2019 upcoming Hornet's features

[VladMordock]

but they want to get it wrapped as soon as they can, after all, that Viper wont make itself ;)

 

Yes Sir, the best those guys can do is to start new hype train. :thumbup: :smilewink:

 

On the other hand I can imagine business model working this way... ;)

[Steel Jaw]

This is the first early access plane i've bought and I knew i'd regret it. I'd gladly accept a refund and move on.

 

 

Don't agree: I went in eyes wide open and have no complaints given the scenario.

 

 

:pilotfly:

 

 

Buzz, can you aerial refuel? Can you consistently trap on the Boat? Plenty to do.

[falcon_120]

Yeah I'm gonna go ahead and say that you're being extremely optimistic. Your timeline isn't unrealistic by any means, but it pretty much assumes that absolutely nothing goes wrong short of the usual beta release > bug fix > stable release cycle. We all know from the past that won't happen. Bug fixes break unrelated things for weird reasons, core developers drop their pack and leave, etc.

 

I agree with you, thats why I state possible delays hindering the progress up to early 2020. Apart from that I really think that from a business standpoint, all this EA thing makes sense if you are expecting a development cycle of roughly 1.5 years, this is to say 2018 and 2019. Otherwise you risk your own BM for future EA, by the lack of trust generated from products that delay too much in time, but of course that is a totally different discussion and ED Business models are known only by them.

[javelina1]

Don't agree: I went in eyes wide open and have no complaints given the scenario.

 

......can you aerial refuel? Can you consistently trap on the Boat? Plenty to do.

 

 

completely agree. enjoying the EA.

[BuzzU]

Don't agree: I went in eyes wide open and have no complaints given the scenario.

 

 

:pilotfly:

 

 

Buzz, can you aerial refuel? Can you consistently trap on the Boat? Plenty to do.

 

 

Yes, but i'm retired and can fly 16 hours a day. I have no problem with what isn't available on the plane. Like I said i'm patient. What bothers me is what's on the forum. I come here because I have the plane. Otherwise, i'd be on a forum for a plane I was flying. I should have waited for the plane to be done like I usually do.

 

I caught myself about to buy the F-14. I'll wait until it's done now.

 

I'll probably stop coming to this forum which should make a lot of guys happy. Too much complaining for me. I'll fly the plane when it's done and hopefully, the forum will calm down by then.

[discwalker]

I appreciate the great work that in the EA F/A-18C lot 20.

I own the Hornet, and I like flying with it.

I don't mind new features are coming slowly.

[Anklebiter]

There is something to be said that early access takes pressure off development. They have your money already. I would be a big fan of half payment upfront and half payment with final delivery :)

 

That being said, I'm perfectly happy with Hornet as it stands. Sure, I'd be happier with some of the missing weapons, but that don't mean I'm not happy now.

[Eldur]

On the other hand... just look how long it takes to build a real jet... and then its upgrades, bug fixing and software updates (just look at F-35 for example)...

 

Why look at the JSF when the Eurofighter is even worse? That thing still is in Early Access as well, for ages. The French did the right thing to drop out and build the Rafale instead, which is active for almost 20 years by now while most of the EFs are stuck mostly to the ground because issues, and that's for some good 15 years by now. It's a mess and expensive as hell. The F-35 is a bargain at the checkout counter compared to that.

 

The team is working very hard, dont take patch notes with missing Hornet items as a sign of non-action, they are pushing very hard to get the Hornet feature complete, and yes there is still a lot to do, but they want to get it wrapped as soon as they can, after all, that Viper wont make itself

 

Exactly. And I highly guess they try to deliver things more thorough than before in this early access. We've seen a faster pace of releasing new features, but most of it still brought lots of issues that we still are waiting for to be fixed. Small issues like the "AUTOPILOT" after disabling it via the paddle switch, "ADV-" messages or even the gun mils seem to be completely ignored, but certainly they're just way down on the priority list because fixing all those would make us wait for the big things even longer. This is a complex thing and they strive for getting it right which often takes more time than planned, because at any time, devs can run into issues that just eat up time like nothing, delaying things further back. I'm patient. There are other things in life than just DCS: F/A-18C. And still I'm spending lots of time on just that - i wouldn't if I had no fun

