Help me make a decision: F18

Hi All,

I held off pre-ordering the Hornet but now it's been out a while I'm pretty interested. Then again, with the F14 coming out soon I'm trying to resist the urge to buy the F18.

What are your guys thoughts comparing what you know about the F18 and what you expect in the F14. Really want a carrier based aircraft, I mainly enjoy air to air combat, I like both aircraft.

I'm looking for whatever is likely to have the best access to campaigns and single player content in future.

If you didn't already own the F18, would you buy that or wait for the F14 and why?

Cheers

Well if you're like me you will eventually own them both. I have the Hornet. I expect if the Tomcat is any good I'll not be able to resist it either.

The Hornet is awsum even in its alpha state. One of the instant missions is a carrier takeoff. You just move your throttle to full and you get catapulted off the carrier. This will bring a smile to your face involuntarily. Trying to land on the carrier will bring you hours of pleasure and pain.

Resistance is futile. You will buy the aircraft.

I'm all F/A-18 cuz it'"s my favorite bird, so i'll just as you a question, are you willing to wait an undetermined amount of time until the Tomcat comes out, after that, how long will it be to become ok, how much updates wil it be, will they be upgrading it a smuch as the Hornet is now, i do not know Heatblur, hoe well do the Vigen asvanced?. By the time the Tomcat will come out, the hornet will be even moew advanced as it is now... So, how long are you willing to wait before flying any of the two? I don't really like the Tomcat anymore, but i can tell you if role were inverted, and the Tomcat was out now and the hornet coming soon, i would fore sure grab the Tomcat for filling the hole... as i did with the AV-8B. But, that's my way to see things. :)

I had never had an interest in the Hornet as an aircraft, for whatever reason. I just never found it very appealing. But watching Wag's update videos prior to the release convinced me to buy it, and now it's one of my favorite aircraft.

That's the thing with the F14. It looks awesome, and two crew aircraft are really interesting but I don't know what state it will be in at release. The main reason I've held off buying the F18 is just that lack of content to use it with. I mainly play single player so tend to focus on modules which have campaigns. In saying that, I really liked the detail of the A10, having an air to air capable aircraft with that detail would be great. Slap_chop, you're right I'll almost definitely cave eventually but buying both isn't an option in a short space of time. I heard the F14 is out in a month, does anybody know if that's true?

I have 2 concerns with the F14. They are hopefully unfounded, but they still make me wonder:

- it’s not being built by ED themselves. I’m concious that most modules from groups other than ED seem to have lower complexity. Eg compare the harrier to A10c. For that matter, look at the F18, which is not even finished and is already awesome.

The Harrier is still a lot of fun, but doesn’t have the same depth

- the RIO. I think that many have big expectations on the capabilities of the RIO. I’m conscious of just how complex this game is, and that we’ll want a LOT from the AI. I have concerns of the RIO really delivering to our probably inflated expectations

I'm pretty limited with regard to the number of modules I have. The only really complex one I have is the A10, if you're paying those kind of prices I wouldn't want it to be any less complex. I bought a couple of the piston engine aircraft just because they're awesome but I waited for a sale.

I think you're going to be right about the RIO, managing the RIO AI could turn out to take you away from actually flying the aircraft. It's probably going to be a better multiplayer component.

I'll probably buy the F18 and take a more wait and see approach to the F14. With that said, got any tips on good single player content? I haven't had a go at creating missions yet. I want to make a decent naval battle.

Right now air to air combat in the Hornet is painful, especially in Open Beta where the latest patch has broken key aspects of the radar. If you're primarily interested in air to air combat, I wouldn't suggest purchasing it right now - wait until we've got LTWS and/or datalink, and if the F-14 comes out before that happens then just buy that as it looks like the F-14 will arrive with full air to air functionality.

Right now air to air combat in the Hornet is painful, especially in Open Beta where the latest patch has broken key aspects of the radar. If you're primarily interested in air to air combat, I wouldn't suggest purchasing it right now - wait until we've got LTWS and/or datalink, and if the F-14 comes out before that happens then just buy that as it looks like the F-14 will arrive with full air to air functionality.

Same here, wait until they release data link and a better IFF

I think that the F-14 will also be early acess like all the other modules when it's releases. So don't expect that you get an full working module....

The F-18 is ahead in development and i don't think that the F-14 will be completet faster.

For me it's very simple because I will buy both

I think that the F-14 will also be early acess like all the other modules when it's releases. So don't expect that you get an full working module....

 

The F-18 is ahead in development and i don't think that the F-14 will be completet faster.

 

For me it's very simple because I will buy both

Heatblur have a very different approach to early access compared to either ED or Razbam - the Viggen launched essentially feature complete and has just had bugs fixed since then. We've already seen that the F-14 has all of it's air to air missiles working, along with the radar and the TCS - we've even seen GBUs being dropped. I think you can be confident that the F-14 will release in a much more capable state than the Hornet.

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If you didn't already own the F18, would you buy that or wait for the F14 and why?

I would wait at least until october 7th, the unveil of the Tomcat .. its less than a month away and there is the posibility of a pre-release discount.

If you like both planes, then it was a mistake not buying the Hornet at the start, when its price was 60 dollars and provided 16 bonus dollars.

With regard to the air to air combat at present. Are the AIM 120 and AIM 9 missiles working well at present? What's the BVR capability like as compared to the more basic F15 module?

Do you need to be running DCS 2.5 Open Beta for this to work? I only have DCS 2.5 as I don't want to install more than one (space reasons).

With regard to the air to air combat at present. Are the AIM 120 and AIM 9 missiles working well at present? What's the BVR capability like as compared to the more basic F15 module?

 

 

Do you need to be running DCS 2.5 Open Beta for this to work? I only have DCS 2.5 as I don't want to install more than one (space reasons).

