DCS: World

UPDATE: 29.11.2013

One more update on the finished right side of the Centerpanel. Featuring: Weapon-Panel, Electric-Panel, Battery-panel and VCS-Panel . Thanks again for all your patience

The good news is that we have a F-15 pilot taking a very active role in helping us get the F-15C AFM just right. With his help, we are making great strides that we would not have made otherwise. The bad news is that with his input, we have identified several more areas that need adjustment, and that has required more time than we originally estimated. Once we and he are happy with it, it will be released soon afterwards.

Pre-alfa - Invierno-Primavera 2014 beta - sobre la primavera-verano de 2014 el lanzamiento en Octubre - 2014

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........

We anticipated November but encountered a 3 month delay, so that put's us at around February (anticipated).

That's about as close as I'm going to say right now.

Also having a few legal issues with calling the Hawk a "Hawk" so we might have to change the name. I was thinking "Talula", what do you think?

Chris

With the advance of the Hawk we are currently looking for an AFM programmer to join the team.

The person must have excellent engineering background knowledge of flight dynamics and be able to code proficiently in C#

Applications should be made by email to ells@veaosimulations.co.uk with a CV or resume of your experience.

Interviews will be held online and a fair selection process will be undertaken.

More details will be given upon receipt of the application.

Many thanks,
Chris.

Good morning everyone,

Let's look at a couple of cockpits today.

First, here's the much more complete P-47 cockpit. Not in-engine yet, but getting there.







And then, we're very proud to show a very early work-in-progress of the pinnacle of our kickstarter campaign, the cockpit for the flyable Me.262!

A little F-15C AFM update - 7 December 2013

We've been hard at work on the new advanced flight model for the F-15C and each day we are getting a little closer. Unlike past AFM projects, this one has been a little different because of the characteristics of the Control Augmentation System (CAS). In particular how yaw, pitch and roll are blended under different flight conditions. In fact, to better help debug the system, we now have the ability to manually toggle each of the three CAS channels off and on (as indicated on the caution and warning panel). The flight characteristic differences are quite dramatic! Before this could happen though, there was a lot of tuning of the center of gravity of the aircraft. This has a huge affect on pitch and takeoff/landing performance. We are now at the stage of tuning the CAS blending to give the DCS Eagle its unique feel based on feedback from our Eagle driver SME and a large number of performance benchmarks. In fact, our F-15 SME had commented that the DCS F-15C has superior flight modeling in many ways to the 3 million dollar trainer. I think many of you will be quite surprised how maneuverable the Eagle can be at slow speeds and high angles of attacks. With the huge rudders, it can perform all sorts of awesome at slow speeds using a lot of rudder input. We've also added separate wheel brake axis this week for the Eagle.

In several ways, this work will act as a foundation for future DCS aircraft AFMs.

As mentioned in an earlier message though, this work has equated to more time and this project will not be ready in time to be released with the 1.2.7 update. However, we think the additional work / time will be well worth the wait.

In regards to AFM, this is how we generally define it:

The aircraft's dynamics are always calculated on the basis of the same physics equations describing translational and rotational motion of a solid body under the influence of external forces and moments disregarding the nature of their origin.

The center-of-gravity can change its location within the speed axis system.

When calculating aerodynamics characteristics, the plane is represented as a combination of airframe components (fuselage, outer wing panel, stabilizer, etc). Separate calculations of aerodynamics characteristics are performed for each of the above named components in the entire range of local angles of attack and sliding (including super-critical), local dynamic pressure and Mach number taking into consideration deviation and grade of destruction of control instruments and some airframe components.

This is the basic definition, but not limited to, what we use to define a DCS aircraft with an AFM. Further detail can be added to include dynamic engine operation, sub-system modeling, fluid dynamics, and damage modeling. None of this must equate to a mouse-clickable cockpit. As such, the definition of an AFM can be a bit broad and encompass products ranging from the the Su-25T to the A-10C.


