Game Avionics

Okay, okay, I get it. I should be playing with sim avionics i know, i know, oh oh oh..

Please allow me to explain myself (and all the others who seem to be playing with game avionics and sim flight and get shot down the moment they mention 'game' anything...)

Now, I've been playing flight games of all types since computers had joysticks. Heck I even flew a glider once IRL for like 2 minutes. The more realistic the flight models are, the better. (though I do loath the way single engine WWII planes pull to the left) I play with a Saitek X52 on a decent computer and I know I had a point when I began this but I appear to have lost my train of thought...

Ah yes. GAME AVIONICS. I don't have five hours to spend learning every damn weapon system on this aircraft. I want one button push to select a new weapon and when that weapon is selected I want the appropriate radar modes and whatever else selected automatically. (why isn't this implemented in the real a10c? If i have sidewinders selected why the f*** would I want my radar in AG mode?)

One button weapon selection. (or two so you can scroll both ways)

One button target acquisition. (I use the throttle hat for next/previous air/ground)

But do you get my point?

I don't care how a maverick works. I'm not going to join the Canadian Armed Forces and even if I was, we only have F-18s from the 1970s and maybe some F-35s coming up. Point is, no A-10s. I'm in college, I have to spend my time learning about valence electrons and vapor liquid equilibrium. I simply don't have the hours to dedicate to learning every damn system on this aircraft.

For all the other folks out there that appreciate (dare i say best ever?) an exceedingly realistic flight model where you can start the engine with one button press, I've been looking for a keyboard command list or a X52 profile for game avionics mode and they don't seem to exist so I've been working on them and will post when done.

Now, my biggest gripe(s) with game avionics is(are) the apparent 360* HUD that shows enemies and allies with a diamond/triangle/box around them. I want the option to turn this off. really kills immersion and ruins my screenshots... and the fact that you can't do training missions (and apparently some custom missions? (it seems)) with game avionics since it forces the sim avionics on you. Just because i'm playing gameAV doesn't mean I don't need a couple flybys before I figure out how to work a certain bomb. (GBUs!!) maybe i'll try to make some training missions for gameAV mode...

Weird how I don't complain about the terrible games I play, but the best flight sim since terabyte harddrives comes along and I'm full of complaints...

Maybe when I win the lottery I'll by that 400$ thrustmaster a10 joystick/throttle and some MFD displays and trackIR and then learn sim avionics, but until then, I really don't care. I just wanna blow some s*** up in the name of capitalism.

ed. Game Avionics Keyboard Commands

most of the view commands are absent and some of the keyboard shortcuts may not be default, but its a start...

Welcome to the Forums :)

I know what you're getting at. If I were you I'd toggle Game Flight Mode on and utilize SIM Avionics mode.

Why you will ask?

Because I or anyone else for that matter can teach a Chimpanzee the rudimentaries of blowing Shite up in a matter of minutes - It's just that easy!

That said and judging by the eloquence of your post, you're no Chimpanzee and would as a consequence do just fine. If you are just after a casual flying experience inflicting the most amount of hurt in the shortest possible time, well then, that's how I'd do it........and you'll get pretty pictures to boot.

Think about it.

It takes way more than five hours bro.

yeah exactly. I spent probably years learning how to shoot a maverick from an F-16 (falcon4) then again with the F-18 (Jane's) and though I imagine the process would be similar, that was like a decade ago. I don't wanna have to wait till next september to effectively play the campaign. Even in gameAV mode there is a ridiculous amount of commands, most of which I don't have a clue about.

Oh and it appears that the AG gun sight is totally absent. I hope the new patch fixes some of these gameAV issues...

(and I meant five hours per system)

Dude I am in high school in all honors classes and it still took me only a month to learn the sim avionics. Some good advice is, just learn what you need first, then slowly work your way towards more advanced techniques and avionics. Better yet just learn to fly first. Landing, taking off, trimming, etc... take it slow. Take me for example, I got the game when the bet a version just came out, and I knew everything within a month of play for just 45 minutes a day. Sim avionics are not as difficult as they sound, they just take patience.

