Hypoxia

There is always a line you have to dance around in simulation, but if you have a ECS system, do you also simulate hypoxia? If the system malfunctions or you fail to turn it on, do you simulate the effects on the pilot like redouts/blackouts? If you do in one plane then you have to do it in all planes for competitive reasons, I guess, too.

I don’t think this is an issue in DCS.
Grab your favourite DCS (non-Flaming Cliffs) jet and turn off the air conditioning or whatever it’s called. Fly above 20,000 feet for 20 minutes
I bet you will suffer hypoxia.
Most modules have some hypoxia modeling already.
Hawk even had it with the system on last time I flew it

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ECS Controls Cabin Pressure.

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With hypoxia, is there the possibility of hallucinations? Might we see some groovy colors or Snoopy fighting the Red Baron? Could the textures on the ground and sky be reversed so we think we’re upside down when we’re not and go all CFIT to correct it?

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We already have hypoxia effects in game. Here’s Smudge playing with it:

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Ah, so no hallucinations :slight_smile:

ECS Also controls temps, to avoid fogging and such.

But even then, Hypoxia has been in DCS Forever,

Forget to Turn on the Oxygen in the A-10 and climb above 10-12K…

The symptoms take a while to manifest themselves, that’s why most users don’t know about it.

At that low altitude, you also need to turn off the cabin pressurization. Oxygen OFF alone won’t do it.

TBH: I’m mostly a A10 driver, so I never really saw any effects. Then again I don’t play for more than an hour.

Hypoxia - if it was me I’d be giggling (euphoria) and blue nails (cyanosis). Symptoms vary from person to person. The really frightening thing is you think you are competent, and you most definitely are not…

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Yes, respiratory regulation in the human body is governed by CO2 levels, if there’s lots of CO2 in your blood level, the respiratory system will react to that (+ panic and fear of death if it gets severe).

If there’s a lack of oxygen on the other hand, then your body has no way of knowing what is actually happening, because as O2 level drops (which the body does not measure), CO2 level drops as well.

Your body is essentially tricked by hypoxia into thinking that everything is eh-ok.

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Not a bad way to go though!

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Yeah, so that’s just a blackout with blurring that happens a bit too fast. We need slurred speech on comms, nonsensical messages, and Lucy in the sky with diamonds!

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The blackouts are also flawed. I usually loose all feeling in my throttle hand. Hard to simulate that! :rofl:

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Didn’t Cliffs of Dover try that with their anthropomorphic simulation?

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Also I think the new CLOD Blitz has revamped blackouts, first you loose the colors perception in sight…

That would be exactly right. Also, there is zero difference in the visual experience of “going nite nite” in negative g. The idea of “red out” is nonsense.

Agreed. I was used as a guinea pig in a RAAF hypobaric chamber, remember nothing of it after 15-20 seconds. Apparently I agreed that I should put my mask back on, but of course I never did.

Here is a great modern video of hypoxia. Worth watching till the end of the exercise.

I thought he handled it quite well. You could see the euphoric symptoms. However and most importantly, when he was told to (spoiler) “put your mask on or you are going to die” he said “i don’t wan’t to die, but just sat there” no one died.

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