I was really hoping for this plane to be really cool because it was a highly requested feature and i did have somewhat high hopes for it. Wow was i taken by surprise when i got in the cockpit and i saw around 100 buttons labeled as inop. I feel like the standard for planes has definitely gone down. TBH i think the fsx f18 is at least twice as good as the one we have now. For a game that is labeled as a simulator this seems quite unacceptable. Here are a few things that struct me by surprise
Hardly any MFD functionality - I think only one page works on the TAC menu and only 4 works on the SUPT page. Some pages that are a must in my opinion is the BIT page which is a key startup procedure in the real world as well as the RDR ATTK which i know DCS is a place were you can get this but i was really taken by surprise when i clicked on that paged and it said NOT IMPLEMENTED
2.Most buttons are inop in the cockpit - I know that this plane is a “fighter” jet but it does seem like they did not take there time while doing this. some buttons like fcs reset, spin recovery, canopy defog, obogs oxygen, INS align, working canopy just to name a few
Most of the aerodynamic is incorrect and for example when you extend the flaps fully the alerions should go down as well and not just the inside flaps
Im not sure if you guys have noticed this at all or if any people of the community really care since this is more of a civilian flight simulator but i am worried were the sim is headed because it seems like Microsoft is just focused on scenery and not as much for the aircraft. I know flight simulator is not a sim like DCS with full fidelity aircraft but it does seem if so the standard has dropped. IDK i have my fingers crossed that maybe 1/4 of the stuff i mentioned gets implemented when the top gun DLC goes live but who knows at this point.
Keeping in mind the FSX hornet was a paid expansion vs a free inclusion for the MSFS. The MSFS actually models many things the FSX jet did not, in most ways that matter it is the superior product. I’d wager around 80% of the “INOP” swtiches/buttons and “NOT IMPLEMENTED” DDI pages are combat related and out of scope for Asobo’s plans. Does it have it’s shortcomings? Sure, but for compared to the development time/cost for other products dedicated F-18 developments, I really can’t complain.
For the jet itself, I doubt we’ll see much more than maybe ICLS and maybe some further refining to acceleration rates and max speeds. And then the inclusion of the last bits of code for the tail hook and launch bar to connect them to the carrier.
I expect the bulk of “new” content in the DLC to be the carrier, the SR-72, and some movie related liveries for the F18.
I agree, there is some weirdness to it. I’m pretty sure there’s no afterburner button in the hornet. Try flying it in VR when your fuel gets low. Yikes, the nagging is bad.
I think the last update improved the F-18 , it’s not that bad to fly. I would still like a few more items to function, but for the cost; what more can you ask?
With a couple of notable exceptions, most default planes are “meh” unless modded. They’re fun to fly and add variety to the sim, but nothing really over the top realistic.
I think expecting a freebie default grade fighter plane in a civil aviation sim (or game, depending on how you look at it) to be outstanding and have realistic subsystems that match the real world aircraft is having expectations set too high.
As told in the other topic(s) Asobo said in one of their Q&As that there will be more features in the F/A-18E on Maverick DLC release which are not yet included as the aircraft was released due to high interest of the community.
It’s basically a beta of what you will get on the movies/DLCs release.
What these features will be is for now unknown, so before judging I’d better wait for the feature complete aircraft to be released.
Also, as said before, it’s a civilian flight sim and most aircraft with which it’s shipped are not study level. That is actually intended as providing everything in depth would lead to two things:
A pricetag in the thousands (speaking €/$)
A simulator never being finished
Comparing with DCS also does simply not work. DCS is a limited sandbox, not even trying to simulate the whole world but systems mostly. The focus and requirements are completely different.
PS: take a look at the (payware!) FSX Acceleration F/A-18C and you’ll know what really INOP is
And that exactly is the point - if you want study level stuff you have to pay for it and don’t even think that you will get something close to it for free
I’m really fine with the quality Asobo delivers for free, especially on scenery and the core sim (which actually enables devs like PMDG to deliver their high quality products!). On the F/A-18E also there is a clear invitation for the community to mod it (it’s not locked, all switches are modeled in a way they have manipulators in place (so they show “inoperative” on mouse over), all screens are also in place but have a placeholder text). So one has to think about what actually is delivered by them for free/included into the pricetag.
10 Years support on scenery around the planet with constant updates and some new aircraft in decent visual and technical quality and active work on the core sim - I really can live without a working defog switch for that The rest will be fixed by the community at some point, like one can see on the A32N, the Salty Mod 747-8i or the WT G1000 (which now even is part of the Asobo/MS universe)
