Hi, "new" returning simmer here too
Just wanted to add my thoughts on setup and game setting, from a "beginners" pov:
i5 750
1 single HD 6850
8GB
and the rest is not particularly important.
I run the game on a triple-screen setup (4720x1080), which I would recommend anyone playing sim: flight, race, whatever. It does affect fps, so be warned if you plan to run on high settings. I manage 30-70 fps depending.
Settings ingame doesn't affect too much on fps (the 6850 is slightly OC), but AA is an absolute no go! AAx2 or x4 is possible, but any higher kills the game with my setup. I leave AA to off. I played around, and the things I just need to have on High-settings is textures, scenes and visible range. I also like the warm colors HDR.
Then, I spent hours on reading about how great TrackIR is, and how you couldn't live without it, but i wasn't exactly going to spend anything without ever trying it out. So, I found Facetracknoir, which is a nice idea and it gave me enough to want a more stable system, but it didn't actually work, even with plenty of tweaking. Almost bought the TIR5, but stumbled across Freetrack. Took me 10 minutes to find my old cap, wire it up with 3 LEDs and it worked! Huge step up from facetracknoir. Took me some days of flying the A-10C before I figured out shift+F7 to stable and then move the slider in global stable to 100% to really get it to work smooth. I must say, I don't think of buying TIR anymore and I use zero money on it. I can live with a 9V battery duct taped to the back of the cap
Next, I fly the A-10C with an old
Logitech Attack 3 and the keyboard. For rudders, I configured my G25-pedals, works fine but needs some curve to not be oversensitive. I manage to fly the sucker with these 3 things, but yikes...in combat it gets a little frustrating and very easy to hit a wrong button or modifier and oops...lost target, moved SPI, changed weapon, something.
So...*sigh*...I can't believe it, but that Thrustmaster Warthog
HOTAS has "Buy me!" written all over it...I'm struggling not to and been checking out x52 pro, even just the Thrustmaster T-flight just to get a throttle with some knobs. God help me...
Well, looks like a great forum, I hope I'll have the courage to join TS and MP and start learning some real stuff. Really, I just picked up Warthog for fun and got hooked. Still flying training- and easy missions over and over again.
Oh, easy mission instant action nr.1: after I shot all the tanks/AA at wp 5, it told me to contact JTAC. My pilot then told the JTAC that I carried all the weapons which I had just unloaded on the past 4 wp? And, at wp 6, there were no convoy/coloumn and the JTAC didn't have anything for me? Mission over?
All the best