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F-14 single player with pilot only


Horns

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Will it be possible for a player to both fly and employ weapons? I know we can take an AI RIO and the workload is meant for two people, but I’d like to know if I could do both myself, successfully or otherwise.

 

If this is covered elsewhere I apologise and if someone could point me towards it I’d be grateful, I just had no idea what to search.

 

 

Modules: [A-10C] [AJS 37] [AV8B N/A] [F-5E] [F-14] [F/A-18C] [FC3] [Ka-50] [M-2000C] [Mig-21 bis] [NTTR] [PG] [SC]

Intel i7-12700F, Nvidia GTX 3080, MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi, 32GB DDR4 @ 1600 MHz, SteelSeries Apex Pro, Razer Basilisk 3

VKB Gunfighter 3 w/ F-14 grip, Thrustmaster Warthog throttle, Thrustmaster MFD Cougars x2, MFG Crosswind,

DSD Flight Series button controller, XK-24, Oculus Rift (HM-A)

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We will most likely be able to switch between the seats and thus be pilot at one moment and RIO the other moment. How effective this will be, in terms of proficiency, remains to be seen, I guess.

 

Thanks. Since that seems to be the solution, I guess that means the Tomcat’s systems don’t allow one person to do both jobs from one seat.

 

I don’t suppose anyone knows of any way to preview how good the AI is before buying? I’d like to get this so my father can fly with me but most of the time I’ll be solo, so the quality of the AI or the viability of switching roles will be one limiting factor for me.

 

 

Modules: [A-10C] [AJS 37] [AV8B N/A] [F-5E] [F-14] [F/A-18C] [FC3] [Ka-50] [M-2000C] [Mig-21 bis] [NTTR] [PG] [SC]

Intel i7-12700F, Nvidia GTX 3080, MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi, 32GB DDR4 @ 1600 MHz, SteelSeries Apex Pro, Razer Basilisk 3

VKB Gunfighter 3 w/ F-14 grip, Thrustmaster Warthog throttle, Thrustmaster MFD Cougars x2, MFG Crosswind,

DSD Flight Series button controller, XK-24, Oculus Rift (HM-A)

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I remember reading somewhere, that JESTER is meant for the RIO workload, but that there will be a (very) rudimentary AI-pilot if the player wants to be in the RIO seat during a single-player mission.

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I remember reading somewhere, that JESTER is meant for the RIO workload, but that there will be a (very) rudimentary AI-pilot if the player wants to be in the RIO seat during a single-player mission.

 

Thanks Elysian Angel :) It would be great if I could learn the basics of the RIO role so I could offer assistance as needed. Wouldn't matter how rudimentary the AI pilot was, I'd be happy to make missions where the AI just needed to fly straight and level.

 

After looking at the announcements Heatblur has made about JESTER and considering how high quality the Viggen module is, I am sure I'll pull the trigger on this as soon as it comes up for presale and just deal with what I wind up getting.

 

Thanks for the input all :-)

 

 

Modules: [A-10C] [AJS 37] [AV8B N/A] [F-5E] [F-14] [F/A-18C] [FC3] [Ka-50] [M-2000C] [Mig-21 bis] [NTTR] [PG] [SC]

Intel i7-12700F, Nvidia GTX 3080, MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi, 32GB DDR4 @ 1600 MHz, SteelSeries Apex Pro, Razer Basilisk 3

VKB Gunfighter 3 w/ F-14 grip, Thrustmaster Warthog throttle, Thrustmaster MFD Cougars x2, MFG Crosswind,

DSD Flight Series button controller, XK-24, Oculus Rift (HM-A)

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You will be able to fly and employ weapons as a pilot. I know the pilot fires the gun and the aim 9 without help from the rio. I'm not sure about the aim 7. The rio fires the aim 54. The pilot gets a HSD, which can mirror the rio's TID (radar). This was posted here.https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=196159 According to that post you can order the AI rio to lock targets and fire missiles. I assume it would similar to flying the f-15 you just have to give commands to the rio to lock targets and fire the long range weapons.

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You will be able to fly and employ weapons as a pilot. I know the pilot fires the gun and the aim 9 without help from the rio. I'm not sure about the aim 7. The rio fires the aim 54. The pilot gets a HSD, which can mirror the rio's TID (radar). This was posted here.https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=196159 According to that post you can order the AI rio to lock targets and fire missiles. I assume it would similar to flying the f-15 you just have to give commands to the rio to lock targets and fire the long range weapons.