Matt

DCS: UH-1H Huey
Corrected missions for UN Pilot campaign.
Added M134 minigun as door gun option.
Added new M134 and M60 payload icons in the ME payload editor menu.
Implemented AI fire control logic for left pilot, left and right door gunners.
Added hint indicator for status and ROE setting of AI gunners.
Implemented countermeasures (flare dispenser) system.
Implemented external sling model and hooking assist system.
Implemented correct throttle model including ignition, STOP, IDLE, and IDLE RELEASE functionality.
Implemented “hot start” dynamics as a result of throttle mismanagement during engine start (WIP).
Corrected main rotor shaft assembly tilt angle.
Corrected collective control animation of the main rotor assembly (WIP).
Visual cyclic and collective pitch angles of the rotor blades now derived from FM data rather than raw control settings.
Fixed flight model bug causing erroneous “warping” in translational lift.
Cockpit doors can now be opened/closed with mouse click over the door handles.
Added seatbelts to pilot 3D models.
Added new door gunner human 3D models.
Added recoil visual effect when firing M60 and M134 door guns.
Implemented airframe configuration panel in the UH-1H Helicopter Group menu of the ME to control setting of external hardpoints, IR suppression kit, engine lifespan.
Fixed and updated Elbrus Rescue mission.
Changed the logic of door gunner commands so that the “3” and “4” keys affect left and right door gunners, respectively.*
Added “External Cargo” input category.*

*Changes in input commands require resetting input profiles to new default settings. To do so, delete (or rename if you wish to keep a backup) the saved input configuration folders (files) located in \WINDOWS DRIVE\User\User Name\Saved Games\DCS\Config\Input\UH-1H\.

Note: As a preliminary change log, the list below may be added to and/or items removed prior to release.

