Red886 wrote on Oct 10, 2018, 00:46:
fuck no.
there are no discounts for the Windows game store.

Damn State of Decay 2 is still exp like shit.

then all the problems of getting games to work properly.

CJ_Parker wrote on Oct 8, 2018, 22:14:

bigspender wrote on Oct 8, 2018, 20:51:

CJ_Parker wrote on Oct 8, 2018, 20:37:
I wouldn't really call mastering all the radar modes "child's play".
You do in fact not "just lock on". It can be pretty tricky to even spot, identify (IFF was pretty crappy in the Tomcat in so far as the ID capabilities were much shorter range than its standard weaponry *), track and then lock on a target depending on its range, altitude, speed, AoA, size/profile, (E)CM and so on.

Remember if you play the game in sim mode (instead of game mode) then this is DSC World and study level. You don't typically just press 'T' to lock on the nearest enemy target and squeeze the trigger.

You first have to master the skill of getting to the point that allows you to even spot bogies reliably. Then track them. Then lock on. And then maybe squeeze... unless the other guy squeezed first .



* from Wikipedia:

Until the waning days of Desert Storm, in-country air superiority was tasked to USAF F-15 Eagles due to the way the Air Tasking Orders (ATO) delegated primary overland CAP stations to the F-15 Eagle. The governing Rules of Engagement (ROE) also dictated a strict Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) requirement when employing Beyond Visual Range weapons such as the AIM-7 Sparrow and particularly the AIM-54 Phoenix. This hampered the Tomcat from using its most powerful weapon.

The threat management and situational awareness can get very complicated, but I'm talking specifically about the combat capability - using a heat-seeker is as easy as pointing your nose at an enemy, it does auto-lock on and then you just press your trigger to launch the homing missile.

And that's exactly what I would recommend people do if they want to get into this beautiful plane. Like I mentioned, a fuel tanker stands no chance against an F-14


This thing will look just superb in VR too.

Yes, I guess that's the nice thing about DCS being a game. You can just do whatever you want and don't have to OCD about real world procedures . It's true, of course, that shooting the gun or IR AA missiles is easy as pie.

However, one of the Tomcat's primary functions was to serve as an airborne launch platform for BVR VERY long range AA missiles like the AIM-54 Phoenix (effective at 100nm).
The Tomcat's major purpose in that role was to act as a fleet defender that was supposed to shoot down enemy bombers with long range anti-ship missiles or torpedoes.
They weren't supposed to let anyone get even close to within AIM-9 range unless it was a low threat or otherwise necessary.

Anyway, the point is: If you want to master the full plane with ALL of its capabilities then it'll be another module that will take many months to learn about all of its combat/avionics systems and combat/radar modes.

Creston wrote on Oct 4, 2018, 21:12:

Beamer wrote on Oct 4, 2018, 15:05:
Funny. I could tell something prevents it from triggering that, but could never find a repeatable action to prevent it consistently. Hopefully it's not in the new one, but consoles' gonna console.

Anytime the animal you were about to skin was not on flat land or had something essentially clipping its model the animation would be skipped, but yeah, how nobody at R* ever thought "you know, this is going to get shit-ass boring after five goes"...

Maybe they didn't think hunting would be as popular as it wound up being.

Osc8r wrote on Oct 2, 2018, 18:14:
Sooooooo much better than the crew 2.

Bit buggy, but enjoying it overall.

Only wish the progression in these games was slower / more rewarding. Within a day i pretty much had a maxed hypercar, which was made even worse by all the 'spin to win' stuff.

I honestly can't believe how bad the microsoft store / xbox live app crap is... geez guys, ever used steam before? You're only about a decade behind the times.

