F-14 Release Date Discussion Thread

I think this thread is a great example of where the common view upon the F-14's release is divided, many are overly optimistic and others are overly pessimistic.

I think there is definitely something to be taken from F22xRaptors point and some to someones like GrizzlyBears83 points. I sit somewhere in the middle of them, I don't think it will be released in 2018, but am not too critical of previous promises, yes it is mind boggling how many deadlines haven't been met.

But I really don't think we've seen a product even close to the quality of what we've seen so far (Disclaimer: Obviously that's an optimistic thought because once released the quality of the f-14 could be bug ridden and a total mess) so naturally it's going to take heaps of unforeseen time. HB are breaking new grounds in the simulation realm it seems.

So who is to say other than HB what is happening behind the scenes to cause any delays but I think their silence is golden. Though that has become a throwaway line like many other things in the world of DCS.

I truly, truly hope that they will release the Tomcat on the 21st of December like many have speculated, but the fact of the matter is that doesn't seem very likely right now. That's a mere week away and they still have not released the manual to the public and we have seen no community Youtubers making videos about the airplane yet.

This DCS "culture" if you will, of missing deadlines is quite frankly exhausting. I am sick and tired of getting hyped for an airplane that is still MONTHS or YEARS away due to misleading marketing and incorrect statements. Is it too much to ask that devs do not make definitive statements on release dates that they simply cannot make? Or if they do make such statements to ask that if that changes they let us know as soon as possible?

Yes, yes you are, thank you for proving my point, grow up.

 

 

 

You clearly missed where they said that December was the goal but the plan was Winter 2018/2019. You only saw what you wanted to see. As I said, grow up.

Ok genius, look at the first post in this thread. There you will find a screenshot of a post from the official Heatblur youtube account, stating Tomcat in 2018. I'm sorry am I taking crazy pills where we just pick and choose the statements that fit our narrative? I am well aware that they have backtracked significantly from that statement and now are saying winter 2019. That does NOT make it right.

Ok genius, look at the first post in this thread. There you will find a screenshot of a post from the official Heatblur youtube account, stating Tomcat in 2018. I'm sorry am I taking crazy pills where we just pick and choose the statements that fit our narrative? I am well aware that they have backtracked significantly from that statement and now are saying winter 2019. That does NOT make it right.

As I said, grow up kid.

As I said, grow up kid.

Nice so you can't refute my point and evidence so you revert to name calling, very mature. You should be ashamed of yourself for lowering yourself to this level.

There is plenty of evidence to support the idea that the anticipation of something desirable is more enjoyable than what is anticipated. Why not just enjoy the speculation as it is intended, to stir that anticipation?

There's a fine line between expectation and entitlement. Remember that nobody owes you anything in 2018. If you preordered, the agreement was winter, and even then still with stipulations and out clauses.

Getting indignant over social media posts alluding to release dates before money ever changed hands is a bit overboard.

Lighten up, Francis.

There is plenty of evidence to support the idea that the anticipation of something desirable is more enjoyable than what is anticipated. Why not just enjoy the speculation as it is intended, to stir that anticipation?

 

There's a fine line between expectation and entitlement. Remember that nobody owes you anything in 2018. If you preordered, the agreement was winter, and even then still with stipulations and out clauses.

 

Getting indignant over social media posts alluding to release dates before money ever changed hands is a bit overboard.

 

Lighten up, Francis.

I'm sorry boomer, what part of this post is ALLUDING to a 2018 release? Because to me, and again maybe I'm just insane, this seems like a 100% certain release in 2018.

F22xRaptor, I'll refer you to the pre-purchase page which makes the one and only binding guarantee of a release date that has been made: https://store.heatblur.com/products/test-product

I'll quote the bolded part for your clarity:

This product launches in Early Access during this winter

Winter stretches from 21st of December 2018 to 20th of March 2019. We will release on a date on or between those two dates. Full stop.

I expect this thread to be clean from now on.

If you wish to voice your extreme displeasure at our apparent incompetence, we welcome you to vote with your wallet and we will appreciate being held accountable.

I see you down there in the currently active users viewing this thread thing Cobra.

You guys make the best modules, but please, the anticipation is painful. Just let us know if it's gonna be this year or next already. I'd rather y'all delayed a month to make sure the launch is more complete than the Hornet's but at least let us know so we can plan.

Stop.