DCS World
Improved network play stability.
Track file are now automatically created when a crash is detected. In order to help the team find and correct MP issues that we are not always in position to produce during testing, 1.2.7 introduces the writing of tracks even when the game crashes. These tracks can be provided to the testers and developers in order to reproduce the conditions that caused the crash and correct it. This feature is a big step towards solving possible future and current problems that are often difficult to hunt down. When playing on a server and you experience a crash, put up an MP crash post and include that track in your post. Same thing goes for server owners.
CBU-87/103. Decreased the count of graphic effects for improving FPS.
ECM effectiveness against air defense systems has been significantly increased.
Adjust Control window for in-game input adjustment were added. Adjust Control button can be find in the system panel by pressing ESC.
VHF AM radio frequencies now correctly increased by 10 Mhz.
The input modifiers are separated for each input layer (for each aircraft).
Corrected night detection ranges of ground units with IR sensors.
Reworked the Dynamic Launch Zone (DLZ) of SAMs. It will now take to account the target’s data instead of the earlier fixed zone.
Kh-25ML (AS-10) new flight dynamics implemented.
Increased explosive mass to all HE rounds. Explosive now mass equals the round mass. This was decided because HE rounds lack fragmentation and were very weak on regards to proximity damage.
R-27R/T, R-27ER/ET. Corrected drag and lift. Adjusted DLZ data.
Corrected a far LOD of projectile's green tracer.
Added engine smoke for most aircraft.
Added SAM launchers elevation above target LOS. To preventing the missile crashing to surface when target flying very low the SAMs will be launch missiles slightly above LOS of SAM to target.
Added AI MQ-9 Reaper.
Changed Tu-22M3 payloads. If you have custom payloads of Tu-22M3 please delete custom file C:\Users\<USER NAME>\Saved Games\DCS\MissionEditor\UnitPayloads\Tu-22M3.lua to prevent conflict.
Added new GBU-31(V)3 penetrating bomb.
AIM-9M/P, MIM-72G. Decreased lift and drag factors.
Spanish squadrons added to the log book.
AGM-84E changed warhead type from blast-fragmentation to penetration.
Added new Su-33 model.
Bombs are now visually loaded into the bomb-bays for the B-52, B-1B, and Tu-22.
B-52 and B-1B now have CAS tasks.
Support for Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 stick is now working again for all modules. Tuning is ongoing.
Support for Logitech G940 FFB stick is now working again for all modules except Mi-8MTV2 rudder trim. Tuning is ongoing. You must set FFB shake in the FFB Tune Menu to 100%.
Adjusted valid store options for A-10A:
Added: AGM-65H – Station 3 & 9 on LAU-117 and LAU-88 (2 and 3 each).
Added AGM-65G – Station 3 & 9 on LAU-117.
Added LAU-131 – Stations 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10.
Added LAU-68 - Stations 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10.
Added MK-82/MK-82AIR – Option to load on TER for stations 3, 4, 8, 9.
Added BDU-33 – TERs on stations 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Added BDU-50LD/HD on all stations.
Made ALQ-131 – available on both 1 & 11.
Made AIM-9M/P – available on both 1 & 11.
Added 600 US GAL drop tank – Station 4, 6, & 8
Added ALQ-184 - Stations 1 and 11.
Removed LAU-61 – all stations.
Removed Mk-20 Rockeye – all stations.
Removed AGM-65K – LAU-88 option for station 3 & 9.
Adjusted valid stores for A-10C:
Added STN 6 weapons as STN 5 & 7, minus JDAM/WCMD. TER authorised on STN 6 for BDU-33 only.
Added ALQ-131 – available on both 1 & 11.
Added ALQ-184 - Stations 1 and 11.
Adjuted valid stores for F-5E:
Added LAU-68 – Stations 3, 4, 5, & 6.
Adjusted valid stores for F-15E:
Added AGM-65G – Station 2 & 18.
GBU-31(V)3/B – Stations 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18 only.
GBU-31(V)1/B - Stations 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18 only.
MK-84 - Stations 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18 only.
GBU-10 - Stations 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18 only.
GBU-27 - Stations 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18 only.
Removed AIM-120 from stations 7, 9, 11, 13 (can only be carried on MELs where CFTs are removed).
Removed AIM-7 from stations 7, 9, 11, 13 (can only be carried on MELs where CFTs are removed).
Adjusted valid stores for F-16A (USAF) – Assumed Block 15OCU:
Added AGM-65H –Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117 and LAU-88 (max of 2 per LAU-8, Station 4 & 7 LAU-117.
Added AGM-65D - Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117 and LAU-88 (max of 2 per LAU-8, Station 4 & 7 LAU-117.
Added AIM-7 – Station 3 & 8.
Added Mk-82AIR – Station 3, 4, 7, and 8 as singles and on TERs.
Added ALQ-184 - Stations 6.
AGM-119B – Station 3, 4, 7 & 8.
Removed AGM-88 – Not carried by the A model.
Removed AIM-120C - Not carried by the A model.
Removed AGM-154C - Not carried by the A model.
Removed GBU-12 - Not carried by the A model.
Removed GBU-10 - Not carried by the A model.
Removed LANTIRN - Not carried by the A model.
Removed AGM-65E - Not carried by the A model.
Removed AGM-65K - Not carried by the A model.
Adjusted valid stores for F-16A-MLU:
Added AGM-65H –Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117 and LAU-88 (max of 2 per LAU-8, Station 4 & 7 LAU-117.
Added AGM-65D - Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117 and LAU-88 (max of 2 per LAU-8, Station 4 & 7 LAU-117.
Added AGM-65G - Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117, Station 4 & 7 on LAU-117.
Added AGM-65K - Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117, Station 4 & 7 on LAU-117.
Added Mk-82AIR – Station 3, 4, 7, and 8 as singles and on TERs.
Added GBU-38 - Station 3, 4, 7, and 8.
Added GBU-31(V)1/B - Station 3, 4, 7, and 8.
Added GBU-12 – TER (2 only) on stations 3 & 8.
Added LITENING II – Station 5R.
Added AGM-119B – Station 3, 4, 7 & 8.
Added AGM-154C - Station 3 & 8.
Removed LANTIRN – MLUs upgraded for SNIPER/LITENING.
Removed MK-20 Rockeye.
Removed AGM-65E.
Removed AIM-9P.
Adjusted valid stores for F-16C Block 52:
Added AGM-65H –Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117 and LAU-88 (max of 2 per LAU-8, Station 4 & 7 LAU-117.
Added AGM-65D - Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117 and LAU-88 (max of 2 per LAU-8, Station 4 & 7 LAU-117.
Added AGM-65G - Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117, Station 4 & 7 on LAU-117.
Added AGM-65K - Station 3 & 8 on LAU-117, Station 4 & 7 on LAU-117.
Added Mk-82AIR – Station 3, 4, 7, and 8 as singles and on TERs.
Added GBU-38 - Station 3, 4, 7, and 8.
Added GBU-31(V)1/B - Station 3, 4, 7, and 8.
Added GBU-31(V)3/B - Station 3, 4, 7, and 8.
Added CBU-103 WCMD - Station 3, 4, 7, and 8.
Added CBU-105 WCMD - Station 3, 4, 7, and 8.
Added GBU-12 – TER (2 only) on stations 3 & 8.
Added GBU-27 - Station 3, 4, 7, and 8.
Added LITENING II – Station 5R.
Added ALQ-184 - Stations 6.
AGM-154C - Station 3 & 8 only.
AGM-88 - Station 3 & 8 only.
Added 600 US GAL drop tank. Station 4 & 7 (cleared for ferry flights only)
Removed LANTIRN – No longer in service, replaced by SNIPER/LITENING for current block aircraft.
Removed MK-20 Rockeye – No longer in service – replaced by CBU-87/97 on current blocks.
Removed AGM-65E.
Removed AGM-65K – LAU-88 option for station 3 & 8.
Adjusted valid stores for F/A-18C:
Added AGM-65G – LAU-117 on Station 2 & 8 (as stand-in for AGM-65F).
Added GBU-38 - Station 2, 3, 7, and 8.
Added GBU-31(V)1/B - Station 2, 3, 7, and 8. (as stand-in for GBU-31(V)2/B)
Added GBU-31(V)3/B - Station 2, 3, 7, and 8. (as stand-in for GBU-31(V)4/B)
Added MK-82 – Single on Station 2, 3, 7, and 8.
Added MK-82 – TERs on Station 2, 3, 7, and 8.
Added Mk-82AIR – Single on Station 2, 3, 7, and 8.
Added MK-82AIR – TERs on Station 2, 3, 7, and 8.
Added MK-82AIR – VERs on Station 2, 3, 7, and 8.
Added LAU-68 – Station 2, 3, 7, & 8.
Added LITENING II – On station 5 (used by USMC).
AGM-65D – Not used by USN/USMC.
AGM-65K – Not used by USN/USMC.
Adjusted valid stores for Tornado GR4:
Added GBU-27 – Station 9 & 4 (as stand-in for Enhanced Paveway III).
Added GBU-12 – 5, 6, 7, & 8 (as stand-in for Paveway IV).
Added LITENING – Station 5.
Removed BL-755 – No longer in service, not carried by GR4 (GR1 only).
ALARM – Remove from station 2 & 11 – not carried on these stations, ALARM launchers which mirror the SRAAM launchers on the wing root stations are not modeled.
Adjusted valid store options for the B-1B:
Added: Mk-84, CBU-87, CBU-97, GBU-31, GBU-31(V)3/B, GBU-38.


