Cobra847 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 (edited) Dear All, First off, thank you all for your kind words of support and positive attitude to our announcement. It is a great motivator to put in those long hours when you know you've got such a great community behind you. Sincere gratitude from the entire team. Also a big thank you to those of you who have gone above and beyond to spread the news of our announcement. While it's still relatively early in the development process, it's good to get some awareness out there right off the bat. We've been kind of quiet lately, but not to worry; it is simply an effect of the large workload placed on each and every member of the team. Ambitious plans require hard work and much of our focus lies on attaining planned development sprints. Unfortunately, a byproduct of this is that many of your questions about the F-14 have gone unanswered. I've been gathering many of these and they will be answered in the FAQ section of our new F-14 site section coming next week. Therein you will also find a lot of information on various features of the aircraft and our design goals for e.g. JESTER AI. We're due for a monthly update, which will have some information about other developments and the MiG-21. Thus, I'll be keeping this F-14 specific update fairly short. Art Development We're now essentially feature complete on both exterior and interior models for the F-14, including the majority of integration work and animations. Thus, preparatory work for diffuse, specular and normal map texture creation has begun. With the F-14, we're pioneering several new techniques based on the tried-and-tested industry standard sculpting and baking workflow. We've already put this to good use for our other unreleased, in development aircraft, but we're hoping to take it that one step further for the F-14. We hope we can further enhance the realism of both our exterior and interior textures and the initial results are very promising. It's very exciting for us as artists to have the opportunity to apply years of accumulated knowledge to a project such as the F-14. We hope to capture every minutiae detail, down to the touched up lumps of paint. Something many of you have concerns about is performance. We're taking a very pro-active stance on ensuring that performance is optimal at release this time around. We very much wish to ensure that the F-14 will perfectly on the vast majority of systems, and approaching things more carefully from the beginning will make it easier for us to make adjustments in the future. Attached below you can see some Work in Progress renders of the cockpit. Do note that these images have flaws, so take them with a few pinches of salt. Codebase Development Not counting the Radar and HUD (two big systems in themselves), the Tomcat contains, by our count, roughly 67 Major systems, of which 37 are related to Flight and Flight Controls. In addition to this, one must take into account the size and difficulty of both the JESTER AI system and the External Flight Model. Noting that the F-14 is a massively difficult undertaking is putting it mildly. Currently, heavy focus lies on creation of the AICS (Inlet Control System), Hydraulic System and Electrical System. These systems, together with the Engine and grouped control systems lay the basis for the construction of the swing-wing EFM that will capture the spirit and real performance of the F-14. There is yet a long road ahead, and many difficult tasks to complete, but we have absolutely no reservations about our capabilities nor our choice of aircraft. We look forward to sharing more progress with you soon. Thank you for your support, Sincerely, Leatherneck Simulations . Edited March 21, 2015 by Cobra847 2 Nicholas Dackard Founder & Lead Artist Heatblur Simulations https://www.facebook.com/heatblur/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundar Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 It's beautiful, those renders are fantastic. Great to see the pride you guys are taking in this project. Mig-21bis was a beautiful study in detail, I can imagine this will be gifted just as much, if not more love. Top shelf work so far guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pizzicato Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Exciting stuff and the model's looking great! Thanks for the comprehensive update, Cobra. :thumbsup: i7-7700K @ 4.9Ghz | 16Gb DDR4 @ 3200Mhz | MSI Z270 Gaming M7 | MSI GeForce GTX 1080ti Gaming X | Win 10 Home | Thrustmaster Warthog | MFG Crosswind pedals | Oculus Rift S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greekbull Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Awesome thanks for the update! Can't wait! AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D | ASUS Crosshair Hero X670E | 64GB G Skill Trident Z DDR5 6000 | Nvidia RTX 4090 FE| Samsung EVO Plus 6 TB M.2 PCIe SSDs | TM Hornet Stick/WinWing Hornet Throttle and MIP | VPC T-50 Stick Base | TM TPR Rudder Pedals W/Damper | Varjo Aero/Pimax Crystal VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet Carrier Strike Group One(CSG-1) Discord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokeyTheLung Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 sweet! System specifications: Computer, joystick, DCS world, Beer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OilcanHarry Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 That is totttttaly immmmpressive, really looking forward to following the progress to the finish line of this beauty. Thank you and your team for the time and effort you are putting into this. First day buy for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateZilla Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Guessin' this is A/early B as there is no HUD Glass (projected onto Windscreen)? Windows 10 Pro, Ryzen 2700X @ 4.6Ghz, 32GB DDR4-3200 GSkill (F4-3200C16D-16GTZR x2), ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate, XFX RX6800XT Merc 310 (RX-68XTALFD9) 3x ASUS VS248HP + Oculus HMD, Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS + MFDs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentGun Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 THIS LOOKS AMAZING!!! I just got my hype again :D Link to my Imgur screenshots and motto http://imgur.com/a/Gt7dF One day in DCS... Vipers will fly along side Tomcats... Bugs with Superbugs, Tiffy's with Tornado's, Fulcrums with Flankers and Mirage with Rafales... :)The Future of DCS is a bright one:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uboats Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 (edited) bravo!!!! another great update! mig-21 model has brought us a 3rd-party standard which has been further enhanced by this f-14 wip pit Edited March 21, 2015 by uboats [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] My DCS Mods, Skins, Utilities and Scripts | Windows 10 | i7-4790K | GTX 980Ti Hybrid | 32GB RAM | 3TB SSD | | TM Warthog Stick | CH Pro Throttle + Pro Pedal | TIR5 Pro | TM MFD Cougar | Gun Camera: PrtScn | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Guessin' this is A/early B as there is no HUD Glass (projected onto Windscreen)? Maybe i'm wrong but only D version mounted traditional-glass-Hud. Bye Phant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLion213 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 This may be a WIP, but the renders look PHENOMENAL. It will be amazing when it's done and I am very impressed. I hear you on the huge numbers of systems - it seems like a massive project. I applaud you for taking it on. It will be worth the wait! Best, Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rag48 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLion213 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Guessin' this is A/early B as there is no HUD Glass (projected onto Windscreen)? The F-14B got the Sparrowhawk HUD starting around 2001 (seemed like most squadrons had it by 2002-2003). I'm thinking the LNS F-14A+/B will be closer to a true A+ - the 1990s version. That is till the F-14B Upgrade add-on module... Just a thought, I think it would sell. But I'm really looking forward to this 1980s-1990s version - my favorite timeframe for Tomcats! -Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dartuil Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 U show two cockpits which one is A and B? I dont know them. i7 2600k -- Noctua NH-D14--Asrock Z75 Pro3--ASUS GTX970 Strix --16Go Ripjaws X 1333--Thermaltake Smart M650--CoolerMaster Silencio 652S--AOC E2752VQ-- Sandisk Extreme II 480GB--Saitek X-52 Pro --SAITEK PZ35 Pedals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akatsuki Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Amazing stuff guys ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pizzicato Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 (edited) U show two cockpits which one is A and B? I dont know them. I don't think you're seeing two cockpits - just the front seat and the back seat of the same variant. What I'm less sure about is whether or not the cockpit avionics changed significantly between the A and the B. I was under the impression that the main difference was the output of the engines, but I could be wrong on that. http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2013/04/f-14a-versus-the-f-14b/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_F-14_Tomcat#F-14A Edited March 21, 2015 by Pizzicato i7-7700K @ 4.9Ghz | 16Gb DDR4 @ 3200Mhz | MSI Z270 Gaming M7 | MSI GeForce GTX 1080ti Gaming X | Win 10 Home | Thrustmaster Warthog | MFG Crosswind pedals | Oculus Rift S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAM77 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Great update. Very excited about this module. Intel i5 7600K @ 4.2GHz | 32GB G.Skill Trident RGB DDR4 @ 3200MHz | MSI RTX 4060 Gaming X 8G | WD Black NVMe 2TB | Sound Blaster Audigy RX | MSI Z270 Gaming M3 | Corsair H80i v2 | Corsair RM750x | Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS Flight Pack | TrackIR 5 | Windows 10 Home 64-bit | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiG21bisFishbedL Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Hell to the yes. Reformers hate him! This one weird trick found by a bush pilot will make gunfighter obsessed old farts angry at your multi-role carrier deck line up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDeth187 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Pants tightening... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dartuil Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 You right its pilot cockpit and navigator cockpit. i7 2600k -- Noctua NH-D14--Asrock Z75 Pro3--ASUS GTX970 Strix --16Go Ripjaws X 1333--Thermaltake Smart M650--CoolerMaster Silencio 652S--AOC E2752VQ-- Sandisk Extreme II 480GB--Saitek X-52 Pro --SAITEK PZ35 Pedals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mambo Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Looking really good thank,s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hannibal Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 no works can express the excitement to see your work as an official module for sale on DCS. much commendation for even partaking in the development of this iconic aircraft.. i always wanted to by this plane when it was a toy for hasbro's G.I. joe. but to have a full featured PC based sim, with the prospect of flying this in virtual reality with the upcoming VR head mounted displays.. A DREAM COME TRUE. THANK YOU LEATHERNECK SIMS <3 (heart) find me on steam! username: Hannibal_A101A http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197969447179 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
141st_Gözcü Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Nice team :thumbup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuky Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Awesome render shots! No longer active in DCS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingHighAU Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 looks amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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