I couldn’t keep from commenting these excerpts, from the Polychop update.
With the release of the F-16C, we noticed the values used by our previous fix had been changed in the core engine code, essentially breaking the new RWR again
The code dependencies for all the sounds except the base engine sound had been replaced by ED to allow for more customisation. This resulted in most, if not all of the sounds of the Gazelle to be non-functioning.
This is what I mean when I’m defending module makers for taking their time and not always getting it right.
I can understand why they want to wait and see what ED does to the core software and let it mature some, before updating their module again…and again…
Wait a second – we’re talking about helicopters here. They don’t fly per se; they use some form of dark arts and black magic to repel the earth and cosmos.
I haven’t flown the Gazelle in quite a while. Is it fun in its current state even if it isn’t accurate? Or does just the knowledge of the inaccuracy make it not fun? I should probably just give it a whirl and go in blind. I have a Harrier to figure out first though…
Yes. It totally distracts from having fun. I gave it a real shot. I tweaked my control inputs and studied the avionics ad infinitum…to no avail. You ever see one of the old TV variety show acts where a guy is spinning a bunch of plates on sticks? It kind of felt like that.
Its not just that it is twitchy. That’s overcome with practice. But the twitchiness seems scripted. In fact the whole thing feels table-based. Also, it strangely gains performance under a load in some configurations. IOW, straight and level with torque at the limit, and you will peak at speed x. Bank 30 and sustain the turn and you either lower the collective or speed up to x + 10. It simply feels un-flying-machine-like in every respect. My light helo time is limited to about 3 hours. So I have little right to claim an informed opinion. But I know enough to know to keep my PayPal locked in the box until someone puts the same care into the flight fidelity that they did in the artwork.
Yes! I obviously need much, much, much (much) more practice!
Truer words have not been written!
A lot more right than I have! I respect your opinion.
For the record: My only (real world) helo time–heck, my entire real world stick time–is 10 minutes at the controls of an SH-3 Seaking in 1983 (Midshipman training)…surprisingly nimble for such a big helicopter but still, I was able to fly straight and level, and do controlled (level) turns with zero experience. It only took a few seconds (and a quick glances at the turn and slip indicator and VSI) to get the hang of the collective, cyclic and rudder pedals. True enough it was real so I had some seat of the pants input…but the DCS Gazelle bares no resemblance what so ever to my real experience in a helicopter. Just say’n.
It’s interesting - I don’t have the module mainly because of the concerns with the flight model.
However- one of my good simming friends absolutely loves it, we used to fly Hueys in MP, setting up FOBs etc.
He pretty much switched to the Gazelle full time because he had so much fun sneaking Stinger shots at fighters. We’ve talked about the FM and he acknowledges that he isn’t a pilot but that he is just not bothered by it and that the unique sniping ability in VR is just too much fun to worry about anything else.
So go figure I’m still not likely to buy it as it is, but maybe one day.
I actually flew it a bunch in Blue Flag a year ago. And I had a blast being a mobile stinger site. It was some of the most fun I’ve had flying DCS online. I just had to hold my nose “flying” it. The DCS Gazelle is to aerodynamics what Elite Dangerous is to Riemannian curved spacetime. Elite is nuts. But it is still fun. I think we rightly hold DCS to a different standard.
When I last flew the Gazelle (about a year ago, maybe a bit more) I had fun.
Sure, I noticed some weirdness, and it did bother me, but not overly so.
Even with the inaccuracies it has I think it is an OK module, better than its reputation - just not quite up to the standard it should have, the one we expect for a DCS module. It would probably be fine in almost any other flight sim I have flown helicopters in. But not in DCS.
They have to do some work on it.
As for the RWR:
Well… the players care it seems. It was a huge point of critique over in the DCS forums, people used it as a (well working) example for how incapable/unwilling Polychop is to fix the Gazelle.
In response to that they fixed it pretty quickly to show that they can, and are ready to admit that they are wrong and listen to the community.
I have sympathy for that. It is an easy fix compared to the flight model (and probably not even done by the same developer).
Also, to the above point of it being evidently a very fun mobile stinger site for pvp MP - the RWR is obviously a massive part of this functionality.
So it makes sense that the players who haven’t stopped flying it because of the FM would care about the stuff that impacts the modules usefulness in the MP game (intentional word choice).
I agree DCS FM standard has to be high - just noting that I get why those types would care.
Yeah, main reason why most folks bother with the Gazelle is the Mistral which they say will be modified soon. I have my doubts it will be as popular online when the missile performs as expected of a MANPADS type weapon.
For me it was the HOT3 system. When you got it working it was pretty cool. The problem was getting it working.
Take a twitchy flight model that you have to wrestle into a stable hover before you can engage auto-hover and move to the tuner’s seat. But once there, you could employ the ATGMs and get some cool results.
That said, you really needed two crew members to do it right and there was no AI for the “other” crewman. Once you got it in auto hover, the only thing you could do was turn the helicopter to unmask the launchers. essentially get it to point at the target. So you were pretty much out in the open and vulnerable. It would have been better if an AI pilot could move the helicopter around a bit…hid behind some trees, pop up to take the shot and then pop back down…that type of thing. Likewise, a Jester for the gunner would also be nice.
Speak up if you’ve tried the settings suggested in this thread & still don’t like the way it flies. I found this transformed control-ability while still retaining the flea-like agility. I settled on 85% collective saturation though otherwise it wouldn’t descend when very light.
I can’t tell whether the Gazelle is accurate or not, but to me as someone with zero actual helicopter stick time it just felt unnatural. It’s not that it is not very controllable or can’t be moved around with high precision. Quite on the contrary. But doing so just feels a little weird and to me that is not fun. A good feeling of flight is the number one thing I am after when playing flight sims.
The Huey on the other hand just feels so natural. It is a joy to fly and I love it so much that I frequently load it up just to cruise around or sling some loads from random point A to random point B.
Hard to judge it myself, but I do have a moderate German accent (like the guy in the video) I guess.
At least both him and I don’t constantly use an ‘s’ instead of the ‘th’, like many people do here when talking English.
The video itself is intriguing.
Guess I’ll install the Gazelle soon and try that myself.
I’m still not likely to buy it as it is, but maybe one day.
