TacoGrease

F model Rhino would be amazing

Pre-ordered the V.F.X. today! Can’t wait to get it :)

I can’t speak for everyone, but, realistically, it seems pretty unlikely that (to my knowledge) a newcomer will be able to touch VirPil’s or VKB’s bases any time soon. Building a throttle, however, is another story.

Dang...I’d throw money at a Rhino in DCS...

Bump

For the record, I did not mention/reference you in any capacity, yet you chose to respond. Nonetheless, thank you for helping to prove my overall point :thumbup: Precisely - it would be awful lol

The thing about realism in a game is that it’s implementation is always going to be subjective. For example, switching between front and back seat in the Tomcat and/or using the current LANTIRN Pilot solution. Unrealistic, perhaps, but at least you’re still in the *same* airframe. Suddenly choosing to swap to another platform like a Harrier or Hornet in the middle of the match would be incredibly unrealistic. Obviously a pilot may fly multiple platforms over the course of his/her career, but he/she will only be operating one type/model of aircraft at a time, correct? Side note: Can you imagine inviting some of the folks from this thread over for a party? I imagine it would be like this lol :D

Just ordered from Foxx. Obviously haven’t received my stuff yet, but working with him has been amazing - one of the best customer service experiences I’ve ever had, full stop.

Huh. “U.S. And U.K. F-35 Jets Include 'Core' Circuit Boards From Chinese-Owned Company” https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/06/15/chinese-owned-company-supplies-electronics-on-u-s-and-u-k-f-35-fighter-jets/

Would definitely be nice to have it work properly

Hopefully Heatblur will take the economically sound approach to the problem. More functionality/greater accessibility = more sales. So having an official solution like the current LANTIRN mod makes a lot of sense from that perspective alone. And as I’ve said, if it frees them up to allocate resources to other features, then it should be a no-brainer.

False. You’re assuming that all the F-14 jockeys are proficient in RIO and/or LANTIRN. Definitely not at all true. The F-14 pilots using the LANTIRN solution will likely (1) have A2G loadouts that make them more vulnerable to A2A and (2) will be less focused on their radar given the need to manipulate LANTIRN. If anything, both factors reduce the threat posed by an individual F-14 to someone flying against it. +1. I doubt the people “arguing” against it have ever even used it.

100%

There have been a lot of good points made here in favor of keeping the LANTIRN pilot “mod,” including suggestions for regulating its use in a multiplayer environment. Personally, I think the evidence in favor of keeping it - if not making it outright official - is absolutely overwhelming, especially if it frees up Heatblur resources to focus on other aspects of F-14 development. However, I’ll be the first to admit that my opinion is mine alone - others will have to decide for themselves based on the presented discussion points. At this point, my one request to Heatblur - and it is just a request - is that the current LANTIRN Pilot solution is not purposefully eliminated until a suitable alternative has been developed. Losing single player LANTIRN functionality before having an alternate method in place would be, frankly, pretty disheartening. It sounds like quite a few other F-14 owners would agree.

With all due respect, you’ve completely missed Banzaii’s point as well as mine. Neither one of us is saying to get rid of Jester or Iceman - that should be clear. While I cannot speak for Banzaii, I am personally referring to Heatblur allocating resources to developing Jester LANTIRN functionality when this “mod” already provides an excellent, elegant, and simple solution to an otherwise complex problem. Keep the “mod,” make it official, and move on to developing other features or correcting other bugs. Again, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel here. Multi crew is not always possible or desirable, full stop. So your “solution” - that the F-14 only be used in multiplayer with a human RIO - is a non-starter. Heatblur made the design decision years ago to allow a single player to operate a two-seat aircraft. They have consciously made the decision to make it more accessible and more flexible, and the continued additions of Jester functionality should make it obvious that that decision has not changed. If anything, QuiGon, given that Jester and Iceman are not disappearing from the game as you prefer, you should be a fan of this “mod.” As I’ve made quite plain, using the current LANTIRN Pilot solution would allow Heatblur to readily focus on developing other features. And, obviously, less time spent on developing Jester/Iceman functionality means more time can be spent on developing the features you want. Seems like a no-brainer. Edit: LANTIRN Pilot solution, as it currently exists, seems like the fastest single player solution for manipulating LANTIRN effectively. As others have pointed out, a Jester-based solution would likely be much slower. However, even now, a human RIO/human pilot teaming will still be able to operate more effectively than a single pilot using the LANTIRN Pilot solution. Thus, the incentive to still use a competent human RIO when possible is preferable - that hasn’t changed.

