www.digitalcombatsimulator.com DCS is short for Digital Combat Simulator. It's a game with the goal of creating the most authentic and realistic simulation of military aircraft, ground vehicles and ships while still being designed for ease of use, fun and excitement.To be able to offer both advanced and more casual gameplay that suit the user and his particular level of experience and training. With the ambition being to hand hold users from novice pilots taking their first flights all the way to the most advanced and sophisticated operators of complex weapon systems such as the A-10C Warthog and the F/A-18C Hornet. Where the only next step is the real thing. Getting started in DCS can be very daunting and it's easy to be overwhelmed. This is intended to work as guide but is also a collection of other tutorials and guides that would help you get started. Spoiler: Difficulty and time requirements The difficulty and the time required to learn is the main thing that drives interested players away from it. While there is truth to it, there is also a lot of variation. Some aircraft are easy to learn while others are difficult. There is no denying that you are gonna have to spend some time to learn an aircraft but again, that time varies depending on the aircraft. There is a big difference between flying a WW2 aircraft like the P-51D compared to flying something modern like an F/A-18C. No matter what aircraft you want to start with, you should always start with taking small steps. Learn one system at a time. Start by learning the layout of the cockpit and where all the panels are. You don't need to know where every specific button is, its enough to know that this panel controls my weapons, that panel controls my engine, this panel controls my radio and so on. Once you can find your way around the cockpit, focus on learning how to start the airplane. Then learn how the weapon works, then navigation, then radio and so on. Eventually, you will have learnt everything. When it comes to the time required to play the game, if you have 1 or 2 hours to play there shouldn't be any problems. You will be able to complete most missions in that time. Spoiler: What should i buy? Primarily, you should buy what catches your interest. The most important bit is to have an aircraft you are actually interested in learning and want to fly. Now, there are of course those who are interested but don't know what to buy. Maybe it's because none of the aircrafts really catch their attention or maybe they want to start with something that's a bit easier to learn. Whatever the reason is, i have 2 aircraft and a pack that i can recommend. I think that they are really good otherwise i wouldn't recommend them L-39: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/products/planes/albatros/ The L-39 is a training aircraft that could be a very good place to start. It's one of the easiest aircraft to learn in DCS. It flies very nicely, it's balanced and forgiving towards mistakes. It's capable of performing light CAS. The drawbacks of it would be the slow speed and the limited weaponry but it's still a very fun aircraft so don't let that push you away from it. F-5E: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/products/planes/tiger/ The F-5E is a Light Tactical Fighter capable of performing air superiority and ground attack mission. It's a flexible aircraft that can complete a variety of missions but it's also easy to use. While not as easy as the L-39 it have far more combat capability then what the L-39 does. Note worthy mention is that it was featured in the Top Gun movie as the fictional MiG-28 Flaming Cliffs 3: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/products/planes/flaming_cliffs/ FC3 features F-15C, A-10A, Su-27, Su-33, MiG-29 , J-11, and Su-25. FC3 aircraft provide an easy learning curve for new players and focuses on a broad range of aircraft rather than a detailed single aircraft. Spoiler: Top 10 things you should know Spoiler: Links Here are several links to useful sources and channels Chuck's DCS Tutorial Library https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=135765 It's a collection of really good manuals and probably one of the best places you can start. DCS Forum https://forums.eagle.ru/ Official DCS Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgJRhtnqA-67pKmQ3A2GsgA Matt Wagner, Producer of DCS https://www.youtube.com/user/wagmatt Have plenty of good video tutorials Grim Reapers https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZuXjkFY00p1ga3UyCBbR2w A gaming group that have plenty of good tutorials, reviews and gameplay Ralfidude https://www.youtube.com/user/ralfidude/videos Have good tutorials, reviews and gameplay Spoiler: Tutorials Spoiler: Brevity, Radar Lingo and Terminology for beginners It's not necessary that you learn these but they could be useful to know if you plan to go into multiplayer. It's important to note that it's not necessary for you to say them absolutely correctly. We are not trying to get a pilot licence here. If you make a mistake so be it. At the end of the day, this is a game and we are here to have fun. It's not fun for anyone if people start complaining about someone using the wrong words. As long as the intended target of the message understands it's meaning then everything is fine. Spoiler: List BANDIT : Identified enemy aircraft BOGEY : Unidentified aircraft SPIKE : Air to air radar is locked on you BUDDY SPIKE : Friendly radar is locked on you NAILS : RWR contact, which emits radar waves but does not have a lock on you FOX 1 : semi-active radar missile (27R/ER + AIM-7) FOX 2 : heat-seeking infrared missile (27T/ET + AIM-9+R-73/60) FOX 3 : active radar missile - missile tracks to an aircrafts radar up to a certain distance, then its internal radar activates (PITBULL) (AIM-120+R-77) RIFLE : Air to ground missile RAYGUN : When locking a target with your radar, say RAYGUN so your teammates are aware you are locking a target. It's used to identify friend or foe. If a friendly is locked, they would shout "BUDDY SPIKE" meaning that you have potentially locked on to a friendly. IFF : meaning "Is he friendly or bandit" PITBULL : Any FOX 3 missile that starts using it's onboard radar for tracking ANGELS : Altitude of friendly aircraft in thousands of feet. Example: ANGELS 12 would be 12 000 feet More will be added when needed and i might also sort it better This is still WIP, i will update sections and add more of them in the future to cover other topics. There might also be some things that i have overlooked, things that are simple for me but confusing for someone new. If that is the case, tell me about it. If you want to know more about something, just ask. Me or anyone else with the knowledge will try to answer it.
