DCS World - Heatblur F-14 Tomcat - Early Access First Look

[OnlyforDCS]

@Jabbers_

 

I can't get over the fact that the shaking effect seems to be a bit overdone. I realize that a simulation can't convey real physical effects properly, and that sometimes graphical/sound effects are being used to try to capture that feeling. When you flew the F-14 did it feel "real"?

 

 

Have you flown the F14? The real one I mean? Heatblur worked very closely with real SMEs on the flight model and they have stated that at high AoA the cockpit vibrates so strongly it can knock the filings out of your teeth, and since they have actualy flown the jet Im tempted to believe that Heatblur tried to make them as happy as possible when implementing these effects.

[Koriel]

Have you flown the F14? The real one I mean? Heatblur worked very closely with real SMEs on the flight model and they have stated that at high AoA the cockpit vibrates so strongly it can knock the filings out of your teeth, and since they have actualy flown the jet Im tempted to believe that Heatblur tried to make them as happy as possible when implementing these effects.

 

^ Wow....

 

Nope haven't flown the plane, never even a fighter, I do have 15K+ hours though, and asking a non confrontational question...

[OnlyforDCS]

^ Wow....

 

Nope haven't flown the plane, never even a fighter, I do have 15K+ hours though, and asking a non confrontational question...

 

Why would you think what I wrote was a confrontational answer? Well I apologize in any case, maybe Jabbers can weigh in with his opinion. I could be wrong about it, maybe the shaking is overdone, but I did read one of the alpha tester's comments about it and I always trust the developer of a module over these kinds of things over my own personal opinions, and I tried to illustrate that in my answer to your question.

[Nemax]

Very nice video showcasing the Tomcat :thumbup:

Really impressed with the mirror and pilot reflections.

 

"Watch the ground", "Tell Meg I love her" :cry:

[Cobra847]

Regarding airframe buffet; this is a good read from Nick who is one of our testers/researchers/SME liasons/Tomcat experts. Was posted on Hoggit recently :)

 

The level of airframe buffet was something that we spent A LOT of time working on and also one of the details that former Tomcat crews notice and comment on favorably when they see video. DCS doesn't actually support the degree of needed buffet so a custom coded solution was needed. Our former Tomcat pilots felt very strongly that buffet needed to be properly modeled since it was an essential Tomcat feedback cue that allowed pilots to target optimal AOA and recognize where they were within the envelope.

 

And to be fair, the scenes where you see a lot of buffet is not a "slight turn", but reasonably high AOA. As one of our pilots said: "above 24 units AOA the buffet would knock you fillings out".

 

As a rule, light buffet equals 12-15 units AOA and represents ideal AOA for sustained turn rate. You can generate sustain about 6.5 G (depending on weight) at 310-330 KIAS at 15 units AOA. At 375 KIAS, 15 units will give you almost 8 G and a minimum radius turn at sea level requires about 17 units and at 320 KIAS (7 G sustained at weights less than 50,000 lbs).

 

Moderate buffet onsets from 16-22 units and then becomes heavy above that. Moderate buffet is good for an impressive instantaneous turn rate, but above 24-26 units the pitch rate noticeably slows, there isn't much reason to hang out up there except for groveling.

 

One of the challenges of the Tomcat is that it will just keep giving more turn rate (and the max turn rate is very impressive) as you command more stick, but maintaining energy can be challenging as you reach moderate buffet. So you need to be tuned in to the buffet cues to maintain energy and fight effectively.

 

So in short, the buffet is not exaggerated in any respect, though some of our SMEs feel that buffet is pretty underdone in most sims (so context is important perception wise). But monitoring buffet will be an essential part of flying the Tomcat well.

 

-Nick

[olivier-gaming]

Jester and voice attack :thumbup:

[Razorback]

Wouawwww

Thx a lot Jabbers for sharing this video !:thumbup:

Very useful and for me the best one so far...

 

The F-14 will be "THE" module of 2019, I am sure of that !

[Seb71]

I do not have rudder pedals, nor do I have space for them below the desk (it is currently being occupied by my sons racing gear).

