Old Falconeer

[rweaves6]

I have been an avid flight (mainly combat) simmer since the days of Falcon AT and have dabbed with nearly every type of combat flight sim release since. Because nothing compared I mainly stuck to the Falcon series (I wore Falcon 4 out).

For years I have been under the impression that the Lomac product was a little “less” of a product than Falcon. I tried Lomac and flew a few flights then shelved it. In comparison I felt it lacked an atmosphere of a real dynamic environment existing outside the cockpit. Plus it didn’t seem to be as much of a “study sim” which is my preference.

Or perhaps I was simply influenced by the propaganda that I received from the Falcon community and was biased, therefore never really giving it much chance.

With F4 getting a little stagnant, I recently craved a new study sim so I reluctantly tried Blackshark. I’m not really into helos but I wanted to try the sim to see if the A10 module was going to be a possibility for me.

Boy was I in for a surprise! I love it! It is a real challenge, extremely detailed, and the graphics are strong. I can’t comment on the flight model as far as accuracy as I have no idea when it comes to helos of any kind (I flew Longbow as well as EECH which doesn’t really count I know). I have to think it is fairly close to the real thing considering this group’s access to real data. They certainly seem to be extremely thorough in every other department.

I am still a little unsure of a non-true dynamic campaign and a smaller operating map region. I know the region is more than enough for a helo to operate in but I do wonder about the A10. This is a minor issue though. And as far as a dynamic campaign, I guess you could argue that it’s been 13 years since F4’s release and the Freefalcon team are only beginning to introduce a campaign that isn’t riddled with bugs.

In summary (sorry I rambled), I just want to say thanks to the DCS team for great work and I am highly anticipating the A10 module. I hope this breathes life into a dying market.

One last thing; Forgive me if this has been answered but I did a search under preorder and I only found the Warthog Thrustmaster thread. So my question is will A10C be available for preorder and where? I’m excited and eager therefore I wanted to know the soonest way to get a version.

[Avilator]

Welcome aboard!:thumbup:

The map for DCS: Warthog is larger than the one in DCS: Black Shark. None of the ED products are available for preorder, it come out when it comes out.:)

[EvilBivol-1]

Welcome to the forums, rweaves. Glad you are enjoying Black Shark and I'm sure you will find much to enjoy in Warthog as well.

[shu77]

Welcome aboard!

[GGTharos]

Welcome rweaves6; I shall mercilessly pick apart your post like I do with so many others! (oh noes! :D )

 

I have been an avid flight (mainly combat) simmer since the days of Falcon AT and have dabbed with nearly every type of combat flight sim release since. Because nothing compared I mainly stuck to the Falcon series (I wore Falcon 4 out).

 

That could certainly make you picky, in the I-know-what-I-want sense.

 

For years I have been under the impression that the Lomac product was a little “less” of a product than Falcon. I tried Lomac and flew a few flights then shelved it. In comparison I felt it lacked an atmosphere of a real dynamic environment existing outside the cockpit. Plus it didn’t seem to be as much of a “study sim” which is my preference.

 

I personally only play online, offline is for practice in general, so I do not feel it in the same way. Other players make up for everything or almost everything, and I think you might find that compared to that, a study sim pales. It depends on your tastes though, so ...

 

Or perhaps I was simply influenced by the propaganda that I received from the Falcon community and was biased, therefore never really giving it much chance.

 

Well, there is always that.

 

With F4 getting a little stagnant, I recently craved a new study sim so I reluctantly tried Blackshark. I’m not really into helos but I wanted to try the sim to see if the A10 module was going to be a possibility for me.

Boy was I in for a surprise! I love it! It is a real challenge, extremely detailed, and the graphics are strong. I can’t comment on the flight model as far as accuracy as I have no idea when it comes to helos of any kind (I flew Longbow as well as EECH which doesn’t really count I know).

 

Thanks for giving Black Shark a shot! I beta tested for it and I can tell you a lot of hard work went into it. It is the first module for the DCS series.

 

I have to think it is fairly close to the real thing considering this group’s access to real data. They certainly seem to be extremely thorough in every other department.

 

In fact, ED worked with Kamov and their test pilots, so I trust their data was quality. The flight model is quite good for what is essentially an entertainment product, and according to things I have heard, it captures helicopter flight quite nicely.

 

I am still a little unsure of a non-true dynamic campaign and a smaller operating map region. I know the region is more than enough for a helo to operate in but I do wonder about the A10. This is a minor issue though. And as far as a dynamic campaign, I guess you could argue that it’s been 13 years since F4’s release and the Freefalcon team are only beginning to introduce a campaign that isn’t riddled with bugs.

 

The problem with a dynamic campaign is that it is a complex piece of software. As you yourself mentioned above, essentially ... this is why DCS does not have one. Yet. It may in the future.

The A-10C module is getting enhancements to the editor that should put it a few steps ahead of what Black Shark has available. While there is no dynamic campaign, you might find there will be more interaction with the surroundings, as well as steps being taken to condition the ME to ... I can't say that on TV.

