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The Phantom is coming!

YES! DCS is the perfect platform for a new, superior version of this jet. I have flown several iterations of it in FSX and P3D, but was always left wanting more. With the combo of systems fidelity, sound, graphics, and great VR performance, this jet will be next level in DCS. I can't wait!
 
That video has me salivating. The image of the AB’s kicking in brought me back. I can remember sitting number one and watching the afterburners of the aircraft taking off lighting off. I remember once sitting in a line to takeoff. There was a drizzling rain. Every time a jet would take off the afterburners would dry the runway behind it. Then the rain would wet it again. I watched this happen two or three times before it was our turn to takeoff.
 
F-4 fits in well with some of the adversary jets, Mig-21, Mig-19 etc.

I will just have to shelve my hope that one day someone will make the F-111 for DCS to the same level of detail that Heatblur made their Tomcat. :jump:
 
centuryseries said:
F-4 fits in well with some of the adversary jets, Mig-21, Mig-19 etc.

I will just have to shelve my hope that one day someone will make the F-111 for DCS to the same level of detail that Heatblur made their Tomcat. :jump:
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I wouldn't be too quick to shelve that dream.
 
centuryseries said:
F-4 fits in well with some of the adversary jets, Mig-21, Mig-19 etc.

I will just have to shelve my hope that one day someone will make the F-111 for DCS to the same level of detail that Heatblur made their Tomcat. :jump:
Click to expand...


Indeed, the F-111 would be awesome to see. Never say never.
 
FlameOut said:
I saw this yesterday and was waiting for Phantom88 to spring the news; it's going to be great!
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Sorry Friends...been out of town with limited internet....The Phantom being made by Heatblur is a Dream come True!!! I was hoping to get a Naval version first...but happy to know one will be in The Pipeline
 
Phantom88 said:

Heatblur's Facebook
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Very nice pic of a change of generation. What's seriously missing is the deck crew. I'd love to see the Forrestal getting the Supercarrier treatment. Add-in the numbers of the Saratoga, Ranger and Independence, and sell it as "Supercarrier 2" - I'd buy it in a heartbeat - especially since we have the A-4 present as a freeware and A-6, A-7, F-8 on the line.
While we're at it, a late-Essex Ticonderoga class "Supercarrier 3" with an A-1 on the line would be my dream come true.
 

Some News from Stormbirds Article
https://stormbirds.blog/2022/10/29/an-update-on-the-dcs-f-4-phantom/

Heatblur have been very quiet about the DCS: F-4 Phantom. This has been by design as Heatblur CEO Nicholas Dackard aka Cobra8472, has said a few times in public that the team wouldn’t be showing off too much until they were close to release. I would imagine that Heatblur’s excellent PR machine would kick into high gear when the time comes. With a release date originally intended for 2022, many of you may be wondering where Heatblur and the DCS: F-4 Phantom is at as we head into the last 8-weeks of 2022. Fortunately, we have a little update that you might want to read so let’s have a look!
Phantom in progress

For some DCS World fans, the F-4 Phantom has long been on the wishlist and the news that Heatblur was doing it was an instant hit for nearly everyone. Their excellent work on the AJS-37 and F-14 Tomcat have put Heatblur up at the forefront of DCS World module development. With very little news on the development to go by, any news is big news for this module and we do have some.
Responding to a question on the r/Hoggit Reddit group, Cobra 8472 had quite a bit to say about how the project has been going and some of the unexpected challenges that have impacted the team over the last several months.
Here’s what was said:
Release dates and our timelines are frequently memed here; sometimes for good reason, but we made our 2022 announcement with extreme confidence at the start of the year. This was based in having already spent a year developing the Phantom and growing our team into a full-time, professional outfit. We’re spending a lot of money developing our DCS modules, past and present currently and no-one wants to release our next flagship earlier than me, trust me on that.

No measure of good planning could have predicted a huge chunk of our art production manpower to disappear overnight due to Russia invading Ukraine, and that I would be out of action for two months due to a family tragedy. To say it’s been a tough and outright chaotic year is an understatement and a half. We’ve increased spending significantly and hired more people than planned this year to make up for lost time, but even at a full sprint and standing on the gaspedal only gets you so far. A benefit to this is of course that we’ll be better equipped to tackle future challenges.

