Improved damage model

So, the F-18 is a lot of fun in a dogfight, however, the DM is totally sub-par.

I made a little statistic, and out of 50 times I was hit, 80% of the time somehow the bullets manage to completely destroy either the left or right elevon.

The remaining 10% of the time end up in either direct head shots, loss of an entire wing, or loss of engines which instantly disables your gun.

I am not talking about a healthy burst of bullets hitting you in a precise spot. I'm talking about as little as one bullet coming from ANY direction and resulting in disproportionate damage.

Funny facts:

- as little as one bullet can make your elevons disappear

- elevons are the first thing damaged even when being hit head-on

- a few bullets on the aileron/wingtip can result in total loss of the wing

When dogfighting another F-18, I get a lot of kills out of sheer luck. Just spray a few shots around, if one hits, it's a nearly instant kill.

Damage model is WIP. We just got over-G stress damage in the last patch, gonna take some time for all the little nuances. For me the biggest problem is losing both mission computers, and bye-bye FCS.

Agreed. Compare that to eagles, flankers and the F14 which can solider on once hit. I either die instantly (95%) or lose everything (5%).

It’s sad we’re a year and a half into development and it’s this fragile/poor.

I find the F18 extremely delicate overall to be honest.......even being hit by a couple of 7.62mm rifle rounds can end your flight very quickly, and I think I have never survived any kind of missile hit at all.....

Keep in mind that is EA

yep, same statistic as yours. 90% of time 1 bullet (or really few bullets in a lucky snapshot) kills F18 by totally destroying a wing, or shutting off the Whole plane (thats the more irrealistic part)

lose gun is really and i mean really irritating, as in the few times ( around 10%) that you're not dead, you cant even fight back.

hope ED fix also this soon, as are years that we dogfight like this, and is especially frustrating against F15 and F14 or even F5 !!

i've found some images of damaged F18, mid air collisions, a missile to an engine and even a crash.

wings still attached, except the crashed one, all them menaged to get back to base… seems real F18 is quite strong!

[...]

The damage model is a simplified one at the moment, as you maybe aware our new damage model which is starting with our WWII aircraft is in progress and this will eventually be developed for all aircraft in DCS. [...]

Just to be clear: The advanced damage model will come within the EA period correct? Or in other words: The F-18 will not leave EA with this simplified model in place?

heh.. i really hope so… right now its really frustrating fight (especially gun fight) against other planes… even mig21, F5 and …(LOL) even mig15 (LOL) is waaaay more solid and can take more punishment than F18.

its really, really frustrating lose a wing at each mirnor damage to wings, lose both engines and have a plane totally shut down each time a bullet hit the main body of the plane.

really hope it comes fast, at least a simple damage model but more in line with other planes !

heh.. i really hope so… right now its really frustrating fight (especially gun fight) against other planes… even mig21, F5 and …(LOL) even mig15 (LOL) is waaaay more solid and can take more punishment than F18.

its really, really frustrating lose a wing at each mirnor damage to wings, lose both engines and have a plane totally shut down each time a bullet hit the main body of the plane.

 

really hope it comes fast, at least a simple damage model but more in line with other planes !

oh boy. this E/A thing can get really frustrating. i thought the hornet would be at a point, where i wanted to buy it, but this sounds, as if i'm better off waiting a bit more...

oh boy. this E/A thing can get really frustrating. i thought the hornet would be at a point, where i wanted to buy it, but this sounds, as if i'm better off waiting a bit more...

Pfft. If you're going to buy it, just buy it and get it over and done with. Yes there are bugs and unfinished thing but its plenty flyable as it is.

Since the Hornet is pretty fragile, could the "hitpoints" be increased as a stopgap solution until the new damage model is rolled out to the modern fighters? Just to increase the survivability a tiny bit... :smartass:

[...] Yes there are bugs and unfinished thing but its plenty flyable as it is.

Not quite my thing.

Not quite my thing.

Just FYI, no plane in this game will ever be completely “finished” and bug-free. Even the decade old Ka-50 is still being patched every once in a while. This pretty much goes for any game or complex piece of software that’s ever existed. With all that said, the F/A-18 in its current state is easily one of the best modules in DCS, and holds its own against all adversaries in PvP multiplayer.

Just FYI, no plane in this game will ever be completely “finished” and bug-free. Even the decade old Ka-50 is still being patched every once in a while. This pretty much goes for any game or complex piece of software that’s ever existed. With all that said, the F/A-18 in its current state is easily one of the best modules in DCS, and holds its own against all adversaries in PvP multiplayer.

here is a standard :

one dont ask F14 invulnerability, but at least a decent damage model, not every hit plane explodes like Hollywood.

Almost 2 years after release and we still have a WIP damage model? That's a super basic feature in a combat sim.