 

The pilot can fire all weapons and the radar can id contacts and prioritize them automatically if need be, I wonder where does this idea the pilot can't fire some weapons comes from? The RIO handled Radar primarily giving pilot headings and other tactical info, thus the name, Radar Intercept Officer. They also did most of the navigation and handled communications among other tasks. I bet many of the necessary tasks will be able to be masked to joystick, I just hope you won't need to be in the back seat for them to function.

Punk

 

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Will it be possible for a player to both fly and employ weapons? I know we can take an AI RIO and the workload is meant for two people, but I’d like to know if I could do both myself, successfully or otherwise.

 

If this is covered elsewhere I apologise and if someone could point me towards it I’d be grateful, I just had no idea what to search.

 

Don't dismiss Jester AI before you try it out. Heatblur has gone to great lengths to make sure it feels as close to a real RIO as possible. The best option however would be to have a friend be the backseater. I am still trying to convince my brother to get the F-14 so I can have a real person in the back. Having said that I am really intrigued by Jester AI and I am looking forward to see how well it will work out. It would be interesting to see if you and a friend decide to play in multiplayer as a pilot and a RIO or if both of you would fly a different F-14 with Jester in the back.

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Jester in Multiplayer

 

I hope they will implement an option like the "Force INS Alignment" in the Mirage. With that the mission designer can decide wether Jester is too good for the MP Server and you ll need a human Rio or if it is ok to have Jester going.

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Where's BlackLion213 when you need him?

 

I somehow missed this post and had to finish planting some trees this afternoon. :)

 

In any case, players will be able to proficiently operate the weapon systems from the pilot seat only with the help of Jester. Jester is actually very useful even at this stage and things are working better than I expected. :pilotfly:

 

At current state, the F-14 module is fully combat capable with all A-A weapons without the need to enter the RIO seat. There are several more features coming, but currently Jester has a solid breadth of functions: target spotting, target ID using IFF and the TCS, electronic emissions/RWR reports, ability to STT targets (pilot specifies which targets), manages chaff and ECM (once ECM is implemented), and can assist with functions like aircraft start-up (coaching the pilot in addition to performing the RIO component of aircraft cold start).

 

For BVR with AIM-54s, Jester currently uses TWS auto, but IFFs targets (which helps TWS auto properly sort targets). This allows pilots to employ the AIM-54 very effectively and you can see on the TID repeater which targets are the priority, which have AIM-54s inbound, and which targets had missile misses. With the AIM-54, the pilot can also request a STT lock which adds more range to a launch. This current arrangement works pretty well, but more functionality is planned to support multi-aircraft engagements and maximize effectiveness.

 

For AIM-7s, the pilot has a few options: he can request a STT lock from Jester via the menu or employ the pilots auto acquisition modes for the radar. These are PAL, VSL, and PLM. PAL is a horizontal scan mode with 10 nm and is the most handy for AIM-7 employment against bandits when time is tight. PLM has less range, but is more focused (better for grabbing a specific target if you can see it) and VSL is a vertical scan mode used for ACM. These modes really complement Jester since they allow you to rapidly acquire a target if you don't have time to ask Jester for STT. Between these modes and Jester's skills, employing the AIM-7 in the Tomcat is no harder than the F-15C imho.

 

For ACM, there is the gun and AIM-9s - using these is similar to other DCS aircraft. Jester proves to be very handy for spotting targets and keeping your 6 clear. He also manages chaff (pilot manages flares) and tells you if an enemy missile or SAM is inbound, plus notifies you of missile misses and successful missile hits against your targets. For ACM encounters, Jester is quite mature and functions very well. There are more functions planned for BVR, but you can comfortable go 1v2 or even 1v4 against Soviet fighters right now with the current functions. :)

 

Jester will never be as good as a human RIO (servers would be silly to deactivate him - basically the same as saying "no Tomcats allowed"), but single player employment of the Tomcat's impressive capabilities will be very feasible. Things work well now and will only improve as we more towards EA (and probably still improve after).

