Klunker

Yep, just finished the third mission and figured it out, thanks. I also now understand that F6 and F7 "Mission and Rejoin" and "Mission RTB" is the same as "engage primary" command for the flight which is announced as such when F7 is entered." My flight returned with their bombs despite repeated instructions at the primary and secondary tgts. The other flights followed orders and got the job done.

I'm not up to speed on how to control the gaggle. When I hit F10 I have options for Flight, and wingman 1 2 and 3. I've been just using the "Flight" key to issue orders to everybody. Is that right? I tell the flight to attack ground targets and while circling right over the target, I'm the only one attacking which I gather from reading another post in this campaign is almost SOP. I'm wondering what is meant by: Your question "The other one", and also, I don't see an "engage primary" command in the F10 menu. I've flown two missions so far and really love the format and flying in this campaign. I initially had two crashes in mission one. I did a quick DCS repair and flew it again and got a crash while on final approach to landing. I then figured I'd done enough of that mission to just skip and go on to the second mission hoping it was just a mission one bug,but encountered a crash after several rocket passes and the appearance of the Migs in mission two. I then purged all my CPU caches, and did the longer full DCS repair.. I'm pleased to say that I flew the second mission again with no issues. I'm hoping I've finally gotten the bugs out of my CPU and can continue this campaign because it is super fun. Thanks!

I see your point. In fact, I got quite a thrill yesterday when I flamed out over Nellis and was incredibly lucky to get my gear down and dead stick to runway 3L for a "Mission Complete". Pretty sure I would have had to punch out of a real F14, but it was a lot of fun because it wasn't real. The later missions are fun, especially dodging the SAM's and then fighting 4 or 5 bogies. As for the RIO training bit, I suppose you could transform the campaign for online play by changing "player" to "client" so then two or more people could play together and have RIO players as well. I don't play online anymore, but it's an idea that might attract those who do.

I did your Mig Killers campaign first and really appreciated the ability to repeat "endlessly" the engagements. Your ability to present a repeatable, but different each time engagement during the same mission is really unique, and if possible, could be a game changer to this campaign. I've flown 5 missions so far and although I appreciate the work put into setting each up, I'm left wanting after each engagement because I've been spoiled by your novel Mig Killer's repeatability during the mission. Honestly, it's doubtful I will ever repeat this campaign because there's so much time spent going to and from the engagement zone for just a few seconds, or minutes engagements. If possible, it would greatly benefit this campaign if you'd make each engagement repeatable while flying the mission as you did with Mig Killers. I really loved Mig Killers, not so much for all the tactical briefing that was provided, which was good, but more so for the ability to do the engagements again and again without worrying about having enough gas to do another one. That was the hallmark of the Campaign for me. It provides an immediate learning experience that is like the "Eveready Bunny"..just keeps going as long as the player is in the mood and has time. As far as getting the tactical scoop from an actual Topgun training class, I'm thinking that once you get into 2 v Unk, your gameplan is so different in real life than campaign training missions. In the real world, there would be a merge, and it would be a very quick engagement that would evolve immediately to extending from the fight in order to regroup and reassess engagement opportunities. Staying engaged in an unknown environment is similar to doing multiple runs on a bombing target. Not a good idea. The 2v Unk is a one shot deal. After the merge, the section has to get out in order to redefine the fight. That would require teamwork that cannot be duplicated in a game such as this. For game purposes, the campaign is learning experience to vector in on multiple targets while trying to maintain SA during an engagement with multiple bogeys and trying to kill as many as possible. So, it would be great if it could be a rinse and repeat like MIg Killers. It would also provide a good learning tool to budding RIO's who would like to run the radar in the game. Bio, was after all, a RIO and that work he did on the initial intercept vector would set the tone for the whole fight. So, if a gaming RIO trainee in Zone 5 campaign blew an intercept, it would be nice to be able to set up another one right away and not wait until the next mission that requires all the "dead time" transiting to and from the range. Regardless, I applaud your ability to put together these campaigns that are fun to do! Edit: I just realized or think, this campaign can't be done with two players with one guy in the backseat. But, it would be nice if it could and if there was a way, I'm sure you'd be the one to be able to make it happen.

