Leaderboard

20 September 2024 Dear Fighter Pilots, Partners and Friends, We are excited to announce a host of important bug fixes and improvements coming in the next DCS update! This update will address Aircraft AI, Ground AI, weapons, and terrain optimisations. Please read the details below. Also included in the next DCS update are an impressive number of improvements to the DCS: F/A-18C and DCS: F-16C. A special thank you to our community who have provided invaluable feedback. The End of Summer Sale 2024 is filled with huge savings to help you digest your summer memories. Please head over to the E-Shop and check out all the amazing deals waiting for you! Please note that we are also offering the same deals on the DCS World Steam Edition! Thank you for your passion and support. Yours sincerely, Eagle Dynamics DCS Update Preview What to look out for Get ready for a wealth of DCS improvements that will add new features, resolve bugs, and optimise performance, especially in multiplayer environments. Here is what you can look forward to: Aircraft AI and Ground AI The latest update will include fixes and improvements to both Aircraft AI and Ground AI behaviour. For aircraft, issues such as cargo doors on the AI Mi-8 helicopter remaining open during transportation tasks and helicopters having difficulty landing will be fixed. The carpet bombing task will work correctly when a priority target is set and weapons free. Additionally, fighters will perform better in cruise missile interception scenarios. For Ground AI, bridge crossing is being improved along with route following behaviour. The BTR-80 and BTR-82 will deploy a bow-wave shield when crossing water. Please stay tuned for the upcoming changelog. Weapons Weapon behaviour will see several important fixes, particularly for the AIM-54C's lock reacquisition issue. AI units will properly use APKWS rockets. Additionally, the R-27R/ER missiles will be adjusted to track cruise missiles effectively, and a new China Asset Pack addition will introduce the HJ-12 Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM). Other improvements will include updates to the Sea Eagle missile, which will have a collision model that can be intercepted. Terrain Engine The terrain engine will receive notable optimizations, including better VRAM usage, disk streaming, and CPU utilisation for rendering scenery models. This enhances performance across maps, especially in VR. Additionally, issues like crashes at mission start in certain maps (Afghanistan, Kola, and Sinai) and graphical artefacts when zooming or panning in map modes have been addressed. These optimizations will contribute to a smoother and more stable gameplay experience, especially in complex and processor intensive situations. Other important improvements will include cargos no longer being destroyed when dropped, improved oil and water leak effects for World War II aircraft, and the Arleigh Burke Close-In Weapon System (CWIS) use against missiles is improved. F/A-18C & F-16C Aircraft Improvements Recent updates and bug fixes across various aircraft, including the F-16C and F/A-18C, are part of our ongoing commitment to refining the simulation and completing all release and post-Early Access support commitments. We have addressed a wide range of issues, from minor graphical glitches to more significant systems-related bugs that affect gameplay. The F-16C Viper will see improvements in its radar including fixes to Track While Scan (TWS) multi-designations, more reliable soft-locks in Range While Scan (RWS) and Dual Track modes, added the ability to interact with false targets, corrected Hot Lines, and improved Pulse Doppler (PD) tracking. For ground-pounders, Maverick slaving to the Sensor Point of Interest (SPI) issues will be addressed. One of the biggest, and most requested changes, is the ability to select the Flight Control System dead zone gradient to either a realistic setting best used for force-sensitive joysticks or to exactly match the Controls Manager deadzone value. You will be able to select this in the next update. Despite being out of Early Access, the F/A-18C has and will continue to be supported with new features and fixes. In the next update, the F/A-18C will receive updates to its avionics and weapon systems. These updates are based on player feedback and extensive testing, they include adjustments to the radar BIAS behaviour, Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), training missions, fuzes and more. Stay tuned for the full changelog! Although not ready for the next update, the F/A-18C is also undergoing an extensive review and re-work of the flight model and flight control system. Other F/A-18C features are still planned for the project like more Multi-Sensor Integration (MSI) features, loft symbology and data for JDAM and JSOW, and the Mk-77. End of Summer Sale Upgrade your hangar now! The DCS End of Summer Sale 2024 is running until the 30th of September 2024 at 15:00 GMT, and we truly hope that you take this opportunity to land some great deals. Our most popular fighter jets are available with a 30% discount including DCS: F/A-18C, DCS: F-16C Viper, DCS: JF-17 Thunder, DCS: MB-339. Our staple helicopters such as DCS: AH-64D and DCS: Black Shark 3 are also on sale with 30% off! Many more aircraft, terrains, campaigns and important add-ons are on sale with 50% discount. Visit our shop! Please note that we are running an identical sale on the DCS World Steam Edition until the 23rd of September 2024 at 17:00 GMT as part of the Planes, Trains and Automobiles fest! Thank you again for your passion and support, Yours sincerely,

We will have some news today in the newsletter about what is coming, but I can not give you any ETA on the patch until QA have completed all checks and are happy it is ready for the public build. Thank you

