Hi, I have a problem with my SA in game.

The thing is, it´s very difficult for me to follow a maneuvering fighter without the aids of the blue / red arrows which appears in the "no cockpit" mode (CTRL+F1)

But I love the plane´s cockpits.

So, is there a way to keep the little blue / red arrows in the realistic cockpit?????

Thanks for the help!

Mariano

Get Track IR and it will help considerably. You will be able to fly with full cockpit and not need the colored arrows. As a matter of fact the cockpit gives you a better reference point on where the bandit is. I tried Track IR without the cockpit and I was totally disorientated.

TrackIR.....................and you will never go back to flying without it!!
BadBud
http://www.simflite.com

Have you tried the Padlock commands? They work exactly like your eyes do in real life...by locking your vision onto your target....and it's free...:)

Aviar

I don't have track IR either. Try Pan view instead of Snap view and make sure you use the mouse to scan the skies around you. I cheat using the map to locate the enemy as well.

Padlock is your friend.

Here are the top five things that have really heightened my Situation Awareness...

1: Track IR: With Track IR, you'll be able to see everything that’s going on around you much much better.

2: A large monitor: With a large monitor, you'll be able to see bogies a lot further out.

3: Buttkicker: With a Buttkicker, you'll be able to feel everything that goes on in your plane.

4: ForceFeedback: With ForceFeedback you be able to fly right on the edge, because you'll be able to feel when your plane's about to stall.

5: Shoot: Shoot is a voice activation program that will allow you to talk to your wingmen. If you get in a jam it's a whole lot easier to tell your wingman to cover you with your voice than it is to open up a menu and then type the command that tells him to come and help you.

Hope this helps.

Slikk

I tried TrackIR...could not, for the life of me, get on with it.

Stick with it mate, its (IMHO) the best bit of kit you can get for this game.
Once you get the hang of it you cannot go back.

I am so tired of hearing this!

TrackIR uses very natural head movements which can be tweaked. Issues with TrackIR are mostly solved by reading the manual.

[quote]If you choose not to read the manual or post here to ask questions, the TrackIR gods will not descend from heaven and configure it for you. The factory doesn't know where neither how you plan on mounting your device nor how far you sit from your device. They can't even assume how fast you would like to panning function to work. Thus, they plug in default settings and ship the thing!

Don't go and buy toys like Buttkicker or Force feedback and expect to improve your SA immediately, that's a bit like buying an expensive fishing rod and expecting to catch more fish right away! They are toys and not essentials. SA is in the EYE of the beholder, not the hands and arse!

TIR is without doubt the best tool on the market to get almost instant results, it's not expensive and the payback in terms of flying satisfaction is well worth it. It will take a bit of getting used to at first but it' fully adjustable to suit your taste. If you prefer not to use it then get used to searching with a POV hat set to pan or work with padlock. The more you fly the more you will anticipate what the guy in front is going to do next, practice , practice and more practice is the key.

I'd recommend you get used to flying with the cockpit on as flying no cockpit is a crutch you don't need, get used to a "realistic" environment and your SA will improve and kills will be more satisfying..IMO!

I agree with using TRACKIR. Until I got it I just could not play IL2 and have any fun with it. The padlock/pan view in IL2 I do not like because when you switch to another view you loose your padlock and end up being padlocked on another plane. I hate this about IL2 and if somebody can show me my errors I would be pleased.

Marcantilan, I noticed that no one answered your question 'So, is there a way to keep the little blue / red arrows in the realistic cockpit?????' A big issue for me too.

Uriah

There's no way to keep those arrows with the cockpit on. You can alter at what range icons/dots appear though and I use STAB for that.

Track IR is that thing that looks like a welder's mask, right?

Yeah, bit like one of those alien helmets in the old TV show UFO!

Thanks guys for the answers!

No arrows and realistic cockpit? Maybe is time to check the Track IR price...

The greatest improvement to SA for me came with practice.

Yes, Track IR helps when flying along looking for the battle. Some people may even be able to use it in combat but I've lawys found that hard because I can't shoot straight if the target reticule is off centre - which is often is for me because I lean in my chair trying to follow my target. Usually I shut Track IR off when I get into combat.

SA is a mental picure of who is where, and where are they are likely to be when you can't actualy see them. Its a mental trick and no amount of hardware toys will help that (IMHO).

As for the toys helping to know your plane and fly it on the edge, thats a different story and I'm not the one to ask, as I don't have the toys.

Practice, pratice, practice.
~Flatlander

Now there's a relic...

You are correct in that none of the devices that I mentioned will give you super SA just by simply plugging them in. As with anything, practice, practice and more practice is the key to becoming more proficient. But I respectfully have to disagree with you on one thing. IMHO, SA is much more than just in the “EYE” of the beholder. For example, If you are in a turning fight, and you are looking up and over your shoulder at your bandit, sometimes you might not have any part of your plane in sight to use as a point of reference. As you pull on the stick to gain an advantage you will slowly deplete your energy. If you happen to get to the point of a stall your plane will start to shake. With ForceFeedback enabled you will be able to feel this shaking in your stick. This is also Situation Awareness. IMO, when it comes to SA, every little bit helps.

Slikk

This is exactly what I mean! - If TrackIR is configured correctly, it will not be off center looking through the gunsight (SHFT-F1 still works with TrackIR) - the issue here is you need to increase the dead space (actually set it to zero - FLAT AROUND CENTER) when looking straight ahead.

This is very close to what your settings need to look like:



or this:



Mine looks closer to the second pic = my ends go up higher midway from center to ends so I can pan faster with less head movement.

That is certainly a fair point.