 

-Nick

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I somehow missed this post and had to finish planting some trees this afternoon. :)

 

In any case, players will be able to proficiently operate the weapon systems from the pilot seat only with the help of Jester. Jester is actually very useful even at this stage and things are working better than I expected. :pilotfly:

 

At current state, the F-14 module is fully combat capable with all A-A weapons without the need to enter the RIO seat. There are several more features coming, but currently Jester has a solid breadth of functions: target spotting, target ID using IFF and the TCS, electronic emissions/RWR reports, ability to STT targets (pilot specifies which targets), manages chaff and ECM (once ECM is implemented), and can assist with functions like aircraft start-up (coaching the pilot in addition to performing the RIO component of aircraft cold start).

 

For BVR with AIM-54s, Jester currently uses TWS auto, but IFFs targets (which helps TWS auto properly sort targets). This allows pilots to employ the AIM-54 very effectively and you can see on the TID repeater which targets are the priority, which have AIM-54s inbound, and which targets had missile misses. With the AIM-54, the pilot can also request a STT lock which adds more range to a launch. This current arrangement works pretty well, but more functionality is planned to support multi-aircraft engagements and maximize effectiveness.

 

For AIM-7s, the pilot has a few options: he can request a STT lock from Jester via the menu or employ the pilots auto acquisition modes for the radar. These are PAL, VSL, and PLM. PAL is a horizontal scan mode with 10 nm and is the most handy for AIM-7 employment against bandits when time is tight. PLM has less range, but is more focused (better for grabbing a specific target if you can see it) and VSL is a vertical scan mode used for ACM. These modes really complement Jester since they allow you to rapidly acquire a target if you don't have time to ask Jester for STT. Between these modes and Jester's skills, employing the AIM-7 in the Tomcat is no harder than the F-15C imho.

 

For ACM, there is the gun and AIM-9s - using these is similar to other DCS aircraft. Jester proves to be very handy for spotting targets and keeping your 6 clear. He also manages chaff (pilot manages flares) and tells you if an enemy missile or SAM is inbound, plus notifies you of missile misses and successful missile hits against your targets. For ACM encounters, Jester is quite mature and functions very well. There are more functions planned for BVR, but you can comfortable go 1v2 or even 1v4 against Soviet fighters right now with the current functions. :)

 

Jester will never be as good as a human RIO (servers would be silly to deactivate him - basically the same as saying "no Tomcats allowed"), but single player employment of the Tomcat's impressive capabilities will be very feasible. Things work well now and will only improve as we more towards EA (and probably still improve after).

 

-Nick

 

Thank you so much, all that information is incredible! Makes me feel at ease about working with the AI, I’m thoroughly convinced that you guys have taken a very thoughtful approach to the functionality JESTER will offer. Now I can’t wait to get my hands on this module!

 

 

Modules: [A-10C] [AJS 37] [AV8B N/A] [F-5E] [F-14] [F/A-18C] [FC3] [Ka-50] [M-2000C] [Mig-21 bis] [NTTR] [PG] [SC]

Intel i7-12700F, Nvidia GTX 3080, MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi, 32GB DDR4 @ 1600 MHz, SteelSeries Apex Pro, Razer Basilisk 3

VKB Gunfighter 3 w/ F-14 grip, Thrustmaster Warthog throttle, Thrustmaster MFD Cougars x2, MFG Crosswind,

DSD Flight Series button controller, XK-24, Oculus Rift (HM-A)

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Sounds great. I was debating getting this since it takes 2 crew members and I can't play multiplayer at all due to my ping. However having an AI in the back would be fantastic

RTX 2070 8GB | 32GB DDR4 2666 RAM | AMD Ryzen 5 3600 4.2Ghz | Asrock X570 | CH Fighterstick/Pro Throttle | TM MFDs | TrackIR 5

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would a single pilot be able to fly the f-14 properly and safely without RIO in a non-combat environment?

 

so would he be able to start and control all systems required for a safe flight.

that would include all crucial checklist items , at least one radio, exterior lights, maybe basics IFR equipment, etc...

i'm thinking of ferry-flights, or doing basic flight maneuver training (starting/landing/patterns/carrier etc.)

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would a single pilot be able to fly the f-14 properly and safely without RIO in a non-combat environment?

 

so would he be able to start and control all systems required for a safe flight.

that would include all crucial checklist items , at least one radio, exterior lights, maybe basics IFR equipment, etc...

i'm thinking of ferry-flights, or doing basic flight maneuver training (starting/landing/patterns/carrier etc.)

