In Prepartorio

[IvorRama]

So there I was, happily playing World of Tanks, happily chugging along the ground when a friend of mine said "Hey, you should try out this new free to play game called War Thunder!"

Being of an easily led and fickle gaming nature I promptly installed the new timesink and immediately enjoyed my time amongst the clouds, imagining myself bombing the bejesus out of my former incarnation as a driver of a 80 ton beast.

Arcade battles abounded, irritations with the simplistic nature of the flight model and the average pilot increased and I found myself more and more involved with the slightly more realistic game mode called Historic Battles.

This sniff of a more realistic flying simulation has led me be the nose (and YouTube videos) to the addition of IL-2 1946 and DCS World to my Steam wishlist.

"Wishlist?" I hear you exclaim, "why not purchase and take to the skies?", and I reply that the purchasing of these fine softwares is not the limiting factor, the fact that a flight stick is not a part of my household electrical devices is.

A problem to be sure, but a problem that is to be solved during the upcoming festive season (probably with a Saitek X52Pro, although open to suggestions..).

"So why join a bunch of chaps who fly virtual planes in a tip top and spiffing fashion if you are unable to accompany them into the boundless skies?" I hear you ask. Well, I reply that the waiting will enable information to be assimilated, simplistic flight models to be abused in practice and jokes to be exchanged. Are new recruits to the RAF/FAA placed in a plane on the first day? (tbh I do not know seeing as I joined the Royal Navy as a stoker but I would guess that there might be things to learn before taking control of an expensive piece of machinery).

So, recomendations for reading/watching would be greatly appreciated. And if there are any of you who dabble in War Thunder I would be happy to bugger around the skies with you pre-purchasing of flight stick.

A long post to be sure, questions below, answers to follow.

IvorRama

[cjwebster]

I would join you on War Thunder, but I promptly uninstalled it for similar reasons....

[=CfC=Fitz]

Good day IvorRama and welcome along,

Feel free to ask as many questions as you like and you're welcome to join us as soon as you are ready. Graphically IL2 1946 is
a bit dated but there isn't anything to compare with it in the WW2 setting yet.... (we are though awaiting the release of IL2 Battle of Stalingrad and DCS 1944 with interest).

With respect to flight sticks, the X52 pro is a solid choice, I have one and love the layout but they can suffer from durability issues. Mine has occasional trouble with the cable that links the stick and throttle and Bounder had one with a trim wheel that suffered problems. We also have other chaps that swear by the CH Flightstick. I'm sure everyone will chip in with their stick opinions shortly!

Whilst you are putting your Christmas list together, you may wish to consider adding TrackIR, which is a nifty bit of kit that tracks your head movement in game. If you're a bit more technical, check out freetrack which is free but requires you to take a webcam apart and build something to hold 3 LED's on your head. I cheated and bought a pre-built TrackIR headset clip and did the rest with freetrack.

I'll start off the reading suggestions with 'In Pursuit'. It's a bit of a tome but has lots of handy info. Also very good if you're suffering with insomnia....

www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/lento_ohjeet/inpursuit/inpursuit.pdf‎

Chaps - add your favourite learning tools!

pip pip,

Fitz

[IvorRama]

Thanks for the info Fitz,

Whilst the Memsahib is quite happy to shell out for the flight stick for Xmas I think adding TrackIR might cause a sense of humour failure at this point. So I need to stick with that to start with and really get some good use out of it before I progress further.

Slow and steady keeps the Wife happy.

In the meantime I will get to grips with the linked tome.

Ivor

[=CfC=Father Ted]

Welcome to the Addiction!  "In Pursuit" is indeed a valuable read.  Personally I found that a lot of it only made sense once I'd started flying, but it works quite well if you read, fly,read, fly, and so on.  Another really good learning tool can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/Requiem10NS#p/c/83EA870F2B613A5C/7/GRBFSxGV0Jc.  I know it's WW1, but a lot of the tactics are the same.  Also RoF is a damn fine game in itself (and FTP).

Talking of cost, I use a stick which cost around £30, as opposed to the £100 (?) for the X52 - giving you £70 towards TIR .  The advantage of the X52 over my stick (T16000), as I see it , is the number of buttons and rotaries which can be assigned to prop pitch, trim and so on.

I really can't recommend headtracking highly enough for combat flightsims.  I went the Freetrack route like Fitz.  A suitable webcam will cost you £15 and the "trackclip" £30.  I did make a clip for the price of some LEDs, wire and a resistor (total £5) and it works fine.

Look forward to seeing you in the skies

[John Cartwright]

I must say I am enjoying thrashing around in War Thunder; albeit in FRB only (Stop rolling your eyes Fraser Fitz) 

It still is somewhat bonkers and bizarre but improving all the time, what with the introduction of 'Events' which produces a more realistic match up.
But for gameplay, immersion, larfs and skilfull comrades you can't beat IL2 UP and this lot.......





.....so they tell me

[IvorRama]

ok then chaps,

Impatience has got the best of me and a cheaper flight stick has been procured under the auspices of the Memsahib giving me then nod.

UP3 has been installed, widescreen mode enabled, one mission flown (Brewster Buffalo for the RNZAF, no enemies shot down, rather hard landing)

So, when do I get my flying hat and personal supply of gin?

Ivor

[=CfC=Fitz]

It's a shame you missed todays mission! We'll be back up again on Tuesday from 1930 UK local.

Can you access the server details page? It will give you the game server IP and TS details as well.

[cjwebster]

no enemies shot down, rather hard landing

This one is ready...   

[IvorRama]

I seem to be having trouble trimming the aircraft consistently. I shall try again.

I can access the server IP and TS details, are there any other files I need to get and install other than UP3?

Ivor

[=CfC=Father Ted]

Okay...

Make sure it's UP3.0 RC4  - there's a message on the bottom left of the splash screen - otherwise It won't be compatible with the game Fitz is running.

You may want to be familiar with the "conf,ini" file in the game's root directory.  Some bits of it may have to be edited for you to load some of the maps we use.  (see this thread for the issue and fix:http://chuffysflyingcircus.net/cfcforum/index.php?topic=167.0 [for UP2.01 read UP3.0])

It should all work flawlessly, but the easiest way to solve any hitches is to get on TS

Hope to "see" you Tuesday

Ted

[IvorRama]

It does say something like UP3.0 RC (up to 4.10.1m) I think.

Do I need any mission files or anything else?

Ivor

[=CfC=Father Ted]

It does say something like UP3.0 RC (up to 4.10.1m) I think.

That sounds about right

Do I need any mission files or anything else?

No, you download the mission when you connect to the host

[CFC_Conky]

Tally Ho IvorRama!

We can sort you out once you are up on ts, sort of like a live help line, except that it's not in India 

As Fitz mentioned earlier, I'm one of those chaps using CH gear and so far it's been working flawlessly. Their stuff is a tad expensive and a bit dated, i.e. no rotaries or ffb, but the hardware is rock solid. I'm also one of the few who doesn't use a head tracking device, I get by but am at a disadvantage in a dogfight most of the time; the precision/response time is much better with head tracking than with a hat switch.

The Brewster is a good kite to start out in, very stable. You would also enjoy the Hurricane, P-40, Ki-43 and Zero. All have forgiving handling and are usually found on our maps.

Pip, pip,
Conky

[IvorRama]

I was already to go to join you gents this evening but family emergencies must come first apparently. Didn't want to turn up 20 minutes late to the party (tardiness is not acceptable, etc.) so I'll try and join you next time.

What crates are being flown at the moment so I can crash a few to get the hang of it?

Ivor