DCS: Black Shark 2
Reworked the 4th mission of Deployment campaign. Changed insurgents force, some vehicles, AFAC task, added some explosions, etc.
Corrected 8th mission of Deployment campaign. Closest airdromes assigned to red coalition.
Flaming Cliffs 3
Corrected EOS scan volume and removed gyro-stabilization. The EOS in FC3 is based on the MiG-29 that does not include an elevation adjustment function.
For Russian aircraft TWS, a 3 seconds delay has been added before autolock to allow the pilot time to move the TDC off the target before autolock occurs. In such a case, the autolock feature is disabled until mode reset or break lock function (backspace) is activated.
F-15C Track While Scan (TWS) mode will now center elevation scan on the PDT.
Several A-10A switches have had their position set to on: PAC Switch, Inverter Switch, AC Gen Switches, Radar Altimeter Switch, Anti Skid Switch, Fuel Boost Pump Switch, and Engine Fuel Flow Switches.
A-10A. Maverick lock ranges have been corrected (including SA-9/Strela).
A-10A. CBU CCIP and CCRP impact point corrected.

DCS: A-10C Warthog
Added 2 new, fictions Canadian skins: RCAF 409 Squadron and RCAF 442 Snow Scheme.
Aircraft can once again receive a complete aerial refueling transfer.
TACAN dial controls have been corrected.
Command bars now working correctly during an ILS approach.
The liquid oxygen regulator is no longer dependent on electrical power.
The ADI pointers have been corrected as well as the pitch steering bar stow function.
Added mouse-clickable mirrors that allow them to be stowed or un-stowed.
Corrected data when entering altitudes in the CDU and altitude alerts; the numbers changed when entered in the system.

DCS: Mi-8MTV2 Magnificent Eight
Added Mi-8 Spring Tension campaign EN and RU. Beta.

DCS: P-51D Mustang
Added Israeli skin by Mario “Markindel”.