Dear all, Summer has come to an end and autumn is upon us. We hope you all had a great time during summer and of course, plenty of vacation to hit the beaches, enjoy cool drinks and fly some DCS. After the F-4E release we gave the team some air to breathe and to recharge, as mentioned before, however we have long since returned to advance our roadmap. We apologize for being a bit more quiet with updates the past few months, as we collected and prepared ourselves for a productive rest of the year 2024. Hence we felt it was time to bring you a comprehensive development update for our modules again, and we are delighted to do so. The team has been hard at work introducing new features, refining systems, and addressing numerous bugs to enhance your simulation experience. In this update, we will be diving into the latest developments across the DCS: F-4E Phantom II, DCS: F-14 Tomcat, and DCS: AJS37 Viggen modules. Each aircraft has received dedicated attention to ensure you enjoy the highest levels of authenticity and performance. Let's explore the exciting new features and fixes in detail. DCS: F-4E Phantom II - NEW Mini-Campaign - FROG-7 As you all know, our commitment to content in Heatblur modules is unparalleled and a plethora of new missions are planned for all our modules, including a new and free campaign for the F-4E Phantom II. Enjoy this little mini-campaign, which sets the mood for the larger, free campaign coming a bit later - Days of Atonement, following events of the Yom Kippur War. FROG-7: On the night of October 9 1973, Syria escalated the Yom Kippur War further by launching FROG-7 rockets at Israel's northern airbase, Ramat David. At 03:35, the missiles struck, killing one Israeli pilot and wounding several soldiers. Additional rockets landed in civilian areas, including Migdal HaEmek and Kibbutz Gvat, spreading fear and destruction among the population. The Israeli government decided to retaliate decisively. The very same morning the IAF launched strikes deep into Syria, hitting core military installations and infrastructure to cripple the Syrian war-making efforts and to prove that Israel was both still capable and willing to attack its enemies deep in their territory. These attacks were also intended as a deterrent to Jordan to enter the war. Relive some of the events following the October 9 FROG-7 attacks, including the famous Raid on the Syrian General Staff Headquarters in Damascus. The missions have been meticulously recreated based on a plethora of historical data and SME input from IAF veterans who flew during the Yom Kippur War, including the real life routes that have been used and events occurred during these missions - with as few liberties taken as possible within the limits of DCS. DISCLAIMER: This campaign is semi-historical, and while it tries to depict historical events as accurately as possible within the limits of DCS, it is in no way motivated by any political, or religious ideologies, and is not connected to any recent events. Rather, it is meant to let the player experience one of the most intensive periods of aerial combat for the F-4E Phantom II. Requirements: DCS: F-4E Phantom II | DCS: Syria | Optional: DCS: Combined Arms DCS: F-4E Phantom II - Systems, Improvements and Features We prepared a long list of bug fixes, systems improvements and new features for this update. As many of you requested, we finally added brightness control logic for the UHF repeaters. This improves the visibility across various lighting conditions, enhancing pilot experience in different operational environments. Furthermore, individual backlighting has been added for the WRCS ALT/RANGE placards. Based on the selected Delivery Mode, this backlighting will now indicate which of these is actively in use, bringing more situational awareness during flight. Night operations have also received attention with the addition of backlighting for the WSO ECM and KY-28 panels, improving usability in low-light scenarios. DCS: F-4E Phantom II - RWR Significant updates have been made to the RWR (Radar Warning Receiver). The RWR now detects active radar homing missiles, providing pilots with earlier and more accurate warnings of inbound threats. The RWR database itself has been updated to include new and previously undetected threats, making it a more reliable tool during combat operations. In addition, we've introduced new handoff sounds for emitters, which include the AIM-120, AIM-54, R-77, and Tornado platforms, allowing pilots to better manage their responses to multiple threats. Finally, ALR-46 RWR target separation (TGT SEP) button is now working, it lets you adjust the way the contacts are displayed to avoid symbols overlapping in environments that are highly saturated with emitters. DCS: F-4E Phantom II - New Weapons Weapon systems for the F-4E have also seen several updates. The BDU-33 practice bombs have been added to the inner wing pylons, offering pilots the opportunity to practice their bombing runs with increased realism. We've replaced the GBU-24B/B Navy Variant with the more accurate GBU-24A/B Air Force Variant, ensuring that the correct ordnance is modeled. For those flying the German F-4F, we have introduced the BL755 and SAMP-250KG LD Bombs mounted on TERs, accurately representing the specific loadouts used by the German air force. We've also included a visual-only ACMI/TACTS pod, adding to the authenticity of the aircraft’s visual representation without functional implementation. Furthermore, we have fine-tuned the sight depression limit, adjusting the mechanical range from -225 mils to -250 mils, offering more flexibility in targeting. Along with these changes, we have fixed issues with the Sight Reticle Range Bar, ensuring that it correctly indicates ranges in different modes. DCS: F-4E Phantom II - JESTER AI Navigation Update JESTER has received significant updates in this release, most importantly improving his navigation capabilities. Support for special waypoint types has been introduced, which can now be set up through either the Jester Wheel or the Mission Editor. These waypoint types include Identification Point (IP), Target (TGT), Visual Identification Point/ Nav Fix (VIP), CAP station between two subsequent CAP points and according QnA to set the desired vul-time (CAP), FENCE-IN (F-IN), FENCE-OUT (F-OUT), Homebase (HB), and Alternate (ALT), allowing for more sophisticated mission planning and execution. Jester also now supports in-flight INS updates through the NAV FIX function, which can be initiated via overflight of a VIP special waypoint, ensuring that navigation data can be refined and improved mid-flight. Details of these new functionalities can be found in the manual, which has also been updated. These new special waypoints will already receive more updates in the subsequent patch, such as a “silent VIP”, which allows for more low-key nav fixes on else regular waypoints, as was done for instance by the IAF during the Yom Kippur War, when flying their routes from IP Tower to IP Tower over the else featureless desert terrain of the Sinai. Additionally we want to tie checklists to waypoints such as Fence In and Fence Out in the future, and also allow for a more autonomous attack planning by JESTER based on your IP-TGT relation and mode selection. We are also currently working to implement a comprehensive list of set commands, such as you already know from the F-14, to allow for further mission scripting. DCS: F-4E Phantom II - INS Alignment First, we’ve reworked the entire alignment procedure. This new system is designed to streamline the alignment process, making it smoother and more efficient, ensuring your navigation systems are even more precise and dependable. Additionally, we’re introducing new dialogue options with Jester. These will provide greater flexibility in communication, giving you more control and interaction during crucial operations. Whether it's alignment or troubleshooting, you’ll have clearer, more dynamic exchanges with Jester. To further assist pilots, we’re adding more detailed information