Flyan Gaems (DCS World, etc.)

[Timbrewolf]

Big brain simulator thread. Hey kid, want to buy a hornet?

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1) What the fuck is DCS World?
It's a free engine/environment to fly around in modern military planes in single missions, campaigns, and online multiplayer PvP and PvE servers.

2) Is it really free?
To start. You get a trainer P-51, the Su-25T, and the Georgia map. The Su-25T is a really good attacker though, it's the Russian version of the A-10. It's still one of the better planes in the game for attacking SAM sites. Worth learning.
Once you go down the rabbit-hole though you buy additional planes and maps one thing at a time. They're not cheap, each one can cost as much or more than a AAA title. The F-14, F/A-18, and F-16 are like $70-$80 each.
That probably sounds absurd but the effort to make these as 1:1 as possible to the real thing with clickable cockpits, distinct flight characteristics, and an arsenal of very involved weapon systems justifies it to us fans of the genre.
There are some cheaper planes too, and they have sales where a lot of things drop down to 50% off. You can get the A-10C for $29.99 right now until January 5th I think?
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/shop/modules/

3) I don't have $500 to spend on a stick
You don't need to. One of the most well-known/liked pilots in the BMS community (a different but similar sim) who taught me and a ton of others to fly it used one of these the entire time. It's like $30
https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-3D-Pro-J ... ics&sr=1-1

If you want to be a fancier lad probably the most popular choice on the market for this and Elite Dangerous right now is this setup
https://www.amazon.com/ThrustMaster-296 ... ics&sr=1-6

Headtracking is arguably an essential thing but you can accomplish that by using a webcam and FaceTrackNoIR software or another equivalent. If you have VR what the fuck are you even doing you can just use that in DCS. It's gorgeous.

4) Why would I bother?
If you're autistic enough for spessmens you'll probably feel something similar click when you're fucking around with one of these. It's very mentally challenging, you're constantly trying to keep an eye on at least two different systems and maintain situational awareness.
Twitch reflexes, precision control, and the MLG gamer skills do come into play when you're in a dogfight with someone trying to hit your maximum turn rate while countering the maneuvers the other pilot is throwing at you. Push your brain some.

[Timbrewolf]

The F-14B is the first plane to show off that they got multicrew working finally. You can put two people in the Tomcat and go fuck shit up together.

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Yelling back and forth while one person tries to steer this motherfucker around (it's a really ornery bird) and the other has to work all the RIO station shit (there's a lot back there) is a fucking experience.
They're going to update some of the helicopters to incorporate this eventually, Razbam is working on the F-15E "Mudhen" which will be a two seater.

[Lumbermancer]

For me it's Strike Fighters 2.

[Timbrewolf]

For me it's Strike Fighters 2.

There's a little Vietnam-era overlap in DCS but not much. You can do Korean War conflicts just fine with the Saber and Mig-15.

For Vietnam-era the Redfor have a decent spread of appropriate assets. Mig15, 19, 21, and the Hip. Blufor only has the Huey and F5. Could definitely do with an A-4, F-4, A-6, and a Cobra.

The game is mostly focused around later Cold War simulation stuff. A lot of that has to do with countries not wanting to give up the goods on their more recent craft. The JF-17 is the most modern aircraft in the arsenal currently because it's a joint Paki/Chinese plane built for export so there's nothing really classified about it go nuts.

But good on ya for not saying something like Warthunder.

[Lumbermancer]

Strike Fighters 2 is like a 1948-1978. It has Vietnam, Atlantic and Middle east theaters. From Mirage, to Netz and Tomcat. It's great for getting into sims, because you can play it just fine with only a keyboard. It's authentic mechanics with simplified avionics. It's just that the meat of the game, campaign, missions, is not that great.

[youtube]EQhXs2uw9Nw[/youtube]

[Timbrewolf]

Ahh, the people I know who rep it do so for the vietnam stuff.

We should go shoot stuff on GaW sometime.

[Lumbermancer]

I don't really play DCS, never did. I'm not a plane person, Il-2 Sturmovik is what I played the most I guess. I'm a tank person. I was pondering getting the Combined Arms, but it seems barebones, and I read barely any multiplayer servers support it.

[Timbrewolf]

Combined Arms is not a proper tank sim thing. There's really only one tank sim out there and it's quite expensive, requires a coded USB stick to run, etc. etc.

IL-2 is good. Their new game is good. Their method of bundling content is kinda weird but whatever.

Again, as long as you arent mistaking WoT or Warthunder for sims it's all good.

[Lumbermancer]

Steal Beats Pro PE. Played it a lot, but it has no multiplayer infrastructure whatsoever aside direct connect. afair. And it doesn't require usb dongle anymore, you can opt for software drm solution.
Then there's Steel Armor Blaze of War. This one's a proper video game, and a sim to boot. Pretty fun.
I never considered Combined Arms to be a sim, I just like tanks. And this one has SAM too, so I could shoot some nerd down I guess.

And as for Sturmovik. Yeah I played it with keyboard too. 109 was best, because I could just hold elevator all the way in doing sharp turns, and it wouldn't drop into spin, say like 190.

[Timbrewolf]

Yeah the FW 190 and Bf 109 are both really good, the 109 especially compared to the field. People who fly those planes and claim to be good are like Spamraam'ers in DCS who act like know-it-alls.

Anyone can take a 109 and slaughter groups of shitty Russian birds. There's a reason some of these German pilots had like hundreds and hundreds of kills.

[Timbrewolf]

Why does this have so many views already? This forum must be fuckin absolutely overrun with bots hot damn.

I wanted to add if you have an interest in this stuff but no clue how it works hit me up in a PM, discord, steam, whatever and I can teach u 2 fly.

[Lumbermancer]

People crave tanks.

[Timbrewolf]

People crave tanks.

I crave tanks too.
A nice column of them lined up on a road underneath my CBU-105.

[Lumbermancer]

Should have Magnum'd, now you dead.

[Timbrewolf]

We in A-10's keep shooting us we dont care.

[Timbrewolf]

Update: there are a handful of high-fidelity sims available for free that were made by the community if you want to bang around and try some stuff out as well.

By default you get the P-51 trainer and Su-25t but neither of them are clickable. The community has created stuff like A-4E that are, and free!

[Timbrewolf]

Update: there are a handful of high-fidelity sims available for free that were made by the community if you want to bang around and try some stuff out as well.

By default you get the P-51 trainer and Su-25t but neither of them are clickable. The community has created stuff like A-4E that are, and free!

If you're looking to learn I'm pretty good at/happy to teach:

Mig-29, Su-27, Su-34, Su-25, F-15, A-10 (both A and C), F-5, M-2000, F/A-18, F-14, F-16

Things I am still learning:
Mig-21, AV-8b, all the helicopters

Shit I have but know nothing about:
Mig-15, Mig-19, Sabre

I'm still terrible at:
Air-to-air refueling, carrier recovery

[Timbrewolf]

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They're having another sale for the Lunar New Year. Get you some cheap planes.