Getting into the A-10C

[JaxonFlaxonWaxon]

I'm a proud new owner of the A-10C, but I have a few questions:

 

1. TrackIR needed at all? I've been told that TrackIR is a MUST have for this.

2. I have a pair of rudder petals for my simulation, but they seem not to work? I'm lost, they seem to control pitch, and flaps, instead of rudder? Please help the rudder pedals I own are the

CH Products Pro Pedals. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?gclid=CjgKEAjwn-WcBRD61NHM-uqDrm4SJADrP4tPQaKQWeyLqASEp5SOxBIQw1-oHbFTWYwkXkWUAkFchPD_BwE&Item=N82E16826169103&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-PC+Game+Controllers-_-N82E16826169103&ef_id=U0sN8QAAAXXhrgYJ:20140613031558:s) I also own a Saitek x52 Pro Joystick.

 

If someone can help me with the rudder problem I'd greatly appreciate it!

Edited June 13, 2014 by JaxonFlaxonWaxon

[SharpeXB]

Track IR is very useful and fun for this sim and others. The A-10 requires so many HOTAS buttons it would be difficult to use a hat switch at the same time. If your budget allows, it's very worthwhile. It's not absolutely required though. You can get a lot of situational awareness using the HUD and target pod.

 

For the pedals, if you've just installed the A-10, go to the controls and un-assign all the axis, then remap them to your taste. The default assignments don't make sense sometimes. Like your rudder is mapped to your throttle. The CH Pedals work very well.

Edited June 13, 2014 by SharpeXB

[PFunk1606688187]

Also note that when I first assigned my toe brakes the axis needed to be interverted. Without inverting it my toe brake axis would have my brakes set anytime I didn't depress them. Mine are Saitek rudder pedals so I'm not sure if its specific only to my pedals or its universal.

 

If you want to actually fly ground attack effectively you're probably gonna want a trackir. Its not just about the buttons, its about the way you need to fly onto a target to hit it if you're doing anything other than Mavericks or CCRP level release.

 

I wouldn't be able to do a basic dive bomb delivery for Mk82s without a Trackir:

 

Fly offset and perpendicular to the target. Look at it and wait for visual cue in the cockpit to line up. Roll more than 90 degrees towards the target while keeping your eyes on it. Pull the top of the canopy bow through the target then roll wings level.

 

That would be stupid difficult with a POV hat.

 

If you budget doesn't allow for a Tackir look into the free alternatives that use basic webcams like FacetrackNoIR and Freetrack. Apparently they work quite well.

[Mr_Burns]

Track Ir - Its down to your preference of playing - I own one, with 3 screens, I kind of prevered to use the POV but I mapped that to a DMS and Trim.

 

I dont know about your rudder, try this, go into options, controls, find the axis button and press it, you should see your saitek pedals there, map them to the rudder.

 

X52 is fine, map the little button at the bottom of the joystick (the pinky) as a "multiplyer" now you can use each switch twice.

 

I have the top hat mapped to TMS and the with pinky DMS.

 

My POV is Trim (with pinky)

 

And the one on the throttle is for the designator.

 

Set the buttons on the throttle as Boat FWD MID Aft and one of the joystic buttons as china hat fwd and china hat aft with pinky modifier.

 

Thats you sorted, you can map the joystick buttons to start, canopy, gear, breaks etc all using the modifier to use them twice.

 

Enjoy

[JaxonFlaxonWaxon]

Track Ir - Its down to your preference of playing - I own one, with 3 screens, I kind of prevered to use the POV but I mapped that to a DMS and Trim.

 

I dont know about your rudder, try this, go into options, controls, find the axis button and press it, you should see your saitek pedals there, map them to the rudder.

 

X52 is fine, map the little button at the bottom of the joystick (the pinky) as a "multiplyer" now you can use each switch twice.

 

I have the top hat mapped to TMS and the with pinky DMS.

 

My POV is Trim (with pinky)

 

And the one on the throttle is for the designator.

 

Set the buttons on the throttle as Boat FWD MID Aft and one of the joystic buttons as china hat fwd and china hat aft with pinky modifier.

 

Thats you sorted, you can map the joystick buttons to start, canopy, gear, breaks etc all using the modifier to use them twice.

 

Enjoy

I'm fairly new so, this has been helpful, but what exactly is the pinkie button? I don't know what you're referring to. Lol, sorry for my noobiness.

[DTWD]

A pinkie is, as far as I am aware, an Americanism for little finger. So if your holding the stick it's the button inside the grip but right at the bottom of the stick... Near your pinkie.

[Maverick-X]

The pinky is the switch for your right hand 5th finger as DTWD said.

If you programm the Stick with the saitek SST software you can use it like a modifier (shift / alt / ctrl) on the keyboard. So you will have "Fire A" and "Pinkie + Fire A".