about the alignment process. This will give you a deeper understanding of each phase of the procedure, helping you anticipate and manage the alignment more effectively. With this added clarity, you’ll be able to ensure everything is properly set up for the most accurate flights possible. In cases where an alignment fails, we’re introducing new options to handle these situations. Instead of leaving you without clear guidance, the updated system will offer corrective actions, providing a path to recovery and reducing downtime. DCS: F-4E Phantom II Bugs In terms of bug fixes, several critical issues have been squashed. We’ve addressed crashes related to homebase TACAN and some problems with the Heatblur UI. Radar antenna range gate acquisition issues that affected certain scenarios have also been fixed. Additionally, we have resolved crashes experienced by users with DCS installed on Unicode directory paths, such as those containing non-Latin characters. Another fix includes correcting the logic that was preventing ECM warm-up from skipping during hot starts. Lastly, we’ve resolved an issue with the Pave Spike STOW and WRCS/INS OUT lamps incorrectly illuminating during BIT 1 tests, ensuring these systems function as intended. Improvements have also been made to the control inputs. New 4/8-way hat steering binds have been introduced for the Jester Wheel, providing greater control over AI management. Self-accelerating knob binds have been added for various cockpit controls, such as the Sight Depression, HSI Course, Target Latitude/Longitude, and Bombing Pull-Up Timer, simplifying input management for these functions. You may want to remap some of your slow/normal/fast keybinds, though we kept these to offer you more choice. Several issues with broken bindings have also been addressed, and missing toggle and axis binds have been added for systems like the Antenna Switch, Anti-Skid, and Emergency Gear handles. Audio improvements for the F-4E are another highlight of this update. The engine sounds have been overhauled, offering a more immersive and authentic auditory experience that enhances the sensation of flying the Phantom. Canopy sounds have also been improved, adding further depth to the aircraft’s interaction with its environment. Visually, we’ve made several important updates. We fixed the external engine blades LoD00 - LoD01. The fuel tape visibility has been improved for better readability during flight. A previous issue where formation lights disappeared when zooming out has been resolved, ensuring consistent lighting visibility. The throttle animation has been updated to include afterburner detent sideways movement, bringing more realism to throttle operations. Various cockpit indicators and animations, including those for the HUD and other critical systems, have been reworked to enhance both visual fidelity and functional accuracy, and much more. Beyond these updates, we’ve refreshed the in-game manual to reflect all the latest changes and features, ensuring pilots have the information they need at their fingertips. Missions have also been updated to take advantage of these new capabilities, and new ones have been added for greater variety, introducing the first set of basic instant action missions for the new Afghanistan map, with more to follow. Additionally, we’ve introduced support for Historical Mode in the Mission Editor, allowing for more authentic mission setups. For mission creation, we’ve added new models, including an IP Tower and a GHQ Building, expanding the possibilities for mission design. Lastly, new liveries have been added, such as the Israel Kurnass 303 Toad 1967 livery with thanks Fish. DCS: F-14 Tomcat For the F-14 Tomcat, we’ve made several important updates to systems, weapons, controls, and more. One significant fix addresses an issue in NAVGRID mode, where true bearing was incorrectly displayed instead of magnetic bearing. We’ve also updated the TID repeater on the pilot's HSD, which now functions properly when the RIO selects TV mode. Laser code settings have been removed from the Kneeboard and Mission Editor aircraft properties, and you should now use the new fuze settings for configuring these codes in the DCS rearm menu. Weapon adjustments for the F-14 include correcting the LAU-10 Zuni pod mass, reducing its weight by 150kg to reflect the correct loadout specifications. Unnecessary fuze settings for the BDU-33 practice bombs have been removed. We’ve also made the TARPS pod compatible with a wider range of munitions, including the Mk 82, Mk 83, GBU-12, and GBU-16, offering more flexibility for mission planning. Several fixes have been made to resolve corrupted weapon names in the Jester Ordnance Menu, and we’ve aligned the default payloads between the two Tomcat variants to ensure consistency. We’ve also made several fixes to the cockpit controls. Issues where controls were clickable from the wrong cockpit have been addressed. Three-position switches now move in the correct direction when left or right-clicked, and tooltips for the IFF panel have been adjusted to provide clearer and more accurate information. In addition to these updates, we’ve also added a first new set of basic instant action missions for Afghanistan with more to follow. Big thanks also to Kaba for an overhaul of the Cage the Bear campaign. Please note that older, obsolete versions have been removed, to keep the maintenance slim. DCS: AJS-37 Viggen The AJS-37 Viggen has received updates and bug fixes to improve both realism and gameplay. We’ve updated the airfield database to include support for the new Kola map and increased the maximum number of airfield reference codes to 98. The "Beredskapsvarning" warning is now enabled in LANDN P/O mode, adding more accuracy to emergency operations. Pilots can now select how REF codes are generated through a newly added Special Option, allowing for more customized mission setups. Several critical bug fixes have been implemented. An issue preventing the RB15 missile from locking onto targets when released in NAV mode has been resolved, ensuring more reliable missile targeting. We’ve also fixed problems with saving manually set runway direction and TILS data, providing better operational consistency. The BAS selector loop issue, which occurred when spawning at bases with IDs greater than 72, has also been addressed. Additionally, we’ve adjusted the flash rates for ground collision and "beredskapsvarning" warnings to 5 Hz and 2.5 Hz, respectively, bringing them in line with real-world operations. In terms of input controls, we’ve added toggle bindings for the ATT and HÖJD autopilot controls, offering more flexibility and ease of use. As with the other modules, new instant action missions have been added for the Afghanistan map, and existing ones updated to reflect the latest changes. Mission makers now have the option to filter out FARPs from the REF code list by adding "-REF-" to the unit name, allowing for more refined mission design. The manual has also been updated to provide comprehensive guidance on these new features. Q3 2024 and what the future holds The rest of the year is already packed full with tasks for the team, as we continue our efforts on the side of the release for the Viggen and the F-14, (our upcoming MSFS modules, as a side note,) the Eurofighter, of course and more. We are currently wrapping up the A-6 AI development, which we hope to bring to you in one of the next updates. And we hope that we can bring the early F-14A to you before end of the year as well. Beyond that, we will of course have more in depth updates for you on the development of our various modules as the year keeps moving along. We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated community for your ongoing support and invaluable feedback. Your passion and engagement continue to inspire us to extend our efforts in delivering the highest quality simulation experience possible. Thank you for being part of our journey to push the boundaries of flight simulation. Fly safe, and see you in the skies! The Heatblur Team

