Redglyph

Significantly longer loading time in SP, didn't try MP. DCS is on an SSD.

I think you're right. I'll try again with a checklist to make sure I don't forget anything. It's usually understood we should know that before doing the startup - on a real aircraft, but here those are obviously meant to teach that, that's why I prefer to report what issues a pilot with no experience in the Tomcat may encounter. It's always a difficult balance I suppose. Sometimes I find other missions like for ex. the MiG-19's or the Harrier's by Baltic Dragon have sometimes too much 'SPACE' pauses for my personal taste. But the opposite is quickly overwhelming the first time, which means it fails its purpose. My preferred way is the mission that detects we have accomplished the step and goes on, but it takes more time to make (when the control numbers in the ME are even known to the mission maker). The assisted startup is great, except the text log disappearing instantly :/

Yes, that's absolutely fantastic :) And in the air too, that's really making a difference in the otherwise very sterile DCS environment. Actually, everything about Heatblur's F-14B is more lively than the barren experience we usually get, it's obvious they spent a lot of time taking care of all they could think of.

I think so, that's what I already reported above. I don't get this with other missions, for example when starting in the air (same with the afterburner switch), so either the procedure followed in this mission does something to this subsystem logic, or it only works when the mission begins with the aircraft already started. But that should be reported in the MiG-19 section and not the training mission part, really. Since they seem to have a lot of things to fix already, and that even in calm times I get very little response from Razbam, I didn't report it. Maybe you'll have more luck than me, feel free to try.

Agreed, I have tens of unread bug reports, and quite a few patches that were never taken (actually none of them, even by PM to ED or 3rd parties like Razbam and Heatblur).

DCS 2.5.4.28461 Awesome setup for this training mission! I saw a few quirks that I'm listing below. 1) The audio for the first text isn't read completely, it's cut after the 3rd phrase by the audio of the 2nd text ("As you might know the F-14..."). => synchronize the audio correctly, don't use system-dependant timing or actions that could cut the text (this happens often in training missions, the Yak-52 is a very illustrative example) 2) The log disappears too soon. If someone has to look for a button, or just wants to take the time to enjoy the cockpit and the surroundings, it could be a problem. By the way, I also saw later that Jester's "subtitles" were disappearing at once, this is even more annoying if one tries the assisted start-up procedure. => increase the text log duration, especially with Jester's. In general for those trainings, there's no use to clear the text at all, it will be replaced by the next one (there is an option in the ME for that) 3) "Coordinate with RIO" to check lights. How? I didn't see any option in Jester's menu. Is that only for MP? 4) Master Test switch to EMERG GEN, - lights NO GO, then GO: I could not see that, not implemented yet? 5) The whole test with checking the voltage, having some lights illuminate for 2 seconds, the SAS changing after a MASTER RESET, were not observed at all. I suppose it's not implemented yet?

I would rather have them release a 2nd option with less destroyed cockpit that we can read (and I confirm again, it's not only a problem for VR users), than designing several coloured and shaped seats that we won't see much. Those are great little touches of reality and I much appreciate them, but the primary concern should be the ability to use the module. I suppose that the approach to weathering is to start from a fresh cockpit and to proceed iteratively by damaging and tainting the textures, so this newer or "less older" cockpit must most probably exist already. Let's hope they hear us.

I confirm the problem, experienced in DCS versions 2.5.4.28090 and 2.5.4.28461, with both the MiG-19P and the F14B. There is another closely related issue: when DCS is restarted it is possible to assign axes again, but after a short time the visual displacement bar stops working (sometimes it doesn't work from the beginning).

It's not only VR, I'm only using TrackIR and it's a real pain to read the panels. Maybe it doesn't matter to a pilot with a good sight and a real Tomcat, who has flown the jet for years. But it does for someone who has a classic monitor and doesn't know all the knobs and buttons by heart. This and inconsistent cockpit click buttons logic are apparently little things, but they completely break the immersion. PS. I'd hate to only point out one little downside. The overall atmosphere in the cockpit, all the little details inside and outside the aircraft, are fabulous! :)

+1

This is obviously a controversial subject and a simple matter of personal preference, so we should not expect any conclusion either way. I'd say this is ripe enough to be closed ;)

Thanks, Rudel, that helps! The kneeboard pages provided by Baltic Dragon help too, it's just that I missed them the first time because of this "transparent page" bug, I should have known better. I've reported the problems in the ARK-5 thread (here). I think the lack of audio morse ID code, the problem with the frequency knob, and the approximative nature of the frequency indicator, seem to call for a little improvement of the aircraft kneeboard page ;) Showing those frequencies on top of the pre-set frequencies would be a huge help. With some luck they'll implement that at some point :) (as it is now, this kneeboard page is already very helpful)

Yeah, setting the frequency with the mouse is very tricky. It seems to be the same bug as the MiG-21, you have to move the mouse very slowly, otherwise it doesn't register even if the knob is turning on the ARK-5 panel. => Would it be possible to get the frequency visible in the "special" kneeboard page? It would be an idea solution, the MiG-15 and the F-86 have that for example, and it's invaluable help, especially since the frequency indicator is partially hidden by the right lamp in the MiG-19P cockpit, the graduations are not very precise, and there doesn't seem to be any audio of the ADF station with the usual morse code ID on this aircraft. Guessing whether it's the correct frequency is not simple. The navigation training mission illustrate that perfectly, finding 662 kHz is very hard and may be confused with another beacon with a close frequency in the same area, the first time I headed somewhere else entirely, and I was not the only one.

