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Event 1 - Feedback


Strider21

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Just finished Event 1, 1v1 and so far am really impressed by this campaign. The briefing materials are excellent and really well put together. The F-14 skins look really great and although fictional seem very plausible and look great as 1980s era Tomcats. The voice acting and script is as good or better than any other DLC campaign. Having Bio do the briefings during the transit portions of the flight is great way to keep the attention of the player and it feels like personal instruction from Bio. There is enough going on around the player that it really feels like an active airfield/operation which increases the immersion. 

 

While I have only finished the first event it is hard not to recommend this campaign particularly if you already have the F-14 and NTTR. So far seems like the definitive F-14 campaign currently released.  Best of all there seemed to be no bugs or DCS hiccups in the mission flow/scripting. 

 

 

Only minor nitpicks (and I realize they are pretty nitpicky) are:

Spoiler

 

The F-5 Skins are for VFC-13 vice TOPGUN (NFWS) and one of the F-5E's on the ramp is in a "Fullback/Mako" scheme that seems out of place for the 1980s. The other VFC-13 skins seem reasonable. The F-16 skins look great. 

 

Probably a limit of DCS ground support assets but there seems to be a lot of soldiers ("Helmet/M16s") around the airfield. Someone can correct me but I think you wouldn't see to many, if any, armed soldiers on the flight line at a CONUS training base outside of a base defense exercise/event. It would be great if DCS had better ground crew selection. 

 

 

Screen_210128_164252.png

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Hi @Strider21, thanks so much for the feedback. I'm really glad you're liking it so far. I'm also happy to hear there were no bugs or hiccups. These missions were particularly hard to build due to the several possible outcomes - like a 4-5 dimensional matrix.  Each of them have at least 100-150 lines of triggers, and that's a lot of 'moving parts' if you know what I mean 🙂

 

As for the skins, that's good feedback, you're right. I just used what we already had in DCS. The campaign is already 2.5 gigs due to the Tomcat and Viper skins, and I didn't want to add 1 more gig of F-5 skins. I have to be conscious of HD space too. As for the ground crew, again, I worked with what we had in DCS. I used the blue shirt deck crew and the 'carrier seaman' figures for the lack of anything better. These are already pretty good: before those came out I'd have had to use soldiers with M4 guns.

 

Enjoy the rest of the missions, it's only going to get harder from here. Much harder! 🙂

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Just came to post up after I just finished the first mission too.  A lot of fun!  Here are some thoughts of mine:

 

The good stuff:

1) I REALLY like the complete set of radio voiceovers.  Not having to hear the clunky DCS ATC comms really increases the immersion factor

2) BIO's briefs are really well done.  Clear, fluent, to the point, with just enough personal touches to make it feel real and engaging.

3) The checklists, procedures, and kneeboards are great, and very useful.

4) The BFM was done really well so far.  I like that you can go guns on and a new lead would spawn for the next set.  Worked well.

5) The skins look great!

 

Nit picks:

1) Having the lead be a red coalition meant Jester was freaking out on ingress, so I had to mute the ICS, then re-enable during the BFM sets so he'd give me the callouts.  I imagine that was a DCS limitation though since we ingressed in formation and immediately launched into the first set.  Egress the lead was a blue coalition aircraft so there wasn't the same "Jester freakout" factor 🤣

2) I'm still guessing a bit where our parking area is.  Maybe I've missed it in the kneeboards, but having a Nellis facility map with the squadron's marking marked would let me be sure I was shutting down in the right spot.

 

Overall, really stoked on the campaign.  I'm new to the Tomcat, so I'm using this campaign to be my training, which feels appropriate.  Really digging it and I'm sure it's going to really help me feel more comfortable in the jet.

 

RTB after a successful training sessionScreen_210129_120723.jpg

Screen_210129_120811.jpg

Screen_210129_120929.jpg

Damn brah, that was a great first mission, wouldn't you say Jester?  I concur Bozo!  TOMCATS!

Screen_210129_123200.jpg


Edited by RightYouAreKen
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Hi Ken,

 

Thanks a lot for the feedback as well as for the gorgeous screenshots!