I don't know anything about Skynet. But I just tried a mission with Hornets firing HARMs against a Tor M2, and all four were intercepted. More updates to the Swedish pack. The Strv 122 now has a new model and textures. The fictious Strv 2000 has new textures, as well as the Lvkv 9040B. All the assets I update gets an updated collision model (much less CPU intensive) and an updated damage model (more detailed). I also try to reduce the numbers of mesh triangles if possible without losing quality.

We have a full range of PC's we test on, from low end to high end. We are always working on optimisations and FPS is important, we have some tweaks coming in the next patch. As technologies change it allows us to progress, we now have multithreading which is being tweaked, but that alone has allowed us to push the limits of DX11 for DCS, the next step is Vulkan and that should also help with performance for most people, and again allow us to push performance boundaries. We have to continue to be mindful about lower end systems, but also allow high end machines to get the most out of DCS, this is why we have so many user options in settings, so you can tweak to your own preference of performance vs quality. thank you

My collection of C47 Military and Civil skins. These were produced long before the C47 template became available so I expect there are many better liveries out there somewhere. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kd7zlxa4bd4vyl4phredz/CrazyEddies-C47-Skinpack-Military.zip?rlkey=umm3fpguoizfoa7txzl7f3q42&st=1hqlcf7q&dl=0 My Civil Liveries - some are reasonably accurate, others not quite so - just eye candy. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/iaj7s56qvk3bg6er2fdux/CrazyEddies_C47_Skinpack_Civilian.zip?rlkey=hwg2hpeqf6d1mmz7b38zyuag5&st=9rfzz8fp&dl=0

Hey Gogi12, the Horizon class mods were created a few years ago and worked in DCS but I think they have stopped working. Hey DJOGOO77, You're welcome. I knew nothing about that class until you brought it up. I don't see a 3D model of that class of ship maybe because the ship is fairly new. I was considering creating the Giuseppe Garibaldi. Not sure about it yet. I need to see how the ITS Cavour creation works out. Hello everyone, sorry I have been absent. I've had appointments all week. I haven't had time to work on any models. I will get back to it when I can.

Sounds good! Looking forward to the update.

Great to hear about VRAM usage and aircraft and ground AI improvments!! Let's hope performance can be as good as it was on 2.9.5!! Thanks!

I do in my main DCS computer, but since troubleshooting this problem I installed DCS in my (other civilian sim) computer, which NEVER had DCS installed. Meaning no mods AT ALL. Zero. Only Hornet, Cerberus North and Syria. Thats it. As I said, I've tried (on my own) to isolate the problem (as others here are doing) and what I did, was to roll back my DCS version to 2.9.5.x. which works great. My next step is using process monitor (the sysinternals tool) and compare what DCS.exe is doing in 2.9.5.x different from > 2.9.6.x that might help. Also, if anyone is familiar with process monitor (NOT THE WINDOWS process monitor) but the specialized tool you download you'll see how helpful that can be. I don't thinking bashing ED will help, thats why I rather take a proactive approach and see if I can spot something obvious that will help the devs figure out what the problem is.

