Jump to content

Playing f-14 a campaigns with b?


Guest

Recommended Posts

Unfortunately I don’t have the time to learn more than one version of one plane, and that’s been the F-14B. 

But, I see there are several great campaigns for the A I would like to try, but then with B. 
Would it be so easy as to open the mission editor and change the aircraft model from a to b and save?

(I know it’s cheating - but I want to experience the campaigns and to support those who made them.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Werlin said:

Would it be so easy as to open the mission editor and change the aircraft model from a to b and save?

 

You can almost do that .. you can change the aircraft, but can not save the modified version.

  • Like 2

 

For work: iMac mid-2010 of 27" - Core i7 870 - 6 GB DDR3 1333 MHz - ATI HD5670 - SSD 256 GB - HDD 2 TB - macOS High Sierra

For Gaming: 34" Monitor - Ryzen 3600X - 32 GB DDR4 2400 - nVidia GTX1070ti - SSD 1.25 TB - HDD 10 TB - Win10 Pro - TM HOTAS Cougar - Oculus Rift CV1

Mobile: iPad Pro 12.9" of 256 GB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As someone who originally thought "Why would I fly the A when we've got the B?", I'd definitely recommend learning to fly the A model.

If you've already learnt the B, there's not too much to transitioning to the A. Most of the avionics, symbology, switchology, weapons are the same. It will largely be learning the nuances of the TF-30 compared to the F110s in terms of performance and handling. 

Learning to fight the A is oh-so-satisfying, and once you can fight well in the A, you'll be that much deadlier in the B.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Rokkett said:

As someone who originally thought "Why would I fly the A when we've got the B?", I'd definitely recommend learning to fly the A model.

If you've already learnt the B, there's not too much to transitioning to the A. Most of the avionics, symbology, switchology, weapons are the same. It will largely be learning the nuances of the TF-30 compared to the F110s in terms of performance and handling. 

Learning to fight the A is oh-so-satisfying, and once you can fight well in the A, you'll be that much deadlier in the B.

Thanks. I'm sure you're right, but I simply don't have the time. As it is now I have between one and two hours each week. So it's a question of priorities.

 

9 hours ago, Rudel_chw said:

 

You can almost do that .. you can change the aircraft, but can not save the modified version.

Thanks. But I can save and play them as single missions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Werlin said:

Thanks. But I can save and play them as single missions?


No, as it would defeat the purpose of their copy protection.

 

For work: iMac mid-2010 of 27" - Core i7 870 - 6 GB DDR3 1333 MHz - ATI HD5670 - SSD 256 GB - HDD 2 TB - macOS High Sierra

For Gaming: 34" Monitor - Ryzen 3600X - 32 GB DDR4 2400 - nVidia GTX1070ti - SSD 1.25 TB - HDD 10 TB - Win10 Pro - TM HOTAS Cougar - Oculus Rift CV1

Mobile: iPad Pro 12.9" of 256 GB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Werlin

You can play a mission after applying the changes right from the ME. You'll just have to do it with each mission so it will not be run in campaign mode.

Why not just play the campaign in the A? Would you even notice the difference?


Edited by draconus

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, Rudel_chw said:


No, as it would defeat the purpose of their copy protection.

I see, thats fine, thanks 🙂

24 minutes ago, draconus said:

@Werlin

You can play a mission after applying the changes right from the ME. You'll just have to do it with each mission so it will not be run in campaign mode.

Why not just play the campaign in the A? Would you even notice the difference?

 

Don't know. As stated. Unfortunatly I need to prioritise my time hard, if I was still a student or I had a different job or I was single and without kids I would play ALL planes and modules, and I'm sure it would have been great. But I cant now 🙂


Edited by Werlin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Werlin said:

Don't know.

So you have just imagined there would be a problem while there is none.

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the flip side, even if you could simply swap out the unit, you would be swapping out a unit integral to the proper running of the mission. Depending on the complexity of the mission, there would be no guarantees that any number of triggers and/or scripts would not be broken. You'd potentially be spending more time trying to figure out how to get the triggers working properly again (something the mission designer has probably spent countless hours doing), instead of flying something that you can, in fact, already fly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I were you, I would just jump into the F-14A and don't worry about "learning a new version." As others have said, the differences are minimal.

