Brain

BMS only models the F-16 avionics and every other plane only has very minor differences. If you want to get close to the real A-10 you'd have to go through the control layout in the DCS manual and find similar functions in BMS. Even then you'll still be far away from accurate, just because the real avionics work so differently. I accepted the fact I can't make any other plane that more realistic by rebinding keys, so I just stick with the F-16 controls. Less confusing when I do my occasional flight in another plane, mostly Hornets. The 4.33 full keyfile is excellent. It's a variant of the old alternative Kolbe keyfile, which I liked a lot more than the default 4.32. There is also a special section dedicated to all buttons found on stick + throttle, should you decide to configure your controls inside BMS, instead of mapping keypresses in TARGET. However you do it, I'd not change any key combinations. The most common buttons in the pit are easy to access or mapped with some logic behind it. Using a default keyfile also helps when asking for key combinations in flight. That said, I'd set up 2 joystick profiles, rather than keyfiles. I'd be worried something goes wrong while loading the keyfile and I take off with the wrong control layout. Loading a different joystick file in flight on the other hand shouldn't be an issue. Not that there was ever such a problem, I'm just not trusting BMS

If I knew I'd have set out long ago to retrieve it and raise the average IQ again ... I know, I'm not that funny. Did any of you ever play R-Type on Gameboy? It only has 6 levels but the difficulty increases significantly. Once you learn how to use the Force (that probe thing on front of your ship, not a Jedi reference) it's all about tackling different situations the right way. Eventually you'll reach level 4 which has you flying through tights corridors while near indestructible things fly at you. YT link for those interested. It's stressful, aggravating, frustrating and as a consequence I'm quiet exhausted. With BMS being so time consuming and of questionable reliability, I felt like moving on and trying something more relaxing. Yeah, DCS got me. Either learning more about the KA-50 or tagging along/refueling in my F-15 or SU-27, mostly soaking in the eye candy. Just put on some classic music or other relaxing tunes and relax. Also occasionally flying some Trans in ARMA 3. To give you an example, here is Jive from ShackTac shifting troops at night. It's really dark because of the more realistic (?) NVG mod. If earlier NVGs were really that crap we're blessed in sims. Anyways, usually prefering music more in the noise spectrum, I actually like the tune and it fits pretty well. Thankfully I've been blessed with a new GPU (R9 380) and started using OBS a bit as well. Not quiet there yet but not bad for a start either. Need to remember uploading one just as a test. I thought about writing some 'tutorials' on various things already but I think I could do better than that. Who reads these days anyways? lol Got some ideas on why you suck at air refueling, cross-reading instruments for improved SA, passing necessary information (ie. bandits) quick, easy and efficient, your questions here. Lemme know, maybe I'll just answer it in 3 sentences here Also still got my little music project going some of you might know off. One song has 1940 clicks and on average it was turned off after about 1:40 ... so I'm not really a star yet. Got 137 downloads though (which is totally L33T). If I ever do some kind of flight sim montage I shouldn't have to worry about any copyright issues Yeah, so that's me. o/ How's everybody else doing?

I'll chalk that up as another probably performance related bug. Multiple callsigns aren't unusual as each plane type has a limited pool of callsigns available, the F-16 obviously having the most. IIRC "Cowboy" is the first callsign in the F-16 pool. When 1 flight is created it should step through the list, giving you the next available callsign + number. However, if BMS has another brainfart ... this might happen? Fits pretty well into the picture with flight creation being heavily delayed or packages not showing up in the ATO. Similarly something might have gone wrong with the BE coordinates. We know that already from this 'brave HQ battalion' and DTC is weird online anyways. Sometimes it gets saved between connections, sometimes it doesn't.

