Joch1955

My G2 still works perfectly with Windows 11 23H2. As long as MS continues to update 23 and provide security features and your G2 works, there is no need to upgrade.

I have been working more on this aspect. Close in dogfighting has always been my weak point. Fighting against F5Es, going vertical is a good bet. It is almost impossible to out turn a F5E, but if you zoom up with full AB and get an altitude advantage, it is then relatively easy to use the pent up energy to dive down and get on its rear. As others have said, it is very important to stay high and fast in the F14.

Given the nature of fast jet combat in the game, I don't find much of a difference between VR and monitors in spotting. 2 Pixel spotting dots will help since under perfect conditions, the dots will stick out at 20+ miles. What really helps though is knowing where to look and using all your sensors (AWACS, radar, RWR, wingmen, etc.) and visual clues (contrails, engine smoke) to know where to focus your attention.

It is always good practice to get JESTER to re-choose the TACAN station you want just to make sure the correct one is set.

I program CMS all the time on the way to the mission, the Jester menu is easy to navigate and you can setup a program from the options in 10-15 seconds. I usually let Jester handle the chaff (auto) and control the flares manually, works well so far.

leaked benchmarks on the 5080 suggests only marginal improvements over the 4080: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/rtx-5080-is-22-percent-faster-than-the-rtx-4080-per-leaked-benchmarks-falls-short-of-the-rtx-4090 early days yet and may also be issues with immature drivers, but performance increase of the 5xxx over the 4xxx seems disappointing so far. I am wondering if, much like CPUs, GPUs are finally hitting a ceiling of how much raw performance you can squeeze out of the hardware.

first reviews are trickling out: Nvidia RTX 5090 Rasterization Gaming Performance - Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition review: Blackwell commences its reign with a few stumbles - Page 4 | Tom's Hardware includes a test of flight simulator 2020 and 2024. So far, performance increase seems to be more incremental.

use of JDAMs by F14s seems to have been quite rare. I was reading documents on the F14A/B strikes on Afghanistan in 2001 and all the ordnance dropped that were referred to were LGBs.

So I was initially disappointed that the A modeled in game was not the 80s version, but I got over that quickly. What is important to me is how well it flies and lands on a Carrier. On that point, Heatblur seem to have the A down pat with all the weaknesses/quirks of the engine. The late 90s version we have now also fits in better with the game time frame with its AG capabilities and upgraded electronics. I have grown very fond of it. It will be nice to have a 80s version, but no rush for me, it will get here when it gets here.

Well there is no reason why it can only come in one flavour, the F-14A/B is currently modeled circa late 90s, but a 70/80s version is being worked on. It would probably make more sense to model the F15C first as a 2000ish circa version with the AIM-120 so it is compatible with other DCS jets.

i know the jammer works in game since when I fight against AI F14s (I know, sacrilege), they will jam my radar. I have also tried using the jammer in BVR matchups with Mig29/Su27s eqipped with R27ER/R77, but I don’t seem to get better results and suspect the Russian missiles are homing on my jammer, although I have not tested it at depth. I usually leave it off. I would also be interested in getting more info on this.

nothing fancy. IA missions spawn you at 25-30k with the AI coming straight on at the same altitude, so not much time for planning. I go into a climb in AB and track with tws auto. I fire at 25-30 miles distance or when I get a warning from the RIO that the AI is locking me and usually at 30-35k altitude. You won’t get hits all the time since the AI is very aggressive in trying to evade the missile.

so did a lot more testing and the new options are very nice. AUTO works well in pretty much all combat conditions. There is still an issue in certain situations, for example if you are at the same altitude or below and the target is against the sky where the dots are very noticeable, especially within 10 miles. However, targets are harder to spot when below you and silhouetted against the ground. 1 PIXEL seems the closest to what would have been the previous v 2.8 OFF spotting dots, although the spots are difficult to spot farther than 5 miles even in perfect conditions. I don’t see what more the Devs can do at this point. There is more than enough options to please every SP/MP players.

yes, did a bunch of the PG/Syria maps IA BVR missions and TWS AUTO has definitely improved. Pre-patch, when firing at two ACs, typically only one would hit. Post-patch, I am seeing a lot more 2 out 2 hits when using the same tactics.

