Fri13

I was not sarcastic, it was straight and direct question that what is in his opinion a bug.

What is your definition of the "bug"?

Except it is not a hot spot tracker. It is a Delta-T cuer that you program to point you the specific range of thermal ranges, and not the hottest spots.

Yeah but you can bind some other button for the TDC ACTION function. The point is, there is likely only the Warthog that has a axis hat that has no depress function. Why it should be default that you have ACTION and NO-ACTION mode enabled because that is anyways the realistic and required feature to be used in whole Harrier, regardless does one has a depress or not in the TDC movement.

With a two multiplier you have quadrupled the available bindings. Buttons Multi1 + buttons Multi2 + buttons Multi1 + Multi2 + buttons

I agree with that all. But I do as well like the idea of the most modern MiG-21-93/Bison/Lancer as it opts out the experience to see that what a old airframe can do when forced to go against 4th generation fighters, but with upgraded avionics and sensors. That is reason why I would take both variants as extra, something very old (MiG-21F-13) for the Cold War early days, but as well post Cold War would be interesting as well. Sure it becomes more like any other 4th generation fighter than like Bis is, but it is still the same old airframe with new toys, and at least 21-93 and LancerC would still be considerable as "RedAir" fighters and with a Metric instruments (instead imperial).

I think that you need to first enable the Action/No action real functionality in special tab in aircraft settings, and then you need to have binded the current "TDC Action" to something you want. Then it is about to just press that button as required with or without TDC axis hat.

Okay, need to check it once I get to fly in a week...

Could it be that clouds doesn't move, but shadows does? As I am certain that shadows does move, but not 100% that clouds does, but it doesn't make sense to have excellent lighting system that doesn't reflect clouds positions for shadow casting....

Mi-8 Kord shooter is nice to be. It is amazing thing when you have a competent pilot to circle around the targets at 1000-1500 meters and you get to nail them on the ground. In Mi-24P it likely will be as well a great experience, especially if we can switch the side where to shoot. The capabilities changes a lot when you can begin with the ATGM launches to take down possible high threat AA units like M6 Linebacker or Grotale, and then pilot switch to S-8 rockets to saturate the possible lighter MANPADS defense positions and maybe pick some APC's out that has 20-30 mm cannons with the 30 mm cannon while at the attack. Finally to become flying around the target zone where door gunner get to destroy trucks, APC's and some other lighter vehicles. Now think about the experience when six Mi-24P's are doing it, and you get to jump between co-pilot, pilot and then door gunner and have such control device in your hands. Didn't see in his photo that can he change the Y axis position with the "gun" so it could be possible be extended further from it for the KORD use?

Clouds do drift. And so on the shadows moves too. I have one NTTR mission that is based to shadows movement as it hides or shows the units based do you get them casting shadows or not. So attack angle is important as flying sun behind you means you don't see shadows as it is behind the unit. But sideways and especially sun behind the target reveals strongest shadow and easy to spot them. And if course when shadows moves as clouds drifts, you need to time the attack based the cloud cover opening that sun get between clouds, as under clouds shadows you don't spot then so easily. And this should get more challenging in future with new weather!

I hope that it is so, with possiblity to randomize the seed to generate different clouds by the preset if wanted. But otherwise it should be so they weather is exactly same each time and can be calculated from the mission start to future how to behave. Otherwise you can't sync across multiplayer, replays and mission loading. You want it to be constant. Like every time you load the mission the weather should look same. Every time you play the replay the weather should be same. Every client should have same clouds. From a mission generation perspective it needs to be to be possible randomize the seed for saving. After that it will again stay always the same at mission start and be generated same way each time. We could have in the editor a setting to tell mission seed be regenerated each time, but the starting one is recorded to replay. Now you can have different weather by template every time you start mission, but replays has always the correct but each replay looks different between play times.

Problems are the current game style. The future dynamic campaign should shake things up a lot. We do need more infantry, like for every MBT there should be 300 soldiers on the ground. But DCS at the moment doesn't model infantry. We don't have proper infantry benefits like capabilities to hide, as vehicles has all seeing 360° vision and reaction times faster than any human from such ranges that are impossible. This puts all ground units and helicopters in disadvantage. The air units has upper hand with unrealistic radars and targeting pods. Throw some SAM systems and they are good only as target practice and as speed bump. These puts helicopters in serious disadvantage as main targets to them are infantry, some transport vehicles for infantry and then maybe some tanks somewhere if opportunity appears. But mainly it is more against BTR-60 than anything else armored. But we don't have that. We don't have infantry clashing for hours/days to situation where shots are exchanged but nothing happens, until helicopter comes to shake things around and break the tie. We don't have concealment and cover for infantry as should. Same is for vehicles and even for helicopters. And as long there is a possibility for a random guy flying in hornet or viper around like on sunday drive, the war doesn't work. There should be high threat and risks to fly around, something that isn't modeled in air quake servers. A Hind will be eaten alive even if it has R-60 as it will be so easily spotted and engaged. And if there is no ground war to support, Hind offers little to warfare.

