DCS:A-10C The Shore Campaign

Hi all,

First post on these forums, eventhough I've been browsing them for years
Instead of a traditional presentation I thought I might try an AAR.
Noooo, I've just noticed I wrote my nickname wrong when I registered...damn what a retard
Thank you almighty administrator !

This is my very first try at it so I hope you'll like it. If not feel free to bash me as much as you want !
I hope you wont mind the bold text and the local english...



My task consists in a battlefield air interdiction sortie near Sochi-Adler. My target is a concentration of Russian infantry dugged in at the Georgian-Russian border. Should be easy.
I'm taking off from Sukumi with one wingman.
There have been some kind of bug, I actually already did that mission and I thought I was a few mission further in the campaign, I will only realise this later in the mission, that's why my payload isn't appropriate at all !



As I'm taking off I notice my wingman is only starting to taxi and knowing how slowly the AI taxis in DCS I decide to proceed without him.
It's a cloudy day, not ideal. I'll have to fly low and I'll be quite vulnerable to AAA and SAMs.





As I reach the first waypoint I realise this isn't the mission I thought.

My RWR starts to sing indicating me I get painted by a SAM radar.
The encyclopedia isn't really up-to-date and I have no idea what kind of SAM is this.
So I start looking for it with the TGP.





I have my head down in the cockpit, almost glued to the MFCD and I can't find the damn thing.
I come across a SMERCH battery and mark it for later.



I think George W. Bush once said SAMs and Hogs could coexist peacefully...or maybe was it something about fish and human ?
Anyway, I'll soon find out this SAM has no intention to coexist peacefully with me as my RWR starts to scream like crazy anouncing a missile launch.





My blood freezes as I see 2 missiles heading in my direction.
I jump on the chaffs and push the stick forward heading as quickly as I can in direction of the sea.
Pheeew, one missile dive directly into the water. 1 down, 1 left.





Unfortunately the second is still flying directly in my direction.
That's it, the mission just begun and I'm about to go down...



Suddenly it changes direction and start heading into the sky.
I probably flew low enough to brake the radar lock...that was close.



I fly away from the coast but I'm still a bit worried as I see several missiles launch behind me.
I then realise it's the SMERCH I've spotted earlier, nothing to worry about...for the moment.



I finally get that SAM on my TGP.

My plan is simple : make it SPI with my TGP, fly as low as I can, quickly pop up once in range for my mavs, shoot and quicly go down again.

Unfortunately my first try isn't a success as I blow up a few apartments who were on the path.
I didn't took enough altitude. SAM-0, EightBall-0...







I'm taking another shot with a little more altitude, this time the maverick fly high into the sky, way above the buildings.
It seems perfect...but it's not...as the missile hits the command truck right behind the radar...damn 2 mavericks wasted.





Slightly upset by my 2 consecutives failures I don't waste time anymore.
I realign with the SAM and take the shot. I'm too high, I probably won't be able to dodge another missile...so be it.





Dead on target this time ! Ahahah eat that !



End of part 1

Welcome to the forums! Nice introduction you've got there. Waiting for part 2 now.

Thanks legend ! Here is the 2nd part

With the SAM destroyed I move the TGP over my main objective.
A few bunkers, some infantry and that's about it. I might be able to to finish the mission wihtout rearming.

I'm shooting my last maverick on a bunker and start to unleash my GAU-8, finally !







During my last pass I fixate the target for too long and miss the ground from only a few feet...pheeeew.



With no weapon left I decide to head back home to rearm and finish the job.



During all this time my wingman was sunbathing over the cloud cover so I decide it's time for him to see some action



I allow him to engage targets of his choice...of course he chooses air defenses...gonna be fun with only Mk-82 AIR...
He's heading to the SAM site I destroyed earlier. Unfortunately for him there are still a few manpads in this area...as he will soon find out.
He is dropping flares but does not attempt any evasive manoeuvers, the end results was predictable.







He is hit but still manages to fly and tells me he is going back to base...Whatever I hope you'll crash on the runway.

I'm heading back to Gudauta, according to the mission planner it should be an allied airfield.
It will allow me to rearm and be back to the job quicker.
And if I'm mistaken well I'll just have to take off again, what could go wrong ?

As I'm in final approach I'm starting to wonder if it was a good idea after all.
Where the hell do these explosions come from ?



I now realise Gudauta is targeted by the SMERCH I've spotted earlier.
My FPS drops drastically...oh no...not now...



I hit the ground hard but everything seems ok...I watch the airbase getting pounded by the SMERCH...



