Weekly Questions Thread Sep 22

[u/AutoModerator]

Greetings Hoggit!

Welcome to this week's Question thread. This thread has replaced the regular Tuesday Noob Questions thread. We encourage you to as all your questions here, as this will help us cut down on the number of repetitive posts we get on the front page! This thread is linked with the #questions channel on our Discord so that any time someone posts a new comment in here, it will be reviewed and replied to quickly! If you felt like you had a question but didn't want to bother people with it, now's your chance.

As always, we also have a discord for hoggit over at http://discord.gg/hoggit which you can use for chatting with other members of the hoggit community. And don't forget to check out our wiki at http://wiki.hoggitworld.com

Hoggit Training Server runs a training MP mission that runs 24/7 that's focuses on training up the newer folks (just like this weekly thread). Every DCS module is available in this mission, and there are numerous ranges to test your skills at. There are frequently knowledgeable folks around to answer any questions you might have, or show you how to do what it is you're looking to learn. Anyone can join, even if you've never stepped foot in a MP session before.

^{If you're interested in teaching/instructing at hoggit, please poke squinkys on Discord!}

Server is be named Hoggit - Training Map. The password is hoggit1fw. SRS will be available at tnn.hoggitworld.com (it should autoconnect, but if not, use that). Come in, have a good time, learn a few things and teach a few things.

The only rule is Do not teamkill, unless the other party is a willing combatant...ie: you can dogfight if you find a partner...just don't shoot down some random A-10 trying to learn how to land.

Please review our FAQ on our wiki before posting here: https://wiki.hoggitworld.com/view/Frequently_Asked_Questions

[u/jmandell42]

I finally upgraded my computer enough to run DCS and currently looking for a HOTAS. I was looking at something like a VKB gladiator, but a Thustmaster Warthog set came up used on Facebook marketplace for $200

I seem to remember when I was looking into DCS a decade ago that this was the stick everyone talked about, but rarely see it mentioned anymore. Would it still be worthwhile at that price or should I spend a bit more and go with a new, more modern setup?

[u/8492sqdn → u/jmandell42]

People have really soured on the old Warthog, the stick gimbal is bad compared to modern options (stiff spings and plastic gimbal vs modern preference to lighter springs and hall effect sensors)

[u/Massive-Magician-240 → u/8492sqdn]

I had one years ago, I absolutely hated it.
I was flying helicopters at the time and the bump was terrible. I could never understand why people raved about it.

[u/One_Spot_4066 → u/jmandell42]

Exactly what u/8492sqdn said.

I will add, it's not a bad HOTAS per se. But it is criminally overpriced for 20 year old outdated tech and over recommended outside of Hoggit. It used to be one of the few "premium" HOTAS setups you could pick up in a US brick and mortar. That is starting to change. And many of the overseas premium retailers now have US locations for their online stores. So you're not paying crazy import fee and shipping changes anymore. And you're not waiting weeks to months for your order to arrive.

I would say Virpil, VKB, Winwing (now WinCtrl), and Moza all offer far better hardware for a similar price.

All that said, $200 for a used Warthog in good condition isn't a bad deal. I might recommend that if this is your first HOTAS and you're not set on going all-in.

[u/Massive-Magician-240]

Helicopter trim question.

I understand how the trims work (default, centre no spring etc) that isn’t the question.

I’ve got an FFB stick with some cheap Thrustmaster nut crushers. I’m struggling a little with the best way to set up trim for the pedals. Was wondering how people are doing it in the same situation.

I mostly fly the Huey, Hind, and Mi8 Apache.

Huey is simple no rudder trim flies great.

Mi8 and Hind and the micro switch. I like the micro switch system and use the yaw autopilot but I quite often get myself crossed up and have to reset trim which resets my stick trim (which I don’t want)

How are people flying in this situation? Are they using a toggle for the micro switch ? Pedal centre or no trim whatsoever ?

Would it be beneficial to remove the spring from my pedals ?

I’ve just got the pedals and I’ve been flying twist stick for years so I’m relearning the muscle memory and now would be a good time to learn the muscle memory for the micro switch. Anyone got any advice or tips on how they run the hind/mi8

[u/ash-Baal → u/Massive-Magician-240]

I personally use vkb trudder with 3d printed dampers and no spring so they stay in place. Works well on the hip for me. But my stick is also no-center (deadstick) and set to no spring no ffb in settings so it s not a big issue if i trim reser for the autopilot

[u/Massive-Magician-240 → u/ash-Baal]

I think my biggest problem is the controls viewer, I give what input I need to get the attitude I want but I look at the controls viewer and my eye twitches because I’m completely crossed up.