 

I agree, Jester can be annoying at times, especially when you fly formation on a bandit. Somehow he doesn't realize you're in Topgun 😄 But don't worry, it's only event 1. From then on, you and the bandit(s) will take separate routes.

 

Parking spot: I included a briefing slide in the intro mission, but I didn't want to spam the player in later events. It's always the same spot, exit right to Bravo, turn left to Foxtrot, and find the spot between the F5s and F-15s.

 

In any case, you can stop and park anywhere at Nellis, the mission will still be complete. No need to find the exact spot, as long as you come to a full stop to trigger the message.

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On 1/29/2021 at 9:58 PM, RightYouAreKen said:

2) I'm still guessing a bit where our parking area is.  Maybe I've missed it in the kneeboards, but having a Nellis facility map with the squadron's marking marked would let me be sure I was shutting down in the right spot.

USN DET.jpg

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🖥️ Win10 i7-10700KF 32GB RTX3060   🥽 Rift S   🕹️ T16000M HOTAS   ✈️ FC3, F-14A/B, F-15E   ⚙️ CA   🚢 SC   🌐 NTTR, PG, Syria

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On 1/29/2021 at 12:58 PM, RightYouAreKen said:

Just came to post up after I just finished the first mission too.  A lot of fun!  Here are some thoughts of mine:

 

The good stuff:

1) I REALLY like the complete set of radio voiceovers.  Not having to hear the clunky DCS ATC comms really increases the immersion factor

2) BIO's briefs are really well done.  Clear, fluent, to the point, with just enough personal touches to make it feel real and engaging.

3) The checklists, procedures, and kneeboards are great, and very useful.

4) The BFM was done really well so far.  I like that you can go guns on and a new lead would spawn for the next set.  Worked well.

5) The skins look great!

 

Nit picks:

1) Having the lead be a red coalition meant Jester was freaking out on ingress, so I had to mute the ICS, then re-enable during the BFM sets so he'd give me the callouts.  I imagine that was a DCS limitation though since we ingressed in formation and immediately launched into the first set.  Egress the lead was a blue coalition aircraft so there wasn't the same "Jester freakout" factor 🤣

2) I'm still guessing a bit where our parking area is.  Maybe I've missed it in the kneeboards, but having a Nellis facility map with the squadron's marking marked would let me be sure I was shutting down in the right spot.

 

Overall, really stoked on the campaign.  I'm new to the Tomcat, so I'm using this campaign to be my training, which feels appropriate.  Really digging it and I'm sure it's going to really help me feel more comfortable in the jet.

 

RTB after a successful training sessionScreen_210129_120723.jpg

Screen_210129_120811.jpg

Screen_210129_120929.jpg

Damn brah, that was a great first mission, wouldn't you say Jester?  I concur Bozo!  TOMCATS!

Screen_210129_123200.jpg

 

If you want to go even further with Jester emersion try Viacom Pro with AIRIO addon  https://www.vaicompro.com/ you can actually tell Jester to shut up no comms pls and then when the Fights On you can tell Jester to wake up and help me out Bro. All with your voice, its a game changer.


Edited by FroZone
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1 hour ago, FroZone said:

If you want to go even further with Jester emersion try Viacom Pro with AIRIO addon  https://www.vaicompro.com/ you can actually tell Jester to shut up no comms pls and then when the Fights On you can tell Jester to wake up and help me out Bro. All with your voice, its a game changer.

 

 

Oh cool, that's great.  I'll check that out, thanks!

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Just finish the Campaign! Great job Greg(Reflected) Bio and all the other participants!

Great way and reason to spend time with the Tomcat! Specially the A model as more demanding from pilot's skills!

Found it though a bit short, but trust me, even a 20 missions campaign, would feel probably the same!

 

 

Good job! Keep up! Tomcat forever!!!

 

Screen_210201_182131.png

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Thanks a lot! It was great fun!

 

The most difficult for me was the last 2 vs ukn (event 7 or 8,don't remember whell, before divisions!

