Replay tracks should include sanity checks

The Replay Tracks are a mess and everyone knows it.

In my case, I was quite proud of my performance in Bear Trap campaign mission 6 and I wanted to make a video from replay. In the original play, I fired 2 AMRAAMs at 2 SU27s. Both hit and I could proceed with the mission. This is also clear in the saved TacView track. Upon replay, one of the missiles misses and the mission goes astray, the surviving SU27 making a turn and killing me one minute later.

So I strongly think that in the long term DCS should migrate from the current track system.

Short term, simple sanity checks should be added. Apart from inputs, the track should save major events that occured - object destruction being the most obvious. The record would mark that at 05:06:07.890 aircraft#1 is hit by missile#2. In replay, even if something goes wrong and the missile misses, the event should still occur. Ideally, simple (x,y,z) coordinates should be added as well for all objects at some time intervals (every x seconds) and the calculated positions from saved inputs should be checked against saved coordinates and adjusted if needed. This would fix the crashing bugs some players are experiencing.

Medium term, a separate TacView-like track should be recorded with more info for each aircraft.

Long term, hopefully, a balance could be found between the 2 methods, something that would work for the game's architecture but would also allow for the track to be played back and forth.

If you just let the track play to the end without touching anything, it will play without errors. I'm not sure if this is always the case, but it has been for me this far. As soon as you change the view during the replay, you can't go back to the original recorded track view, and the track gets messed up.

Because of that I always save additional backup track which stays untouched when the other one gets messed up.

I don't know why this issue has remained for so long without being fixed. This is where Eagle Dynamics can probably learn something from 1C Game

Studios and their IL2 series. Their replay tracks work perfectly. Maybe methods they use can not be applied in DCS without changing lot of things.

Also, it would be nice to have the IL2's "Track view" which, after changing the view during track playback, brings you back to the original recorded gameplay view and original head movements.

Well, I tried not touching anything, not changing the playback speed, etc., and it still happens.

I checked the original vs. playback in TacView. In some cases I had multiple targets selected and in the replay all missiles were launched at the same target instead on separate ones.

If you just let the track play to the end without touching anything, it will play without errors. I'm not sure if this is always the case, but it has been for me this far. As soon as you change the view during the replay, you can't go back to the original recorded track view, and the track gets messed up.

For me this has worked, but it is not a very satisfying solution, because I want to watch it from outside.

It seems like those missiles are not guided any more, when you touch something in the replay. Everything else works fine, but some annoying bug is causing the missiles to flight straight into nowhere instead of tracking the target properly like in the original play.

I'm regularly finding issues with replaying tracks after running the Caucasus F/A-18C Carrier Takeoff mission. During the mission I will land on the carrier (sometimes :doh:), but the replay will show the F/A-18C crashing into the water.

As mentioned by others, the TacView track plays correctly though. As a side note, I only recently noticed that in TacView you can get an LSO view by going into 'cockpit' view with the carrier selected. I was hoping to do this in DCS with the LSO view (LALT + F9).

It seems this has been a problem for quite a while. I really hope it's something that ED addresses soon as I think replaying tracks is something I'd regard as an important element to DCS.

I really hope it's something that ED addresses soon as I think replaying tracks is something I'd regard as an important element to DCS.

They're not going to address it soon and they don’t respond anymore to questions/comments/concerns about tracks, if they ever did. It’s one of the biggest and longest running and most posted about issues with the core sim that has spanned every single version, and ED pretends like it doesn’t exist.

All I know is that in the ten friggin years that tracks have been borked there has never been the slightest indication that they plan to fix them.

I do agree !!! I hope that somebody from ED will take time to read this thread and will be kind to tell us was is planned to fix this important part of the simulator up…...

...they don’t respond anymore to questions/comments/concerns about tracks, if they ever did. It’s one of the biggest and longest running and most posted about issues with the core sim that has spanned every single version...

...ten friggin years...

Personally I think we should keep this thread or one of the hundreds similar bumped to the top, or better yet, maybe each and every person who’s experienced a track fault should post and bump a new thread, until ED acknowledges this issue and at the very least explains why it’s gone unaddressed for so long.

If they say “it’s being worked on but no solution has been found,” or “a new replay system is in the works,” then that’s something to go on. Even “tracks are fundamentally unworkable and there is no fix expected.” Fine, at least we know.

In short:

ED, WHAT IS GOING ON WITH TRACKS???

To get more attention of the ED-team we should start a poll:

Is fixing the bugs of the replay tracks more important for you than all the other issues in DCS (like fixing the Hornet)?

( ) Yes

( ) No

I would certainly choose (x) Yes. :music_whistling:

seem like ED is not responding! They don't care???

seem like ED is not responding! They don't care???

Chill dude... it's a brand new thread.

:doh:sigh..... isn't it a fundamental part of the sim? a lot of first for me have been missed

1st landing

1st trap

1st AAR

ect, ect................

Even Mario Kart has a replay option :)