DCS: 2.5 Open Beta is Now Out

DCS World has put the 2.5 Open Beta out for download. I'm downloading it right now to see what's different. There's going to be two versions of 2.5: the Open Beta that's currently live and the stable version.

The Open Beta will let you try new updates and new planes before they are released to the stable version. The downside to that is that some of the updates might cause major game-breaking problems until they're corrected. If you don't like trying to work through bugs or random errors that come up with new programs and you don't mind waiting for the stable version of planes and updates then wait another week or two (estimate) for the stable version of 2.5 to come out.

But, if you are really excited for the F/A-18C, F-14A/B, F-4E, Mi-24P, Mig-19P, Yak-52, or any other module that will be coming out and don't want to wait that extra week or so, and you don't mind a few bugs at first then you'll want to download 2.5 Open Beta.

Just so you all know, with 2.5 out for download DCS 2 Open Alpha and DCS 1.5.8 are no longer being supported or updated. Also, once 2.5 Open Beta is installed you're DCS 2 Open Alpha will be uninstalled (if you click ok). The same will happen with your 1.5.8 if you wait for the stable version of 2.5.

Here's a nice video that was just uploaded showing the difference between 2.5 and 1.5.8.

Have fun and I'll see you in the skies.
Keep practicing those flight maneuvers I posted last time.

DCS: Basic Fighter Maneuvers Part 1

As promised to all those who have been following the DCS posts here is the start of the BFM or Basic Fighter Maneuvers series. At first glance this will all seem to be so simple that it's not worth noting. However, to try the more advanced maneuvers you first need to get good at the basics. I've watched every single on of these videos and it did help me in dogfighting. So sit back, relax, and pay attention and you'll see the usefulness for each one (especially when you combine the maneuvers in combat).

I'll post the first two videos now and next time I'll add two more.
Enjoy.

Types of Rosin

Hey everyone. I'm back to writing on here and now I'm going to finish up on what you need for the violin to play and that's the rosin. With the rosin you'll be able to make the bow stick to the strings and get the sound out of them. If you try to play without rosin then the bow will slide across the strings and you'll get nothing.

So, what rosin do you choose?

There are three different rosin types: light, dark, and jade. The differences between them are rather straight forward.

Light Rosin: This is a harder type of rosin primarily for violins and violas. It's also a better fit for playing in warmer temperatures.

Dark Rosin: This is a softer type of rosin and works better in cooler climates. It's usually used on cello bows and not recommended for violins or violas. If used in a very warm weather it could get extremely sticky and cause a lot of problems while playing.

Jade Rosin: This is more of a "catch all" rosin. It can be used with violins, violas, and cellos alike. So, if you play the cello and the violin or viola you might want to get this one just to save yourself some money.

Now, I've used both light and jade rosing for my violin and I personally prefer the light rosin. It seems to let the bow grip the strings better than the jade does but it's still a good rosin none the less.

I like to use Pirastro Goldflex Rosin:

For me, it just seems to give a better sound than the jade rosin I used. Of course it's all up to personal preference.

When you apply the rosin you might (key word there: might) need to scratch the top of the rosin a bit to get it to stick to the bow hairs better. If you put the rosin on a brand new bow you'll need to go across the hairs slowly and a number of times. Once your bow has had rosin on it for several sessions then you'll only need to go over the hairs three times for the following session.

Next time I'll give you a heads up on the Suzuki and Rubank methods. All of my teachers have had me use the Suzuki method but the Rubank seems a bit more methodical. I'll get into that next time. Have fun making some noise with your newly rosined violin bow.

Gone for a while.

Hey everyone. Sorry I was gone for the last two months. I don't like posting personal stuff, so sorry I can't explain why I was gone. But I'm back now and ready to go. Hopefully I won't be away for so long again but you can never tell what the future holds.

Speaking of what the future holds:

For those who play DCS World, Eagle Dynamics has just put the F/A-18C module up for pre-order. I already bought my copy the moment I saw the news letter. If you're interested in this highly recognizable aircraft in the US Navy I'd recommend you get it before pre-orders are over. This module is expensive ($79.99 for the normal price) but while they are doing pre-orders it's down to a more reasonable $59.99, which is normally what we see for jet fighters. 

For those who like my violin section I will be continuing with that even though my lessons won't pick back up until after September. There's still a lot of information I can give you and I will as soon as I take care of a few loose ends.

As far as the Unity tutorials go... I'm honestly not sure if I should continue on with that. I've been taking looks at the Unity tutorials and I'm finding that the later videos are very very difficult to follow since Unity's interface and C# language has changed quite a bit since those videos were made. I'm not sure there's much of a point in continuing that thread. Perhaps if I can find better tutorials that use the latest Unity version I'll start it up again. Until then, I'm just not sure it'll be helpful for all of you.

I'm going to go for today. But, I'll be back with the newest violin post first and then the DCS Basic Flight Maneuver videos after that.

DCS: Chuck's Guide

Now that you've picked your plane you've likely looked into the in-game tutorials. But are you really going to be able to remember everything when you start playing campaigns, online multiplayer, or making your own missions? Eventually you will but in the mean time you'll want a quick guide.

