CheckGear

This shiznit is getting serial as hell! :lol:

You think ArmA was bad? Remember Operation Flashpoint? "OH... NO... BRAVO... TWO... IS DOWN!" KKKKKKTTTTT!!! (in Russian accent) "ROG-EHR!"

Poor Corsair. It's bad enough being known as the "SLUF." Random time would definitely make everyone happy. I'd say 5 - 15 seconds.

All the pieces will already be in place to construct the campaign. Though it pales in comparison to DCS, USNF was one of the best simulators to be produced in the '90s.

This part of the update release today really got me brimming with excitement: Basically, it sounds like the carrier will be largely interactive on a first-person, ground level. Given that a ready (briefing) room will be part of the package, does this mean missions will be able to start there? If so, the possibilities are endless. DCS would cease to be a Digital Combat Simulator - it would become a Digital Life Simulator!

Yeah, it's definitely 5-7 seconds between pilot salute and launch. Heatblur needs to fix that.

Can you also increase the time between salute and launch to at least five seconds? After the salute is rendered, the Cat Officer needs time to return the salute, verify everyone's giving the okay for launch, touch the deck, point down the runway, and the Cat Operator then does his final check and presses the firing button. That takes a minimum of five seconds, probably more.

Hold your horses. First off, it's "Topgun," not "Top Gun." Second, do you even know if your squadron CO wants to send you to Miramar? You don't pay your way into Fighter Weapons School, son, you earn it! It's five weeks of intense training with the best fighter pilots in the world. You start at 0700 every morning and you're not done until the sun's gone down. You think you're going to have time to enjoy San Diego much? Forget it! You're going to be flying so much, you're going to get sick of it! But once it's all over, you'll know more than you could ever dream of about being a fighter jock. You'll proudly wear that Topgun patch on your right shoulder and you might even have an opportunity to come back as a instructor. But until your CO calls your name, sit tight and focus on your job! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

If you factor in Marine Corps service (which is very much a part of Naval Aviation), the legacy Hornet's going to serve almost four decades. That's incredible longevity. That's the other thing - upgrading it seems to be much easier than it was on the Tomcat. The Block III variant is going to be a beast. Personally, I like the air wings the way they are now - all Super Hornets. Not as cool as the days when we had six different types of aircraft, but it's still a high-tech, rock-steady air wing.

Awesome campaign and backstory! Probably the best campaign made thus far by anybody for DCS! Only beef is an immersive detail - VF-11 operated F-14Bs in 2000, not A's. Didn't know Samuel B. Roberts was a part of that battle group at the time! Nice detail! Time for some payback!

I'm very much onboard with the F/A-18/E/F Super Hornet! Sorry, F-14, but the Super Hornet is the best thing that ever happened to Naval Aviation. It's a master of all trades and is super-reliable! It's going to serve far longer than the Tomcat ever did and I'm a huge F-14 buff!

I think location is definitely tied into the realism of scenarios. As much of a hotspot the Black Sea/Caucasus region is, it's not a likely area of the world for the U.S. and Western Europe to become militarily involved in and most analysts in the know would tell you the same thing. For one, the U.S. doesn't have any sort of mutual defense commitment with any country in the region. Even if they did, an argument can be made it could actually decrease the likelihood of war because of the deterrent effect an American presence would have. That's certainly not a convincing argument for increasing military presence and ties in the area, but it does show a lot more goes into the making of a war than simply hostility. U.S.-Russia scenarios are among the least realistic in the sense they've never happened and are unlikely to occur, which is precisely their appeal. But I think scenario designers have gotten far too carried away and are reinventing the wheel at this point. This is why having a more diverse array of maps is important - it'll allow for a broader range of scenarios as well. Then again, that assumes they don't resort to U.S.-Russia scenarios in places like Africa as well. :lol:

The Strait of Hormuz is a major world flashpoint. The U.S. has been in a cold war with Iran for almost 40 years now, so it's very much a relevant theater.

That was incredible. I felt like I was at an actual air show. What stood out to me was how massive the Tomcat actually is! And that power! Donald Trump would be proud.

:megalol: I already said I checked the game directory on my computer. I was asking if there was another place I could download it.

Where can I download a copy of the manual? The ones in my simulation directory aren't updated.

Has there been an announcement as to when the next manual update will be released? Some of the new training missions ask me to look at checklists, but there are none in the Early Access manual.

What this guy said. Maps in DCS are entirely to scale, right down to the ground structures. The level of detail is something that's never been attempted nor implemented in any other flight sim. I'm sure, at some point, there's going to be a module that allows you to play as a ground soldier; you can already walk around after ejecting from an aircraft.

I noticed that! I love the early-'90s game soundtrack feel of the music!

Yes! Options!

The soundtrack reminds of a '90s arcade video game... I LOVE IT!!!

The OP wants something done "officially," as do I. The difference is that DCS and the official module-developers is that they're more or less doing this full-time and it really makes a difference in the end. It's also easier for them to fix bugs or other problems that come up.

Probably right. Okay, it's Miller Time! :drink:

Everyone else has said what needed to be said, so I'll just ask you this: If war offends you so mightily, what are you doing on a message board of a war game? :confused:

Special thanks to all of you who helped me with research for this article! The DCS community truly is "one of a kind" as well, just like the Hornet! https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/why-fa-18c-hornet-was-truly-one-kind-35757