The next update should be adding that functionality back, but for some very odd reason Razbam has decided to make the default mode unrealistic and improper by making TDC work in "TDC Action" mode all the time.

And analogy goes wrong... And if you would read my suggestion, there wouldn't be a "trampoline". It would fully require player attention, learning the procedure, knowing how to get to pre-contact, how to approach, how to maintain formation, control speed etc. Please go read the ideas and how to implement them and leave the analogies out. How difficult it is to understand that they can't manage it, no matter do they put there 10 hours or 1000 hours! They require assistance! It is not about will, about time, about skill etc. It is about simply NOT ABLE TO DO IT. Yet they want to do it. They have tried, they have tried again, and again and again... No one of you who is arguing against this do not get the fact that if they do not succeed in it even if they would spent their lifetime trying, then it means that they do not succeed in it and they need assistance! Different people have a skill cap at different things. They can have various reasons why they can not perform something. Just repeating to the nauseam "They can do it if they just do some training" doesn't change that fact. Sorry, but "Anybody can do it if they just put enough effort to it" is completely false argument in life. DCS World is a game primarily, not a real world. It is a simulator based to real world, but it is still a game. And games, are there to have fun. This wish is not going to take anything away from anyone. It is not "lowering the height". Anyone who want to have maximum challenge etc, can just avoid enabling the assistance feature. But before even having that maximum real challenge, Eagle Dynamics would need to actually improve a lot that air refueling basket physics....

Did you read what I wrote about the learning? My idea is exactly about assisting the player to learn, requiring player to play in his capabilities to be able to do it - with assist. What the opposition has argued against the whole idea is exactly that - that any assisting system would not be helpful and not require learning or training and just take away from "more important things" to do (they have not managed to explain what is more important thing to do). If they would have, then they would be asking the Easy Air Refueling as well here, not being against it with Nth excuse they can come up with (and lose argument time after time).

Please go and read this post again: There is no "special server" requirement. There is no "splitting the community" or anything like that. It is configurable. These things has been already answered in the early phase of the whole thread. Again you are not even understanding the topic or following it. That is untrue. You just made a claim that IFR is exactly identical same as landing or aiming a unguided weapons or generic formation flying (I assume you don't mean to fly in "Blue Angels Style").

This is not about You, and this is not about Me. This is about players who can't do it for various reasons and they require assistance. It is not difficult thing to comprehend. Do you know why we have these in various places? Are you the person who goes and say to elderly people "WORK FOR IT, BECAUSE I CAN!"? Are you the person who say to handicapped people "WORK FOR IT, BECAUSE I CAN!"? Are you the person who say to young people "WORK FOR IT, BECAUSE I CAN!"? Yes, you are.... You do not accept the fact that there are people who requires assistance because THEY CAN'T DO IT NO MATTER HOW YOU CLAIM THEY CAN! It doesn't mean that they shouldn't be playing DCS World at all or even consider to be able perform the In-Flight Refueling. It is not away from anyone to help these players who for what ever reason can't do it. It can be because they are beginners, because it is temporal, because it is how the life just is! I don't accept some solutions in the name of realism? Please, point out some of those to support now your argument...

And how about those who can't? You don't want them to be able do it if they require assistance to succeed in that?

That claim is already countered so many times that it is not even funny anymore.

Well said. Like in mathematics, it doesn't matter if you get a correct result if you made mistake in the calculations. It is better to have a correct calculations and end up with wrong result, but it is still wrong The challenge is like: "He speaks the truth by saying that he always lie"

