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    Mini DCS Su-33 Flanker Review by Eric J
    Skyviper
    By Skyviper,
    Mini DCS Su-33 Flanker Review By Eric J                     When I first got Flanker 2.0 back in 2000 or so, I started what was now my staple aircraft, the Su-33.  Over the course of the years I have come to love and enjoy this aircraft, and since its still in the “inventory” of DCS Flaming Cliffs 3, I still like to take the old bird out for just purely flying and sometimes combat missions.  Though over the course of the years it is generally the same aircraft all around, but with the new tweaks to the flight model it’s changing but under the hood it’s still the aircraft I started to respect and love since Flanker 2.0.   Flight Model                 The aircraft’s flight model in 1.2.10 of Flaming Cliffs 3 was considered more stable than the current 1.2.11 and quite frankly since Flanker 2.0, where you could feel the weight of the aircraft and subsequent thrust of the aircraft.  Given the years of flying this jet however, a lot of people dismiss it (mainly the gunzo crowd as they preferred the Su-27 due to simple fact that the Su-27 was lighter (because the Su-33 had to be strengthened for carrier landings) despite the fact that the aircraft had two less pylons.  Plus the Su-27 was to most people great for most everything else, with the multi-role Su-33 looked down upon.  Which in the years I’ve flown it I’ve done most everything everybody has done in the aircraft, so it’s not as “Less capable” as the Su-27, which couldn’t use PGMs.  In Flanker 2.0 you had the additional Precision Guided Munition capability (though they were pre-set at the time, but was flexible enough to handle most missions) as at the time of its making the Russian Naval Air Force was trying to fund such a capability.  Enter DCS where weapons are more stringent and realistic, as when LOMAC rolled around. The capability was never funded and LOMAC followed suit by removing that capability.  However you could still modify the MEInit.xml and add that capability, using Kh-29Ls instead of the TE model, which was always fun to use.   Besides that and from various observations the Su-33 was to me considered the “Black Sheep” of the aircraft set, treated but not really cared for by the community, not as “flashy” due to the Su-27 and the F-15.  As while everybody wanted to fly air combat and duel, I was more interested in Ironhand, or SAM Suppression as well as simple ground attack back when I was known as Flanker562, and given the pure power and capability I fell in love with it through the years.  Even in DCS the Su-33 is to some a hard aircraft to fly, but it requires some patience and skill to manage the aircraft as even with the tandem triplane layout, tends to stall a bit more than the Su-27 does, the (back then) Nagging Nadia yelling at me for angle of attack and so on.  And it should be noted that when you fly the Su-33 you’ll hear that a lot.  Again it’s heavier and should always be treated with some respect due to that.  Once you finally get a hold of the aircraft and begin to push it more, the more it’s rewarding to you as a flyer.  Again it requires time and patience and simple flying is the key to get the nuances of the aircraft down and manage it.  There’s a lot I can say about the aircraft, and the heavy reinforcement makes it more durable than most.  And if you fly this aircraft don’t feel guilty.  No it’s not as maneuverable as its brother Su-27, but again, once you know how to exploit the aircraft’s maneuverability and power, you can do most anything with this aircraft.  I’ve done some DACTs with the newer engine and eventually came out on top of the Sabre, so if you manage it and force the aircraft (Bitchin Betty will again let you know if you push the aircraft too hard, a lot), you can take on any modern fighter and have a good chance on coming out on top given skill level.                   However the current flight model of the 1.2.11 version makes it more “bouncy” than usual, as with 1.2.10 once you tweaked the curves (for me anyway) the aircraft was stable, and frankly thought it was too stable in the curve setting.  Now I’ve had to add some dead zone to prevent it from doing as such, which is fine as while it’s not the best I can still fly the jet normally and have no problems figuring out what works for me, given that I’ve flown it often on in various guises for almost 12 years.  