SAMLaunch.com » Air Combat

Lockon: “Flaming Cliffs 2″ released

Webmaster Ross — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:33:10 +0000

The english download version of Lockon: Flaming Cliffs is now available for $29.99.

Features:

Runs under DirectX 9C
Improved Mission Editor with trigger system
New terrain area to include much of Georgia. This will be same map as used in DCS: Blacks Shark. As such the Crimea has been replaced with the addition of Georgia.
More detailed terrain to include more ground objects, larger forests, and higher resolution elevation data
Improved clouds
High resolution airfield textures
Improved multiplayer system with embedded game browser
More robust online cheating prevention
New and improved menu system
Numerous new, highly detailed ground units including infantry
More accurate flight data that controls flight performance of player-controlled aircraft. This is true for both Russian and U.S. aircraft.
Improved flight models for all artificial intelligence (AI) controlled aircraft
New, more realistic G-tolerance modeling
Limited 6 DOF cockpits that move up, down and sideways according to maneuvering
Heads Up Dispay (HUD) now modeled as collimated and focused to infinity for all player-controlled aircraft.
New and highly-detailed Su-25 model
Advanced ballistics are implemented for all flyable aircraft, including ricochets of AP rounds
F-15C locked target IFF indication
More realistic ranges, seeker guidance and fuzes for air-to-air missiles
More realistic electronic countermeasure operation and performance
New and improved sound engine
New radio message voice-overs

Forum Announcement:
http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=51310

More Feature details:
http://lockon.co.uk/index.php?end_pos=1671&scr=default

Buy here:
http://lockon.co.uk/index.php?end_pos=1322&scr=shop

FAQ:
http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=782970&postcount=2

Lockon: Flaming Cliffs 2 Teaser

Falcon – Red Viper – BFM

Webmaster Ross — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:01:02 +0000

THIS IS A STEP BY STEP TUTORIAL CREATED TO LEARN HOW TO ENGAGE AND ACHIEVE BASIC FIGHTERS MANEUVERS IN A F-16C, BASED ON THE FALCON 4.0 MANUAL.

Part I:

Part II:

Part III:

View full post on Uploads by victoraochoa

Falcon – F16 F4.0+RV HQ Missle Threat Reaction

EECH – apache avionics update coming

Webmaster Ross — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:03:42 +0000

In the SimHQ forums, master-EECH-modder Arneh says:

“I’m in the process of updating the Apache’s avionics to make them more realistic. I’ve found quite a bit of information about how they work in the real Longbow, and I’m trying to implement as much of it as possible in EECH. Among the things is that all four of the Longbow’s radar modes will be modelled, and the exact procedures for firing Hellfires will be modelled.

This is going to make the Apache much more realistic, much more like a study sim. I realize that everyone may not want this, so I’m goint to introduce a new realism level, and only used the new avionics at the most realistic level, so that those who prefer the current avionics can continue to use them.

Much of how the Longbow is controlled is via the MFDs, and the push buttons around them. EECH doesn’t have clickable cockpits, but I’ve I’ve made the MFDs themselves clickable, so that you can simulate button presses by pressing the corresponding label inside the MFD. All of the MFD pages are being updated to have clickable labels, and a lot of new functionallity and new pages are being added.

Now this is of course a work in progress, and a lot of work remains. But just to give you an idea of about some of the new and updated pages, I’ve included some screenshots.

Here’s how the cockpit looks now. On the right MFD is the updated TSD page, and on the left is the radar in Terrain Profile Mode (TPM). TPM is a navigation mode for low visibillity and basically shows where it’s safe to fly.

The updated engine page. It has mostly the same information as the old one, but a little different layout, and with colors:

The new fuel page shows general fuel status, and also allows you to cross feed the engines from either tank, or transfer fuel between the tanks:

This is the radar in RMAP mode. It’s much like ground target mode, but it also shows the terrain (and possibly most useful the terrain shadow, so you know what parts are unknown and where enemy units may still be hiding):

The TSD in waypoint mode allows you to edit the route or waypoints, including adding new ones (by e.g. flying over them, or by lasing a point with TADS).

The ADF page controls the Apache’s radio navigation equipment, and allows you to navigate by radio beacons.

The check list page has checklists for various items.

I’ll continue to update this thread as I finish more of the avionics.”

Source: SimHQ EECH forums

ED Development Update – January 15, 2010

Webmaster Ross — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:32:26 +0000

An update from Eagle Dynamics about current plans and progress (posted by EvilBivol on ED forum):

“Dear all,

We would like to provide you with some development updates.

Our immediate priority at this time is the finalizing of the Flaming Cliffs 2.0 upgrade for Lock On. The project is currently undergoing final testing, however this does not mean it is immediately close to release. Besides testing and fixing bugs, other important tasks still underway include mission/campaign content generation, training course development, and recording new radio messages. Furthermore, translations from Russian to English and vice-versa are still ongoing and all of these items have to be localized into French, German and Spanish. As you can see, there is still significant development to be done and we are not ready to provide a specific release date beyond the previously mentioned early-2010. Please bear in mind that release dates are always tricky and our goal is not to release as soon as possible, but release as soon as possible with confidence in the quality of the product – maximally bug-free and feature-full.

We are also hard at work on our second DCS module, the A-10C Warthog. There are many new features in development for this project. Expect more details to begin coming out after the FC2 release.

Given the very high workload on both the entertainment and military side of development, we’ve had to re-prioritize our previously announced third-party support tools. As you know, we’ve already released terrain development plug-ins and a number of third-party maps are now under development. Among these, very good progress is being made on the Nevada terrain, which we hope to officially include in DCS: A-10C as a training map. We are now working on a new set of terrain tools, which will support some new terrain technologies planned for DCS: A-10C. Our goal is to make terrain creation and rendering easier and more effective. On the other hand, we’ve had to hold the development of other third-party tools as the team resources are simply being used elsewhere at this point. We realize there is a lot of interest about this and we’ll keep you posted if anything changes.

We would also like to share some feature updates for FC2. FC2 will feature the much requested Mission Planner interface. This is an item we’ve been planning for quite a long time and we are happy to be able to include it in FC2. The Mission Planner will be available from the Briefing menu in the single-player GUI. It will be a simplified version of the Mission Editor, showing only those units not hidden by the mission designer and allowing the player to edit the flight route (excluding take-off and landing points) and payloads/fuel/skins. The Mission Planner will not be available in the multi-player menu. Also, FC2 will feature video-based training. The training course will be based on the FC training module, but re-recorded in FC2 to account for changes and updates, including text subtitles and voice-overs for all aircraft now.

Thank you.
__________________
EB”

ED Forums – View Single Post – Development Update – January 15, 2010

Lockon: Flaming Cliffs 2 Teaser

Webmaster Ross — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:08:53 +0000

	Flaming Cliffs 2 Teaser This is a mini teaser i quickly put together as a request by the community, really. It's more like a "TV spot" than a full trailer. More will follow later. Read more about Flaming Cliffs 2 here: forums.eagle.ru	From: GlowingAmraam Views: 10372 50 ratings
	Time: 00:38	More in Film & Animation

View full post on Uploads by GlowingAmraam

Lockon: “Flaming Cliffs 2″ released

EECH – weapon firing rates corrected

Webmaster Ross — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:45:52 +0000

Besides adding a cockpit for the Hind, Arneh has other improvements coming for the next version of EECH. This one is fixing the firing rates of all the weapons in the sim. Previously all weapons were firing at 1 shot per frame, so assuming 30-40 fps, each weapon was firing at around 2000 rounds per minute.

One of the big winners in this change is the Russian 23mm UPK-23 gun pod, which is showcased in this video.
(4 pods x 3500 rnds/min = 14,000 rounds per min!!!)

Video – “Frog or Prince”

Webmaster Ross — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:59:23 +0000

This is one of my fave lockon videos. It features the SU-25 Frogfoot in an intricate air-to-ground ballet. How does it get off the ground with so many weapons/fangs?

DCS forum highlights – Aug, 2008

Webmaster Ross — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:23:16 +0000

Here’s a look at some recent postings in the DCS forums:

08-23-2008, 12:08 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by hitman_214th
1) Will CG [Center of Gravity] be static or dynamic in BS? Obviously with weaps release the CG will change, but what about fuel bladders? Hydraulic fluid? Also pertains to question 2.

