stayalive

So, now that the official game is out I can truly say - AWESOME GAME! Of course there is room for improvement but BI, you are right on the ball here. This has been a game many simmers have been waiting for for a long long time...and your creative thinking, improving gamplay with existing tools(i.e. the mission where you get shot down, then fighting enemy on the ground while waiting for extraction...) is brilliant. Your good work is being talked about and I will continue to encourage others to purchase your products(Including my 30 member clan) - you seem to take real pride in your products, something that is very rare these days with game developers. THANK YOU for your hard work BI, you have done an amazing job!

yeah...me too...lol Thanks again for all your help!

So, regarding the rudder control, i'm using a twist joystick and had to drop the sensitivity all the way down, it was on very low settings before but taking it all the way down helped just enough to keep things manageable. Eventually, the pedals sound like the best idea, but for now this will do. Auto Trim is not an option on expert settings and i would not want to use it anyway :)....added challenge = more fun. As for the SWAT mission, I tried it again, this time flying around the "green zone" (clockwise) and approached the rooftop LZ from the North, I did have to trim(manual Trim) the heli. to keep it stable but it worked perfect, a bit shaky? yes, but no panic in the cockpit. The Huey takes a bit of getting used to, especially after the MD500 which seems much smoother and actually easier to fly, even though it's lighter(i expected the huey to handle better in windy conditions). Bottom line, the game is great, few bugs(which we all know about) here and there but overall once things get patched up and with more time in the cockpit/s....ohhhh.....it's going to be a good one. THANKS AGAIN BI:yay:

...The youtube video...lol. I'm somewhere in between...although I find the MD500 easier to fly than the Huey...at least for now...yes, i know...more practice :cool: Very nice flying BTW.

Great Idea!!! I will look into it! (don't know how but i'm sure I can figure it out) Thanks!

I am using a "twist rudder" joystick (Microsoft Force feedback 2), I will try to reduce sensitivity. That could very well be the problem. Any recommendations on controls? The Logiteck G940 package(separate stick,throttle & pedal units) looks nice...any experience with it? Thanks again for you help!!!

It might very well be pilot error on my part, I can't tell for sure...I think it's a combination of few things 1.Still getting used to the game(helicopter handling) 2. Known control issues 3. More practice. I don't recall using right rudder AT ALL, it's always been left(only in that mission where I approach the rooftop) - It could be that as I lower the collective the helicopter is rotating right and i'm already holding 10-20% left rudder which leaves less left rudder available when the helicopter rolls right. I will try adding left pedal input to correct the roll, I only used cyclic before(to correct roll, not to point the nose into the wind). I though the the pedals were for rotation corrections only but I guess I was wrong. I wish I could give you a straight answer in regards to what i'm doing exactly in the cockpit, it's easy to remember what I did in normal flight conditions, but when the heli is suddenly and abruptly rolls, I go from calm to "panic attack" in the cockpit:butbut: at that point I'm not really thinking, just trying to regain control. At this point I can't tell if the helicopter is doing something as a result of my input or if it's a game bug. One thing I know i'm doing wrong is not anticipating what the helicopter is going to do(i'm still working on it), instead, i try to counter balance whatever the heli(or bugs) is doing to keep stable and safe flight. Having said that, I think it's better to wait until the patch is out and get more experience "feeling" the new cockpits. Thanks for your help!

hmmmmm....Am i missing something?!? What is the difference between "flying into the wind on purpose" and "when taking off and landing in a helicopter in real life you always want to point towards where the wind is coming from" - in both cased i'm landing INTO the wind. Also, if during landing the helicopter starts to rotate right due to wind, more RIGHT pedal input will rotate the helicopter even faster(to the right) and I will no longer be pointing into the wind?!? Should I still use right pedals if the helicopter is rotating right during landing? Normally when landing in strong winds, in Helicopters or Airplanes, pointing into the wind is always a balance game, sometimes the wind wants to rotate my aircraft left, sometimes right depending on where the nose of the aircraft is pointing. I usually make gentle corrections (pedals or rudder)to keep the aircraft pointing into the wind and lined up for touchdown. I always make sure that the wind does not overtake aircraft, that's when things get too unstable and normally result in a missed approach. (Yes, under calm conditions I do use Right pedals) Personally, I think this issue will be solved once a patch is out(to fix some of the known issues) and overall I think it's a great game. So, I'll wait until the patch is out and try again...until then I erase my case. I'm sure the developers have their hands full right now with the release date quickly approaching :bounce3:

Fair enough...I can live with that as long as the the other issues(sudden rolls etc.) are fixed, which i'm sure it will. And while I got you on here, thank EVERYONE at BI for creating this game(i'm sure i speak for a lot of simmers) Make no mistake about it, I'M LOVING IT!....and also looking forward to flying helicopters in ARMA3, hopefully with similar physics or as close as you can make it.

