Very frustrated with F14 and Replay mode

[BlackReef]

I have dabbled with DCS off and on over the years but late last year I really got back into it and have been trying to play it more than ever.  Im really impressed with how far the graphics have come in recent memory as well.  With the right lighting conditions everything looks real, but I digress.

Whenever I make a landing (carrier, land, etc), or shoot down a MiG, I go to watch replay mode (watch track), and nearly every time the jets just crash or fly straight into the water.

All I want to do is get a good carrier landing on camera and make a short film for fun, but I find myself trying to capture the action in real time with different camera angles and obviously that is very difficult.

I did make this video in real time and it's the best one I've made, but if I could just watch a correct replay I wouldn't have to worry about flying the plane and recording from different cameras all at the same time, and the sky would be the limit (no pun intended)

What are guys doing to fix this? Is there a workaround?

Thanks

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6fwt8zczHgQ

[freehand]

ED modules short carrier landing are ok and are best using multiplayer, F14 is just about the worst for replays. 

[IronMike]

Hi BlackReef, our apologies that you are experiencing difficulties with the tracks. The reason for that is quite in the name: they are not replays as such, and were not really developed with that in mind. Unlike a replay that simply records the action, tracks do track every input you make, and replicate it. This process has initially been developed when there were not only no fully clickable modules around, but most certainly no multicrew and backseater AI, and was developed more like a debugging tool than a replay function. Both multicrew and Jester AI are the breaking points in Singleplayer tracks. And unless we get a proper replay/recording system at one point, this also likely will not change - there is unfortunately nothing we can do about it on our side. The moment you open for example the Jester menu, or have a human backseater, it breaks input tracking which results in the off-the-mark replays you experience.

There are a few ways to work around it:

1. Very short singleplayer tracks work, however, a few things to keep in mind:
1.1 With very short I mean very short, maybe up to a few minutes max, the fewer, the better.
1.2 You must not use Jester (which naturally is a limiting factor).
1.3 If possible engage AP (ATT Hold) within 10 seconds after spawn, to avoid control input desyncing.

^^ This is not a very encompassing extend of usability, but serves to record short scenes, snippets, a short finals from the cockpit, etc etc.

2. Host a server instead of flying singleplayer, and use the server track.
2.1 Ideally you do this with a third party server (which can be your own separate or dedicated server, even from the own machine), but just joining your server as the host works as well. The important bit is: use the server track, not the client track.
2.2 While this gives a solid external and internal view replay, it does not record your inputs, where you were looking, etc. But a very good option for most that you need. You can even enable external views when having flown on a server with them off initially, etc etc. To do that simply: 

• Open your trk file with 7zip or Winrar
• Drag drop options file to notepad++
• Set setting as you wish such as:
• ["spectatorExternalViews"] = true,
• ["externalViews"] = true,

2.3 Make sure your normal default options have external views enabled as well. Specifically when having "use these options in all missions" selected, your normal settings trump the mission settings.
 

3. Avoid fast forward in both the mission and tracks, no matter the module, more than 2x speeds (and sometimes 2x speed as well), will eventually break the track.

 

I hope the above helps a bit, it is somewhat of a hassle but not at all too much, if you are seriously into video making.

Edited January 15, 2023 by IronMike

[BlackReef]

Thank you for the detailed reply.  I did not realize that the tracks were never designed to be used as a replay, thank you for clarifying. 

How do I "not use" Jester?  Do I understand correctly that If I just turn Jester off the track replay should be fixed?  And this means I can get my landing recorded on the SC module with no bugs/glitches?

I also tried flying my created mission in multiplayer, but the game loads but doesn't start.  I can see the cockpit and everything but everything is paused and I can't 'play' the mission.

I'm a bit tired but I look forward to re-reading your helpful reply tomorrow with fresh eyes.  I look forward to continuing to learn DCS.

