FlintMcgee

+1

I've been looking into how AI units detect aircraft at night, and the results are actually really interesting. After checking through the detection.lua file and running a bunch of tests, I found that sky_bodies_illumination_factor is set to true, which means the moon phase directly affects how visible you are to AI. The game uses four moon stages quarter, half, three quarter, and full, with each one adding more light that helps AI spot you more easily against the night sky. sky_bodies_illumination_factor = true, other_light_sources_illumination_factor = true, --no effect if sun_illumination factor disabled darkness_threshold = 0.0, --no effect if sun_illumination factor disabled What stood out the most in testing was how external lights change your visibility. The parameter light_source_detection_distance is set to 10,000 meters when light power is at full, and my tests showed that position lights make you a lot easier to see and far more likely to be engaged by AI. Strobe lights also increased detection, but not as quickly as the position lights, while formation lights barely made a difference. as_light_source = { light_source_detection_distance = 10000.0 --for light power = 1.0f }, The file also shows that other_light_sources_illumination_factor is set to true, which means your own aircraft lights actually light up your airframe and make you glow against the dark background. In other words, you are basically making yourself a visible target when your lights are on. Another important part is the darkness_threshold value, which is set to 0.0. That suggests AI detection does not completely disappear at night. It is just greatly reduced unless you are illuminated by your own lights or the moon. max_detection_distance = 50000.0, --m, absolute limit But detection times increase significantly at longer ranges average_det_time_max_dist_0 = 1.0, --s, average detection time of target ahead at the maximal distance average_det_time_max_dist_180 = 10.0, --s, average detection time of target behind at the maximal distance Overall, both the code and testing show that flying with lights on at night, especially under a bright moon, makes you far easier to detect and engage. What should be the cover of darkness actually turns into a disadvantage if you are not careful with your lighting. Contributer: @mach_point_yuh, @lightningw0lf, @zenki1419

I think it would be great if DCS added a maintenance or reliability system for SAM launchers and sites. For example, a poorly maintained system could have a chance for its missile to go off course, fail to detonate, or suffer from a miscalibrated INS. Things like that would make air defenses feel more dynamic, realistic, and engaging instead of always performing perfectly. It would also be nice if this feature could be configured in the Mission Editor, so mission creators could set how reliable each SAM site is. Having support for this in the DCS Scripting API would make it even better, allowing us to understand how it works and expand on it through scripts. This kind of system would add more depth and variety to missions, make air defense engagements feel more authentic, and even introduce a bit of a storytelling aspect. (Marked Bold to skim read)

I think DCS should add a feature that allows players to see how many hours they've spent in DCS World. This could encourage many users to switch from the Steam Edition to the Standalone version. I know several people who use the Steam Edition solely to track their playtime, so adding this feature to the Standalone version would be a great improvement. Additionally, as far as I know, the Logbook only tracks Singleplayer time, which could also use some reworking. Perhaps a simpler user interface and some other enhancements would make it more useful.

Hey, can we get PRF RWR tones for the DCS F-16C? At least the ones that are available. The community has been providing them for a long time, and it would make a huge difference in realism and situational awareness, So it makes sense to add them officially. Even if some are classified, adding the ones we do have would be a solid improvement. There's already a great resource for these tones here: https://rwrsounds.com/radars. Hope this can be considered for a future update. Thanks!

Hey, can you check again if it still works? I've had no luck with it. Also, could you perhaps post your .miz or .lua file?

Can we get a "Cancel Connection" button while loading into a server? Joining the wrong one happens too often, and waiting for it to finish is a pain. Hitting "Esc" doesn’t work, so a proper cancel option would be awesome. Also, the progress bar isn’t accurate when it says "Mission Load Done," it’s still loading assets, and it feels like the game froze. A more accurate bar or better feedback would help a lot

I’m not sure if DCS has occlusion culling, I was just guessing based on FPS drops in areas with a lot of objects or when looking down in the cockpit. After reading your reply, I get why frustum culling might be the better option for performance. That said, I’d really love to see Vulkan added soon. With my mid-level PC, I can’t get a stable 60 FPS as it is, so Vulkan could really help with performance. Thanks for the explanation, but I’d still love to hear a reply from the ED Team

Hey ED team, Any chance we could get occlusion culling in DCS? I feel like the game’s rendering way too much stuff that’s hidden (like terrain behind mountains or stuff under the cockpit). Pretty sure this could be fixed with client-side occlusion culling since the server doesn’t care what we can see, just sends all the data. If the client handled culling and skipped rendering stuff we can’t see, it’d probably help a ton with FPS, especially in big missions or multiplayer. Not sure how hard it’d be to add, but seems like it’d be a huge win for performance. Would this be possible with the current engine?

My friends and I have experienced hours of frustration with the interactive mouse and not being able to locate it, especially in VR. My suggestion for a quality of life improvement for ED is to have the interactive mouse either recenter or have the option to make it larger or brighter and glow more. Just a suggestion so we don't lose our mind -Flint

Hello Dear Devlopers, I and many before me have made requests for this system for a long time. As Stated in the Title we want to wishlist the TLHDS (Target-Location-Hands-off-Designation-System) for the F/A-18. It is used to give Target Data, SA, Reduce workload and provide the pilot with "Cleared hot" or "Abort" indications from a FAC(A), I am sure that it will take a long time to implement but i wanted ask if it was brought to your attention? I appreicate the work that you guys do and hope to see your reply. i will link my legal sources below -Flint https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/usmc/mcwp/3-16/fdraft_appk.pdf https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/2029/

Here is my .miz file Second_Call.miz

So I've made a mission for me and my friend and have hosted it on my computer. I've put down 2 carriers: CVN-74 and CVN-73. I spawned on the CVN-74 (non-supercarrier) perfectly, but my friend couldn't spawn on his carrier, the CVN-73 (supercarrier). He would always spawn in the air. Now I think that just because I don't have the super carrier, my friends can't use it as well, which I find kind of dumb because I have tested this theory. I sent my friend who has the super carrier the mission file, and when he ran it, he could spawn and I could spawn on carriers, but when I ran it, it spawned me on the carrier and him in the air. ED Please Fix