Aye, or double axis assignments, sometimes DCS is a bit weird with default assignments!
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An absolutely excellent freeware mod is the MB-339 for DCS (it’s so good the team is making a payware version now). It was used as a trainer in several air forces and is easy to fly. Additionally it carries a reasonable weapons load, and is a good COIN aircraft. For the price it’s hard to beat! The DCS version is a clickable cockpit, meaning you don’t have to memorize as many key commands and you manipulate the switches like you would in a real aircraft.
My other recommendations for clickable cockpit aircraft are (in order of complexity): F-86 Saber, F-5 Tiger, M2000.
The F-86 is a relatively simple aircraft, easy to fly, land, in general fly around the sky in. Weapons employment is simple, barely a step above the WW2 technology in the P-51 (you can mess with the missiles, but don’t expect much). It is however very versatile, capable of A2A and A2G. If you wanted a bird that is easy to pick up an learn, but takes some time to master the F-86 is an excellent choice.
The F-5 is a bit more complex, as it adds radar and actual workable IR missiles. Again it is an easy to fly AC, that is a bit hotter during landing, and has higher performance than the F-86. Real world the F-5’s cousin the T-38 is used for supersonic training, and is basically the step before modern fighters. The F-5 shares many of the T-38’s benign handling characteristics. With that said, the F-5 is still an outstanding fighter, and a competent pilot can cause a lot of problems for even modern jets at knife fight range. The F-5 makes an solid A2G platform, though weapon employment is purely manual, but it requires solid flying skills to make it happen, and will teach you how to do it well. I really enjoy flying the F-5, and the module is extremely well done.
Lastly in terms of complexity is the M2000, which is a full bore modern interceptor. The complexity is all there with a working inertial navigation system (INS), A2A radar, computers, radios, fly by wire etc. The Mirage does have the advantage of being highly computerized which helps you stay in control of the AC much easier, and recover when you do get it sideways. However for some, this computer help makes them feel much less connected to the aircraft and they don’t like it. The Mirage while primarily an A2A interceptor, does have a limited A2G capability which includes modern CCIP/CCRP computerized attack modes. The Mirage is basically about as complex as I’d recommend a new player start with, it has more then enough modes, buttons, etc to keep you occupied for a while to learn it, but it doesn’t require any more hardware outlays (HOTAS, button boxes, etc) that other modules like the A-10 do to fly and fight it at full potential.
If you already have or willing to get the hardware or if you’d like to really just deep dive on one platform that can do everything the F-18 or F-16 would be my recommendation. Both are highly capable A2A platforms, and both are highly capable fully featured A2G platforms as well.
While I have exclusively recommended NATO platforms, that is due to the fact the Soviet aircraft are usually very niche specific, and we don’t currently have a clickable cockpit version of any of their newer more multirole aircraft. Also older Soviet aircraft are … quirky, and not the simplest to operate.
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It is indeed an excellent freebie. I have played older flights sims ( way way) back but DCS is a new level having most of the things I always wished for. however a lot of people on this site want or need an absolute exact flight model ( maybe they should join the airforce ). I have given the game a lot of leeway and dont expect the world. If however there are major flaws I dont this is good as you wouldnt expect it in any other game, But this seems to be quite a complex route to take for the developers. Anyhow my joystick was the problem but all sorted. I have everything at default on the config menu except upping the graphics to see if my computer will suffice before I lash out on hardware. The only thing giving me grief is the throttle which as I said is either all or nothing ,I wouldnt expect this for a training sample.-- Thanks for your input.
Already bought a few modules as on special here in Oz. AV8B, Hornet, FC3,Syria,Supercarrier and Flanker. Hope they should last me a while. Can’t say I am into prop aircraft at the moment but the freebie one may stir me up. With the complexity of these games I think DCS has gone overboard a bit but certainly has the run on competitors from what I can see. I also like the look of the A10 and Mirage but might splurge a bit down the track. Managed to take off and “nearly land” with the SU25 but driving me nuts with the keyboard. Thanks for your reply.
Seems like you start hard and go simple Lol. Am getting there slowly. Havnt seen a chucks guide yet for the SU25, its not up there with the main ones, I’ll keep on looking though.
This is a hobby for all of us. We’re all pretty passionate about aircraft and the complexity is a plus for most of us as it lets us get a taste of what the real aircraft is like to operate. Its not a case of “join the airforce” for people with disabilities or personal reasons. Some of us just love the process of learning what makes our favourite fighter aircraft tick.
