Upcoming campaign for the F-16C in Syria: "The Gamblers"

[RepoManR6]

Finally! Looking forward to this.

[guriak]

Thanks for the update @baltic_dragon, can't wait to play through this. I know from your other work it's gonna be great!

[giullep]

Any updates??

[CH4Pz]

On 9/7/2023 at 1:55 PM, giullep said:

Any updates??

He just posted this !!

 

[baltic_dragon]

Another update, guys - please check this teaser:
 

Thanks to Blinxis for creating this video!

[Caveman655]

Not a Viper driver, never could wrap my head around the jet like I could in the Hornet. May need to fix that when this comes out though.

[BuLLeT.ZA]

7 hours ago, Caveman655 said:

Not a Viper driver, never could wrap my head around the jet like I could in the Hornet. May need to fix that when this comes out though.

I was the same.

Got the F16 during the current sale due to it's SEAD capabilities, and I have to admit that I'm enjoying it.

[Caveman655]

16 hours ago, BuLLeT.ZA said:

I was the same.

Got the F16 during the current sale due to it's SEAD capabilities, and I have to admit that I'm enjoying it.

I have had it for quite a while and it is a nice little jet I will admit, but something about it has just never clicked for me. In particular with the HOTAS, I fly the F-14,F-18, A-10C, and am quickly coming along with the F-15E. But for whatever reason I could never wrap my head around the F-16, and as you can see from the logbook its not for lack of trying.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Caveman655

[Steel Jaw]

sit rep please 

[felipesm]

59 minutes ago, Caveman655 said:

I have had it for quite a while and it is a nice little jet I will admit, but something about it has just never clicked for me. In particular with the HOTAS, I fly the F-14,F-18, A-10C, and am quickly coming along with the F-15E. But for whatever reason I could never wrap my head around the F-16, and as you can see from the logbook its not for lack of trying.

 

It's a beast.

null

[Steel Jaw]

The Viper is a little Hot Rod.

[Christian1234]

It's a very complex aircraft with a lot of systems to manage. However, it's also an incredibly capable aircraft

[CH4Pz]

On 9/18/2023 at 2:18 AM, baltic_dragon said:

Another update, guys - please check this teaser:
 

Thanks to Blinxis for creating this video!

haha, beat me to it, was about to share !!

[Braunn]

I wouldnt say the Viper is very complex, it's more purpose built and pilot/human interface oriented. Lots of things on it is simplified compared to a Hornet or even a Tomcat IMO. 

Flip side of that is its not truly a multirole like a Hornet or Mudhen. 

On 9/17/2023 at 6:48 PM, baltic_dragon said:

Another update, guys - please check this teaser:
 

Thanks to Blinxis for creating this video!

You're like that woman in the bar that just wont stop teasing but when you approach her she's not interested. 

Come on son! Get her out there! 

[giullep]

ehy Baltic...any update for the release?

[VDV]

yes, any update pls?

[Furia]

This campaing looks very interesting however I have already purchased several campaings but I have never finished them because I got tired of having to deal with the AI wingman  or section.

If this campaing „could be“ flown single ship without having the need to have the other aircraft to survive and targets could be managed single ship (weapons loadout) I would buy it inmediately.

I do surely understand that in the real world fighters do not operate alone but I do not know/do not like having to mess with the AI and that takes all the fun away.

Edited March 12, 2024 by Furia

[Yurgon]

3 minutes ago, Furia said:

I do surely understand that in the real world fighters do not operate alone but I do not know/do not like having to mess with the AI and that takes all the fun away.

Yes, that's been a very long standing issue for mission designers. I can't say whether or not the Gamblers campaign can be completed ignoring wingmen altogether. In terms of storytelling, wingmen are absolutely essential for story-driven campaigns like this one. At least in some cases, wingmen are entirely scripted to perform very specific tasks. In order to appear like wingmen, AI aircraft are given the "Follow"-task, but then at certain points in the mission their task will be switched to, for instance, "Engage target". That is obviously a massive amount of work for mission creators - and all the more frustrating when a fully tested campaign breaks after release. However, campaign authors are always hard at work to make sure that campaigns are as bug-free as is humanly possible and issues will get fixed in a timely fashion.