Welcome to the world of quality HOTAS systems ... enjoy! In reality both sticks are almost identical and so is their mapping, although the A-10c avionics work a bit differently. You shouldn'T have any problems mapping it in a realistic fashion. For the throttle you need to take some liberties, but you should have all the appropriate buttons (2x buttons, 2x 3-way rocker, 4-way switch, analogue cursor, 2x rotaries). There is a diagram of the throttle somewhere in the manual for reference. Leave the rest unmapped for now, as you will find additonal functions you want on your fingertips later. It may not be realistic but you don't have a physical pit to press buttons in so .... Since you already started on mapping I'd recommend doing the rest on your own as well. Helps memorizing and is good practice with the TARGET software. Although the stick is in pristine condition you might want to set a curve for that center precision as the F-16 is very very twitchy. The AAR training mission will give you a tanker to hold formation with. Just try to stay on his wing and see how accurate your pitch and roll inputs are. Just talking from general experience with sticks and sims, never tried a Warthog, so you might find it unnecessary.

I just did a ton of research, made a time-line in Excel and just scrapped everything I typed here so far. Now I wanna do something else. So... But first :Fun with history Story goes during the Vietnam War the Thanh-Hóa bridge could not be destroyed after numerous air raids and hundreds of bombs dropped. In 1972 F-4 Phantoms tried again: So your initial question ultimately lead me there. I'm such a nerd. I've also been reading a lot today. Just imagine how little range you got with 7100lbs carrying a heavy load in BMS and add some extra flight time because we don't do realistic departure patterns and such. Taking external fuel tanks for long range precision attacks was probably what they had in mind, so they didn't bother with the inner pylons. And I think you can'T carry 3 GBUs on 1 Pylon because of risks the extending fins could hit the fuselage. Same for CBUs although the MK-20 might be small enough in diameter so there are no concerns.

It's less sophisticated wiring on the inner pylons. Don't know what's so different about it but it's not compatible with 3 Mavs or a JDAM. Similarly 'stupid' is the TER which presumably only splits incoming signals, which is sufficient for CBUs (etc) as they only need to be updated once their profile changes. That's why small JDAMs won't go on a TER but the newer BRU.

Sounds like your Logi is getting old and doesn't center properly anymore, caused by wear on the internals. It will happen even to a TM Warthog eventually but you're likely to get replacement parts in that case and maybe some special grease to slow down the process in the future. Static could tell you something about the latter if he passes by again. You want to do 2 things: 1. Set an axis response curve for pitch, roll and maybe even rudder. It makes the stick more precise in the center while still giving you maximum control at the outer limits. I find it a necessity no matter what I fly. The settings can either be found in the Logitech programming software (if any) or the Win game controller panel. BMS does not have such an option AFAIK. 2. Define a deadzone to make up for the loose center position. Should be in the same place as axis curves. If not, BMS at least gives you the option to choose 3 levels of deadzone in the advanced control settings. If there isn't any software for the joystick, make sure you installed the latest Logitech drivers for your device as the generic Windows drivers might not include these tuning options! Rudders are not critical for BMS except for high crosswind landings/takeoffs and some rare emergency situations when part of the FLCS gets damaged. On a Warthog you should have some spare buttons to map the rudder keys to. The Cougar is well engineered, but the internals are some zinc-aluminum alloy which wears of rather quickly. Because of that there are some (expensive) modifications out there to replace these parts. 2nd hand Cougars are often modified already; part of the reason they can be so damn expensive. Should you be interested in one of these you can find everything about it here: http://cougar.flyfoxy.com/mods.php