Set SPI, slew Mav to SPI, wait for range, track, fire. MAVs aren't as difficult to use as you might imagine. Actually none of the weapon systems are that difficult. :)

I highly suggest you take a look at the DCS A-10C QuickStart Guide EN PDF that's in your Docs folder of your A-10C install. Pages 29-30 explain how to select a target with TGP or Mav and page 37 explains how to attack with a Maverick.

DCS A-10C is definitely a study sim. While you can play it at a pretty basic level without knowing everything about every system it's not exactly a good source of arcade quick-and-dirty action. :)

... I want the appropriate radar modes and whatever else selected automatically. (why isn't this implemented in the real a10c? If i have sidewinders selected why the f*** would I want my radar in AG mode?)

Yeah, I remember someone's post earlier about A-10 not really being designed for the game mode. They said that if you play it in the game mode, it is less enjoyable all around than when playing with all avionics on normal. Oh and by the way, yes I do intend to join the military some day, but not as an A-10C pilot. Why do I play it then? Becasue a bang em' up shoot em' up isn't very engaging. It doesn't have lasting value. They are popular for a year or so, then their successor is released or the author/publisher goes out of business and people forget about it. You can finish the "story modes" and try out all of the multiplayer things and take about five months, max, till you get bored of it becasue there is nothing else to do. You can't learn new things. I am still learning new things from the great multiplayer community and the game manual. For example, I am trying to learn how to do pop-up attacks and low altitude attacks even a year after I originally purchased, and just joined a virtual squadron. WE don't just mindlessly play boring "map" after "map," we make missions in the editor, shoot the breeze, goof off, and do other crazy sh*t besides playing the game. You don't even have to join a virtual squadron to have fun, or post on the forums regularly like I do, just do whatever you want to do, and not worry about having to put the disc in the attic and never touch it again.

sigh... if you're in highschool than that means I've been playing flightsims since before you were born... I know how to fly. This isn't about game Flight mode. (i dont even wanna know how that is) this is about GAME AVIONICS MODE. Pick a target, shoot, move on. My joystick only has so many buttons....

Me thinks you are making this game to be way harder than it actually is :). You really only need to know a couple of steps as kylania pointed out. And trust me chemistry is way more intensive than this.. If you can learn that you can easily learn this :) now if you have absolutely no desire, then no problem. But if you do have some interest, take 1 weapon at a time and you'll get it down in no time, I promise. Easy to learn, harder to master. But it's a game do we don't need to master :) oh also, the x52 has more than enough buttons to fully control the a10

Sorry I know you wanted help with game avionics but I couldn't help it.

Like I said, if you are into sims and have the time and money, go for it. If you want a game, then, by all means, get HAWX. It will suit what you describe perfectly. It is the "point and shoot" that you describe. Oh and by the way, I am not trying to offend you at all :).

I suggest spending the time to learn the sim avionics. It isn't as hard as it's cracked up to be.

You have a bunch of bombs, all of which are dropped in a similar way. Some have a bit of special setup or an extra thing to do, but it isn't a big deal. Mavericks and the TGP aren't that hard either.

You're probably looking at 30 min per weapon type to master things in terms of: SOI/SPI setup, TGP, Maverick, LGB. Iron bombs and JDAMs are pretty easy if you don't care about learning things like how to manually input locations in the CDU.

All you need to do is focus on each one of the things I pointed out above, one at a time, and you're done. There are also plenty of instructional videos and IIRC, the tutorials teach you how to use each weapon.

sigh... if you're in highschool than that means I've been playing flightsims since before you were born... I know how to fly. This isn't about game Flight mode. (i dont even wanna know how that is) this is about GAME AVIONICS MODE. Pick a target, shoot, move on. My joystick only has so many buttons....