It truly is a beast and back then when it had the firepower, was better in my opinion than the Su-25T as far as bringing a good warload to the fight.  While the claws are dulled with the more realistic and stringent loadout manager you’re limited to bombs, rockets, and gun.  Still once you get a hold of the Su-33 it never will leave my side.  The only exception will be the upcoming DCS: Hornet and the DCS: Super Hornet. The Su-33 is the only aircraft the player can fly that is able to do carrier operations currently.  But given the aircraft’s lack of popularity its future remains to be seen as the real Russian Naval Air Force will retire the aircraft next year, and probably within a couple years Eagle Dynamics may move to a Mig-29K module, if they do.  Which will be nice, but the ability to use PGMs will be nice, but I’d rather have the capability on this bird than on a more short-legged jet.  While some claim that the Su-33 has less capability it sure doesn’t have the staying power and endurance of a Su-33.                   Despite this and until Eagle Dynamics in a few years removes the aircraft, I’ll keep flying it because it’s simply just a great aircraft to fly and will always be near and dear to my heart.     3D Model/Textures                 The current 3D model of the Su-33, after the years since LOMAC came out in 2004, is looking very sharp and the accompanying screenshots show the beauty of this aircraft.  So mostly I approve of the look and the texture work is always superb.  However due to the lack of official support (I simply haven’t made any of my own layered PSDs due to other projects I’m working on) of official PSDs to add your own custom skin is noticeably absent which is a bummer as given the detail it’ll take me a while to make them.  But that’s for me to worry about as I will say that they have added the better quality to the textures as back when I was doing skins both for Eagle Dynamics and for hobby work, it went from one texture map to more, which is good as the quality is showing and doesn’t hit your framerates as hard as one might think.  So out of 5 stars I give it a 4, simply because of lack of any texture support.   Functionality                 As with any Flaming Cliffs aircraft, the cockpit does not have 6DOF functionality and quite frankly for the Su-27 and Su-33 it’s simply not needed in my view.  Still the displays inherit from the Su-27 and the small MFD shows everything that the Su-27 shows, so for a review I will simply refer to my Su-27 review, as it’s all the same to me.  The only major difference of course is the small box on the left of the HUD showing the glide path indicator for carrier traps.  And after two years of not flying it the system still works as it should, given that I did a first try trap after so long in the aircraft.  It shows how much experience pays off with this aircraft and the easy of familiarity I do have with it.   Major issues so far                 So far with 1.2.11 the only major issue to me is the bouncy flight problem, but again as mentioned before my stick needs to be adjusted some more to compensate for that.  Overall as I think the aircraft is treated as a “Black Sheep” it still works and really one of the most bug free aircraft Flaming Cliffs 3 has to offer.  However, the only major visual bug is the fact that the instrument panel is used from the Su-27 (matter of fact its laid out similar) so be aware that your two wingtip stations will not be displayed when selecting them.  Other than that the aircraft works as it should.     Final Thoughts                 The Su-33, if you haven’t noticed, is and always will be my preferred jet.  And as said before when the Hornet or Super Hornet finally gets finished, will become my other jet as I like Navy jets, and the Su-33 is no exception.  And after 12 years of flying the aircraft I have to say that it has treated me well over the course, as once you fly the Su-33 long enough, most of the aircraft seem less tame than it.

    Net Neutrality - It's your issue too
    Erik
    By Erik,
      If you don't want to get involved this image may be very real sooner than you think.   Join us here. We need your vote to tell congress, federal government, and big business, NO.   http://combatace.com/topic/84316-net-neutrality-urgent/page-4?do=findComment&comment=679973

    Panzer Elite's new look - PP2-x!
