Is buying the 2 F-5E campaigns worth it?

Hi,

I' ve been talking about the fact that I find disapointing that the F-5 doesn't come stock with a campaign.

So I'm starting to consider buying the ones available on the e-Shop, but I wonder if they are worth it.

I mean, I read that they are pretty basic... like you spawn in the air in front of another airplane and you just dog fight...Is that so?

Is there any sort of "role playing", or you know, radio chat and stuff that makes you at least feel a little bit immerse into a real mission?

Thanks in advance for the info.

Hi,

 

 

 

I' ve been talking about the fact that I find disapointing that the F-5 doesn't come stock with a campaign.

 

 

 

So I'm starting to consider buying the ones available on the e-Shop, but I wonder if they are worth it.

 

 

 

I mean, I read that they are pretty basic... like you spawn in the air in front of another airplane and you just dog fight...Is that so?

 

 

 

Is there any sort of "role playing", or you know, radio chat and stuff that makes you at least feel a little bit immerse into a real mission?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for the info.

You are vastly mistaken to think you spawn in the air and just dogfight. There are practice missions where that happens, but the actual campaigns are well written, start you at the airport, and expect you to navigate and fight. There are many voiceovers and radio traffic.

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The campaigns are very nicely done. Can't go wrong with any of them.

You are vastly mistaken to think you spawn in the air and just dogfight. There are practice missions where that happens, but the actual campaigns are well written, start you at the airport, and expect you to navigate and fight. There are many voiceovers and radio traffic.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am glad that I am mistaken. I'll probably get them then :)

You are vastly mistaken to think you spawn in the air and just dogfight. There are practice missions where that happens, but the actual campaigns are well written, start you at the airport, and expect you to navigate and fight. There are many voiceovers and radio traffic.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Watching examples of playthrough of the fights on YouTube, with essentially all of that cut out, doesn't help with this impression. If all I'd seen were some of the comments and those videos, I'd think the same thing as OP.

So I'm not sure he's so much mistaken as misinformed through no fault of his own.

I haven't tried it but this looks interesting.

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=181287

A dynamic campaign for F5 set in NTTR map.

I've purchased them and so far... well... I don't know if I really like them. Maybe just too advanced for my skills...

First off, Navigation is a bit complicated in the F-5E in general (versus more modern planes). And, since it's confusing, I prefer missions with few waypoints. This campaign is the opposite. You have a lot of steerpoints and you need to be ultra sharp to not be all over the place.

I manage, using the page of the briefing that lists the flight plan waypoint TACAN + Radials + Distances (I don't really like marking your position on the kneeboard), but it requires some effort...

But this is not my biggest issue with the campaign. I've not finished one yet, so there might be a big surprise coming, but so far it REALLY seems like they created one mission and you just re-do it multiple times. And the mission in itself isn't super interesting: You fly to INDIA, go face to face with another plane. And if you don't shoot it during that head-on encounter, it's basically 5 minutes of trying to catch each other, with no one succeeding within the allowed time.

I'll keep flying the missions and see, but so far, I'm tempted to say I regret buying the campaigns :(

I've purchased them and so far... well... I don't know if I really like them. Maybe just too advanced for my skills...

 

First off, Navigation is a bit complicated in the F-5E in general (versus more modern planes). And, since it's confusing, I prefer missions with few waypoints. This campaign is the opposite. You have a lot of steerpoints and you need to be ultra sharp to not be all over the place.

 

I manage, using the page of the briefing that lists the flight plan waypoint TACAN + Radials + Distances (I don't really like marking your position on the kneeboard), but it requires some effort...

 

But this is not my biggest issue with the campaign. I've not finished one yet, so there might be a big surprise coming, but so far it REALLY seems like they created one mission and you just re-do it multiple times. And the mission in itself isn't super interesting: You fly to INDIA, go face to face with another plane. And if you don't shoot it during that head-on encounter, it's basically 5 minutes of trying to catch each other, with no one succeeding within the allowed time.

 

I'll keep flying the missions and see, but so far, I'm tempted to say I regret buying the campaigns :(

I'm not going to defend creators (they indeed could have thrown in a couple of more engaging/different missions just to keep things different and entertaining), but campaigns are called BFM and ACM and just from that, one should realize you will be concentrating on actual engagements against different aircraft. Head to head is nice, but some variation where you start with advantage/disadvantage would have mixed things up nicely (but perhaps are not possible with current DCS mission builder).

TACAN navigation is not that hard once you get the concept. I don't find flying to/from engagements distracting or too hard and much prefer that to the air start.

Engagements - I didn't even try to shoot during initial merge. I've only flown first mission before 2.1 rolled out and now waiting for some VR optimizations before I move forward, but I did not find it too hard to get into the firing positions on F5's. Most of the time during training missions I could down them within allocated time...

Overall, I'm happy with BFM campaign. I knew what to expect from it beforehand and it so far has delivered.

I'm not going to defend creators (they indeed could have thrown in a couple of more engaging/different missions just to keep things different and entertaining), but campaigns are called BFM and ACM and just from that, one should realize you will be concentrating on actual engagements against different aircraft. Head to head is nice, but some variation where you start with advantage/disadvantage would have mixed things up nicely (but perhaps are not possible with current DCS mission builder).

 

TACAN navigation is not that hard once you get the concept. I don't find flying to/from engagements distracting or too hard and much prefer that to the air start.

 

Engagements - I didn't even try to shoot during initial merge. I've only flown first mission before 2.1 rolled out and now waiting for some VR optimizations before I move forward, but I did not find it too hard to get into the firing positions on F5's. Most of the time during training missions I could down them within allocated time...

 

Overall, I'm happy with BFM campaign. I knew what to expect from it beforehand and it so far has delivered.

Well I don't know, I think I know what you mean, but I hope you don't mind if I disagree. Even though I was expecting that kind of setup, where you practice air to air combat, it would have been very possible to make it different mission to mission. Yes, it would have always been air to air practice, of course... but I don't know...

As for the way the encounters go, as I said, it might be my lack of practice and the fact that I am not well educated in the different air to air maneuvers that are "in the book". And as a matter of fact, they could have included that kind of practice, training in the campaign. You know... teaching you how to behave in different types of situations.

For now the AI can't shoot me, but I can't shoot him either. We're just constantly going head-on, then turning 180 degrees, then head-on again, etc. I've tried mixing things up by going up or down, trying to have the AI "lose me", but I'm starting to wonder if the AI can lose sight of us... it's the AI after all, I feel it always knows where I am.

But, all in all, the campaign is indeed good practice, so that's that.

Sylosis, I think the campaigns description clearly states that they are explicitly one on one. What you can do is one of two things,

1- get a story-driven campaign and edit the aircraft for both sides to owned and proper frames suitable, mission for mission.

2- await a story-driven campaign. What you need is one.

EDIT:

this is also a mini-rant that the F-5E does not come with a Caucasus campaign and that all campaigns take place in Navada or Normandy for new aircrafts. Only Mi-8 comes with Caucasus campaign even the oilfield and border campaigns are in Caucasus..