You can use car pedals as rudder pedals. Won't be that great, but it might be better than using twist grip (for sure is more "realistic" than grip twist for yaw).

 

 

Depending on pedal model, you might need to use external software to combine two pedals into a single axis, which will be usable as yaw.

[DirtySanchez]

Now THIS video does it for me. Well done. Also nice to hear a broader range of Jester's vocabulary.

 

I still feel like he's on 11 sometimes though. I'd dial him back to about a 7.

[Dudikoff]

Severe buffeting, non-friendly HUD wanna-be, snarly RIO.. Plus the quirky engines of the A model.. What's not to love.. ;)

 

Can't wait to see some backseat stuff in action as though it's great having Jester as it is on those long and lonely flights, I'd hate to let him do all the fun stuff *all* of the time.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Dudikoff

[corvinus]

You can use car pedals as rudder pedals. Won't be that great, but it might be better than using twist grip (for sure is more "realistic" than grip twist for yaw).

 

 

Depending on pedal model, you might need to use external software to combine two pedals into a single axis, which will be usable as yaw.

 

Thanks for the tip, but the pedals are asymmetric, placed at different angles and with different resistance. It will probably be very uncomfortable. I did use them as brakes once.

[mattgn]

Loved the opening narrative, very funny :)

Fascinated by the amount of work required to properly fly this airframe.

Great vid mate, thanks !

[Victory205]

I flew the F14A for eight years, over 1600 hours in the air (USN count flight time from launch to land, not startup, taxi or shutdown time), and Nick's statement in the thread above is exactly correct.

 

The Tomcat gave excellent feedback via buffet on alpha and energy bleed rates. It also buffeted heavily and exhibited wing rock, proverse and adverse roll and needed to be flown using rudder input only with the stick centered laterally for roll at typical air combat turning alpha states. It buffets at one G with the landing flaps down too.

 

The F14 talks to you in a number of ways. Airframe buffet is primarily the result of overwing flow and vortices impacting the vertical tails and horizontal stabilizers. The vertical tails shook visibly under certain conditions, RIO's could see it better than pilots, the latter of which was masked by canopy distortion and position. Heatblur seems to have modeled it well. Use it to your advantage.

 

Most swept wing jet fighters exhibit this behavior, it just hasn't been modeled properly to date.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Victory205

[Koriel]

Regarding airframe buffet; this is a good read from Nick who is one of our testers/researchers/SME liasons/Tomcat experts. Was posted on Hoggit recently :)

 

I flew the F14A for eight years, over 1600 hours in the air (USN does not count taxi or startup shutdown time), and the statement above is exactly correct.

 

The Tomcat gave excellent feedback via buffet on alpha and energy bleed rates. It also buffeted heavily and exhibited wing rock, proverse and adverse roll and needed to be flown using rudder input for roll at typical air combat turning alpha states.

 

The aircraft talks to you in a number of ways. Airframe buffet is primarily the result of overwing flow and vortices impacting the vertical tails. The tails shook visibly under certain conditions, RIO's could see it better than pilots, the latter of which was masked by canopy distortion and position. Heatblur seems to have modeled it well. Use it to your advantage.

 

Thank you both (And Nick of course) for your answers.

[Esac_mirmidon]

Primary buffeting sensor for F-14 pilots

 

[Jabbers_]

Anybody know how to get a smooth, continuous rotation around the aircraft in F2 view like the opening scene? I haven't figured that out.

I use a Logitech g13, has a mouse joystick

How am I supposed to not be fully hyped after seeing this? :helpsmilie:

 

 

One question, does the Jester select wheel also work in vr mode? (Just like trackir you showed in your video)

Yup works in VR

Hi Jabbers

Great video I wounder if there is/will be a way to interact with Jester through Voice attack?

Also do you know if there will be a series of interactive training missions to familiarize pilots with the systems

HB has Voice Attack in mind, I believe this is why they have bindings for some of the individual actions

@Jabbers_

 

I can't get over the fact that the shaking effect seems to be a bit overdone. I realize that a simulation can't convey real physical effects properly, and that sometimes graphical/sound effects are being used to try to capture that feeling. When you flew the F-14 did it feel "real"?