 

 

F22xRaptor, I'll refer you to the pre-purchase page which makes the one and only guarantee of a release date that has been made: https://store.heatblur.com/products/test-product

I'll quote the bolded part for your clarity:

 

 

 

Winter stretches from 21st of December 2018 to 20th of March 2019. We will release on a date on or between those two dates. Full stop.

 

 

I expect this thread to be clean from now on.

If you wish to voice your extreme displeasure at our apparent incompetence, you are welcome to vote with your wallet.

So the statement from your Youtube account was a mistake then? Come on man I hoped you guys would learn from last year.

I'd like to note that my "extreme displeasure" is not directed at the QUALITY of the module, which I am 100% sure will exceed my expectations, but rather is directed at the quality of your public relations. Quite frankly I find it extremely petty that you would tell me to simply not purchase what will likely be a genre defining module to express how annoyed I am at not your module quality, but at your marketing.

I hope you can see from my point of view why I am frustrated about this.

I see you down there in the currently active users viewing this thread thing Cobra.

 

You guys make the best modules, but please, the anticipation is painful. Just let us know if it's gonna be this year or next already. I'd rather y'all delayed a month to make sure the launch is more complete than the Hornet's but at least let us know so we can plan.

There will be a development update soon.

They have publicly stated that the F-14 will release THIS WINTER. They'll TRY for 2018, but no promises.

There will be a development update soon.

I look forward to it. As I said, I'm sure most people, myself included, would prefer a month or two delay in order to release the module in a more complete state. I know personally the Hornet launch put a terrible taste in my mouth that has persisted to the current day.

I get that development delays happen and are unavoidable, I respect that. What I don't appreciate and what drives me up the wall is your company making statements that seem 100% certain and then not following through.

I am EXTREMELY excited for the F-14B and the F-14A. I have no doubt that these jets will become my most flown modules in DCS. But that excitement is a double edged sword. The let down of realizing we have to wait another two to three months for your product is almost enough to kill the hype. That's really my main issue. The same thing happened to the Hornet with its six month preorder period. It's not just Heatblur that is guilty of this.

I'd like to note that my "extreme displeasure" is not directed at the QUALITY of the module, which I am 100% sure will exceed my expectations, but rather is directed at the quality of your public relations. Quite frankly I find it extremely petty that you would tell me to simply not purchase what will likely be a genre defining module to express how annoyed I am at not your module quality, but at your marketing.

I have no way to meet or mitigate your grievance. I'd rather be blunt for once. I've lost track of how many 120 hour weeks we've put in this year. Things change, features expand or get added. That's the (unfortunate) way the cookie crumbles in game development. Our ultimate responsibility is to deliver quality. That sort of planning is directly at odds with being transparent because things will inevitably change. Think for a moment how much money we burn per month of delay with the cost of our staff. Imagine the significant loss of revenue if we don't launch for Christmas.

There is probably noone on planet earth that wants the Tomcat to launch more than I do.

I hope you can see from my point of view why I am frustrated about this.

I can. But we can't do anything about it except deliver an excellent product in the promised Winter timeframe. And that's what we intend to do.

I have no way to meet or mitigate your grievance. I'd rather be blunt for once. I've lost track of how many 120 hour weeks we've put in this year. Things change, features expand or get added. That's the (unfortunate) way the cookie crumbles in game development. Our ultimate responsibility is to deliver quality. That sort of planning is directly at odds with being transparent because things inevitably change. Think for a moment how much money we burn per month of delay with the cost of our staff. Imagine the significant loss of revenue if we don't launch for Christmas. There is probably noone on planet earth that wants to launch the Tomcat as much as I do.

 

 

 

I can. But I can't do anything about it except deliver an excellent product in the promised Winter timeframe. And that's what I intend to do.

I know you're trying to be diplomatic, and believe me, I applaud you for it. Not sure that I could do the same. But this guy only seems to want to rant about expectations that he's formulated in the depths of his own mind.

I have no way to meet or mitigate your grievance. I'd rather be blunt for once. I've lost track of how many 120 hour weeks we've put in this year. Things change, features expand or get added. That's the (unfortunate) way the cookie crumbles in game development. Our ultimate responsibility is to deliver quality. Purely quality based goals and subsequent planning are directly at odds with being transparent because things will inevitably change. Think for a moment how much money we burn per month of delay with the cost of our staff. Imagine the significant loss of revenue if we don't launch for Christmas.

