I'm new here.

Hi,

I'm new to DCS and flight sims in general (apart from playing Apache Gunship on a Commodore-64 back in the eighties and Ace Combat 7 in PSVR - which don't really count, obviously! :D ), but I've always been into aviation (I was an air cadet as a teenager) and having recently acquired a couple of old work PCs - one broken, one redundant, I decided to scrape something together from both and give DCS a try, after watching lots of YouTube vids over the past year or so.

I've not had a home PC for years, since I sit in front of one at work all day (I've always been a Playstation console gamer), so I'm not fully up to speed on what the latest PC tech is.

Anyway, I've cobbled together something running an i7 - not sure what version, 8GB DDR3 RAM; I don't know what the motherboard is but it's a 2012 Dell XPS PC upgraded from Windows 7 to 10. I didn't want to spend extravagant amounts of cash on it since I was just trying it out to see if I got the taste for it, but I've upgraded the power supply to 700W, added a 500GB SSD and upgraded the graphics card with a XFX - AMD Radeon RX 580 GTS Black Edition 8GB GDDR5, which is I believe a reasonable mid-range card.

At the moment I'm using a Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas that I bought for Ace Combat 7, which feels a bit imprecise and tricky to use in DCS. I'm thinking of upgrading to a T16000M.

And to my surprise it runs smoothly with the game set to the default High setting, with only the occasional very minor stutter, mostly when I'm on the ground taxiing. However, when I try any training missions with more going on, like other aircraft, then I'm getting some freezing and putting the settings down to the default Medium seems to cure this. I've ordered more RAM to upgrade it to 16GB, hoping this will allow me to run it on high without stutter or freezing. Also, I should say, I'm running it plugged into my 55" Highsense 4K TV and have DCS running set at the same resolution, which is probably rather too high! But otherwise I have to run DCS within a window, if I want the mouse to line up when in full screen mode, which spoils the immersion for me.

Speaking of immersion, I'm curious, has anyone played Ace Combat 7 in PSVR and DCS in VR? I know Ace Combat is arcade (I'm not comparing) but I was curious how the resolution compares? Just to give me an idea of what I can expect, because I'm thinking of maybe investing in an Oculus Rift S at some point in the future.

Thanks for reading my long and rambling post! :)

There's a VR section in this forum, to be found here: https://forums.eagle.ru/forumdisplay.php?f=497 (lot's of stuff to read for the next couple of days).

Welcome to the Forum... The people here are really very helpful. As a noob myself, I've spent a lot of time reading various threads as well.

Good luck

Thanks for the welcome guys. I look forward to finding my way around. There's lots to learn!

One thing I am struggling with is the SU25-T training missions, particularly the bombing runs. I'm having a nightmare seeing the green hoops that it makes you fly though because of the terrible reflections in the HUD and canopy. I can't see the final hoop, even following the way point and without that I can't even start the bombing run!

Welcome to the forum!

Hey Alpine!

I think you'll find, that in general, most people will gladly help you with any question you have. Of course, always try to find the answers first.

I find that YouTube almost always has a video explaining exactly what you need to know... tutorials on basic setup, VR examples, etc...

Its funny to see the new guys get in a jet, cold and dark, and say... "now what"? What key to you hit for auto-start? Sure, auto-start may exist, but you really shouldn't use it. Go to YouTube and lookup the startup sequence for the plane you plan on flying.... you'll learn them in no time. Having a clickable cockpit is really amazing, some models don't have them, but most do.

I then usually try to fly the tutorials (launched from the DCS menu) that come with the plane I'm flying... then, as the instructor walks you through the tutorial, you'll find there are certain things you might want to have mapped to your joystick (or HOTAS).... its at this point that I often stop and map those keys to my equipment. Try to map your HOTAS buttons to items that the pilot would normally have only on their HOTAS. The reason for this is, when you are in combat, the ability to quickly change a weapon for example, is something you don't want to be clicking the cockpit buttons for... while, something like lowering your landing gear might be something you can do leisurely.. if you get my meaning. The point is... as you go through the tutorials, you'll find that you learn which keys you need to map. Then from there, you'll try to keep consistent in how you map things with other aircraft (I do typically map gear, brakes, speed brakes, flaps and canopy to the same set of buttons in almost every aircraft).

So, I do fly in VR exclusively. Hopefully your specs will get in in the air with minimal graphics settings. as Lange_666 mentioned, you should be able to learn more about that in the VR forum. I've used the Oculus Rift and now I use the Oculus Rift S, and its amazing. I'll never go back to 2D. Eagle Dynamics has announced they will be implementing a new VR API (Vulkan)... I'm looking forward to that for sure.

As for your issue with seeing the green hoops... perhaps try going into 'active pause', I think its (LShift + LWin + Pause). Then go into external view (F2) and pan around to find it? Other than that, I'm not sure.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy it... give the multiplayer servers a visit, like Aerobatics Online... it will give you the experience without the stress of combat... If you move to a combat server, take a look at getting SRS Radio installed... there are many tutorials out there...

Keep the burners lit!

-Cru

All great advice, thanks very much for the tips. I've already found some good YouTube tutorials that explain the SU-25 training missions in a bit more depth than those in the game. Really useful.

For your Hardware: upgrading to 16GB should increase overall performance, though I would try to set the resolution to FullHD ( 1920x1080p ) and check the Fullscreen option.

Worst case reduce water and shadows.

Maybe try this thread/guide as a starting point:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=201600

Keep in mind that adding more RAM can only help with load times and smoother game play in situations where 8GB was not enough and system stuttered or freezed. It won't give higher fps per se.

