streakeagle

The hours of work that went into KAW over the years will never be replicated by commercial sim. Freeware has its limitations. It can be slow. The quality is inconsistent. The community becomes fragmented over time. If the work isn't accomplished fast enough, the project often dissolves before making any real progress. The original SFP1 version that worked with Service Pack 2a was quite good. But all of the additional years poured into the development of the current SF2 release is quite noticeable and an amazing achievement. Thanks to everyone that was involved :)

SimWorks Studios has previously released an F-4B for FSX/TacPack and is planning on releasing an F-4C and F-4D in the future. They are considering trying to model the special EF-4C Wild Weasel variant tested in Vietnam but have very little information to go on beyond photos of the rear instrument panel and a vague description. Ideally, some sort of operational reference would allow decent modeling. But any pertinent information would be greatly appreciated. I know this is the community to ask if anyone knows anything about this obscure F-4 variant. The developer is particularly interested in a detailed description of the operation of the ER-142.

This looks cool. What grabbed my eye was all the skins that are available. My favorite is among them: the prototype F/A-18 with the gold/blue stripes and the hornet logo.

Back to the future: I have now had the SimWorks Studios F-4B, VRS Super Hornet, and VRS TacPack for awhile. What has been accomplished within the FSX framework is utterly amazing, but still falls way short of the combat experience you get from SF2 and DCS World. It is fun to operate the systems with most if not all of the buttons/switches working per the manuals, but the radar and weapons modeling is really basic... more on par with Jane's Fighters Anthology than SF2 or DCS World. You can set up cool air-to-ground missions with lots of AI traffic, but the only semi-realistic opponent are SA-2 SAMs. So it is great for making screenshots and after action reports, but worthless for anyone looking for a good ACM experience. I haven't tried using multiplayer to make up for the lack of AI, but I suspect my dislike of the somewhate simple weapons and radar modeling would make even multiplayer dogfights less than thrilling in an FSX/TacPack environment. In the mean time, Belsimtek has released the F-5E and announced an upcoming F-4E for DCS World. I don't see much more of my time or money being spent on FSX or any of its derivatives at this point unless FSX/TacPack takes a giant leap forward to catch up in modeling key parameters for combat: weapons, sensors, and AI. P.S. Despite the promise of an advanced external flight model, I have never bothered with the Milviz F-4E. Per the above screenshot, they couldn't even get the 3d model correct. The oversized bulbous canopy bothers me so much that I refuse to buy it... unless the entire package (aircraft, tacpack supplement, advanced flight model) goes on sale for a really low price this Christmas. Their last sale tempted me... but the advanced flight model wasn't available yet and the 3d model is so repulsive that I easily passed up a 50% off sale.

Looking on the internet, you can find plenty of cool screenshots and some videos, but how well does it really work? With all the limitations of the FSX engine, combined with running the Tacpack addon, can air combat really be handled with an fps fluent enough for gun fights? Are the physics/flight models/damage models at least comparable to the Strike Fighters series? Is air to air combat limited to unresponsive AI drones and multiplayer? Is multiplayer decent? What level of hardware does it take to get this setup to run adequately? For now, I am skeptical. But as I see more products released with Tacpack support, I am tempted. I love DCS, but I have no problems enjoying parallel products that are equally good or even switching products if a better one steps up to the plate. But I have no interest in rudimentary experimental code. I suspect even DCS's buggiest beta releases are far closer to what I am looking for than the present state VRS, but I am open to information that can refute my suspicions.

Flaming Cliffs 3 is the gift that keeps on giving. While I enjoy the clickable cockpits, my real gripe with the LOMAC/Flaming Cliffs series has always been the horrible flight models. The beautiful graphics were always betrayed by the way the aircraft flew in a dogfight or even during takeoffs and landings. As each FC3 aircraft has received an update to a professional flight model equal to the best of the DCS modules, it is like getting a $50 aircraft for free. I am really looking forward to the Su-33. The F-15C and Su-27S are fun, but flying the Su-33 from aircraft carriers will be a great place holder until the F/A-18C and/or F-14A become available. It will be fun to look for differences between the Su-27 and Su-33.

I have at various times chosen one or two DCS aircraft to focus on learning, while flying the others intermittently for fun. I have not focused on the Mirage 2000, yet. I also have never studied it the way I know the Vietnam era fighters or the US teen fighters. So I can't really judge how realistic the Mirage 2000 is. I can just say that it looks and feels good when I fly it.

I don't think any DCS aircraft is ever finished. But the Mirage was released in a fairly good state for such a modern/complex aircraft and continues to steadily improve. I don't fly it a lot, mainly just some instant action dogfights or some cold start/taxi/takeoff/landing type missions just to explore/enjoy the flight model of a true delta.