 

Yes.

 

Plenty of IRL examples of this. Including the infamous passenger ejection :)

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Don't dismiss Jester AI before you try it out. Heatblur has gone to great lengths to make sure it feels as close to a real RIO as possible. The best option however would be to have a friend be the backseater. I am still trying to convince my brother to get the F-14 so I can have a real person in the back. Having said that I am really intrigued by Jester AI and I am looking forward to see how well it will work out. It would be interesting to see if you and a friend decide to play in multiplayer as a pilot and a RIO or if both of you would fly a different F-14 with Jester in the back.

 

Sorry for the delay in addressing your comment Lieuie, for some reason I didn't see it before now.

 

As you mentioned, it seems like Heatblur have been committed to designing AI that is up to the task, and BlackLion213's comments confirm that for me. I hear what you're saying about wanting your bro to RIO, I expected to have a DCS first-timer in the back, I'd hoped to learn the symbology and weapons employment well enough to be able to talk them through and help them learn. I hadn't even considered that each person might get a separate airframe in multiplayer...

 

 

Modules: [A-10C] [AJS 37] [AV8B N/A] [F-5E] [F-14] [F/A-18C] [FC3] [Ka-50] [M-2000C] [Mig-21 bis] [NTTR] [PG] [SC]

Intel i7-12700F, Nvidia GTX 3080, MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi, 32GB DDR4 @ 1600 MHz, SteelSeries Apex Pro, Razer Basilisk 3

VKB Gunfighter 3 w/ F-14 grip, Thrustmaster Warthog throttle, Thrustmaster MFD Cougars x2, MFG Crosswind,

DSD Flight Series button controller, XK-24, Oculus Rift (HM-A)

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Sorry for the delay in addressing your comment Lieuie, for some reason I didn't see it before now.

 

As you mentioned, it seems like Heatblur have been committed to designing AI that is up to the task, and BlackLion213's comments confirm that for me. I hear what you're saying about wanting your bro to RIO, I expected to have a DCS first-timer in the back, I'd hoped to learn the symbology and weapons employment well enough to be able to talk them through and help them learn. I hadn't even considered that each person might get a separate airframe in multiplayer...

 

Thanks for the reply and don't worry about it. Better late than never right?

Back on the big dilemma, I would say that flying as a pilot/RIO team is probably going to be the ultimate F-14 experience but it could be very frustrating too if the one in the back (or in the front for that matter) isn't very well aquainted with the aircraft systems. Also having more aircraft means more firepower and you can't really argue with that. Having said that, I think that training as a pilot/RIO pair is going to be one of the most fun and engaging things to do with this module.

The biggest question for now I think is if Jester AI will be a competent enough pilot that you would be able to train as a RIO effectively since it might not always be possible to have someone fly you around unless there are going to be dedicated servers for it.

Anyways for now we can only wait and see.

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I somehow missed this post and had to finish planting some trees this afternoon. :)

 

In any case, players will be able to proficiently operate the weapon systems from the pilot seat only with the help of Jester. Jester is actually very useful even at this stage and things are working better than I expected. :pilotfly:

 

At current state, the F-14 module is fully combat capable with all A-A weapons without the need to enter the RIO seat. There are several more features coming, but currently Jester has a solid breadth of functions: target spotting, target ID using IFF and the TCS, electronic emissions/RWR reports, ability to STT targets (pilot specifies which targets), manages chaff and ECM (once ECM is implemented), and can assist with functions like aircraft start-up (coaching the pilot in addition to performing the RIO component of aircraft cold start).

 

For BVR with AIM-54s, Jester currently uses TWS auto, but IFFs targets (which helps TWS auto properly sort targets). This allows pilots to employ the AIM-54 very effectively and you can see on the TID repeater which targets are the priority, which have AIM-54s inbound, and which targets had missile misses. With the AIM-54, the pilot can also request a STT lock which adds more range to a launch. This current arrangement works pretty well, but more functionality is planned to support multi-aircraft engagements and maximize effectiveness.

 

For AIM-7s, the pilot has a few options: he can request a STT lock from Jester via the menu or employ the pilots auto acquisition modes for the radar. These are PAL, VSL, and PLM. PAL is a horizontal scan mode with 10 nm and is the most handy for AIM-7 employment against bandits when time is tight. PLM has less range, but is more focused (better for grabbing a specific target if you can see it) and VSL is a vertical scan mode used for ACM. These modes really complement Jester since they allow you to rapidly acquire a target if you don't have time to ask Jester for STT. Between these modes and Jester's skills, employing the AIM-7 in the Tomcat is no harder than the F-15C imho.

