Cobra847 3rd Party Developer



Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Helsingborg, Sweden Posts: 3,180

**Heatblur Development Update - Q1 2017**





Dear All,



Welcome to our first aggregate development update for Heatblur! We’ve been very incredibly busy; but hopefully we've still managed to keep you in the loop on the latest progress and development goals.

We thought it’d be a good idea to put together an aggregate update, so that we can offer some more information on what we’re working on and our roadmap for 2017 and onwards.



Currently, our team is split between three major projects; one of which is the completion of the AJS 37 Viggen.

We’ve been working hard on clearing bugs and outstanding issues from the Viggen and are making good progress. We've also been working on several big and exciting features for this module. Some of these were developed for future aircraft like the F-14, and are being "backported" to the Viggen.



We’ll be sharing more as they reach completion and get pushed to the active branch.





We’d like to take a moment and thank all of you who have purchased the Viggen and have been sharing your thoughts and experiences with us!

It means the world to us to have our second jet out there and populating the virtual DCS skies.



Viggen Sale & Bundle Available

Today, we’re excited to announce that the Viggen is available for 20% off on the Eagle Dynamics E-Store and the Heatblur store (www.heatblur.com)!



We decided to run this sale due to our commitment to honouring MiG-21 crowdfunding backers.

Since we need to run another batch of Viggen pre-order shirts, we wanted to offer you the chance of grabbing the bundle deal we ran prior to release.



You can now get a standalone Viggen, Viggen + T-Shirt bundle, or standalone T-Shirt on www.heatblur.com for

$47.99, $59.99 or $19.99 respectively, until Monday, April 10th!





New Feature: Road Base System As mentioned previously, we’ve been working hard on the addition of some exciting new features for the Viggen, which will expand its’ capabilities in the game and offer up various new unique gameplay experiences.



Today we’re very proud to announce the upcoming road base system coming to the Viggen!

The Viggen is an aircraft that operated within a very unique doctrine, and we wanted to create an exciting way for you to experience this in our Viggen.



The road base system will allow you to place a group of units in the mission editor that will serve as your re-arm and refuel crew.

Landing your Viggen and taxiing close to these units will allow you to refuel and re-arm your aircraft.



Beyond this, once you have rearmed and refueled your units’ aircraft, you can order the ground crew to a preset backup landing point.

The units will pack up and drive to the set landing point and await your arrival from your second strike run.

Thus, you can keep your road base landing options open and dynamic, and keep the enemy on it’s toes. This feature is still WiP; and we’re working on the GUI that will allow you to pick and select weaponry and ground crew waypoints.



This feature will be featured in our upcoming campaigns for the Viggen. Changelog

The Viggen has seen many minor and major changes over the last two months of patching; here’s the full changelog including todays’ 1.5.6 patch! Increased wet thrust IR signature

Corrected nosewheel steering sensitivity

Corrected canopy handle locking

Corrected game crash when altimetre set to 0

Fixed RB-15 Fast mode not engaging search mode until 25km into flight (now begins searching almost immediately)

Adjusted SPAK and nosewheel coordination

Radar no longer triggers RWR in passive mode

Rewrote RB-15 launch inhibit code

Removed some debug traces

Added airframe overstress damage (WIP)

Fixed CK running without electricity

Fixed flickering HUD on startup

Fixed AKAN imagery

Fixed some protruding cockpit objects beyond fuselage

Fixed flipped faces on ejection seat

Corrected Product Description

Added missing UI imagery

Updated default Guard frequency

Added Flight manual to /Docs/ folder in /Mods/AJS 37

Changed TILS-landing phase 2 to phase 3 switch so the airplane must be pointed towards the airfield to lessen the likelihood of skipping phase 2.

Added temporary hack fix for cockpit shadows, fixes some of the most egregious until engine update

Corrected Demo Mods description

Added missing 36x36 px icon

Fixed typo in tank busting mission

Radar cross is now rendered in the shader, and properly corresponds to fix location

Added several new singleplayer missions courtesy of Wags, Graywo1f and Grimes! Thank you!

Fixed twist-stick rudder issue

Fixed QFE setting and player status in CCIP bombing tutorial.

Fixed errant shadow on texture under gear lever

Fixed issue with mapping data panel digit keys.

Fixed external tank jettison pushbutton.

Fixed canopy jettison issue

Fixed night lighting texture alignment on right side panels (ENKEL, Impulse, etc.)

Engine overspeed damage implemented

Added high pressure shut-off option for HOTAS throttles

Corrected fourth BK90 not launching.

Corrected distance line not showing when approaching target from east (as shown in xxJohnxx’s video)

Corrected fourth BK90 not launching.

Corrected distance line not showing when Bk90 selected and approaching target from east (as shown in xxJohnxx’s video)

Disconnect from server with many Viggens fixed.

Removed log spam.

Fix to sidewinder-fast select shooting other weapon as well.

Added High pressure shut off option for HOTAS throttles.

Corrected error where AKAN firing cue was shown exactly 1 second early.

Changed default safe height setting to medium.

Weapon not being usable after rearm fixed.

Added ground-crew weapon-selector switch position in kneeboard.

Fixed NAVSYST-error b/o initial heading setting bug.

Inverted Maverick sight Y-axis.

Fixed E-W on FLI-ball.

Added rejoin command into comm.

Fixed comm lua.

Removed shadow hotfix.

Disallowed AFK to use Ground-idle.

Removed turning FM off when pilot is dead/ejected.

