Lieuie

Patience is a virtue, I guess.

Cobra did say that they were going to make in-depth gameplay videos early 2018.

I really hope this is the calm before the storm.

I see, thanks.

That's what I mean. I didn't assume it was inverted since you can clearly see the numbers are not inverted. It just seems a bit confusing. I checked with other Russian planes and they are not that way so it seems it is specific to this plane. It just seems weird why blue as the ground and brown as the sky.

I just noticed that the ADI is inverted which seems weird. Why is that?

From the Carl Vinson.

Isn't that what everyone is doing? Nobody is implementing every single small change that happens on an airplane because it is simply not possible since changes occur constantly. Also what if you flew without a LANTIRN pod? Wouldn't that mean that you can cover aircraft before 1995? Furthermore they model the F-14A with the TF-30 engines as well. This is something that we haven't for a single module in DCS. Would it be great if it is going to be implemented? Yes but even if it isn't, I don't think that it is a deal breaker. One of the biggest lessons you learn from the Tomcat story is work with what you have.

Personally I don't mind the limited multiplayer abilities as I believe that this might actually be a plane that could be better on singleplayer than multiplayer especially if it's paired with a really good campaign. What if this was the plane that intrduced dynamic campaings. Heatblur I am giving you gold.

Well it does say virtual reality support on the key features on the pre-purchase page but nothing more than that.

On the update they seem to be talking specifically about the Mi-24 when they mention crew AI which makes me question if it will work on the F-4, although them being one of the biggest third party developers I would expect that they will be working or are already working in their own implementation of a RIO AI that's why I said that I'm not holding my breath. Still there are some possibilities that they would integerate Jester AI in the F-4 if Heatblur does make an offer to them to implement it. I think it would be appealing to Belsimtek not to have to create the AI logic but just take the already existing one Heatblur has been creating for a few years by now and just tweaking it to suit the F-4. They might however prefer to do it themselves for various reasons. Also Heatblur did say they were looking to market Jester AI to third parties in the future so we don't know if they are in a position to do it yet. Anyway that's all speculations from my part from what I have read on the updates from each company. I am just extrpolating from that and stating what is possible.

Every module seems to have training missions to some extent so I don't see why it wouldn't. On early access however we should expect very basic missions like ramp start, takeoff, landing, navigation and simple guns employment. Also make sure you watch the videos Wags has made for the it as it is a great source of information. Also in his live video part 2 you can clearly see some instant action missions that will probably be available when it releases which will help us in familiarizing with the Hornet's systems. If you haven't seen it here is the link:

The question is how effective it would be especially on the multiplayer arena. Also we might need a bigger map.

I also wish for the Navy version of the Phantom although since Belsimtek is working on the F-4E I think that if someone is going to create them it will be them. However what we could see is Jester AI if Heatblur really does licence it to them and they accept to implement it, which would be great although I'm not holding my breath. The A-6 would be nice but what about a SR-71. Wouldn't that be awsome?

Thanks for the reply and don't worry about it. Better late than never right? Back on the big dilemma, I would say that flying as a pilot/RIO team is probably going to be the ultimate F-14 experience but it could be very frustrating too if the one in the back (or in the front for that matter) isn't very well aquainted with the aircraft systems. Also having more aircraft means more firepower and you can't really argue with that. Having said that, I think that training as a pilot/RIO pair is going to be one of the most fun and engaging things to do with this module. The biggest question for now I think is if Jester AI will be a competent enough pilot that you would be able to train as a RIO effectively since it might not always be possible to have someone fly you around unless there are going to be dedicated servers for it. Anyways for now we can only wait and see.

Don't dismiss Jester AI before you try it out. Heatblur has gone to great lengths to make sure it feels as close to a real RIO as possible. The best option however would be to have a friend be the backseater. I am still trying to convince my brother to get the F-14 so I can have a real person in the back. Having said that I am really intrigued by Jester AI and I am looking forward to see how well it will work out. It would be interesting to see if you and a friend decide to play in multiplayer as a pilot and a RIO or if both of you would fly a different F-14 with Jester in the back.

From the last updates that Cobra showed us I get the feeling that the Tomcat will ready to release late February early March or there about. The problem is that we don't get many updates about the Tomcat while the Hornet gets one almost daily. Also we haven't seen anything other than the Chromcat and a few finished bits and pieces making us think that it is still far off. However the big mystery this time around is the huge amount of time from the pre-purchase availability until the early access release and the vagueness of the early access date. As far as I know most pre-purchases start about a month before the release so this puts hope in me that we will get the Tomcat before the Hornet. Well, we can only wait and see.

I personally think that the F-14 will be released before the F/A-18. If you think about it ED probably started the pre-purchase so early so it wouldn't collide with the F-14. That way they get people interested in the Hornet to pre-purchase it while the rest wouldn't have bought it anyway as it is in early access. Since they have gotten most of their sales they can now release the F-14. Also I get the feeling that the yak-52 and the Christen Eagle II might get released in this period as well as they seem to be very close to completion and they don't have complex systems like the Hornet.

Just to confirm. Can you use the gift card more than once?

It seems that our beloved Tomcat is difficult to work on even in digital form. Keep the good work guys. We (although I can only speak for myself) will try to patiently wait for the release.

One week to go :)

Is this going to be a Warthog stick or a completely seperate joystick? Both maybe?

In about a week at September 22nd it will be the 43rd anniversary of the Tomcat's introduction to the USN and also the 11nth anniversary of its retirement so I do hope we will see a big update from Heatblur to honor the aircraft.

I don't think we will see the strait of Hormuz map before the F/A-18C is out, plus from what we have heard already we can speculate that the Caucasus map update will come first

That's some really good news. It feels like it can't come fast enough. Thanks for the reply.