Best F/A-18 Missions and Campaigns (apart from Raven One)?

[CommandT]

Hey folks,

 

Can anyone suggest some good SP missions or campaigns that are well done with good attention to detail? Preferably something that involves low level penetration/ attack runs (but could be anything). I'm playing through the Raven One campaign now, and although I appreciate the focus on realistic carrier ops in the middle of the Gulf, I feel like there's a real lack of action involving operations over detailed terrain and low level stuff. The third mission that involved some bombing near Basra was just terrible... I have no idea why that mission ever made the cut given the total lack of terrain resolution or mesh or any surface detail/objects in that part of the PG map. Felt like I was flying Janes F-16 in 1998 :(

 

Happy to try any of the modern maps. I know Sedlo has a cool NTTR Red Flag mission for the F/A-18. That was good.

 

I think I tried "Cage The Bear" but having to shoot a swarm of unprotected bombers in the first mission was a bit of a turn off just in terms of a lack of realism. Finding it difficult to find genuinely realistic and good content. Any suggestions?

[sirrah]

I vote for:

 

Operation Exigent Riviera (SC version)

[CommandT]

Looks interesting, thank you! Anyone made anything with Syria yet?

[zildac]

I vote for:

 

Operation Exigent Riviera (SC version)

Agreed

[MAXsenna]

Serpents Head, Liberation?

 

Sent from my ANE-LX1 using Tapatalk

 

 

[zildac]

Actually yup, both of the above too!

[Sedlo]

Agreed on GWDOPE's stuff, it's excellent!

 

I'll plug my Hornet stuff for ya, too. The two Red Flags and Eastern Friendship are my latest ones, and ones I'm very proud of:

 

(click the photos for links to the files)

 

 

[Sedlo]

And just realized you did my Red Flag ones.... Eastern Friendship is pretty enjoyeable.

[Cal1664]

I agree with you’re comments on the Raven one mission. When flying towards Basra I was pretty excited, to be met with a couple of tents in the desert was a real disappointment. Sedlo’s missions and campaigns are great. Another good single mission is the Iranian weapons plant strike.

[CommandT]

Agreed on GWDOPE's stuff, it's excellent!

 

I'll plug my Hornet stuff for ya, too. The two Red Flags and Eastern Friendship are my latest ones, and ones I'm very proud of:

 

(click the photos for links to the files)

 

 

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Sedlo, just played the second NTTR Mission. Truly excellent work. Both of the those NTTR missions are better than anything I've done so far in any payed campaign (NTTR or not). It would be amazing if you did a whole red flag campaign for the Hornet along those lines. Even the bit at the end where I did a left break instead of a right break on arrival, that was such a super touch! And in general everything flowed super well, except one part which is the tanker - you basically don't have enough time to fill up before the set push time but that's a minor thing that was not a big deal. It's a shame you can't have the wingmen refuel too. But otherwise you should really tell ED they need to hire you for mission and campaign development. It's a bit of a joke how DCS is basically just - buy plane, buy map, wait for someone else to come along and actually make good content for it. It's super frustrating they are not spending more time on making stuff like this!

 

I've recently bought the AV-8B too. Do you have any good stuff for that? As soon as Razbam adds a pilot body to it I'll start flying it.

 

And with regards to Eastern Friendship - I'm sure it's also great work from you but I see it's set in winter and I am not a huge fan of those winter textures so decided to give it a pass. If there was a summer version I'd try that for sure!

 

Many thanks for your great work!

 

P.S. Forgot to add - if you ever do another NTTR mission might be cool to add some Draken MiG-21s and L-39s in there for adversery simulation like they would in real life. Just my own idea for a bit of immersion. On the satellite view of Nellis there's a whole bunch of them parked on the southern part of the ramp.

[Sedlo]

Thanks! My first real campaign was Vulcan Forge, it's a fictional Harrier campaign on NTTR. It's some of my early work, so not as smooth and refined as later stuff, but I still have fun with it and people enjoyed it when it came out.

 

As for Eastern Friendship, if you really wanted to, you could change the dates in the mission editor to a summer time one, shouldn't affect anything that I can think of off the bat. I still kind of like the winter textures, but I do love winter as a season, too.

[CommandT]

Thanks! My first real campaign was Vulcan Forge, it's a fictional Harrier campaign on NTTR. It's some of my early work, so not as smooth and refined as later stuff, but I still have fun with it and people enjoyed it when it came out.

 

As for Eastern Friendship, if you really wanted to, you could change the dates in the mission editor to a summer time one, shouldn't affect anything that I can think of off the bat. I still kind of like the winter textures, but I do love winter as a season, too.

 

Tbh it's just more the textures when you are on the ground - if you could see some real 3d snow and really cool wintery effects on the ground, I'd be all over it. But atm it just looks like textured white ground in DCS so I way prefer the summer grass. I might change the date then if you think it wont affect anything too much.

 

What missions/ campaigns are you working on currently?

[Sedlo]

Bold Cheetah is a 13 mission campaign on Persian Gulf featuring the Hornet and Supercarrier. It will be a paid campaign and hopefully release will line up in the near future.

[CommandT]

Bold Cheetah is a 13 mission campaign on Persian Gulf featuring the Hornet and Supercarrier. It will be a paid campaign and hopefully release will line up in the near future.

 

Fantastic! I will be buying for sure :) Any plans for anything with the Syria map?

[Sedlo]

Yes, it'll be a Viper campaign. Early, early stages at the moment.

[CommandT]

I see. Damn. No plans to buy the Viper. Hopefully Something with the Hornet/ AV-8B/ F-5 pops up for Syria.