My first post and lots of questions...

[trist007]

Glad to be a part of these forums. I have always enjoyed pc simulations since day one.

1. I've been wanting to go with rudder pedals. I never have and would like to experience this new dimension in simulation. I'm thinking about getting the Saitek Pro Flight Combat rudder pedals. Anybody have these? What do you guys think? Are you happy with them? How do they compare to the old Thrustmaster RCS? I want something heavy and sturdy and excellent quality.

2. I currently have TrackIR 2 and I have been thinking about upgrading to TrackIR 5. Is it really worth it? If so, is it worth getting that extra clipon?

3. Is it time yet to buy a 2 x GTX 590 SLI to get the most out of this game framerate wise? or are we still waiting for Nvidia to release that patch? And if so, anybody running Nvidia Surround on 3 monitors yet? How does she run?

4. One of my greatest wishes for this game is to have an inter mission screen where you can just chill and have something nice to look at instead of stats. Like a bar inside a tent or something. Also, can you get medals in this game? If so, a place to go and view your medals. Sort of like in Wing Commander 1, the bar to chill and the locker to view your medals. Any mods out for this or any in development? Would definitely increase the atmosphere. Seems like all the old pc simulations had these, like F-117. Great to play a mission, take a break with a bar scene as your screensaver.

5. Are there any plans to add weather effects like snow and thunder? What about Russian planes like the Yak-3 or the US B-25? Any plans down the road?

[kestrel79]

Welcome.

1) Those Pro Combat Pedals look nice. I have heard great things about them. I have CH Rudder Pedals. They work great for over 7 years but they are pretty close together, and it doesn't take much to push them. The Saitek Pro Combats have a dial on them where you can adjust resistance.

2) I went from a TrackIR 3 to a 5 and it was worth the upgrade. The camera has a wider view so it doesn't lose the dots as easily. I bought the track clip too. I don't think it's worth it looking back, unless you really have a problem with wearing a hat. It's pretty cheaply made, feels like it's going to break and mine already did sort of. Plus there's another wire to worry about so I have 2 wires connected to my head with headphones and the track clip.

3) I don't think you need a SLI setup to enjoy this game cranked up. I run an ATI 5850 1GB and it works great. If getting a new card I would get 1 card that has at least 2GB of ram on it thought most say that helps.

4) Not gonna lie this sim's interface is awful. They didn't spend much time on it, it's nothing like the old sims from the 90's. Those features do sound cool though.

5) No weather in the current sim really except a few clouds. I guess the add on they are working on now (Battle of Moscow) will include more weather options, as well as possibly a Yak fighter or some lend lease US or British aircraft. It's an earlier war scenario though so I don't think any late war planes will be in this up coming add on.

Hope that helps there's many more people here that know more than me. Enjoy this sim! Try flying online it's a blast on the ATAG server

[trist007]

Ah also, in addition to the bar and locker room, a classic chalkboard with sorties and kills.
Maybe build a few random characters into the game and tweak the AI to be more risk oriented or risk averse based on the character.

[ATAG_Snapper]

Hi Trist, I can only try to add to Kestrel's excellent response.

1) My reply re rudders pedals same as Kestrel's. I have the CH non-pro Pedals which work very well, but are, as Kestrel says, much too close together. I find myself slipping my feet out of them on longer flights when I've trimmed out because they get uncomfortable -- not good if you get bounced. I ditched my old RCS pedals because I got tired of cleaning/replacing the spiky pots so frequently. They were comfortable, though.

2) re TrackIR: same response as Kestrel's. Went from v3 ---> v5; good move. Got the Track Clip Pro but it IS flimsy, and adds an extra wire to your headgear. I got it to replace my springclip which frequently launched itself off my hat right across the room. Killed two housecats with it.

3) SLI is not optimized for CoD. The game runs smoother with my single 560 Ti than two of them together. The card of choice at present seems to be the 580 with 3 gigs of VRAM. Nvidia will no doubt soon launch its answer to AMD's new 7000-series card, though.

4) CoD's interface sucks. The old IL2 interface was no screamin' fury either. Re medals and stuff: no deal in CoD. Best to join an online squadron that have ranks and metals independently set up. Over at the ATAG forum we have a section where online squadrons are welcome to introduce themselves and recruit. Might be worth a look.

5) Dynamic weather is still a dream just a patch away for us at CoD! Clouds are a frame killer; I've tried 'em in the Full Mission Builder and found heavy cumulus alone will drag my frame rates right down. It's gotta be fixed.

Hope to see you online soon!

EDIT: Almost forgot! Statistics! When you fly the ATAG server you automatically get stats generated on a whole whack of vitals: kills (air & ground separately), deaths, # of times you spawned, etc etc. you can view these anytime over at the ATAG Forum and they get updated very quickly. We have ATAG_Colander, our statistician extraordinaire, to thank for this. It's a WIP and gradually evolving.

[Ataros]

Avoid SLI, get one nextgen card. Even if SLI works in one patch it may not work in the next patch similar to some other sims. However there is a report on 4-sli system in the tech section of the forums.

[Osprey]

Saitek rudder pedals are the best thing Saitek make. Had mine years, comfortable, well spaced, no regrets. Plus, you can lock them and use the toesbrakes for driving games if you want