OnlyforDCS

Have you flown the F14? The real one I mean? Heatblur worked very closely with real SMEs on the flight model and they have stated that at high AoA the cockpit vibrates so strongly it can knock the filings out of your teeth, and since they have actualy flown the jet Im tempted to believe that Heatblur tried to make them as happy as possible when implementing these effects.

Complains about ad hominem attack, then engages in ad hominem attack. :doh:

I've repeated this so many times Im getting sick of myself. But I'll say it again: Can't wait! Great video, hopefully we'll get another one soon that looks at some of the systems in more detail. Especially the air to air part. The jet and the weapons look like they are fairly simple to use, but hard to master. I want to learn as much as I can before I get into the pit at last.

Respectfully I have to disagree on both points. Or rather, I think it's a matter of personal preference and what you consider flaws are in my opinion endearing charms. Let me explain my reasoning: 1) Apparently Brevity is quite a bit different between a two man crew sitting in the same aircraft than what you expect to hear over open radio comms. In fact there are many, many RL videos of F14 crews interacting in the cockpit where this can be heard and brevity use in the Navy differs from squadron to squadron and even from cockpit to cockpit. There is a nice thread about this subject in these very same forums: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=225585 2) As for the angst displayed by Jester, do you think that real pilots or RIOs are some kind of fearless supermen? Yes this is a sim, but Heatblur were trying to infuse some personality into their AI and no amount of training can prepare you for real combat. I expect that a lot of real pilots and RIOs lose quite a bit of their cool when going weapons hot, especially in the type of situation that Ralfi demoed, a 2 v 1 against Foxbats. To me Jester never sounds unprofessional, to me he sounds like someone who is in a fight for his life, which only adds to the immersion. Yes there are some uneven bits here and there where he sounds excited or scared, then completely emotionless in his next line, but that is to be expected. An AI that can recognise all of the context and then choose the correct tone is something that is I think nearly impossible to code, at least within the limitations of DCS World.

+1 TBH While Im doing all of the above I probably won't be able to resist jumping into an instant action mission or three just to mess around with Jester and try some AA combat on the fly. Judging from Ralfi's video alone it looks fairly fun and simple compared to, well even the FC3 jets to be honest. :thumbup:

Yeah you. Winter of 2018 extends into 2019. If you don't believe me, look it up. It's what you should have done anyway before starting this argument, but hey. Who needs facts, when you can make s#$% up as you go along?! Right?!

No actually it's YOUR fault for (pre)ordering without a set release date. A vague date, or NO date is exactly that. NO DATE. So if you choose to preorder then set your expectations accordingly! Also, FYI Im not a fanboy either, I dissaprove of the practice of allowing preorders without set release dates, for exactly this reason! Im just smart enough to vote with my wallet.

*double post*

Loads of developers do exactly that. Personally I don't agree with it but it's not like I can do anything other than NOT TO PREORDER the module or game, which is exactly what everyone here keeps repeating and which you intentionally or unintentionally gloss over. Also Winter 2018 was kind of vague until the last update when Cobra stated a GUARANTEED release date before the calendar end of Winter 2018. (20th of March) The module "might" come before then, but if you don't believe that then the 20th of March 2019 is the guaranteed release date.

From the way the entire newsletter reads the Farmer seems to be arriving before the Tomcat any way you put it.

I still don't get it. The FFB2 will still feel like a cheap plastic stick compared to the warthog irrespective of the module you fly it with. It's not like you need all those extra buttons of the Warthog for the warbirds. On the other hand the feel of the flight model itself will be much, much better with the FFB2 stick. But okay, different strokes I guess...

I've got the MSFFB2 and it's an absolute blast to fly the warbirds with it. Yeah I agree that it's more difficult with a regular spring stick, but since you own a force feedback stick why do you feel it's not nice for the warbirds?

Awesome stuff! Especially going up against two Mig25s with only a couple of sparrows and sidewinders. I wonder how many times it took Ralfi to do that mission without getting splashed by the Migs ;) Really envious, but keep those vids coming!

Just wanted to weigh in, not stirring the pot or anything, but most of the complaints come from the fact that the other airplanes in the game do not have centrally mounted weapons, which makes using them quite a bit harder to use successfuly than in the 109K. In addition to that the K's cannon is extremely potent when fired at very close ranges, much more so than the 51D's .50 cals, which in all honesty feel like pea shooters in comparison. So yeah, while the damage model is bad for all planes, the fact remains that the Mustang suffers the most here due to the fact that the caliber of it's guns underperforms severly due to these DM limitations.

