Never used TacView, can soneone...

[BeirutDude]

...please explain it to me in SIMPLE English? Stuff a 60 year old can understand [:D].

1. Exactly what is it?

2. Exactly where do I get it?

3. Resources necessary (16 gb of RAM good?)

4. Worth it?

5. How do I link TacView and CMO?

6. Do other games use it? Armored Brigade for example?

[kevinkins]

I will address question 4. No, not at the moment. That's just my opinion. I used the demo for an hour and found it annoying to use. But I might be missing something entirely. It would be great if others could chime in, especially if they are fond of Tacview. It hasn't received a lot of love in the forum.

Here is the website:
https://www.tacview.net/product/about/en/

[BeirutDude]

Thanks for your reply, I was getting the same impression as I researched it, but also saw value in putting my questions out there!

[guanotwozero]

1. It's a 3D display that can show game information (i.e. units) in its own rendition of the world, in a separate window which can overlay CMO. In CMO it shows a real-time view of units in the world. The units are not realistically rendered but are faction-coloured 3D models. See enclosed pic.

One caveat - at present there's no Fog of War, though this is a requested feature and the devs have said they'll consider that. WarfareSims site also has detailed map tiles and elevation data which can be added to enhance the world view.

2. Get it from their own website or from Steam. You need the advanced version, though the free demo will work for a month. Another caveat - the Steam version is not standalone. Just now it's in a bundle with CMO - discount still works if you already have CMO on Steam.

3. Yep, 16 gig is fine. The main lookout is that it uses substantial GPU. It does run on the integrated CPUs that I've tried, but GPU stays at 100% there. On a GTX 1080 Ti it's a stroll.

4. Subjective - I'd say yes. I got it out of curiosity, though mindful that it also works with some flight sims I use. I find it mostly useful as a learning tool - better visualising what's happening in 3D, though I don't often use it when I'm playing CMO 'for real'. As CMO has an endless learning curve, I reckon I'll always find a use for it.

5. In the Options panel, there's a tab to point to the Tacview executable. Thereafter launch it from View->3D View. BTW run Tacview once (to initialise) before using it in CMO.

6. Yes, but not Armored Brigade AFAIK. It works with DCS, P3D and BMS Falcon4, although I've not yet tried it outside CMO. Maybe time for a request on the ArmBrig forum...

[BeirutDude]

guanotwozero, thanks for the reply, it was on sale so was thinking about it, but think I will wait.

[serjames]

I was very negative to it with regards the Fog Of War issue. It was up for a substantial discount over Christmas, so I got it. And have honestly been enjoying having it. It certainly helps to better visualise your aircraft. It's helped me to spot when they are doing weird things, that's for sure, like randomly diving down to ground level for no perceivable reason.... that seems to happen a lot.

I just have it running quite zoomed in to the unit in question, so haven't had any lurking submarines shown by accident yet. I'd say it's worth it to get it. It will only get better as the Devs figure out how to better integrate it. Now if I could get that window and the Log Window to stay in the place and format I put them... now that would be nice.

[bobbackwards]

Tacview is primarily used by flight simmers (like me) to analyze flying technique, particularly for combat flight sims but has uses in civil sims like FSX for takeoff/landing and emergency procedures. It is a very sophisticated program and I love it...but if money is an issue it is a luxury for CMO. If you have any desire to fly in DCS, IL2, Falcon BMS etc. it is an insta-buy.

[BeirutDude]

Thanks! No I'm not a flight SIM guy.

[guanotwozero]

ORIGINAL: BeirutDude
Thanks! No I'm not a flight SIM guy.

If not, then I reckon there's only two main reasons for wanting it;

1) Immersion - if you like a 3D display for your strategy games in general (though FoW is an issue there).
2) Learning tool - for understanding better what's happening in 3D, e.g. AAM-evading spiral dives, dogfights, subs dodging torpedoes, using terrain, etc.

I definitely wouldn't have got it only for 1), and initially I wouldn't have got it for 2) if I weren't a flight simmer too. However, now I have it, I do use it often enough to justify (to myself) the cost for 2) alone. It's already increased my insight into game behaviour in a way that's worth it for me.

[TheCabal]

Let's make it simple, I'm getting older too and I like the way you ask questions!

If you are not a SIM guy (DCS, Falcon BMS etc.) then TacView Advanced is pretty much overpriced & a bit worthless for just the use with CMO. TacView Advanced is even overpriced if you were a SIM guy... TacView Standard is what most folks need for simulators to give you an idea. The feature with the Advanced edition is that you have a 3D "live stream" instead of just an AFTER ACTION REPORT like you have in simulators (btw CMO only features the After Action Report in the pro-version.... extremly weird) and reg. CMO comes with a gods eye mode.. seeing all contacts even if you were not supposed to see them. But as the other guys here stated, maybe TacView will get a Fog of War implemented, but in my opinion that still isn't enough to buy it just for CMO.

My choice was easy: I got TacView Advanced because of owning Falcon BMS & lots of different DCS modules too.