Hornet vs Tomcat start (plus future Supercarrier) advice

Greetings friends. My situation mirrors previous post by @TheSledge almost verbatim (https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=259495) but I didn't want to hijack his thread. Based on advice obtained in my own previous forum discussions, I just had the ultra-rewarding experience of building my own rig. As of this morning, I finished doing all the software and file moving from family's ANCIENT desktop. Main push was upgrading to handle DCS VR as my family got me an Oculus Quest last year.

Now my dilemma. I want to immediately purchase plane & possibly either Nevada or Persian Gulf maps to support developers. I want to get ONE aircraft and learn it inside out. Also anxiously awaiting Supercarrier as I'm sure everyone else is too! Willing to watch videos, read message boards, print hard copy manuals, etc, but my plan is to focus on a single model for quite a while. I have it narrowed down to F14 and F18. Been the Hornet for a long time, but the Tomcat really piqued my interest when it released.

Like TheSledge, I'm totally new to DCS but my sim days go all the way back to Bruce Artwick's *original* MSFS version 1 on IBM PCjr . . . . On a single 5.25" 360k floppy disk. Lol. Still have that thing, believe it or not. Say current DCS is 100 GB. Doing math backwards, that would be roughly 278,000 of those floppies. :)

That's enough reminiscing. Any tips on which fighting machine gets my first dollars? Ready to fly.

~Vol

hey bud!

congrats on the new build! good feeling!

I will say out of the two maps, Persian Gulf will prob be more fulfilling at the beginning of your DCS career. Nevada is great, but not much action here on multiplayer side. I love Both maps, but i like to use Nevada for single player training purposes, kinda like what the area is used for in real life. pretty cool to imagine how much aircraft science has been produced and tested in this small area of the US.

PG will allow you to work on carrier work, a desert theme, and alot of water. Navy tactics differ slightly, and this is one place you can get comfortable using them.

for the plane, im a F-14 all day sort of guy. I have the 18, and really enjoy it quite a bit. something about the 14 though speaks to me, and ive bonded pretty well with it. as for your first one, i personally would say 14. teaches how to fly and operate an airframe, easier systems to grasp and learn, and quirks that were left behind when the developed the 18. one was the predecessor to the other, and i think its cool to learn the first model before getting the 2nd one. your able to see how the design and engineering helped to take load off the pilot and turn the RIO into a computer in the 18. both are awesome IMO, but if your interest is in Navy and carrier ops, both will be essential at some point. thats just my opinion.

do you have a Hotas? rudders will be pretty helpful for a 14, if you want to squeeze everything out of the frame. 18 doesnt really need rudders, but it helps at a few points in crazy maneuvering, or on windy landings.

whatever you choose, you wont be let down. im part of a sqaudron, 40th SOC, and we have alot of guys that would be very helpful in the navy department, myself included. http://www.40thsoc.org

BTW, we are almost Neighbors. Im in NC. welcome aboard my friend

Thx for notes. I honestly thought the 18 came out before the 14, at least in DCS World. And yes the "Navy" model is more what I'm thinking, and ABSOLUTELY want carrier ops to be in my training regimen. Dying to try VR carrier catapult & landing sequences, most likely accompanied by many virtual deaths. Ha!

Much of my time will be SP as opposed to MP, mainly because of my stage in life with wife & kids. It's almost impossible to get a single gaming session of any length to speak of, and I know sudden drop offlines aren't very popular in group gaming.

My only flight stick right now is the one made as a dual Windows / Xbox model, and I've never owned a pedal set. Most of my current budget is toast just from getting the Oculus and building a PC with great specs, but I'll eventually get some much better stuff if I end up really getting into this VR world. For now, I have ballpark 150-200 left, but it's set aside for software items being discussed here first.

I do have 1 related VR play question. Is stick (and pedal set) the main means of control? Obviously with headset on I won't be able to see keyboard. Always wondered about that.

I play in VR with Rift CV1. I have an LED lit keyboard and I peek out down the nose gap to see the keyboard. It sits in between my joystick and throttle. It works very well.

It's so friggin' awesome to be on a carrier in VR in either the Tomcat or Hornet, especially with 5 or 6 planes on deck. I just sit there for a while watching them manoeuvre to the catapults for launch.

It's so friggin' awesome to be on a carrier in VR in either the Tomcat or Hornet, especially with 5 or 6 planes on deck. I just sit there for a while watching them manoeuvre to the catapults for launch.

How do you get the Stennis? Is it included with one of the other modules while waiting for new Supercarrier?

How do you get the Stennis? Is it included with one of the other modules while waiting for new Supercarrier?

yeah, stennis is already in game. if thats the case with budget, hornet could use some love haha. hornet might be a good one right outta the box. you will always be able to upgrade setup etc, now i know the cat like i do, i would have a hard time with no pedals.

hornet and PG wont let you down one bit. id say learn to make missions with mission editor. sure there are missions that can be downloaded for the 18 as well.

the supercarrier will be an add on, but right now the carrier is unlocked in game as well as other ships and such. have really enjoyed making a packed deck, with just enough room to navigate around. great for pics.

im a huge fan of Naval aviation. like the AF as well, but i just enjoy carrier style sort of flying. the tomcat with A2A strength, good bombing, and the 18 getting finished up, able to do so much stuff i sadly dont know it like i should. I understand the family and kids sorta thing, im sure you will find time. who knows, maybe inspire one of the youngsters to follow the aviation route!

and my first post, i wasnt talking about DCS, but real life, the transition from f-14 and a-6 and kinda combining them for the hornet to start doing alot of the work that was needed at that period. really are great modules, and alot of detail.

the supercarrier will be an add on, but right now the carrier is unlocked in game as well as other ships and such. have really enjoyed making a packed deck, with just enough room to navigate around. great for pics.

