Lack of Training and Campaigns F18, F16 and F14

Hello All.

So I own all these amazing... scratch that AWESOME planes, but find myself almost never doing much more than watching Grim Reapers Tutorials and creating my own single objective missions for training and practice.

There are major gaps in the Training that comes with most of these planes, then you try and fly a mission that came with the plane and die minutes in because you still don't have any idea what you are doing.

You're limited to one or two mission that released with the plane, no campaigns, no story line...

I know some of these are still in early access but... are there eve going to be any proper Training Guides and Campaigns for these planes?

It's like building a US$15,000.00 Gaming PC and you can only play PacMan on the thing.

Feeling a little frustrated at the lack of content and wishing I could just get a refund and move on.

F16, no Campaigns whatsoever. Training... almost nothing that will help in combat.

Progress seems about as slow as with Star Citizen. Wondering if I'll ever get to enjoy it before I move to retirement community.

The most comprehensive plane I own right now is the A10C.

Regards

SpeedBirdNam.

...

There are major gaps in the Training that comes with most of these planes, then you try and fly a mission that came with the plane and die minutes in because you still don't have any idea what you are doing.

Hello,

In my experience, training missions are useful to learn how to do things ... but to really know about an aircraft system's and weapons, nothing replaces the manual .. either the DCS Manual or the manual of the real thing if available.

You're limited to one or two mission that released with the plane, no campaigns, no story line...

DCS is not a role-playing game .. so I doubt you will get a story line for them .. but there are Campaigns that come close, mostly those crafted by Baltic Dragon and Reflected.

Baltic Dragon is getting ready a Campaign for the Hornet .. be sure to grab it when it cames out soon:

I know some of these are still in early access but... are there eve going to be any proper Training Guides and Campaigns for these planes?

All three of them have training missions, so I don't get your point here ... regarding a Campaign, the F-14 has a mini campaign and I understand that they are preparing a full Campaign. On the case of the F-16 .. would you invest time and effort in editing a Campaign for an aircraft that is not finished yet?

It's like building a US$15,000.00 Gaming PC and you can only play PacMan on the thing.

I imagine that someone has given me access to an F-14 ... but I want to drive it well, so please pass me that 900 page manual first :) ... here, just a small sample of the effort that you should be placing on your part:

Grim Reapers may be fun, but to learn complex stuff look beyond them :smartass:

Feeling a little frustrated at the lack of content and wishing I could just get a refund and move on.

Seems that you are giving up too easily ... do like a real pilot and read the manual :thumbup:

Regards,

Eduardo

The Mirage 2000C is delivered with 2 campaigns, one full storyline that also serves as a tutorial (not everybody is booksmart, doesn't mean you are not allowed to learn by doing!) and a short one in the gulf. These are free, but high quality! It is one thing to read about a system, it is another to get to use it for real and see what effect it has. Some of us learn a lot quicker when we can actually try for ourselves instead of spend hours with our nose in a book.

I understand the same goes for other modules. I clearly don't understand why "premium" modules with such high price tags cannot match third-party cheaper modules in terms of content and especially campaigns.

... I clearly don't understand why "premium" modules with such high price tags cannot match third-party cheaper modules in terms of content and especially campaigns.

Maybe because they are not finished yet?

DCS is not a role-playing game .. so I doubt you will get a story line for them .. but there are Campaigns that come close, mostly those crafted by Baltic Dragon and Reflected.

Maybe not the best description, let me re phrase... Scenarios.

Thanks for the provided info, I will look out for those.

BTW: I am a real world Private Pilot, and they don't just stick a couple of manuals in your hands and hand you the keys and say go fly. Neither does the Navy... or the airlines. You have an instructor for the first couple of hours before you go solo.

The A10C has training missions that walk you through all the different systems. That is comprehencive.

People learn in different ways. Some can read a manual, get up and go do it, others like myself, need to physically "see" how something is done, and then I can go out and do it.

F16, no Campaigns whatsoever.