 

In summary (sorry I rambled), I just want to say thanks to the DCS team for great work and I am highly anticipating the A10 module. I hope this breathes life into a dying market.

 

I think it will be a great simulation; you will see more detail put into it than you have found in Black Shark (and I do not necessarily mean pit and systems, though those ARE more complex than the Ka-50's).

The Flight model has a great feeling to it, and reminds me of flying a Katana Da-20 on steroids.

 

One last thing; Forgive me if this has been answered but I did a search under preorder and I only found the Warthog Thrustmaster thread. So my question is will A10C be available for preorder and where? I’m excited and eager therefore I wanted to know the soonest way to get a version.

 

If there is a pre-order, it will be announced on this forum when it becomes available.

[kingneptune117]

I have been an avid flight (mainly combat) simmer since the days of Falcon AT and have dabbed with nearly every type of combat flight sim release since. Because nothing compared I mainly stuck to the Falcon series (I wore Falcon 4 out).

For years I have been under the impression that the Lomac product was a little “less” of a product than Falcon. I tried Lomac and flew a few flights then shelved it. In comparison I felt it lacked an atmosphere of a real dynamic environment existing outside the cockpit. Plus it didn’t seem to be as much of a “study sim” which is my preference.

Or perhaps I was simply influenced by the propaganda that I received from the Falcon community and was biased, therefore never really giving it much chance.

With F4 getting a little stagnant, I recently craved a new study sim so I reluctantly tried Blackshark. I’m not really into helos but I wanted to try the sim to see if the A10 module was going to be a possibility for me.

Boy was I in for a surprise! I love it! It is a real challenge, extremely detailed, and the graphics are strong. I can’t comment on the flight model as far as accuracy as I have no idea when it comes to helos of any kind (I flew Longbow as well as EECH which doesn’t really count I know). I have to think it is fairly close to the real thing considering this group’s access to real data. They certainly seem to be extremely thorough in every other department.

I am still a little unsure of a non-true dynamic campaign and a smaller operating map region. I know the region is more than enough for a helo to operate in but I do wonder about the A10. This is a minor issue though. And as far as a dynamic campaign, I guess you could argue that it’s been 13 years since F4’s release and the Freefalcon team are only beginning to introduce a campaign that isn’t riddled with bugs.

In summary (sorry I rambled), I just want to say thanks to the DCS team for great work and I am highly anticipating the A10 module. I hope this breathes life into a dying market.

One last thing; Forgive me if this has been answered but I did a search under preorder and I only found the Warthog Thrustmaster thread. So my question is will A10C be available for preorder and where? I’m excited and eager therefore I wanted to know the soonest way to get a version.

 

Welcome! Let me tell you, I often play falcon (free and open) and DCS A-10C is gonna blow it away. You should check out the producer notes on youtube. Just search A-10C producer notes on youtube.

[Speed]

A minor squabble, but in while it may have taken the Free Falcon team this long to nail down a campaign (and I've heard very bad things about the lastest Free Falcon addons), Falcon 4 AF has had a stable campaign that is relatively bug free since 2005 :)

Edited July 27, 2010 by Speed

[Protos]

:crash:

 

My eyes !!

Someone take the quote button away from GG.

The guy just said hi :P

[Scabbers]

i had 20 people running flacon af on the korea campaign on my 2006 deployment. We had a ball when not fixing the avionics in our aircraft flying the falcon. we even had a few pilots that joined in. Black shark is an awesome sim. I like it alot as well.

[rweaves6]

Thank you all for the welcomes.

[Soundman]

I too am an old F4 fan since before Superpack was around. I have literally 1000's of hours in it. Probably 3K to 4K, no exageration. Still love it, but I can't wait to get my hands on DCS A-10. I have Black Shark and it is also excellent, but like you too, am more of a jet than Helo guy. I'm very excited about this! :thumbup:

[Pilotasso]

I too was once a falconeer, mainly falcon 3. I flew falcon 4 for 2 years before doping it, tried out the various mods later but they too were dropped soon. Somehow it failed to grab my attention like its predecessor did. having skipped previous products from Eagle dynamics due to lack of immersion in solo play I tried out lockon in multilayer mode years later. Its DACT online is quite appealing and absorbing, something the previous SIM's lacked as they missed the DSL internet era (phone modem was rare and T1 connections were for rich people back then). This component is unique to lockon and its DCS counterparts (as they are online compatible), thus I keep avidly playing them.

 

The best is still to come once ED releases DCS modules with fast jets.

Edited August 2, 2010 by Pilotasso

[Pigmachine]

I prostituted myself from the falcon community, and got FC2 and BS, Just a few weeks ago (since there is no pure starforce in it, they promised me!)) and have fun with both of them.. tomorrow I have a new rig to play it with. Freefalcon 5 and me havn't really gotten along, Since I'm an nVidia Fan.