DCS: UH-1H Huey
Corrected missions for UN Pilot campaign.
Added M134 minigun as door gun option.
Added new M134 and M60 payload icons in the ME payload editor menu.
Implemented AI fire control logic for left pilot, left and right door gunners.
Added hint indicator for status and ROE setting of AI gunners.
Implemented countermeasures (flare dispenser) system.
Implemented external sling model and hooking assist system.
Implemented correct throttle model including ignition, STOP, IDLE, and IDLE RELEASE functionality.
Implemented “hot start” dynamics as a result of throttle mismanagement during engine start (WIP).
Corrected main rotor shaft assembly tilt angle.
Corrected collective control animation of the main rotor assembly (WIP).
Visual cyclic and collective pitch angles of the rotor blades now derived from FM data rather than raw control settings.
Fixed flight model bug causing erroneous “warping” in translational lift.
Cockpit doors can now be opened/closed with mouse click over the door handles.
Added seatbelts to pilot 3D models.
Added new door gunner human 3D models.
Added recoil visual effect when firing M60 and M134 door guns.
Implemented airframe configuration panel in the UH-1H Helicopter Group menu of the ME to control setting of external hardpoints, IR suppression kit, engine lifespan.
Fixed and updated Elbrus Rescue mission.
Changed the logic of door gunner commands so that the “3” and “4” keys affect left and right door gunners, respectively.*
Added “External Cargo” input category.*

*Changes in input commands require resetting input profiles to new default settings. To do so, delete (or rename if you wish to keep a backup) the saved input configuration folders (files) located in \WINDOWS DRIVE\User\User Name\Saved Games\DCS\Config\Input\UH-1H\.

DCS World
New and improved ship wakes.

Friday Development Update - December 13, 2013 - One week of work
6 comments Liked 29 likes
Well, today's update is a little different in tone. As opposed to showing exciting new things, we're going to try for a much more intimate look at the day to day work that goes into the project.

Let's look at the Me.262 cockpit one more time, one week later.

If you just look at the screenshots below and compare them to last week’s, your first impression might be, what? Where’s the beef?







Well, you have to look closer.

Compared to last week’s, the cockpit is a lot more complete. Most importantly, we now have the fully articulated stick. We now have both complete pedals instead of a single placeholder. The entire cockpit tub is there. There are new large objects on both sides, and smaller objects all around.

Still, you might say, an entire week of worth for that? Are you guys putting in the hours?

Oh yes we are.

First of all, there’s the time needed to ensure the accuracy. We’re not just looking at a blurry photo and trying to kind of sort of make a gizmo that looks like that thingamajig by the pilot’s right knee. We’re going off of original manufacturer’s blueprints and measuring and cross-checking every element. That takes time and that takes skill.

For things that are animated, playing around with the range of motion is also time-consuming. For example, the stick can move around in many different ways, has other moving things attached to it, and so on. We need to play around with all of that too and make sure it’s right.

Finally, everything you see gets mapped during the modeling process. Not a DCS requirement, just this modeler’s individual preference. We have strict texture scale and size requirements. Everything is in 1:1 scale, which adds extra work to texture mapping. So, screenshotting, measuring, and arranging all the objects on the textures like a giant free-form jigsaw puzzle from hell, that’s a lot of additional effort that cannot be accurately shown on screenshots.

And so, this is the day-to-day of DCS WWII development. Slow, steady process that requires patience and dedication to make sure all the details remain as accurate as possible, and no corners are ever cut.

Hi everyone,
Work goes on with adding all missing instruments and details to the cockpit.
Please understand I'm at the 3D job now, textures will come later.

Christmas Update 20.12.2013

Centerpanel nearing completion. Just the "UHF" left. Screenshots featuring the IFF (STR-2000), VHF/FM and the Doppler-Panel. Sorry for the creeping state of work but I have only time in the evening

Aries Wings Consulting an me had a discussion on how to solve the IFF-Code stuff for 100% usage of the IFF-Transponser. An Idea was to develope an IFF-Code Generator for RED and Blue.

In the holidays I decided to start texturing the exterior model...screens will follow

I wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year

We wish all of our supporter and DCS player a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year.

We are still working hard our MiG-21 at this time too. As a small present below you can see the 99% finalized cockpit game test screens. (Notice the dynamic shadow/lights in the cockpit illumination).

Centerpanel update.

Centerpanel is finished and features the UHF-Panel.
On a closer look I recognize that I missed modeling the Ventilation panel. Besides, the floor texture have to be adjusted . Shame on me.

Happy Holidays from Coretex Designs! (WIP Paint Scheme)


Minor Update
Paint schemes are being worked on. We're in the process of re-vamping panel lines, rivets, and weathering.
Weapons systems are being scripted, and modeled.
An additional programmer has joined Coretex Designs. This will increase workflow, and productivity.