:megalol:

I don't see why it wouldn't be, it's been that way in every single DCS module so far. As for your second question if the RIO gets killed the pilot could still bring the plane down. If the pilot gets killed, there is no other option for the RIO other than to eject. You can't fly the real plane from the RIO seat so Im guessing it won't be a possibility in the simulated one either :)

Thanks for the replies but can we keep it closer to the topic please? The question is regarding RIO training within the simulation. Sure you can learn a lot from other people online, especially real RIOs but I was specifically wondering about whether we will get any kind of RIO training missions or even videos within the module itself.

Yeah, probably like most people I will start out my career in the Tomcat flying in the front seat. But at some point I will definitely want to learn all the ins and outs of becoming a RIO Master :) With the limited autopilot functionality when switching to the backseat I was wondering how training as a RIO will be handled within the simulation? I understand that at early access there will be a very limited ammount of missions released with the module. So my questions are will we get RIO training missions at some point during EA? How will those work? Will they be missions and scenarios where you fly from the backseat from start-up to landing, or will you have to switch to the backseat to progress in the scenario? Will they be video missions, or interactive tutorials? I mean, I guess there will be a lot of people jumping in the back seat with a friend online and just "winging" it with the help of a manual, but it would be kind of cool to know if we might get some training missions at some point. Thanks in advance for any info on this! Cheers.

It's basically a TV camera with a zoom lens. While the AIM9's seeker is a heat signature tracking device. I think in bad weather the TCS won't really have any advantages over your eyes really. I think the biggest advantage of the TCS is it's zoom function. So basically if you know the general vector and altitude of a target (from an AWACS callout for example) theoretically you should be able to find him and lock him with the TCS from BVR with a bit of luck, and also depending on the weather. A cloud for example will obscure a target from your TCS. It will definitely be a fun little gadget to play with in the back seat. In addition to the AWG9 which will probably be pretty hard to master there will be a lot of fun for potential RIOs there. Im definitely going to explore both seats in detail, though I feel everyone will want to fly the jet first myself included. I hope Heatblur intends to release RIO training missions and scenarios at some point during early access. In fact Im gonna start a new thread asking that very same question. :)

I think that it's pretty clear that the Hind has been placed on the backburner. For how long? Who knows. But it seems that the ED is going for the low hanging fruit with the F16 pushed up to be the next module that ED/Belsimtek releases. I seriously doubt we will see the Hind anytime soon. Not that anything is wrong with that, I mean they are a business after all and the popularity of the F16 will guarantee sales, and more importantly will bring in new users to DCS, it will also shut up old DCS users who have been clamoring for a new F16 simulation for years now. I for one would prefer the Hind being next too, but it is what it is.

True that. :thumbup:

I've never had to turn on the radar or manually aim the AIM9m seeker in any plane ever. Just uncaging the seeker and pointing the nose in the general direction is usually more than enough to get tone.

Cool, it's nice that at least the Aim9 can be slaved to the TCS. The question though is why would you want it to. The missile already has it's own seeker and by the time you are able to fire it, it's own seeker should be able to lock onto the heat signature of the bandit. You can still use the TCS to sneak up to the enemy, but it seems like slaving the missile's seeker on him is kind of redundant when it's a heater. Now that scenario with the AIM7 is kind of interesting, firing the missile in "dumb mode" so to speak and then lighting up the bandit at the last minute with the radar so that the AIM7 starts to track.

You can use the gun and the aim9 with the radar in standby or off, should go without saying. Im not sure about the Phoenix, but I think one of the devs mentioned that you should be able to fire it "mad dog" so to speak with the missile going active off the rail and tracking the first thing it locks onto. I know there is an option for it fire it's motor directly off the rail, instead of the 2 seconds it usually requires. Wouldn't want to try it in anything other than 1 v 1 and at relatively close ranges, for obvious reasons. From what I've read the TCS was mainly used to clearly identify targets, so basically when you have a bogey locked up on radar and wanted to make sure that you're not going to launch on a neutral or friendly. Not sure how useful it will be in DCS really, since IFF in DCS is usually always right (other than in the Hornet lol) and there are no neutrals or civilian aircraft in the air. It does open up a decent bit of "what if" scenarios though for creative mission builders.

Belay most of this thread. I'll repeat. The TCS cannot be used to guide ANY of the weapons the Tomcat carries. You can aquire a target in TCS, but like Turkeydriver said in his last post, you need to turn on the radar, slave it to the TCS lock, and then and only then can you guide your weapons to the target.