+1. Adding LANTIRN functionality to Jester is an incredibly difficult task (I genuinely don’t know why people wouldn’t rather have Heatblur working on other functionality). The mod is a great hybrid solution that keeps pilots in the front seat while still allowing for single pilot functionality. Reinventing the wheel when the solution already exists doesn’t make any sense - especially when you consider certain basic limitations of DCS (e.g. the tracking algorithm for Area/Point track). At the end of the day, this is an amazingly detailed, beautifully executed simulation - but it’s not real life. It is a game. There has to be compromise between “realism” and gameplay, including the recognition that the limitations of the game alone make certain compromises necessary.

To clarify, you don’t want the pilot to control LANTIRN, and you don’t want one player to be able to move between pilot and RIO seats? With all due respect, that’s an unreasonable position. What RAZBAM does with the F-15E is moot - that is their choice. Heatblur made the design decision to include Jester and Iceman from the ground up as integral parts of the F-14 module. Jester’s presence alone makes it possible for one person to operate a multi crew aircraft. If you apply your logic universally, that would also suggest you’d prefer the absence or Jester/Iceman altogether. The question again becomes: why? (It’s already been discussed that the LANTIRN mod doesn’t make anything easier, so the argument for unfairness is also invalid).

As has been noted, using LANTIRN with either Jester or through this “mod” means a significant increase in pilot workload. Whether the pilot directly controls LANTIRN or controls it through Jester doesn’t matter - he still has to control LANTIRN. A single pilot has to be able to use LANTIRN in either of those two ways - otherwise that significantly limits singleplayer campaign or mission options. The two free campaigns for the F-14 - Cage the Bear and Operation Persian Gauntlet - both require the use of LANTIRN to play, and they are excellent campaigns that add hours of content to one of the best modules available in DCS. There are a lot of other things Heatblur could be working on instead of developing a (likely) clunkier way to use LANTIRN as pilot through Jester. Keeping this “mod” so that Heatblur can focus on other things seems like the obvious no-brainer.

+1

Ding ding ding. There we go. Trying to work through the Jester menu to have him replicate what this mod can do is a bit useless - it’s a waste of effort/reinventing the wheel when Heatblur can be focusing on other things. Allow this mod/make it official - just have to think about it as telling Jester what to do. For the folks who don’t want to use it, cool - no one is forcing you to touch LANTIRN. But again, that’s another reason for Heatblur to leave this mod alone - why reinvent the wheel on a functionality that a lot of Turkey drivers don’t seem to want to use? There’s still incentive to use a human RIO - at the end of the day, two people working together will always be able to achieve a better result than a one man band. But we have to acknowledge that a human RIO isn’t always feasible - I have friends with whom I fly but have difficulty coordinating flying schedules. What, you’re going to fly an hour to Surface Target only to have Jester lose track of the lazed target after weapons release, with no way to correct the problem yourself? Yeah, that sounds fun...

Definitely agreed - once you get your keybindings set, it's an absolute blast

Let's see - I think it's the 22nd mission. It's the destruction of an Iranian chem weapons plant. "INC09_E.miz" "INC10_E.miz" Curiously, in the Mission Editor, the player F-14 flight is present, but not when you actually play. Little help? lol

That's great to hear! Definitely feeling a bit better about the pre-order after seeing your post. Don't forget, it will also be the perfect stick for the F-15E :smilewink:

Lots of mentions of the F-15E in the press releases related to the Thrustmaster F/A-18C grip...would love to see the other RAZBAM modules finished so we can get some more news on the Mudhen :P

+2. Pre-ordered my TM Hornet stick last night.