Doug Masters has entered the chat

Though I wonder how it's handling the latest patches ... :pilotfly:

physically "see" how something is done, and then I can go out and do it.

I am the same, but I still can't stand training missions. I usually open up Chuck's guide, open a youtube vid of what i'm trying to learn and then load of whatever aircraft in Through the Inferno dynamic missions. Those missions are the best way to learn an aircraft as you can customize what you want to appear in the mission.

So then I watch the vid, referencing Chuck's guide if needed and then alt tab into the mission and do it myself.

Maybe because they are not finished yet?

Sure. However I am not sure if any word was given by the dev teams of each module about including a campaign in the module once it is "out of EA". I've checked the Hornet and there is nothing about solo content in their feature list for 2020. DCS is based on a strange model where modules can stay in EA for years, shouldn't mean that you can only enjoy them in multiplayer or by crafting your own missions. Again, I love the work done by others and shared for free on DCS files, but that (and additional paid DLC campaigns by third-parties) should only be a complement to quality campaigns from the devs themselves.

Again referencing the Mirage module, it has undergone a lot of changes recently, one might say it is therefore not "finished". The devs still paid Baltic dragon to make the two campaigns for it, they didn't hide behind an excuse for the lack of solo content, and both are available (one since the release even AFAIK).

And that's what has me concerned about DCS. Once I bought the planes, I want to be able to do training flights to familiarize myself with the aircraft without having to read a 300+ page manual (I'm too impatient, I want to get in the air and start doing stuff.) then start flying missions, campaigns etc. I'm not a programmer and don't want to spend hours in the Mission Editor to setup missions for myself and go into knowing exactly what is coming.

Who would have bought Battlefield 4 and 5 if you were expected to setup your own missions?

I don't mind if it is third party, but for pete's sake, bring out some content for these planes.

It can greatly extend the lifespan of DCS and the planes if you can get new content, missions etc once in a while.

And that's what has me concerned about DCS. Once I bought the planes, I want to be able to do training flights to familiarize myself with the aircraft without having to read a 300+ page manual (I'm too impatient, I want to get in the air and start doing stuff.) then start flying missions, campaigns etc. I'm not a programmer and don't want to spend hours in the Mission Editor to setup missions for myself and go into knowing exactly what is coming.

 

Who would have bought Battlefield 4 and 5 if you were expected to setup your own missions?

 

I don't mind if it is third party, but for pete's sake, bring out some content for these planes.

It can greatly extend the lifespan of DCS and the planes if you can get new content, missions etc once in a while.

i'm like you. i just want to get in the air. the tools are there. like i said, Chuck's guide are easy to follow. The user made dynamic missions are awesome for training. youtube has tutorial vids galore. i have yet to read a manual for a DCS module or do a module's training missions.

the forum you posted this in is a treasure trove of missions that can be customized to your liking for training.

Evidently I'm not the only one thinking DCS is a bit soulless. Without 3rd party developers (which are few) coming out with campaigns, you are stuck with awesome high fidelity planes and nowhere to go.

I feel like I'm stuck in the middle of the Sahara with a Buhatti and no roads to drive it on.

I am currently trying out the Liberation 2.0 Dynamic Campaign, but even if that turns out great, there is still a lot to be desired as far as Single Player - Game Play goes.

 

F16, no Campaigns whatsoever. Training... almost nothing that will help in combat.

 

Early access is a big part of this, building a quality campaign is a huge amount of work, the incentive to do this during the early days of early access is not yet there. Systems will be introduced/changed and the risk of breaking the campaign too high until the module is more fully fleshed out. After all it's hard to build a campaign to take advantage of features not yet in the sim.

I'm just starting out on the campaign development road myself, got an A-10 Persian Gulf in the works right now but I'm hoping to go F-16 next (Syria most likely). The content will come...but the jet needs to be in better shape first.

 

The most comprehensive plane I own right now is the A10C.

 

Exactly why I made it my main aircraft for the time being!