statrekmike

I think that there is honestly a point where the consumer can no longer be reasonably asked to wait patiently, I mean, I am not saying that as a way to say "I want it now!" but more of a reply to those that say that they are willing to wait as long as it takes. Don't get me wrong, I am also going to wait as long as it takes but at the same time, we are pretty close to release, ED has a evaluation copy in it's hands right now so it stands to reason that the product is close enough to being release worthy that anything longer than a week or two into July would be pushing it. As I have said before, I suspect we will see a release this month, I would hope that if it were not the case, they would be willing to tell us before the month is over.

I am still going to maintain some hope that we will see a release this month, perhaps not the 20th but around that date. I suspect that the silence we have been seeing is more due to pre-release prep than anything else.

I don't want this to sound like I am asking when the release date is, in fact, I fully understand that there is no real way to give a exact day at all. That said, it is June and the website said the release was May/June, now, I know that stuff happens and sometimes the projected completion dates slip but I was wondering if we are still looking at June or is that kinda out of the question at this point?

It was my impression that the release of modules (especially 3rd party modules) did not need to be tied to a major DCS world update at all and that updating can be handled directly by the 3rd party developer themselves. If that is the case, there is probably no significant reason for any 3rd party developer to wait, especially if that means releasing at the same time as another anticipated module (the Sabre). I am actually curious to hear what Cobra has to say about this, we are all guessing a awful lot here and as far as things go, the website still lists May/June as the release window.

Leatherneck studios has nothing to do with the release of EDGE, the MiG will apparently work with EDGE just fine but Eagle dynamics is the one that is actually creating EDGE and releasing it. When will we get EDGE? Who knows...

Where do you get those mounting brackets?

I don't mean to sound pushy or anything, I know that there is a lot to do and a ton of pressure to do it as quickly as it can reasonably be done, please don't think I am trying to rush. That being said, it is indeed June, I am not asking for a release tomorrow but the projected release is listed as May/June and with that being the case, I suppose I am wondering if things are still on track for a June release (as in, any time in June really)? Release dates are tough to deal with, I fully understand but we are at that point where it would be good to know where we all kinda stand.

I get a feeling that we are closer than we think, I don't know, there is just something that gives me that feeling. Please correct me if I am wrong dev's.

At the risk of sounding impatient, is everything still roughly on track for a June(ish) release?

As someone who has been a un-ashamed cheerleader for this project since it was first announced, I can't help but ask, is everything still on track? Does the team feel confident that they will meet the May/June release window? I don't ask because I want a exact release date, I only ask because software development is always a fluid thing and stuff can happen that the end-users may not be aware of that can potentially delay or even accelerate a project. Now, to get a bit more specific, would there be a possibility of just a few quick screens of the current product as it stands right now? I mean, we have seen screens but they are usually a few versions back from the one you are working on now, I am curious to see what things look like at the moment. Please note however, I am not talking about a big, official release of screenshots, just some quick shots taken during testing or whatever, the same as has been done up to now but on a more current version. Hopefully this won't come off as demands, I just figured it was worth asking either way.

I can get behind this as well, the release of the MiG-21bis will open a massive gap for a opponent (like the F-4 or even the F-8 ) that will really need to be filled, hopefully Leatherneck sticks in the 60's and 70's era cold war aircraft for a bit, it is a good era for flight simulation to cover anyway.

I don't see why a X-52 can't handle it, it is not going to be like most modern fighters where a lot of controls are accessed via that real HOTAS, a lot of your work will be done with the mouse in the cockpit.

I think everyone here (for the most part) has been pretty patient indeed, I suppose it is just frustrating on some levels to understand that release is "very soon" but not really know what that means anymore. Hopefully we get it soon, all the updates and dev posts we have gotten lately have indicated that the project is at it's final stages, I suppose it would just help to know where that puts us now that 1.2.8 is actually out as opposed to kinda sitting in limbo and hoping we won't get told that we now have to wait until 1.2.9 or even 1.3.0. I suppose that I am just saying that for all the talk about us being terrible people, impatient and childlike, there has been a great deal of patience and on top of that, the vast majority of regular posters here are very supportive of the developers, still, some eagerness and anticipation is to be expected.