The Rhino stick doesn't come with enough buttons for the F-16 (6 buttons + 4 4-way switches!), so you'd have to deal with that somehow. Same goes for the DCS A-10C should that become interesting at some point. Another thing I think Ralfidude brought up, is the terrible shape of the lower hat button. It has extruded edges, making it hard to reach the switch above. The stick mechanic is a plastic ball rubbing against a plastic case. They use that since the X45 I believe (which I used for MANY years) and plastic dust + grease will form a mess. After a while there will be some stickyness, forcing you to clean and re-grease that thing. If the programming software is really as bad as Semler describes ... well. Personally I had no issues with their OLDER (pre Win 7) software but I know times change. The Thrustmaster throttle won't match the F-16s but all the necessary buttons are there. Including a true analogue axis for the FCR/MFD cursor. Using the classic TM Cougar I can say the stick can get uncomfortable if you got small hands, but since it's designed for the AF you can easily access everything and once you build up some muscle-memory everything makes sense. Whatever I fly, I try to mimic the F-16 stick layout as close as possible ... but I digress. Can't say much about the Warthog mechanics, only that I heard about some seam line left from production. Don't know if it's on all or what, but the fix is said to be easy. What it definitely does not come with is a rudder axis like on your Logi or the Rhino, so pedals might become necessary. If later you decide to go for the full experience on the F-16 you can get an USB adapter to use the TM Cougar throttle with your Warthog stick. Our buddy Nuts does that and he enjoys it (too) much. If I had the choice, there wouldn't be a choice. My stick is over a decade old, still working fine and I got another ancient TM Gamepad that has almost no wear on the analogue sticks. These Thrustmaster things are build to resist! Regarding using this thing in PR ..... I think you still might be better off with the Logitech. Depending on what you fly you'll have to do these precise split second inputs you can't really do with a HOTAS...at least I can't. It's a very different kind of being in control. But, if you wanted you could certainly map every PR keybind to that thing

On startup it's detected some systems aren't running properly (yet). That's 100% normal. With F-ACK you will not delete those faults, you are just acknowledging them. That clutters up the fault list, potentially increasing the workload when identifying new ones in flight. Once spooled up you want to bring up the TEST MFD and hit CLR on the top to clear all faults. Here you can also review all faults with timestamp (time till engine start up). If there is an actual problem it will reappear.

Idle-Cutoff can be clicked on the left side of the throttle or by using ALT + i. You'll rarely need it so it's not really worth wasting a button. Other than that I agree. Having all the real HOTAS commands will give you almost full control over the aircraft. All the 4-way switches might seem daunting but except TMS they all perform relatively simple tasks. TMS itself is context sensitive, depending on mode/display/weapon selected but there is a pattern to it. Krause used key commands for a lot of it not long ago and I know of other less experienced players without a HOTAS, so it's certainly doable. Programming your joystick with DX buttons is recommended but I find it tedious. As long as you follow your procedures and only press one button at a time you should be fine with using your joystick's profile editor to map key combinations. Only exception I made was the trigger and pickle button. There is an abundance of tutorials on YT. I know JoNay did some good ones as well but can't remember all the others. Has been a while since I needed a tutorial but I know if you look for a certain topic you will find a video on it. While ramp starting helps with the immersion I skipped it when starting with BMS. Most flights start on the taxi way anyways, because once you know how to do it there is no real challenge other than waiting and it takes long enough to set up a flight in the first place. It's really up to you. Start with some BVR to be able to defend yourself, get used to how the radar operates and build up some muscle memory. Just DO NOT go up against Fulcrums/Flankers as their R-77 missiles are a nightmare for beginners. From there pick a basic a2g weapon like the GBU-12 to practice with the TGP and CCRP bombing mode. Congratulations, you can now shoot down planes and drop almost half the ordinance available in game ... you're becoming dangerous!

I got good news and bad news. Bad news: No. This tool doesn't work anymore. When PR got it's own EXE years ago the tool stopped working. Says it right there in the FreeTrack Forum: http://www.free-track.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=2998&page=1 PR has changed even more since then and there are a lot of little things the tool checks for. If you want to find somebody to go through the trouble of reverse engineering and fixing it or starting from scratch, try the PR forums. Good news: Getting 3DOF head tracking working for vehicles is possible using a tool like GlovePIE. You can translate the head tracking input to mouse input and automatically hold the mouselook key for you, once you move your head past a certain threshold. You'd need an extra key to toggle on/off to avoid screwing up your aim but it's at least an option. IMO unless you're a dedicated pilot it's not worth the trouble. Any other vehicle station only requires one hand to control, leaving the mouse free to look around.