F-35A Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) for DCS

[Devil 505]

@Wags @NineLine Wags, NineLine, can you please let us know if or how you plan on recreating the HMDS for the F-35 and how you plan to model the displays inside?  Especially for us VR players.  The HMD is the heart and soul of any F-35 and a DCS module could not be considered accurate without it.  I would like to know if you have open-source information on the helmet system and what you intend to recreate with the F-35 module specifically regarding the helmet and what its capabilities are.

The second HUGE question I have has gone unanswered for years now. Will ED incorporate tinted visors that work for VR players that simulate a tinted visor coming down over the players face to dim the light?  It 100% makes a difference when flying into the sun while in VR.  It allows the players to see the HUD. I would debate it is essential for the F-35 given the nature of the aircraft being flown by its helmet and not a HUD.  The tinted visor has been incorporated in many different 3rd party modules to include the F-15E, Mirage 2000, Kiowa, and the Cayuse mod to name a few.  I may be leaving a couple third party modules out, but NO official ED module has incorporated this.  Is this a hard request to implement or is there a reason we have not seen the tinted visor yet with any ED modules? 

[MAXsenna]

50 minutes ago, Devil 505 said:

It 100% makes a difference when flying into the sun while in VR.

If you believe it's any better in 2D, you haven't tried on a monitor lately.

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Yep, people have been asking for proper sun visors for ED modules for 7+ years now.

As for the helmet:

 

Edited January 23 by Raven (Elysian Angel)

[skywalker22]

I'm sure ED is well aware of how important HMCS is on pilot's head in F-35, and so it's surely gonna be there for us, sooner rather than later.

[Neor]

14 hours ago, Devil 505 said:

I would like to know if you have open-source information on the helmet system

Why do you need to know what kind of information they have?

This module is still in development, just let them do their thing and wait to see if you end up with a module you like or not...

[Smashy]

If a visor is dark enough to attenuate the sun's glare would you still be able to read the HUD through it, either with the sun in your face or at your back?  With my moto helmet's darkest visor, the sun is still pretty blinding but the instrument cluster is also hard to read.  The dark visor does help when the sun is at a more oblique angle but it's still not the perfect solution.  Is it the same for military aviation visors?

[Tomas9970]

6 minutes ago, Smashy said:

If a visor is dark enough to attenuate the sun's glare would you still be able to read the HUD through it, either with the sun in your face or at your back?  With my moto helmet's darkest visor, the sun is still pretty blinding but the instrument cluster is also hard to read.  The dark visor does help when the sun is at a more oblique angle but it's still not the perfect solution.  Is it the same for military aviation visors?

As far as I know, the F-35 doesn't have a HUD. Only the HMD, which is projected in front of the visor and therefore would be easier to read with the visor on.

[NineLine]

Of course, we will include the helmet display; we could not do the f-35 without it as it does not have a HUD. As for tinted visors, we are investigating for all our aircraft.

[Smashy]

4 hours ago, Tomas9970 said:

As far as I know, the F-35 doesn't have a HUD. Only the HMD, which is projected in front of the visor and therefore would be easier to read with the visor on.

Oops, my bad.  Still, I wonder a tinted visor would help with HUD visibility in the 4th gen jets.

[Devil 505]

5 hours ago, Smashy said:

Is it the same for military aviation visors?

I guess the real question would be, why do all fighter pilots have clear visors and tinted visors?  That is a rhetorical question.  The military would not issue tinted visors if it inhibited the pilot's ability to fly the aircraft or see the HUD.

Edited January 24 by Devil 505

[Devil 505]

9 hours ago, Neor said:

Why do you need to know what kind of information they have?

This module is still in development, just let them do their thing and wait to see if you end up with a module you like or not...

It matters to those of us who are looking for accuracy and not fantasy.  It's a fair question to ask ED when there is no open-source information on the HMDS.  I will purchase the F-35A module, but I am curious what information they are substituting in for real world documentation to make the HMDS believable.  I feel the community deserve an answer to this so it level sets the expectations, and we understand what we are purchasing.  It also prevents misinterpretation of what is being developed.

