Hello everyone! Absolute first-time poster here but I've already been using some of the great advice and information on the board to help me get ahead in DCS A-10C.

This is actually my first PC flight sim - I got my first real taste of button-pressing/flight stick yanking addiction with Steel Battalion on the Xbox, and picked up the Hori Flight Stick 3 for the PS3 version of HAWX 2 a few months back, but it wasn't enough. (The Hori FS3 is nice enough, but we also use the PS3 to watch Blu-Rays so my wife was less than impressed when I was playing around with the throttle, pulled it back and the tense emotional movie scene started rewinding )

So I now have a PC capable of running the sim nicely, and I even got permission to pick up the TM Warthog HOTAS... but I can't order it until payday on the 20th! So here I am, stuck using a keyboard to practise until the 20th rolls around. Excruciating? Why yes. I'll also be getting the TM Cougar MFDs, Saitek pedals and TrackIR 4... since TIR5 would push me over budget.

I'll try not to ask too many noob questions until I'm better acquainted with the flight manual, but I also hope I'll come up with a few head-scratchers to keep everyone on their toes! It would also be nice to get online with people at some point once I'm able to fly a little better, BUT... I live in Tokyo, so I guess the lag would make it out of the question? (Very new to PC gaming) Not to mention the time difference.

Flight stick or no, I've already been totally floored by this sim. Just the startup sequence is a blast, taking off is thrilling and landing really gets my heart pumping! (Ahem... especially when I lost my tail on my first try... didn't know where the flaps and speedbrakes were ) I don't want to touch weapons systems until I actually have DMS/TMS switches/China hat etc. to push and pull on, so for now it's the basics, but that's plenty. It'll take me long enough to get a grip on the Georgian geography (Georgiography?).

I think my favourite moment so far has been performing a successful landing at Mineralye Vody despite totally forgetting how to set up ILS/TACAN navigation... probably the only good habit I got from HAWX 2 was giving myself plenty of room to line up a landing, and giving up if it looks like it'll go wrong. That's among my many, many bad habits such as utterly ignoring physics - if you want to climb, you point the nose ninety degrees up and push the throttles forward, right???

Looking forward to making a nuisance of myself with questions. As they say in Japan, "Tonkatsu!"

Welcome to SimHQ, XRay_Specs!



You've chosen the most detailed, complex combat flight simulation to start with this hobby, I salute you for that. Great to hear that you've already made quite some progress and enjoy the sim.

You'll find out that we're a very helpful bunch here, so never hesitate to ask a question.

As for the hardware: I'm using the TM Warthog, Saitel pedals and TIR 4 myself and can only praise them.

You took off and landed with only the keyboard? Wow

Welcome to the A-10 anyway and you will get a totally different experience with the WH, MFDs, pedals and TIR, TIR especially.

Welcome XRay_Specs
I am a new comer to A10 myself and wading through the manual and training missions. I can't imagine trying to land without a HOTAS. You certainly got spunk. You might find the online multiplayer experience is the best part. I fly other flight sims with virtual pilots from Europe and Australia with no problem due to lag. Once you have the basic equipment and your budget will allow an "extra" item, I would highly recommend the ButtKicker. http://www.thebuttkicker.com/gaming/ It is seldom mentioned on the forums and IMHO vastly overlooked for pure immersion. Think of it as force feedback for your chair. You FEEL every bump and thump. Especially the GAU-8 30mm on the A10C. I have used mine for about 4 years and it never gets turned off.
I hope to see you in the virtual skies soon.
Shadow

Hello there! Welcome to DCS A10! Nice to see you are setting yourself up properly to enjoy this sim.

Like others have said, we are a very patient community with regards to newbie questions so don't hesitate to ask. The same can be said for flying online, we take anyone with any level of experience. If you see anyone in the TS3 channel, you can probably fly with them and they'll be happy to take you up. If not, PM me and we'll work something out.