 

Thanks

[IronMike]

8 hours ago, BlackReef said:

Thank you for the detailed reply.  I did not realize that the tracks were never designed to be used as a replay, thank you for clarifying. 

How do I "not use" Jester?  Do I understand correctly that If I just turn Jester off the track replay should be fixed?  And this means I can get my landing recorded on the SC module with no bugs/glitches?

I also tried flying my created mission in multiplayer, but the game loads but doesn't start.  I can see the cockpit and everything but everything is paused and I can't 'play' the mission.

I'm a bit tired but I look forward to re-reading your helpful reply tomorrow with fresh eyes.  I look forward to continuing to learn DCS.

 

Thanks

Easy fix, and sometimes the most obvious elludes us: simply hit pause after spawning in, hehe. You can btw also set that in the options, before launching your server, you can select whether the mission unpauses on load, on player spawn or on actively hitting pause. I prefer the latter, because sometimes you dont want things to start moving before you are fully loaded in, set things up etc. For example: you can go to F2 and set your cam position before you even hit start, etc.

Turning off Jester via the wheel will already break the mission. The wheel is simply something the track input recording was not designed for, that kind of stuff just wasn't a thing back then, so this is not meant in a blaming way, btw, it is simply a natural consequence of the time. You can turn off Jester in the Mission editor before spawn, which should help. But still only for short tracks. If you really want to record the landing say from external view, use server tracks, they will be much more reliable, if you do not have too many moving parts in the mission.

To turn off Jester in the mission editor, set trigger type "Mission start" -> no condition -> action: x:set command with value

SET COMMAND WITH VALUE 10011 <value>

value = 1 disables Jester 

value = 0 reactivates Jester (default)

Note that this will basically act as if Jester did not exist, so all backseat functionality will be gone, unless you occupy it yourself (which will likely also break the track). You also have to turn him back on, and can use any trigger type and condition for that, if you like.

Server tracks usually deteriorate after running for a while, with many players and many units etc. But for simple stuff like doing a simple landing and recording it, they are great.

 

Oh, btw I completely forgot: I recommend also using Shadowplay, if you have Nvidia, because it has a record reply function, which you can set as long as you want, depending on your available disk space. This is great because some great moments happen on the fly, pun intended, and you think afterwards: man I wish I would have recorded that! With the replay function in Shadowplay, you can then just hit alt F10 (or whatever you set), and it will record the last 5 minutes, 10 minutes or how long you set after the fact of something happening. It is a really neat feature, and I use it a lot for myself. Ofc, it is a pure recording of what you were viewing at the time, that is you cannot change any camera settings etc, it basically records your screen and that is it. But sometimes the best moments are captured like that anyway, because planning for them is tough, hehe. That is just as a sidenote, but I hope it helps. OBS may offer something similar, but I haven't used it in years and honestly can't remember now. It may be preferable if you attempt more professional vids (or other programs even), but for my personal use I find Shadowplay more than enough.  

Edited January 15, 2023 by IronMike

[bonesvf103]

Where are the server track files located?

v6,

boNes

[BlackReef]

On 1/15/2023 at 8:42 AM, IronMike said:

Easy fix, and sometimes the most obvious elludes us: simply hit pause after spawning in, hehe. You can btw also set that in the options, before launching your server, you can select whether the mission unpauses on load, on player spawn or on actively hitting pause. I prefer the latter, because sometimes you dont want things to start moving before you are fully loaded in, set things up etc. For example: you can go to F2 and set your cam position before you even hit start, etc.

Turning off Jester via the wheel will already break the mission. The wheel is simply something the track input recording was not designed for, that kind of stuff just wasn't a thing back then, so this is not meant in a blaming way, btw, it is simply a natural consequence of the time. You can turn off Jester in the Mission editor before spawn, which should help. But still only for short tracks. If you really want to record the landing say from external view, use server tracks, they will be much more reliable, if you do not have too many moving parts in the mission.