Some people on these forums actually know a thing or two about the HMDS and can confirm there is no open-source data on it available.  Some people also know the real F-35 pilots will not be providing ED information on the HMDS that would jeopardize their careers or NDA's they have signed leaving the military. 

[Devil 505]

3 hours ago, NineLine said:

Of course, we will include the helmet display; we could not do the f-35 without it as it does not have a HUD

NineLine, how do you intend to recreate the HMDS and what capabilities do you expect it to have given DCS's worlds current technology?  There is a significant amount of data displayed within the helmet while you still have all the information being displayed in the glass cockpit.  I remember the early days with the DCS Apache and its IHADSS system requiring a lot of optimization to run smoothly, especially at night with PNVS.  The HMDS will far exceed the requirements to display information in the helmet and in cockpit for a simulator.  Can you comment further?

3 hours ago, NineLine said:

As for tinted visors, we are investigating for all our aircraft.

This has been a big request from the community for a long time.  We have received the same answer in the past that it is under investigation.  Respectfully, what is being investigated exactly?  Put a VR headset on and fly into the sun in DCS and tell me it is not needed.  Trying employing and any auto CCIP munition in the Hornet in VR while flying into the sun and convince the community you can see the bomb fall line pass the release point.  I always have the HUD displayed in an MFD when flying into the sun for this exact reason.  I am not attacking ED, but in a recent update you made a 3D model of the tinted visor coming down for the Viper and the Hornet.  I was really hoping for it in that update.  Is this a labor-intensive request or a community request that ED feels is not as important as others?  Again, after 7 years of asking for it, I feel a valid reason should be provided.

[Jayhawk1971]

For tinted visor, I'd be content with something akin to what we have in the Strike Eagle.

[NineLine]

20 hours ago, Devil 505 said:

NineLine, how do you intend to recreate the HMDS and what capabilities do you expect it to have given DCS's worlds current technology?  There is a significant amount of data displayed within the helmet while you still have all the information being displayed in the glass cockpit.  I remember the early days with the DCS Apache and its IHADSS system requiring a lot of optimization to run smoothly, especially at night with PNVS.  The HMDS will far exceed the requirements to display information in the helmet and in cockpit for a simulator.  Can you comment further?

This has been a big request from the community for a long time.  We have received the same answer in the past that it is under investigation.  Respectfully, what is being investigated exactly?  Put a VR headset on and fly into the sun in DCS and tell me it is not needed.  Trying employing and any auto CCIP munition in the Hornet in VR while flying into the sun and convince the community you can see the bomb fall line pass the release point.  I always have the HUD displayed in an MFD when flying into the sun for this exact reason.  I am not attacking ED, but in a recent update you made a 3D model of the tinted visor coming down for the Viper and the Hornet.  I was really hoping for it in that update.  Is this a labor-intensive request or a community request that ED feels is not as important as others?  Again, after 7 years of asking for it, I feel a valid reason should be provided.

Many times it's not having the dev hours to put into it right now. We have a long list of things customers would like added.

[Devil 505]

9 hours ago, Jayhawk1971 said:

For tinted visor, I'd be content with something akin to what we have in the Strike Eagle.

100%  I think this is all the community is really looking for to be honest as far as tinted visors are concerned.  

[Devil 505]

7 hours ago, NineLine said:

Many times it's not having the dev hours to put into it right now. We have a long list of things customers would like added.

Understood.  I just thought in 7 years, the devs might have found some time to add such a small function to their aircraft, especially when the focus has seemed to be placed on the pilots in recent ED updates with the Hornet, Viper, and now F-5.  You gents even did an animation for the visor coming down.  I feel like this was something that should have been included with those updates and again, fully understand the list thing.  I see it all the time on here with numerous requests, but 7 years the community has asked for this, and you updated the pilot and their helmets and left this out again.  I am having trouble finding where ED's incentive will be to go back and work on the pilot helmet again.  Hope this does not get left behind, it really is an essential part of flying in VR and has significant functionality to how the players enjoy their experience.