I replaced my 8GB RAM with 16GB yesterday and I couldn't believe the difference it made. Loading times are vastly improved and I'm no longer getting any stutter. I can even have cockpit mirrors on. I'm guessing it's probably one of the biggest, relatively cheap changes you can make to get a good performance improvement to your system. I've no idea what my frame rate is though.

I did have my resolution set to something crazy, like 4096 x 2160 or somethin to match the resolution of my TV because I was finding, if I set DCS to a lower resolution but ran it in full screen mode, the cursor wasn't lining up with the menus and switches on screen. However, I've set it to, I think, 2160 x 1080 (I'm not at home now, I need to check later) and am running it in full screen mode. I've found that if I briefly go into Windows 10 settings and close it again, without doing anything, but then go back in to full screen DCS, the cursor lines up. I don't know why - some weird quirk. But at least I can run it at a more sensible resolution and in full screen mode now.

I should put my PC specs and settings in my sig. when I get a minute, in case it helps other noobs.

Cheers again for all the advice.

Welcome:pilotfly:

Keep in mind that adding more RAM can only help with load times and smoother game play in situations where 8GB was not enough and system stuttered or freezed. It won't give higher fps per se.

With FullHD and 16GB RAM the performance should be quite decent...

I replaced my 8GB RAM with 16GB yesterday and I couldn't believe the difference it made. Loading times are vastly improved and I'm no longer getting any stutter. I can even have cockpit mirrors on. I'm guessing it's probably one of the biggest, relatively cheap changes you can make to get a good performance improvement to your system. I've no idea what my frame rate is though.

 

 

 

I did have my resolution set to something crazy, like 4096 x 2160 or somethin to match the resolution of my TV because I was finding, if I set DCS to a lower resolution but ran it in full screen mode, the cursor wasn't lining up with the menus and switches on screen. However, I've set it to, I think, 2160 x 1080 (I'm not at home now, I need to check later) and am running it in full screen mode. I've found that if I briefly go into Windows 10 settings and close it again, without doing anything, but then go back in to full screen DCS, the cursor lines up. I don't know why - some weird quirk. But at least I can run it at a more sensible resolution and in full screen mode now.

 

 

 

I should put my PC specs and settings in my sig. when I get a minute, in case it helps other noobs.

 

 

 

Cheers again for all the advice.

Sometimes it helps to have Windows force fullscreen in DCS window with ALT+ENTER.

I thought I'd post a bit of an update after a couple of weeks playing DCS and share my experience, both game and hardware related in case it helps others new to the game. Some of it may sound obvious and and funny to those with more knowledge, but I've been away from the PC game for many years, so it was all new again to me and if it helps others that's great. :)

So, my PC is an older, non gaming, ex work, cast off PC that I upgraded. Some things to note that might help others - not being a gaming PC, the case is quite small and cramped. If you buy a new graphics card, check that it will fit. Mine just about squeezed in! I even broke the little plastic retaining clip on the motherboard slot trying to waggle it in and out. If you upgrade your RAM, check which type you have. DDR4 will not fit into DDR3 RAM slots. Places like Best Buy (if you're in the US) only sell DDR4 RAM in the shop. I had to order DDR3 from Amazon.

The first time I booted up my PC after installing the new graphics card I just got a black screen. If your PC is a slightly older one that you're upgrading, you might have to update you BIOS before installing your new graphics card for it to be recognised and work properly. In my case, I had to remove the new card (that's when I broke the clip because it's such a tight fit. lol ) and install the old one, so I could get my computer to boot again and download and install the new BIOS from (in my case) Dell. After that I could put my new card back in and it booted up fine.

On the DCS side of things, I bought the Thrustmaster T.16000 Hotas, which is a nice upgrade from the T.Flight that I had before. The stick feels more fluid and precise and has more usable buttons. I know a lot of people prefer the pivot type but I also really like the sliding throttle on the T.16000. I reckon it's a really decent mid-range, not too pricey Hotas for people starting out. There are also a lot of pre-configured button layouts for the T.16000 that you can download.

Also, a simple tip for anyone new to DCS that might be playing it in full screen, but at a lower resolution than their monitor (I play it at 1080P but on a 3840x2160 4K TV) - if you find that your mouse pointer is not lining up with the text on screen, just Alt+Tab out of DCS, click on your desktop, then click back on your DCS game window. You should find it jumps back to full screen and your mouse cursor now lines up.

Besides that, I've just really been enjoying playing DCS and slowly learning the planes. I pre-ordered the Super carrier so I've been enjoying learning the F/A-18 Hornet, my first high fidelity aircraft. It feels like a sports car vs a tank compared to the SU-25T!

I've also just bought an Oculus Rift S and I'm loving flying in VR! My system can just about handle it. I'm getting an average of 30-40 FPS, sometimes creaking down to 25 FPS when there's a lot going on, but I'm really happy it can manage it at all considering my PC specs. I can probably increase my FPS if I turn some of my settings down. I'm still experimenting with it at the moment.

But most of all, it's great fun and I hope some of what I've shared helps others that might be new to DCS and what you need to run it. :)

Thanks for sharing your experiences here! It is indeed quite amusing to read, if you are aware of these issues :D

But it's great to see that it all worked out for you in the end. One thing you were lucky with, is your power supply unit. With those hardware upgrades on an office PC it is not unlikely that the power output of the stock PSU is not sufficent and it has to be replaced as well.

Oh yes, a good point, Sorry, I forgot to mention, I did also upgrade my power supply to a 700W unit to make sure I had enough juice to power my new graphics card.

Oh yes, a good point, Sorry, I forgot to mention, I did also upgrade my power supply to a 700W unit to make sure I had enough juice to power my new graphics card.

Oh, well that explains it then :D