Regarding pings, well, I'm in the UK and I've played with guys from the USA, I guess the ping to Tokyo would be slightly higher? But still playable I would hope.

Do check out the sub-forums for training and FAQs for the A10, that will let you enjoy the game better when you understand what's going on. I would advise to wait for your warthog/MFD/pedals/trackIR before tackling the "bomb dropping" bits of the sim, simply to save you a bit of frustration.

That's easy!

Welcome aboard XRay_Specs!

WC

Welcome onboard Xray! Looking forward to seeing you up in the virutal skies!

XRay_Specs -
Sooo, the wife didn't like the new remote?

I've helped a few folks who don't have Thrustmaster Warthogs get their jets off the ground, and in so doing I got to know the keyboard commands really well. Your efforts to fly now with the keyboard will pay off in the long run. I'll hit a keyboard key to accomplish the same thing that a Coolie Hat Up or a China Hat Aft Long will do when my fingers are closer to the keys.

Having both the Track IR 4 & 5 (I have two computers set up for DCS A-10C) I'd say do this - hold off on the MFCDs and get the Track IR 5 for now, with the Track Clip Pro for headphones (helps to keep the noise down when the wife is watching a movie) - the TIR 5 comes with a hat clip to wear with a ball cap. My 2 cents... The TIR 5 is a better unit, bit the TIR 4 works well, too.

Move your slew keys from , . / ; to the dedicated Left Right Up Down arrows. Much easier IMO.

Welcome to the club here at SimHQ!

WC

TrackIR works great and TIR5 is just a slight step up. I'd buy the older version as well. MFCDs IMO make a great addition to a flight sim set up. I suspect you'll be building something resembling a pit at some point given the money you just invested.

Eh there and welcome to the club. I was the same way only I had an older set of X52s to fly with... but it wasn't until I got in here and saw how awesome the HOTAS setup really was. The TIR5 was something I'd wanted for years (earlier models) and I bought both at the same time. Then of course I had to go away and was unable to play for awhile. Then, by the time my controlers showed up I was able to play once or twice then had to go away again! GAH!

Anyway, once they come in take a browse through my thread (A10 late night)- there are a few things I had some trouble with the initial setup that are walked through so that beginners (like me) can understand them. And to that end I should point out that these guys are GREAT with beginners- they're not all snob and "how about learn where the search feature is there, N008!" All of my questions were welcomed and answered.

Just make sure to get up in the air multiplayer soonest- having someone walk you through some of the finer points of the sim is a HUGE help! And I have to say that flying in formation with a couple of wingmen at your side is pretty wild- look back there and see him right where he's supposed to be, looking right at you (pilots heads move in the cockpit in MP)... VERY cool!

Thanks all!

@Wrecking Crew: Yeah, the "new remote" didn't go down too well; "How do I start the DVD??" "*Ahem* Weapons release button, darling."

Concerning TrackIR 4 & 5, the reason I thought to go with 4 is that the set available on Amazon.co.jp includes the ClipPro... I know the resolution isn't as good on 4 which does give me second thoughts, but the price difference is a whopping 10,000 yen... incidentally the price of the MFDs! In the end I can't resist the pull of extra buttons

I do actually have one quick question: Do most people play with the red & blue ally/enemy labels switched on? It's kind of difficult to make out on Youtube videos. Part of me would like to turn them off for realism, but would that just make target acquisition ridiculously difficult? This question is jumping the gun a little since I'll be staying away from weapons until the WH arrives, but it's been on my mind.

The labels, if allowed by the host, can be switched On/Off by the client (you) with LShift-F10. You will want to turn them off soonest, prolly. IMHO, use the F10 and F7 views a lot, and know your autopilot (AP) modes and use them a lot, too. You'll have your head down flipping switches and stuff so the AP comes in very handy. And get comfortable using the Trim; with a TIR you must reprogram the HOTAS Stick Trim to the actual Trim functions - get the trim right and you won't have to apply constant stick pressure when the AP is off.

