DCS (Digital Combat Simulator) Series sale this weekend

[AKM]

Those of you who are interested in over the top realism in flight simulators might enjoy DCS.  In any case, they've a 70% off sale on the vast majority of their titles this weekend for two days.  Might want to look into it.  Pretty cheap buyin for something you may have been thinking about for a while.

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/news/

 

"For just two days (18 to 20 October), we are offering a massive 70% off flash sale on most DCS products from our e-shop"

 

The list:

 

DCS: F-86F Sabre: $49.99 to $14.99 (70% off)

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora: $49.99 to $14.99 (70% off)

DCS: UH-1H Huey: $49.99 to $14.99 (70% off)

DCS: Mi-8MTV2 Magnificent Eight: 49.99 to $14.99 (70% off)

DCS: Flaming Cliffs 3: $39.99 to $11.99 (70% off)

DCS: A-10C Warthog: $39.99 to $11.99 (70% off)

DCS: Black Shark 2: $39.99 to $11.99 (70% off)

DCS: P-51D Mustang: $29.99 to $8.99 (70% off)

DCS: Combined Arms: $19.99 to $5.99 (70% off)

F-15C for DCS World: $9.99 to $2.99 (70% off)

A-10A for DCS World: $9.99 to $2.99 (70% off)

Su-25 for DCS World: $9.99 to $2.99 (70% off)

DCS: MiG-21Bis: $49.99 to $44.99 (10% off)

 

Happy flight simming!

[germ]

I like sims, but flight simulators that require you to be a pilot just to play the game, or have a a-10c manual on hand are just ridiculous. I like games like VBS 2 and Arma. VBS is what the U.S. Army uses in training, and it's not half as complicated as these "flight sims".

[AKM]

Admittedly, DCS does cater to the hard core really-wanna-be-a-pilot (this really is the closest I'll ever get to the real thing) flight simmer type.  However, there is a game setting, in addition the the simulation setting.  There are also shortcuts for the startup and shutdown sequences, so you don't have to go through the switch by switch sequence if you don't want to, yet still have the high fidelity simulation flight dynamics available.  For some, though, it's the switch by switch that's the fun part.

 

The military is on VBS 2 now, as I recall, and there are others.  (If interested, look up War Play Video Games and the Future of Armed Conflict by Corey Mead.)  True, it's not as complicated, and in all honesty, really is just ArmA / ArmA II/ ArmA III with realism built in in favor of gameplay (example: a smoke grenade won't start throwing smoke as soon as it lands, but rather there will be a delay... just like a real smoke grenade, same goes for fuzes on HE grenades).  The problem is that most kids these days are so used to the "Got killed? Hit 'Respawn'!" mentality that's programed into them from the vast majority of shooter games out there, that they get a rude shock when they first use VBS/2 or ArmA/II/III.  'Whadda ya mean I can't respawn right away?  Holy shit. This is serious, and I might get killed over there!"  Violence in these games may be stimulating, and help hand/eye coordination, decision making, etc., but some of the aspects of the games do tend to ignore just how violent, and possibly final/fatal, getting shot can be.

 

However, look at the amount of training that goes into each.  Being an infantryman isn't exactly "Here's your rifle, there's the enemy, go to it!", but there is a lot more to the basics of flying (and operating) an advanced combat system like a fighter, bomber, and especially helicopter, than there is to the basics of ground pounding.  Now that's not to say that being an infantryman is an easy job.  Far from it, and ArmA/II/III will convince you of that pretty damn quickly.

 

It all really boils down to what you, personally, are interested in. DCS Huey is exactly what I've wanted since I got my first flight simulator. Not really surprising, considering the fact that I wanted to fly HH-60 Jayhawks for the Coast Guard. I have my fixed wing license, and happen to have studied helicopters, and flown helicopter sims for years, so it's not like I'm jumping in cold with zero background on the idea.  I definitely have at least a basic foundation in flight and helicopter dynamics, which helps greatly.  Still there is much to learn, and I really enjoy the process.  To each there own.