I suppose those are mainly problems to be reported to Razbam. I had the same problem, setting a specific frequency is as hard as on the MiG-15. This is made even more complicated because the frequency indicator is partially hidden in the cockpit... I think it would be nice to see the frequency on the kneeboard, as BSM did for the F-86 and MiG-15. In this mission, another NDB is very close in frequency but somewhere else entirely. I'm at a loss when it comes to the approach to Krymsk though, - the briefing panel says I will get instructions on how to align the beacons, - the instructor says the kneeboard has the instructions, - the kneeboard has nothing really, apart from the usual map waypoints... (on which the text "follow the..." cannot be read entirely, but I guess it's "follow the river" for waypoint 4). So I select channel 3 to request the approach, but if I switch between FAR and NEAR, I'm still on the previously set frequencies I suppose, and of course it is not aligned. Or is it because I selected channel 3, due to some pre-set system? From the little information in the user manual it doesn't seem so. Anyway, visual approach worked, but it wasn't the intended exercice. EDIT: Maybe I found out something. The "last" page of the kneeboard is usually this transparent page (see screenshot), but I saw by looking at the mission files that there were two extra pages, and the 2nd one shows the FAR/NEAR frequencies for Krymsk. More problems due to DCS I imagine. I'll check that next time I get a chance.

We're getting old cats :O I didn't know that, thanks for the detailed info Shagrat! But after all, Heatblur has spent many, many years working on it, it's only fair there is some amount of weathering :D It's no big deal to me, they're obviously going beyond what we usually see in DCS, I was mainly wondering why people were so eager to get worn-out cockpits in most modules. You must be right, we'll surely see cockpit mods, hopefuly with an option to stick a girl-at-home picture ;)

Oh, maybe we're not talking about the same thing :D I see your point now. But I'd agree that from 1974 to 1987-1988 (first upgrades), even if that's 14 years and not 23, there could still arguably be some tear & wear... if they were all built in 1974. Not all converted A models were built in 1974 (I'm not even sure any of the first A made it that far). Also, and unless I'm very wrong, there was a good share of newly-built A+ from 1987 on.

Got you, but what I meant is that they don't need to be 20+ year in DCS :)

The date in DCS is obviously not 2019 either, apart from a few 30-something Tomcat still flying in the Middle East, the others were retired. See also the current terrains, and the QFU of some runways. Finally, nobody is using QFE anymore :D For a few of those modules, I also wish I had a brand-new shiny cockpit sometimes, weathered cockpits are a bit overrated.

+1 on the landing gear, I think there is an easy mode for the module, but most users would prefer a realistic command for the realistic mode (like in the MiG-21bis, for example). +1 on the 3-way mapping too! In fact I'm wondering if the 3-position management of the throttle wouldn't be useful as a generic feature in DCS, in which the user would be able to map the behaviour on any group of 3 commands? Of course, if that's only for one brand of controller (which becomes outdated), perhaps it doesn't make sense.

Thanks, that narrows down the bug, so apparently these knobs don't work correctly when the mode is not on the ANT position. That's definitely very weird (I don't believe that the actual device blocks all those knobs depending on the mode, or couldn't find the limitation in the flight manual - except maybe the special case of the frequency tune in compass mode by default of a better implementation). Also, the behaviour is different with the mouse vs if the user maps the controls to a controller or to the keyboard.

- The "Cockpit Pressurization Lever" has a strange behaviour, as if hidden positions existed. - The "Navigation Lights" is fine, but the "Cockpit Temperature Select" is rotating the wrong way with respect to the left/right button. - The "ARK-5 NEAR Frequency Band Selector Switch" is not moving, like the FAR-related buttons and knobs which don't seem to work as expected.

I agree, I wouldn't take the trouble of redoing it. It's just for information, perhaps for the next manual. If anything, I found that funny :) I haven't read it entirely but overall, the quality is very good. I appreciate the history, variants and operational history at the end, it's a nice touch. The Russian translation is also welcome, for general culture but also to spot the labels with the Russian cockpit. The only improvements I'd see at this stage: 1) indicate which way to rotate for some of the valves (oxygen, emergency landing gear deployment, emergency flaps deployment). 2) indicate more clearly the positions for some switches (gunsight cage/uncage for ex). 3) there are some tables, but overall not much in terms of performance. I was expecting at least the classical fuel consumption vs temperature and pressure altitude, the take-off and landing distance and/or rolling length vs runway state and pressure altitude, maybe also rate of turn and so on. It's almost nit-picking since it's a flight manual and not a reference. From some of Razbam's posts, we also know that not all data were available, and finally, manuals were more succinct back then, it was probably the case of the MiG-19 too.

1) Common nouns, compound modifiers and verbs must not be in capital, in English. So we write "Thank you for your purchase, we hope you enjoy flying the module" and not "Thank you for your Purchase, we hope you enjoy Flying the Module". I think the author was confusing German typography and English, this error is present throughout most of the manual. 2) page 79, Cockpit Inspection, step 3: "Fire Control Trigger is in it's Safe Position", there is no verb here (hint: you can't say "is in it is safe position") , it's a determiner so the correct syntax is "in its safe position".

Nothing related to the missions. After discussing that with others, it's apparently a transient glitch, so forget I even mentioned it :) There were duplicated commands for each item in the kneeboard command list, with an obvious conflict between the two sets. After two or three DCS quit/restart, it disappeared on its own. After installing the MiG-19P, several people had a few configuration issues, but it really looks like it's DCS acting up and not a particular module.

Tried that and a few other combinations, but no luck. Also, the mil power lamps don't switch on, even thought the RPM are withing the expected range. All that was tested during the cold&start training mission and after, when it was finished. Not a big problem I suppose. PS: was also mentioned here, but brushed under the carpet ;) https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=233559 PS bis: in another mission, the enable switch works as intended, and the mil power lamps work, so there must be something related to what is performed in mission 2