VaranDragon wrote on Oct 3, 2018, 02:19:
Holy crap. I mean "if" those numbers are correct that means that ONE In every NINE players in PUBG is a cheater. Since TPP to FPP ratio is about 80% to 20% in player distribution, or rather its about 5 times as popular as FPP, that still means that in FPP games (which I play exclusively) there is still an average of 1 player in 50 who cheats. This is crazy. Just insane. In 400 hours of PUBG I've encountered maybe 2 cheaters that Im sure of.

CJ_Parker wrote on Oct 3, 2018, 00:55:
Yeah, it also has tutorial missions like cold & dark startup, taxiing, take-off, straight-in approach landing and pattern landing (the latter is pretty hard to get right). ILS landings are not in yet because I believe the entire IFR stuff is still MIA.

Mr. Tact wrote on Oct 1, 2018, 21:11:

Numinar wrote on Oct 1, 2018, 21:00:
Elitism just hurts yourselves. Even the fanciest of Xboxi is cheaper than a good recent video card. You are missing out!

Maybe, but I'm just a computer guy. The only console I ever owned was the Super Nintendo. I was a little bit tempted by the PS2 and PS3, but never actually bought one. I'm sure there are games I would have enjoyed which were only available on one console or another. But it just doesn't "feel" right to me. Is that logical? No. *shrug*

Pigeon wrote on Sep 29, 2018, 21:33:

Creston wrote on Sep 29, 2018, 20:58:
Kathleen Kennedy has dirt on somebody. She has to. She has pictures of some high-up exec at Disney fisting a camel or something, so they can't fire her.

It is unbelievable how in the US the absolutely fucking INEPT just keep being kept on in their positions. Failing upwards is the US #1 motto.

If you talk a good game and make money, nobody cares about the hows or whys. Except Solo the Star Wars movies have been raking it in lack of quality not withstanding.

jdreyer wrote on Sep 29, 2018, 19:49:

CJ_Parker wrote on Sep 29, 2018, 14:21:
That's a mighty generous demo offer by Eagle Dynamics. Note that the F-18 is not finished yet though. It is missing quite a few systems (2018 DCS roadmap) but in a three days demo you will still only be able to scratch the tip of the iceberg of what is there already.

A good starting point might be the YT channel of Eagle Dynamics' very own Matt "Wags" Wagner who has posted a series of Hornet tutorials and development update videos. Make sure to check out the playlists for a sorted overview.

Not sure it's that generous. It takes months to learn to fly these sims, so you can't accomplish much in a single weekend.

CJ_Parker wrote on Sep 30, 2018, 02:17:
OK, back from some test flights (and glorious kabooming! ).
The Hornet -as expected- is pretty awesome to fly and as long as you don't plan on doing fancy air combat stuff but just flight training (the tutorial missions are pretty good but incomplete since the Hornet is still in early access) it is not too hard to get into it.

The tutorial flights took place on the (new) Caucasus map instead of the Persian Gulf map so I can only comment on the F-18 + Caucasus performance.
It ran pretty well on my aging sim PC which is still powered by a Z-68 chipset Asus board, an i5-2500K@4.2GHz, 32GB DDR3 RAM and a GTX 1080.
Anyway, I got between 40 and 50fps with everything maxed at 1440p. Everything was smooth and no crashes so that's great.

I'll give the F-18 some more time in the oven and I'm going to wait for at least a minor sale. The price will probably stay high for a long time to come but the current almost €70 really is a bit too harsh. I'll bite when it hits the 50s or so...

Besides, I have yet to continue learning to master the A-10C and I have also owned the L-39, the Huey, the Black Shark, the P-51 Mustang and FC3 for years which have also gotten way too little time and attention. Don't really need another (expensive af) module right now as nice as the Hornet may be.

Ding Ho wrote on Sep 9, 2018, 19:58:
You've just shot a guy in the head, or perhaps beaten him to death with a shovel, but you're delicate sensitivities are offended by a four letter word. Is that the typical BF player now?

Angrius Maximis wrote on Sep 7, 2018, 22:25:
Why would anyone buy this on the PC lol?