To turn off Jester in the mission editor, set trigger type "Mission start" -> no condition -> action: x:set command with value

SET COMMAND WITH VALUE 10011 <value>

value = 1 disables Jester 

value = 0 reactivates Jester (default)

Note that this will basically act as if Jester did not exist, so all backseat functionality will be gone, unless you occupy it yourself (which will likely also break the track). You also have to turn him back on, and can use any trigger type and condition for that, if you like.

Server tracks usually deteriorate after running for a while, with many players and many units etc. But for simple stuff like doing a simple landing and recording it, they are great.

 

Oh, btw I completely forgot: I recommend also using Shadowplay, if you have Nvidia, because it has a record reply function, which you can set as long as you want, depending on your available disk space. This is great because some great moments happen on the fly, pun intended, and you think afterwards: man I wish I would have recorded that! With the replay function in Shadowplay, you can then just hit alt F10 (or whatever you set), and it will record the last 5 minutes, 10 minutes or how long you set after the fact of something happening. It is a really neat feature, and I use it a lot for myself. Ofc, it is a pure recording of what you were viewing at the time, that is you cannot change any camera settings etc, it basically records your screen and that is it. But sometimes the best moments are captured like that anyway, because planning for them is tough, hehe. That is just as a sidenote, but I hope it helps. OBS may offer something similar, but I haven't used it in years and honestly can't remember now. It may be preferable if you attempt more professional vids (or other programs even), but for my personal use I find Shadowplay more than enough.  

 

 

Thank you so much.  I don't know much about the triggers in mission editor but I did watch some YT tutorials on how to generally set up triggers.  But no matter what I have tried I still cannot disable Jester.  Do you mind taking a look at my screenshot and telling me what I am missing?  Thank you

[Spurts]

I think you still need a condition

[BlackReef]

5 hours ago, Spurts said:

I think you still need a condition

Thank you.  Can you please tell me what condition I need to select?  Thank you

[Spurts]

This video should cover what you need

 

Oh, you need to set the action COMMAND: box to 100011 and VALUE: box to 1

On the right side

No condition needed?

[BlackReef]

2 hours ago, Spurts said:

This video should cover what you need

 

Oh, you need to set the action COMMAND: box to 100011 and VALUE: box to 1

On the right side

No condition needed?

Man I have tried everything here, but any time I start a mission after the setting the 'trigger' I can still hear Jester's voice back there lol.  I watched the video above and he talks about how to silence Jester which Im not sure is the same as disabling him so I dont know if that will still break the track or not

[draconus]

13 hours ago, Spurts said:

No condition needed?

Upon checking the ME manual there is no mention of default "true" condition when not set, so I'd assume you always need one.

@BlackReeftry to set TIME MORE condition with 1s.

[Spurts]

you need an extra zero.  You have 10011, you need 100011

[BlackReef]

7 hours ago, Spurts said:

you need an extra zero.  You have 10011, you need 100011

When I try the three zero's, it just automatically defaults to 100000. 

[Spurts]

Oh sorry, The description of the video had a typo

.

[BlackReef]

Man I am so sorry to bring this up again but no matter what I try I still get the Jester AI when I launch the mission.

I am attempting to use the trigger system to disable Jester but nothing I am doing seems to work. Any input here? Thanks

 

[Spurts]

the difference I am seeing is that you are not using a flag state like the video I linked is.

[draconus]

@BlackReef check the file, works for me, looks like you got your trigger type wrong. And btw, no condition is needed.

F-14B Jester off.miz

Edited January 23, 2023 by draconus

[Katmandu]

On 1/15/2023 at 12:08 AM, BlackReef said:

I go to watch replay mode (watch track), and nearly every time the jets just crash or fly straight into the water.

Did you ever manage to get a working replay with the F-14? In a simple single player mission of course - e.g. take off, turn round, land.  I 've made a test some months back and wonder if IronMike's tips and general game updates since my tests (below) have made any difference. Would be great if that is the case as the F-14 is such a beaut.