 

The best one was the last, more complete in many aspects.(imho) 

 

Don't wanna say much! (flare to spoilers 😂). 

 

 


Edited by Daredevilsl
Wrong spelling
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For me, the campaign led to the first dead in quite a while, due to breaking training rules and not be proficient on the airframe.

 

I really have to admit the A is way less forgiving than the B, that said, compressor stall and breaking the soft- and hard deck rules is leading to a smoking crater in the Nevada desert.

 

Was pretty enjoyable anyhow....

 

 

 

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It took me over 2 hours for Event 1! After first meeting I was low on fuel so I went for AAR, tanker was 80nm away, got back for another meeting and then RTB.

I heard Tomcat is a bit off in performance currently so it's hard to keep up with AI in WVR. I guess it takes Top Gun to win all Events 🙂

🖥️ Win10 i7-10700KF 32GB RTX3060   🥽 Rift S   🕹️ T16000M HOTAS   ✈️ FC3, F-14A/B, F-15E   ⚙️ CA   🚢 SC   🌐 NTTR, PG, Syria

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I'm really torn. Should I get zone 5 or not. Actually, there are already good campaigns for the F-14 B. And why should I concern myself with the A since the B is 'better' ... I also have enough campaigns that have not yet been gambled through and I recently bought the RED flag for the F-16C. But when I read through the posts here ... A question in the round: Is this campaign 100% suitable for solo players?

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vor 29 Minuten schrieb kotor633:

I'm really torn. Should I get zone 5 or not. Actually, there are already good campaigns for the F-14 B. And why should I concern myself with the A since the B is 'better' ... I also have enough campaigns that have not yet been gambled through and I recently bought the RED flag for the F-16C. But when I read through the posts here ... A question in the round: Is this campaign 100% suitable for solo players?

It is pretty much only suitable for solo players at the moment. AFAIK Reflected is hoping it'll work co-op in the future.

IMO, this has to be one of the most immersive campaigns ever, for any DCS product, so if you can spare the 13 or so bucks, definitely get it. It is definitely a challenge with a medium learning curve to do properly (I am currently struggling with event 10), as you will have to really learn to efficiently manage the A (you spend a lot more time in burners than with the B --> you'll be joker in no time). 
And consider this: if you are good and proficient in the A, you'd be even better in the B. 🙂


Edited by Jayhawk1971
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@@Jayhawk1971 what opponent did you get in event 10?

 

In my experience the 2 most crucial things in order to win an engagement is a) never lose track of the bandit. If your rig is limiting you, use dot only labels. I use them on my laptop. and b) pay attention to your AoA and energy. Most players yank the stick as if it was a FBW jet. Treat it like a P-51. Try not to go above 17 units of AoA, and if you do, use the rudder to roll. Also, unload for knots whenever you can.

 

An extra challenge: Try to complete the engagements without overstressing the airframe. Stay below 6.5 g-s! 🙂

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vor 19 Minuten schrieb Reflected:

@@Jayhawk1971 what opponent did you get in event 10?

 

In my experience the 2 most crucial things in order to win an engagement is a) never lose track of the bandit. If your rig is limiting you, use dot only labels. I use them on my laptop. and b) pay attention to your AoA and energy. Most players yank the stick as if it was a FBW jet. Treat it like a P-51. Try not to go above 17 units of AoA, and if you do, use the rudder to roll. Also, unload for knots whenever you can.

 

An extra challenge: Try to complete the engagements without overstressing the airframe. Stay below 6.5 g-s! 🙂

I got the F-15C....of course. 🙂 

My conclusion from Tacview: I was actually holding my own quite well and at least kept the F-15 mostly on the defensive until I got nervous when Jester called "Joker". Then I tried to force the issue (and stay out of burner more), and that was when the Eagle pulled so much lead from the opposite side of the circle and gunned me in the face (the AI does seem to have an advantage due to its immaculate energy management; in my case the AI could pull a lot of lead without any significant loss of energy).

