Long range AG weapons sync in MP

[BarTzi]

 

I'd like to use this thread to ask ED to kindly look at the sync issues of long range weapons (Harpoon, Slam, Slam-ER), which are present since the addition of those weapons to the game. 

The issue: 

Long range weapons are not synched in multiplayer environment, which will cause the following issues:

1. The flight path of the weapons looks completely different to each player. Only the player that launched the missile will see the accurate flight path via F6.
2. Not all players see the weapons hitting the target.
3. When SLAM/SLAM-ER is used, a hit can only be validated by the data link pod of the user. Other players will see the missile missing the target, but will occasionally see the target explode if it hit.  

Why does this matter?

In a sterile environment, you won't notice most of those issues. However, it has a great impact on missions in which other units interact with those weapons. 
AI units that interact with those weapons usually try to shoot them down (SAMS or Ships), and this is where the sync matters. 

Imagine the following scenario:

1. 4 SLAM-ERs are used to strike a pre planned target.
2. Player B sees player A's missile intercepted by an SA-15 on the way.
3. Player A does not see his missile intercepted, because to him, the missile never came close to the SA-15.
4. Player A's missile eventually hit the intended target.
5. From player A's perspective, the SA-15 never fired a single shot. However, player B clearly saw it intercept the missile, which means it used at least one missile to try and intercept.
6. The number of available missiles of the SA-15 is now not synched between clients. The actions of the SAM (launches in this case) were also not synched between players. 
 

The following Tacview track shows the same scenario. If you look at it, almost all missiles miss (except the ones launched by me, which perfectly shows the desync), when in reality most of them hit the target. The SA-15 and Pantsir shown in this track, recorded from my POV, essentially launch on phantom missiles that fly over the target area, wasting ammo on nothing. 

 Tacview-20250913-215434-DCS-Client-Syria_Operation_Polaris_v0.1.zip.acmi


The flight path of those weapons should be synched in mp, just like A2A missiles. Otherwise, it just causes more randomness down the line. All players should see SAMS doing the exact same things at the exact same time. especially when it comes to launches.