"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve the internet links which have
connected them with another, and to assume among the powers
of the earth (Jane's, Microprose, DiD), the separate and
equal station to which the laws of the drag, thrust, and lift
entitle them, a decent respect in the news group opinions of
mankind requires that they should declare the causes which
impel them to flame each other. We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all pilots are created equal, that they
are endowed by their computer with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of patches"
With apologies to my American forefathers, you'd think we
live and die by these words. I have watched closely the
admiration and fervor caused since the initial release of
Jane's F-15. As someone who's taken a great interest in
this product, I have had the opportunity to learn it inside
and out.
Typically when a PC air combat simulation tries to address
the market known as "hard core", they run the risk of not
only alienating the casual user, they may also miss the
preconceptions of realism and accuracy that the avid
military enthusiast will be looking for. More than any
other PC-based military flight simulation to date, Jane's
F-15 has endeavored to meet the demands of both categories
of users. In doing so, they have created a product that has
set a benchmark for future sims to be compared against.
Did they get it perfect in the initial release? No, but I
have flown a million-dollar military F-16 simulator that
crashed so frequently we had to cut our stick time short
because it wouldn't come back on-line. By relative
comparison, Jane's F-15 is a true bargain in terms of the
level of immersion and sheer fun it brings to the civilian
sim pilot.
The recently released 1.12F patch for F-15 represents a
wealth of bug fixes, tweaks, and enhancements that should
quash the squeals of rabid sim fans. It also demonstrates
Jane's commitment to this product and its continued
livelihood. While my initial tests do not show the patch
perfectly fixes every item in its README file, the fixes
included in the patch make a robust simulation even better.
A concern during the interim between the introduction of
the initial product and the release of the patch was Jane's
reluctance (but later rectified) in communicating what was
happening with the F-15 patch process. CJ and Boomer did an
admirable job keeping the troops satisfied down the home
stretch, and I hope they take this key learning to their
next project.
While I appreciate the wealth of fixes included in 1.12F, I
would have preferred to see an earlier patch deal with the
more pressing bugs and the subsequent patch(es) endeavor to
resolve the lesser improvement and tweak issues. Tying all
these fixes into one package, while no doubt making it
easier on the Jane's development team, came at the cost of
the interest and goodwill among some of its customers. This
"super-patch" approach has filtered into some of Jane's
other products and should be scrutinized more carefully.
As the number of fixes attempted in this patch is
overwhelming, we will not attempt to address all of them
here. An effort will be made however to address the items
that were identified of most concern in news group
postings.
Multi-Player Stability - Prior to the patch, I only
played multi-player on a LAN using IPX. I never had a
problem and thought it was rock-solid. I had heard that
there were some sync issues and occasionally the frame rate
would bog down prior to the patch, but I experienced none
of these with the patched game over a direct connect TCP/IP
session. On a 56k host connection and a 33.6 join
connection the frame rates were smooth, avionics worked
fine, and missiles found their mark. The only comment was
that the opponent's plane was a bit jerky when flying in
close formation. Thanks to Peter "FighterJock" Waddell for
helping me on the other end of my heaters.
Take Off Bug - The bug that didn't allow a plane to
takeoff if the plane didn't have an action at their first
waypoint has been rectified. Good to see those JSTARs
taking off when they should!
Take Off Speed - An F-15E pilot stated in a recent
interview, "Takeoff speeds in RL (Real Life) range between
160 lightweight and almost 200 heavy." My tests during
takeoff show that a clean configuration (49k lbs.) takes
off correctly around 90 knots. In a heavy configuration
(80k lbs.) takeoff occurs around 120-125 knots.
Acceleration during takeoff is noticeably slower when you
load down the plane, but it seems a bit peppy when you
consider that in a heavy configuration you've almost
doubled the plane's weight. Other factors may or may not be
modeled in the takeoff (tail scrape?) which accounts for
the faster-than-normal speed, but regardless the observed
speed with the patch is significantly slower than it should
be.
Iran Campaign Bug - Having never experienced this
personally, I cannot report on its resolution. Others who
have experienced the crash have reported favorably that it
has been corrected.
Nose Wheel Steering - The "gain" has been turned up
to the NWS is more responsive. Users have reported a much
better feel for taxiing, although there still is little
need for sustained taxiing in F-15.
Auto Loft - The Elevation Steering Line (ESL) is now
appearing correctly during the AUTO LOFT maneuver. Bombs
delivered during an AUTO LOFT are no longer falling short
of their target. I did notice though the WSO "Pull Now!"
message is no longer being said when the TPULL reaches
zero.
Maverick Targeting - Maverick Target is MUCH easier,
especially with small moving vehicles.
In-Flight Refueling - Tanking is much easier because
the nose pitch-up issues are greatly reduced. If you still
have trouble controlling the aircraft during a tank, it's
no longer because the plane is constantly pitching up and
down.
Landing - This was a big concern prior to the patch.
Any plane that can be landed upside down would have some
serious value to the USAF, but as of right now that goal is
unattainable. With the inclusion of the patch, that goal
properly remains unattainable. When you are right side up
the sink rate code is now active, so planes at different
weights will have various limitations on how hard they can
safely land. You can land with gear up, but a belly landing
is a difficult proposition.
Bullseye now appearing on the MPDs - You now get a
Bullseye circle in the Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground Radar
MPDs. Way to go!
Changing a squadron is saved for future single and
training missions - This feature is much appreciated,
but would also value the Pilot/WSO and Airframe staying the
same as well.
Briefing Improvements - You can use the F3 key to
toggle on and off the WP information. Good addition! Make
sure your filter settings in the mission builder allow you
to see the WP information in the mission builder before you
attempt to view it in the mission briefing - a small
oversight, but very fixable.
Improved enemy AI - They not so dumb anymore. Enemy
planes jink more and can spoof inbound missiles better.
Wingmen leaping forward when ENGAGE is sent - The
ability of the flight to quickly jump ahead during an
ENGAGE command has been fixed. I guess their ration of
Popeye spinach was cut back.
AWACs controller calling aircraft on the ground -
This was a big concern for me because several of my
attempts at creating custom missions with the mission
builder set ALERT INTERCEPT status for aircraft on the
ground. The AWACs would call them off, even though they
weren't in the air. This has been fixed.
GBU-15 - This weapon system now performs as
advertised. Read up in the patch's README for changes to
the launch profile.
Manual Addenda - This change corrects all known
incorrect instructions and statements. Much appreciated,
though I wish there were a way to physically replace the
pages!
The release of the 1.12F patch and the continued flight
time by its users will no doubt identify additional bugs
and tweaks that will need to be addressed. Jane's has
already proven their interest in supporting this product
thorough the release of this hefty patch, and will no doubt
continue to support it as future problems are identified.
Fortunately, I think this product is far enough along so
that the majority of the Skunkworks team can be moved to
other products, including a sequel to this enjoyable
simulation. The patched version improves the overall flight
characteristics, avionics modeling, and squashes a few
bugs. As an avid F-15 flyer, this is a must-download.