Inside the cockpit, the only thing that's at all different is that the engine readouts (RPM, TIT, and FF) are in analog rather than digital format, but the information is presented in the exact same way; there's no need to learn anything new.

The major difference is just that the engines in the A are a) less responsive, b) less powerful, and c) more prone to compressor stalls than the ones in the B. But most of the time, I don't notice a huge difference. I swap between playing the A and B regularly and don't feel as though I need to adjust very much at all. The differences only really come into play when extra-fine control is needed, like during in-air refueling and carrier traps. But even then, it's still not so huge of a difference that you can't overcome it just by paying a bit more attention.

The only new thing to learn about the A is dealing with compressor stalls, and those are rare enough (for me at least) that it's not a major part of flying the A. And you can learn about how to avoid causing compressor stalls and how to recover from them when they happen by reading about them in your spare time. Got 5 minutes between meetings, or while waiting the pick the kids up from something? Check it out on your phone. Chances are it won't even come up in a mission.

Trust me--Reflected's F-14A campaigns are absolutely, 100% worth doing this for. Stop worrying and just do it! You won't regret it.


Edited by FMBluecher
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, FMBluecher said:

I swap between playing the A and B regularly and don't feel as though I need to adjust very much at all.

Quoted for truth.

This too.

43 minutes ago, FMBluecher said:

Trust me--Reflected's F-14A campaigns are absolutely, 100% worth doing this for. Stop worrying and just do it! You won't regret it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can go into the mission editor and change the A to the B and then fly the mission. I have done it on numerous campaigns and missions and have not had any issues. I will agree with what has been said that there is not much difference between the A and B.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, FMBluecher said:

1. Inside the cockpit, the only thing that's at all different is that the engine readouts (RPM, TIT, and FF) are in analog rather than digital format, but the information is presented in the exact same way; there's no need to learn anything new.

2. The only new thing to learn about the A is dealing with compressor stalls, and those are rare enough (for me at least) that it's not a major part of flying the A.

3. Trust me--Reflected's F-14A campaigns are absolutely, 100% worth doing this for. Stop worrying and just do it! You won't regret it.

 

1. Eh, the instruments in the B were exactly the same as they were in the A until fairly recently anyway. I doubt most people even noticed the the difference when they were changed 😄
2. From what i've seen thusfar, most DCS users hardly use the throttles during BFM for compressor stalls to be an issue, and a good portion of those would crash long before they killed an engine if they pulled AoA and sideslip sufficient enough to kill an engine.
3. They most definitely are. Zone 5 is my all time favorite in any plane i've purchased in DCS!

In short, i think most people that stay away from the A, just do so on general principle, not because of any technical issues 😛 

Modules: FC3, Mirage 2000C, Harrier AV-8B NA, F-5, AJS-37 Viggen, F-14B, F-14A, Combined Arms, F/A-18C, F-16C, MiG-19P, F-86, MiG-15, FW-190A, Spitfire Mk IX, UH-1 Huey, Su-25, P-51PD, Caucasus map, Nevada map, Persian Gulf map, Marianas map, Syria Map, Super Carrier, Sinai map, Mosquito, P-51, AH-64 Apache

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/3/2022 at 5:53 PM, Wolfman289 said:

You can go into the mission editor and change the A to the B and then fly the mission. I have done it on numerous campaigns and missions and have not had any issues. I will agree with what has been said that there is not much difference between the A and B.

Thanks, I've tried in the "zone 5" campaign. Unfortunately it seems to mess up a few things. Also, all preset radio channels, for some reason, are wrong. So I have to tune them manually, and that is a bit complicated at times. So, I've decided to just ditch the campaign. Shame, because it seems good.

As for difference between A and B. I'm not sure if any of you are serious or not? I've tried the A today, and the difference is huge. (Not when flying straight and level, but then again, if I wanted to do that I would have played MSFS...)
The acceleration and throttle settings, the types of ACM manoeuvres you can do, sustained turn and how it responds to throttle changes.

 

So, then I'm back to where I started. I'm limited by time, and value mastering one plane over trying many. The A-model is sufficiently different from B as to make me do things in a different way and have different specs. So I'm out and will not fly it again. 


Edited by Werlin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The A has less thrust and isn’t as fuel efficient, that’s it. Unless you’re taking the flight to the merge every time it really shouldn’t make much difference at all. Fly the plane don’t fly the numbers, just enjoy it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Q3ark said:

The A has less thrust and isn’t as fuel efficient, that’s it. Unless you’re taking the flight to the merge every time it really shouldn’t make much difference at all. Fly the plane don’t fly the numbers, just enjoy it. 

