MiG-21 Remastered please

[Art-J]

All I'm saying is, If Novak decides he would like to see his old ride remastered deep to bring every aspect of it closer to curren standards, they'll do it, costs be damned (that's what I meant by passion project). Judging from long road which lead to Corsair release, I think DCS development is a rather tiny side hustle compared to their full time jobs anyway.

But If bumping up return of investment becomes relatively more important in their future plans, then I don't expect much beyond visual refresh (Rudel seems to be always eager to work on 3D models and textures) and maybe a handful of systems tweaks. Then it will be full steam ahead for that F-8 Crusader.

[zerO_crash]

9 hours ago, Art-J said:

All fine and dandy, but you have to be realistic about two problems:

a) How many casual DCS customers are willing to pay full price again for underdog plane they're already a bit bored with, especially when superior -29 is now available for the red side?

b) Why would devs spend their limited financial and manpower resources on rebuilding old product when they can spend the same resources on more interesting and profitable new product? Unless it's more of a non-profit passion project of course.

Small number of hardcore cold war entusiasts will never bring the same return of investment.

I love the -21, anything post-mid-1970s is too "modern" for me, but even I don't think major rewrite of 21 will ever happen. Yes, devs wrote in newsletter they planned to improve the module considerably, but they wrote it 3 years ago and we don't know what their current plan is.

 

Right, and ultimately DCS is such a niche due to it's complexity, that this isn't the environment to enter as a developer if materialism is the only motive. There has to be passion. For one, Magnitude 3 LLC already has a former military MiG-21 pilot. It would occur to me that it should be highly personal to truly ensure that you bring the most authentic and best simulation of what you used to ride, back in the day. 

a) Well, that comparison is a bit flawed, as you are comparing different airframes. Although the most modern/multirole/highest payload/easiest to fly modules will always be more popular, these modules are different and cover partially different times/missions. You might as well ask; why bother with WWII aircraft, if we have Cold War, and even newer? It's the same answer, people prefer different aircraft. Just to give you a hint; on MP alone (which is tiny compared to the offline community), you can see on WWII servers that most pilots join allies, even though not one single allied prop. is newer (release date) than German birds. There are those who chose the underdog, simply because they enjoy the aircraft/challenge more. There aren't few of those either.

b) Well, maintaining MiG-21Bis (due to customized solution) does cost more in time/work than it could, but this isn't even the main point. I stated earlier, that a viable solution for making the MiG-21 even more aspiring to those who haven't flown it, is making (it has to be remade from scratch, no doubt about it) anew, but then since much of the data collection is done on the Bis, also dedicate some time to research and model other variants. Make one earlier variant (2nd generation), make one earlier 3rd gen with a smaller spine, make one 3rd gen U-variant (double seater). Finally, consider a 3rd gen dedicated to AG (PFM), with its ability to natively use the Kh-66 GROM, we would actually have the first ASM Redfor module in DCS with guided A-G ordnance. That alone, would interest many people, based on what I've seen in the comments here.

I'll also mention, that by expanding on one airframe (3-4 variants, maybe more down the line), you not only get diversified aircraft, avionics, weaponry and theater relevance, but also potentially more countries that realistically flew those different variants. This allows for more realistic scenarios with the different aircraft at hand. Currently, the MiG-21Bis, great as it is, has been known to lack depth in certain areas. If everything was pristine and up-to-date (like MiG-29), it would definitely be a far more popular module as well, no doubt. Couple the Cold War Germany map with it, the upcoming Balkans and likely Vietnam down the line... It's too perfect.

 

7 hours ago, MiG21bisFishbedL said:

Yes, we need to accept that a new MiG-21 will command a higher price point. Given what was saw delivered with the Corsair, one I think that is deserved.

Could it come in lower? Sure, but then you can't expect it to be in any way a focus of development. An airframe with half of the impact the MiG-21 had would deserve more. I'd even expect to pay $20 for the update. To get a face lift for my beloved Fishbed? Absolutely. Only now with Heatblur's F-4E have I been flying something more regularly in the sim.

 

We have to treat the module as a separate. The content (missions) are not the dev's responsibility. Frankly, the lack of good/relevant missions is simply down to stale mission designing/few people interested in this field. One can create more than complex enough missions without scripting, but it takes more than just complaining out loud (common problem). You mention F-4E, but notice the Mirage F1 and AJS-37 Viggen. These aircraft all play in the same time frame. There is already a great environment for these aircraft, and you don't need a dynamic mission to enjoy it. I'll also mention that we have already recieved one cockpit facelift for free for the MiG-21Bis (some time after EDGE released, thanks Rudel), and it was free. I saw it being praised upon release, but no one thanked for the pro-bono work. People do underestimate the work that goes into these modules, you can pick up Mi-8MTV-2 released in 2013 (12 years ago), and it does not feel out of place or worse than the competitors nowadays. I'd rather finance the devs properly, than have them be forced out of business due to financial reasons.

[Logan54]

That's what I honestly expect from MiG-21 Remastered 

 

Edited Friday at 09:07 AM by Logan54

[zerO_crash]

Maybe for an additional $9.99 they could add a physical MiG-21 to go along with 2.0?! 

 

@Magnitude 3 LLC you seeing this? You could make us extra happy