Addition to those few suggested modes, I think my suggestion is most helpful for the beginners and those who can't (for various reasons) connect easily with the basket for In-Flight Refueling. The zone ones are of course always the easiest ones for the player, like I could see the large zone behind a tanker as GAME MODE feature where you just need to get behind tanker to receive fuel. The large zone around the tanker IMHO is most invalid as it just allows player to be anywhere inside that zone, even front of the tanker or how ever. The cones behind each basket is OK idea. Could even be so that further you are then less fuel you are receiving so you at least need to try to get close to it, but it will just teach wrong thing that is to focus the basket instead the tanker. In my idea the player is required to focus to the tanker, keep an eye on the closure speed and keep relaxed small stick movements in control while required to not just fly near the tanker but actually approach it correct from the left and low etc. And when player is connected to the basket, it is requirement to fly in the formation with the tanker in the limits of the basket movements. As it doesn't affect to that part at all, only to assist to make the connection with basket. When player is still required to learn to find a tanker, approach the tanker, communicate with it, and then fly toward the basket to make the connection.... Then the system is teaching the player that how the process works. The player learns how to fly in formation (what part to look at, where to aim on each airframe, where the basket should be placed in corner of eye when focusing to tanker etc. All the time the player is required to as well check the speed and how to relax with controls. And yet in the end the player gets successful experiences, training and getting comfortable with the whole process. So that eventually players can start to adjust tractor beam sensitivity values smaller and smaller until finally not needing it at all. So even if easy implementation would be a "press button X to allow AI take control and perform air refueling for you, press X again to return controls back to you" it wouldn't teach them much, it would look cool and it would do the process but player wouldn't be required much for anything.

So these are the suggestions made here: We have my "force tractor beam" with requirement for aircraft speed and angle changes (roll, pitch) relative to basket, so that aircraft would be "pulled in" to basket from its AAR nozzle. If the pilot can't fly in the configured parameters (ie approach too fast or makes too fast corrections) then aircraft is not pulled in gently. The values are configurable, they can be assigned for the tanker, the specific basket on tanker or specific aircraft in the mission (ie unique player), so there can be two tankers where one has this, or one tanker where only one basket has this. The "tractor beam" would have the strength set so it would have only specific percentage authority over the aircraft movements, it doesn't do anything to flight controls or aircraft control surfaces. So aircraft needs to be in flight parameters to be guided for connection. No connection = No fuel. We have suggested zone around the tanker, so just fly anywhere inside that zone and you get fuel. We have a area behind the tanker here you would need to fly to receive fuel. And then we have as well OP suggested a cone behind the baskets where you need to fly to receive fuel. We could have all the other zones as well require specific speed range relative to tanker and as well maintain X degree roll angle relative to tanker (so if tanker starts turn in 15 degree then player needs to have +/-5 degree from it to receive fuel. So just staying inside the zone wouldn't be enough but require to concentrate little bit to the formation flying. And if you do not have made correct radio procedure, you do not receive fuel. So you can't just "tap in" and "tap out" but need to communicate with the tanker (affections to Easy Radio functions). These systems would require players to learn the procedure in their missions to use and have availability for In-Flight Refueling. The player would be required to be aware of their fuel status and consumption. Required to know how to navigate and find the tanker. Required to take consideration the other players flights. Mission designers are required to maintain the tanker fuel levels. Players are required to know how to have basic flight skills (formation flying) The tankers can be used in the missions as strategic targets to be protected and targeted etc. Basically everything stays as is, except that some players would get the assisted means to receive fuel. They can play with others and have fun, they are not forcing their handicap to others so if someone who masters the IFR can still use their skills. Only problem is that some of these who masters it might feel threatened that someone might get more easily and so on their elitist ego can't take it and can go to rage on forums "I will not play with n00bs!"

Let's see what is wished for: "It would be nice if we had an option to allow an easy mode AAR so we could design more of our campaign missions with AAR." "I would suggest either an autopilot AAR, or preferably ( and probably easier to implement ) a radius based AAR, if you are within X meters of the tanker you get refueled, only allowing AAR within a certain cone behind the tanker would be good also." What the OP is asking, is an assisted refueling where such a careful flying is not required but allows some movement (shaky hands, difficulties to see, easily getting nervous, ghosting joystick axis etc etc) while just requiring to fly in general formation with the tanker.

Even if the oil starvation starts to happen, it is not imminent result for engine breaking. We should get a rapid increase to engine malfunction after that as the oil that is on the surfaces starts to be moved out and generate more heat etc. The Harrier In-Air Refueling tutorial (Full) says that there is two feeder tanks in Harrier and they can not pump fuel in negative G more than 15 seconds as the feeder gets empty. So you would run out first the fuel before starting to risk the engine damage because lack of oil. Basically this or that, do not fly inverted further than 15 seconds (better to just keep it in few seconds when wiffing or rolling) But there should now be coming fixes in 2.7 about the drag and fuel. But let's see do they do anything about the oil as well...