 

There is probably noone on planet earth that wants the Tomcat to launch more than I do.

 

 

 

I can. But I can't do anything about it except deliver an excellent product in the promised Winter timeframe. And that's what I intend to do.

Fair enough. Thanks for responding and being blunt, I like that. Good luck and God speed. I can't wait to kick the tires and light the fires. If it takes another month or two, so be it. I'll just be bored until then.

I know you're trying to be diplomatic, and believe me, I applaud you for it. Not sure that I could do the same. But this guy only seems to want to rant about expectations that he's formulated in the depths of his own mind.

Expectations formulated in the depths of my own mind??? Just because you do not keep up with DCS news and developer statements does not mean I am somehow just inventing these release dates for my own entertainment.

Let's ignore the F-14 for a minute and look at the MiG-19. Numerous times it has been stated that it would release in 2018 and yet there we are and it clearly is not going to release for another two or three months at least. This is not a single developer's issue. DCS as a whole has a massive problem for announcing or signaling release dates and then missing them by a huge margin.

Like I said, I find it simply exhausting that all of these modules are being teased and then delayed for HUGE amounts of time. It really does kill the hype for me.

That was the point I was making. I DO keep up with DCS news. That's how I know that Heatblur never promised a 2018 release date for the F-14.

They are TRYING for a release this year, but NO PROMISES.

And no, I'm not going to lump Heatblur in with whatever scheduling problems other development teams may have. What other devs are doing is utterly irrelevant to this module.

Cobra publicly acknowledged his mistake of claiming a 2017 release for the Tomcat at the first of the year. They did not make the same mistake this time.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Ok genius, look at the first post in this thread. There you will find a screenshot of a post from the official Heatblur youtube account, stating Tomcat in 2018. I'm sorry am I taking crazy pills where we just pick and choose the statements that fit our narrative? I am well aware that they have backtracked significantly from that statement and now are saying winter 2019. That does NOT make it right.

I’m starting to enjoy the tantrums. Merry Christmas!

DCS as a whole has a massive problem for announcing or signaling release dates and then missing them by a huge margin.

And ? You know it now, everybody knows it. What can we do about it ? What can the devs do about it (except cutting communication to almost zero) ?

Why don't you take planned release dates as what they are, planned released date, and not definitive release date.

I think most of us don't take a release date for granted except when it is written "The *new module* will lunch the xx/xx/xxxx" on the DCS shop.

 

What I do have a problem with is the lack of communication.

 

Especially since HB have had our money for 2 months now & Cobra promised an update at the end of November, about where they stood in the development. That never happen! Personally I think it's kinda disrespecting towards the Pre-Purchase customers :notify:.

thats exactly my point and my problem as well. I really hope they come at least with an update prior X-mas.

Christ, some people need to get a bloody grip.

HB is the last developer I will spend money on for a pre-purchase. Other devs have ruined some trust for that to continue. HB postponed this release last year, but for very good reasons and didn't take a dime from anyone when it happened. I have faith in them. My faith in them is based on the decision to NOT release last year and how they handled themselves by telling everyone about that. They have a very iconic plane to release. I do not envy them one bit. The following for the 14 is borderline cultish. They have to get it right and make that first impression with this community on that plane. A community filled with fanbois and sarcastic customers. They are also doing this work in between the other jobs they have. yeah, it's not like they have all day to just put 0's and 1's in the right spots. Didn't know about that until I listened to the interview they did with the podcaster. Some of them have other obligations as well. I can't wait for the 14 to be released. It's my favorite jet. I want them to get it right. Im as impatient as the next guy but they aren't just launching a module. They are launching their entire company and reputation ON this module. The more details they throw at his module is one more thing that will make it better than the next module. That's got to be a lot of pressure. They hired an 80's band to do a sound track! Think about that a sec. There's a band out there that was writing music for this shit. The only thing that can top that is the idiots who decide to make a 16 for DCS. that crowd will be making pitch forks and torches as those devs make the plane. It still wont be as cool as the 14 (just kidding my fellow nerds). You want to see some people bitch over a module, wait until that thing rears it's ugly head. By then, HB should be opening a bottle of champagne on the release of their next module. It's Christmas, calm down and get your shopping done and get ready for New Years as well! Keep plugging away HB. Make mine with that new car smell if you can. Holy crap this was long.

And a life.

LOL.