Getting back into simming

[PhantomBigStu]

Stopped simming years ago when I got rid of my desktop computer and went laptop only, now I've got a pretty good spec laptop and a 32 inch TV I can connect to and an amazon voucher which will got towards a joystick so thinking of getting back into it.  Flightsim 2020 isn't even close to affordable for me so will be the old FSX for regular simming but have no idea what there is in the way of combat sims out there. 

[NoSG0]

Have you got a joystick/throttle?

If not, this is a good break down.  Regrettably the more affordable low end of the market does not seem to be well served.  Reliability of the cheaper sticks does not look to be good over time.

The pilots guide to gear.  A link to a PDF. 

How large is your storage SSD?  Just in DCS(and I dont have everything, I am at 165GB)  Ad Il-2 sturmovik, IL-2 1946 and I am now considering a 2tb SSD.

 

Get head tracking.  You can get cheap and or free head tracking.  I made a post on it. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235116771-possibly-easier-cheaper-head-tracking/

 

The following is just my opinion:

DCS

Study level.  Learn the switches, some love it, others are meh.

 

You can d/l the game free and use certain mods like the A-4 which is very well done for free.  There are other free mods as well.  You can practice with the Su-25.  There are missions you can D/L iirc.

If you get the openbeta version of the game, you can try 1 aircraft/map every 2 weeks for free.   Then wait 6 months till it comes around again.  The game comes with a section of the Caucasus and a Marianas map.  Not MSFS level.  Persian gulf map has a lot of detail, so it is hardware demanding from what I have read.

 

Purchases: Can be expensive. But your first purchase you get a 50% discount.  So consider what you want. Super Carrier? F-18? F-16? F-14? etc etc? WWII fighters? Even at 50% off it totals up quickly. They do a 50% off sale on a number of modules every few months.

 

I think DCS is looking more into WWII, but right now, imho, WWII is not great.  I think it will get better in time though.

 

HARDWARE: They are trying to institute the Vulkan game engine and Multithreading.  Hopefully soon. I hope that both will help. They should.  With the current game engine,  a friend of mine who has an Acer laptop with 8750h cpu and a crap 2gb gpu gets ok performance.  He bumped the ram to 32 gb.  He gets 30-45 fps depending on graphics settings and aircraft #'s in single player only.  My desktop being very old at best gives me 15 to 20 fps depending on settings.  There are videos on yt of ppl trying DCS with laptops.

 

IL-2 Sturmovik.

You buy maps/Area of operations which have the correct aircraft for that area/time period. Older maps cost less, but newer maps can be around 70-80 dollars. You can buy  collector aircraft and fly them as you will.

I would suggest waiting for the sales on the older maps.  Older maps look to me to be Stalingrad etc etc.  I prefer the Western myself.

The dev  team have announced that while they are supporting the current version of the game, that they have a new major project coming.  No one knows what this means for the current game.  Is it a new game/engine completely? Is it the pacific?

My buddy with the laptop can get about 58 fps if he turns certain things  like shadows/clouds down.

 

IL-2 1946

If you don't mind older graphics you can get IL-2 1946 from Steam for oh $10.  Now, if you dont mind unofficial mods, you have 2 paths.  The BAT mod on the SAS1946 site lets you fly from WW1 up to the the F-18/F-16/F-14.  Completely accurate? no, but it is a large mod with many aircraft/ships etc.  There is another branch that is being used for online multi player play.

Example of the graphics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jBv02JmLbI

 

 

F-16 Falcon BMS.  Older graphics, but actively being upgraded.  Another $10 purchase and you have another study level sim.

 

I know nothing about warthunder.

 

Hope this helps.  I am sure that others will chime in with advice.

Edited January 29, 2023 by NoSG0

[NoSG0]

Here is a video breakdown list like the pdf linked above. One thing I will mention about the vkb gladiator is that the twist axis is a V grove/notch.  Twist it and the handle rises a bit. Some pple dont like it. But at that price point it is hard to beat.

 

Edited January 29, 2023 by NoSG0