Horns

You make a good point about them needing time other than the holiday days themselves. I also wondered whether HB could (or should) trust themselves to not wind up bug squashing if they did release an F-14 which they felt wasn't really ready for the light of day. I guess in the end this is all speculation, I'm sure we'll wind up with a great product whenever we get it.

True, both that dubbing the sound is common and that we've heard the WIP sound fx already. Just pointing out that Nick's stated reason suggests he doesn't think the sound fx are ready yet, I do agree that the RIO pit not being shown at all is a greater concern. HB might release with rough sound, but no chance they could release it without a functioning RIO pit. Although, if all the coding is done and all of the Jester voice acting and AI is done too, we could probably get by over Xmas/New Year with Jester as a designated RIO :D

OP, I have a suggestion: do you think it might be a good idea to change this title to "F14 Release Hype Thread? Seems to be where it's going... EDIT: I wasn't suggesting this thread or any of the posts it contains are OT. Was more a suggestion of where this thread could go, rather than ending at the point that the F-14 is realeased. Also, my two cents on F-14 release date: I think the decider - assuming the decision isn't already made - might be what's missing. If there are some aspects of features that won't be quite right, hopefully Heatblur will put the perfectionism on hold and give us what they've got so far. If there are key aspects of the module missing I don't think they would them release it. I fear that this might be the case since they felt the need to dub the audio in the VFAT demo. I really want this bird to be the partridge in my pear tree, but not at the expense of Heatblur's reputation.

I've got long-standing neck issues that saw me get a sore neck with a 140g audio headset, so VR is not an option for me. I really like my track IR (with geek antlers on baseball cap) and I don't feel a lack of immersion.

That’s true, I didn’t realize there was more than one.

OP asked if the F-14 will release before Xmas. Cobra847's ETA leaves the door open, so we were each giving our read of the situation. I don't think anyone was asking for or expecting a comment from Heatblur, we're just a bunch of peeps reading tea leaves and speculating wildly :)

That's a very good point. We know youtubers are a key part of any DCS PR campaign, yet there isn't a single video (besides a 'remix' of the gameplay reveal trailer by Jabbers). While I can think of reasons for Heatblur being quiet even if they were close to release, I can't think of a single positive to not having the module in our videomakers' hands, being shown off and reviewed by people independent of the devs. I really hope I'm wrong, but I think NYE will come before the Tomcat will.

Seems like a great idea to me!

Fantastic. As long as she's fast I'll happily put in the work and time to get her figured out. Cheers :)

Ah cool, I guess that’s helped by stores being mounted under the fuselage. Thanks for replying :)

Now THAT is good to hear! Awesome, thanks for replying :thumbup:

Haha ok, glad to know I’m not alone. If it does take as long m0.7 to 0.8 I’ll have to live vicariously through Phoenix cam

Coming from the M2K I knew I couldn't expect the same kind of speed from the F/A-18, but I was surprised at how dramatically different the acceleration of the two jets was, especially carrying stores. I know the Tomcat has an insane amount of thrust at full a/b, but there's also a lot turkey to move, so I'm curious about how well she accelerates. I've tried to read the performance charts but I'm not even sure which measure to use, let alone absorbing the data. Anything that can't be done on a pocket calculator is too much for me nowadays. I'd really appreciate it if someone can describe how the acceleration of the F-14 might be, between say m 0.7 and m1.1? We could use the Mirage 2000 or F/A-18 for comparison, and/or the Viggen too...

Yeah, everything else in this thread was realistic but it was cdrkrotchetyusn who took it too far hahaha Couldn't have said it better myself.

Thanks, that’s a very in-depth answer and it tells me what I wanted to know. I was curious about whether a guy who joined with a buddy was likely to be stationed in the same place, or whether he was just as likely to wind up on the other side of the country to his friend and family. Much appreciated ????

Yep, RL

Are USN pilots assigned to a squad, or do they have input on it? I assume it's the former but I haven't been able to find any information on it...

Interesting... so this is tilted in favor of learning systems earlier, and it's good to see a practical benefit (outside of multiplayer action) to joining a squadron. Also good to know that both you and Rudel_chw use Chuck's guide before the manual. That is something I'm definitely going to try next time. Thanks for sharing your technique :)

Thanks so much for giving such an in-depth response. That seems like a great way to construct knowledge of the aircraft: start learning how she flies, round out flight knowledge with training, create flight aids, supplementing as appropriate, and read the manual I think that’s how I’ll attack my next module, thanks a bundle :)

Is reading the manual (or Early Access Guide) the first thing you do in a module or do you wait until a particular time? Do you read it cover-to-cover or just the chapter that relates to your current training activity? When you learn an a/c in Early Access how do you use the EA guide and how do you use the full manual when it is released? I assumed the first thing we should do is read the manual, but I haven't found that terribly helpful for the two units I've learned so far, and I have no idea what I'll do with the F/A-18 and its EA guide. Suggestions welcome.

Thanks very much, I was one level too deep.

Thanks for going into depth like that, much appreciated

Sorry, mods as in moderators :)

Title pretty much says it all - is there a list of mods around? I've looked everywhere I could think of...

Is the newsletter the place to look for the first official confirmation that a module has hit EA?