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Questions From A Newbie

Posted By: otrman

Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 06:29 PM

First let me apologize for not know what area to post to first so I have started a new topic.

Greetings from a US Marine Veteran but a novice gamer, 80 years old. I am a WWII buff so I thought I would start with that era.

I am looking to purchase a WWII Flight Combat Simulator for my PC. My doctor has suggested that computer games can help me with hand eye coordination and sharpen my reaction skills. My PC as follows:

• Intel Xtreme I9, 6 dual 347 GHZ Processors 12 individual
• Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit, SP1
• 12 GB Memory
• ATI FirePro V5800 graphics card
• 2 solid state disks
• 2 Dell 27" Monitors DVI attached, resolution, 2560x1440, Dell-U2700
• 12 USB 2.0 ports

Would you kindly recommend a couple of good choices of WWII combat flight simulators that I can run on my configuration. To start I would be a single player and see how that goes.

So far I have been MS Combat Flight Simulator 2 and Ubisoft IL 2 Sturmovic for simulators and the Logitech G Pro Flight X56 Rhino HOTAS for the controller. The controller does not come with pedals but they can be added. Do I need the pedals to start?

Also is there a good book on air to air combat book, manual, or download that would help me learn air to air tactics?

Regards, Henry (AKA Otrman)
Posted By: PanzerMeyer

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 06:39 PM

Welcome aboard otrman!

I highly recommend:

IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad which you can either get on Steam or you can buy it direct from the publisher website.

IL-2 1946 which includes over 100+ flyable aircraft and it includes a Pacific map as well as US and Japanese flyable planes.



Your hardware set up looks pretty darn good so you can run pretty much any flight sim with no issues.
Posted By: Meatsheild

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by otrman
The controller does not come with pedals but they can be added. Do I need the pedals to start?


ruddel pedals are not essential at all if you have a "twisty" stick (which becomes the rudder access) and you certainly dont need them to start, so you can start withouth them and then if you really get into flight sims you can buy a set smile
Posted By: rwatson

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 06:51 PM

Semper Fi Ortman PanzerMeyer is on the spot abut the best sims I fly CFS 2 along with those here is a good site for IL-2 With something called the BAT mod It mods IL-2 1946 do you can fly from WW I to modern Jets and they have a new members safety area where ou can post and not get your beans busted https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php

and here for Stalingrad https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/forum/1-il-2-sturmovik-great-battles/
Posted By: Tom_Weiss

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 06:59 PM

start with Il-2

https://il2sturmovik.com/

all 4 titles are worth buying and you get a huge number of WWII fighters to fly
Posted By: oldgrognard

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 07:01 PM

European Air War is a good start place. It isn’t too difficult a learning curve. It is where many of us started and is still one of the favorites.

You can find the forum down a good ways from Community Hall.

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/forums/85/1/european-air-war
Posted By: otrman

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 07:31 PM

Thank you all for your replies. Does the controller, Logitech G Pro Flight X56 Rhino HOTAS, I am thinking of go well with my simulator choices? Is it difficult to setup?
Posted By: RedToo

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 08:18 PM

Don't forget 'Cliffs of Dover' as modded by Team Fusion. Beginners guide here:

https://theairtacticalassaultgroup.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5058&p=52711

and 'Wings Over The Reich' - which offers very good offline play:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.p...r-the-reich-feature-overview#Post4438138
Posted By: DaveP63

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by otrman
Thank you all for your replies. Does the controller, Logitech G Pro Flight X56 Rhino HOTAS, I am thinking of go well with my simulator choices? Is it difficult to setup?


It does indeed. It will cover most of your needs and then some. It is generally not difficult, most functions can be mapped as desired within the game itself.
Posted By: Vaderini

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by RedToo
Don't forget 'Cliffs of Dover' as modded by Team Fusion.

Isn't that included in the current Cliffs of Dover Blitz that is for sale on Steam?
Posted By: rwatson

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/20/19 10:55 PM

Valderini..Yes one good thing about Steam it keeps your games up to date
Posted By: otrman

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/21/19 05:40 PM

Can I just buy stuff from them. The way I read it, they want me to subscribe to some cloud based service.

Other than my knowledge of Physics I do not understand Steam.
Posted By: PanzerMeyer

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/21/19 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by otrman
Can I just buy stuff from them. The way I read it, they want me to subscribe to some cloud based service.

Other than my knowledge of Physics I do not understand Steam.







