Hopefully this is not too provocative a question:

I've owned DCS/FC3/A-10C for some time but never flew it much. LARGELY for the reasons below. NOW I am very much enjoying the F/A-18 and doing more training and flying than ever before. I am more of an Air to Ground guy and it frustrates me that the current targeting techniques (except for Waypoint Designation) are all largely VISUAL, albeit with aids such as the TPOD or the Maverick Seeker.

I find picking up ground targets next to impossible unless conveniently set on a high contrast surface like the ubiquitous Old Kobuleti airbase .

I watch countless DCS videos and see them looking out through the HUD saying: "There are some targets" and I am "WHAAAAAAT? WHERE??????". Even when slewing the Maverick Seeker or TPOD and somehow being able to discriminate little slightly glowing dots to focus in on seems almost impossible even with max ZOOM. I can Active Pause and slew the TPOD around after doing some rough target designation by boresighting the pod and flying the VV over a presumed target area, but trying to do this in flight, en route to a defended target and trying to get a decent picture with enough standoff so that it matters seems very difficult. Seems like even with good magnification with the TPOD, it is very hard to resolve targets from longer distances, maybe related to RENDER Distance

I guess my question is, does it get easier? Does the eye eventually pick up the DCS ground targets from the clutter? Any special tricks?

DCS Graphics are far better than my old Go To, Janes F/A-18, but it seemed that ground targets were easier to pick up visually or in the ATFLIR than in DCS. Similarly, BMS seemed a bit easier, especially with options to increase apparent target size, which, though a slight cheat, seemed to look more closely to what it is like flying a commercial airliner and looking down at buildings and vehicles below from even high altitude

Granted my specs are not great for running DCS in the first place, so maybe it is a function of graphics and max Render Distance as much as my bad eyes.

Needless to say the AG Radar will be a big improvement, but I am also thinking of getting the AV-8B and going back to learn the A-10C, so I need to learn the Visual modes.

Thanks!

I have zoom bound to the red china hat switch, so I can easily zoom in and out without having to take my hand off the throttle.

I don't really have any problem picking out targets using the TPOD in the Harrier, although I don't own the Hornet. I think the main trick is getting the pod into the general target area, using slave to tgt or waypoint.

Also remember static objects don't render until 10nm.

AtoA spotting is also very bad in DCS and a problem, lots on it if you google. Current workaround is to have a custom labels file set either in your settings or in the mission (by the mission maker) which renders a dot at specific distance that makes spotting more realistic. This is better than the default dot only label which has red and blue dots or asterix. I can send you an optimised label file if you need, I use it with flat screen, but apparently there is one that is better optimised for VR.

AG radar hopefully will be good, but don't hold your breath, the rate of development of so called EA modules is extremely slow, although 2020 is meant to be "the year of the Hornet"...

Also if you think the picking targets in the TPOD is bad, you should try the F-14 Lantirn pod - it's very pixellated and grainy - apparently realistic.

Some of these may help too:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dcs+spotting+ground+targets

At present, in the F/A-18, the SLAVE to TGT and SLAVE to WPT is not implemented in the RELEASE version, though I gather it is in the Beta (At least VV Slave and WPT SLAVE). Agreed this would make things much better!!

I didn't know about the Static Object Render issue. This could have been part of my issues. I just tried again and was able to get a pretty good look at the Target I set up in the TPOD....once I maneuvered it into the right place..from quite a distance. Previously it was somewhat masked by terrain, and the method of slewing (using the SENSOR marker and slewing it over the WAYPOINT in the SA PAGE) is inexact. I will have to play with Label settings. I have them on, with NAMES, so it makes kind of a mess and still hard to pick out an individual target..

I'd be interested in the optimized Label file,

THANKS!! These look good. Oddly enough I searched for videos on everything BUT this because I felt I was the only one with the problem

You say that you are an "Air to Ground guy" and you haven't flown your A-10C very much? You own what is ,arguably, the best air to ground airplane in DCS. It's finished and all systems are fully implemented. Yet you keep buying more airplanes to scratch the air to ground itch. Learn the A-10! I've had it, practically, since it came out and still enjoy that module.
I don't think that anything else in the sim can carry as much ground pounding ordnance as the Hog. Put some time into that airplane. It's still one of the best modules that they have done.

I started flying it but had trouble flying it and also did not have time to wrap my head around all the controls and mapping what rightly should go on a WartHog to a COUGAR... I did at one point manage to map things, and start to sort out SPI and handoffs and all that, but constant annoyance at VISUAL TARGET acquisition made me hang up the A-10C and, to be honest DCS for several years. After a HALL sensor upgrade for my Cougar, flying is not so bad and I have been getting used to the F/A-18 and DCS paradigms, so I am going to try and get back into the A-10C once I put more time into the F/A-18.

Well I hope you are happy!

Took a break from Hornet Driving to take another look at the A-10C. Mapped controls, flew some training missions, watched some Videos.... learning Hornet Systems, while not the same, did make the A-10C systems a little less daunting. Problem is the muscle memory for the differently mapped commands which seemed the right thing to do to approximate the actual controls and functions... (e.g. I have the "DMS" switch acting as SENSOR CONTROL SWITCH in the F/A-18, where this function (among others) is controlled by the COOLIE HAT in the A-10C which I ended up mapping to the Cougar Throttle Radio Switch... and used DMS for, well DMS....

I don't even fly DCS, but this post contains so much truth I had to comment

Not a comment on Rec specifically, but yeah, that makes so much sense.

I should have clarified... I am an Air to Ground guy, but I very much appreciate MULTIROLE aircraft with good Air to Ground capability AND theoretical survivability in the A2A regime.. like the F/A-18 or the F-16. I say theoretical survivability because as capable as the aircraft migh be, I SUCK at Air to Air....

That said: I have always loved the A-10 and it pained me when I just COULD NOT seem to enjoy either the FC3 A-10A or the fuller featured A-10C. Perhaps I will now be able to rectify that situation.

How did you go Recluse?

Well I did fly the A-10C for a bit... Never got comfortable enough to love it. Will return to it at some point. Meanwhile enjoying the F/A-18 and also flying my shiny new AV-8B Harrier, which is a handful, but which I seem to be getting a comfort level with quicker than the A-10C...

Yeah the Harrier is nice, Harrier and Tomcat I like best...