Donut

No big deal on the date change...I feel it will be better anyway since we will have videos and screenshots on Friday to help make a decision about buying now or waiting.

Here is a nice little article explaining the name... http://www.f-16.net/articles_article10.html

+1 for Fighting Falcon

Same with me unfortunately. Maybe some information tomorrow and Friday will change my mind, but I want things to settle down a bit and get a more clear picture from ED about what is going on. There just seems to be something strange about all of this. The F-16 pre-sale and planned early access release announcement came out of nowhere. With the Hornet, there were months of build up, screenshots, and videos before going on sale.

I find it interesting that they posted the planned weapons/sensors just a few days ago and are already editing it. What new information or lack of information could they have possibly come across in just a few days? The only thing I can think of is that the list was made a while ago and due to lack of internal communication, things that shouldn't have been on the list were still there. Personally, I have no preference as to which TGP we get. Although, the LITENING should be easier and quicker to implement as we have seen with the Hornet

This is the best advice to avoid confusion. I am very eager to start learning about the F-16 as well and hope we see some form of a manual before release. In the mean time, hopefully Wags' Mini-Updates will give us a lot of useful info.

Once I see the additional screenshots and video on Friday, it will be an instant buy for me then. I want to fully support development of the F-16. I honestly expected the F-16 early access release to still be a couple of years a way, so this was a huge and unexpected surprise for me. I purchased the Hornet and Tomcat and was getting into naval aviation, but that was mostly because the F-16 seemed so far off. Flying the Hornet and Tomcat have been a great experience, but I will have to put those in the hangar as I will be moving full time to the Fighting Falcon this fall.

This seems like a good reason for me to finally upgrade to the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS. Hopefully it goes on sale sometime between now and release.

A few weeks before!?!? The weekly Hornet updates started 7 months out. Now that the Hornet updates are monthly, hopefullly that allows Wags to focus on the F-16.

This is more a question for Wags... Will you be providing weekly F-16 Mini-Updates like you did for the Hornet? Looking back, it looks like the Hornet Mini-Updates started about 7 months prior to release. We are about 4-5 months away from F-16 release. Thanks!

Hmm, interesting. Thank you for the response. Well, I know on my end that not having to worry about mirrors will be a big boost. In both the Tomcat and Hornet, having the mirrors on will decrease FPS by 20+.

This is pure speculation at this point, but I am thinking that the F-16 may perform better in regards to PC performance and FPS, compared to other DCS aircraft. I would think that being a smaller aircraft (less to model) and the lack of mirrors would be the biggest contributors to increased FPS. What does everyone else think?

While the latest newsletter is a bit misleading as it states, "Pre-order it next week on 22 May and save 20%," which makes it seem that the discount will only be available if ordered this week, all other previous pre-order modules had the discount available right up to release or a week or so before. Pre-ordering now just allows those who wish so, to provide economic support to ED. Now whether that translates to increased development and speed is unknown, but it is nice to think it would.

Brilliant recommendation! I have found f-16.net to be an incredible resource for all things F-16 and a great way to become familiar with it. I think it's the best and most comprehensive F-16 community out there.

+1 The stated systems/weapons that will be available on early access release will more than plenty as well.

Nope, the sticky changelog post seems to still be the official one. There have not been any updates to the Tomcat since April 10.

Great to hear, but why not wait until Friday then to launch the presale?

Perfect! Thanks Wags! I would actually much prefer your intro video more than a trailer. Thanks!!!!

I would sure hope so...yes, it's the F-16 but you still need to show us a bit more of it before expecting us to purchase.

Same here, since Falcon 3.0 actually! Oh, and Iron Eagle helped too. I have the Hornet and Tomcat...too little time and too many planes. The mighty Fighting Falcon is the greatest of them all, and will be my primary module for sure.

+1 for no more sand....We have Persian Gulf and Syria and Afghanistan have already been announced; unless one of those will be the free map, I am hoping for a more green and tropical map as well...Southeast Asia, Caribbean, Latin America.

Whoa, I did not expect the F-16 this soon...this changes everything! Great stuff ED!

The Heatblur manual in it's current state does not really tell you how to fly the Tomcat and only minimally how to operate it. The forums, youtube videos, and NATOPS are needed to really be able to learn how to fly it properly and effectively.

Agreed...I am really hoping that the improved carrier ATC and added voices will include new callsigns that fit more with naval aviation and the Hornet.

With the upcoming F-16, it has been mentioned by ED in various forum places that certain members of the Hornet team have moved on to work on the model and visual artwork for the F-16. Is there someone still working on the visuals and artwork for the Hornet? Specifically, in regards to improving the mirrors, correcting the helmet and pilot body(still an air force pilot), adding additional skins(CAG birds, etc), and correcting errors in current skins.