Neither IL-2 Stalingrad nor IL-2 1946 require Steam so yes, you can just buy direct from the publisher.
Posted By: rwatson

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/21/19 06:26 PM

I avoided Steam for years,,finally broke down and got Shogun 2 And found out I liked it,,They have your games there and if you need to reinstall something just click and it installs and updates it whenever you run the game.
I bought bought The Battles of Stalingrad,,Moscow Kuban on sale for about $ 52 for all three earlier this month..I have a few other sims through them IL-2 Clifs of Dover and it installs the Team fusion patches automatically ..I've grown to accept it and good old Games for a few games and don't have to go hunting for the cd's..
I can understand some people would be suspicious..I was but now I find it convenient Either way They are great sims either through the Publisher or Steam
Posted By: 462cid

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/21/19 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by otrman
Can I just buy stuff from them. The way I read it, they want me to subscribe to some cloud based service.

Other than my knowledge of Physics I do not understand Steam.



Steam's odd in my opinion. So is GOG (good old games). But it turned out they work much differently than I thought they would. And better. I am old school. I want it, I buy it, I want to have "it". A physical thing. It's mine. But I tried out both Steam and GOG and while I would prefer a different way, both Steam and GOG are painless.

It's not like a pay-as-you-play subscription. Using Steam as the example, there's no upkeep fees and if you don't shell out X dollars each month, they turn off Steam. It's a hosting service more than a subscription. It even has several benefits for users in addition to convenience.

I recommend Il2: 1946

Posted By: MarkG

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/21/19 11:30 PM

Steam = DRM.
GOG = No DRM.

Class dismissed. biggrin

++++++++++

Welcome, otrman. If fate is kind and I make it to 80 (currently 51), I hope to have the same level of interest in flight simming that you (and some others here) seem to have. cheers
Posted By: 462cid

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/21/19 11:46 PM

Oddly the nature of Steam and GOG makes it much easier for me to tolerate DRM as an evil to be put up with if certain things are engaged in, although I contend DRM does nothing to prevent theft overall and is instead a way to make customers abandon old entertainment software in favor of new, accessible ones as a way to parley sales.
Posted By: otrman

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/22/19 12:44 AM

If I read your reply correctly, if I find a game I want I would pay their price but not get a physical package or a download of the game, but get the privilege just using the game located in Steam's site when ever I sign on to Steam and request to play the game I paid for it.

Am I correct?

Henry
Posted By: 462cid

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/22/19 12:49 AM

Well, you don't ask their permission, you select it from your library, but essentially yes although there are files local to your PC. Unfortunately that's the service we're seeing more often.

You can however play those same titles offline, but it is still through the Steam launcher.
Posted By: rwatson

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/22/19 01:18 AM

Buy The game and like 462cid said it's in your library and you just click on it,,You can also set a short cut to the game on your desktop and it loads it and steam up and launches it no worries at all..I have 21 games there ,,Only have 6 installed and playing,right now ,When I want to reinstall one of my other games I open steam go to my library games and the uninstalled game is there in light gray..I click on it and get a window and click install and steam installs it and patches it up to date..If I uninstall one through steam it uninstalls but keeps it in my library..I do that sometimes if I run low on disk space,,,A lot better than having something installed and a reinstall is done with a cd
Like I said one time I was against steam but now I think it works well and I will buy games from steam in the future
Posted By: 462cid

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/22/19 01:23 AM

In one of my replies I think I was vague. I made it seem as if when you don't pay Steam each month, they turn off the service. There's no fee structure like that, I worded that poorly.
Posted By: rwatson

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/22/19 01:58 AM

You mentioned GOG,,I had a bad original IL-2 1946 cd GOG had a sale and got it for $ 4 now never a problem i need to get it,,like when I replaced two hard drives lasyt year went to GOG and steam and re down loaded my games and I was up and flying in no time,,Just had to throw my mods in..
Posted By: MarkG

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/22/19 04:19 PM

I wanted to clarify something...

The reason I choose GOG over Steam (besides being a retro gamer) is that my primary working PC (also my gaming PC) has no online (nor even wireless) capability, removed during a streamlining/protection process. With GOG, once I download a game (I don't use their installer, I simply download the Setup package) using my online Linux laptop, I can transfer it to my Windows PC that never goes online. My requirement for software without an online umbilical cord is unique, I know.
Posted By: PanzerMeyer

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/22/19 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by MarkG
My requirement for software without an online umbilical cord is unique, I know.



As long as you remain strictly a retro gamer then you won't have any issues.
Posted By: MarkG

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 02/22/19 04:48 PM

Yeah, like with most things (including cars, missing my '99 Civic Si coupe [purchased new and still looked that way 10+ years later]), my cutoff is post-Y2K. Most things 2001+ don't appeal to me.