I didn't mean to set up an elaborate alternative, but simply add the fuel trucks at Tonopah, and maybe add some static aircraft and people to present some active airport ambiance for anyone who would stop for gas. As for what the wingman would do, I just gave him the command to RTB and he did. I really didn't mean for you to go to any more trouble than just placing fuel there. I would do it with the mission editor myself if I had access to the mission. I don't doubt that a skilled player can manage fuel within Campaign specs, but alas, I'm not a skilled player and tend to gobble gas in the heat of combat, especially making multiple runs on targets. Of course, that isn't the plan, but I often get disoriented and spend more time in the area than was planned, or get distracted with a target of opportunity etc. But, as I said, I'm just a casual gamer who was just looking to get some more gas and then fly home. Not a big deal. In mission five, even though I was still in the target area at Miller Time, I still beat the whole strike package back to Nellis by going direct and it didn't matter what my flight lead did or my wingman because I was on deck and getting a Mission Complete and a Score Card as Demon flight was calling initial. It all worked fine.

Roger Rogue It must be horrifying for a campaign designer to witness the flagrant disregard for such an exquisitely scripted campaign. I can fully appreciate that none of my actions should have been anticipated in the campaign design. From a professional standpoint, I should have been sent home early on as it was clear that I have absolutely no proficiency in the F4. However, from a gaming standpoint, I did derive a huge satisfaction from being able to navigate an emergency fuel situation to a successful conclusion. In previous attempts on earlier missions when I ran low on fuel, I diverted to the "designated" divert airfield and got just what you predicted: A Zero mission complete. I didn't mind that, but was disappointed that there was no refueling at Tonopah and the place looked like an abandoned outpost on Mars. I was hoping to refuel and then RTB to Nellis. On mission five, I thought I would see if I could make Nellis on the available fuel, and sweated out the whole trip and was even tempted to land at Indian Springs, but knew that if the designated divert had no fuel, neither would Indian Springs. So, finally landing at Nellis after an emergency situation with all the attendant "pucker factor" and receiving a "Mission Complete" made for a hugely satisfying experience flying this mission. If possible, and since you are adding an update to the campaign for the Flight Plan, I wonder if you wouldn't mind putting in refueling at Tonopah and perhaps adding some units to make it look like an operational airport that is suitable for a divert? If not, that's OK, as I'm only asking you to humor a very casual gamer.

Not sure if this is an error: Kneeboard Flight Plan Card indicates 300 ft Altitude at IP and Tgt. In an earlier post I asked about skipping the Rendezvous and RTB'n direct and you said "If you're short on fuel, there will be a decision point after you rejoin at Mt Irish, whether you want to RTB or refuel. I suggest using that decision point, because the triggers in such a complex mission are not infinitely flexible to allow you to detach and RTB through Dreamland" I'm happy to report that my wingman and I vectored direct to Nellis from the target, bypassing Dreamland to the west and managed to get a mission complete and surprisingly a Y on fuel management even though I landed with 680 lbs. However, I did get a N on procedures which I was more than happy to get as it still beat hitting the silk. I figured the flight would be a bust because Jester didn't speak once on our flight back and didn't even complain about going too fast on my landing as he usually does. But when I turned off the end of the runway he was back online with the post landing check list and I got the surprising score in the chocks. My low fuel was the result of my mismanagement of the bombing switches. I ended up doing three runs before I finally got them off as I had placed the switch in rockets/dispensers instead of bombs. Not sure how it wasn't picked up on the Fence In checks because we went through the list OK. But I was really sweating it as the AAA was of major concern and my wingman actually go nailed by it on his pass. I did notice that Jester wasn't the only one not speaking as I couldn't reach ATC on the usual channel which I guessed was a function of the mission scripting. I just did an idle descent to a base leg entry and got no grief from anyone. In Jester's case, I think he wasn't talking because he was pissed I exposed him to repeated attacks on a target whose AAA was directed solely at US! It was a miracle we weren't bagged for such a stupid stunt. Fun Hop, and very gratifying to be able to do a real life like emergency fuel divert and still get a mission complete. Thanks again for such a fun Campaign!