I'm heading down the runway with my fingers crossed when I hear a louder explosion, I turn my head to watch in front of me...horror !



Several rockets fall right in front me. I jump on the brakes...that's it I'm gonna die on this runway like an idiot.
Why ? Why did I land here ?



As I drive through the hot smoke I'm thinking it's definitely my lucky day !
It's the third time I come close to a certain death and escape it.

I quickly taxi to the ramp, rearm and refuel and directly head towards the runway.
I'm not asking any permission to the tower, they're probably dead by now and I don't want to be here when the SMERCH fires again.



I fly toward the Georgian border to achieve my main objective.
I've brought some CBU-87's with me, should be perfect to get rid of all those annoying tiny little soldiers
I drop them in 2 passes and enjoy the result from the sky.



"It's raining...bomblets ! Hallelujah ! It's raining bomblets !"







The bunkers and some infantry have survived to the CBU, a couple of Mk-82's should do the job.
You can run but you can't hide





Ok, job done...let's see if there are any other targets are in the area.
I'll leave the SMERCH, they're probably out of ammo.

I spot some smoke on the ground, probably from an artillery battery, and go for it with my Mk-82s. They are in a straight line, that's perfect for the ripple mode !





Unfortunately dumb bombs require an intelligent pilot...I fail miserabily, putting a bomb between each "Msta"
My ego takes a hit, I switch to my GBU, this time I can't miss.

I've seen a few tanks near the border and decide to take them out.
Unfortunately, AGAIN, they fall short...twice. Looks like I've lost my luck, it was too good to be true...





End of part 2

lol

Great stuff, 8B! Let's see some more!

Thanks

3rd and last part is on the way !

Part 3

Alright, I've wasted my last 5 bombs but still have more than 1000 love capsules in the GAU-8, let's put them to good use.
I'm taking some altitude and line up with one tank



BRRRRRR BRRRRRR Good hit !



But once again my straffing run brought me quite low and a BMP-2 isn't missing that opportunity to send me some of his own love capsules.





I suffer from minor damages, the plane still fly well.
No reason to not give back to that BMP what he just gave me, with a different outcome for him !



The BMP burst into flames, I'm out of ammo, it's time to go back to base and rearm...again

This time fortunately there isn't any welcoming comittee. Relief.
Rearming and refueling without any problems, I chose to skip the repair, as far as I can tell everything works fine except the jammer...who cares...



I've loaded some CBU-105 this time and I plan to destroy those "Msta" who are probably still laughing at my last attempt to hit them



Goodbye guys !















Good effect on target with the first CBU, here comes the second one





As I'm enjoying the sight I notice one Msta is still active...not for long, I lock it with a maverick and get rid of it.





Okay ! Only one target left in that group, some sort of BMP without guns, I won't waste a bomb on it and choose to go with the GAU-8 directly.



But I'm still quite heavy and have hard times to get that BMP into my pipper



I've lost too much altitude, I fire quickly and pull the stick hard...



But it's too late, I'm too low, too heavy, this time I won't escape it





What a shame, I've survived the SAMs, the SMERCH and I crash into the ground like an idiot...
My wingman made it back to base and got all the medals....

Really nice job - you have a good eye for unusual camera angles and subjects - really, really nice.

Thanks a lot Smithcorp

I'm really glad you guys like it, I was a bit scared you'd find there're too many pictures.

I owe BeachAV8R big, his AAR are an endless source of inspiration for me.
I hope one day I'll be half the story teller he is :P

WOW! These pictures are just great! And the AAR is fun and fluent to read.

There's an amazing eye here, and as Smithcorp said, your taste for angles is just phenomenal.

I'm not only greatly impressed, but outright hungrily looking for more!
And one more suggestion, there's no such thing as "too many pictures"!



Great job.

One more thing, what Post process do you apply in photoshop (if any) to these screens?

I WISH my game would look like that.
Also, do you record the mission and take screenees during the replay or you pause during the actual mission?

Thank you in advance!

A very enjoyable read and some really great shots

And I believe you can change your nickname if you made a mistake

Very nice read and great shots, well done!

Cheers

A very, very nice AAR.

Oh, and welcome to SimHQ, hope to see more from you in the future.

Hey man! Good one Tuff luck on the crash.

Regards

kaRadi

Well - I don't think you have anything to aspire to - your AAR and screens were fantastic!

Fantastic screen grabs. The explosions as you are landing are awesome. Great angles and an excellent re-telling of the whole mission. Really nice job..

Looking forward to more..

