My (sorta) first time in DCS World

So, I've been anxious for something - anything - first or third-person to play that's new to me while I wait for Star Citizen's Invictus Launch Week (so I can finally pick up my F8C Lightning, despite that they nerfed it again in the latest PTU patch).

I had figured it's finally time to really give DCS a try; I technically had played it many years ago in the form of DCS Black Shark (the original, FYI).. I still have that disk here somewhere. Anyway, I never got super far in it, but had a HUGE amount of respect for what they did with the mechanics.

I was torn, however: Which aircraft module do I fly? I've been playing flight sims since I was around 8 years old (Corncob 3D, Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator, A-10 Cuba and much more). Despite never having been in a real aircraft, I've spent thousands of hours in flight sims of various levels of fidelity, and was ready to hop back in and see what time has brought forth (besides an advancing age and a rapidly declining quality of life).

I was torn between 3: The A-10C II, The AH-64D Apache, or the F/A-18C. I was leaning towards the AH-64D, but was concerned about my ability to control my trim and keep myself from spinning out (I do have foot pedal rudder controls, but they are Thrustmaster, and they suck.. As does my general ability to use my feet).

After a handful of comments on a downvoted thread on a DCS-newbie-focused subreddit that had varying degrees of utility when it comes to answering that question, I decided to instead pick up the Flaming Cliffs 2024 package.

For those of you who are unaware, the Flaming Cliffs modules are known as "low-fidelity" aircraft. This means that the flight model itself is exceptionally realistic, but you don't have to go through the full startup procedure and more to get into the air. After watching multiple videos that spent as much as 30 minutes going through startup procedures (not to mention 15+ minute videos on individual systems for specific aircraft), and the fact that I'm dealing with my methotrexate hangover early this week (I decided to try doing a split dose, where I take part of it 12 hours before I take the rest - fucking mistake in my case) prompted me to make that decision.

I'm glad I did, and here's how my brief experience went the first time I hopped in to an A-10A in DCS's Flaming Cliffs 2024.

I had already watched a video to see what bindings I needed for start-up; there is no tutorial here, and given most flight sim enthusiasts like myself have unique setups (my dual VKB NXT Gladiator Evo "Space Combat" edition HOSAS for example), I needed the guidance.

So, I bound my electronics start, left + right engine start, flaps, gears, canopy and brakes, and made sure my left omni-throttle was set up to be an actual throttle.

With that done, I started going through startup, trying to figure out what's going on from the mess that is the cockpit. I ended up poking my head out the side and looking back to see the status of my engine startups (thank you, TrackIR), and noticed.. oh fuck me, I'm moving.

As I started to taxi unintentionally, I noticed I was going right in the direction of another larger aircraft taxiing too. I grab my right stick and twist for the steering, and realize.. Oh fuck me again, it's inverted from my usual.

I open up the controls, and start by fixing 2 things: One, I had inverted my throttle when I shouldn't have, which is why I was taxiing forward very quickly. Unchecked invert, good to go. Next, I adjusted my rudder control to actually be inverted.

Save, get back into the game, cut throttle, hold down the brakes, and gently steer myself out of the path of the other aircraft in the taxi lane.

Fuck me gently, I survived.

I then took the screenshot you see above, and figured it was time to take off intentionally. I taxi out to the runway, close my canopy, get aligned, throttle up, and prepare to pull back on the stick and lift into the air..

..until I decided to take another screenshot, and fucked myself sideways with battery acid lube by butterfingering my way into opening the real-time map.

Whoops. I watched my little icon travel along the runway on the map, and think.. Well, this is definitely sub-optimal.

Anyway, I eventually figured out how to get back to the cockpit view (F1 if you fucked up like me, FYI), and was just trundling along the ground beyond the runway. I had plenty of speed, so I just pulled up on the stick and climbed into the air before I ended up colliding into something on the ground like a dumbass.

WHEEE! I'm flying! Disengage flaps and gear, and let's have some fun!

I fly for a bit, then turn around and get aligned for a landing.

After about 5 false attempts - it has been a long-ass time since I've flown anything as heavy as an A-10 - I managed to successfully land. More importantly: I never crashed, having only failed to reduce speed enough before I ran out of runway and had to turn off my approach and push the throttle back up to try again.

That shit felt good, my friends.. Even with methotrexate kicking my fucking ass almost as hard as my control input failures :D

This should be a good way to pass the time until Invictus, for sure.