I'd also point out that "pick target, shoot, move on" sounds pretty much exactly like Maverick use to me... :)

Full procedure is:

Select maverick on weapon screen (DSMS directly or through DSMS profile page, your pick)

Ensure maverick is on (is there picture on the Mav screen? then yes. no picture? then no. Set EO on and ensure master arm on)

Slew to your target for selection/lock

Launch

Like GG said, the complex things are the ones that you don't actually have to do to use the weapon, so you don't have to worry about them.

Like I said, if you are into sims and have the time and money, go for it. If you want a game, then, by all means, get HAWX. It will suit what you describe perfectly. It is the "point and shoot" that you describe. Oh and by the way, I am not trying to offend you at all :).

I agree. Maybe this sim isnt quite for you. To only fly a dumbed downed version of the pig is kind of a slap in ED's face. Its like buying a Ferrari and never taking it out of first gear.

^^^^

No need to be discouraging.

lol... no one gets it. If I had a replica cockpit i'd spend the day or two it would take to learn every little switch. I have a thirty button joystick. That's over a hundred buttons short isn't it? I'm not interested in pressing LCtrl + RShift + End + W + F3 and having that be somehow representative of flipping a switch in a cockpit whos true function I may not even know or notice. Theres nothing immersive about pressing a whole bunch of keyboard commands. Maybe with the TM HOTAS A10 and some MFDs but thats out of my budget for a while...

Noone's telling you to map every command to your joystick, and I've never heard of a 100 button joystick. Just map the real life HOTAS functions to your joystick (diagram available in the flight manual), and use the interactive cockpit for everything else. Thirty buttons is more than enough to have you flying completely by joystick and mouse.

lol... no one gets it....

Maybe if you took the time to listen what we said you'll get it ;)

You have a clickable cockpit. Apart from that, it takes 4 joystick buttons to find, designate and drop a bomb. If that's above your pay-grade, well then, what else can one say?

lol... no one gets it. If I had a replica cockpit i'd spend the day or two it would take to learn every little switch. I have a thirty button joystick....

You are overlooking a couple of key points.

1) You do have a replica cockpit, it is right in front of you. You use the mouse instead of your finger to click the switch or turn the knob. The only things in the cockpit that you can not click to activate either don't function in the sim or they are on the flight stick or throttles.

2) The buttons on the flightstick and throttles are the only things you need to map to your joystick.

As for those hundred switches...many you might never need to touch, especially if you were to air start and eject if anything bad happens.;)

Presuming you have master arm on:

1. go to "DSMS" page on MFCD

2. Select Rockets

3. Aim

4. Fire

or

1. Gun switch to on

2. Aim

3. Fire

When your out of said ammo, you'll get the inspiration to learn the 2-3 extra steps for mavs and bombs:)

sounds simple like that...

once my exams are over ill give it a try, but the 700 page manual seems a bit too much like my chemistry text book to read right now...

Well, the manual can be a bit deceptive with how many pages there are in it - for example, notice that a LOT of it is focused on advanced functions in the CDU that you may not use for a long time. (Or indeed, ever.)

I'd say all you really need is the quick-start manual, and referencing the HOTAS map in the manual.

flight games...

Game?

Oh don't start that again Mower. :P

WOW! this sim is all about putting in the time! Im frustrated a tad myself because I cant seem to put the time in,,, Ive been training on the systems since day 1,,,, im currently stuck on refueling from the tanker. I hope some day to get up the nerve to jump into multiplayer,,, and I will! Just not today,,,, this Sim is THE REAL DEAL! Its also a commitment,,,, if its to much for me,, I will go back to BF3 or MW3,,,,,, Good Luck!

just got through the guns and rockets training...

perhaps sim avionics is not as difficult as previously assumed?

i know how dumb bombs work so the next mission shouldnt be too hard...

but its the GBUs and MAVs that make this plane as kickass as it is so we'll see how those go...

and I hate to say I was wrong, but it seems the way they (ED) have game avionics set up doesn't quite work properly so i guess i'm gonna learn to fly an actual hog. i wonder what the correlation is between competence in this game (ed. SIM, sorry lol) and exam marks..?