SqnLdr_chuishan

Glad to know that! Will definitely pick it up with a launch discount. Thank you so much! Thank you for the info! Yeah I know that Steam imposes some restrictions on the date of pre-oder and release if there would be a pre-order process there so I am not that surprised. I completely understands that and I will be patiently waiting for the actual release, which I think is right around the corner having those introduction videos out.

Hello respectful devs of HB! Just saw the release of the first introduction video of the Phantom and it was fantastic! Thank you for your hard work and attention to detail in bringing us this eligant module to DCS World! As a player using DCS Steam however, I do have a question regarding the pre-order & launch discount. For players using official DCS launcher there were multiple pre-order discounts from both ED official e-shop and HB official websites available, while neither pre-order nor discount is available on DCS Steam... I am aware that the official DCS launcher have more frequent discounts and some more benefits, but to be honest, for an already fully Steam-based player like me it's a bit late and troublesome to transfer to official launcher now, not to mention that because I live in China the download speed for DCS launcher & updater is often purged for lack of CDN in China... I'm therefore still hesitant in whether or not to transfer to the official launcher for the pre-order discount of the F-4 Phantom module. I am really excited for this new module and I really would like to pick it up at launch if I can. Could you please kindly clarify if there would be any EA launch discount on DCS Steam for the F-4 Phantom? Thank you in advance for your time and attention and wish you all the best for your development! Looking forward to the release soon. Cheerio!

Yeah I cannot agree more on this. Being a Chinese myself I know the attitude PLA possessed about their equipment, and the development effort thereof. The point I would like to make is that one cannot really argue, that as part of the avionics are US made, the experience in flying this module would be very American. Some say that with the US avionics installed the immersion would be destroyed. As far as I am concerned, however, the functionality and operational principle of J-8PP would not be different from the later J-8F or other fighter variants (not considering the PL-12 or later missiles). It is a 2nd gen air frame with limited 3rd gen situational awareness upgrade, the capability and operation doctrine will be the same. That's why I said one cannot argue that a IL-2 air frame powered with V-1710 would fly like an American aircraft.

I cannot really understand why people are getting upset about the American avionics and fire control on this aircraft. From my point of view it is exactly the combination of the 2nd generation high-altitude, high-speed interceptor design, and the (partially) 3rd generation radar and fire control on this aircraft that will make the operation experience unique. J-8 was born in the era of high-altitude, high-speed interceptors, when air-to-air missile technology was still in its infancy and you needed to rely on solely the performance capability of the aircraft to complete those missions. The J-8 thus has superb performance regarding its speed, climb, and handling qualities. Many modern 3rd generation fighters do not have high performance as those aircraft were born in the era when situational awareness and missile capabilities were more important than aircraft performance. With the upgrade of US radar and fire control system the J-8PP becomes a platform that has limited modern situational awareness, and can conduct air-to-air missions without relying totally on GCI. J-8PP's offensive capability, however, is still restricted by its limited variants of weapon payload. I can therefore imagine that the pilot is still expected to make the best use of the performance of the aircraft to explore its combat potential. J-8PP is a heavy interceptor modified with a 3rd gen radar. I would say its combat experience will be nowhere near F-16, which is a light-weight multi-role fighter with good situational awareness, modern electronics and diverse weapon systems. It's combat experience will also be different from 2nd gen fighters like MiG-21 or MiG-23, for which GCI guidance is essential and the capability for multi-tasking is close to none. I would say the challenge for flying the J-8PP in combat lays in how to make good use of its performance potential. How to fly the jet well, is more important in my view. Part of the avionics are not Chinese product? Why would that matter if it does not change the role and functionality of the aircraft? It is like those airworthy classic warbirds: Will you recognize a Mitsubishi A6M Zero with Wright Cyclone engine as a 'non-Zero'? Or a IL-2 Sturmovik with Allison V-1710 engine as a 'non-IL-2'?

Hi! With some experience from Project Tupolev Tu-154B-2 and Felis Tu-154M modules, I can confirm it is standard procedure to use the 'Magnetic' mode to align the gyro when the aircraft is stationary during start-up. The alignment is done by pressing and holding the 'sync' button. After the alignment the selector should go back to the 'Gyro' mode in the center. It is not intended to use the 'Magnetic' mode to perform the whole flight. However the precision of the gyro will still decline over time. So the gyro still needs alignment after some time and distances covered. From my Tu-154 experience I remember that the manual requires the crew to perform gyro alignment mid-air every time before leaving cruise stage and initiating decent towards the destination, when the magnetic reading is stable. It is a descent checklist item. So I guess for the Hind we can also perform regular alignment using the autopilot. This is the PU-11 unit (part of the TKS-P2 navigation system) panel on the Tu-154. It couples with the KM-5 compass and operates generally in the same way with the Greben-1 and KM-2 combination in DCS. The differences are that PU-11 has a latitude input dial combined in it while Greben-1 has this dial separated for the CPG seat in the Hind, and PU-11 governs two gyro systems (one for the Captain and one for the F/O) while Greben-1 governs only one.

