SimHQ Contributing Editor Chris "BeachAV8R" Frishmuth reviews iControl DCS, the mobile app for the iOS operating system.

http://www.simhq.com/_mobile/mobile_006a.html

this might actually get me to buy an Ipad

What is the most affordable platform that will run this app?

Does it need a 3rd gen iPad?

Does it run on Android?

Thanks!

It does not run on Android tablets.

I will wait for the developer to weigh in on other iPads (1st and 2nd gen). I do know that the Retina update only just brought it up to 3rd generation..so it must have been working fine on the previous iPads..

What Beach said about the developer's advice, but if it helps, I've tried it on 'iPad 1 (classic!)' and 'iPad Don't Call Me 3, But 3' and it seems to run fine on both.

Great review!

iControl DCS will run on all generations of iPad.

However, the 2nd and 3rd generation iPads have quite a bit more processing power so the FPS in the combo MFCD display will be noticeably faster on 2nd and 3rd generation hardware.

A version for WinRT (Microsoft Surface and Windows 8 touch tablet PCs) is what I'm working on at the moment. If all goes well, I hope to have that ready for the public Windows 8 launch!

I do not plan on making an Android port. The platform is too segmented and the development environment is not friendly enough for me to be able to support iOS, WinRT, and Android all by myself. That may change in the coming months, but don't hold out for an Android version.

Anyway, if anyone else has any questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer as many as I can!

Thanks to SimHQ and BeachAV8R for the review!

Great review Beech!
I'm buying it!

One question though... Does the whole deal with extra virtual screen and "undocking" the CMFD:s and running the server, have any noticable effect on FPS in the sim?

I tried the free version briefly but suffered from a large decrease in FPS. I may not have had the screen set up optimally as I was only testing and had the exports all set up on the same screen. DCS is a smaller window with MFD's underneath on one 1920x1080 monitor. Free flight typically nets 100+fps on my machine, was lucky to get 20 with the config I was running.

I currently have a hybrid version of iPadpit working for the CDU (without exporting the screen) so I can still run full screen which doesn't appear to suck too many FPS if at all since it's only detecting keypresses. Has anyone got a rough idea of how much FPS I'd lose with iControl set up optimally?

I just ran a quick and dirty test using FRAPS to capture/log 30 seconds of gameplay (replayed track). All settings are the same except for the monitor output size and the fact that iControl is running. These are horrible FPS because my machine is 4 years old and I have everything nearly maxed out except for draw distance, ground clutter, and no tree shadows.. The scenario was Instant Action Spring with the TGP pod on the right side and the TSD on the left.

1680 x 1050 (no iControl): Avg 12.767 FPS

2480 x 1050 (iControl w/ 800 x 600 virtual monitor): Avg 11.133 FPS

So yeah..it knocked it back slightly..my calculations show it a 12% loss of FPS? Perhaps it is proportionally greater for a faster machine or something? I really don't know. Some folks with faster machines might be able to put up some better comparisons..

BeachAV8R

There will be an FPS hit since it has to run in windowed mode to export/capture the MFCDs and CDU, as well as the general overhead from the fact that you've got to send and process all that data to/from the iPad. For me, on a quad core AMD Phenom II 955 and Radeon HD6870, the FPS hit seems to be around 5 FPS when running at 5760x1080.

If it's significant, you should try disabling Aero glass on Vista/Win7. There's an option to do this in both A-10 VC Server, as well as there being an option in the display settings within DCS World now. That can have a drastic impact on FPS while running in windowed mode.

Of course, you could always not export the MFCDs or CDU and just use iControl DCS for the switches, in which case you'll need to manually switch your display settings back to fullscreen.

12% loss I could live with. Might spend the time to configure it correctly and give it another crack. iPadpit showed me that having a touchscreen device to compliment the cockpit wasn't just a gimmick - it does help significantly.

PC is a 2600k with 2xGTX570's so it's reasonably beefy.

