Special Options

The Phantom offers several options that can be set within the Special Option menu in DCS.

Radio Menu and PTT Behavior

Dropdown to select the behavior of the push to talk bind for the radio.

The columns have the following effects:

• Close Menu - when releasing the key, the DCS communication menu is automatically closed
• Menu must be open - the key only works when the DCS communication menu is currently open
• Export Voice - when pressed down, voice is exported to tools like SRS

Stick Deflection Limit

Limits the maximum force in lbf (Pound-Force), i.e. strength, the pilot is able to pull the stick with.

This effect is mostly seen when controlling the aircraft during high G maneuvers and can prevent accidentally pulling extreme Gs.

💡 As an example, in certain situations it would require beyond human strength to pull the stick all the way back. With this set, when pulling the real joystick beyond that limit, the in-game flight stick is limited and not pulled equally aft. This also prevents for example accidentally pulling 20 G and instantly blacking out, just because the real joystick has no, or reduced, force feedback.

Stick Force Blending

When maximum movement of the stick would result in excessive forces being generated, having this activated will scale down the generated force to improve handling precision, but also can help to prevent accidentally pulling extreme Gs.

Roll Breakout Point

Percentage of stick input after which the AFCS system will recognize the pilot stick was moved from neutral trim position (force transducer switches closed). This will affect the AFCS roll channel operation and prevent it from fighting your roll input. For more info see Force Transducer.

Afterburner Detent

Two options to define at which point of the physical hardware throttle input (0 to 100%) the aircraft will light the afterburner.

That is, if set to 80%, the MIL power range of the aircraft will be commanded between 0% and 80% of your physical throttle, while the remaining 20% will control the afterburner range.

The deadzone option can be used to split the points in the range at which the afterburner will be turned on and off. For example, setting 2% for the deadzone and 80% for the detent results in afterburner activation at 82% and deactivation at 78% of throttle input.

Randomize System Inputs at Cold Start

When unchecked, during cold start all switches and knobs will be in their initial OFF positions. Allowing for a quick start by just following procedures.

When checked, switch positions will be randomized during cold-start, as if the previous pilot did not properly return everything back to their initial positions. To ensure a correct startup, the crew hence must check and confirm each switch in the proper position before following a cold-start procedure.

Disable Multicrew Controls Input When Joining as WSO

If checked, when joining as WSO in multiplayer with a human pilot, your local controls inputs (stick, rudder pedals and throttle) will be ignored by default. You can toggle your local input back with assigned keybind.

Jester Landing Callouts

If enabled, Jester will assist the pilot during landing by calling out aircraft altitude, similar as seen in civilian aviation.

💡 Real Phantom WSOs did not assist during landing.

HB UI Resolution Override

User interface elements, such as the Jester Wheel, the manual, virtual browser and others are scaled and positioned via a fixed resolution that must match the resolution of the in-game surface they are rendered on.

With the option unchecked, this resolution is automatically determined based on screen settings. However, in certain situations, especially when using VR or having a multi-monitor setup, this automatic detection might fail and compute an incorrect resolution.

Should UI elements be misplaced, for example the Jester Wheel not being centered or even cut off, check this setting and edit the resolution manually until the UI is displayed properly.

Jester UI

Allow Mouse Controls

When checked, the Jester UI allows interaction with the mouse moving it over items and left clicking.

The option can be disabled if for example only head-tracking is preferred and the automatic mouse detection is perhaps triggering too often, e.g. when having placed the mouse on the arm of the chair.

Allow Head-Tracking

When checked, the Jester UI allows moving the cursor simply by moving the in-game character head. Can be disabled if no convenient head-tracking equipment, such as TrackIR or VR, is available.

💡 Tracking options are chosen dynamically based on movement. Even if head-tracking is enabled, other options such as using the mouse or assigning the cursor to an axis are also still available.

The dropdown allows selection of the head-tracking behavior:

• Center - the view-origin is at the aircraft center
• Dynamic - the view-origin is where the UI was opened

Selecting Center requires looking forward when operating the UI, whereas Dynamic allows using head-tracking from any view position. However, Dynamic can lead to having to chase the cursor when closing and re-opening the UI frequently. Also, the Dynamic option is less meaningful in VR, as the UI elements are then all rendered on the front always.

💡 Jester Dialogs always use the Center type, requiring to look forward.

Max Angle

Defines the angle (in degrees) the head has to be moved off-center to reach the corners of the UI.

In other words, reducing this value from its default of 10° makes head-tracking more sensitive to head movement, while increasing it will reduce the sensitivity.

💡 VR users might find a lower angle more comfortable, since the head-to-game translation is normally 1:1 in VR.

Deadzone

Defines the angle (in degrees) the head has to be moved off-center to for the UI to recognize head-movement and engage head-tracking.

If the head is moved less than the deadzone (0.5° by default), the cursor is automatically set to the center instead and not moved.

💡 Users playing with a high and very sensitive head-to-game translation might find it useful to increase this value slightly.

Radar Stick for Cursor

When checked, the binds mapped to control the Antenna Hand Control can also be used to move the cursor used for Offset Bombing and similar, making binding the two Track Wheels obsolete.