Jester hooking targets

[cAshewTheAce]

Back in 2019 i saw people asking for the ability to tell jester which targets to hook... Because currently he is a bit clueless. Has there been any developments in that area? Or is that not a priority for HB?

[paco2002]

53 minutes ago, cAshewTheAce said:

Back in 2019 i saw people asking for the ability to tell jester which targets to hook... Because currently he is a bit clueless. Has there been any developments in that area? Or is that not a priority for HB?

On TWS you can now tell Jester "Lock at target number 2" and it will STT 

[Spartan111sqn]

1 hour ago, paco2002 said:

On TWS you can now tell Jester "Lock at target number 2" and it will STT 

And you will launch a wonderful phoenix as semi active...

[IronMike]

Jester a2a overhaul is on the list. Not a small task though, so will take a bit.

[cAshewTheAce]

18 hours ago, paco2002 said:

On TWS you can now tell Jester "Lock at target number 2" and it will STT 

That's telling jester to lock targets. What currently we are missing is a way to tell him which target to hook, which is incredibly useful. And also telling him to possibly prioritise targets with "mandatory attack" and "next launch" buttons you find in the backseat.

Either way, thank you HB for continuing to make the f14 amazing in DCS. I can't wait for the future, especially the updates on aim54's.

[SgtPappy]

In one of the other threads, @IronMikementioned that they are wanting to create a better Jester/AI experience by having him sort targets more intelligently and having the pilot confirm the hook or lock preferences rather than micro-managing exactly what Jester's doing (maybe he can confirm if I understand correctly).

I think most of us have been really wanting a "hook specific target" and then "next launch", but I'm willing to bet that there's something even more awesome (/sinister?) in the works and I'm excited (/scared for the eventual Jester AI takeover)!

[Lurker]

Hopefully IronMike's post indicates that more Jester autonomy is incoming. I dislike to micromanage Jester, in effect he becomes a sort of interface to the AWG9 in that case. I get that a lot of people want that, I'd like for Jester to become more "humanlike" and sort of do his own thing as much as possible. 

[IronMike]

I can confirm to you both that we plan to do that. However, please be mindful: all things Jester are very complicated, so we do not want to make promises as to how far we can take it. But, at the same time I would like to invite you all to share your dreams and wishes.

[Jayhawk1971]

Just be careful what you wish for, lest your single-player pilot involvement in BVR engagements be relegated to "come left ten degrees" or "speed up".  

[SgtPappy]

1 minute ago, Jayhawk1971 said:

Just be careful what you wish for, lest your single-player pilot involvement in BVR engagements be relegated to "come left ten degrees" or "speed up".  

I know a lot of people tell Jester to STFU but I personally love that he's a chatter box! Except maybe that one period of time when you missed the basket during refueling and he actually was on a loop 

[Jayhawk1971]

vor 2 Minuten schrieb SgtPappy:

I know a lot of people tell Jester to STFU but I personally love that he's a chatter box! Except maybe that one period of time when you missed the basket during refueling and he actually was on a loop 

Oh, I don't mind his chatter myself. My point was that if Jester got any smarter he'll act more like a real RIO and would be convinced our only job was "driving Miss RIO" around for him to do all the "important" work like guiding the intercepts, acquiring and sorting targets and launching BVR missiles.

The only time I yell at Jester to STFU (to no avail: HB, we need a literal STFU command  )  is when he is constantly interrupting important (well, scripted) radio calls, or distracting me while in the groove, with irrelevant information like "friendly, 10 o'clock, 235 miles" or "naaaiiiiils" (which of course are friendly).  

 

[IronMike]

Just to be clear: while we want him to be more like a human RIO, from the get go, we always said we do not want him to replace a human RIO altogether. There should always be some incentive left to have a human RIO over Jester, because that is really what this module is about.

[Jayhawk1971]

vor 51 Minuten schrieb IronMike:

Just to be clear: while we want him to be more like a human RIO, from the get go, we always said we do not want him to replace a human RIO altogether. There should always be some incentive left to have a human RIO over Jester, because that is really what this module is about.

So, "more human than human" is definitely not your motto...   

(it'll lead to "tears in rain" anyway, so best leave that to Dr. Tyrell) 

[Seriously, though, I'm mostly happy with Jester with the exception of some slightly annoying quirks, which I'm sure will be addressed; Jester LANTIRN was a major step forward, and I suppose some of the "lessons learned" will be used to improve A2A Jester eventually]

Edited December 16, 2021 by Jayhawk1971