[Tobi1304]

Why look at the JSF when the Eurofighter is even worse? That thing still is in Early Access as well, for ages. The French did the right thing to drop out and build the Rafale instead, which is active for almost 20 years by now while most of the EFs are stuck mostly to the ground because issues, and that's for some good 15 years by now. It's a mess and expensive as hell. The F-35 is a bargain at the checkout counter compared to that.[/img]

 

 

Well, last time I´ve checked our Eurofighters in the German Air Force were very well working. The problem isn´t that it´s not a good plane but getting spare parts if somethings broken.

(I´d like to greet Airbus at this point...)

[E-Rock]

I hate to keep sounding like a fan boy for DCS, but I am an old time combat flight swimmer who thought the days of good PC sims ended with Falcon 4.0 and the advent of the PlayStation, Xbox, etc. I mothballed my TM cougar setup and stopped buying home computers. I discovered the A10C a year ago and felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I have never had so much fun learning a new sim, and still have a lot to learn. I love flying the F18C because it is more like the Falcon 4.0 I enjoyed so much. I can wait for the developers and hope they remain solvent while developing expensive products with a very limited market.

 

I was in the same boat. I thought Falcon 4.0 was the end of an era which could never be revived with the emerging console gaming market. Growing up as a teenager in the early 90's, i bought just about every Microprose sim at the time with my pocket money and thought wow, that was the s**t on the humble 486 PC with 256 colour VGA graphics and soundblaster sound.

 

Personally I am happy with the progress of the Hornet so far. There are plenty of nuances yet to be explored, in addition to the wham bam thank you mam gratifying stuff. I am also getting back into the matured A10C module and eagerly awaiting the Tomcat release.

Edited October 30, 2018 by E-Rock

[TomCatMucDe]

I think by the end of 2019 we will have most of the features and weapons. I am confident we will have A2A completed. There isnt much missing anymore in AA, LTWS and data link mainly which are both planned after finishing the JHMCS.

Even the majority of A2G weapons should be finished. I dont think it will take long to finish the ATFLIR, LGBs, HARM (which is next on the list) I suspect that the Ground radar will be the trickest thing that may came later on.

 

This being said, all this is gut feelings :)

[falcon_120]

I was in the same boat. I thought Falcon 4.0 was the end of an era which could never be revived with the emerging console gaming market. Growing up as a teenager in the early 90's, i bought just about every Microprose sim at the time with my pocket money and thought wow, that was the s**t on the humble 486 PC with 256 colour VGA graphics and soundblaster sound.

 

Personally I am happy with the progress of the Hornet so far. There are plenty of nuances yet to be explored, in addition to the wham bam thank you mam gratifying stuff. I am also getting back into the matured A10C module and eagerly awaiting the Tomcat release.

 

The good thing is, and I never tire of saying it, although looking at the forum you could get a bad impression and even feel dissatisfaction, this is just an a natural fact of looking into a forum, people post to express discomfort but is less likely to post gratitude, it is a social fact, hence the a big percentage of people (i would say the majority) is very happy with ED and his professionalism and moreover, their commitment to bring back those glorious days of FALCON 4.0, Strike eagle, etc... These people will wait patiently until this product is complete to the level of detail the A10C has achieved.

 

Thanks again ED, never forget it.

[M1Combat]

Another guy on that boat... I played a LOT of EF-2000, Falcon 4, Janes Longbow. I was pretty sure the whole thing was over until I found Blackshark somehow.

 

 

For the record... I'm SOOOOOO glad that ED gives us the chance to play around with the Hornet as they're developing it.

 

 

On that note... I'm sure they're developing the underlying systems in such a way that they're modular and can be re-used with similar aircraft (Viper...). I'm sure the Viper won't take as long as the Hornet has. No problem if it does... I just feel like there are likely a lot of lines of code that can be re-used.

