Sabre-TLA

The AI is still a work in progress by ED and appears to change with each update. Positively it has improved from it's initial implementation but more work is still needed to get them to fly more like an actual human and not do dumb stuff. That being said there are a few good youtube videos showing BFM with the F-5E but I agree that it is much harder than in the F-15C or FA-18C for example. You can see the difference if you try our other campaigns (shameless product plug): F-15C Aggressors BFM FA-18C Aggressors BFM BFM is both an art and a science and there are many references for both however practice is the best advice for improving your skills. Here are some links to some notable youtube videos that we have found helpful: Art of the Kill Ward Carroll - Dogfighting 101 JamBockSydy - DCS F-5E Similar BFM Kills A very good (but lengthy) book to read is Fighter Combat Tactics and Maneuvering by Robert Shaw and there are many other useful documents on the internet that you might be able to get access to. It is a challenging skill to master and I think is one of the reasons why only a few pilots make it to TOPGUN as instructors.

Without a trk file to review it's hard to determine exactly what tripped the trigger to give the Q- rating however I've reviewed the triggers and the navigation test trigger is set for any deviation or delay in course, altitude or speed. So, for example, if you hear the FE say "Maintain 220 knots!". Then the program has found you either going too slow or too fast and this would set the flag value to indicate you deviated from the last ordered instruction. There is some wiggle room around the stated speed but not much (+ or - 10 to 20 knots). Likewise if the FE has to repeat an order like 'Climb to angels 10!" after already giving that order then you took too long to get to that altitude. If you hear "Good! Maintain this course, speed and altitude." then you know you are flying within the correct parameters and you shouldn't hear anything more from the FE unless you deviate or there is a new ordered instruction. Glad you are finding the campaign useful and please continue to report any questions or issues and we will do our best to answer them. Thanks.

That sounds like a problem with the triggers. I'll check the mission and ensure they are identical to mission 1 (they should be). Please ensure you do not have any MODS installed as they have been found to impact triggers in some missions and campaigns.

Final Flight Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free, I’m following the path God laid for me. I took his hand when I heard his call, I turned my back and left it all. I could not stay another day, To laugh, to love, to work, to play. Tasks left undone must stay that way, I’ve found that peace at the end of the day. If my parting has left a void, Then fill it with remembered joy. A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss, Ah, yes, these things too I will miss. Be not burdened with times of sorrow, I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow. My Life’s been full, I savoured much, Good friends, good times, a loved one’ touch. Perhaps my time seemed all too brief, Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief. Lift up your heart and share with me, God wanted me now, He set me free. Author: Unknown RIP Don. You will be missed.

Good feedback. As I recall we had to tweak the triggers somewhat to give users a chance at completing the maneuver (using a close enough estimate). I think the trick is to try and arc the barrel roll in such a way as to get sufficient altitude so that when you do the Split-S you end up at the same altitude you started. Much easier said than done.

We have a few campaigns on the go but once those are out of the way we should be able to generate some A-10A campaigns similar to the A-10C ones. Sorry no ETA but they are on our to do list.

Glad to hear you found a success path for the mission. Next time we update the missions I'll add the hints and tips as you suggested. No need to provide the .trk files as you now know how to make it work. If anyone else has a problem with it I'll refer them to your post. Thanks again and please report if you find any other issues with the missions. We continue to make adjustments as the game engine evolves.

Thanks for the feedback. We will investigate it. One thing we noticed the last time we tested was it was best to get level and trimmed and slow the speed down but keep it above stall before beginning the manual reversion test. You do need to manage airspeed once the gear is dropped so leave enough altitude to increase speed if necessary (nose down). If you attempt it again please post a trk file so we can review it. The latest 2.9 update has fixed many of the trk file issues so hopefully it will be easy to see the behavior and compare it to our tests.

Campaigns for the A-10C II are included in the campaign packages for the A-10C. It's two campaigns in one package for all BFT, AFT and TTQ campaigns! They should show up in the A-10C II campaigns folder once installed. I've asked ED to update the website description but they haven't done it yet. The campaigns have been updated for the current DCS version but as with any patch update things could break so please report issues here: https://forum.dcs.world/forum/309-maple-flag/ Thanks.