Apologies for the “non-answer” as to a specific timeline update, the situation remains dynamic enough for me to avoid offering a public committal. We’re burning the candle at both ends to revert to the intended timeline. The power grid situation in Ukraine just this week is yet another factor that just popped up, uncertainty is ever-present currently.

To offer some detail on the Phantom itself- it’s that we are working to make DCS: F-4E a step up in every way. We’re going deeper and more detailed than we have ever done before, across both core and base systems (hyd, electrical, etc.) all the way to the frontend (Radar, JESTER v2, etc.). For our next slew of aircraft we’ve developed our “NextGen” core- which completely revamped every single part of our codebase and we’re developing to a diligence and detail that is quite novel. We want to go beyond the F-14 and further ourselves and our products as much as economically feasible.

Overall, and most importantly, thank you for the interest and being excited though.

No matter how tough this year has been- getting a legendary module of a legendary aircraft in your hands is all the motivation we need to power through.
At the moment, if you go on the, DCS: F-4E is still listed under 2022 so its a possibility but with just eight weeks to go, it does feel like a stretch to me. That may be overly pessimistic but after years of watching DCS module releases and paying close attention to groups like Heatblur, this is a project that probably won’t see a release until it’s feeling good. DCS: F-14 saw lots of post release development but it was already feeling really good even on day one which was impressive to say the least.​
 

Update

Dear All,

The Heatblur Simulations team and our wonderful partners at TrueGrit would like to wish you a successful and joyful 2023! Have a great new year, full of joy, great times and awesome sim experiences. 2023 is a big year for Heatblur, and we’re grateful that you’re along for the ride. It’s going to be a great one!
We’ve just wrapped up a very tough 2022. From a personal standpoint for many of our team, with personal tragedies and the invasion of Ukraine taking its toll on us and our timelines. Despite this, we look back at 2022 with pride. We’ve seen tremendous growth in capability and size, forged new partnerships and shipped features and improvements throughout the year. While still playing catch-up; we’re right back on track on finishing the first of our next generation of high fidelity simulation experiences, starting with the F-4E Phantom II and leading towards the Eurofighter Typhoon.



While we missed our mark on the F-4E Phantom for a 2022 release; we’re now very close to full completion of all major elements: flight model, radar, weapons systems, and other key major systems- and even ancillary content as another full length Meteor album! You’ve seen a sneak-peek in the 2023 and beyond video, and we can’t wait to fully unveil the aircraft that we’ve built over the past two years. For the Phantom- and all of our new products- we’ve invested heavily into building our next generation platform and framework. This enables faster future development, intrinsic multithreading, more dependable multicrew synchronization, far less of a maintenance burden, and new standardized features such as wear & tear, aircraft persistence, mass dynamics, and far more.
In addition to this; we’ve also had our sights on JESTER v2, a complete rewrite of the JESTER AI system which will enable faster AI development and developer ease of use for integration in future aircraft such as the A-6.
On the Eurofighter front, we continue to lay the foundations of this module through application of our next generation framework. Soon, the majority of the work will remain in high level parts: radar, weapons systems, displays and flight control systems- all leaning and benefitting from the completed next generation core. As an incredibly complex aircraft and project, the Eurofighter will be a litmus test for our team to ensure quality and accuracy while avoiding excessive technical debt.
These considerations are key for a project of this scope and size, as we strive to minimize maintenance burden and excessive sustainment resources. You should expect to see much more Eurofighter development progress in 2023 as we begin to approach an early access release and feature completion level.




We also look towards 2023 with continued love for the Viggen and Tomcat. We capped off the year with another major Viggen patch, and now set our sights on another round of additions to both products. We’re working hard to get on target on the early F-14A, which remains the largest piece of the F-14 yet undelivered, among of course other outstanding and promised features, such as TARPS or FORGE. Further Viggen improvements are slated for the early part of this year as we continue product sustainment. It’s time to get rid of those Early Access tags and square these aircraft away.
Quality, consistency and pushing boundaries are our top priorities, and we’re as excited as ever for all that we’ve been cooking.
Stay tuned for the full Phantom unveiling and for other exciting announcements with new partners and beyond.
Thank you all once again for your dedicated support and passion.
That’s what drives and motivates us, and we’ll make sure your faith is well placed with each upcoming release.

Sincerely,
Team Heatblur




 
From F B
" Happy Easter from the Heatblur Team! A quick breather for our team this weekend as we push hard on all fronts. Thank you for all of your continued outpouring of support and enthusiasm throughout the early part of 2023!
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