I'm using Microsoft Force Feedback Sidewinder 2 joystick & very pleased with the way it feels(feedback). Feedback works amazing on FSX. It does not look like hardware issue for me since it works just fine under calm conditions(aside from already known & reported issues). If there is an option to increase the "force feedback" I think it will help counter balance the heli. a lot (especially under windy conditions). I realize helicopter controls feel very sluggish and "light" but i assume a pilots have a much better feedback feel from the stick then in the game. I could be wrong about this though. ...Or maybe upgrading to G940 will help controlling(feel) the heli.? Any thoughts on this?

Speed - 70/60 knots and slowing Pedal input - about 10% left (or as needed to keep nose straight) Glide slope: Approaching rooftop from the E/SE, altitude - approx 500ft above rooftop landing area. Maybe i'm approaching from the wrong angle/direction? (on windy conditions i usually take 3 steps to land: 1. Letting the wind turn the helicopter so that my nose is pointing into the wind 2. Start a consistent glide slope 3. Establish controlled hover above LZ for a controlled touchdown). Once the helicopter start rolling right i try to counter balance it(as needed)with left cyclic but the wind effect quickly overtakes the heli. even with GRADUAL FULL cyclic left. I've tried to start from the "saved" point(approaching the rooftop) with FULL cyclic left which stops the roll to the right but puts the helicopter in very violent turns and unstable movement, definitely not suited for landing...especially on a rooftop.

Well, I tried to keep it short :) but looks like more info would help... I'm not a pilot but have extensive flight sim experience (FSX, blackshark, IL2 to name a few) - I prefer to fly in extreme weather conditions because of the added challenge, however, I'm never nervous flying(most realistic settings) but in this game it seems that I'm always on edge, ready to counteract a sudden (and very violent) effect....for example, in the second single player mission I fly a medium class heli(after the first leg of the flight with the light chopper ), take off is a breeze, a bit of pedal work to keep the chopper lined up for the landing approach on the rooftop and then, all of a sudden (without pilot input and not exceeding minimums) the helicopter rolls right, I pull left on the stick(full left) but the helicopter keeps rolling right to the point of no return. I've tried that mission a dozen times and finally gave up...something is clearly wrong. I understand the challenges of flying a chopper (as a simmer) but I think the combination of harsh wind effect and no way to balance it = unavoidable disaster. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy playing(again, on expert level) TOH very much, I love the challenge, but it's a bit over the top to the point of feeling like flying a chopper is taking a 50/50 chance everytime you take off....what will the chopper do next? pitch down suddenly? Refuse to descend with even with FULL collective down? Roll right or left unexpectedly? I also double checked the my hardware, it seems to work very gracefully with other sim games. I'm sure these issues will be addressed at some point, I don't expect to have no ground effects, wind effects etc. all I'm saying is that the helicopter(as it is set up right now) is not capable to fly in such conditions SAFELY. Yes, I can fly it too, but I can't imagine flying under the same circumstances in real life.

To keep it short and to the point here are some issues: Note: Optimizing controller sensitivities/deadzone did not fix those issues. 1. Aircraft controls feel very loose and inconsistent(under the same circumstances) - collective sometimes responds fast, sometimes does not respond at all(under the same circumstances) - Pedals - in windy conditions - even FULL pedals are not enough to stop heli. spin. - Rolls - Aircraft tends to roll too easily(most noticeable with collective input - it rolls right?!?). - Landing(without "auto hover") - collective responds with abrupt up/down movements, even with very gentle inputs (which results in aircraft slamming into ground or hovering above LZ refusing to descend, little "UP" input goes up too quick, "DOWN" input slams into ground) Overall - It feels as if the helicopter is totally out of control and i'm constantly fighting to keep it in the air. I understand that helicopters are very hard to control, but combined with sluggish(and sometimes none responsive controls) it's almost impossible to fly. On a positive note: I LOVE THIS GAME and what it has to offer - keep up the good work!!

Overall I love the general game concept(missions)and with a mission editor and Mod support it has potential to be one of the greatest helicopter(flight) sims out there if not the best. Few issues need to be addressed(in that order): 1. Flight physics - Heli feels very, very light. Very loose controls, unrealistically unstable. 2. Terrain - poor, I know it's acceptable in flight sim but it's 2012 :) not 1990 3. Blurry vision on head movement - feels like a drunk when looking around 4. FPS - room for improvement On the positive side: 1. Excellent game concept and great support for the community(that is why I ordered it) 2. Beautiful helicopter models - inside & out. 3. Water, office buildings look great! 4. Great voice(on comms) & overall sound I know some are complaining about this game being an extension of ARMA-2, it sure feels like it. I think it's a great idea since it will bring helicopter simulation to the battlefield, making ARMA-3 helicopter flight very challenging and enjoyable. Keep up the good work, I understand this is only the BETA, I look forward to logging many hours on TOH and ARMA-3.