You could do what I originally did and write down every little thing in a notebook and try to follow that... but it gets difficult when you start using aircraft with lots of switches or with Multi-Functional Displays. So the best thing to use is Chuck's Guide to the various DCS planes.

His guides were extremely helpful to me when I start flying new planes or go back to one that I haven't flown in a while. Some of the guides are a bit old and might not hold fully to current iteration of the plane but the startup, radar, and weapons implementation are usually still faithful.

There are only 2 guides that I am aware of that have some small problem here or there. Those are the Viggen and the Mig-21bis guides. It's natural for the Viggen guide to be off simply because the plane is still in early access and things are going to change. I'm certain once the Viggen is complete Chuck will create a new guide that will reflect the completed state of the aircraft. The Mig-21bis guide is only off on one aspect: Landing. This is due to Eagle Dynamics changing how DCS World itself works while working up to version 2.5. I'm unsure why Magnitude has not kept up with the changes and updated the Mig-21 but they seem to be focusing entirely on either making a new module which they have not announced yet or they are still dealing with some internal strife left over from their split with Heatblur.

The landing part of the Mig-21 guide that is currently incorrect is easily corrected. On page 41 the guide states to be at 0-5 degrees angle of attack at touchdown. This is currently incorrect. Magnitude had posted a landing video, which I linked to in a previous post, where they say you need to be at 10 degrees angle of attack, as shown by the UUA dial, upon touchdown. That's the only problem for that guide. Everything else is still accurate and you're good to go.

Here's the video again:

I hope this has been useful to all of you. I know this is kind of a short post. Next time I'll be posting the video's that have helped me remember Basic Flight Maneuvers. This will be helpful in combat no matter what plane you chose... except maybe the helicopters. See you next time.

Violin String Types

Today I'll be going over the different string types and letting you know which I have been using. Keep in mind that the quality of the string is very important. A more expensive steel string will likely give a better sound than cheaper gut strings. But, it would not sound as good as an expensive gut string.

The first type of string has been used for centuries. That would be the Gut string. As the name suggests, the strings core is made out of animal (specifically sheep not cat) intestine. Now that doesn't mean that the string is one giant line of intestine. Instead it has silver or copper lines entwined along the length so when you pick up the string you're handling silver or copper, so no need to be grossed out if someone recommends that you use that kind. Gut strings don't stretch very easily so you'll spend a lot of time retuning your violin until they finally do stretch.

Gut strings have 2 different types, thin and thick. The thin strings will have a brighter sound but won't be heard very well in a large area. The thick strings won't be as bright as thin strings but will carry the sound through larger areas. I have not used gut strings personally but many people who play classical music prefer using them.

The second string type is Steel. This is the string type you'll likely have on your violin the moment you buy it. With these strings you have a core of steel instead of animal gut. The ones you have on a newly bought violin are likely cheaper ones which, in my personal opinion, have a very "tinny" sound. Better quality steel strings do  have a good bright sound but I only like using them for my E string.

The final string type is Synthetic. These use nylons and composites instead of gut for the core and are still wrapped in silver or copper. These ones produce the best sound to my ears and you save poor little Lamb Chop from becoming a musical instrument.

Doesn't she look happy?

These are the types of strings I prefer for the G, D, and A strings on my violin. They just have a nicer sound compared to the steel strings and they stretch a lot easier compared to the gut strings. I was originally very unsure about using synthetic strings because the term "synthetic" often brings up bad images of shoddy work and easily breaking items. But in this case it works very well.

I've tried a number of different strings made by different companies and here's the ones I personally like:

Fiddlerman Synthetic Strings:

Pirastro gold Steel E-String:

Next time I talk about the violin I'll give you a quick rundown on the different rosin types. Until then, pick up some strings and see what you prefer. Each person likes a different sound after all. 😊

Unity Tutorial 2: Space Shooter

We are now on the second tutorial for Unity: The Space Shooter game.

This is where we start to run into problems. I've looked through and found that there are problems with the code between when the videos were made (2013) and now. There are 2 ways to go about figuring this out quickly and with as little headache as possible. First is to look at the comments section of each video (time consuming but helpful since people give explanations). Second is to go into the pre-made game folder and copy the codes from there (faster by far but there's no explanations).

Here's the video's. I hope they're helpful.

Introduction - 00 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Setting up the project - 01 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

The player gameobject - 02 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Camera and lighting - 03 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Adding a background - 04 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Moving the Player - 05 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Creating shots - 06 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Shooting shots - 07 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Boundary - 08 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Creating hazards - 09 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Explosions - 10 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Game Controller - 11 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Spawning waves - 12 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Audio - 13 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Counting Points - 14 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Ending the game - 15 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Building the game - 16 - Space Shooter - Unity Official Tutorials:

Those are all the videos for this tutorial. Remember if you find that a certain code is not working properly to go into the completed game file in Unity and compare that code to what you have. You'll find the problem and the correct code.

Next time I'll post the videos to the Survival Shooter Tutorial.