VCR Controls Needed DESPERATELY

DCS, we really need to have the replay function of the sim updated.

A set of on screen VCR type controls that we can toggle on or off would be awesome!!!

It cannot be that hard to do as there are many other sims out there that have the capability and have had for years.

Taking screenshots, videos etc would be so much easier.

I have found that although I fly in VR, if I do my replays in non-VR mode, using only one screen instead of the 3 that I have, I get some really great screen shots and videos.

However, not having better control over this is cumbersome. I dont know how some of the producers out there suffer through the current system other than actually recording everything in real time via OBS, Shadowplay or some other system.

I'll give an example. I run the Nascar Racing 2003 series, still today, as well as iRacing. In both, there are the VCR controls, a drop down list of available cameras, ability to select a target car to focus on, locking track view of the target car, etc.

This is one of the biggest drawbacks to the module and it doesnt appear to have had any improvements for several years after looking at the dates of the videos, tutorials and shots of the system.

One other option that would be nice is the ability to remove the on screen overlays. Screenshots can be ruined because of an ill placed JSTAR report, SRS overlay, Chat box, etc. One of the biggest gripes I have is the display of the Jester menu in the F-14 that comes on and never clears off after the selections are completed. The ability to turn that display completely off in replay mode would help out greatly.

One of the tricks I found is renaming the .trk file, to .miz, then running the editor to change some of the camera options, renaming back to .trk, then running the replay. Having the mission editor be able to recognize .trk files would also help a great deal, remove the option of possible corruption, ease up the amount of file management needed to get a replay and save a huge amount of time.

DCS is, imho, the greatest sim to date. I have no problem with purchasing the modules even in early access. I have quite a few that I purchased and have never even sat in yet. But the replay function really kills the ability to have a nice capture system for the flights.

I am sure the rest of the community would back me on the request. Most of us do not stream youtube, twitch, or other vids and this is something we do for fun, not for profit. And I am ok with all the ones who do. Thank you to each and everyone of them.

Aside from that, thank you all again for the best fighter sim yet!

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

What’s a VCR? :megalol:

Yeah I think the ability to pause, rewind etc during replay would be great.

What’s a VCR? :megalol:

Yeah I think the ability to pause, rewind etc during replay would be great.

Ok ok... Fair enough.

BLUE RAY PLAYER for you millennial types! :megalol::megalol:

Ok ok... Fair enough.

 

 

BLUE RAY PLAYER for you millennial types! :megalol::megalol:

Betamax for those of us oldies who made the wrong choice way back when.

Betamax for those of us oldies who made the wrong choice way back when.

Just don't go tooooo far back for us really old guys: 8-Track. Hmm. Kinda what we have now, now that I think of it.

Betamax for those of us oldies who made the wrong choice way back when.

You actually didn’t make the wrong choice. Beta was the superior format. Beta was used for years professionally in both TV and Radio.

The force was just stronger with VHS marketing in the consumer segment.

The force was just stronger with VHS marketing in the consumer segment.

It wasn’t marketing. VHS could record 4 hour American football games. That’s why it won out. :smilewink:

It wasn’t marketing. VHS could record 4 hour American football games. That’s why it won out. :smilewink:

pencil paper tablet = flip pad

It wasn’t marketing. VHS could record 4 hour American football games. That’s why it won out. :smilewink:

Far from it, but whatever...

Ok ok... Fair enough.

 

 

BLUE RAY PLAYER for you millennial types! :megalol::megalol:

Whats bluray these days? :D:D:D Personal digital Mp4 ( or other video format of your choosing) copies placed in cloud storage, or access to content via monthly subscription for a streaming service.

My god you guys...

Jokes aside absolutely yes, rewind is essential, skipping to certain times if possible would be fantastic.

Far from it, but whatever...

Veering off topic but yeah that was a big factor. Sony didn’t want to compromise video quality and for commercial use a 60min tape seemed fine. VHS had different recording speeds/quality which stretched recording time out at the expense of quality. But you could get 4 hours into a tape. The length of an American football game. On the average TV of the time the picture quality difference was negligible really.

They fought each other on recording length but VHS kept the lead.

My god you guys...

 

Jokes aside absolutely yes, rewind is essential, skipping to certain times if possible would be fantastic.

I’m amazed at the quality some people do in their videos despite all these limitations.

I’m amazed at the quality some people do in their videos despite all these limitations.

Oh yeah absolutely, I guess trailers and such are made with shorter 'missions' to make it less painful. But for longer missions? Having to reload the replay and wait until the right moment (probably using timewarp) every single time you want to take the same shot from a different angle, and worse what if you time warp too far? Too bad, back to square one... I think I'd probably explode...

One of the easiest and probably the most effective way to create trailers is to script way ahead what you will record by creating scenarios lasting 30 seconds or one minute top. By doing this, you will have a very short track file you can use at will without pulling your hair because you went too far and missed the spot you were looking for. With a clip of 30 seconds, you can reload it as many times as you want and try every angle you can think of. On the plus side, you will have far less chance to have a corrupted track file.

I found that using this workflow will save you a huge amount of time - of course there's still a lot of work to do before even recording and then by editing all the shots you captured.