    33LIMA
    By 33LIMA,
    The old girl's back at the front!   Wing's Simulations' Panzer Elite - not to be confused with the later 'arcade' tank game Panzer Elite Action - was the doyen of tanksims for many years and in many ways, she still is. With the classic Panzer Elite Special Edition (PE-SE), which included a series of major mods, you could fight your way through campaigns in Libya, Tunisia, Italy, North-West Europe and Russia with British, German, US and Soviet forces, fighting from a great variety of tanks. Artillery support, infantry, A/T guns, light armour and soft-skinned vehicles were all there. Briefings were accompanied by animated maps and voiceovers. Platoon command and control was second to none and better than nearly everything else. Radio and intercom traffic was pretty thoroughly represented. You could swap around crew members with different skills and, within some limits, choose your ammo loadout and some optional extras for your tanks.   The years passed and better-looking tanksims appeared, good and not-so-good, but some of PE's talented modders didn't give up and improvements continued to be made, notably time of flight for projectiles and better graphics.   This mission report is my first serious outing with a new PE mod, still in beta but already showing the way ahead for PE - Panzer Pack 2-X, or PP2-X. The original Panzer Pack by the Lenort brothers was one of the original big mods for the sim, geared towards multiplayer. Its latest incarnation is by modder Slomo, based on a new PE .exe from fellow modder Brit44 'Aldo'. Main visible improvements include some much better tank models, with 3-dimensional and better-animated wheels and track, which had been 2-dimensional, even on previously-improved models. The latest version of PP2-x also includes more recent work by Aldo which pretty well eliminates the tendency of PE tanks to teeter sometimes like they were made of cardboard, as they moved on uneven terrain, which makes for a big improvement to my eye. Many tank and other models are still the originals from PE-SE, but these are gradually being replaced as work on the beta progresses. As things stand, PP2-x is a mod for the basic sim, so doesn't add Eastern Front, Libyan or other campaigns; to play these in their latest versions, you'll need a different mod, BobR's PE3, which I used in my last PE mission reprot, fighting the Sherman Firefly..   Details of PP2-X are available here: http://pedg.yuku.com/forums/52/PP2X#.VG0pTcnHSRE. Graphics and animations are still not up to the latest standards but especially with the new tanks, are a tremendous step forward from the originals and they really give this fine sim a new lease of life.   Having installed PP-2x (latest version 1.2) in my 'mods' folder and enabled it using the JSGME-like Mod Enabler that comes with PE-SE, I decided to play for the Wehrmacht, starting with the first mission in the Normandy campaign, 'St Lo - 3 July 1944', a mission which all the PE old hands will know well!   Here's the screen that greets you when you start. Your platoon awaits you! You can see your allocated tanks, parked up in front of a slightly-knocked about farmhouse. In the centre stands your 'adjudant', in practice your platoon sergeant whose animated figure, when clicked on, will open up the options that your industrious second-in-command will be able to organise for you, as befits the abilities of the professional Senior NCO that you, a mere Lieutenant, will be glad to rely upon. Click on the tanks and you can choose to replace them (which I usually do, if only to get a platoon that is realistically equipped with the same model of tank). You can also choose to move crewmen or add realistically-available features, like skirt armour ('schurzen') for German tanks. Long-time PE players will recall that the cow moves and moos! It's been a lo-o-o-ong time since sim developers put this kind of care into creating an immersive front end.     In the pic below, I have replaced my Panzer IIIN (short 7.5cm gun) with a late model Panzer IV to match my other tanks - a mix of Panzer IV H and J versions, all with long-barrelled 7.5cm guns, the J model being a late war 'economy' type with manual-only turret traverse and other simplifications. I am also adding available upgrades - some extra protection, including spaced armour for both turret and hull sides, as normally carried from about mid-1943 (hull spaced armour was frequently lost, but the turret 'skirt' generally stayed put).     Having already set my realisim options to my taste (via the 'adjudant'), it was time to kick off the mission briefing. Here is the basic mission map.     The voiceover and map markings, which appear one after the other, talk and walk you through the mission - again, a touch that few other sims have equalled, before or since. Basically, our 4-tank platoon has formed up at the hamlet of la Corbierre and is to move a short distance to the north, to la Croix de Pirou, to help defend that village against imminent, concentric US Army attacks. We are supporting some Panzergrenadiers in that place and are ourselves supported by two other platoons which will follow us, plus others on the flanks. As usual in PE, your side's little battlegroup is a mix of different platoons with often unspecified but varied equipment, when a more coherent, more homogenous force, with slightly less variety and tied more closely together in what they are doing, might be more realistic.   