How would the MiG-21 fair against the AI F-4 we have in DCS right now?

From the way Cobra has been talking since the initial announcement, it sounds like we will get it sooner rather than later, it sounds like it is very close to complete and only a matter of finishing touches. There is no way to be sure at this stage but I hope for a release soon, I have been eager to get my hands on it indeed!

Looking really nice, I can't wait to learn how that radar works!

I think you will find that the new system pretty much covers everything, I seriously doubt they will ever come out with something that would defy classification in the new system. Perhaps you could come up with a situation where a module does not fall under the new classification system and if so, then I might be more compelled to agree with you.

Did you see the first post in this topic? The one with all those handy acronyms that let us know the two important factors that make up a module (both the level of complexity in the flight model and the level of complexity in systems operation)? So, if you look at that first post, the chart that lays out everything, you will see that any given module can be defined with two acronyms, nothing more, no "book" or any other nonsense, just two acronyms. For example, lets say ED were to announce a new module tomorrow, they would only need to pick two acronyms from the chart (again, the one on the first page of this topic) to tell us everything we need to know. It would look something like this. ED is now working on a module for the ME-163 rocket interceptor, it will have PFM flight model and ASM systems modeling. That is it, that tells us everything we need to know about the nature of a new or existing project. Hardly a book at all.

There is a massive difference between keeping the products static and clearly laying out intentions as they happen. My line of thinking essentially boils down to ED using it's now clearly defined categories to give us a indication of what is being currently worked on, for example, they might say tomorrow that they are working on a new module but instead of leaving us to wonder what it will actually be, they also include information about exactly what it will be on release. If they wish to add to the module, they can indicate that as the project to do so begins. It has nothing to do with keeping things exactly as they are and everything to do with being clear about intentions, i.e, announcing modules or projects with a clear indication (using the now defined categories) as a guide for the benefit of the end user. If they wish to change or evolve products, just use the same categories we now have to define the changes. It is really simple, I don't see how it could be anything but good to use this handy list of categories we have when announcing projects, that way, nobody gets let down and nobody gets confused because they know exactly what is on the horizon.

You are right, we do need to measure our excitement carefully but with the product description we have here, I can only hope that ED will use those terms clearly with every new announcement, thus laying out exactly what we can expect with the simplicity of a couple of acronyms. I think you will find a lot of assumptions and speculations will vanish if such a system was adopted for any future announcements.

let's hope that any future modules are put cleanly into the categories Wags has set, it would indeed avoid a lot of confusion and also prevent many from drawing the wrong conclusions and getting upset/bummed out when something turns out very different from what they thought.

I saw in the patch notes that there was a "additonal armor" option for the Huey, I checked the tab in the mission editor where you would normally find such options (like in the Mi-8 for example) and only saw a option for the IR suppressor, no armor. Am I missing something obvious?

To be honest, even a pretty minor, small update, perhaps even just some in-progress screens would be a welcome thing, not talking about anything huge, not asking for dense, meaty updates on all aspects of the project (though that would be nice), just some screens or maybe a simple video taken during routine testing. Just something to make our mouths water a little, nothing huge.

I just think all the talk about delays is pretty interesting, I mean, it looks like we will not be waiting for a long time anyway, they may not have stated a specific date but Cobra did correct someone when they said it would take two months or more, calling it a "exaggeration". Combine that with the recent mini-update and I can't help but feel optimistic, it sounds like the heavy lifting is done and now all that remains is the final touches and business side stuff. Not sure why some folks here are so upset over a delay that may not even be a big deal at all. Perhaps I am a optimist but one does not need to pay too much attention to see that things are moving along pretty well, I have no doubt that Cobra and the rest of the Leathernecks team will deliver the MiG-21Bis with only a small delay.

Has there been any delay beyond the one that we already knew about from the very first Leatherneck announcement post? I mean, some here seem up in arms about a delay but I have not seen anything that we have not already known about for a good long while now. From what I can gather, we are not looking at a long delay, I don't understand why some folks are making a fuss right now.