Hornet + Persian Gulf pack shows as on sale for $84.43. Also, the feature write up on the F18 talks about a carrier, but the F14 description DOES NOT. Is it maybe a case where the carrier included with F18 is just an upgraded model? Basically, is there a carrier already in the game regardless of which aircraft I ultimately choose?

Leaning Hornet, but only because it's been out longer. Figure that means there will be more tutorials, existing "proficient" users, and things like that. Will absolutely be learning experience for me, almost from the ground up.

Hornet + Persian Gulf pack shows as on sale for $84.43. Also, the feature write up on the F18 talks about a carrier, but the F14 description DOES NOT. Is it maybe a case where the carrier included with F18 is just an upgraded model? Basically, is there a carrier already in the game regardless of which aircraft I ultimately choose?

 

Leaning Hornet, but only because it's been out longer. Figure that means there will be more tutorials, existing "proficient" users, and things like that. Will absolutely be learning experience for me, almost from the ground up.

yeah, the basic carrier is already in game. you wont have to do anything special, it will be in alot of the training missions. as far as user created training content, there is plenty around the web.

apparently the 18 is suppose to open a door to have a "discount" for the super carrier, but havent heard much news lately.

the f-14 is working on a Forrestal class carrier. also has been pretty quiet about that one, prob coming in the next few months.

the detail on carrier isnt very bad as is. in mission editor, you can edit and add planes(static) to give the carrier a real life sorta feel, or you can keep it clean and empty.

the super carrier is really suppose to step it up a notch for carrier related stuff with animated deck crew and the works. that is gonna be the one that costs money, but it looks like it will be a good investment if carrier work is your cup of tea.

As to pedals, don't most sticks have twist feature to do rudder / ground steering? Granted it wouldn't have realism of pedal set, but you'd still have control without using keyboard.

I'm still torn on the plane decision though as I love both. I do like your earlier comment about the Tomcat releasing after the Hornet and designers being able to tweak from "lessons learned". Kinda cool having a RIO too so you can focus more on learning to fly (or vice versa if you want to learn RIO tasks first)..

The combo sale is also nice but doesn't make or break deal. Compatibility with upcoming Supercarrier could sure swing the needle though. Screenshots of that beast have me drooling. :)

Some use twist grip for rudder, some use the paddles on the throttle. If you're going to get pedals - buy the good stuff from the start, but they're not at all that crucial for fighters like a good HOTAS.

The carrier module is going to work for both Hornet and Tomcat.

If you still love both but have to choose one ask yourself:

Do I prefer all new shiny glass digital cockpit, FBW and HUD with computer beeps all-over, doing all possible kind of missions all by myself

or rather

a worn out, older hardware, and machine that you feel with all your body, beast that have to be tamed to fly like you want it and share your workload with a buddy (real or AI)?

a worn out, older hardware, and machine that you feel with all your body, beast that have to be tamed to fly like you want it and share your workload with a buddy (real or AI)?

Based on your sig, I'm assuming above is the choice you prefer?

Based on your sig, I'm assuming above is the choice you prefer?

Yes, it is. :thumbup:

Much depends on F-14 or FA-18?

F-14 has more detailed graphics, the pilot and co-pilot have more natural movements that follow what you do in reality, come forward come back, the avionics of the plane is very old from the 80s on average. You even find some digital panel without much information. No panel altitude, no speed, no target details, you have to track the analog panel details yourself, and target information through the voice co-pilot.

On the FA-18 all very modern 2000s type, good graphics, the pilot looks like those from Atari just wiggle his head and badly wiggle his arms, the avionics are digital, multi MFCD panels various digital info, speed, altitude, target info and Allies in Dashboard, Allies Data Link and Awacs. Very nice flight with this plane I usually hunt the F-14 with this one.

I advise you to watch some videos about the two planes of how to fire missiles in case the Aim-120c (fa-18) and the Aim-54 Phoenix (F-14). Remembering the Aim-9x aiming for the pilot's helmet in f / a-18, it's fantastic I've heard pilots say that I do magic with them!

I ended up buying the FA18 / PG package & it's running smooth as silk on new PC on highest graphics settings. Haven't been able to do VR yet as I didn't have right cable. Supposed to be coming in today, but it may be the weekend before I have time to hook it all up & figure out exactly how it works.

For now I'm studying Chuck's aircraft guide, specifically the detailed cockpit views with everything fully labelled just to start learning that part. Will be a steep, steep learning curve for me, but I really enjoy the simulation aspect. I'm diving deep and trying to get a baseline understanding of how this real plane actually works, and my hope is to have the game settings turned up to high realism levels versus "arcadey". I had seen lots & lots of cockpit photos in the past, but never sat down and studied on a button-by-button basis. I have no idea how Chuck puts those documents together. Extremely professional looking with insane amount of detail with what I can only assume to be technically accurate data. Wow.

~Vol

Welcome and good luck you will literally have years of fun ahead of you.:pilotfly:

literally have years of fun ahead of you.:pilotfly:

Nice sig. With that bill of material, looks like you have already crossed that mark of years! Awesome.

I ended up buying the FA18 / PG package & it's running smooth as silk on new PC on highest graphics settings. ~Vol

Good choice, especially since NineLine posted this today:

DCS: Supercarrier will be available for pre-order on January 17th with a 30% discount and will deliver as an Open Beta by the end of Q1 2020. Owners of DCS: F/A-18C will receive a discount when purchasing DCS: Supercarrier.

F/A-18.

If you want to learn Tomcat inside out you have to have a partner to experience crewed flight. Then swap.