 

I even set the clutch button as a modifier, so I have the pure button, the pinkie, the clutch and pinkie + clutch for one button. Together with the 3 Stick-Modes that makes 8 possible functions for one button! (although I roughly use 2 modes)

 

EDIT:

To TrackIR: I didn't have one for quite a while and it works without it. But now that I have one, I would never fly without it again. It's extremely useful to be able to turn your view with your head, especially in dogfights, but still very useful in air-2-ground. For example a dive for a gunrun would start with you being close above your target, with it set up at 10-11 or 13-14 o'clock. You look down at the edge of your canopy, lay eyes on the target and roll over - pull until you are aligned and smoke it. Works like a charm with TrackIR. Imagine to do this with a cooliehat to adjust your view, simply impossible

Edited June 13, 2014 by Maverick-X

[jubus]

Alternatives to TrackIR:

 

Bind alt+c and numpad 5 on your HOTAS. Alt+c turns on/off mouselook and eye position can be moved by keeping mousewheel pressed. Numpad 5 centers the view. It's much more flexible and faster this way than using coolie hat, and the only downside is that you don't have enough hands to manage both throttle and stick when you're looking around.

 

And then there's also Freetrack (build your own TrackIR!) that costs 20€ for the materials and some effort. It's somewhat pain in the ass to setup though and i prefer just binding the keys because keeping the view stable when zooming in is much easier.

 

Also as mentioned above, facetracknoir. Haven't used it much, but i personally don't have very good experiences with it. It requires good lightning on you face to work well, uses a lot of CPU and if you wear eye glasses, it'll lose track of your face easier that's very annoying in the middle of the game.

Edited June 15, 2014 by jubus

[EagleTwoThree]

You have to have a Track IR or it will be like you smell funny or something and no one will like you. Just kidding of course, but it is extremely helpful as the others have said. If you get one, IMHO, don't bother with the "pro clip" thingy, as the clip is weak and prone to breaking (do some searching to see). I use the IR that comes with just the reflectors, and it works great. I also think the IR5 comes with a key for 60% off a module from ED, at least mine did.

 

Eagle

[stevieray]

After reading this, I just ordered a TrackIR 5. PFunk is right, I've been using the POV hat and a zoom control knob, but it's totally impossible to do that and roll in on something.

[stevieray]

I've been flying the sim for a couple of months and finally got TrackIR today. It does greatly improve the whole experience, however after the 1st 20 minutes, I had 6-degrees of nausea.. ;-) I'll hopefully get used to it. I'm also going to try the hoggit Tues eve training flights I heard about.

[javelina1]

OK....I'm pretty new to DCS (comparatively speaking). So what is Track IR? and.....I have the X-52 HOTAS setup. Does anyone have any kind of mapping that they use for button assignments? I have been going kind of willy nilly on my A-10 assignments because......well.....I have no real idea of what I'm doing I guess.

 

when I was using my X52, I had a lot of luck using this profile:

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=58484

 

I've since moved on to the TM Warthog.

[xaoslaad]

OK....I'm pretty new to DCS (comparatively speaking). So what is Track IR? and.....I have the X-52 HOTAS setup. Does anyone have any kind of mapping that they use for button assignments? I have been going kind of willy nilly on my A-10 assignments because......well.....I have no real idea of what I'm doing I guess.

Head tracking. you either put a clip on a ball cap or a pro clip on your headphones and it is able to sense head movement. It amplifies the motion of your head so Looking a bit to the ldft or right can have you look straight back in the pit and thus can take a little getting used to, but once you do you'll never want to go back.

 

When programming your X-52 give thought to how the stick in the pit is layed out (or look at pictures of the thrustmaster warthog). You have TMS, DMS, Trim, countermeasures on the stick. You can pretty closely duplicate that using. the pinky switch as a modifier. You can similarly do the same with the throttle. It wont be perfect, but it will be close. Anyway, there are some good profiles in the user files section so look for one that mostly works for you and modify to taste.

[SkateZilla]

Guys, please remember to treat other users with respect, Thank You, Have a Nice Weekend.

 

As for the A-10C

 

Learning where everything is, sit in the pit, look around for a while, know where each main panel is (engine, fuel, lights, etc). learn what each gauge means.

 

Then run the Startup training, Take notes..... Practice

(write down the procedure, run the training, then make a new mission, start up, eject, respawn, repeat)

 

Once you have startup down, start to learn the take off/landing procedures, and navigation.

 

once your able to start up, take off, navigate and land, move on to weapons.

[Richard Rodgers]

I run an x52 pro and only use one screen. Would like 3 but don't have space at the moment.

 

I have face track NO IR with PS3 camera and track clip pro. It works in a fashion but sometimes it can be more trouble than it is worth so don't use it all the time. I have become quite adept at moving the view around by mapping the front hat switch on the throttle.

 

To help with button presses, I have invested $8 in Voice Attack. This is speech recognition software that can perform key press functions. For example I have set GEAR, FLAPS, SNAP VIEWS, AIR BRAKES, SOI, BOAT SWITCH etc etc to voice command. Makes thing easier for me.

 

I am sorting out how to create a pan view left and right that is by voice. Almost cracked it.

 

The beauty of Voice Attack is that any function that can be mapped to a key press or key combo can be done by voice.