I too am having the same issue and it has increased in frequency the past few days. I don't believe it's related to the Campaign because I've also had it doing canned missions that come with the Mod. Thinking I may have oversped the flaps, I got down on my knees to check the flap gage and noticed it was also blinking in and out. I believe the flaps are good out to 250 knots but am not sure they are getting fully retracted before I've been reaching that speed. The acceleration following lift off is extremely fast, and I'm hard pressed to rein in the beast before the 250 mark. I never check the cockpit flap gages because they are harder to see than the True Airspeed Indicator. Looking at them from the F2 view, they always look up even with just one click of the three click Flaps button. So, it may be flap problem causing the Wheels Light/Utility Hydraulic issue. If the flaps aren't a cause, they at least seem to also be affected by this anomaly.

I'm jealous! Flown it three times and keep getting worse. Got by the Sams on the first run, but later realized I bombed the wrong target, even missed that target to boot. Got bagged by Sams on the next two, and had to divert to Tonopah both times for low fuel. Can't figure out why I feel like I'm flying with my dumps on (may be related to the Wheels light/hyd pressure situation, but am guessing/or maybe hoping).I'm also thinking of dropping the ECM pod and getting an extra centerline tank because the ECM pod isn't helping me with the Smoky Sams. Also haven't been able to get Jester to give me a radar lock on the DT mode during the mission on two different occasions.. I thought I must be doing something wrong, but then it worked just as advertised on a practice bombing mission except, not always because sometimes I get a constant message from Jester he's got a lock and it keeps on repeating that while flying the pattern. When DT didn't work during the Red Flag mission, Jester didn't respond at all (I also had a Wheels warning light which may be a contributing factor) I'm thinking rebooting the game may fix the F4 bug because it did seem to fix it when I did that. The F4 does seem to be more temperamental than the other planes and may get out of alignment just as its INS does. .

I have, thank you, but still no joy as I don't notice any sound difference. My sound system is pretty lame and I purposely keep it low so as not to disturb my wife sleeping in the next room. I have to use the monitor's speaker and not headphones in order to respond to real world demands.

This is definitely not campaign related: I also had this problem on a mission one replay, but then had it again when I did an instant action mission with an airstart to practice bombing. On mission one I noticed the aircraft felt like the brakes were dragging on the ground. It took almost the whole runway to get airborne and the Wheels light came on with a low Utility Hyd pressure. I also ran through my fuel exceptionally fast even while trying to conserve it. There seems to be a real bug in the F4

Thank you. I love the fact that you can skip and move on. I'm pretty sure I'll always be below fuel mins to get a mission complete because I have no feel for when I'm in burner and my scan is too slow to pick it up looking at the nozzles when I'm flying in form, on the deck, or the heat of battle. I have a difficult time seeing not only the TAS gage, Clock (behind a night lamp), but also the FUEL GAGE! When I set the seat to see outside properly, I have to scrunch down and zoom in to read the tape. Might just be an old man thing as I don't recall having these kind of issues when I played this game years ago. Anyway, super job with this campaign and thanks again.