 

On another note, yes the mirrors look very cool. And I realize that when you return to the boat you have to make sure your hair still looks good. Some (not as as vain pilots) might even use the mirrors for looking behind the jet iso for personal admiration. Can they be adjusted for those who wish to use them to look behind?

I had to move my head because I have an ultrawide and recording some things in 16:9 I have to get creative, so the view is a bit different

[jcdata]

It's about time Buffett be modeled! Even the f-15 supposed to have Buffett

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[CaptJodan]

Thanks Jabbers for the very informative first look video. You answered several burning questions I had in mind, or at least gave me an idea of what to expect. Appreciated on the breadth of topics you chose to highlight.

[Zoomer]

The F-14 shaping up to be an excellent module and thanks for your video Jabbers. While the mirrors look excellent, unfortunately for VR they will likely be unusable as usual. Use of the mirrors on all modules leads to a fair amount of fps drop, even running an i7 & 2080. Maybe Heatblur could advise re same, as they are a handy feature to have in a dogfight.

[Top Jockey]

Hello Jabbers,

 

Very good video indeed - thank you.

 

By the way, regarding the AIM-9 Sidewinder:

 

Have you tried the Boresight Mode (not the typical Boresight SCAN), I mean the one in which the missile's seekerhead symbol stays caged (fixed) in the HUD ?

[hi41000]

Thanks Jabbers for the very informative first look video. You answered several burning questions I had in mind, or at least gave me an idea of what to expect. Appreciated on the breadth of topics you chose to highlight.

the only one i really have now is that damn lantirn

 

i cant believe he show cased the guided munitions but didn't use the lantirn pod.

jabbers was the lantirn pod not fleshed out yet or something yet? i know you talked about the rio cockpit not being finished yet but what about the pod?

[uri_ba]

I need to borrow a mop... I drooled a little bit too much on the floor...

[hansangb]

I flew the F14A for eight years, over 1600 hours in the air (USN count flight time from launch to land, not startup, taxi or shutdown time), and Nick's statement in the thread above is exactly correct.

 

The Tomcat gave excellent feedback via buffet on alpha and energy bleed rates. It also buffeted heavily and exhibited wing rock, proverse and adverse roll and needed to be flown using rudder input only with the stick centered laterally for roll at typical air combat turning alpha states. It buffets at one G with the landing flaps down too.

 

The F14 talks to you in a number of ways. Airframe buffet is primarily the result of overwing flow and vortices impacting the vertical tails and horizontal stabilizers. The vertical tails shook visibly under certain conditions, RIO's could see it better than pilots, the latter of which was masked by canopy distortion and position. Heatblur seems to have modeled it well. Use it to your advantage.

 

Most swept wing jet fighters exhibit this behavior, it just hasn't been modeled properly to date.

 

 

Can't wait to hear your feedback after the release!

[Eldur]

Sorry I have to say this, but I just started watching the video and I noticed it has some strange stuttering, was thinking it was on my end until I noticed that it runs at 50fps. Pretty please, do us one single favour in future: Never ever up videos at 50fps again. I'd pretty much prefer 30 over 50 since it runs smoother as it is half of the 60Hz that most screens sport. 60 would be best though. Expect positive feedback in about half an hour when I'm done watching the awesomeness

[unknown]

Sorry I have to say this, but I just started watching the video and I noticed it has some strange stuttering, was thinking it was on my end until I noticed that it runs at 50fps. Pretty please, do us one single favour in future: Never ever up videos at 50fps again. I'd pretty much prefer 30 over 50 since it runs smoother as it is half of the 60Hz that most screens sport. 60 would be best though. Expect positive feedback in about half an hour when I'm done watching the awesomeness

Never had any stuttering while watching the video.

 

 

@Jabbers_

Thank you very much for your work, nice and informative video. :thumbup: And thanks to HB for tuning down that static noise. :thumbup: