Caesar

Damn, this sucks. RIP "Macho Man" Randy Savage! "OOOOOOOOOOOH YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Just remember to expect to get "you can't beat that plane with that plane!" comments once you post on youtube! Thinking I ought to disable comments.

Shot of zee options screen:

I also use the X52. I think it depends in part on the plane you're flying, because to me an F-16 or F/A-18 feels a lot more "jerky" than an F-14 or F-15 (faster roll rate and more "g" available across certain parts of the envelope can make the plane pull or roll harder than you anticipate).

Got another recorded DACT match, this time, 1x F-14A vs. 2x MiG-29A. This went pretty quick, since my heaters worked well for me, no guns kill this time.

Like this? Gotta say, this was the first DACT I did when I got back - got FRAPS updated (older version didn't work with latest SF2) and wanted to record something. It ain't spectacular, actually pretty dull, but it is an example of an energy fight against the MiG-29.

So, I'm checking Google News to see what's going on in the world, and find that the Space Shuttle Endeavour is ready for launch. Then I look right to see the image associated with the story... I can only believe that Google has some program to find images associated with events. Space Shuttle must pull up "Challenger Disaster" - that's a real comforting image for this story! Either that or they have a sick f&*# employee with too much time on his/her hands. Either way, that's a pretty big fail right there.

I'm personally enjoying this patch. Don't know what TK did, but my frame rates have remained at a pretty consistent 52-62fps, even with larger numbers of enemy or friendly fighters in the air, to include higher-poly models. Prior to this patch, furballs could cause a pretty steep drop, depending on what planes were in the air, or closing to the fight. Also like the ability to directly make flights attack your target - has been helpful in the aerial environment...will have to try it vs. surface targets.

Great stuff! Especially liked the additional YouTube post by Viper: "It's f****** close to water!"...though this reveals to me the Pythons haven't been to our microbreweries!

It's been 7 weeks, and I've returned home. Got back in the saddle to re-familiarize myself with the Turkey for a bit, did a few similar and dissimilar ACT runs and then decided to get back into the 2v1's. So, here goes today's DACT report: F-14B Tomcat vs. 2x Mirage 2000C S1's. Loadouts: F-14B: 2x AIM-7M, 4x AIM-9M, gun, no tanks, 75% fuel M2000C: 4x R550, gun, no tank, 100% fuel DACT started at about 20,000 feet, pass at the merge, and the typical one-circle fight formed. I was expecting the Mirage 2000C to handle very similarly to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and so was anticipating a long, drawn-out fight. Well, I put the F-14 into about a 7.5g turn at 500KIAS as the Mirages turned into me, and I was actually gaining on them. As I continued the pull, I let off on the throttles to build up some of the g, so that I would be able to get my nose on quick for a missile shot on the trailer, then deal with the lead. What happened next was quite anti-climactic. Rather than act as bait, once I got behind the trail Mirage, the lead had slowed down to follow his wingman, then lazily pulled left, pointing away from me, headed to my 9o'clock. FOX 2 on the first Mirage - good kill. Lead finally begins pulling into me, but he's not winning the turning contest, and I wind up on his six. He begins violent maneuvers with his aircraft to shake me, and this is where the Turkey's slow roll rate could give him the advantage. He's yanking into short turns, but I've got enough energy to match his turn rate. I decide I ought to shoot him with a missile, rather than gun him, so I take a shot at about 1.2mi. Sidewinder misses, and I end up inside of 1mi - guns it is! Again, violent maneuvering to shake me, but it isn't working. Twice I came close to overshooting, but with a high yo-yo, I wound up back on the Mirage's tail. He's still bucking the plane around, and getting a gun shot isn't easy. I took two snap shots as he reversed on two occasions - a hit on his port flap knocked it off, but no significant damage. After one of his harsh-yet-short pulls, I got into good position and was pulling into him. I wasn't gonna be pretty, but he was right in front of my M61's line of fire. Guns! Both wings and the vertical stab get sawed off, and the pilot punches out. Kill 2, RTB. Takeaways: The Mirage 2000C S1 does not handle like the F-16 from what I've seen, but in this fight, the AI was not very aggressive. Might try this one again in the future to see if I don't come across some more aggressive pilots, since I know the Mirage 2000C is a maneuverable fighter that should have been more difficult to take on.

Hey, Fubar, it worked! Just got back from TDY, slapped in an AIData section and put in a few numbers (think max pitch and climb of 25.0 and 25.0 and min pitch at -20.0) and my AI Turkeys have stopped doing those strange bucking maneuvers - heck one of 'em did this beautiful snap-turn that forced me to overshoot; never expected something like that to happen! Amazing what a couple of numbers can do. Thanks again for your help!

Copy, Fubar, will add/adjust those values when I get back to see what happens! I don't see any issue with the FM itself, seems fine to me, just wanted to see if I could restrict the AI from performing this strange maneuver for the said aircraft since I hadn't seen it very often outside of the Tiger and Turkey. Thanks for the assistance.

'Evening all, It'll be about two weeks until I get back to be able to get in the saddle again, but I had a question about adjusting parameters for AI aircraft to make certain airframes less easy to kill because of stupid things they are prone to do. Specifically, I've noticed that the AI F-5A/E and F-14A's defensive maneuvering leaves something to be desired: Every time I get behind the opposing Tiger/Tomcat's 3/9 line, they will start to burn energy (okay, that happens), until they reach a point where the AI pilot begins bucking the plane violently nose up, nose down, nose up, nose down in what seems to be an attempt at a low-speed, high-alpha pull, but which results in the AI unloading once they are about to stall, rather than press through the maneuver, then pull again, unload, lather, rinse, repeat, until I'm at dead 6 and its too late (GUNS!). I have not noticed this tendency with a lot of the other airframes in the series, from the F-4 to the F-22, nor from most OPFOR aircraft (rarely a MiG-21 or MiG-17 will do it once or twice, but then abandon the loop). What I'm wondering is, if others have found a way to "fix" this issue, or if I should make an AI specific install with a lower max AoA so the AI doesn't try to press as hard into a useless maneuver and actually do something with the plane once I get behind the 3/9 line? Any thoughts, comments, fixes?

DAAAAAAAAAAMN You guys are flying fast! Neat to see an AC plane in SF!

Good stuff, gents. Will have to take an F-4 out to test your tactic, Sid; usually if it's MiG-19's and I'm in a Rhino, it turns into shoot at range, if they close, run, get about 5-7miles off, turn back, shoot at range again, and hope for the kill! Either that or jump one of 'em with heaters when they don't know I'm there! Usually, I botch the energy management if I end up in a scissors against the -19.

Ain't nobody kickin' somebody's arse 'round here? Boooo! Still about 4 weeks 'till I get back...NSTR???

Thank God I built up a reserve while I was at Thule!

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Just glad no one was hurt!

Can't wait to read it!

And here I USED to think I knew what a heart attack on a plate was. That is pretty epic.

False (caveat, I'm currently in Alabama and will be for a month or two, so that might change). The person below me still runs an "old school" (Atari VCS, Nintendo NES, etc.) game system on their widescreen HDTV.

If you can afford 'em, go with the F-4's! Better radar, AMRAAM, gun; better survivability BVR and with a WVR option. WVR, I have to echo Soulfreak - I've got an air combat magazine from the mid 1990's about ACM in the MiG-29G - its pilots admitting to being bested by the F-4F's flown in the former West Germany in DACT following reintegration. Fly a Phantom well and it can do some pretty amazing things. While perhaps not preferable, a good Phantom driver can better an otherwise superior airframe WVR. But I think the kicker is that you say so many of your MiGs aren't even flightworthy anymore. The question of "should we keep the MiG-21's?" when a handful are actually able to fly should be a no-brainer for your government. Would the country rather have an air force, even if older, or have a bunch of jets sitting on the ground doing about as much good as an art piece in front of a museum? I'd take the ICE Phantom any time!

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Okay, guess I got one more set of DACT reports. Thanks to EricJ for the EPE. Two things I needed to know: how much more difficult was the Super Bug with the EPE engine for the F-14, and how much better was the Super Bug with the EPE engine if I were flying it against, say, a tech demonstrator like the F-29A Polecat. Answer: The Super Bug ought to get the EPE Engine! F-14B Tomcat vs. 2x F/A-18F EPE Loadouts: F-14B: 4x AIM-9M, 4x AIM-7M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks F/A-18F EPE: 2x AIM-9X, 4x AIM-120C, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks Although this one again turned out in my favor, the EPE made the F/A-18F handle more similarly to the F-16, able to sustain energy in the energy fights I like better than the standard Super Bug. Now, it should be mentioned that I cheated a little, I had "Mighty Wings" and "Through the Fire" playing in the background, which may have given the advantage to the Tomcat (HARRRRR!) Started in the standard one-circle, which again had the bait and turn thing happen again. This time, though, it took longer to get behind the 3/9 line of Super Bug #2, and #1 was getting damn close to my tails after I shot at #2. Nose on, FOX 2, miss, FOX 2 again, miss, FOX 2 again, hit. Not sure how the first 2 missed, as the Super Bug wasn't moving around much, but the third hit him and he began to run for home. I can't kill him because Super Bug #1 is getting on my tail. Okay, full pull and turn the fight into a one-circle. In a horrifying resemblance to the Viper, the Fox EPE is sustaining his turn as well as me! Dammit! Okay, time to try something. Initially we go nose-low, in an effort to shoot at him below me, but to no avail. I pull into the vertical, and start getting the AESA warnings, we get nose-on each other at the same time, no shots. Pull back into him since I made my press with a lot of energy. I get onto his tail, but am having difficulty sustaining a position of advantage compared to if I were fighting the standard Super Bug. Well, I get nose-on enough that I get a shot at him. FOX 2, miss. Dammit, no heaters left. BUT! I am at his six, and have more energy, so I can hang with him and I chase him down. He tries to turn a few times to no avail. Get in gun parameters and take a good shot. Kill. Time to chase down wingy. Got to him (after about a 4 minute chase), FOX 1, good kill. Takeaways: The EPE engined Super Bugs are certainly superior to their standard engined brethren. It was a well calculated vertical pull that wound up ending the fight in my favor. Time to fly the EPE Bug! F/A-18F EPE vs. F-29A Polecat Now this was fun. The EPE Super Bug requires some delicate handling since it over-g's so quickly. I'm doing my best not to press beyond 9g, but at one point I hit 11. Suffice to say, we start at one-circle and the Polecat is getting inside of my turn. Okay, pull a bit harder to deny shot. It works, and we pass by each other. I continue to pull into him, but there's not much developing, so I pull nose-high. He pulls into me horizontally, and as I come down from my vertical press, I rudder roll my nose into his plane of turn. Still not working, but he's loosing energy. Pull hard vertical again, this time getting tone. X-RAY FOX 2! Nothing. Okay, pull a bit harder into him and FOX 2 again! This time, he evens out and deploys flares. Fools the AIM-9X. Well, homeboy pulls horizontal again, but I've got nose on. One of these X-Ray's has to hit! FOX 2 and again! Nope. Pull into him in the horizontal and get nose-on quick enough. Now the EPE's are showing their worth as I chase the Polecat down. He's trying to pull away from me. Take a few snap shots, sticking to his tail with ease. No kill, but he goes predictable in a single plane horizontal turn. Get lead, guns, kill! Takeaways: The EPE is a better handling Super Bug without question. Would be nice to see the Navy get the engine! Heck, look what the F110 did for the Turkey!