DCS: F/A-18C Features Roadmap for Early Access

3 hours ago, BIGNEWY said:

When we are happy we will let you all know when the early access is finished, we still have tasks to complete. 

 

 

Devs that work on fixed wing are not working on the AH-64. Fixed wing devs are working on the hornet and viper.

Not liking early access is fine, but please understand without it you would not get these aircraft. 

 

thanks

Hey, @BIGNEWY, no problem at all. I fully understand and do not intend to put pressure on the end of EA. I appreciate the chance to fly an excellent bird earlier, and to contribute with feedback, for everybody's benefit in the long term

 

My comments were on the shared perception that the Hornet went into back burner somehow silently. And that it is a pity, as long as it is so close to a release status. I think - and guess more people would share the feeling - it would even be ok to go out of EA just by fixing the remaining items I mentioned, even if the original plan for the EA covered more than that. But what I think would help around all this is a little more clear communication (or maybe it is just that I have missed something in the comms-clutter). So, if now the viper is getting the priority, stating what is the foreseen impact to Hornet timeline, would be a greatly appreciated sharing. No commitments, just sharing your current view.

 

Maybe I am extrapolating my own feeling about the issue, and the rest of the community would go crazy with such an approach, don't know. If that's the case, just disregard.... but I needed to get it off my chest

 

Best regards, and keep up with the great work!

 
Some of the Hornet team have moved to the viper but we still have devs on the hornet and working on the final features and bugs. Obviously we want to get the hornet out of early access as soon as possible, but rushing it will not help. We will all have to continue to be patient. 
 
thank you

In that case, why was the majority of the team moved to the F-16? If you want to actually get something done it's best to keep your people working on that one project it. Or at least, don't take people from it.

I understand that the Viper is missing a lot of features, but I'd argue that the Hornet's major bugs should take priority. It's the bugs that make users skeptical about purchasing a module.
Mobius708

-I love a company where the management is 100% behind the developers. Many outstanding products came out from a:”it will be ready when it’s ready”(Of course there is also the 80/20 rule ).

-Let’s just keep calm and wait(hopefully not longer that for the movie “Maverick”).

-To pass the time: Fly the A-10C, fly FS2020 VFR and IFR add-on course(very realistic) or shoot some Vipers with your hornet. The day will come when the hornet is finished…then I’ll buy the super carrier .

 

 

i don't think that removing part of team to the viper is the correct solution, F18 is very older module, and it should be concluded , before tansfer part of team to the Viper...So i don't like Ea politics...and in general i don't buy unconcluded modules

3 hours ago, Lordfacker84 said:

i don't think that removing part of team to the viper is the correct solution, F18 is very older module, and it should be concluded , before tansfer part of team to the Viper...So i don't like Ea politics...and in general i don't buy unconcluded modules

 

Agreed - there is still a lot of unfinished and simply missing stuff in the Hornet. When was the last time ED or Wags teased a new major Hornet feature or improvement? Quite a long time ago. There are now 3 months left in this year and given the current pace I don't really see how the Hornet is going to leave EA this year. In the same fashion of other devs why should customers of the Hornet who have been patient for many years now suffer because of a rushed and terrible Viper release and EA plan? The F16 peeps can now wait and that's not their or the user's fault. 

Edited September 16, 2021 by Airhunter

 

11 minutes ago, Airhunter said:

 

Agreed - there is still a lot of unfinished and simply missing stuff in the Hornet. When was the last time ED or Wags teased a new major Hornet feature or improvement? Quite a long time ago. There are now 3 months left in this year and given the current pace I don't really see how the Hornet is going to leave EA this year. In the same fashion of other devs why should customers of the Hornet who have been patient for many years now suffer because of a rushed and terrible Viper release and EA plan? The F16 peeps can now wait and that's not their or the user's fault. 

 

And then, why i should buy the viper knowing that  probably it will have the same fate of the hornet?....in 4 years we will have a new plane and then the f16 will be abandoned like the f18

Edited September 16, 2021 by Lordfacker84

Just now, Lordfacker84 said:

 

And then, why i should buy the viper knowing that  probably it will have the same fate of the hornet?....in 4 years we will have a new plane and the the f16 will be abandoned like the f18

 

Actions always speak louder than words, yes.

 
The hornet is not abandoned and to claim so is insulting, the team are working hard, the simple fact is these projects take time, if early access is not your thing that is fine, but please dont disregard the work our teams have done and are doing. 

We understand that, but it would take less time if developers weren't prematurely reallocated to another project...


BIGNEWY, just so you know, we understand that you don't have a say in what the devs do, I'm sorry that you receive so much flak for their decisions, but people just like to shoot the messenger.



Mobius708

23 minutes ago, BIGNEWY said:

 

The hornet is not abandoned and to claim so is insulting, the team are working hard, the simple fact is these projects take time, if early access is not your thing that is fine, but please dont disregard the work our teams have done and are doing. 