Here's how the briefing looks when it's stopped playing through. The green arrows are the expected, concentric US attacks, while the blue markings indicate our (German) positions and movements. If we can't hold la Croix de Pirou, we have been told we can fall back to la Corbierre, whence we came, and if it goes really badly t*ts up, then St Giles to the south is where we must make our stand, with a platoon of anti-tank guns already there as a last line of defence.     I clicked the icons on the right to review advice, weather etc and then had a good look at the map, to choose my firing positions. These I intended to occupy at once, rather than waiting for the enemy to appear, in this fairly close country, where lines of sight and fire were rather short and nasty surprises could creep up on you rapidly.   On the left, the ground was fairly level, with open terrain ahead of the village. This open area looked like a possible killing ground but fire positions in that direction lacked hard cover, just limited cover from view amongst some shrubbery and little scope to 'shoot and scoot' under cover, from fire position to fire position. In the centre was the village itself, an obvious target for enemy artillery and while providing some cover from direct fire, this would also limit my own arcs of view and fire, while separating my tanks from each other. On the right was higher ground, with a fair bit of soft cover and some countours which suggested better fire positions, possibly hull down, from which I could shoot and scoot, while possibly firing from the advancing enemy's flank, as they came into that open ground.   Plan made - I'd move out wide to the right in column formation, turn back left when just ahead of Croix de Pirou, and then go into line abreast, edging the platoon, in that formation, into our initial fire positions.   My plan made and the mission loaded, I ordered my tanks into column and we roared off to the right. Here we go, boys! Let's see if we can teach these impertinent Amis a thing or two, about what German Panzers can do!       ...to be continued!

    BE12 twosome - #2, Wings over Flanders Fields
    33LIMA
    By 33LIMA,
    Second time lucky? Flying the BE12 in Wings over Flanders Fields   This time up, having met a heroic but early end in my First Eagles BE12 campaign, I'm checking out the same experience in WOFF. No need to worry about editing files this time tho, for the BE12 is one of the new planes included in this latest version of OBD Software's popular WW1 airwar sim. 'Latest' not for long, though, as a new iteration, WOFF 2.0, is about to hit the virtual shelves, as a payware upgrade and expansion, with the emphasis on Home Defence against Zepps and Gothas: http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4018110/WOFF_v2.0_Screen_Shots__!#Post4018110   As in FE, I created a new pilot, finding that I could enlist in the same squadron from the same date - 19 Squadron, RFC, from 1st September 1916, just days before Boelcke and his 'cubs' from Jasta 2 burst onto the scene. WOFF bases us at Fienvillers/Candas, to the north-west of Cappy and further behind the Lines, than in FE.     And here's my pilot logbook, a much better presentation than FE's pilot stats screen (better than how most other combat flight sims have done this, come to think of it).     Not so good is the accuracy of this page, describing my mount, which emphasises the BE12's brief and almost accidental fighter role and says it was at the front in April 1915, a whole year or more too early. The data in the panel looks more like it applies to the BE2c; for example the BE12 has a 150hp RAF4 engine, not a 90hp RAF1 and the armament is also wrong.     Here's the squadron roster for my first campaign mission. Perhaps WOFF is trying to break me in gently with a patrol behind my own lines. And while I've selected 'always lead', I'm leading just myself, for oddly, I'm on my own in B Flight while A Flight is well up to strength, and flying top cover, for just little old me. Obviously, this squadron believes very strongly in looking after its new pilots. Naturally, I did not consider for a moment the possibility that they might be using me as bait for the wily Huns.     And here's the briefing itself, confirming this rather odd arrangement:     No doubt, the CO knows best. Ours not to reason why, and all that. Off to the airfield I went, finding myself lined up next to A Flight. Losing no time, I started up, checked the controls and as soon as the others began to move off, opened her up.     The WOFF BE12 is not a bad replica, tho the nose is I think a little slender. Unfortunately it has not yet been updated like the WOFF BE2c and thus still has its interplane struts visibly too far inboard. Hopefully WOFF 2.0 will effect some improvement.   With little thought for such things, I banked around and turned my mind to the task at hand: to wit, a solo patrol behind our own trench lines, with A Flight covering me from somewhere on high. Nothing to it. Or so I thought...     ...to be continued!