Yes, the CG is dynamic and will change as the stores/fluids/airframe structure are affected in real time. Whether the change will be enough to you to appreciate it, however, is another question. (Opps, see Alpha’s response below).

2) Is fluid dynamics figured into the simulator? Fuel leaks into separate compartments, hydraulic fluids being dumped overboard, ballast, liquid sloshing in half-filled reservoirs?

The available pressures and flows of the fluids are modeled dynamically and mainly within their respective systems (e.g. the fuel system <-> engine <-> APU, etc.), including pressure dependencies, pumps functionality, etc. The fluids themselves are not modeled according to fluid dynamics.

3) Kind of a dumb question, but would there be a way to load the aircraft in such a manner to make it unstable in certain flight characteristics? (flying forward with tail heavy tendency makes it harder to lower the nose and accellerate, a means to adjust tail heavy a/c to nose heavy)

I don’t think you can configure the aircraft for instability. However, damaging the airframe can be fun.
__________________
EvilBivol-1
Online Community Manager
source

08-24-2008, 08:22 PM
Free fall bombs are wAFMed [weapon Advanced Flight Modelled]. I’m not sure if the same is true for the individual bomblets of the KMGU dispenser or cluster bombs, but I do not believe so. Will test and get back to you.

UPDATE: I ran a test, but couldn’t reach a 100% conclusion. However, it looks like each bomblet may be wAFMed afterall, because your helicopter’s trajectory during release definitely affects their dispersion pattern. In most cases, the difference isn’t large, because you will typically release from a relatively low altitude, but it is there. Again though, without a definitive answer from Yo-Yo, I’m not sure.

All bombs simply explode on impact.
__________________
EvilBivol-1
Online Community Manager
source

08-30-2008, 02:16 AM
In regards to trees – next engine, as mentioned previously. Making trees solid is just too impractical in the current engine.
__________________
EvilBivol-1
Online Community Manager
source

08-22-2008, 06:40 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by thamuff
Has the decision been made about any digital distribution, Steam etc?

While we have been talking with Valve/Steam, no final decision has been made.
__________________
Matt Wagner
Producer, TFC/Eagle Dynamics
source

08-22-2008, 06:41 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poko24
So good to hear. How is the english manual?

Pretty much done, just little edits here and there. Once the game goes into duplication, we will probably release it for free.
__________________
Matt Wagner
Producer, TFC/Eagle Dynamics
source

08-22-2008, 07:57 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by patricio_z
Can anyone point me to the thread where the specs of this [Producer's notes] system are mentioned??

Thanks for the update!

E6850 @ 3.0 GHz
2 GB RAM
8800 GTX
XP SP2

Nothing overclocked

Video recorded at default HIGH settings with FRAPS.
__________________
Matt Wagner
Producer, TFC/Eagle Dynamics
source

08-22-2008, 04:53 PM
Today we will be downloading Build 50 which is code frozen for the Russian version except for any critical issues or crashes found in final testing. The primary issue that remains for the western version is to complete the German, French and Spanish localizations (these will all reside on a single DVD). It has been a long haul but we are getting close.
__________________
Matt Wagner
Producer, TFC/Eagle Dynamics
source

DCS – Producer’s Note 2 – ABRIS GPS System

Webmaster Ross — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:45:20 +0000

Here is the second Producer Note for the upcoming DCS:Blackshark combat helicopter simulator. This second video shows the insane depth of detail in the onboard GPS system. I like the fact that you can designate areas as no-fire or fire-zones and send them to your wingmates, and these can be preloaded in the mission editor.

Part 1:

Part 2:

DCS – Producer’s Note 1 – startup

Webmaster Ross — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:44:16 +0000

DCS Producer ‘Matt Wagner’ has been posting video previews of the KA-50 Blackshark simulator that is due to be released this year (2008).
This first video is the startup video, which showcases the insane level of detail in the avionics system.

Part 1:

Part 2:

The hi-res single-file 433MB downloadable video is available here (free registration required):
DCS file downloads