I believe thats precisely the point everyone here is trying to make. Its not a matter of 'who' is affected, but when will it affect you. If you only fly single player instant missions or simple MP dogfight PvP servers then you'll probably NEVER be affected and you'll post things such as: Everything fine on my end! no performance issues here.. thats fine! but, what is being discussed here is something much more complex. Its a LOGIC/PROGRAMMING FLAW in the way AI Ground and Air units interact. As if an endless loop and/or unnecesary recurring process is trashing the CPU, most likely due to a race condition and/or a scoping issue (my theory is that ALL ground units and actively searching for AI air threats, instead of a selected few within a zone/bubble) The reason you see people frustrated is because they know that 2.9.5.x did NOT have this issue, period. This thread and the problem discussed has been already identified and being worked on by ED, my concern (and this is nothing against Scott) but something that worries me is when he says ED is working on 'Optimizations' and finding ways to make FPS better. We don't need an 'optimization'. This is a BUG, a problem in the code, a LOGIC issue and the way to fix it is to either ROLL back the AI Ground/AIR interaction logic introduced in 2.9.6.x or rework its implementation as its clearly not working.

Good catch. For clarification: the 35 mil setting is used to manually align the reticle with the radar antenna for a boresight lock. For an immediately available online source consult this website, but the 35 mil guidance matches print sources on employing the boresight mode IRL. https://flyandwire.com/2024/05/27/f-4e-boresight-mode-aim-7-and-speedgates/ I suspect that guidance predates the F-4D/E implementation of a RBL caged/ non-manual sight. For our F-4E one need only flip the switch to “caged” to get the sight where it needs to be. Another great example of why we need to do our homework.

Using Joey45's Hermes Mod with full effect. Thank you @Joey45 this mod has made this story come to life.

Can you tell me the source of that info? Reticle depression knob has no effect in A/A mode.

love to older modules, much appreciated!

fixed for Oct

Oh man, thanks so much for all the work. You're putting out so much great quality stuff that really improves our sim, just great. I almost have a guilty conscience asking / suggesting if you plan to make an insurgents pack, especially for infantry / light artillery / light AAA. For example, I love to place your Dshk on hilltops on the Afghanistan Map, but it would be so great if it was manned by an insurgent. The insurgent RPG guy from vanilla DCS also has come to age, I don't know if he even has animations. Also some light machine gun carrying troops would be great. Some years ago there was a light AAA mod someone made, but it stopped working. Using ZPU-1 instead of the mighty ZU-23 really would make for some challenging, but diversified missions. For vehicles, there's of course the Counter Insurgency Mod which is awesome, and ED has provided us with some pickup units.

We appreciate you have trust issues now, totally understandable. But we will protect our IP. We all hope for a good outcome. thank you

Bonus strafing episode:

This is an incredible project and I'm genuinely so excited to watch it unfold. My grandfather trained to be a navigator in Manitoba before joining 617 (post Ruhr raid) as the war neared its conclusion. He was definitely in the squadron when they went after the Tirpitz. This will be amazingly cool to get some sort of representation of it all. Thank you so much!

Habe mir das Track File gerade mal angeschaut und mir sind zwei Dinge aufgefallen die dazu führen, dass du keinen Funkkontakt mit dem Tanker aufnehmen kannst: 1.) Wie bereits zuvor erwähnt kann es sein, dass der Funk bei der F-15E nicht richtig funktioniert wenn die Option "Einfache Kommunikation" aktiviert ist. Das ist bei deinem Flug jedoch nach wie vor der Fall! Daher: "Einfache Kommunikation" deaktivieren! 2.) Wenn du deinen Funkspruch absetzt nutzt du gar nicht das Funkgerät, sondern die generische Funk-Taste (Standard: #) -> Funkmenü zeigt "Auto" an. Nutze stattdessen die beiden Funk-Tasten am Schubhebel um entweder über das 1. oder das 2. Funkgerät zu funken (musst du gegebenenfalls bei dir mappen) -> Funkmenü zeigt "UHF1"/"UHF2" an.