I personally love learning how to start a full fidelity fighter from cold and dark on the ramp. I enjoy reading the books and training manuals that are available and the effort involved is pretty hard work sometimes but the payoff is totally worth it. Its not like a pick up and play game like ‘ace combat’, you can play it like that of course but to get the best out of it and you sound like you have put quite a lot of money into it, its worth taking the time to read up and learn about the planes you’ve bought. Especially the harrier and hornet. As they almost need a real life type rating to get the best out of them. They are awesome modules once you break through the learning barrier though. I am sure you will get used to it and learn to love DCS as much as us! Its a fantastic simulator. A proper thrill ride!
Here’s my run down on how to fight the harrier. AV8B N/A Tips and tricks - Flight Sims - Mudspike Forums
If you want to keep things simple stay away from AUTO bombing, and just use CCIP.
Also since you have FC3, if you don’t mind being rather slow, the A-10A is a great bird, that most of us learned on what back in the LOMAC days (Lock on Modern Air Combat, was DCS predecessor). It is very forgiving, very durable, and carriers an insane amount of ordinance.
That’s not really how it needs to be, though. I can use the throttle throughout the entire range-of-motion, even for both engine individually. Does your stick have a seperate throttle slider or do you have a seperate throttle? If so, you can assign that in the Axis commands (not in the normal controls). If you don’t, I think there’s at least some increment functions.
Chuck hasn’t written a guide for any of the FC3 level modules, so no point in looking, unfortunately.
Exactly. I could care less how people define their fun but the above (your entire post) is how I tend to define mine. So be it. If it wasn’t for the complexity I’d save a lot of money - cuzz I’d have NO need for a machine NASA would have slobbered over to send a man to the moon!
My only real gripe is when dev’s of arcade flying games waste resources trying to ‘complicate’ them, and on the other side, when dev’s of complex flying games try to simplify them. I’d rather each spend their resources refining in the direction of…their original, complexity, ‘vector’ if you will. Complexity tends to eat up cycles too; why the more simple ones tend to run faster and/or look prettier.
A lot depends on the software engine of course. DCS has the ability to simplify things to some degree. And, as stated in this thread by others, a lot of it is how you decide to “play” - you don’t have to do a full startup, for instance
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Whats with the name “Flaming Cliffs” and was there a 1 and 2.
Throttle. Right out of the box I would have thought the default would have been nice and smooth so maybe I have fault with my joystick, its a bog standard Thrustmaster. I moved house recently and think whilst packing the thrust button fell out of its slot . I found it and shoved it back in, but just maybe it needed more than just that, thinks I may take it apart to see. Having said that in the game pg/up and pg/down behaves the same way.
Might try that but am using default so wouldnt expect to have to adjust this. Maybe its my stick. Will take it apart to check first.
What do you mean by thrust button? Could you post a picture of your throttle or a similar one? We might be able to help more that way
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I disagree, but understand.
You mentioned you have the Hornet. You don’t have to get that deep if you don’t want to. Start out with just the guns and manual bombing. It’s quite fun and, to me, rewarding. Is how it was done for about 70 years, more or less.
Here’s a excellent video concerning manual bombing in the Hornet:
This guy as I recall, is a retired A-4 driver. All of his videos are good and informative. Has his own style of course.
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There was! these came out in 2005 and 2009 respectively. before that was a sim called “lock on: modern air combat” which came out in 2003. Even before that, we got the flanker 1 and flanker 2 sims which came out in 1995 and 1999. Shows how long these guys have been around, dinosaurs that have survived since the original golden era of flight simulators.
Nobody (at least I don’t) really know where the flaming cliffs name really comes from. Its primary purpose nowadays seems to be confusing new players about the fidelity levels we have available in DCS.
For us fanatics about realism and complexity, there’s not much else available but DCS and a heavily modded old F-16 sim that runs on directX7. I sincerely hope they don’t tone down the complexity, because we have nowhere else to go to. What I do wish for is that they would release more flaming-cliffs level of complexity modules for planes that will remain out of reach for full fidelity in the near future. Something like a MiG-25, a Su-24 or even a NATO 5th gen. That I would really enjoy at FC3 level in the absence of a full fidelity variant.
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Sorry not a button but a knob for the slider on the left side of the stick, although it didnt make that much difference. Think I will dismantle and have a look inside my stick. I assume the thrust slider is a digital one so just maybe it could be dirt or something inside as I havn’t used it for a long time. Have managed to get airborne and now onto next stage of navigation and going through the green hoops yay.
It probably sounded better in russian… 
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пылающие скалы
Sounds roughly like
“Palaye shish scarly” so no…English sounds better lol
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Perhaps if you think in russian…?
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