 

I'll give it another try tonight (provided I'll get the Eagle again), and should I lose again, after that I'll pull a "Snodgrass" and limp home on damaged flaps and slats. 🙂 🙂   That will also prevent me from my high-speed landing brake, but the honor of the Tomcat community would be saved. 🙂


Edited by Jayhawk1971
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You may not get the Eagle. It was Bio's idea to surprise the player - you'll get a random opponent, an aircraft type that you haven't faced before in the campaign.

 

Keep your speed above 250 -preferably above 300 at all times, and manage your AoA carefully. A clean F-14A is good at retaining energy, but once it's gone it takes forever to get it back even when you're unloading.

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vor 7 Stunden schrieb Reflected:

You may not get the Eagle. It was Bio's idea to surprise the player - you'll get a random opponent, an aircraft type that you haven't faced before in the campaign.

 

Keep your speed above 250 -preferably above 300 at all times, and manage your AoA carefully. A clean F-14A is good at retaining energy, but once it's gone it takes forever to get it back even when you're unloading.

So, I did get the Eagle again, aaaand... he broke the hard deck. 🙂 I count that as a maneuver kill, and apparently the game thought so, too, because I got the "winning" dialogue after the "knock it off" call. I would have never thought the AI would do that. 👍

 

Spoiler

In the overhead break, I followed Jester's plea and did not buzz the tower. 🙂

 

How does the game determine which opponent you get in event 10? Is it totally random, or dependent on the player's score/performance up to that mission?

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Ha! You got really 'lucky' then 🙂 It's a totally random flag that picks one of the opponents. The hard deck is interesting: In real life it was 5000 feet AGL. But In DCS you can't tell the AI not to go below that in a fight. So I carefully fine tuned it so that it happens, but  very rarely - the sweet spot was 500 feet AGL.

 

I have my doubts about how DCS perceives ground level, there have been times when I thought the AI was lower than that, but it may have been my impression only.

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Finished it! Great campaign and great experience. I really do hope you and Bio will consider doing another, similar campaign. We have way too few proper learning tools within DCS: the stock training missions are too bare-bone; everything else you'll have to research yourself, outside of the simulation. IMO "Zone 5" provides a valuable learning experience within the sim, which is also very immersive and a lot of fun. Also, I do feel a little sorry for Dice. 🙂

 

So, when do I get to make the Soviets "fear the Bones"? 🙂

 

A couple of tiny minor things:

Spoiler

 

- I would have liked to have one last "mission" after the ceremony, where the whole detachment leaves Nellis to fly back towards Miramar (kinda mirroring the very first "mission 0". Like   a flight along Vegas over Creech and end the mission close to the western border of the NTTR map. Flight members could have had a conversation about the hangover from the O-Club)

- I was struggling to catch up with flight leads (especially when flying four ship) without going full burner (to conserve fuel). Especially when trying to follow the Dream Two Departure at 250kts. It always took me past Ramm to catch up. Same on the way back. 

 

 

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Hi @Jayhawk1971,

 

Congratulations for finishing the campaign, I'm happy you enjoyed it 🙂

 

That would have been a great idea for a closing mission, we never thought about this.  We just thought that the O-club and 'Tomcats forever' was a good closing to the story.

 

I've heard that feedback before: the thing is, the F-14A is terrible at accelerating out of burner. So if you're trying to catch up in mil power, you're going to take forever. Plug in the burners for a few seconds until you get the desired speed, then she's great at maintaining speed with little throttle. When you're not lead, just forget about the 250 knots during departure, go and rejoin with your lead. They'll fly slightly slower up to JUNNO.

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  • 1 month later...

Hallo Reflected,

thank you for perfect campaign. Can you please add a little bit of time for rampstart? I am not very proficient, so it takes me aprox 20minutes to be ready to taxi and I am a litte bit late for 7:00 takeoff slot. Thank you and keep the good work

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Textures High, Scenes Medium, Civ Traffic Low, Water Medium, Visib Range High, Heat Blur On, Shadows High, Res 1680x1050, Res of Cockpit Displays 256, MSAA 8xQ, HDR Warm, Clutter/Bushes 31m, Trees 5520m, Cockpit Shadows On, TSSAA Off, Mirrors Off

 

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