Since i read lots of threads where ppl struggle(d) to get the Apache Datalink to use, i recently posted a rather lenghty method in another (campaign related) thread. I know this is not all-encompassing and that was not my intention, but i hope it will clarify some of the mistakes that can happen during setting up (e.g. using wrong preset; not tuning to SC; etc). This will mainly focus on SP but most of it can be used to setup MP as well. It works for me with a cold and dark a/c. Feel free to add any knowledge about the datalink (ingame) you have and are willing to share. Hope it helps! Good hunting. Geschrieben vor 2 Stunden (bearbeitet) lets say "it depends". First things first: the only thing that is working for me so far, is to send and request the PP (present position) from AI, so that i can see the symbol of the sending AH-64D on the TSD. If i request FARM reports, i get none ("XMIT NAC"), while sending works (though even if the AI recieves it cant "do" anything with it ^^). Targets, FZs or NFZs, etc is still udner development afaik. Ok, now lets start. The SP Mission has to be set up to support AH-64D datalink on every AH-64D (AI and player/clients). BUT most of this stuff can also be done ingame, though you need to know some info which can more easily be optained though the mission editor. There is one (more like two) prohibiting option(s) that have to be checked to make it workable at all from my experience (see "c" and "d"). ME (mission edior) settings: a) check or set frequencies, e.g. 225 AM. For AI this can only be set in the "unit" tab (when you click on a unit). check in the player AH-64D in the (unit tab ->) radio tab, that under ARC-164 (UHF radio) channel 2 you have the same freq (e.g. 225 MHz AM). [we use channel 2 because we will use Preset 2 for the datalink] b) check "aircraft additional properties", some blue symbol lke 3 points in a row (lower unit tab where you can also choose waypoints, loadout, etc) -> check or set Datalink Originator ID and ownship callsign, e.g. i set the AI to be "Palehorse 6-1", gave it Datalink Orig ID of 6 and "datalink" callsign P-61 (addition: in the TSD for "P-61" you will only see "-61" bc it will only display 3 letters. Keep that in mind). Max number ID is 39. the callsign is just how that Apache will show up in Datalink and on the TSD. c) check that in the "waypoint" tab, in the first waypoint there is: EPLRS on (sometimes "EPLRS(on) -a"). Normally its automatic but sometimes it got (or gets) erased. Like discriped in my previous post, i found out that if EPLRS is not set to "on", the AI will not use datalink (my assumption!). d) set in the "datalinks" tab (pink tab with 3 little symbols like two squares and a rectangle) for EVERY AH64-D you want to communicate with by datalink: datalinks -> SMDL (no other option atm) -> Settings: check that PRESET 2 is set to UHF SC (= single channel) and DL NET is ticked. [addition: you can also change the name of the PRESETs here, but this is only how they show up on your (Apaches) COMs-page and EUFD. so not really needed atm and especially not needed for AI at all] SMDL -> Networks: navigate to chosen Preset (in this case "2") and add the groups/units to that preset you want to reach via this preset (up to 8 primary members / 16 team members). There you can recheck datalink ID and c/s. This is the (my) way, how I made it work for me. Not saying this is the method. Normally a difference in freq (UHF) to the Preset (e.g. if you choose VHF on PRE 1 instead of UHF PRE 2) shouldnt make a difference. BUT as long as we cant change freqs on AI aircraft (other then with set freq in waypoint options or the one "voice" freq in the main unit tab), the player has to be on the correct freq (so correct freq on the used preset), to communicate with AI via datalink. Ingame (flight) settings: I.) If we did set all up as described above we only have to "tune" to the correct Preset. Get in your Apache, set left MPD to COM. check the EUFD, use the "DL" labeled rocker (IDM Rocker Switch) down one to switch to UHF radio DL (the square with a hole in it) and also use the "RTS" rocker switch down once to switch "voice" also to the UHF radio (need it to change UHF preset). Now press on the "P" button on the right side of the EUFD to see all presets, and use the "WCA" labeled rocker switch (left side) down once to switch to Preset 2. Then press the "Enter" button on the right side EUFD. Now on the EUFD it should display "(square with hole / < / dot) UHF* 225.000 PRE 2 L2 ..." Go to the TSD (right MPD), press "RPT" (reports) top left. then left side "PP" (present position). check down left on the TSD page, if "MSG" is set to "RQST" or "SEND". put it to "RQST" if its not. Check if in the top right some datalink callsigns show up (in my case "-61" for Palehorse 6-1 and "R-1" for Rotary 1-1 (both AH-64D)). Choose if you want all of them "ticked" to send you their PP or just one etc. Press "SEND UHF L2" right side (only shows up if 1 "recepient" is ticked). Now some symbols (helicopter) with the datalink c/s should pop up on the position of the requested datalink members. Make sure you zoomed the TSD out enough to see them, and make sure they are flying or at least are fully started up. Check if you have line-of-sight and range to those datalink members (the UHF antenna is located on the underside of the tail boom !!!). If you get "XMIT NAC" there might be something wrong, not set up correctly or an other factor. II.) like i said you can set this all up within the cockpit. i will only briefly cover some hints to it here, but @Wags has some very good vids on datalink which i will link to at the end of this rather long post. a) COMs page, press "Preset 2 L2" on the left (if UHF is shown or not shown) -> "UHF" (top) -> "TUNE UHF" (down right) -> "SC" (UHF radio will be tuned to SC of preset 2. you can check SC of preset 2 in the middel, in my case "SC: 225.000". b) COMs page in the middel you see "Ownship" and in my case "H-2" (Hammerhead 2-1) which is my Datalink callsign. Press "ORIG ID" on the lower row and you get your ownship datalink ID on the top right "DATALINK ORIG ID" in my case "2". c) COMs page press "Preset 2" -> "NET" (lower row middel). Here you can see all your datalink "members" on that PRESET. you can also delete members, add members, switch if a member is team or primary, check their datalink IDs and c/s and you can also change them. this will only change those in YOUR aircraft. e.g. if you change the ID to an other number then set up in the ME, it will not work. The datalink IDs (on this page referred to as "SUB" = subscriber ID) are one per aircraft! Also the datalink c/s will only change how you see them on YOUR aircrafts datalink and thereby TSD. e.g. if i change the datalink c/s of "-61" (which is Palehorse 6-1) to "222" (always needs to be 3 letters), that aircraft will show up as "222" on my TSD, but nothing will change OUTSIDE of MY helicopter. He will still be Palehorse 6-1 on comms. You should also have a member directory "MBR DIR" on the left lower side of the NET page. Here you should see all datalink aircrafts even if they are NOT put in YOUR preset. They show up with a/c callsign, datalink c/s and datalink ID. BUT, if the AI has not been set up in the ME to have YOUR aircraft in their preset, it WONT WORK. Hope this all helps in getting you started! good luck FARM Reports (NOT with AI !) Target sharing via Datalink in multiplayer Greetings K ----------------------------- sorry, this took some time and got to be a wall of text. but i thought i rather try to explain it completely and thoroughly then half hearted. if you have any more questions, ask or PM me. Any typos or spelling mistakes are intentional english is not my first language, hope its read-able xD cya

DCS's event API is a cruel joke on us mission creators. That event ID is only invoked every second blue moon for players who have two children or less and can't be relied upon.