[Horns]

Ok, weird idea: maybe the store page for an EA module could give a "not before" type of date... eg "during or after 2020". That assumes good faith dealing on the devs behalf of course, but it might be worth distinguishing whether it's at least 1 year or at least 3 years in the best case scenario.

 

I'm still pretty new to EAs so I came in without expectations, but letting buyers know that at least x amount of development time is expected can allow devs to set realistic expectations and customers to make a more informed choice.

[falcon_120]

This would indeed help users make a more informed decision. It would not be a promise but an expected development roadmap with a big disclaimer.

 

Enviado desde mi SM-G950F mediante Tapatalk

[greenmamba]

I think that it is great to be able to be part of something like an early release. You get to see the project grow, i was interested in an early release because i wanted to go trough the whole process and see the changes along the way. What we have right now is already stunning and there is enough to do already ..... and in multiplayer there is still the possibility to have fun.

 

My two cents.

[rrohde]

For the record... I'm SOOOOOO glad that ED gives us the chance to play around with the Hornet as they're developing it.

 

On that note... I'm sure they're developing the underlying systems in such a way that they're modular and can be re-used with similar aircraft (Viper...). I'm sure the Viper won't take as long as the Hornet has. No problem if it does... I just feel like there are likely a lot of lines of code that can be re-used.

 

+1 to all the above - and well said. My hope for the DCS F-16 is exactly that as well (one does not get any younger). :thumbup:

[CaptJodan]

Not speaking for anyone else, just myself here, but I wanted to add my two cents.

 

I'm extremely happy that ED allowed EA for those who wanted it. Part of the joy of these aircraft for me aren't just in the weapon's and capabilities department, but the differences in flight. So I get a great deal out of simply flying the aircraft, testing its limits, practicing formation, AAR, landings, etc. There's plenty of content already here for me to keep me busy (especially when I have to relearn things bouncing between modules). Given all the hype and desire for something groundbreaking and new from ED before the Hornet's release, the thought of waiting 2-4 more years for it's "near complete" release would have been more than a little painful.

 

The slow pace of development is slower than I expected, (and wished of course, we all want it all instantly). I can see how some might have thought development was further along and thought it was more a matter of getting most of these major systems across the finishing line. We saw screens long before the Hornet's release of examples of the radar, so the impression to some may have been that it, along with other systems, were farther. So I get that. But overall, I feel like Wags and ED have been pretty clear on what this was, and that unexpected delays could/would happen.

 

But it hasn't dampened my enjoyment of the Hornet or made me think about refunding. I'm not even upset at ED about that. It may have been better communicated that these systems could still take considerable time, but it's a minor issue for me. I'm happy that every few weeks, a new feature for the Hornet appears and I get to run test it to see what it's all about, rather than still being in the dark about what it's like to fly a Hornet. I certainly don't feel ED operates on a certain space game alpha's level of "tactics". I don't feel there was a deliberate intention to try to deceive, and I have more faith that ED knows it has all it needs to get to the finish line.

 

For the future, I strongly hope this experience doesn't sour them on making an EA release for the Viper down the road. There are many of out there who are thrilled to be playing with the Hornet at this stage of development, and who understand what an EA release means.

[Raven68]

I hate to keep sounding like a fan boy for DCS, but I am an old time combat flight swimmer who thought the days of good PC sims ended with Falcon 4.0 and the advent of the PlayStation, Xbox, etc. I mothballed my TM cougar setup and stopped buying home computers. I discovered the A10C a year ago and felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I have never had so much fun learning a new sim, and still have a lot to learn. I love flying the F18C because it is more like the Falcon 4.0 I enjoyed so much. I can wait for the developers and hope they remain solvent while developing expensive products with a very limited market.

 

I couldn't agree with this more!

[VDV]

Is FA-18C Lot 20 can carry the same weapons, like the Super Hornet?

[Hog_No32]

Not speaking for anyone else, just myself here, but I wanted to add my two cents.