In terms of BVR it's a mix between broken and completely outmatched. The F-15 can tell if you're friend or foe at a glance, you can't because the only way to IFF currently is to hard lock them (which alerts the target via their RWR). The F-15 can soft-lock you so it can track you without you knowing, you can't because the Hornet is missing key radar modes. The F-15 can hold that lock no matter what manoeuvres he pulls within the radar limits, you can't as the Hornet drops lock on anything more than the gentlest roll. Once you get to the merge, the F-15 can use ACM modes to quickly lock you up in a dogfight, you can't because the Hornet's ACM modes are currently broken and even if they weren't then they are much slower performing than the F-15.

The missiles work fine, the plane is the problem right now. It's in both Stable and Open Beta, but the newest updates come to Open Beta first - if you're happy waiting a week for new stuff then just stay on Stable.

I'm pretty confident that the F-14 will launch in a more feature-complete state than the Hornet did, but we'd indeed better wait until the official reveal in a few weeks.

As for quality of finish, in my opinion Heatblur is right up there with ED/BST if not surpassing them.

I personally would prefer the Tomcat because it's more of a "pilot's plane", and thus - for me - more fun to fly.

Since the Hornet's release I hardly flew anything else, but I fully expect the Tomcat will take over as my main module.

Heatblur have a very different approach to early access compared to either ED or Razbam - the Viggen launched essentially feature complete and has just had bugs fixed since then. We've already seen that the F-14 has all of it's air to air missiles working, along with the radar and the TCS - we've even seen GBUs being dropped. I think you can be confident that the F-14 will release in a much more capable state than the Hornet.

This.

With regard to the air to air combat at present. Are the AIM 120 and AIM 9 missiles working well at present? What's the BVR capability like as compared to the more basic F15 module?

 

 

Do you need to be running DCS 2.5 Open Beta for this to work? I only have DCS 2.5 as I don't want to install more than one (space reasons).

At this time the F/A-18 has no BVR capabilities (it has only on paper, but the radar is broken since release, IMHO, and with the last update it seems to have gotten worse). It is early acces, so there is the possibility that bvr capabilities come and go with every new update. Same could be true for the F-14 but as you read in the comments here, there is a lot of trust from the community in heathblur.

If you have to choose for one module, i suggest to wait until some weeks after F-14 early acces release and the feedback for this module.

You have no choice : buy them both :D

Heatblur have a very different approach to early access compared to either ED or Razbam - the Viggen launched essentially feature complete and has just had bugs fixed since then. We've already seen that the F-14 has all of it's air to air missiles working, along with the radar and the TCS - we've even seen GBUs being dropped. I think you can be confident that the F-14 will release in a much more capable state than the Hornet.

That is true, but the Viggen is still missing the long-overdue, long-promised EP-13 brightness/contrast control as shown in the manual on p24. Very important for VR.

My opinion on F-18 vs. F-14:

The F-18 is FBW and is very easy to fly. Since I fly most for fun, no combat, I find the F-18 a bit too easy to fly. I suspect the F-14 would be more of a challenge. On the other hand, I think that when all weapons and systems are implemented, the F-18 will be more capable, not to mention more allround.

It will be very interesting to see how the RIO in the F-14 will be implemented. It could be either a big asset or not. In any case multicrew would be very interesting, but single player can be great or not so great depending on the AI.

Personally I think I'll get the Tomcat as well, but I doubt that either is going to be my favourite aircraft, at least for the near future.

- it’s not being built by ED themselves. I’m concious that most modules from groups other than ED seem to have lower complexity.

Clearly you have to buy both!

Be aware though that the F-14 is a much older bird. Expect a lot less tech, especially in the A-B version. It really is a generation before the F-18 so they aren't really comparable as far as flight/combat characteristics and capability. They were designed for different roles at very different times. Like I said.. Gotta have both :P

Fly the Hornet when you're on your own and then fly the Tomcat when you have friends around.

D

I bought the F/A-18 and it brought me back to DCS.

Although the attack capability is very slim at the moment, it is still a very detailed addon with lots to learn.

Carrier landings and A2A refueling are (for me) very hard to master. Although the refueling part I have almost sorted now.

Wags update sounds also nice when they likely have tackled the radar issues. In MP it really was an issue i.m.o. SP not so much.

I own the f18c and do not have plans to buy the F14.

But i would say go for the F18c first of all.. Its a multirole plane that can do everything and its also quite modern.

At the moment in early access the F18c is mostly an AA fighter, since there are no TGP ( targeting pod ) or ground radar that can help you with finding ground tagets..

In the near future ( my guess within the next 14 days-3 weeks ) you have LGB bombs that JTAC or another plane can lase for you and you drop the bomb and hit things with it... And there might also be the HARM missile so you can kill radar's... A VERY usefull feature that will make you very populare if you fly online ;-)

All in all get the f18c it can do everyting.

The Hornet is very limited in some ways at the moment as others have said with it being in early release, but man it is so cool to fly and plenty to keep you busy. I was so frustrated with it the other day, loaded up my Hog, reprogrammed my desktop sim button panels, setup to go ground pounding in the A-10, went for a flight and though **** this, reloaded up my Hornet and went to practice Case 1 and just fly around.

Don't know what it is about that Jet, just sucks you in.

As already said, trying to master refuelling and landing in multiple weather types will keep you good not for a while. AA is getting there, with the missiles inplace, just need to resolve radar and IFF.

Even ground strike is fun, and that’s with just free fall bombs.

Clearly we’ll eventually be getting HARMs, harpoons (so I can have an alternative to the Viggen), GBU, mavs and glide based delivery stand off weapons.

The final weapon list is a good deal more comprehensive than the F14.