I've been using iControlDCS for a few weeks now, and the biggest help for me has been the CDU export. I already had the Cougar MFDs with UM80 screens behind them, along with the Aimsworth F16 ICP that I had programmed with DCS functions, but I am very happy with the CDU.

I'll post something in Pit Builders later, but I have a 22" touchscreen coming today that I'm going to install as a front panel in my cockpit to use Helios with. Cap Loz has an impressive setup modeling the entire A-10C cockpit on one 1080p touchscreen.

Actually don't expect a post today. I'm sitting in the ER waiting room. Had to bring my mom, she may be having a stroke. Please say some prayers.

Very sorry to hear that. Catching a stroke early can often have a good outcome. Best wishes..

Impressive software,
too bad IŽll stick with my Nexus 10 wishlist.

Not changing to a Ipad for just a good software.

Thanks Chris, I appreciate it. It wasn't a stroke, could be a kidney issue. We'll find out... She's going to be here overnight at least.

One of our planes flew to Winston-Salem this morning..I was wondering if it was your Mom being transported but I know the odds of that are infinitesimal..

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N209CM/history/20120816/1130Z/KCLT/KINT

They flew their patient to Atlanta..

Hope all is well...

Tried the app again and had much better results. Initially I was just exporting to one screen and making the main screen smaller but now I'm exporting to two the frames don't appear to be affected anywhere near as much which is rather odd.

Only issues I have which I hope are fixable is that the F10 map spans across both monitors and using CA to control vehicles stretches the screen so seeing one black screen on the left where the exports are and half of the screen on the right where the vehicle is.

Are these fixable? Would be instant buy now if I can get F10 map and CA vehicle control confined to my right hand screen where I have my cockpit.

Hmmm..would be really nice to have that F10 map viewable in flight on another swipe screen on the iPad Don't even know if that is within the realm of technically possible..but how cool would THAT be..!

I'm not sure about either of those. I'll look into it, but I would say "Don't hold your breath." although TacView does exist, so....

Looks like the F10 map isn't fixable, sadly - did a little research and it's a problem that appears to plague all multi-monitor users. It is a little annoying but I can probably punch in the L/L of units blind on the CDU at this point (which is what I would use it for, primarily).

I don't know why the display for ground forces gets stretched across the screen, also appears to affect the FPS quite severely. It's in Beta so happy to cut them some slack and it's not a huge priority for me at this stage. I hope ED know about it and solve or provide a workaround.

I can probably live with those annoyances and at the end of the day, it's something that's a limitation on DCS's end and not the iPad software. Just need to evaluate whether iPadpit is enough at this stage or I pull the trigger on the $30 app..

Ended up getting it - I hope ED do address some of the things that make multimonitor a touch annoying.

Will try it with a few missions later today but early use is very promising. Similar functionality to iPadpit (obviously) but much slicker.

Well I've got the Helios setup going... I will probably investigate using iControlDCS at the same time as the CDU in Helios is a slide out panel. I have a tactical iPad case from Flying Circle Bags that has a leg strap on it, plus the kneeboard from Flyboys.com.

The Warthog rotation was done manually using DudleyAZ's method. Scary at first to do, but effective!
http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3170541/Instructions_on_how_to_mod_you.html




This is what inspired me to get a touchscreen.



Mom's still in the hospital. Probably dehydration combined with arthritis. But at least it wasn't a stroke.

Looks nice! I was going to start building a cockpit rig for my HOTAS Warthog today until I ended up spending the day cleaning the garage instead of actually building anything...

I can't decide if I want to try and use my office chair, or build a full cockpit and upholster it myself. Think I'll probably just use my office chair since storing a full cockpit is pretty impractical.

Maybe next weekend. Hope your mom is doing well!

iControlDCS just sold another iPad3. Gonna pick it up at the local Apple Store after work.

Welcome to the family!

Keep an eye on twitter this weekend everyone and you might be able to grab a free copy of iControl DCS. Tell all your friends!

https://twitter.com/bitshiftcom/status/241677663104819201