BeachAV8R

Fantastic AAR, great shots and story. Thanks!

Great shots, 8B! Did you grab them realtime, or via track playback?

Great (and funny) AAR, EightBall, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more.

Wow, I wasn't expeting this ! Many thanks to everyone for the nice words



There's only one edited picture in this AAR, it's the one where I'm looking at the explosions down the runway.
I've added a "zoom" blur to make it more dramatical.
This picture is also the exact moment I thought this mission had a great potential for AAR.

At first, when I did the mission, I had no intention to make an AAR out of it but as the mission unfolded and some crazy events I had never seen before occured I thought I couldn't miss that oppurtunity !

So all the picture were taken during track playback. It was a quite long mission, nearly 2h30, I was lucky the track recorded exactly what happened without any errors



Yup, EinsteinEP already told me about this feature, just waiting for an admin approval


Yes ! Seeing how you guys liked it I'll sure make some more, probably covering the entire "The Shore" campaign.
I won't rush it though, I have some pressure on my shoulders now and I want you guys to find my next AAR's as good as this one :p





What I really like in your AAR is the texts. Less pics (but beautiful ones !), more texts and it gives more room for the reader's imagination.
It's inbetween a book and a comic strip if you know what I mean.

But you can easily imagine how happy I'm seeing you saying that



Once again, many thanks for your feedback everyone, much appreciated !
And feel free to point the most likely numerous spelling/grammar errors in my texts, it will definitely help me !

Another one to add to your list....great read and pictures.

I usually just look at the pictures....

I am still in training and hope to get to a level that will allow me to fly and fight with such fluid controls of the plane and weapons.

Thanks Jack.

That's what so great with AAR, you can make it looks like you're a pro, planning every move in complete symbiosis with your aircraft...while it's not really always the case

I am floored by how good your AAR really is... You tell a good story and your camera work with the screenshots are superb as others have said. Well done and welcome to the forum. I hope to see more from you.

Wow.. I can't believe the track played back so well! Fantastic..

Looks like Doug Masters is flying for 'the others' here...

This was a very enjoyable AAR to read! Looking forward to more.

Exact same thoughts here, wow! I wonder if ED improved the stability of track playbacks? I don't recall seeing anything in the changelogs, but an error free track 2.5 hours long? Unbelievable!

When's the next AAR, 8?

I've quickly reviewed the track again and the mission actually lasted for 1h55, sorry. Still a pretty long time.
But personally what I find the most amazing isn't the lack of errors in the track but the fact I survived for so long

Next AAR ? Hum, I don't know, I hope I'll be able to make one for friday but no promises.
I need a good mission and some time too !
This AAR took me around 12 hours (straight !) from the mission start to the final dot of the report.
It completely ruined my day

But it was worth it

Thanks again for the nice words

That was great, lovely shots too especially the ones of the CBU's opening up, fantastic!

What HDR setting?

I think it was set to Hot.


---

Nice AAR EightBall! And Yes, wonderful pics of the CBU.

WC

Great screens and AAR EightBall!

I bet you needed a drink after that mission!

Many thanks guys


Yup, that's right.

I'm sorry, I know I said I would make another AAR quickly but real life decided otherwise.
I recently got my hands on FSX and I'm about to buy the VRS Superbug and Tacpack so my next AAR my be on that platform, time will tell.
Thanks again for all the nice comments

Cya

Nice AAR and I do like your quirky English. Adds a nice international flavour to the whole thing

They do take some time to make eh?

Looking forward to another though.

BeachAV8R

Well thanks I guess, I'm doing my best


Yes, and "I can't do that, I have an AAR to finish" isn't really an excuse most people are willing to understand !

Cheers guys
See you soon

The '3's that showed up on your RWR were SA3's by the way

Well that'll be a short one. "I took off, blew up an SA-2, shot down another Hornet, and trapped on the 3 wire." Just kidding, can't wait!

Lol, you're right SoupyC.

Figured out it wouldn't make much sense to create an AAR with the SB and Tacpack right now.

"Suddenly an SA-2 appears on my RWR...silly me...I forgot I placed it right there just a few minutes ago..."


Problem is I'm having a lot fun doing cats and traps with it and that delays any new AAR.
It will come soon...or later

Cheers

At first I didn't understood your comment but is Doug the movie character who has to free his dad in a desert camo F-16 ?
With a race between a cesna and a bike in the beginning ? And black guy called Chapy or something ?

Very, very good AAR. Nice pictures and comments really tie together what you were doing and why you were doing it.

Looking forward to more.