    A Brief DCS A-10A Review by Eric J
    Skyviper
    By Skyviper,
    A Brief DCS A-10AWarthog Review By Eric J                     With the push to “break up” the aircraft out of the Flaming Cliffs title (Currently Flaming Cliffs 3) ED has started to turn the direction (in my view anyway)  away from the study sim into more separate modules in order to update them as well as improve upon them.   Flight Model                 The new 1.2.11 patch compared to 1.2.10 has in my mind improved the handling of the aircraft better as well as better thrust, In order to improve the flight dynamics.  The plane now oscillates less and is more stable, and with a balanced load (or an asymmetric load coupled with the necessary trim as well) is a stable aircraft.  Overall when I started 1.2.10 I had major issues with mountain flying as then the aircraft (I soon adjusted my flying profile and style) had to be led more than now.  What I mean is that if you are to climb you needed to start very early in your climb if you felt like cresting a mountaintop.  For 1.2.11 it now takes less time to lead a mountain for a climb and the less oscillation when pulling hard is gone as well, however it is recommended to take it easy as sometimes a firm hand on the stick is better than a hard pull.  Otherwise the aircraft is very responsive and doesn’t require excessive trimming to suit your style of flight.  It’s not a speed demon so take that into consideration when planning attacks or avoiding enemy fighters or SAM/AAA assets when dodging or avoiding enemy fighter.  The aircraft is robust but a hard landing will jar the aircraft and in some cases damage it.  The level of damage and physics is good and more than likely to be improved down the line.     3D Model/Textures                 The current model is of course well done and represents the late model A-10A before conversion to the C model.  Otherwise the texture work of course is topnotch and while the official DCS site offers C model templates, the templates are usable on either the A or C versions (the only notable difference is the wedge-shaped antenna behind the cockpit on the C as opposed to the A model).  Regardless they are laid out very nice (the images are from a texture that I uploaded here on CombatAce as well as the main DCS site, the “77-234 81st TFW skin) and once you figure out how to install them so the simulation can read and apply them.  Having been in the field of texture work for 13 years I can say that having done work for them both hobby and professionally I have no critiques of their methods of mapping as well as textures.  While ten 2048 x 2048 is a bit much, it offers the inexperienced to experienced texture artist the ability to make his or her aircraft how they want.   Functionality                 Like the Beta Su-27, the cockpit still has the same functionality that started out with Lock On: Modern Air Combat. In the practical sense this is okay as while not as laid out and not 6DOF as the C model, a novice pilot who wants to get familiar with the Warthog can fly the A model to get a feeling and when he or she is ready, move on to the C model aircraft to get into the fully useable cockpit.  Otherwise the aircraft works well as well the cockpit is laid out as per the real aircraft.  The only noticeable difference between most of the newer updates is the lack of a “pilot” such as the Su-27 where a basic 3D model is to give some immersion but realistically in my view that’s only window dressing.         Major issues so far                 The only major bug I’ve noted and brought up was that the gun seems to be always off safe.  So even when you don’t press C (default mapping for the gun) you still can fire the gun with the trigger pull.  And the only other notable bug is that the Autopilot indicator stays displayed on the HUD regardless  of which mode that you select.  Given that you have only three doesn’t stop the show, but again it’s noticeable.   Final Thoughts                 The A-10A Warthog is a nice plane to fly and when I feel ready I’ll move on to the C model, but as I’m returning back to the series I’ll take it easy and just re-learn the aircraft and go from there, and the A model is a great start in that direction.  

