Military Grade - How to Flight Sim for the Absolute Least amount of money
There’s a myth that Military Grade, means its the toughest product on the market. That’s a lie. Military Grade is all about getting exactly what you need to complete your mission, for the absolute lowest price.
I have seen it a billion times. Someone sees a modern flight simulator and they decide that they might want to give it a try. And why not? DCS is free to download and play. FS2020 is available on everything from Xbox to cloud game streaming. Yet almost without fail, these prospective players are locked into poor purchase decisions that, actually prevent them from playing and waste their money. The truth is that the gaming and simulation industries are filled with snake oil, and it is extremely easy for inexperienced buyers to fall for these traps. Yet, I think more players in flight sims are a overall good thing (despite how crazy you make me sometimes) so I’m going to go over how to not waste your money AND to get into a expensive hobby.
1) Understand what you’ll need to accomplish.
As of right now, there are 5 major flight sims on the market. DCS World, Falcon BMS, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, IL2 Great Battles, and X- Plane 12. Every one of these will have published minimum and recommended system requirements, but for today we will focus on DCS and FS2020 since I feel they will be good examples. The following is the recommended system specifications for 2 of our examples
DCS World Minimum system requirements (LOW graphics settings): OS 64-bit Windows 10; DirectX11; CPU: Intel Core i3 at 2.8 GHz or AMD FX; RAM: 16 GB; Free hard disk space: 200 GB; Discrete video card NVIDIA/AMD 6GB; requires internet activation.
Recommended system requirements (HIGH graphics settings): OS 64-bit Windows 10/11; DirectX11; CPU: Core i5+ at 3+ GHz or AMD FX / Ryzen; RAM: 32 GB ; Free hard disk space: 500 GB on Solid State Drive (SSD) + extra space for paid content ; Discrete video card NVIDIA/AMD with 8GB VRAM+; joystick; requires internet activation.
MSFS: Minimum: Ryzen 3 1200, Radeon RX 570 2gb vram, 8gb ram, 15GB HDD
Recommended: Ryzen 5 1500X, Radeon RX 590 4GB VRAM, 16 GB RAM, 150GB HDD
I am going to say this till the day I die, but DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GO FOR THE MINIMUM. I understand this is all about using your budget wisely, but if you only have the minimum specs or slightly above it, then the simulator WILL NOT WORK, it will just barely load up. Now with the understanding that there is a way to save money other than just going for the absolute cheapest option, let’s get into some common pitfalls.
The spec sheet trumps all. At least in this case it does. Configuration issues can be worked out later, unless you buy a pc from a manufacturer like dell or hp. Consider using a system integrator which will often use off the shelf components. These are easier to repair in most cases, and WAY easier to upgrade. The thing is, Dell and HP like to use OEM parts and noncompatible proprietary parts, to make upgrading later so expensive and not worth it, that it makes more sense to just buy a new computer. We want to avoid that. You might also consider just building a pc yourself. It’s honestly not that hard if you put in a little effort looking up guides and you are gonna save a couple hundred dollars and then some avoiding labor costs. Also PLEASE do your research on the market. Scammers are everywhere and if you can get a gpu for $400 why would you spend 800?
2) You need some form of analog control.
9 out of 10 times, we recommend a joystick or some kind of a HOTAS for flight sims, but those tend to be pricy, coming in at a minimum of $139.45 for something as entry level as the Thrustmaster T16000M. Recently though there’s another option rising. Controller God King Tuuvas has been doing some incredible work in the space of using Xbox style controllers in lieu of an HOTAS setup. I reached out to Tuuvas to see if I could get his recommendation for a low cost Thrustmaster controller that I was planning on selling in our online store. He promptly slapped me in the face, stole my wallet, stroked his beard, told me to shut the fuck up and recommended the Flydigi Direwolf 2. At $43 the Direwolf 2 is a easy pick, boasting hall effect joysticks and software remapping. Tuuvas practically wrote the book on using a controller for DCS, so you should definitely check out his YouTube channel here. If your budget allows for it though, I still recommend a full hotas setup from a reputable brand like thrustmaster or even some particular Saitek models. Ultimately you should do some research and pick one that looks good for you.
At a 100 USD price point, I still find myself recommending systems like the Saitek X-52, the Thrustmaster T-1600, and at the 40 dollar point, the Logitec Extreme 3D Pro. You have to keep in mind though, these are far less sensitive systems. Dead zones may be a problem, and you should not expect them to last your entire flight sim career.
