Yep, same “program”…eventually I think they just shut off USB ports that weren’t needed.
On the “high side” (above SIPRNET) they had already gone to a cloud computing system where your terminal was just that, something that the monitor, keyboard and mouse plugged into. No hard drive, CD drive, and no ports. At least that part was fairly painless, just a lot of paper work.
Well, first they triggered them to lock down the computer and contact IT if a flash drive was detected being plugged in. I was recruiting when that happened overnight with no advance warning, and the email didn’t catch up to the software change. Six recruiters in my office had six laptops lock us out and send six alerts to IT in San Diego (from Orange County) before 0800 on a Wednesday morning. My understanding is, that played out at every other field office at about the same time that day.
I can charitably say a number of things about the Aerosoft Tomcat. When it comes to the fire control… detailed isn’t really a term I’d use. It was good by P3D standards, but by DCS lingo it’s FC3 or less. There is an enormous amount of functionality missing from the TID, DDD and radar panel, and the stores panel is essentially INOP.
FYI, it’s pretty common practice among financials and corporations to prevent the use of USB storage devices.
True enough, my point is that they included any TID and DDD functionality.
How much radar/RIO functionality do we think the Heatblur F-14 will include? I remember seeing my RIO friends work their butts off in the real F-14 RIO simulator …it didn’t look like much fun. 
Enjoyment is relative, it sounds like an absolute blast to me.
Here’s an interview with the guy who wrote it.
I’m not anywhere near an expert, but they seem to be have a strong understanding of it, I’m listening to him reference some extremely specific problem cases that I wasn’t sure they’d simulate.
Well…it might have been more fun if it wasn’t a squadron graded evolution…lots of pressure on the RIOs. They had a full cockpit set up. Their pilots sat at a desk with a joystick/throttle and 6-pack on a computer screen…sipping coffee.
Great interview.
At time 16:22 the interviewer asks about things like DDD and notes that in an F-15 or FA-18, a that stuff is handled by the computers. In the F-14 it was still a very manual function. here functions may not be fully modeled in the Aerosoft F-14, but there is, IMHO, enough to give one the sense of the manual intensive radar work without “diving too deep”
At 16:34 the interviewer hits the nail on the head when he says that the RIO will have to know what modes to use at which time to get a good tactical picture and to interpret it.
To me, what that statement (and answer) implies is that this model will essentially “need” a RIO. I might argue that it should come out as a two-person cockpit multi-player version from the beginning. In a single player environment, one could conceivably use the active pause while jumping back and forth between seats…but as we know, the rest of the DCS world doesn’t pause…so…?
So if Heatblur is successful in implementing a highly accurate simulation of the AWG-9 system, then yes, Chuck is much safer staying away from doing a manual.
All that said, I hope Heatblur is able to do an accurate model. I would absolutely love it and would snap it right up.
It’s going to
That’s an option. They’re also coding a way to let the computer RIO for you.
And @Hangar200 has commented that he thinks the option of having the computer pilot for you while you do RIO would make more sense. I can see his point, on reading the description of RIO and pilot workload in simulated combat.
In theory yes, in practice…
You’ve seen the way the AI fly right? Now imagine that, but with a human going in and dropping stupid demands into the middle of their decision cycles. It’s simply not feasible. I’d recommend making friends.
Truer words have not been spoken.
That said, the long range intercept scenarios need little AI “pilot skills”. Once you are at altitude and on vector, there is no “yanking and banking”, just simple case, altitude and speed changes. The RIO is looking out a hundred Nm + and trying to get a good picture of the “raid”…raid count, speed, easing, altitude…and of course enemy ECM makes t all the more difficult…the RIO is working his/her but off…changing radar modes and directing the pilot to put the jet in an optimal firing position. The idea really was to put 4+ AIM-54s in the air at once, per F-14. So quite a complicated back seat task.
Once they if the merge, it is all pilot. RIO’s job is to keep track of the bad guys…and punch out chaff/flares if they see a missile inbound . There is a handle above the DDD. Basically the RIO grabs that to allow him to twist in his seat looking to the side and behind.
With all that in mind, I think it should be very possible to have AI fly the initial intercept phase following RIO directions (maybe like Ground Crew comms menus) and then switch AI at a certain point prior to the merge…maybe automatically?
From what I’ve seen, DCS’s AI already works pretty well for that. Had a pair of F-14s at altitude spam AIM-54 and splash four Floggers from waaayyy out.
Heatblur saying that the tomcat is only a 7 out of ten… shoulda done an f111 to push ot to 11. 
Are they…no. Can’t be. Are they making a …Tomcat?
Sweet Cornbread, TeamSpeak will be insufferable for weeks…
Tomcat? I heard it was a Top hat.
I feel the need…
Gratuitous Maximum GIF Time