I was interested in playing the "Zone 5" campaign. The whole point of that campaign is BFM and all goes to the merge 😉
 


Edited by Werlin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is very true, the whole thing is a BFM trainer.

I would say just go for it, you don’t have to “fly” through it (pun intended) you don’t have to be perfect straight away and by the end you’ll be a better sim pilot for doing it, it’ll also improve your flying in the B model indirectly.

So what if you have to fly a few missions a couple of times as long as you’re learning something and enjoying it, that’s the whole point in the end.

I judge success by coming away and having learned something and also having fun, doesn’t even matter if I made it to the end of the mission or not, I will next time. But that’s me and we’re all different. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Q3ark said:

This is very true, the whole thing is a BFM trainer.

I would say just go for it, you don’t have to “fly” through it (pun intended) you don’t have to be perfect straight away and by the end you’ll be a better sim pilot for doing it, it’ll also improve your flying in the B model indirectly.

So what if you have to fly a few missions a couple of times as long as you’re learning something and enjoying it, that’s the whole point in the end.

I judge success by coming away and having learned something and also having fun, doesn’t even matter if I made it to the end of the mission or not, I will next time. But that’s me and we’re all different. 

I'm sure you're right. The only thing is that I don't have the time and I've set myself a goal of mastering one plane, and my choice fell on the F-14B (the A wasn't available then). 
When my job and life makes less demands on my time (hopefully in a couple of years time) I'm sure I will do as you suggest and enjoy every minute of it 🙂

 

4 hours ago, Kondor77 said:

Am I in the minority that I actually prefer to fly the A over the B? 

I can see why. I chose the B because I wanted more of a challenge to master it than the FBW planes then available and because I liked the idea of Jester so I didn't have to learn too much about radar etc. (Also, I wanted a modern-ish jet with navigation so I didn't need to look at charts and there was no way I was flying anything else than NATO-planes.) (Who am I kidding? I WANTED the Tomcat, no matter what! 😍)
The A wasn't available then, but I can well imagine that mastering the tf30 and what comes with it is very gratifying, and would quite possibly have chosen that over the B if it was available then. 
The only thing limiting me to B now is that I've only got 4-6h each month to spend on DCS. 
If that changes I would very much like some pointers 🙂


Edited by Werlin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/15/2022 at 9:52 PM, Werlin said:



As for difference between A and B. I'm not sure if any of you are serious or not? I've tried the A today, and the difference is huge. (Not when flying straight and level, but then again, if I wanted to do that I would have played MSFS...)
The acceleration and throttle settings, the types of ACM manoeuvres you can do, sustained turn and how it responds to throttle changes.

 

Bolded by me. Are you serious? There is literally 0.2-0.3g difference (resulting in 0.4-0.5deg/s turn rate difference) between the two planes at best sustained mach, for the same loadout and with a greater fuel margin for the A (more burner time). Acceleration? Yeah sure. But Turning? There is hardly a difference. Unless you are one of the 1 in 1000 flyers that plans to do lateral cartwheels with the plane, your engines won't die either. 
 

 

  • Like 2

Modules: FC3, Mirage 2000C, Harrier AV-8B NA, F-5, AJS-37 Viggen, F-14B, F-14A, Combined Arms, F/A-18C, F-16C, MiG-19P, F-86, MiG-15, FW-190A, Spitfire Mk IX, UH-1 Huey, Su-25, P-51PD, Caucasus map, Nevada map, Persian Gulf map, Marianas map, Syria Map, Super Carrier, Sinai map, Mosquito, P-51, AH-64 Apache

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/15/2022 at 9:52 PM, Werlin said:

So, I've decided to just ditch the campaign. Shame, because it seems good.

What a bizzare decission... None of your arguments make sense so far.


Edited by draconus
  • Like 3

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you cant fly the A effectively, you are just using the extra thrust on the B to compensate for you not flying the B properly. There is really not that much difference between the two. The A is less forgiving of mistakes, but its arguably not underpowered at low altitude. At plus 30, yes it would be, but there seems to be relatively few scenarios regularly in that region.

Practice coordinated turns. You save a heck of a lot of energy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...