Jagr

I was wondering if there was any further news on the port over of the AN/AAQ 28 LITENING Pod from the AV8B after Wags announced around the first of the year that this would be introduced before the ATFLIR and shorten the wait substantially..

I agree wholeheartedly about the color palette being used adding to the problem. If the targets were more distinct from the background in color palette it would help a lot. As far as making it more "realistic" people need to accept the fact that the M1 eyeball is not well represented even by the most high def monitor. The ability to spot airborne objects, reflections, and movement is dramatically easier in real life than using a monitor. As someone who has played thousands of hours of flight sims dating back to the late 80's I can say that the single issue that has kept me from playing DCS (and most of my squad mates from AW, Warbirds,IL2) is the ability to spot enemy aircraft in flight. Lately I play more single player than multiplayer but I would LOVE the ability to set the zoom size myself to a level that makes it enjoyable for me. If they are worried about online play fairness then make it a HOST setting so everyone is on the same page. I so want to play this sim but its just not enjoyable when spotting is so difficult even at relatively short ranges with slower prop aircraft..

The the helmet visor button is in the up position and the visors are down? :) I think I can live with it.. the photo's look incredible. The crew looks more lifelike than in any sim I've every seen.

Its probably not as accurate as it could be because the systems models ar enot as accurate as a real jet, but the M3 was found to be lacking in terms of knock down power very early on and attempts to remedy it were started (GUNVAL) A short burst from an F86 is definitely not something that "Should" bring down a Mig.. "Could" yes, "Should" No.

M1 eyeballs are massively better at picking up movement, color, shape, contrast etc in real life that can be represented on the best monitors. Its not even close. Because of the shortcomings of monitors you need to compensate. I really think that the contrast and color pallete of the objects are too close to the background when they are fading and longer ranges. Obviously you don't want jet black dots that are visible for a hundred miles but with more shading/contrast the motion would be more visible against eh terrain

I was thinking of Iconic Aircraft that would be important to the game for a variety of reasons. At the same time they would be popular enough to be financially viable. I came up with this list... I've left out things like the F14/F/A18 that are apparently in the pipeline already. F4 Phantom Initially probably an Air Force E version (It has the internal gun and its the version that became the most common export type to see in later conflicts. I think it would be a very popular multi purpose AC and a foe for the amazing Mig 21. B17F/G Its the missing major piece for the WWII ETO Arena A viable bomber for the P51D's to Protect and the LW to go after. The potential crew station detail would be a AWESOME task to create but it would be amazing. A6 Intruder Pretty amazing and iconic Would open up some historical missions with the other planes in or soon to be in game. Pan Avia Tornado Who doesn't remember running the length of the runway laying out that JP233 dispenser as tracers went all around :) F111 Aardvark Not as daunting a task as modelling either of the next two but an iconic strike aircraft. These two would be more long shots because they would be a bear to introduce with the same detail level as the current smaller AC B52 I throw this and the next one in because the plane set could open up some very interesting 1960's through 1980's Cold War Gone Hot scenarios. Avro Vulcan So ugly its amazing.. enough said.

I've looked around quite a bit and never found anything either..

F4 Phantom..

F4 If I were going to model a US Navy prop aircraft for the Sim I would make the AD-4 Skyraider first. It would go well in an arena with the Mig15 and Sabre. (And a later arena with Mig21's and what ever future development comes along) It has not been often modelled in Sims and never to anywhere near the DCS level of accuracy. Once the AD-4 and some type of CV were implemented its only a matter of time before the sexy F9F would make an appearance :)

F4 I would buy the F4E in a heartbeat... It would be enormously popular and open up and enormous number of possibilities in a European setting against Mig 21's as well as in South East Asia and the Middle East.. Its multi role capability and simple avionics make it a very good choice for the series..

The inability to see targets in the air in particular (and the ground to s lesser extent) has been what has always prevented me from enjoying this game. I have continued to support the project and have most of the modules, but I almost never play it. The way I see it the size and detail of the object is not the issue, its the color palette. Having the "Dot" of the target half a shade darker than the surrounding terrain/sky and then have haze blending everything together just makes it impossible for me to spot the planes until they are right on top of me. With the older system (1.2) and the mod that allowed a black or grey dot to be inserted as an icon made a HGE difference for me. With the current system where the size can be adjusted if the image of the aircraft was offset in color from the surrounding more it would be a game changer. This is NOT realistic.. I've been in the air and I can tell you that the capabilities of the monitor compared to the M1 eyeball are not even close. The ability to pick up objects, color differences and movement is VASTLY easier in real life than it is in here. The problem isn't the sizes being wrong. The problem is that while the viewing distances and relative LOD is being addressed the shortcomings of the presentation of that information on the monitor are not being addressed. The objects need to stand out from the background color palette more so that relative motion can be observed For online play I can see where you want the playing field level, but most people play offline or coop with people they know where "cheating" isn't the concern, enjoyment is. I really had high hopes that the new viewing system was going to make this playable and so far its not really any better. For me at least.