Ah, the joys of DCS, mixed with one's own expectations. You already have all the pieces of the puzzle, and I think that you implicitly believe that one thing means the other (in a perfect world it would, but not Lua/DCS). Let's go through the the steps one by one. You enter your aircraft "Crasher" and depart. A status display call is scheduled in 20 seconds with a reference to your unit "Crasher". In computing terms, a 'reference' points to the memory location that contains data, here the data for unit "Crasher" One second later you crash your aircraft "Crasher" and it is removed from the game. The memory for that unit is freed - made available for other purposes. Your reference to "Crasher" still points to the memory location formerly assigned to "Crasher". 19 seconds later, your scheduled status display function is invoked. As part of the params that are retained is a reference to the (now crashed and invalidated) unit "Crasher" in uObject. Your code checks if uObject == nil. Your reference to "Crasher" STILL points to to the memory location that formerly contained the (now deleted) unit, meaning it is not nil, so the check correctly fails in Line 395 you now access uObject's method getLife() member via "uObject:getLife()". Unfortunately, uObject is no longer a valid object, and you get the "Unit doesn't exits" error So this is correct. A reference to a unit isn't nilled when the unit is destroyed, and a nilcheck to a cached unit (a saved unit reference) will not save you from this. So, how do you protect against that? Many ways, one is to save the unit's name instead, and directly retrieve the unit by name before you try to access it: uObject = Unit.getByName(uName) if not uObject then trigger.action.outText("Sorry, but unit object is nil",15) -- some spelling corrected return end

Indeed..... other export scripts (winwing) have caused issues in the past. That's all I wanted to say (perhaps in a clumsy way) - blaming DCS-updates and not investigating further for other possible culprits just doesn't cut it.

I recently had an issue which was created by the tacview scripts, it can be strange reasons some times and machine specific

Hi, it's a known bug and already reported. As soon as you change the MFD settings, the FCR will switch to RWS not matter if you are in NAVI or AA Mode. Nearly every MFD change will do that.

ich glabe das ich jetzt die Ursache für meine Hänger gelöst habe ,zumindest zum grossen Teil. Die Mod´s OH6 und UH60 hab ich mal gelöscht ,dann wurde es wesentlich besser. Ja ich weis ich war frustriert darüber ,aber jetzt scheind es wieder aufwärts zu gehen .

Why do people never take into account that the problem may originate somewhere else than DCS? If it was only(!) DCS that would cause those issues, everybody would experience them. Which is certainly not the case. More likely culprits like GPU-drivers, windows, windows-updates, windows-settings, other hardware/drivers etc. (maybe in conjunction with DCS, maybe not) are never looked at..... Windows is a general purpose OS that has a ton of stuff going on that is completely unrelated to gaming, but can affect it a lot (negatively) Personally I skipped the last NVIDIA-GPU driver updates, because there were reports of them causing issues (in general, not specific to DCS) - wether that spared me troubles I don't know. But it cerrtainly didn't cause any.

an option has been requested but I have no news to share currently thank you

Hi @currenthill Do you have any plan to add Gepard 3.9 Frigate to your russian pack in the future ? It mainly use by the Viet Nam Navy with the VCM-01 missile (VN version of KH-35E)

and a nuclear reactor for power and a contained section of vacuum sub space to extract the heat to.

Yes. We flew it yesterday. And as far as I'm aware of, nothing is broken so far (apart from the original bugs I assume)

I am a new owner and I also have to that say this map is awesome now. I did not buy it until now. I don't know what it was on release - I guess if people said it was bad they were right - but this is not true any more. The landscape looks so real at any altitude and surpasses the other sims, with the right (bad) weather it is shockingly realistic. South Atlantic map really deserves a second look by anyone now. All other maps are on the back burner since I discovered South Atlantic. I also have no fps issues whatsover, it runs at a solid 90 and just dips when I turn the view around, but returns to 90 as soon as I stop.

Thanks. This is a known issue and its a bit painful to fix. Requires changes throughout the entire spectrum. On the model, animations and also on the code side. It is because EDs AI code has a different understanding of the rudder animation than our model and code. The only real way is to align everything on our side to how the AI thinks it works.

Yes. I guess they're waiting for Polychop to actually get out of early access. -Kidding. Could not resist, because..

The issue was that I had mixed up the two radars in the chart showing which code to use. The chart is now updated. https://www.currenthill.com/rdr