 

After installing FC2 and BS their precence (or bad timing) Killed a 500 gb drive, and a 250 gb that I were waiting for it's death! I really hope for bad timing!

 

:joystick:

[Soundman]

I still have the original Lockon, but just could not get used to a "non-clickable" pit. Falcon spoiled me that way and I did not have the patience to learn all the keyboard commands, so it sits on the shelf. There were simply too many commands, even though my cougar could have generated many of them.

[Steel Jaw]

Guess I should add my big fat mouth and stand up as a long time Falconeer, since Falcon AT in 1988.

 

Nothing has even threatend to unseat Falcon as my main combat flight sim mount...until DCS A10.

 

This gonna be a killer sim.

[Eddie]

Hi, my name's Eddie and I'm a Falconoholic. Or should I say I was, DCS:BS pulled me away with it's shiney new graphics, millions of switches and great FM, oh and did I mention the switches. That was a year and a half ago, and in that time I think I've flown Falcon 4 times.

 

And now I have the Hog I've actually uninstalled Falcon, no Falcon on my HDD for the first time in 11 years, it's actually quite a strange feeling.

[Steel Jaw]

Bloody H*ll...when will I have this in my hands???

[vrv]

rweaves6 your callsign wouldn't happen to be raven6 would it?

[rweaves6]

rweaves6 your callsign wouldn't happen to be raven6 would it?

 

No, not me (that does sound familiar though). I was never out there in the online community. I spent some time in the past on a site called F4Community which was moderated by a fellow named Grmcle, very knowledgable. I mainly just read posts there and at Frugals. Never flew Falcon online as I could never commit the effort with a growing family. I tried with IL2 but it was tough to find a moment where I wasn't being pulled away to change diapers. I hope to be able to give a go with online flying with the A10 module and the DCS community.

 

Guess I should add my big fat mouth and stand up as a long time Falconeer, since Falcon AT in 1988.

 

Nothing has even threatend to unseat Falcon as my main combat flight sim mount...until DCS A10.

 

This gonna be a killer sim.

 

Well said. Can't wait.

[Scabbers]

being an avionics guy I was literally drawn to the realism of the falcon mods and eventually AF. I flew with the 16th for a while and was a training officer teaching newbies how to ramp start and to use the avionics and aircraft systems. I love that game. I have been a flightsim nut since Microprose F-19. and played almost every notable sim since.

[rweaves6]

being an avionics guy I was literally drawn to the realism of the falcon mods and eventually AF. I flew with the 16th for a while and was a training officer teaching newbies how to ramp start and to use the avionics and aircraft systems. I love that game. I have been a flightsim nut since Microprose F-19. and played almost every notable sim since.

 

I spent a lot of time with F19 as well, boy that's been a while! I remember the MFDs and how great that was at the time. Glad you brought that up, brings back memories.

[hassata]

I've gone back to dabbling in F4 in the past few days (mostly to give the cougar mfd's a workout, and I must say it still holds up. AF with skunkworks mod, hitiles. The 'dance' was straight forward, and it looks and flies well.

[Flyby]

Welcome rweaves6; I shall mercilessly pick apart your post like I do with so many others! (oh noes! :D )

There he goes again!!:lol:

Flyby out

[Soundman]

I've gone back to dabbling in F4 in the past few days (mostly to give the cougar mfd's a workout, and I must say it still holds up. AF with skunkworks mod, hitiles. The 'dance' was straight forward, and it looks and flies well.

 

Yes, with hitiles and an upgaded pit, it holds it's own to this day. AND there is still nothing matching it's campaign AI behavior (the proper term eludes me ATM)

[davek1979]

Yes, with hitiles and an upgaded pit, it holds it's own to this day.

Eh... does it ? :-) Honestly, the last thing I want is to start some flow of sour comments, but these "old Falconeers praises" are really annoying in general, especially because they seem to be mostly based on "good old times" and melancholy rather than critical observation.

F4 didn't hold it's own graphically since like 2003.

I look at a piece of ground in F4 and - I'm lost. It all looks the same, grid after grid of the same stuff. Forest alternates with farmland. Forest alternates with snowy mountain. And those nasty squares... Squares, squares, whoever had this graphical concept in mind must have loved squares. One must endlessly consult a map to get some clue because terrain doesn't give any, especially without sea shores.

I look at a piece of ground in LockOn and know... that is the valley behind the Sochi-Adler airbase leading to Krasnaya Polyana. And this is the typical landscape around Maykop. These fields are not square. The placement of forests is natural. No imaginary forester is cutting them into square shapes.

Call me a hater or whatever, I'm not bashing the flight model here (while I suspect the barrel rolls in F4:AF to be a bit arcade :-)) or systems modeling or whatnot - it's solely the graphics.

Stop pardoning those graphics already. It belongs to a time far ago, like a decade or so now. Hitiles did nothing more than add some res to the same old tile in most cases.

Respect to F4 of it's time, respect to your good memories, but please!

P.S. I love you all so much! Really. :-)