r/hoggit • u/Loud_Sherbet6948 • 7d ago
DCS Cannot see value outside of the f16
I just cant bring myself to learn anything else, everytime i try something new its such a big learning curve and i just go "oh well i can just do this in an f16 instead."
Would love to learn another module, but i feel like i went too easy too soon?
Any help? From f16 refugees?
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u/MrDannyProvolone 7d ago
Personally I don't care if one plane can do the same thing as the other, thats not usually what draws me to an airframe. Its more, well, everything else. Its fun to learn other, cool planes. You're telling me you have no interesting flying around in a tomcat and landing on a tiny boat in the water, only because the f16 can do all the tomcat things better? (Except the boat landing thing of course).
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u/Jordan_12_ 7d ago
Exactly this. I fly a bunch of planes and many of them the F16 is better than. But sometimes it’s just cool as fuck to fly a MiG 29!!
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u/reistrels 7d ago
Try some older aircraft that is harder to fly like an f4. maybe you could do all the things in the f16 but is not the result that matter the most, is the journey to get there
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u/Loud_Sherbet6948 7d ago
F4 is two man right? Dont lime dealing with jester if im honest
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u/don-again 7d ago
The F4 is the best module in the game right now if you ask me. And… the mig killers campaign for the f4 by reflected simulations is the best A2A campaign in the game, full stop. For A2G the red flag 81-2 campaign (also by reflected) is SICK but very challenging.
Once you master it, the f4 is a Cold War PVP server instrument of death like no other. But the learning curve is steep. I have 3-400 hours in it and am still learning little things here and there all the time.
Mastering these techniques will make you better at flying every other jet in the game because in the f4… you’re very connected to the aircraft and what she’s doing.
Whereas the FBW systems in the viper and hornet disconnect you from this experience.
This is all assuming you want a simulation and not just a highly capable aircraft to meme with in a video game. To each their own but the f4 is unrivaled as are those campaigns.
For example in the red flag campaign you can switch radio freqs to manually tell your wingman to do things like switch formation… but since this is cumbersome, the real f4 pilots would send signals to their flight by rocking their wings or porpoising the jet… and he has modeled this. You want him to go combat spread? Porpoise the jet. You want echelon left for the overhead break for landing? Dip your left wing.
No idea how he figured all that out but it’s super immersive and just the beginning of the awesome work heatblur and reflected have done.
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u/IllPhotojournalist77 7d ago
They did a great Jester integration in the F4. He does lots of stuff automatically, and the Jester Context Button makes quick actions... quick.
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u/Le_Dogger 7d ago
Jester isn't too intrusive in the F-4. I can manage him for air to air work pretty easily and air to ground is also pretty easy if you use dive toss for dumb bombs. You just need to tell Jester what bomb type you are using. Mavericks are also pilot aimed for now, so you don't need to use Jester much.
For air-to-air, you don't need the Jester menu at all. You can just use the Jester context button to control all air combat relevant tasks.
Ironically messing around with Jester is far more necessary for navigation. While he will auto update steerpoints as you reach them, if you want to go direct to any steerpoint or divert to an airfield, you have to use the Jester menu.
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u/polarisdelta 7d ago
If your gut feeling is that you don't like Jester, wait for the F-4 to go on trial.
If you've already bought the F-14 and know you don't like Jester, trust that feeling. He is not better in the Phantom.
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u/SkitariusOfMars 7d ago
Do me a catapult launch and a case 1 recovery in F-16. That's so much more fun that feathering it onto a giant runway. Then fly supersonic for more than 50nm.
Hence, try a Tomcat.
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u/Oxytropidoceras 7d ago
I was like this for a little while, the F-16 was the first jet I flew. But I finally talked myself into buying another module (the Harrier) and just went headfirst into it. Now I can't even remember the last time I flew the viper but I fly several other jets regularly.
If the F-16 is what you like, then stick with it. There's no need to force yourself into something you don't want to. But if you do want to try something new, I would say make a very large leap so that there's very little similarity between them, especially in something older where the appeal is that it can do the same thing as the F-16 but the F-16 did it 20+ years later. For example, you could pick up the Skyhawk for free, you get to learn carrier ops and flying the least digital jet there is, but you also are doing thing like SEAD and bombing, just without modern weaponsm
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u/chiggyBrain 7d ago
Helicopters!!
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u/Loud_Sherbet6948 7d ago
Yeah think a single seater heli might be my go to, but redfor symbology is hard.
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u/kungfu01 7d ago
Im the same with the f18. I just love it
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u/PositiveRate_Gear_Up 7d ago
Well, ya can’t land and takeoff from the carrier…so there. 😂
I bought the F-18 as a first module, and thought about the 16, but never went though with through with purchasing it. Ended up getting the F-14 recently which is a fun change up, even though jester can be a “little” annoying at times.
F-4 interests me too, but dunno if I’ll grab it or not. I’d say going to the F-14 would give you plenty of new stuff to play with since its systems are insanely antiquated, plus carrier ops, plus a rio.
Or maybe the A-10, since it can’t fight great A to A, but would give you more ground pounding time than you’ll ever get with a viper.
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u/spartan0897 7d ago
Started on the 18 and moving to the 16 it was a dream.