Fix to pop-up distance interpreting 1__ as 0.1km instead of 10.0km.

Corrected ballistic calculations for high-drag bombs.

KB Release mode switch is now clickable (may not function correctly yet)

Cockpit: corrected front canopy gap in front canopy rim.

Stiffened front wheel suspension.

Radar sees late unit activations issue fixed.

Fixed formation light floating in air if outer wing ripped off.

Updated drag on bombs and bomb pylons, and external fuel tank.

Changed height definition (parking space size)

Added weapon chart to /Docs/

Fix for series-launch after re-arm

Updated warheads for rockets

Implemented MP Friendly BK90

Added localization support for hints and inputs

Fixed some tooltip popups

Added customized cockpit support (EN Cockpit incoming!)

Added localization PO files

Added CN hint and encyclopedia localization

Added RU localization of payloads/failures/mission names

Corrected RB 15 missing its' target

Corrected silent RWR

Corrected RB-04 and RB-15 for the AI

Fixed CTD when entering a mission with a carrier and other ships in the same group

Improved structural damage

Added Over-G sounds

Added basic force feedback implementation

Added key commands for stick

Rebuilt AFK landing mode

Possibly fixed RB-04 and RB-15 rearm issues

Fixed some keyboard flight control commands

Fixed FORMLJUS shining on wing instead of vertical tailplane

Fixed gap in front panel in external view

Fixed pylons poking through interior of intake

Fixed see through behind FLI ball

Re-fixed E-W on FLI ball

Re-fixed gap in front canopy rim

Optimized various cockpit parts

Fixed TILS light staying on after landing

AKAN gun pod sounds added (ED)

Various misc texture fixes

Flaps now retract over 8+ seconds, easing lift loss after takeoff

Refactored high alpha warning system

fixed ground collision warning staying on after power off

Fixed RB-XX name format

Corrected small icon

Fixed missing ‘4’ on Altitude Gauge There’s plenty more fixes, corrections and additions to come! Our current content addition foci lie in the implementation of basic content which was omitted from the first release.

These include new single missions for NTTR, the first mini campaign, and quality of life features like the english cockpit.



We ran into some unfortunate delays with the release of our paint kit and some other features; but we’re confident that we’ll have those available soon.



We have more really big and exciting Viggen features coming up in the next few weeks and months.



Stay tuned; the Viggen package will only get better and better.

Press







We're proud to say that the Viggen has been the subject of good previews and reviews in various media.



FZ.se gave the Viggen a 4/5 and a “Säkert Köp” tag!

You can also find the Viggen in the march edition of FliegerRevue magazine, where the Viggen is described as being amongst the best DCS modules available.



Here’s to making sure that any and all future products from us will match or exceed these media highlights.



https://www.fz.se/recension/269588-dcs-ajs-37-viggen

http://www.fliegerrevue.aero/











In parallel with the AJS 37; the Tomcat team has continued working hard on almost every part of the simulation. We fully expect to launch DCS: F-14 later this year and are excited to see the aircraft come together.



We’ve finally begun digging deep into the weapon systems; and have begun bringing the radar and associated weapon systems online.

With the help of our SMEs; we’ve been able to create a detailed and accurate roadmap for the AWG-9 / TID / DDD systems, which constitute the heart of the Tomcats’ weapons package and functionality.







We’ve also begun work on both the ALR-45 and ALR-67 RWR systems and associated subsystems, Datalink, Navigation and Radio systems.

We’re making great strides in bringing all of the cockpit systems to completion and tying it together in the sim.



Some rare documentation that we've been lucky enough in acquiring has been integral in aiding us in the creation of these systems.

We are very confident in our accuracy of some of the more sensitive systems, such as RWR and Radar.



Now that the deeper systems are in place; it's easier to see progress in the more visually oriented and user oriented components. Like, e.g., the TCS:







The Flight model is also nearing full completion, with current focus on the creation and final tuning of the -110 -B (A+) engines. While all of our aerodynamics, control surfaces and other FM components are largely in place, accurate propulsion has been the final missing piece of the puzzle.



We’re very proud of the F-14 FM, and the aircraft exhibits all of the characteristics that you’re all familiar with from F-14 literature. There are still many tweaks to be made, however, and we reckon these will continue until the day we release. Our internal testing team will soon have their hands full in verifying and testing every aspect of the FM. We expect to iron out many of the remaining issues in this phase.







The Art team is mostly focused on the completion and creation of the F-14 Exterior and Interior textures.

After utilizing laser and photogrammetry scanning to verify the shapes and accuracy of our model; we have begun sculpting the exterior skin.



Sculpting the exterior affords us a great level of macro and micro detail, and this step is critical before we continue with weathering and diffuse texturing.



Next month, parts of our art team are traveling to North Carolina, Florida and California to visit several different F-14 airframes and cockpits.

This will be our final research trip; and we hope to capture every last detail that we need for the perfect completion of our F-14 artwork.



We’re really excited to really raise the bar from what we did on the MiG-21 and AJS 37! Stay tuned for a trip report and some cool photos!









Thank you all for reading!

Make sure to like us on Facebook for more updates: https://www.facebook.com/heatblur/





Thank you for your support!





Sincerely,

Team Heatblur







Nicholas Dackard



Founder & Lead Artist

Heatblur Simulations



https://www.facebook.com/heatblur/ __________________Nicholas DackardFounder & Lead ArtistHeatblur Simulations Last edited by Cobra847; 03-31-2017 at 07:43 PM .