A lot of players recommend systems like TrackIR for head tracking. A Natural Point TrackIR 5 will run you around 150$ USD and does tend to add a lot of value to the experience. What a good head tracker will do is basically track the motion of your head and then apply it to your in-game camera, allowing you to look around your cockpit with a lot more ease. While I definitely recommend it, especially if VR isn’t practical, I’ve come to notice there is a not insignificant number of players who forego head tracking all together, with mixed results. It ultimately comes down to preference. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there’s VR. It’s becoming supported on more and more sims, and with the Quest 3 coming in at around 300$, and older Quest 2 models being ever cheaper than that. It’s starting to be a more practical solution for a good number of people. I cannot stress enough that VR is entirely optional, and in a budget constrained scenario, it only makes sense if you already had a VR headset available.
3) Buying your first module.
I’m going to note, that literally every flight simulator we’re discussing, includes plane’s that you can fly right off the bat. That’s a particular bargain in DCS, because DCS itself is free and comes with two planes: the SU-25T and the TF-51. This is augmented a little bit by mods like the A-4E which is full fidelity and also free. Most people aren’t content with base game content, so you’re almost certainly going to end up buying an external plane. That’s a big deal! A lot of these planes come in around 40 to 50 dollars USD. In DCS that’s more like 70 to 80. So in addition to free mods (and there’s some good ones out there) remember to try and stick to official sites and reliable storefronts. If price is a factor for you, which it probably is if you’re reading this, I generally recommend the aircraft you are most excited for. There’s some counter arguments to this point. Some people thing, you should pick a simple to learn aircraft for your first one. I, however, think that any module is easy enough to learn with enough patience and dedication, and we’re on a budget here. There’s also something to make sure the plane you choose can perform the role you want to perform. Don’t pick up an A-10 if you wanna do Air to Air interception, and don’t grab an F-16 if all you ever want to do is CAS.
On the MSFS front, the story is much of the same. The game comes with a significant amount of modules with whichever version you pick, and there’s a good number of additional 3rd party planes to pick up too. HOWEVER. MSFS includes an unfortunate issue of shovel ware. Beware Beware, of the dogshit module. The store is littered with poorly coded, half done modules, not worth their price tag. Even once great titans of the sim world, have since been reduced to ashes. Captain Sim once made some of the best study level sims on the market, but their first outing in MSFS was a C-130 that didn’t even have a cockpit. What im attempting to convey, is do your research. Try and get a feel for what you actually want out of a product, and then check for other videos or reviews to see if the module meets your expectations. Maybe you want the best 737-800 you can possibly get for virtual airline flying, and you find that the PMDG 737NG is a good pick. Alternatively you may find
4) Training.
I have seen pilots that can fly FC3 planes like Robin Olds, and I have seen pilots with F-22s and F-15Es that struggle to land correctly. The difference between these two is 1000% your training. This just goes back to the age old adage:
Well Rooster has a bit of a point. While obviously, an F-5 is not going to be able to hold up against an F-14 in BVR, if you were to significantly close that distance, then the F-5 might be able to hold it’s own long enough to force the 14 to break off. This is what pilot training can do for you: Tell you how to use your plane in the most effective manner for the situation at hand. Sometimes it’s even about not even getting into a situation in the first place. Now there’s a couple things to keep in mind for training, there’s always a resource somewhere, but not all resources are created equal.
MSFS has it easy, since you can almost always go online and either find a YouTube tutorial for your jet in question, or in some cases just the actual manual for the aircraft. A good number of reputable modules will actually come with manuals in their downloads, and I tend to encourage you to read up on those. If you’re very fresh to aviation, you may find that flying with a friend for the first couple of trips may get you used to the basics. The in-game tutorials are pretty good for that too.
The DCS end is actually slightly more complicated. DCS has been around for a little over 15 years now, and that means there is A LOT of content out there for it. Some good, some bad. When I was younger my training tool was NATOPS Manuals, but that’s not always your best route. DCS is a simulator, but 90% of it’s scenarios fail to match real life conditions, so while I may be using my Tomcat in a manner consistent with how Dave “Bio” Baranek and Leroy Grumman’s ghost might want me to, it makes for some pretty lackluster performance at times in the sim. I want you to remember that by the way: It’s still a game. No matter how close to real it gets, it’s still a game. By the way, if you want to operate your jet in an environment as close to the 80s as humanly possible, be sure to check out our DCS server.