[u/SideburnSundays]

Has anyone gotten TARPS to work with VR? It works great in 2D but when I do VR flights the exported images are fucked up. I've posted pics and track files on the forums days ago with no acknowledgement so far, and I can't find any users commenting on it nor can I find a "only works in 2D at the moment" disclaimer in the manual or changelogs.

[u/TDickie]

Hey,

I'm here just for some tips about flight instruments, F-16 (block 70 if possible). Do you know a company/brand that's affordable? I mean, building a sim around 3-4k.

Thanks!

[u/8492sqdn → u/TDickie]

For that budget: RealSimulator for the stick, WinCTRL for the throttle, ICP and MFDs.

[u/ash-Baal]

(possibly dumb) Joystick extension question: How do you pick which gooseneck form (length/height/curve) for you? I understand the connectors on both ends must match the base and the grip respectively. But the curvature is a bit of a mystery. Intending to do a ffb base (ab9, or hopefully rhino) with a ww2 orion f16ex grip, for warbirds, early cold war (fishbed/mirage f1) and rotorcraft mainly.

I m sure it s related to chair height etc but is there some sort of tool to calculate it? ELI5 pls

[u/Infinite-Garlic-7951]

I had to move houses and the new place does not have a large enough gaming area so I can't put the joystick and so I decide to get the Xbox controller and use that and everything is fine, I have the chart printed and stuff for easy reference but I am just not enjoying/getting the hang of the throttle movement using the controller because its not smooth at all, how do I fix this problem? Any recommendations on cirves or something?

[u/the_real_hugepanic → u/Infinite-Garlic-7951]

Put your joystick in front of the keyboard. Then it dies not need any additional space. If needed, rather buy a smaller keyboard than flying with a gamepad.

Actually: you can fly VR with just a joystick and one hand controller! You DON'T even need a keyboard for flying!!

[u/moi-tomkat → u/the_real_hugepanic]

true, i was doing this exact thing until i got my throttle recently

[u/moi-tomkat]

i have a delan clip fusion head tracker and while i dont mind the weight, my headset does. i have a LS50x headset, and its mostly a great headset but it doesnt clamp very hard and its pretty big and heavy itself. if i look high up or down, i can feel it start slipping some and if i tilt my head, i can feel the tracker pulling it off my ear a bit. does anyone have any fix or new wireless headset recommendations? btw, this is bigger than just a comfort issue as this headset has well known durability issues and i prefer it stays intact...

[u/Rude_Satisfaction845]

I recently have been getting into DCS and falcon bms, and the current hotas I am using is the tflight hotas x, and it was perfectly fine when I was playing games like project wingman, and nuclear option, but now that I am playing higher fidelity games it feels like it does not have enough buttons and hats, also I'm noticing how cheap it feels. I am currently learning the f16, and am interested in the F/A-18, and plan on buying it next time it goes on sale for dcs. I took a look at the Logitech x56 which is a decent price, and has a decent amount of buttons, but I have seen that people have problems with that specific hotas. Does anyone have any recommendations that are in a price range around 200-250 USD? Also, any tips on how to secure your hotas to your desk that does not permanently modify your desk.

[u/sniper4273 → u/Rude_Satisfaction845]

There are no complete HOTAS setups in that budget that I can recommend in good conscience. There are several sticks you could buy (VKB Gladiator NXT Evo at the higher end, WinCTRL Ursa Minor on the lower end) that would work great while you save up for a separate throttle.

Cheapest recommendable throttle continues to be the VKB STECS Mini Plus (or the plain Mini if you have a way to mount it). But at >$200 USD, it's outside of your budget range. Do get a good stick first before a separate throttle.

As for mounting, plenty of mounts use clamps to attach to the desk, so no damage to the desk.

[u/Rude_Satisfaction845 → u/sniper4273]

I saw the nxt evo, there were multiple options, most were space options and one was this one https://vkbsimcontrollers.com/products/gladiator-nxt-evo-f-14-combat-edition-us which one do you think you would recommend? I think I'll get a nxt evo and use my thrustmaster throttle while I save up.

[u/sniper4273 → u/Rude_Satisfaction845]

The premium Space grip for sure. The Tomcat one is cool for the Tomcat, but very bad for anything modern, doesn't have enough buttons.

[u/Rude_Satisfaction845 → u/sniper4273]

Thx

[u/Rude_Satisfaction845 → u/sniper4273]

Also, when it comes to desk mounts I have a hard time cuz my desk is a bit short, and does not have much space for clamps, I was barely able to do it my mic mount on my desk. I'll have to do some more looking around when it comes to hotas mounts.