DCS 1.2.7 Update 1 - Change Log
Corrected problem when jumping from an aircraft to a ground unit (Combined Arms).
Corrected crash caused by reloading of rockets in the Mi-8MTV2.
Corrected debriefing window translation error for "All".
Corrected radio items only being added after switching to a new unit.
Corrected missing airfield names in client landing messages.
Corrected dual GBU-12 loading for the F-16.
Corrected Radio Menu not being available for the A-10C and Ka-50.
Removed the toe brake axis assignments for the F-15C. These will return with the updated F-15C.
Corrected an error in the Mi-8MTV2 campaign.
Corrected the Mi-8MTV2 SPUU-52 zero indication.
Corrected SPUU-52 circuit break connection for the Mi-8MTV2.
Corrected UH-1H damage model zones.
Corrected inability to disable the controller indication for the UH-1H and Mi-8MTV2. Set in Options / Special.
Mi-8MTV2 rudder trim now working for the Logitech G940 FFB stick.
Corrected activation keys for Flaming Cliffs 3.
Corrected anti-radiation missiles from detonating right after launch.
Corrected crash that could result from closing the Mission Editor in certain conditions.
Corrected crash that could possibly result from closing the simulation from the taskbar.
The Ka-50 Shkval display renders smoke again.
Su-25 and A-10A registry serials are now fixed.
Mi-8. Animation of stick cover has been corrected. Added curtain to the door, texture of seats, bolts to the stick, a cover to the bomb sight, and corrected textures of IR suppression devices. Corrected several additional textures.
Added Mi-8MTV2 country skins for France and Germany.
R-73. Slightly decreased drag and lift.
R-27 series. Slightly decreased drag.
Corrected F-16A MLU skins.
UH-1H. Updated flight dynamics.
Corrected bug that could result that AI aircraft will no longer take defensive action against incoming missiles.
Fixed bug with stuttering of FPS that was disappearing with mouse button press.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy New Year, Io Saturnalia, С Новым Годом и Рождеством – whatever you’re celebrating, hope your new year brings you lots of joy and happy new experiences!

For us, 2014 is looking to be a momentous year. We’re working hard to make sure we release a solid new title next year, a title that will thrive in 2015, 2016, and beyond.

Most of our employees are based in Russia or in the former Soviet Union. The wonderful thing for employees, and a horrible thing for employers, is the fact that most of those countries are officially off from December 31st to January 10th. People in that part of the world love to celebrate the New Year, and they celebrate hard. Many businesses do not return to full working capacity for another week or two after the official holidays end, but we are of course different. Some of our employees are even planning to work from home over the holidays to ensure deadlines, but that’s purely their personal choice. I as a project manager obviously cannot ask anyone to do that unless it’s their own personal choice.

Having said that, we probably won’t have any significant work done on the project for the fateful 11-day period.

December was a difficult month for me personally with some unexpected events jumping out when least expected. One of our employees ended up in the hospital. Russian healthcare being what it is, waiting for the ambulance for two and a half ours almost led to a bigger tragedy. Not one but two of our married employees had their wives end up in the hospital.

Finally, another valuable team member slipped on the ice but thankfully his face broke the fall. He now looks like a B-movie monster, and has to continue modeling with one eye swollen shut. Finally, I know many of you are very concerned about the state of kickstarter rewards fulfillment system. The work has not been progressing nearly as fast as we needed. We’re still not there. Including paypal with kickstarter ended up adding a huge layer of complexity because we can no longer just use kickstarter’s features. Programming everything together, bringing the lists of kickstarter and paypal backers, and integrating it with DCS forums and other site features just turned out to be a nightmare. At this point, it almost seems like it would have been easier for me to manually do the reward surveys via email or something basic like that. At this point, looks like the roll-out is not going to happen until at least the end of January 2014. For this I sincerely apologize. I should have planned this out better. In hindsight, I should have stuck with kickstarter alone.

Anyway, I was really hoping to end 2013 with a bang: a couple of screenshots of the Bf.109 cockpit in-engine, flying around, and we still have a couple of days left in the year. If that does not happen, we’ll do a consolation update on the 31st.

For now, here’s the current state of the P-47 cockpit. Looking to be completed by late January.

We’re actually well ahead of schedule on cockpits with the project, which I guess is the best news I have to offer at the end of 2013.