 

I'm extremely happy that ED allowed EA for those who wanted it. Part of the joy of these aircraft for me aren't just in the weapon's and capabilities department, but the differences in flight. So I get a great deal out of simply flying the aircraft, testing its limits, practicing formation, AAR, landings, etc. There's plenty of content already here for me to keep me busy (especially when I have to relearn things bouncing between modules). Given all the hype and desire for something groundbreaking and new from ED before the Hornet's release, the thought of waiting 2-4 more years for it's "near complete" release would have been more than a little painful.

 

The slow pace of development is slower than I expected, (and wished of course, we all want it all instantly). I can see how some might have thought development was further along and thought it was more a matter of getting most of these major systems across the finishing line. We saw screens long before the Hornet's release of examples of the radar, so the impression to some may have been that it, along with other systems, were farther. So I get that. But overall, I feel like Wags and ED have been pretty clear on what this was, and that unexpected delays could/would happen.

 

But it hasn't dampened my enjoyment of the Hornet or made me think about refunding. I'm not even upset at ED about that. It may have been better communicated that these systems could still take considerable time, but it's a minor issue for me. I'm happy that every few weeks, a new feature for the Hornet appears and I get to run test it to see what it's all about, rather than still being in the dark about what it's like to fly a Hornet. I certainly don't feel ED operates on a certain space game alpha's level of "tactics". I don't feel there was a deliberate intention to try to deceive, and I have more faith that ED knows it has all it needs to get to the finish line.

 

For the future, I strongly hope this experience doesn't sour them on making an EA release for the Viper down the road. There are many of out there who are thrilled to be playing with the Hornet at this stage of development, and who understand what an EA release means.

 

Very well said! +1

[Horns]

Not speaking for anyone else, just myself here, but I wanted to add my two cents.

 

I'm extremely happy that ED allowed EA for those who wanted it. Part of the joy of these aircraft for me aren't just in the weapon's and capabilities department, but the differences in flight. So I get a great deal out of simply flying the aircraft, testing its limits, practicing formation, AAR, landings, etc. There's plenty of content already here for me to keep me busy (especially when I have to relearn things bouncing between modules). Given all the hype and desire for something groundbreaking and new from ED before the Hornet's release, the thought of waiting 2-4 more years for it's "near complete" release would have been more than a little painful.

 

The slow pace of development is slower than I expected, (and wished of course, we all want it all instantly). I can see how some might have thought development was further along and thought it was more a matter of getting most of these major systems across the finishing line. We saw screens long before the Hornet's release of examples of the radar, so the impression to some may have been that it, along with other systems, were farther. So I get that. But overall, I feel like Wags and ED have been pretty clear on what this was, and that unexpected delays could/would happen.

 

But it hasn't dampened my enjoyment of the Hornet or made me think about refunding. I'm not even upset at ED about that. It may have been better communicated that these systems could still take considerable time, but it's a minor issue for me. I'm happy that every few weeks, a new feature for the Hornet appears and I get to run test it to see what it's all about, rather than still being in the dark about what it's like to fly a Hornet. I certainly don't feel ED operates on a certain space game alpha's level of "tactics". I don't feel there was a deliberate intention to try to deceive, and I have more faith that ED knows it has all it needs to get to the finish line.

 

 

For the future, I strongly hope this experience doesn't sour them on making an EA release for the Viper down the road. There are many of out there who are thrilled to be playing with the Hornet at this stage of development, and who understand what an EA release means.

 

I think the economic reality is that all of our devs need to start revenue flowing as soon as they can, so unless there was a major paradigm shift I think EA will remain part of the business plan.

[StandingCow]

I love the hornet just for the carrier landing practice. But it's impressive to see just how long these things take to develop, if we weren't getting the hornet until it was finished it would probably still be 1-2+ years out.

[Chewie_77]

I'm used to playing civil aviation flight sims, so just being able to zip around in a hornet in a graphically beautiful game with heading tracking (amazing!) is extremely satisfying for me alone.

 

Of course, the weapons and systems aspects are a whole other side of it and I enjoy those too along with PvP online.