Evoman

Not sure where your basing you guesstimate on but mine is based one the countless comments I have read in these very forums over the years. I have seen plenty of people that love the A-10 for its legendary status but the C is too complex for them to just jump in and go into battle and the FC3 A-10A is far too simplified to feel realistic. I have the A-10C and have pretty much lost interest in it because of the weapons systems complexity. I rather put more time into learning my favorite modules. But if there was an A-10A full fidelity upgrade I would definitely fly the A-10 a lot more when I get the itch to do some ground pounding.

I could see this being worth doing because the A-10 is already a popular aircraft that new comers are always attracted to. However many lose interest in the A-10C when they realize how complex it can be to operate. I am sure there would be more A-10A flown around than C's if the A were to have a full systems modeled option.

I understand your concern for wanting a more level playing field. But you also have to understand that in able to produce a high fidelity simulation the developer needs all necessary data and a license. Add to that the complications with the Russian governments restrictions on most of their aircraft from the 1970 + and that makes it almost impossible to do anything newer that would compete with the current BLUFOR fleet. Like it or not it is what it is when doing aircraft at this level of fidelity. The best we can hope for is the Mig-29A that ED is currently trying to acquire the necessary data to do it right.

As much as I would like a C-130 variant to mess around with ED has fairly recently stated that they have no interest in doing any haavies or anything else that requires multiplayer that is more than two seats. So it will pretty much be left up to the 3rd parties. These topics are talked about in the first two questions in this interview.

Nice list but you seem to be behind on the latest news. I recommend following RAZBAMs facebook page for the latest updates because some of the aircraft on your list is currently planed by RAZBAM like the AMX and English electric lighting. RAZBAM stated in the comments that the AMX, EEL and Sea Harrier can be expected after the F15, Mig23 and Super Tucano. https://www.facebook.com/RazbamSims/ ED said they are looking at the possibility of doing a MIG-29A. The A-7E is currently under development by FlyingIron Simulations https://flyingironsimulations.com/blogs/news/dcs-a-7e-corsair-ii-by-flyingiron-sims

For those that mostly like flying computers here is an interesting perspective from one of Israel's top Aces, Giora Epstein comparing the differences between the older analog Mirage III and the modern fly by wire F-16 @42.09 min towards the end.

For those that love the F104 here is an alternative to hold you off in the mean time. This is the smaller 70mm EDF model but there is also a larger 90mm model that is more detailed. But if you have no RC flight experience I recommend starting off with a trainer first before you even try flying this one.

You are leaving out one important piece of the puzzle, a license. Before ED or any other 3rd party can even consider doing a high fidelity simulation of a certain aircraft they must obtain a license. And I hate to brake it to you but ED fairly recently said in an interview with the Grim reapers that they have no plans at the moment to do a Super Hornet. See question 51 @1:35:17

I have also been thinking of what this new era will bring to the flight sim world. There is a chance that we could see current and new 3rd parties try to bring their licensed aircraft for use in more than one simulator. That could be a way we could see more new aircraft come to DCS that are military variants of the civilian version sold on the other flight sim. And there could be DCS aircraft ported over for use in that new sim. I for one would love to fly my F-14B in that other new flight sim just so I can go exploring with more speed, style and with an aircraft I already know how to operate. This could help bring in new people that became enamored flying a DCS port aircraft in a civilian sim that are now looking to take it to the next level to see what their favorite military aircraft can really do in combat.

The main issue I see with this is that games and simulators are no longer made in the same way they used to be when a game that was shipped was the final and only version there would ever be of it. Nowadays most games are updated many times over its life time. I bet the DCS version from just 2 years ago is vastly different than the latest version. If a box version had existed 2 years ago and someone tried to install it noways it would need such a large update to play online and be compatible with the latest modules that it would be like downloading a whole new game. Plus keep in mind that DCS would still need to be updated with every update that is slowly released to be compatible with new module updates.

While I do agree that plain Jane civil aircraft would be pointless in DCS as they would be useless in a combat simulator. However there are several Military variants that would be useful in DCS. This thread had originally started off discussing said aircraft. One perfect example is the Air tractor Archangel based on the crop duster variant.

While I do agree that there is a need for better free aircraft the A-4 will always have its limitations as a MOD. However ED has stated in their last interview that they are seriously looking at how they can bring in new people with different free aircraft.

Well it actually has less to do with money and more to do with getting a group of talented people that can become a 3rd party and be trusted enough with being awarded a license to acquire the necessary data to do a high fidelity simulation. Keep in mind that the Bell OH-58 Kiowa which did pretty much the same job as the O-2 Skymaster hardly had much people asking for it before. All it took to bring it to DCS was a group of talented and knowledgeable people to have the determination to set themselves up and acquire a license do it as a passion project.

I hope this team is in the process of trying to get a license so they can achieve third party status and do the A-4 right. They could save them selves a hassle in the long run. If they don't get this done as an official licensed module they risk loosing all that work to another 3rd party if they obtain a license for it first.

I think there is very much a case for military Cessna variants like the O-2 Skymaster. It was used in Vietnam as a forward air controller to find and direct the fighter jets and battle ships to a target.

There was some talk regarding this topic in the recent interview at 1:24:26. There has also been some recent discussions at ED about changing the way they bring in new people to DCS. Check out at 1:27:50.

Yup, Japan had been interested in acquiring some F-22 but the US would not allow it. Read more about in this article. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/4321/just-allow-the-f-22-to-be-exported-to-japan-already Here is another interesting article. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/23284/lockheed-pitching-u-s-air-force-on-f-22-f-35-hybrid-fighter-intended-for-japan

Yet again I have to bring this up which is why I wish this thread could be pinned to the top to avoid these unnecessary threads when people don't take the time to do their research. https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=282413 Your question is answered in this interview after 22:20min ED states in this interview that their trade mark is 100% realism.

Please have a listen to this recent interview with ED to be up to date. One of the things they talked about was updating the damage model on maps.

Whats wrong with just having a little patience. I imagine that this type of conversion can only be done at certain pace with out too many programmers making it more difficult.

ED has recently confirmed that they have no planes to do a C-130. But like a year ago RAZBAM had asked their Facebook followers what non combat aircraft would everyone be interested in and the C-130 came in as the Top requested. So maybe there is still hope with RAZBAM or one of the other 3rd parties.

In the last interview with ED it was mentioned that they do have plans to do a more advanced combined arms where not only would the models be updated bur the ground vehicles could be crewed. @1:08:56

Your getting way ahead to even be taking about this yet. ED has being talking about doing an Apache but it has yet to be confirmed officially. I am sure the Hunter killer missions will come in their due time after both helicopters have being in the game long enough to get the bugs fixed and for most systems updated and finished. In the mean time that will give you plenty of time to learn to operate the OH-58 when it comes out.

This is actually how some third parties started out. A group of people had a passion and know how about a particular aircraft to assemble a team to go through the process to make it happen by becoming an official 3rd party developer. With the latest one being TrueGrit Virtual Technologies with the Eurofighter Typhoon II being their passion project. So I guess your just going to have to look to find a group of individuals that share the same passion for Century Series jets to pool everyone's talents together to become a 3rd party developer. For more info about TrueGrit Virtual Technologies and the Eurofighter check out this page: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/newsletters/newsletter27032020-zghbvfnfr88xb2vdbd09gtujjye17qzx.html