With retro gaming, the relatively smaller sizes (even with IL-2 1946 [2006] mentioned above, probably my most current GOG purchase) means that I can archive my GOG library onto DVDs and flashdrives in triplicate. If GOG were to crash and burn tomorrow, never to be seen again, what would I care? I've lost nothing except for the ability to buy more games from them.
Posted By: otrman

Re: Status Report From the Newbie - 02/26/19 04:46 PM

Quick Status Report From The Newbie!!

I have purchased an original copy of MS Flight Simulator 2, WWII Pacific Theater. It came with 2 books. The rather large book that came in the original box and a smaller book, Th MS Pilot's Manual No. 2, apparently written as a extra resource for this game.

My Controller, Saitek, now Logitech, Pro X-56 Rhino H.O.T.A.S. Video Game Flight Controller for PC, is in transit. Both books have maps of keyboard commands that I plan to map certain commands to buttons on the controller. Am I to assume that this chart(s) apply to all of the aircraft note as "player flyable" use these same commands. If so I can set up the same buttons for this game.

Waiting to get into the air,
Henry
Posted By: FsFOOT

Re: Status Report From the Newbie - 02/27/19 03:23 AM

There is always EAW (European Air War) if you get bored with that.

There are various EAW versions. The version I most recommend is to try is EAW 1.28e Full Version.
Just visit links in my signature for details or the SimHQ EAW Forum.

Cheers!
Posted By: otrman

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 03/14/19 04:46 PM

Hello Russ,

I have been investigating a couple of choices for a simulator. I have installed EAW and have it up on my system thanks to Mr. Jelly, who has been extremely helpful. Before I get into combat, I need to know how to fly a plane. I am looking at X Plane and have installed the demos for version 10 and 11. X Plane has basic aircraft that I can use to more easily learn to fly. It turns out the my graphics card can't handle the minimum required frame rates for rendering even at the lowest settings for version 11. I then version 10 demo which does work with my system and I will buy it if I can work out the interface between the controller and the simulator. My system is as follows:

• Intel Xtreme I9, 6 dual 3.47 GHZ Processors 12 individual
• Logitech X56 rhino HOTAS stick and throttle
• Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit, SP1
• Direct X 11
• 12 GB Memory
• ATI FirePro V5800 V graphics card, Driver Date 1/18/2017, Version 15.201.2401.1009
• 2 solid state disks, 120GB, 240GB
• 2 Dell 27" Monitors DVI attached, resolution, 2560x1440, Dell-U2700
• 12 USB 2.0 ports

Right now I am confused about mapping. If I use the Logitech configuration software that comes with the drivers it has a method that requires me to know the keyboard entries necessary for given aircraft functions. However, the Logitech manual is of little help and technical support at Logitech is not helpful. They cannot even explain to me the functions of the various switches, etc.

The X Plane 10 manual has a mapping process of its own.

I just cannot figure out which process to use or how to integrate them into a working system. What would be ideal would be to find a member of our group that has installed X Plane 10 and the x56 controller and could give me some tips.

I would be grateful for any help

Semper FI
Otrman USMC 56-62
Posted By: DBond

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 03/14/19 08:15 PM

Hi otrman. I have neither X Plane nor a X56. But I want to help you.

With the fact that I have no experience with either as a qualifier, I would recommend instead of attempting to map everything yourself, that you use a pre-made file to do this for you. Since I don't fly this sim or use that stick I cannot say which files would be best. But I googled and the first link that popped up was this one

X56 Profile for X Plane 11

I don't even know if this is the latest version. Regardless, I would at least consider using one someone else has already made. Then you can just get after it without fussing with the mapping.

Of course you may prefer a custom one. That's normal. At your stage I would recommend finding one that works well, and then as you spend time with it you can tweak bits here and there to flavor to taste. Good luck!

Posted By: DBond

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 03/14/19 08:18 PM

The user comments point to a problem. Perhaps this will not work?

So I tried to find another, but like hen's teeth. If you start flying Falcon 4 I can be a little more help smile
Posted By: Dart

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 03/14/19 08:20 PM

Besides a joystick, I'd say that TrackIR is probably the single piece of hardware that will improve flight sims.

It's a little widget that sits on top of the monitor, and along with a IR LED dealie bob that goes on a headset follows one's head to change the view. It's incredibly intuitive.

https://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/
Posted By: BlueHeron

Re: Questions From A Newbie - 03/14/19 08:28 PM

Agreed, for me TrackIR is as important to flight sims as the monitor itself. It adds incredible immersion without the high cost and frustration of VR.
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