My two cents- all of us, myself included, need to really hit the books (digital or otherwise) on employing the AIM-7 before immediately blaming Jester or the aircraft implementation when things go wrong. First, the reticle needs to be set to A/A or the “CAGE” option mils adjusted to 35.(disregard mils setting - this is for previous iterations of the F-4). Otherwise your reticle will not be aligned with the boresight radar beam and Jester will (probably) be locking thin air. Next, the Sparrow’s minimum and maximum range varies based on engagement altitude. At 40k ft a Sparrow’s max range against a 2 square meter target is 20 NM- but if the target is even 5000 ft higher, the engagement range is cut by 1/4th of a mile. Closure rate with the bandit must also be taken into account - because at high fractions of Mach you’ll cover a lot of distance in the five seconds the missile needs to tune, and 20 miles goes by VERY fast at head on closure speeds. Unless your control mapping is next level fast, you’ll be inside minimum engagement range before the missile is ready- and the interlock, if engaged, will not enable AIM-7 launch. Even if you successfully fired at this point because you disabled the interlock , the closure rate will cause the bandit to close inside of arming range of the in flight weapon anyway. So your AIM-7 isn’t going to detonate. Next , you can wave hello at the bandits front quarter IR/radar missile…. Note also that F-4Es pulse radar means aircraft with small frontal RCS like an F-104, F-105 or MiG-21 will have even smaller effective engagement ranges than the missile can kinematically achieve. Which is one reason why APX-80/Combat Tree was a game changer, since an equipped F-4 could track and engage a MiG-21 beyond the APQ-120s ability to capably detect in certain parameters. Ergo, without that system head on shots will be impractical to achieve because the realistic lock-on range is too small to permit full completion of the lock on- telemetry download & missile prep- launch -guidance firing cycle. Larger RCS targets like a MiG-25, Tupolev bomber, etc will be easier to engage. Understand, what I’ve shared so far merely scratches the surface of what one should know about the APQ-120/AIM-7 employment. If a modern radar & AIM-120 combination is a brand new Formula 1 race car, the F-4E is a 1960s Ferrari P-1. A modern F-1 driver can’t just hop in a vintage P-1 and win races immediately. To be effective, much like that F-1 driver we Phantom Flyers must gain a new discipline of education in understanding the Sparrow and radar. Our Phantom’s don’t work remotely the same as calling up a HUD icon and launching a pitbull AMRAAM, and Jester is NOT a magic “lock up the bandit” resource.

It's our own video.

no need to argue with him, ED's definition of realism is amorphous. It changes to suite their narrative, but mostly because they can't afford to supply their testers with the top of the line equipment. Once they get to the point of running 4k VR headsets the definition of "realism" will change again. If you ask them what that realism standard actually is they'll start talking about pixels. You know, like the pixels you see in your real life. Check your eyes for pixels, man. They are out there.

there's a new La7 vid on youtube:

Don't be so sure Indeed I can't see what exact code is implemented but with reversible method it can be easily figured out. Maybe you expect that motors in DCS are modeled in details, but they are not and like said it is understandable, who would make all these motors to be precise and perfect. So everything can be detected because of simplifications used in DCS and all other similar games. Give me several level (horizontal) flight envelopes velocity-time and distance-time for active time (when motor burns) let's say 1,2M launch velocity (or better 1M because 1,2M at 1km exceed limits) at 1, 5, 10 and 15km and let's see can we see or not what is code, what is motor thrust at these altitudes. DCS simplified principles is Isp*m, always linear thrust, not involving details like chamber pressure, pressure at nozzle exit, nozzle expansion ratios, throat diameters etc etc etc and that's perfectly right for most of motors. Even 7% principle when increasing thrust as altitude gain is fair enough because it fits quite fine for most of motors...but not this one. Deliberately said ''one'' not ''ones'' and who was reading me know what it means. This motor simply can't be ''molded'' together with Sidewinder, Amraam, Sparrow and pallets of various other tactical motors because with its huge nozzle expansion ratio it is simply different and needs different approach...believe it or not We have saying to someone when ruin established facts, you are destroying snowman, and I know that is exactly what I'm doing But not from wickedness but from engineering needs for precision

I can wait for the real navy bird and it’s a waste of time for HB to hack it into this one.

I find the topic really amusing. I remember we had a meeting once where we discussed if we should model the tailhook feature for EA. Given that its not a carrier rated plane and even thinking about using the hook for anything other than airfield emergency landings is a sin. We concluded that its top priority because it will be the very first thing DCS players will want to try out, lol. I could feel the SMEs shaking their heads slowly [emoji51] Thanks for the suggestions in this thread. We will talk about it and see if there is something we can and want to do about it. Its right though that our schedule is very packed.

DCS is very complex, it is not always possible to catch every issue. I know it can be frustrating, but you will need to adapt occasionally or if you are not happy wait for improvement. thank you

I was able to find a fix for anyone wondering

Trying to use Explicit MGPU in Vulkan w/ an older GPU will not yield the benefits you think it will. - The Driver for that GPU Needs to Still Support the Version of Vulkan you are running on, I don't know about you, but my "old" GPUs are in long term support, and their last set of drivers still haven't added any recent Vulkan capability, AMD's Legacy Drivers for anything Pre RX 5xxx would not work correctly, if at all. - Mixed Explicit MGPU also does not directly share data, So if you run a AMD RX6900XT and a RTX 3080, then Vulkan MGPU will not put them in the same group, and thus, for every function requires a trip through the CPU to process and convert data, which causes latency and performance issues. Same for if you are Running a RX6900XT and a RX6800XT, if the GPUs do not Explicitly match, don't bother trying.

You are probably referring to 315 "Blue" and I have a few photos of it, but I do not know which one in particular you are after.

MPRF wont change that, if a target is flying 200 feet of the ground the only way to differentiate it from the clutter is using doppler, which is not happening if a target is notching. We already have a 25kts notch, it is decent. Missile autopilot should take the notch into consideration. If a certain criteria is met, (radial velocity and tgt aspect), the missile should adjust its lead pursuit to expect to reacquire the target in a future point. Either that or switch to LPRF, which no one knows if the 120 is capable of.

Keeping it. I don't like the situation but I love the plane.