Our fix tested successfully and the updated files have been sent to ED. Will post again when I know if the changes will be included in the next patch update. Good news. ED has added the changes to their repo so the fix should be in the next patch.

No worries. All feedback is welcome and helps to make the missions better for all. If you have a question or concern likely other players will have the same as well. I'll add a note to the mission description indicating that the diagram is a suggested approach model but the player is free to choose their own way back to the runway.

Thanks for the feedback. Since this mission features an engine out condition our thinking is that you should return to Batumi as expediently as possible. The flight plan diagram shows a possible route giving more time on the approach however we didn't want to imply that players had to fly that specific route and only provided the waypoint at Batumi for reference. The only condition is that you bring the aircraft back safely. You are free to fly whatever approach you want just remember with an engine out you are limited in your power available for maneuvering.

Sorry this impacted you too. We are working on a fix for it.

Thanks for reporting that. We will check the triggers and submit a fix.

Ok thanks for confirming that.

Yes VIACOM can mess with some triggers. Have you been flying the practice mission campaign? The DLC includes a practice mission campaign which mimics each qualification mission but it starts in the air close to the range so you can get right into the action right away and perfect your tactics, techniques and procedures. I highly recommend you play the practice mission first to get the targets understood then use the qualification campaign to test your abilities with the full start, stop flight.

Good that you got past the first hurdle. Whenever you enter or exit the range you need to check in and check out with the range controller via the F10 menu. The fact that you didn't have an entry for exit could be a new bug. I'll check the triggers and let you know. Recon Stewart did a series of videos on these missions and they show a good walk through. The flight and procedures to and from the range are similar (some you need to do an AAR). You can view them here:

You could use a GBU-12 if desired as the mission is only testing for target elimination but we should understand why you got a Hard Deck violation to ensure something isn't broken. The Hard Deck changes after you hit WP Alpha. It is 100' over the range and 5000' when in the transit corridors. I checked the triggers and that is how they are setup. If you don't hit WP Alpha then the flags don't get set to change the hard deck to the lower value. Please post a trk or tacview so we can ensure the WP Alpha trigger is hit and see the exact altitude when the trigger reports the failure. You could try a DCS Repair to make sure everything is updated before trying again. Triggers are the same in the practice mission so we will test that as well. Let us know how it goes and thanks for reporting the issue.

Actually our Basic, Advanced and Tactical Qualification campaigns have been updated to include the A-10C II. So the download package contains 2 campaigns - one for the A-10C and one for the A-10C II. I'll talk to ED about getting the campaign descriptions updated as it's not clear from their current listing.

Thanks for the kind words. All input is welcome as we want to make the campaigns as useful and enjoyable for everyone.

Thanks for your continued interest. So far this year we have been updating our existing campaigns to correct issues related to the 2.8 release. The campaigns mentioned above still need some final testing and tweaking for 2.8. We are anxious to get them completed and into ED for review and release but unfortunately there is no formal release dates yet.

Thanks for the feedback and we are glad you are getting the experience we had hoped for. Your recommendations are spot on! We are refactoring and improving the campaigns so will consider including the threat profiles as you suggested. We look forward to ED's improvements in the AI as that will continue to improve the experience with these campaigns. We do plan on providing more BFM and ACM and Red Flag campaigns for the various aircraft platforms and we hope the player's experience in flying them in sequence (BFM, ACM then Red Flag) will ensure a more successful outcome in the Red Flag missions and any other future missions the player chooses. Thanks for your support and encouragement!

You might encounter a problem with the wingman when landing. Some users have indicated the AI has a tendency to turn into the user on Final causing a fatal crash. We have a fix prepared and will be testing it soon so hopefully it will future proof the AI from crashing into the player on landing. Just watch out for it in the current version.

Thanks for reporting the issue. We will review the track and retest the mission. We are refactoring some of our other campaigns so will be retesting and updating this one again soon.

Campaigns for the A-10C II are included in the campaign packages for the A-10C. It's two campaigns in one package for all BFT, AFT and TTQ campaigns! They should show up in the A-10C II campaigns folder once installed. Good point about the website. We will get that updated.