1. System

In the DCS main screen, there are four icons in the upper area for access to the module manager, general settings, offline mode and login/logout. 

The Gear Wheel leads to the general settings. 

Here we find the most important settings for DCS and its modules in several tabs.

System

The general graphics settings are made here.

At the bottom right, under the item PRESET, there are buttons with which you can apply a rough preset. buttons with which you can adopt a rough presetting. You can choose between LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH and VR. At the beginning this is useful to test how strong your system is. After that, you should try out which settings work best. The higher the settings, the more beautiful the game will look and the more fun you will have. However, if the settings are set too high and the game stutters, you have to set a few options lower again..

Some of the options are real performance killers and should be chosen carefully.

Important Recommendations

These are not the right settings for everyone. PCs and their performance are always different and so is the personal taste of the owner. Therefore, we can only make a few recommendations here. If you have problems with the settings for your system, contact a DCS trainer. He will go through the options with you and can make a recommendation.

Left Side

Right Side

Conclusion: Computers with a 4-Ghz CPU and better and e.g. Nvidia 980, 1070 and better as well as at least 16 GB RAM can actually turn up everything. We strongly recommend using an SSD instead of an HD hard drive, both for Windows and DCS.

Status: Nov. 2018

2. Controls

In the Control tab you have the option of setting the assignment of buttons and axes for all installed modules.

On the far left you will find a drop-down field for selecting the module (e.g. Fw 190 D-9 Sim).
Caution: Many modules have an arcade and a sim key assignment. We do not use the arcade mode, so please assign your keys in the sim section of your module!
The General and GUI Layer sections contain settings that do not belong to a specific aircraft.

To the right you can limit the range of actions displayed. This shows you how many actions there are and it is often an indicator where the respective switch is located in the cockpit, at the weapon system, at the control lever, etc. The button All shows all actions/switches again. With All, all actions/switches are displayed again.

The search function (Search...) makes it much easier to find certain functions.
Axis commands are used to assign and adjust your joystick, thrust controller and pedal axes. These are handled separately from the buttons.

In the standard assignment for a module, however, DCS assigns certain default buttons and axes for each recognised device. This is often more of a hindrance than a help. This is especially true for the axis assignments.

Most experienced DCS players assign everything according to their own scheme. However, this can be difficult and very tedious, especially for a beginner. Therefore, first use the default assignment for your Hotas.

For all additional devices (e.g. rudder pedals, joypad etc.) you should delete the keys. Click on a field in the column of a joystick and select Delete Category. This will remove the useless default assignments and you can start assigning your own.

Especially check the axes! Sometimes there are strange double assignments that have driven many a beginner to despair. With the axles it is worth deleting everything and reassigning only what is needed.

With the A-10C & A-10C II, the Thrustmaster Warthog is already very well assigned. If you delete all the buttons and reassign them, it's not only a lot of work, some things don't work properly anymore. For example, the pusher IDLE/OFF position. Nevertheless, some things are unfortunately assigned incorrectly and have to be changed. This is described in the corresponding course.

If you press a key combination or a joystick button here in the settings, DCS jumps directly to the corresponding position. This is very practical and is a feature that does not exist in IL-2, for example.

With Reset Category you restore the default settings.

It is not really necessary to save the assignment via the save profile function. Unless you want to create several profiles or make a backup copy that can be read in again via Load profile.

To assign a button, select the desired function (row) and then the device whose button (or axis) you want to assign (column). Double-click on the cell in the intersection. Now press the button and it is entered.

You can assign a button more than once via MODIFIC. However, we will not look at this in detail here.

With ADD you can even assign several buttons to a function. DELETE removes the selected assignment. STANDARD resets the default value. This is useful if you have accidentally deleted an assignment.

The button AXIS switches to the assignment of the axes. You can also do this via the dropdown at the top.

With AXIS SETTINGS you can make the settings for the assigned axes. See below for details.

FF SETTING is used to set force feedback devices.

HTML Create is very handy. It creates a file of the selected mapping that you can open with a browser and print out..

Axis Settings

Most important is the curvature, as this makes the aircraft react more smoothly to control movements.

Whether and how high you set the curvature is a matter of taste and also depends on the aircraft itself. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

The dead zone can help with joysticks that have a nervous zero position.

The remaining options explain themselves by changing the axis line.

3. Game

These settings influence the degree of realism of DCS. If the mission creator or the server does not make strict specifications for the individual points, DCS uses the player's settings.

If the player decides, for example, that he wants to see the lettering on the vehicles and aircraft or that he wants to be invulnerable, then this will always and everywhere be the case until a mission or a server temporarily and forcibly demands other settings.

Here is a table with the settings used with the OFS and descriptions.

Difficulty

Name	Value	Remarks
ARCADE MODE	OFF	Simplifies the game and adds e.g. target markers. The arcade layout is then used.
SIMPLE AVIONICS	OFF	If the mode is active, the aircraft switches to a simpler navigation and flight display system.
RADIO HELP	OFF	If activated, you will receive warnings by radio if, for example, a missile is approaching.
COCKPIT AID	ON	Tool Tips displays the name of a switch when you point the mouse at it and do not move it. and do not move the mouse. It is very helpful and may only be distracting in VR. .
RESTART AFTER CRASH	ON	The name says it all. If this is over and you die in the mission, you may not re-enter or get back in. Very nice for a hardcore mission to get the adrenaline pumping, but not useful for a flight school.
SIMPLE RADIO	OFF	Simplifies the use of the radios (automatic frequency setting).
PADLOCK	OFF	This can be used to fix the view of an opponent so that you don't lose sight of them.
UNLIMITED FUEL	OFF	Air refuelling can be learned, or you have to fly sparingly
UNLIMITED WEAPONS	OFF	Normally this is OFF, but if you want to practice a special weapon, you can switch it ON and practice intensively and you can practice intensively without always having to take off and land. We enforce the setting in such training missions, so you don't have to worry about it as a student pilot.
INVULNERABILITY	OFF	You should know when you do something wrong.
ALLIED FLIGHT REPORTS	ON	Receive radio messages from other allied AI aircraft.
COCKPIT VIS: ENLARGE: MODE	ON	Enemies on the map are normally only visible when someone has reconnoitred. With the setting you can or must report enemy positions so that someone else can see them on the map. We use this mission specific, but ON allows you to do it, but not necessarily have to..
REFERENCES	FULL	You see a designation above all enemies and your own troops in the immediate vicinity, consisting of name, type and distance. This makes it very easy to recognise targets. Many virtual pilots are advocates of "icons off", but we only switch them off when you are ready. Many multiplayer servers offer reduced icons (part of the mission file) where instead of name and distance etc. only a simple small black dot is displayed. This facilitates the recognition of aircraft (monitor deficits) but does not make it too easy. These are also only visible if AN has been selected here. The icons can be switched off at any time during the game (Lshift+F10) but cannot be activated if they are always off. Since version 2.5.3, there are several ready-made settings to choose from, then the labels, for example, are permanently reduced unless the server requests otherwise. .

F10 View Options

Here you can set which objects you would like to see as symbols on the map, if the server or the individual mission file does not require otherwise:

• Map Only does not show any objects.

• My Plane shows only your plane on the map.

• FOG OF WAR shows all objects that have been reconnoitred by your coalition and whose position is already known.

• Allies only shows all allied units.

• ALL shows all objects.

We recommend Fog of War. Any AI units will of course help with the reconnaissance all by themselves.

4. Audio

5. Miscellaneous

6. Special

7. VR

8. Windows Reload