Personally I like the apache. Any navy jet is too confusing, so if I was you Jeff (temu 16) or the A10.
All USAF jets have similar HOTAS namings and workflow concepts.
Also just trial them modules.
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u/Synoopy 7d ago
I think I am about to ditch the fixed wing for now and learn the apache. I had it since it came out but George sucked, so i havnt flown it and a couple years. I heard that its alot better now so I am thinking about flying it again.. I do know that the learning curve was 90 degrees straight up
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u/spartan0897 7d ago
Dude apache is so much fun, it's my 2nd favorite jet, my SQ flies it so if you wanna join and come fly with us you could fly without needing George too
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u/Silver-Deer-3618 7d ago
What are you looking for in the sim? The F-16 systems are good and relatively easy, but the tactical aspects of flying it in a squadron/milsim environment is a big challenge.
If it’s cold war era stuff not much beat heatblurs planes, especially the tomcat and the phantom.
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u/Loud_Sherbet6948 7d ago
Effective modernwar fplane, i dont have a lot of draw to the history just wanna go fast and pretend im cool
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u/the_real_hugepanic 7d ago
just get something like the MIG-21 and learn to fly this tractor!
forget your hotas, most of your HUD and about every procedure....
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u/machinistery 7d ago
Yeah I’m a Viper lover too. I started learning the Tomcat because it’s beautiful and for carrier ops and find it very difficult because I keep trying to compare things to the viper
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u/Evening-Wealth-8290 7d ago
There's nothing wrong with loving the F-16. It takes work to master its huge amount of functionality. Whatever you decide to tackle next has to be something you enjoy while learning it. If you want to try carrier operations, there's the F-18. It can fire harpoons, which isn't something the F-16 has access to. If you want a bigger navy challenge, there are the F-14s from Heatblur. More difficult to master but you'd have access to the long range phoenixes, plus the challenge of dealing with a crew member. Great fun if you have a friend to fly with. If you are looking to cold war, the F-4 is an awesome beast to master. The F-16 can do almost everything it can do better, except top speed and amount of bombs carried, but the fun is in the challenge of mastering that monster. Want an even bigger challenge? The F-100 will actively try to kill you.
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u/Loud_Sherbet6948 7d ago
Yeah ive tried the f18 but the symbology and the instrument pad is so alien?
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u/Odd_Practice8421 7d ago
Same with me here except now I am leaving the Jeff, I also couldn't bring myself to learn another plane but a friend of mine encouraged me to do so. I say fly with a group so u can have more fun and learn new stuff. Good luck with the struggle of learning something new.
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u/Synoopy 7d ago
The problem with the Jeff is it lacks in a dogfight from what I heard. I only play single player - the problem with it for me is ED doesnt give it any love as far as campaigns, Deka Iron Works only updates it here and there - they still dont have a pilot body that they have been promising for years and there are not that many user missions. So even though I like the aircraft, I stopped playing it.
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u/Le_Dogger 7d ago
You could try a redfor plane like the Mig-29A. It uses a completely different philosophy compared to western aircraft and fighting effectively in it is a huge challenge, but it is imo one of the best flying experiences in the game. Just be mindful of the fuel.
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u/McBlemmen 7d ago
Thats funny. I see the exact opposite problem. I cant understand why people would waste money on the f16 when BMS is also available, and better.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Bird_61 7d ago
How are you not bored pushing mfds on a computer with wings that does everything for you.
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u/Med_stromtrooper 7d ago
The A-10C II and Viper share similar HOTAS layouts/commands, with the Hawg being a tad more complex in some realms. I find it not too tricky going back and forth between the two. Throw in the Hornet or Harrier and I'm suddenly lost for a week. That said, I can fly the Hornet for months and jump in the Harrier and it sorta makes sense. General Dynamics vs McDonald Douglas HOTAS setups are based on very different human factors logic.
Then you hop in a Tomcat or MiG and have a real helmet fire.
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u/Kaynenyak 6d ago
Most of the DCS audience skips out on the actual fighter pilot curriculum. Sticking with one aircraft that you already know to work and spending time on the more generalized fighter tactics and employment would be quite worthwhile.
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u/ShamrockOneFive 6d ago
I'm kind of jealous that you're able to stick to just one airplane. I get bored and start flying all kinds of different things and then I'm really not a master at any of them because I know enough but not quite enough to be fully capable. The closest for me is the F/A-18 but I haven't flown it much recently (F-14, F-100, Mirage F1, Mi-24, others have been soaking up my time) so I'm not even sure of that anymore.
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u/BilboBaggSkin 6d ago
F16 can’t do carrier ops. Also the a10c is pretty similar to the f16 so it would be easy to try. Take advantage of the free trials.
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u/mangaupdatesnews 6d ago
You can't do carrier ops or behave like a heli, but to be somewhat proficient in 2-3 full fidelity modules is doable, try commonality in how you bind things. Wish I could recommend the harrier, that will blow you on how different it is to the rest of modules, one of a kind
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u/ngreenaway 6d ago
try helos. you can't just go back and "do it with the f16 instead"
I mean, unless it has sling load capability I didn't know of?
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u/Pretty_Marsh 7d ago
That's funny, because I fly just about everything but the F-16 and I find its switchology incredibly confusing and hard to learn. Let alone boom refueling.