Time for a new year's update on the L-39. Work has been continuing, even without status updates to this topic, so no need to worry about this project being on hold.

Hydraulic System Implemented
Main and Emergency Hydraulic Circuits
Main Hydraulic Pump Pressurization from engine bleed air
Interconnect Valving and logic
Hydraulic pressure consumers: Gear, Gear Doors, Flaps, Ram Air Turbine, Wheel brakes, Speed brakes (main system only)
Emergency Extension Levers for Gear, Flaps, and Ram Air Turbine
Emergency Brake Lever

Miscellaneous
Random failures code was started, but has been put on hold for now
Fixed several major bugs (for ex: Engine would shut off during air starts)

Advanced Flight Model
Tweaks to Yaw Stability and Rudder Effectiveness

Advanced Turbofan Engine Model
I began work on this new fully dynamic engine model back in October, but it has not been implemented into the simulator at this point, so many things are still subject to change. However, I thought I would pass along some details about the planned features of this new turbofan engine model for the L-39. So far, I have written the entire engine model into a standalone program that runs at the same frequency as the DCS flight model and reads my throttle inputs in real time to simulate realistic dynamic conditions. I also view the output of the engine conditions in real time in several performance graphs.
Improved Thermodynamic Model that accounts for enthalpy changes across each subsection of the engine given inefficiencies and current dynamic conditions
Inertial Twin Spool Rotor Modeling
Aerodynamic blade drag for each compressor/turbine stage
Fuel Governor with a simple control algorithm to maintain sufficient fuel pressure at varying altitudes and airspeeds
Compressor/Turbine Efficiency Curves based on airflow and rotor speed
Two Anti-Surge Bleed Valves affect performance of the engine in the specified ranges for the L-39
Combustion efficiency dependent on Fuel/Air ratio
Air-starter Modeling of initial engine spool up
Light-off produces correct RPM acceleration and combustion allows for self-sustaining idle conditions
etc.

An example output from a slam acceleration/deceleration test in an early version of engine and fuel controller.

Happy new year to you all.
A little video to show cockpit at night with and without NVG.
https://youtu.be/TnkPYG1qYLI

There has been a number of topics posted here and there about IRIS and our work on the DCS: World platform over the last year or so, some truthful, and some that I've seen from community members which borders on outright misinformation.
So I thought it prudent to clarify a few things 'from the horses mouth' so to speak.
Are you still developing aircraft x/y/z for DCS?
Yes, a resounding yes. Unless you hear something to the contrary from myself directly or The Fighter Collection, we are 100% invested in DCS: World as a simulation platform.
Why do I see lots of FSX and Prepar3D content and nothing for DCS?
Quite simply because we do more work in our FSX line than we do on DCS. Our developments for FSX and Prepar3D pay the monthly bills and keep the business running. Without that income, we would not be able to fund development on the DCS platform. This situation was outlined to The Fighter Collection right from the outset and was a condition of our development for the platform.
Why aren't you showing a/b/c plane any more
During development, Eagle Dynamics have worked hard with the 3rd Party Developers and are constantly changing and updating the core platform to best suit the needs of customers and 3rd party developers. Sometimes these changes result in us having to re-evaluate our product plans and subject matter. In all honesty, sometimes during the development cycle, we realise that we've picked up a subject matter we just don't have the technical expertise to complete at that time.
It's been x months and you've got nothing to show
Yes, often that's true. This is either due to the fact that we have to periodically shift focus onto other platforms for internal reasons or sometimes it's just that we have nothing new to show off. The DCS workload is a significant increase than what we're used to in other platforms. It's a steep learning curve for us, and well, sometimes that just means things are slow.
What happened to the BD-5J, will you still release that?
The BD-5J reached a certain point and we felt that our time was better spent working on other airframes instead. I had investigated the option of releasing what we had free to the market, but after discussing with the team, we felt that the quality of a proof of concept aircraft such as the BD-5 would be counter productive.
How's things going with the T-38C?
The principle modeler of the T-38C has taken a leave of absence to concentrate on furthering his education, something we are 100% behind. Until he returns, the T-38C will remain on hold, however we do have another project lined up for the DCS platform.
What is it?!?
Learning from previous mistakes of being a little over-enthusiastic in our announcements, we're not saying currently. We will of course work in the background as we have done for many months now, taking what we've learned and applying it to what we're currently working on.
Rest assured that when the time is right, we'll be sure to let you all know!