Thankfully there’s a solution: YouTube Videos. The oldest DCS YouTube videos I could find were from Wags and his silky-smooth voice from 16 years ago. These videos are probably a little out of date by now which brings up one of my biggest points about DCS YouTube. Not all information is good information. I saw a reddit post the other day saying how x country couldn’t defend against y country’s missiles and his proof was the Grim Reapers on YouTube.
“There are approximately 1,010,300 words in the English Language, but I could never string enough words together to properly express how much I want to hit you with a chair.”
- Alexander Hamilton
I beg of you: please stop going to the Grim Reapers for information. For entertainment value, they’re ok, but they often get information wrong. That tends to be the nicest way I can put that. Alternatively, @SportDCS has THE BEST tutorial series on the A-4E, and I recommend it highly. I often frequent BogeyDope’s F-16 series for some quick viper info. Jabbers had some awesome F-14 primers, Casmo is about as trustworthy as you can get for Helo stuff, and love him or hate him, Spudknocker has one hell of a tutorial library. Redkite too. I could scan Redkite onto a VHS tape and put him in the Navy’s instructional video library, and no one would ever know he wasn’t real.
Ultimately though, you’re gonna have to shop around for videos. No one creator is perfect, and almost everyone gets something wrong at some point. With that in mind, you should watch multiple tutorials on a subject in order to really grasp the system you’re trying to learn.
Chuck’s guides are another really good pick. ChuckOwl has basically gone through and made his own flight manuals, and they are comprehensive as fuck for basically whichever jet he covers. You might also consider joining a group of some type, like Hoggit or wingman finder. I actually prefer Wingman Finder myself, as one of 20’s longtime members are a mod in it. Basically, if you sit down with someone and have them teach you, that can come with good and bad. Anything wrong that the other person knows, you’re gonna get wrong too, but you can also pick something up VERY quickly with another person walking you through it. Don’t be afraid to ditch your instructor though. If the training method isn’t working out for you, you should find one that does. Trust me, I have had pilots walk out on me before, and I don’t blame em for it. No good instructor should.
5) Conclusion
If you made it this far: Congrats. You’re going to do great. I don’t make this guide to scare you off of flight sims, although it must seem like it from the tone at times. The thing is, if you had 500 dollars and you wasted it on a joystick, but didn’t grab a pc or a module, you’d be screwed. That WOULD lock you out of the hobby, and I don’t want to see that happen. Contrary to belief: I actually want to see more people try out flight sims. I remember Polaroid, my RIO. We would talk constantly about him getting a PC for RIO work. After years and years, finally he got one and he ended up being one of my favorite guys to fly with. But we don’t get you to that point if you end up hitting a roadblock somewhere and can’t finish your setup for like another year. Or worse, if you have a bad experience learning the game, and get so soured on it, you never really get to the fun part. Which actually leads me to my last part
6) Stick with it, for the reason you started
These communities you’re about to join, they’re not new to controversy. With so few flight sims in the genre, folks can get either hyper defensive, or hyper aggressive. This is exacerbated by the amount of money that folks normally sink into these games. So, you may at some point come across a title on r/hoggit saying something like “I’M DONE! STOPPING DCS FOREVER! DYING GAME” or you may find a MSFS forum post saying something along the lines of “QUITTING MSFS CAUSE IT’S A BUGGY SCAM”. I sincerely hope you try and ignore those headlines. to give you my take, almost all of these sims are going to be buggy, frustrating at times, and often prone to abuse by bad actors. However, I remember X Plane 9, and FSX. I can promise you that where we are now, is better than where we were, and even the worst controversies have not convinced me that the future doesn’t have hope. So for you, please try and remember why you wanted to get into a sim in the first place and use that as your encouragement.
I hope you end up getting a hot rod of a PC at a dirt-cheap price.
I hope you get a control setup that makes you feel like you’re in the cockpit,
I hope you get the perfect module for you of a plane you always loved
And I hope your training goes so well you feel like you can take on the world
And when any part of that goes sideways, I hope I still see you in the skies sometime soon.
From all of us at CVW-20 Good Luck!
-Spaceman