So I had a chance to play with these and here are my preliminary comments: -AUTO/2 pixels: seem about the same. In perfect conditions, planes stand out too much at 10 miles and are fairly easy to spot at 25 miles, although in a dynamic combat situation where spoting is fleeting, AUTO seems to work well. -OFF is at the other extreme. Planes show up as small dots at 3 miles, can be seen if zoomed in at 5 miles, but pretty much impossible to keep tracking a target in a turning combat unless within 1 mile. -1 pixel: seems like a good compromise. Planes show up as small dots at 10 miles, but are easy to miss if you dont pay attention. nice to see the devs are still putting effort into this and giving us options. tested with a Reverb G2/VR, pixel density 1.0, no anti-aliasing.

Hi, don’t know if you solved your issue, I have been playing around with the mission, did not try adding slots, but just replaced the F14Bs with F14As and it works fine as long as you copy/adapt the same settings, especially the TACAN channel. I also moved the ACs farther south, about 17nm from the CV so you have some time to set everything up and contact the CV by radio. From what I see, waypoint 1 goes to a trigger area 5 nm south of the carrier and I am guessing this is what triggers the Case 1 script? I was having trouble with my F14 carrier landings, but this mission is great for practice, Many thanks to Bankler for doing this.

still running 537.58 as well. I keep an eye on new drivers as they come out, but the 537.58 is still the most consistant one with fewer fps dips.

I can confirm that on the F14, the “Salute” command in the Radio Menu does nothing, you have to use the separate “Catapult Salute” key (lshift + U) and then it works as it should.

so I have been playing around with @Malfoy7 excellent F-14 and F-18 training missions: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3339913/ https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3313187/ The missions include a BVR range where you can go 1v1 with an AI which spawns 40+ nm away at 25 k altitude. I have done a lot of dogfights against AI Mig-29/Su-27s armed with R-27ER/R-77 AAMs. I was surprised to find that the F-14/AIM-54C combo is deadlier than the F-18/AIM-120C combo. The AIM-54C has a moderately longer effective range than the AIM-120C and the AI seems to have a harder time evading the AIM-54 than the AIM-120. Not scientific or definitive, but can’t say I see any real issues with the effectiveness of the AIM-54.

YES! that is the biggest issue I have in CV landings (reverb G2) it is very hard to make out the landing area clearly until you are quite close, around 3/4 of a mile, which means if you are off, it is hard to adjust. I have played around with the Gamma, AF, but nothing seems to help. What works for me is turning into the final approach around one ship’s width to the right of the CVs wake and when I “Call the Ball” at 0.8 NM, I usually just have to roll a bit to the left to be pretty much perfectly aligned. It would be nice if it was easier to spot from farther away, like land runways, which you can easily make out from 2-3+ miles. OTOH, I would not want to have it artificially enhanced.

i have not had any issues with TWS AUTO and have regularly scored hits at 35 nm+, although yes, STT lock is more consistent. One thing to check is what missile you are using, the C model works fine, but the A model seems to require a STT lock to score consistently. are you firing multiple missiles at the same AC? I always just launch one at one target and try to keep the lock as long as possible while angling away.

not directly, but you will see the plane director walk to a spot in front of your AC and/or the purple icon will appear over him (if you have the option checked). If you check external view, you will also see the wheel chocks disappear.

Hi, I tried included official single and instant action missions as well as an older user made mission and they all work. The new deck crew appears on the Super Carrier automatically and works as it should.

tried again the F18 and F14 landing missions and , yes, all the landing spots behind the island were full so seems to confirm that ACs are only directed to the Bow when the Stern is full.

yes, just tested it, the “Salute” command in the Radio Menu does nothing, but if you use the separate “Catapult Salute” key (lshift + U), it works fine. I hope they change that in the future. It is awkward having to bind a separate key press just for this. On the F/A-18, the “salute” command in the Radio Menu works fine.