It's pretty tough to find targets without the labels or views unless a waypoint is right on top of it, so when you are starting out don't hesitate to take advantage of everything, especially at night . After a while you will get familiar with the TAD and be able to place the TAD cursor where you want and then switch to the TGP to search the area without the aids. And there are ways to triangulate an RWR threat with the TAD and Mark Points. Other pilots can broadcast their 'SPI' when they have a target to share. Last evening PMike was sending me red triangle target designators over SADL...

I'm making some missions where the labels are allowed. (I'm new to mission making so they are helping me right now.) New pilots can use them, old hands can turn them off. Where the labels are not allowed then you are left to depend on reading the mission briefing carefully. When you don't have anything else to key from, take note of the towns or landmarks near the targets and use those as starting points for your TGP search - like starting a road search from a known bridge. Ask your CIA pals for the target coordinates and plug those into your CDU before you take off and you'll never need a label again. (This is giving me a great idea for another mission.)



The CIA - if you can find them - can tell you the target coordinates. F10 View. Click on a target. F7 View. Copy the coordinates and enter them into your CDU.


W

All excellent advice! I'd seen the map screen on one YouTube video, but hadn't figured out how to bring it up, so even that is a big help, and I think I'll make entering coordinates into the CDU my practice objective for tonight!

If I'd known about the F10 map view my experience the other night would have ended differently... on a practice flight I couldn't resist amateurishly strafing some BMPs, but I took a missile (?) in return which knocked out my HUD, left MFCD and one or two other things. A little panicked, I tried to head back to the airfield and flew straight over a couple of SAMs! Miraculously neither engine flamed out (in the replay track one does and the track shows me dying ) but I lost EVERYTHING except altitude & climb indicators, and the whiskey compass. No HDI even! Radio was still up so I called Tbilisi for a return vector, and when I followed it I saw the entire airfield was surrounded by T-72s?! Not wanting to get captured by the Russians and apparently losing fuel from my left tanks, I made a grass landing inside friendly lines. Lost the wheels but kept the nose out of the dirt! Fantastic experience despite how I could have handled every step better in hindsight, it has made me very aware of how different this is to any "game"!

You will learn quickly that strafing BMPs can be the most dangerous thing you do. These things are impressively accurate, even more than the tank MGs. To give you an idea, I do not fire on tanks until 0.7nm, but BMPs I fire from at least 1.5nm so that by the time they fire at me, I'm already peeling off.

^^^^

They do happen to have an anti-air guidance mode for their guns. If you ever played Steel Beasts PRO PE, you will find that the CV9030/40 series has such an anti-air mode. It's a bit complicated to use, but if you do it right it's quite accurate, especially with the use of special fragmenting rounds.

Welcome Xray, you have chosen a great sim and a good place to hang. people here are friendly and top notch, also remember that the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

Staffan

Thanks again for all the welcomes!

I intended to be posting pictures of my heavenly TM Warthog setup over the next day or two... but the company's not doing its best and payday has been postponed...! The agony continues!

Finally!



I ended up bowing to WC's wisdom and got the TIR5, so no MFCDs for a while. It is SUCH a breath of fresh air to have all the controls at my fingertips... and the pull on the TM Warthog trigger is much more satisfying than I could have imagined! I'm seriously getting into training now, but expect to see me in Multiplayer once I've got Teamspeak etc. figured out. (And a little more used to the new setup)

One thing that surprised me is that with my heels down... the toe brakes are applied? Have I got this set up oppoaite to the way it should be? I'm an utter newcomer to using pedals, so any pointers would be very welcome.

Now to get myself better acquainted with the Maverick!

Go to the controls and tick the Invert box for both your left and right brakes.

Options -> Controls tab -> Axis Commands drop down -> Wheel Brake Left/Right

Welcome again, and congrats on the new setup. Once you get the hang of the A10, and clicking those tiny OSB buttons, get yourself a pair of Cougar MFDs... THEN you'll see the difference that simple piece of hardware makes!!