    BE12 twosome - #1, First Eagles
    33LIMA
    By 33LIMA,
    Into battle in one of WW1's least successful fighters!   Perhaps only the much-maligned Royal Aircraft Factory could have imagined that they could make a fighter out of the BE2, a low-powered and badly-armed reconnaisance machine renowned for its inherent stability...and as 'Fokker Fodder', vulnerable to the little Eindekkers, let alone later German fighters.   In fact the Factory seems to have had no such illusions. The BE12 was designed originally for single seat longer-range reconnaisnce and light bombing. BE2s often left the observer behind when carrying bombs - and the pilot operated the camera on a recce - so a single-seater BE with a more powerful engine and more fuel doubtless seemed like the proverbial good idea at the time (mid-1915). The resultant BE12 had a more powerful engine but wasn't even intended to be armed, at first. By the time it was ready for service, though, the situation at the front had changed and - a forward-firing Vickers gun having been fitted in place of early efforts at synchronised and unsynchronised Lewis guns - the BE12 was pressed into service as a fighter, serving in the Royal Flying Corps with No.s 19 and 21 Squadrons on the Western Front from the summer of 1916. Within a few months their unsuitability as a fighter seems to have become obvious and they were back at their designed job as a (rather vulnerable) light bomber. Later, they moved onto rather less hazardous duties on Home Defence.   So, why would I want to chance my virtual life in such a machine? Well, what better reason than the fact that a BE12 is one of a series of new planes released for First Eagles and FE2, by prolific modder Stephen1918 http://combatace.com/files/file/15121-raf-be12/? Not only that, but the later BE12a version is also available: http://combatace.com/files/file/15124-raf-be12a/ ; note the different wings with shorter span below, as also fitted to the BE2e:     And having checked out the BE12 in First Eagles, I was minded to savour the same experience in Wings Over Flanders Fields, which has featured the BE12 from release.   So that I could fly the BE12 in an FE2 campaign, after installing the aircraft, I hand-edited Ojcar's Armchair Aces Flanders month-by-month campaigns for the summer and autumn of 1916, substituting Stephen's BE12 for the previous mount of 19 Squadron, up to the time it moved onto SPAD VIIs. This is a simple Wordpad job, changing a single entry in two files for each campaign (FlandersFrontxx.ini and FlandersFrontxx_data.ini, starting at xx=12 and ending at xx=16).   That done, I created a new pilot and off we went! My chosen campaign based us as Cappy, starting on 1 September 1916. Our first mission was to escort some 2 Squadron BE2s to Marcoing, just over the Lines near the big town of Cambrai. Our assigned altitude was a mere 1700 feet. I chose two pilots from the bottom of the squadron roster to accompany me. Before launching the mission itself, I had a good look at the map, which is a zoomed-out but exact replica of what you can see in the 3d world. But I forgot to apply my usual practice of moving the last waypoint further back from our objective area. This is a good idea because it gives you a longer run-in and thus more time to suss out the situation, ahead.   The other thing I forgot to do had more serious consequences, later. Some modder-made FE planes have a very restricted horizontal field of vision for the virtual pilot from the cockpit, often giving you no view much aft of directlty sideways. Invariably, I hand-edit the relevant data file to increase this wherever I find it, so I can look over my shoulder and past my tailplane. A restricted rearward arc isn't too bad in most 2-seaters, where your observer, sitting right behind you, blocks your view in that direction. But in a fighter, it's potentially catastrophic. The padlock is also blocked, beyond this same arc. Unfortunately for me, the BE12 has one of these restricted arcs of rearward vision.   But such things were far from my mind as I left Cappy behind, pleased with the superior pulling power of my 150hp motor - superior, that is, to the bog-standard BE2 - and levelled off with the throttle back while my two flight-mates caught up. So far, so good...     ...to be continued!

Portal by DevFuse · Based on IP.Board Portal by IPS


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