Honez Posted yesterday at 05:26 PM Posted yesterday at 05:26 PM Feedback on “George” and Multi-Seat Rotorcraft AI in DCS Apologies in advance if this is the wrong place to say what's on my mind about George. First, let me go on record by saying that I — and I suspect many others — would gladly pay for an add-on module that brings a “Jester”-style AI companion to the rotorcraft fleet, including the Apache, CH-47, Kiowa, and Huey. Flying a Heatblur two-seat aircraft with Jester is an absolute joy. He’s not only helpful and responsive, but also creates a convincing sense that there’s another crew member aboard — one who’s genuinely assisting in combat by identifying and calling out targets. Heatblur has truly hit it out of the park with their implementation of the multi-seat experience. So, to the DCS program managers: please take note. Partner with Heatblur to develop and license an AI crew module for these multi-seat rotorcraft. Give players the same immersive, interactive experience they enjoy in the F-14 and upcoming F-4. I’m confident that the community would be willing to pay for it, and such an initiative could open up a valuable new revenue stream for both Eagle Dynamics and Heatblur. Thoughts on George’s Current Implementation Now, let’s talk about George. While I appreciate the recent addition of a scan mode — thank you for that — it’s simply too slow. In real life, a front-seater wouldn’t take that long to visually scan for targets. The current behavior, where George slowly sweeps with the TADS and then announces irrelevant targets, adds unnecessary workload for the pilot, who then has to decline them one by one in the menu. If a Jester-style logic system isn’t in the near-term roadmap, please consider giving mission designers more control in the meantime. A simple checkbox in the Mission Editor to filter what George can detect or report (e.g., ignoring blue, neutral, or green forces) would make a world of difference. Many mission creators add extra friendly or neutral objects to make the environment feel alive — but George’s habit of locking onto them constantly can quickly become frustrating. A more useful behavior might be for George to report unidentified targets as such: “I have an unidentified contact at one o’clock, 3,000 yards — should I mark it?” And when he identifies a hostile, he should call it out by name and make it available in the pilot’s selection menu. My other major issue is George overriding the pilot’s choices. When I, as the pilot, visually acquire a target and direct George to engage it, he often decides to lock something entirely different that he perceives as a higher threat. That behavior breaks immersion and control. If George is not in scan mode and the pilot designates a target, he should respect that command — even if it’s not the most dangerous target in the area. Sometimes, I want to deal with a nearby threat (“danger close”) rather than a distant SAM site that hasn’t even detected us yet. Closing Thoughts Thanks for the opportunity to share these thoughts. I offer them not as complaints, but as constructive feedback from someone who truly loves what DCS and its partners have achieved so far. Enhancing George — or better yet, implementing a Jester-style system for helicopters — would take the rotorcraft experience to a whole new level of realism and enjoyment
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