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New website and forum - aimed at beginners


Johnny Dioxin

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Hi Chaps (and Chapesses :) )

 

I am trying to get a new website and forum started, aimed entirely at beginners and those less confident in DCS World.

 

I have abandoned the idea of using my own website - but am transferring as much of it as I can to a new one, based in the enjin system. This means I don't have to learn all the ins and outs of getting forums and chat rooms etc onto my own website.

 

I aim to have guides, tutorials and the like, as well as a chat room, TS server, and hopefully a DCSW server just for beginners (password protected to stop the inevitable trashers).

 

Although I'm willing to put a lot of time into this, I doubt if I could make a real success of it alone - so if anyone would like to help, or donate any material, I'd be very pleased to hear from you.

 

I won't be publicising the website until it has been well fleshed out and brought up to date - but I'm happy to give admin access to anyone who genuinely wants to contribute and if it ever gets that far, for forum moderating etc.

 

One thing this will not be is a virtual squadron of any kind. It will be primarily there to help people get their feet wet, and somewhere they can come and ask any questions without any kind of duress. "Rookie Meets" will be very much encouraged, though - should enough interest arise.

 

In the meantime, I am hard at work on it - though it will take a wee while to get it all looking fit for purpose.

 

Hope to hear from some prospective contributors :)

 

 

...and if not, I'll do it alone! :P


Edited by Brixmis

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I dont have anything to contribute, but i am a Noob and very interested in your Goal. Thank you so much for your Efforts, I wish you the very best of Luck.

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My first input would be to poke community people like Bunyap about embedding their video tutorials to your site. For me at least, Bunyap's "On The Range" videos taught me a metric crap-ton when it comes to the A-10C systems. I'm sure there are people doing similar work for other airframes too.

ASUS Z170-P w/ Intel i7-7700, 32GB DDR4 RAM, SSDs out the wazoo and a GTX 1080Ti,

Oculus Rift CV1, TM Warthog stick and throttle, TM Cougar MFDs, MFG Crosswind pedals and WheelStandPro Warthog (w/ the custom small Warthog plate)

 

Former F-16 Ground Crew @ RNoAF

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

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FWIW I have a site and forums at http://78th-dcs.com along with 1.5/2.0 and TS servers geared towards free flight/learning/practice with user friendliness towards new players in mind.

 

I really have no desire for a squadron with ranks and all that, but if you want to cooperate on something for a community I'd br interested...

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

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Thanks. I have ditched the previously mentioned website run by enjin (which was called "Fly-to-Fight.com" - if anyone found it!) because, although there were some very useful modules on there, it was ultimately restricting the way I wanted to lay out the site.

 

So, whilst I'm still considering joint venture offers from others, I'll take another look at putting it on my old website, which is currently unavailable to view - sorry about that to regular visitors, but there is nothing new for the moment, in any case, until I get the new design sorted out. The model section is still up - but I don't have time for that just now, anyway!

 

I've run that website for about 4 years, but I still have not much idea about hosting files for download or running message boards, so it's very much a learning curve at the moment. If it comes to it, I'll simply host the files elsewhere, using links on the website instead, and continue to use YouTube embeds for the videos.

 

All keeps me busy :)

Kneeboard Guides

Rig: Asus B650-GAMING PLUS; Ryzen 7800X3D ; 64GB DDR5 5600; RTX 4080; VPC T50 CM2 HOTAS; SN-1 Pedals; VR = Pico 4 over VD Wireless + Index; Point Control v2

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All I hear here sounds great. I'm not sure if this would be the right thread to say, but I have a couple of... general notes I guess.

 

I have not gone through all the material on dcs, so I might be all wrong here, but:

 

Flightsims are a lot about terms, procedures, control schemes, endless forum posts an, sometimes, over-helpful forum members. Picture coming to this as the total newbie. The person starting the whole ordeal would, in my opinion, use a foolproof, super easy to find place to find information relevant to the skill level of the user. We have a bunch of awesome tutorials and threads full of info, but you need an inherent knowledge where to look or what to look... and many forum posts get flooded really badly at times.

 

Looking into good tutorials on dcs on youtube, many of them are either poorly done, aren't really tutorials but studies (bunyap's videos for example), or are just difficult to find in general.

 

I also bet some people would like unambigous explanations on several aircraft parts and systems and what to do with the, without going into so much detail as to drown the beginners interest right at the start. Many people are interested in the awesomeness that is air combat, but that does not mean they are ready or willing to sit in front of the screen for hours on end, when you realky don't need to, considering the Su25T and the FC3 aircraft.

 

When it comes to asking help on the forums, you mostly get incomplete information, way too long technical explanations or other less helpful comments... we mean well, but we deliver poorly. I say 'we' because I'm guilty of the same habits as well.

 

I've wanted to do a whole lot of DCS and Warthunder tutorial videos, but I have way too little continuous spare time for that.

 

 

Now feel free to disagree with me. This is only my own observation on the subject. Count it as a contribution if you found it at all useful.

 

EDIT: sorry for all the spelling mistakes, I'm currently typing on my tablet. Damn virtual keyboards.

 

Cheers: MikeMikeJuliet


Edited by MikeMikeJuliet
Comment on my own spelling

DCS Finland | SF squadron

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just joined up, and am really a noob's noob, although I am probably more of an expert when it comes to computers (I was a network engineer for 15 years). So your idea sounds very promising.

 

But I am looking right now for the very basics in DCS World. I have a Saitek X-55 system and a CH throttle quadrant, and both are seen by DCS. I've figured out how to set the axes for the stick, rudder, and throttles. But I need to know more about setting up each switch, top-hat and slider on all of the devices for the pertinent cockpit functions. I see no visual when I try to set up a switch for, say, the landing gear, speed brakes, flaps, etc.

 

Anyway, I'm getting off-track here. Is there any place I can go right now that would show me the basic set-up for my controllers, and maybe even files that I can download for the configuration of the default SU-25? YouTube? Other sites? I'm reading the SU-25 manual and flying the tutorials, but I need to get my controllers working.

-= Gary =-

a.k.a. Florida - Current DCS Beta, A-10C II Warthog, F/A-18C Hornet, F-16, F-14B Tomcat, P-51D, Spitfire, Track IR, Logitech X-56 HOTAS, Logitech rudder pedals, Thrustmaster Cougar MFDs, Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Quadrant, CH Throttle Quadrant, Razer Orb Weaver, X-Box controller

:pilotfly:

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gpbarth,

 

You're right in that navigating the controls menu should be #1 on any newbie tutorial. I've been doing sims for a long time and I still had frustrations with the system at first.

 

Here's the big takeaway: think of the controller menu as a spreadsheet. Each row is a control item and each column is a specific controller. When you save or load a controller profile, it is only for that controller (that column). So you must have the column selected when you save or load a profile, and you must save a separate profile for every column you modify.

 

For modifiers, these are buttons that can effectively double your options. If you've programmed with the Saitek software, they have one set of default functions for the buttons, and another set of functions if you're holding down the pinky button on the stick. This is exactly what a modifier is in DCS World: you choose the button to hold down and you can change the functionality of the controller. Shift, Control, Alt, and LWin are also modifiers.

 

Switches are modifiers, but they are toggles instead of momentary holds. Press the switch once and the button remains held logically; press it again and the button is logically released.

 

Hope his helps, and by the way I'd be happy to contribute to the site.

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