 

Excuse me but is someone disregarding the work? People were pretty happy with the continuous progress over the past year and more and no one was complaining. It's the simple fact that things have seemingly slowed down and moved over to the Viper. We understand that it all takes time but it would take less time if you didn't move people around all the time. I think 4 years of EA is more than enough time, especially considering that highly voted for items like the FM/FCS improvements and ACLS still weren't addressed. It's also pretty disrespectful to tell your customers "if early access is not your thing" after they have bought two EA modules and supported you over the years and have some legitimate concerns moving forward. Pretty sure your business model is built around early access and these practices will surely make old customers hesitant to buy into yet another early access project in the future. We saw it time and time again. So please spare us with this copy pasta, political answer and please do talk to the team / management instead and see if we can at least get a short term roadmap or status update on what is in the works right now. I saw the FM being mentioned in a past newsletter and stated that news on this front would follow shortly - since then pretty much radio silence. Because given the monthly patch-schedule there are what maybe 4 major patches left this year if all goes well?

Seriously guys ?

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/news/changelog/

We are getting at least one or two updates a month.

Could you stop whining for a moment and appreciate the hard work already done ?

F/A 18 is already a beautiful sim. There is nothing like DCS sims on the market. It's a class of it's own.

And the best thing is,  it's getting better every month.

Last time I checked, a little bit of gratefulness doesn't kill.

 

"I cannot give you a progress report on 200+ employees. many of our staff work long hours and extra days, and still, EA will be a long period of time for something like the Hornet or the AH-64 or whatever...."

 

It never fails to amaze me how many people make assumptions about EDs workflow and development processes, based on broad perceptions of where they think a module's at, and then rip into the team for the inconvenience incurred. While the Hornet has been in EA for a long time, I can't imagine there's anyone in ED planning ways to keep it there just for giggles, or out of laziness and incompetence. I've especially appreciated the Hornet's capability in a multiplayer environment. 2.7's release has been a massive improvement to the aesthetic of the game, and the teasers we've seen on the Apache were a really pleasant surprise. The community has vast and competing wants, and possibly needs, but let's not overlook the tremendous work that's been achieved in the last 12 months across a broad range of products making this the go to combat flight sim.   

Each ED employee should be issued a go pro camera and a shock ankle bracelet so we can make sure they aren’t waisting time working other projects, spending time with their families, or drinking to much coffee. 

 

I know the hornet is setting a new bar for simulation products in general and is the greatest representation of the jet available now and probably will be for the next 30 years, and there’s nothing like it on the market to even compare it too, except other ED products. But dammit that’s not good enough, work harder.  

 

Seriously though, it’s been a long road for the community can’t imagine what it’s been like for staff so hats off, if I could buy it again I would. 

59 minutes ago, Wizard_03 said:

Each ED employee should be issued a go pro camera and a shock ankle bracelet so we can make sure they aren’t waisting time working other projects, spending time with their families, or drinking to much coffee. 

 

I know the hornet is setting a new bar for simulation products in general and is the greatest representation of the jet available now and probably will be for the next 30 years, and there’s nothing like it on the market to even compare it too, except other ED products. But dammit that’s not good enough, work harder.  

 

Seriously though, it’s been a long road for the community can’t imagine what it’s been like for staff so hats off, if I could buy it again I would. 

The beatings will continue until morale improves...

Just to remember, what features are missing for hornet ? Or what need to be rework ?

7 часов назад, Wizard_03 сказал:

Each ED employee should be issued a go pro camera and a shock ankle bracelet so we can make sure they aren’t waisting time working other projects, spending time with their families, or drinking to much coffee. 

Boss, is it you?

3 часа назад, hanab сказал:

Just to remember, what features are missing for hornet ? Or what need to be rework ?

ACLS is what immediately comes to mind, the Tomcat has it but our Hornet does not (in the game, IRL it does ofc). Then again, the Tomcat ACLS is more of an emergency measure seeing how its glideslope is a little off. Hopefully they look into it.

Just dropping in to say that the engine response has improved in the latest update. I'm a bit rusty, but I managed to recover (kinda-sorta) and trap from a situation where I got below the glideslope, a situation previously practically unrecoverable. Not a good trap, but not a bolter/ramp strike it would have been, I feel. It's also easier to keep the correct speed and, once configured, the velocity vector where you want it, you only have to anticipate turns with the throttle (correct to how it is IRL). I don't have hard data on this, but it does feel much better than the last time I flew it.

On 9/17/2021 at 5:25 AM, hanab said:

Just to remember, what features are missing for hornet ? Or what need to be rework ?

 For a start the working moving map, a basic feature has been broken for months now...

1 hour ago, Dragon1-1 said:

Just dropping in to say that the engine response has improved in the latest update. I'm a bit rusty, but I managed to recover (kinda-sorta) and trap from a situation where I got below the glideslope, a situation previously practically unrecoverable. Not a good trap, but not a bolter/ramp strike it would have been, I feel. It's also easier to keep the correct speed and, once configured, the velocity vector where you want it, you only have to anticipate turns with the throttle (correct to how it is IRL). I don't have hard data on this, but it does feel much better than the last time I flew it.

 

Did a few traps myself last night. Much easier now! 

4 hours ago, Svend_Dellepude said:

 

Did a few traps myself last night. Much easier now! 

 

I took the Hornet for a spin after the update and the throttle response has been tweaked a little. I flew a high alpha pass and watched the VVI, making small power adjustments. The response was definitely quicker then before. The energy bleed was a tiny bit quicker also (?) I have to test it some more.

Some gunzos with AI Jeffs are on my agenda for today...