I've played a lot of Sims going back to the late 80's and early 90's. DCS has the most accurately modeled aircraft of any of the Sims available. But despite having that advantage, it is a very "sterile" game. The ability to see aircraft and their lack of contrast against the background makes it extremely difficult for new players (and old players alike) I have flown, and I know this topic has been brought up many times, but the ability to see an aircraft against the background in this Sim is a poor representation of reality. Its the first turn off for new players that I convince to give the game a try. The color palette or the haze or the manner in which the object LOD is handled.. I'm not sure which is the main culprit, but a silver AC that it at relatively short range and silhouetted against the ground should be FAR more easily observed than in the current DCS engine. My gut feeling is that the there needs to be more contrast between the objects (aircraft) and the world.. they tend to be lost in the palette of the terrain and that lack of definition is what kills it.. I REALLY REALLY hope that the new graphics engine will allow this situation to be greatly improved because despite owning almost all the modules, I rarely fly it compared to other sims which handle this issue better.

I'm really lazy :)

No, I program my TM gear directly from the game with no scripting.. so any key is assigned I can set it.

Ok, first of all I am talking about the Airbrakes not the flaps as some people commented in depth on. And my interest is simple.. I have a Warthog setup and the ability to have a momentary brake switch would allow me to use a button/switch ONCE for the typical dog fight type deployments saving me 50% of the wear and tear on the expensive hardware. I also want the current full time on and off for other uses.

Is it possible to program a momentary airbrake switch similar to the Mig15.. i.e. brake deploys as you hold it down but retracts when you release it?

When you are talking about weapons and firepower its really important to realize how each round was designed to cause damage first.. The Mk108 shell was designed to cause structural damage through rapid expansion of the gasses inside a closed portion of the aircraft.. it was fused that way as well. If you fire a 108 into a small airspace and it detonates inside the resulting damage is spectacular. It can literally cause aircraft to break it half when combined with the stresses of flight. The casing is relatively thin to maximize the explosive filler which reduces the frag content.. a trade off. Its also a low velocity round that could be adversely effected by impact angle. You might have rounds skip then detonate on a wing of a B17 if it hit just right. Hits to other areas where surface paneling is damaged can make aircraft very difficult to keep in the air and almost impossible to fight it.. but its not the dramatic explosion and instant kill most people expect. Kinetic rounds do their damage through the energy they carry and penetrate vital AC components or crew. Smaller cannon rounds or API rounds are a combination of Kinetic damage as well as an added component of HE or I effect that's acts accordingly. They are a compromise round that are not as effective on large AC like a B17 like a Mk108 would be, but they are higher volume and more easily targeted on smaller AC. Thicker casing, more fragmentation and mass for the KE effect, but less filler.. again a trade off.. Consider the detail of the damage model physics and the myriad of variations of impact conditions that occur and you can see that any type of damage model is going to be limited in its "reality" What I think is critical is that flight performance degrade as the structure of the AC takes damage either through parasitic drag from damage skin or through warping/damage to the airfoil. This argument has been played out dozens of times in great detail fating back to the AirWarrior and Warbirds days 25 years ago now. I can say from experience that the potential to make it more accurate in this game engine is VARY high compared to the old days. And, peoples perception of how things really were differ from how things REALLY were. There is no magic formula. You can model the best "average: you want but in reality there were always golden BB's that took out something vital with minimal hits and cases where EVERYTHING was hit EXCEPT the vital things that let AC get home.. there is some randomness in real life that defies the math models or physics engines. Just realize that however "unreal" the current situation is I can tell you that it is generations ahead of what we had when I started flight simming

I purchased the BS2 Upgrade version since I already had BS1. I installed it and it works fine. Now, after installing DCS 1.2.4 Do I need to download the "Upgrade" version of BS2 or is that only for new installs?

Lets remember, or learn, that only about 800 Fw1900's were actually used in combat. Their disproportionate fame is in part due to the excellence, and part due to the LW's numbers being so low in the last few months that 800 airframes was significant

Then simply do not buy it until the official release. Problem solved.

It was already stated that everything is a work in progress including the manual.. they were asking for notification if people found errors so I think its a safe bet that this is NOT final. That doe snot mean the "Not Implemented" issue is going to change. Those may be feature decisions they made during the development cycle.

THat very same version of the Cobra fired the first air launched TOW missiles towards the end of the Viet Nam war. Whether or not they choose to model them is another story, but they were capable of using them.

3D Model I read in the threads that the Emil was selected because the author had access to the 3D model. What format 3D model is required for this? On another note, it might be better if the skin of this or whatever model gets done next is a little more distinct from the terrain palette.. this gets pretty washed out. Great work for a "quick and dirty" MOD.. very much appreciated. Would it be possible to take the in game P51D internal and 3D and simply give it a new 3D model so we could at least have online combat with easy air ID? A late model 109 or Fw would be a good 3D adversary.. Maybe even a Yak9P for a Korean war flavor..

Current Status? Without having to read through 26 pages I was wondering what the current status of this project is? I've seen the FSX versions and they are very VERY impressive.. just wondering if this has been shelved for now or is under construction?

The standard was pattern harmonization, but a good number of the better pilots changed that to point harmonization because they felt (and I agree) that the pattern harmonization was designed for less experienced pilots and penalized the better shooters.