Thank you for the clarification. I'm guessing that there must have been something procedurally wrong with my first DT attempts that inhibited Jester's ability to get me a lock. I flew the hop again before seeing your response and went by the book "Direct". Missed the target (again), but even worse, got bagged by a SAM on ingress (I think it's because I was flying even higher than last time as I set my Rad Alt to 500ft. I was also slow hitting the flare switch and my jink was also late. Regarding fuel, I left the battle area with just under 5K and managed to squander it all just jocking around Pappy on the way home. He only orbited once but his wingman "Waldo" never showed. I thought I had plenty for the trip to Nellis but turned off the runway with only 23 lbs remaining. I'm apparently too ham fisted for this program. I considered departing the area without rendezvousing with Pappy, and in retrospect, wish I had because the stress of wondering if I'd flame out on final had me landing at almost 200 knots with Jester having a fit. There's no way I'm going to a tanker when low on fuel as it would take me almost a full bag to connect and even then I'd probably lock up with muscle cramp in my hand if I even did get a connect. I was wondering if it would be better to just divert to Tonopah and then Rtb from there, or just end the mission at Tonopah? Also wonder if any of the other airports are suitable for diverts? After getting the "Mission Success" I was so relieved that I quit without shutting the engines down and unfortunately missed the debrief, although I did save the log, but don't know how to access it. Is there some way to do that? Pretty sure my grade is in the negative numbers considering my death, missed target and TOT (probably) and low fuel. Regardless, I'll be flying this one again and hopefully will have a debrief in the plus category. Would like to thank you for this excellent product. I'm floored that you put something this complex together and just charge pennies to play. It's worth the money plus a lot more. Your work is stellar! And to AV8 Dave: Thanks for your comments, and I'm sorry for almost giving you a stroke, and hope this commentary can keep you on the plus side of the power curve. I'm an old guy and also fear strokes

On the first combat mission the Fence In check list specified "Direct" and I wanted to go Dive Toss but selected Direct just to keep on script and keep the mission going. Can that be modified to DT while inflight? I tried it and Jester wouldn't lock up the tgt. My iron bombsight bombing is incredibly lousy and I would like to go DT so as not to make the squadron look bad. Otherwise, I fear I will be sent home in disgrace. In fact, after the first mission I realize I'm not really ready for "Prime Time" as I couldn't read the hidden TAS indicator or even make out the clock very well while flying at 300 ft, which also had me spooked because I understood if I broke the 300 ft I would be considered DEAD. So, I flew it at 500 ft to be safe which was a real lame move on my part, just as wanting to only use DT for bombing. After making several passes on the target attempting a Jester DT lockon I ended up going Direct and overshooting the impact by a embarrassingly long range. If that wasn't bad enough I realized that I was now below the Fence Out 5 k as I was following Pappy out of the target area (And thank you for allowing full labels so I could know who was who). After dodging smokey Sams I found I was actually down to 2 K fuel and decided to leave Pappy and head out for Vegas direct skirting Dreamland. I figured I'd Jettison my wing drops to reduce drag, and after doing so my fuel dropped to zero which was a shock! So facing complete humiliation, I was left with a choice of bailing out or exiting the game altogether. Remembering the fighter pilot motto: "It's better to die than look bad" I elected to exit the game than eject and face the music back at Nellis. Needless to say, Jester and I are no longer on speaking terms. He says he wants a "real" pilot, and I can't blame him, except the prick wouldn't follow a simple request to going to DT even after I sent him the data on the bomb chart. I will continue to solder on until the CO <profanity>can's me. He wasn't very pleased with me when I pointed out during his mission briefing that he got the Push holding pattern wrong. Said I was a smart ass. He's the boss and I figured he knew something we didn't so I kept my mouth shut and went along to see what he'd do. He might have reviewed the briefing because I think he actually went with the Red Flag mission briefing, and not his spiel. I can't say for sure as I'm still traumatized by my poor performance on this first mission.

If it had not been for this problem I would have never realized I had to hit the flap step switch three times. The actual flap control in the cockpit as well as the indicators are so difficult for me to see that I use just a keybinding and an F2 view to check. The F2 view is deceptive because with a single key stroke the flaps indicate full down and up. So, thanks again for giving me this tip, and also figuring out what the problem was with my mission. I flew the mission and all worked flawlessly as did all the others. Your work with the editor and innovative approach to making missions realistic, repeatable and a lot of fun is a masterpiece of creative design and absolute brilliance. You're the best. I'm going to begin your F4 Red Flag campaign today. Thanks again!