Hi Multiplayer team, it's me again After intense flying on the server I suppose there might be something out of order in the weather system after update 2.7, especially those bad weather scenarios. For example, these screenshots were taken at around 14:40 CET time, April 19. It is supposed to be a snow storm scenario, but the sky looks clear, and all the objects around seem to be covered by 'white silk', visibility at low altitude is very bad... The same happens for thunder storm map too. I don't know whether it is intended, but it looks very strange. So maybe it's better for you guys to have a check with the weather presets? Thank you for your attention! @Multiplayer team

Thank you for your effort!

Both SAR servers seems to be down again... Is it possible to have a check? @Multiplayer team

@Multiplayer team Same here, the server seems to be down

Hi team of the SAR server! After the Update 2.7 there seems to be some issue with the Caucasus SAR map. A thick layer of 'ground cloud' covers vast of the valleys and plains with cloud bottom literally at 0m AGL and top at about 200m AGL. In the 'ground cloud' the visibility is less than 10m... Literally impossible to fly safely in it. It looks like this: I'm pretty sure it's not intended because I know that you guys will mention special weather conditions like a heavy fog in the name of the map, however in this case it's a map that I'm very familiar with, autumn afternoon I think. The screenshots were taken at 16:40 CET time, hope that they can help you guys fix this. Have a nice day! @Multiplayer team

Hi, everyone! Last night I tried the SAR server for the first time with my friends, it's very AWSOME indeed! As a P3D player I am surprised to find a place that is equally interesting as flying commercial operations in DCS. It's very enjoyable flying Mi-8 in the mountains, also very challenging to locate and pick up those requiring rescue, excellent flying experience. Personally I have some suggestions for the server that I think can greatly enhance the experience: First, I think we need some indication for difficulty. Since the server map has different SAR mission areas I think it will be better for players to know which area will get easier tasks and which area will get tougher ones. Personally I think an adequate landing ground is a definitive factor in determining whether the task is difficult or not... Hovering near a mountain with woods below is such a pain... Second, I'd like to ask if it is possible to somehow "group" the personnel needing rescue and I can pick them up all in a longer hover? Currently I need to hover precisely above each individual person with 10 secs in order to pick them up, and there're usually 2-3 people around the mission spot so I need to repeat the procedure 2-3 times... Personally I think its a bit unrealistic because usually people can move and grab the wire themselves... Also in the pilot seat I have no downward sight at all, so it's very difficult to know where is the precise location of every individual person. If they are in the woods, then it's next to impossible... This is the point that makes the operation unnecessarily difficult and hope that it can be improved. One last thing is the ground crew... It doesn't seem to react to my request for changing fuel loads? Says "nothing we can do"? A bit confused there. This is my two cents as a new player for the sever, it's such a great server for practicing basic flying skills and I'll appreciate all the improvements made by the server team. Thank you for your effort and please keep up the excellent work!

Hi! I'd like to request some Mi-8 liveries from the USSR, which are unique and classic. Thanks in advance! First is Aeroflot Artic livery Second it's the Mi-8 from the Paris Air Show Then Standard livery of the Aeroflot

Hi, uboats! Thank you for your gorgeous work! J-7s with white paint schemes really represent the PLAAF's finest grip for aerial defense back in the 1970s. However as we've stepped into the 21st century, these J-7s have gradually passed into secondary service as JJ-7s (or "歼教-7"), which are extensively served as advanced training aircraft for fighter pilots. Most JJ-7s in service now bear standard PLAAF light grey paint schemes and markings. May I ask that if it is possible for you to create a skin for JJ-7? I do apologize for making this request here because I noticed that the latest skin requests in MiG-21bis skin section (which were made last year...) remained un-replied. So I'd like to try it here. I've found some images as reference grabbed from China Military at http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/, hope that they are useful. Link to reference images: https://pan.baidu.com/s/1Isa2cKgo58B6wtlJ7qfhZA Password: 6mfu Thank you in advance!