Thanks Once Again to Reflected, and This Time to Bio as well :)

[Teeps]

I've just finished Zone 5, and once again it's a very well-made campaign that immerses us in the cockpit with real-world situations.  I'm glad I played Speed and Angels first as I think I would have been a bit lost without the RAG training from that campaign - it's a shame we don't get access to the actual Top Gun lectures, but I guess we'd need to be real USN pilots for that!

This campaign is obviously all about air-to-air, and the procedural parts of range entry etc. become very familiar over the course of the missions, so it does not have as much variety of tasks as S&A.  I enjoyed the challenges, and the ramping of difficulty makes sense.  

I didn't experience any bugs with the campaign, and even DCS AI behaved as far as I remember - it's never going to be like humans, but Reflected has done a good job in coralling the AI to perform sensibly in the contexts.

Overall, a solid 9.5/10 from me - loses just a little bit to S&A for variety.

Thanks Reflected, thanks Bio, and thanks to all the testers and voice-actors

[Reflected]

@Teeps many thanks for the kind words, I'm happy you enjoyed it. Bio wanted to make absolutely sure we do not disclose anything confidential, so we made sure the setups, procedures and the syllabus are as realistic as possible, but left it up to the player to come up with a solution to each problem.

However, now I'm working on MIG Killers, an F-4 campaign recreating the first class of Topgun in March 1969. I found many sources about the lessons taught there, and tactics, so I'm sure you'll find it very informative. Oh, and believe it or not, back then, there was an A2G part of the syllabus too  

Oh, an if you haven't checked my latest video, an improvement is coming re the checklists in the campaign.

[Klunker]

On 4/16/2024 at 11:48 PM, Reflected said:

@Teeps many thanks for the kind words, I'm happy you enjoyed it. Bio wanted to make absolutely sure we do not disclose anything confidential, so we made sure the setups, procedures and the syllabus are as realistic as possible, but left it up to the player to come up with a solution to each problem.

However, now I'm working on MIG Killers, an F-4 campaign recreating the first class of Topgun in March 1969. I found many sources about the lessons taught there, and tactics, so I'm sure you'll find it very informative. Oh, and believe it or not, back then, there was an A2G part of the syllabus too  

Oh, an if you haven't checked my latest video, an improvement is coming re the checklists in the campaign.

I did your Mig Killers campaign first and really appreciated the ability to repeat "endlessly" the engagements.  Your ability to present a repeatable, but different each time engagement  during the same mission is really unique, and if possible, could be a game changer to this campaign.

I've flown 5 missions so far and although I appreciate the work put into setting each up, I'm left wanting after each engagement because I've been spoiled by your novel Mig Killer's repeatability during the mission.  Honestly, it's doubtful I will ever repeat this campaign because there's so much time spent going to and from the engagement zone for just a few seconds, or minutes engagements.  

If possible, it would greatly benefit this campaign if you'd make each engagement repeatable while flying  the mission as you did with Mig Killers.  I really loved Mig Killers, not so much for all the tactical briefing that was provided, which was good, but more so for the ability to do the engagements again and again without worrying about having enough gas to do another one. That was the hallmark of the Campaign for me. It provides an immediate learning experience that is like the "Eveready Bunny"..just keeps going as long as the player is in the mood and has time.

As far as getting the tactical scoop from an actual Topgun training class, I'm thinking that once you get into 2 v Unk, your gameplan is so different in real life than campaign training missions. In the real world, there would be a merge, and it would be a very quick engagement that would evolve immediately to extending from the fight in order to regroup and reassess engagement opportunities. Staying engaged in an unknown environment is similar to doing multiple runs on a bombing target.  Not a good idea.  The 2v Unk is a one shot deal.  After the merge, the section has to get out in order to redefine the fight. That would require teamwork that cannot be duplicated in a game such as this. For game purposes, the campaign is learning experience to vector in on multiple targets while trying to maintain SA during an engagement with multiple bogeys and trying to kill  as many as possible.  So, it would be great if it could be a rinse and repeat like MIg Killers. It would also provide a good learning tool to budding RIO's who would like to run the radar in the game.  Bio, was after all, a RIO and that work he did on the initial intercept vector would set the tone for the whole fight.  So, if a gaming RIO trainee in Zone 5 campaign blew an intercept, it would be nice to be able to set up another one right away and not wait until the next mission that requires all the "dead time" transiting to and from the range.

Regardless, I applaud your ability to put together these campaigns that are fun to do! 

Edit:  I just realized or think, this campaign can't be done with two players with one guy in the backseat.  But, it would be nice if it could and if there was a way, I'm sure you'd be the one to be able to make it happen.

Edited Sunday at 07:31 PM by Klunker

[Reflected]

Hey, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yes, a split mission has its advantages, but sometimes I prefer flying a sortie as a whole, like in Zone 5. You have fuel management to worry about, no 'loading screens', and I find that the more you invest into an engagement (i.e. starting up and flying all the way there) the more thrilling they are. If I load up an airstart mission I'll never fear for my virtual life as much as in a full mission.

Anyhow, Zone 5 would have to be rebuilt from scratch to change it, which is not going to happen.

[Klunker]

I see your point.  In fact, I got quite a thrill yesterday when I flamed out over Nellis and was incredibly lucky to get my gear down and dead stick to runway 3L for a "Mission Complete".  Pretty sure I would have had to punch out of a real F14, but it was a lot of fun because it wasn't real.

The later missions are fun, especially dodging the SAM's and  then fighting 4 or 5 bogies.  As for the RIO training bit, I suppose you could transform the campaign for online play by changing "player" to "client" so then two or more people could play together and have RIO players as well.  I don't play online anymore, but it's an idea that might attract those who do.

[Reflected]

Nah, unfortunately it's not that simple. As soon as you have more than 1 player, half of these complex triggers would stop working. Multicrew/ MP missions need to be much more simple, by design.