If you haven't flown any of Baltic Dragon's campaigns, I would certainly give this one a shot. If you have, and you ran into wingman AI-issues, there's still a chance The Gamblers won't be affected in the same way, but maybe BD himself or one of the other testers can give you a more direct answer in this regard.

[CH4Pz]

8 hours ago, Furia said:

This campaing looks very interesting however I have already purchased several campaings but I have never finished them because I got tired of having to deal with the AI wingman  or section.

If this campaing „could be“ flown single ship without having the need to have the other aircraft to survive and targets could be managed single ship (weapons loadout) I would buy it inmediately.

I do surely understand that in the real world fighters do not operate alone but I do not know/do not like having to mess with the AI and that takes all the fun away.

 

Also BD is quite aware of their short comings and tries to make the missions not too wingman dependant, but issues will arise, thats just gaming and software development in general unfortunately. Hes pretty good at fixing them, even with his older campaigns, when they do "break", he will overhaul the entire campaign, making it enjoyable to play back through, as he changes loadouts etc giving it a fresh experience. No offense to the other builders but if you havent played a campaign from the big 3 (Baltic dragon, reflected & ground pounder sims), you havent experienced proper campaigns!!!

I think most these guys use scripted wingmen now days anyway, i think "the enemy within v3.0" still has SOME wingman actions, but its very old, his newer stuff is mostly automated. You still have to follow orders/cues, as you would in real life, if you just wana "freestyle", and go where you want, and blow up what you want, then i'd suggest multiplayer.

[shagrat]

vor 10 Stunden schrieb CH4Pz:

You still have to follow orders/cues, as you would in real life, if you just wana "freestyle", and go where you want, and blow up what you want, then i'd suggest multiplayer.

I think Furia was pretty specific that it isn't about "following orders" or "blow up what you want", but the experience where 110 minutes into the mission, your wingman decides to attack an SA-15 with guns, or you regularly fail a mission, because the wingman doesn't survive, as he killed himself taxiing into another wingman, or where the targets you are required to kill, to progress in the campaign exceeds your own loadout, so you are forced to try to convince your AI wingman to take out the remaining target(s) surviving his suicidal tendencies.

I know there has been a lot of progress with some of the AI behavior, and ED has added a lot of control over the tasks and behavior for mission editors, but the question was, will it be possible to fly the missions in a way, that do not require the AI Wingman finish the mission, e.g. your payload is enough to destroy ALL mandatory targets, so you need the wingman only for optional/secondary ones? Or if the missions require the suicidal AI fellow to survive, so you know if he taxis into a barn door, you can directly restart the mission? 

[baltic_dragon]

On 3/12/2024 at 9:14 PM, Furia said:

This campaing looks very interesting however I have already purchased several campaings but I have never finished them because I got tired of having to deal with the AI wingman  or section.

If this campaing „could be“ flown single ship without having the need to have the other aircraft to survive and targets could be managed single ship (weapons loadout) I would buy it inmediately.

I do surely understand that in the real world fighters do not operate alone but I do not know/do not like having to mess with the AI and that takes all the fun away.

 

So for this campaign I don't use stock wingmen, and tSo for this campaign I don't use stock wingmen, and the AI wingmen have quite a lot safeguards built in and their behaviour was tested many times in each mission. Barring any new DCS bugs (that usually are fixed in reasonable time) I have to say I am super happy with how the wingmen behave. Had no issues with them in the final stages of testing and hopefully you won't as well. To the contrary, they add a lot to the immersion. 

Also, Stormbirds.blog has published two interesting (I hope) articles - preview of the campaign first missions and interview with yours truly, which I hope you will like.

Edited May 14, 2024 by baltic_dragon

[Dispatch]

Searching everyday at the Store,

Not Yet

Looks Great

Edited May 26, 2024 by Dispatch

[CH4Pz]

53 minutes ago, Dispatch said:

Searching everyday at the Store,

Not Yet

Looks Great

 

Yeh i thought he said was coming in may update too, or maybe it was just wishful thinking?!! Im guessing will be next month now!

[baltic_dragon]

Yes, due to the Phantom release it was moved to 26 June, hopefully that will be the final date!
In the meantime, check out the new episode of Air Combat Sim podcast where we talk with Rain about the campaign and other things:
 

 

[Dispatch]

Great NEWS