 

For ACM, there is the gun and AIM-9s - using these is similar to other DCS aircraft. Jester proves to be very handy for spotting targets and keeping your 6 clear. He also manages chaff (pilot manages flares) and tells you if an enemy missile or SAM is inbound, plus notifies you of missile misses and successful missile hits against your targets. For ACM encounters, Jester is quite mature and functions very well. There are more functions planned for BVR, but you can comfortable go 1v2 or even 1v4 against Soviet fighters right now with the current functions. :)

 

Jester will never be as good as a human RIO (servers would be silly to deactivate him - basically the same as saying "no Tomcats allowed"), but single player employment of the Tomcat's impressive capabilities will be very feasible. Things work well now and will only improve as we more towards EA (and probably still improve after).

 

-Nick

 

Can't wait, sounds awesome !

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

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Thanks for the reply and don't worry about it. Better late than never right?

Back on the big dilemma, I would say that flying as a pilot/RIO team is probably going to be the ultimate F-14 experience but it could be very frustrating too if the one in the back (or in the front for that matter) isn't very well aquainted with the aircraft systems. Also having more aircraft means more firepower and you can't really argue with that. Having said that, I think that training as a pilot/RIO pair is going to be one of the most fun and engaging things to do with this module.

The biggest question for now I think is if Jester AI will be a competent enough pilot that you would be able to train as a RIO effectively since it might not always be possible to have someone fly you around unless there are going to be dedicated servers for it.

Anyways for now we can only wait and see.

 

Re an AI pilot, on August 21 2017 in reply to Vincent 90 who asked "Is an AI pilot foreseen as well for the module?" Cobra847 said:

 

Not planned except for maybe some basic attitude hold right now.

 

So I think we will probably get a very basic pilot, as Elysian Angel suggested. I hope HB have expanded the functionality of the pilot AI, it would be a shame if we never got to experience life as a RIO for fear of crashing... although that might be a very accurate experience of RIO life!

 

I'm really curious about the two-player dynamic as well. I'm having flashbacks to my father teaching me to drive...

 

 

Modules: [A-10C] [AJS 37] [AV8B N/A] [F-5E] [F-14] [F/A-18C] [FC3] [Ka-50] [M-2000C] [Mig-21 bis] [NTTR] [PG] [SC]

Intel i7-12700F, Nvidia GTX 3080, MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi, 32GB DDR4 @ 1600 MHz, SteelSeries Apex Pro, Razer Basilisk 3

VKB Gunfighter 3 w/ F-14 grip, Thrustmaster Warthog throttle, Thrustmaster MFD Cougars x2, MFG Crosswind,

DSD Flight Series button controller, XK-24, Oculus Rift (HM-A)

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  • 3 months later...

So Jester AI will only be RIO or will we be able to be RIO while we can tell him where to fly, or will he just fly a straight line when we switch to RIO ? (Or will RIO only be possible in multiplayer with multicrew?)

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So Jester AI will only be RIO or will we be able to be RIO while we can tell him where to fly, or will he just fly a straight line when we switch to RIO ? (Or will RIO only be possible in multiplayer with multicrew?)

 

I suggest you presume that the Tomcat requires a human pilot, and that someone can only be RIO in multiplayer, unless you see something official that says otherwise. It might be possible to engage autopilot and then quickly switch to RIO and then switch back to pilot, but I’m basing that on vague recollection so I suggest you seek something more official on that too.

 

 

Modules: [A-10C] [AJS 37] [AV8B N/A] [F-5E] [F-14] [F/A-18C] [FC3] [Ka-50] [M-2000C] [Mig-21 bis] [NTTR] [PG] [SC]

Intel i7-12700F, Nvidia GTX 3080, MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi, 32GB DDR4 @ 1600 MHz, SteelSeries Apex Pro, Razer Basilisk 3

VKB Gunfighter 3 w/ F-14 grip, Thrustmaster Warthog throttle, Thrustmaster MFD Cougars x2, MFG Crosswind,

DSD Flight Series button controller, XK-24, Oculus Rift (HM-A)

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