtrl = Trim: Right Wing Down

 

 

Here's an article describing it:

http://www.simhq.com/_air/air_003a.html

 

Hope that helps some.

Okay, so just like my RC cars, the planes have trim, gotchyah. Thanks!

+1 for learning what all the HOTAS switches do. It might be confusing initially because most of the hats and switches will have different functions based on your current Sensor Of Interest at the time.

I think one of the best things you can do early on is to print pages 86-92 of the flight manual out. It'll tell you exactly what each switch will do in every situation. Once you get your HOTAS layout on your stick figured out, flying and fighting will become a whole lot easier.

As others have said, there are hundreds of small tips for a game as complex as this but the only thing I can say is to make sure you tackle the learning curve at your own pace and have fun with it. Learning one system at a time is probably the best idea, but if you get hung up on something like the CDU or even coordinated turns--don't hesitate to move onto something you find more entertaining and come back to your problem spots later.

Have fun!

+1 for learning what all the HOTAS switches do. It might be confusing initially because most of the hats and switches will have different functions based on your current Sensor Of Interest at the time.

 

I think one of the best things you can do early on is to print pages 86-92 of the flight manual out. It'll tell you exactly what each switch will do in every situation. Once you get your HOTAS layout on your stick figured out, flying and fighting will become a whole lot easier.

 

As others have said, there are hundreds of small tips for a game as complex as this but the only thing I can say is to make sure you tackle the learning curve at your own pace and have fun with it. Learning one system at a time is probably the best idea, but if you get hung up on something like the CDU or even coordinated turns--don't hesitate to move onto something you find more entertaining and come back to your problem spots later.

 

Have fun!

Awesome, I don't have a printer at home, so I'll find those pages online, thanks

I kind of jumped around yesterday in the tutorial. Couldn't take off in a straight line, and I have no clue how to navigate, I think I just need a bigger screen.

up and down trimming is "elevator" trim....you'll also find "aileron trim" (to control either left or right wings always dipping due to unbalanced weapon loads) to be very necessary in this game...although i dont think aileron trim is actually modelled in this game you can use the "rudder" trim instead which is a knob that can be found on the left side panel in the cockpit.

By the way...dunno if the real plane has aileron trim or not but if im just not seeing it in the cockpit would appreciate someone pointing it out to me, heh (other than the override method i mean). I really dont like having to use rudder trim all the time to correct for weapon inbalance but i need to use an in-cockpit control as I have no room left on my Hotas :-)

...

I kind of jumped around yesterday in the tutorial. Couldn't take off in a straight line, and I have no clue how to navigate, I think I just need a bigger screen.

Initially your rudder will be really sensitive. You can go into the option menu - controls, use the drop down menu to select "axis", click on whichever axis you want to adjust under the joystick column, then click 'axis tune' on the bottom.

You'll probably have to play with it to find something that really works for your stick tbh.

By the way...dunno if the real plane has aileron trim or not but if im just not seeing it in the cockpit would appreciate someone pointing it out to me, heh (other than the override method i mean). I really dont like having to use rudder trim all the time to correct for weapon inbalance but i need to use an in-cockpit control as I have no room left on my Hotas :-)

It's the Hat switch on the stick, I'm not sure if it's a clickable control or not.

It's the Hat switch on the stick, I'm not sure if it's a clickable control or not.

It's not clickable like the other HOTAS buttons but it there certainly is Ailieron trim in game and RL.

yea thats what i thought...luckily though i just realized i have some room on my hotas for aileron trim since one my rotaries has an unused switch state!...i just bound the Rcntrl+, and Rcntrol+/ for aileron trim. By the way is that true aileron trim or is it merely the keys for rudder trim?

i just bound the Rcntrl+, and Rcntrol+/ for aileron trim. By the way is that true aileron trim or is it merely the keys for rudder trim?

According to the A-10C Keyboard Command List

Those are aileron trim -- Rudder trim would be

R-Ctrl Z

R-Ctrl X

ahh, cool beans...thnx!

Awesome, I don't have a printer at home, so I'll find those pages online, thanks

 

I kind of jumped around yesterday in the tutorial. Couldn't take off in a straight line, and I have no clue how to navigate, I think I just need a bigger screen.

1. Here are two PDF charts that summarize the HOTAS functions very well.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1393282&postcount=29

2. Yes. You always need a bigger screen, or more of them.;)

EDIT: BTW, if you look at the stick in the cockpit, it is labeled for trim. See where it says Nose Down right near the top, above the big grey hat switch with other text around it. LWD/RWD ==> Left Wing Down/Right Wing Down

Here is a thread that was targeted at providing essential info to new Hog pilots. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=7212

Always glad to see new Hog Drivers....welcome!

1. Here are two PDF charts that summarize the HOTAS functions very well.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1393282&postcount=29

 

2. Yes. You always need a bigger screen, or more of them.;)

 

EDIT: BTW, if you look at the stick in the cockpit, it is labeled for trim. See where it says Nose Down right near the top, above the big grey hat switch with other text around it. LWD/RWD ==> Left Wing Down/Right Wing Down

Okay, awesome. In those diagrams, I don't have some of those buttons, but should I map the commands as best I can on my stick?

Here is a thread that was targeted at providing essential info to new Hog pilots. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=7212

 

Always glad to see new Hog Drivers....welcome!

haha, jokes on me, thanks for the welcome, but watch your six :D

yep, just map the essentials to your stick, and learn the keyboard shortcuts for the rest. I think your stick has 12 buttons plus a shift button, essentially giving you 24 buttons? Thats a good number to start working with. you should try and map the DMS, TMS, CMS, coolie, trim, and weapon release buttons to the stick.

also, if you get tired of using the numpad keys to look around, look into the free program facetracknoir. I used it for roughly 8 months before getting TrackIR and enjoyed it thoroughly.

yep, just map the essentials to your stick, and learn the keyboard shortcuts for the rest. I think your stick has 12 buttons plus a shift button, essentially giving you 24 buttons? Thats a good number to start working with. you should try and map the DMS, TMS, CMS, coolie, trim, and weapon release buttons to the stick.

 

also, if you get tired of using the numpad keys to look around, look into the free program facetracknoir. I used it for roughly 8 months before getting TrackIR and enjoyed it thoroughly.

okay, awesome, that's what I was thinking I was supposed to do

I'm pretty sure I know the shift key you're talking about, maybe what you're talking about is the actual shift key on the keyboard, but there is a button on my stick that doesn't have a number and I assume it's the shift key to enable a second function for each additional key

Also, with the look around thing, there is a little knob on my stick that allows me to look around. Kinda like that mouse button that laptops have in the keyboards, and about just as sensitive. It'll make due until I get a trackIR, probably in a few weeks. But man, I understand what you guys mean about getting a trackIR, it's a pain to look around with a knob and just being able to turn your head would make it SOOOOO much easier AND more enjoyable

yes, that untitled "shift" key on your stick is what I was talking about. If you open up the options menu of DCS, go to controls, select A10C sim from the drop down menu, then click the modifier button on the bottom left, you can add your "shift" key to the list to allow you to have more buttons on the stick.

Also, I was unaware of the mouse look function of that stick. I dont know if its possible, but if you could somehow map that to the slew commands that would be pretty sweet for you. (slew is what you use to move the targeting pod around, along with some other things) Of course, you would need an alternate way to look around, but something to think about. but if you cant then you can use the keyboard defaults , . / and ; (I believe)