The best will still be the hyper-accurate rendition in DCS World, but it's well worth the relatively low cost in MSFS, even just for the stunning graphics and atypical flight sim experience.

I'm hoping they're able to take advantage of the new flight model and ground physics - this non-fly-by-wire beast is at its best.

And hoping that their previous Tomcat gets the 2024 treatment! 

P.s.: Link to dev stream @ 1:09:00

Interesting note:

Unlike the previous F-14 Tomcat, the Phantom doesn't seem to be a collaboration with India Foxt Echo, but rather a pure play by HB (IMHO this is a Good Thing).

They talked about developing a reusable framework that will allow them to bring more add-ons to MSFS, and sounds like they're bringing at least some of the very good immersion features from DCS, also.

And Jorge said he is trying to convince HeatBlur to bring a First Party aircraft to MSFS some day ❤️

Edited March 15, 20251 yr by UrgentSiesta
More news & fixed a typo.

Sorry, Mods - I meant to link the image rather than the article:

Edited March 15, 20251 yr by UrgentSiesta

Imagine Heatblur re-doing the default F-18

4 hours ago, UrgentSiesta said:

The best will still

And Jorge said he is trying to convince HeatBlur to bring a First Party aircraft to MSFS some day ❤️

It's good if HeatBlur and other good developers have other platform options to develop for.  They can make good use of their skill sets and get justly rewarded for them. DCS pricing is still sky high. Competition will be good for consumers.

1 hour ago, spinoza said:

It's good if HeatBlur and other good developers have other platform options to develop for.  They can make good use of their skill sets and get justly rewarded for them. DCS pricing is still sky high. Competition will be good for consumers.

I don't think DCS pricing is sky high when you look at the value & capabilities of the add-ons.

I mean, if Leonardo is $80, PMDG is ~$65-ish, Fenix is $70-ish, etc.

AND if those same MSFS add-ons rarely go on sale, then addon prices in DCS seem reasonable, especially with the frequent 30-50% off sales in DCS (like right now).

That’s very positive for MSFS. I assume Heatblur and IndiaFoxEcho had good sales of their last collaboration for MSFS, Heatblur was happy with the sales, and decided to do their own plane for MSFS without any partner this time (this is my educated guess, there is no proof this is what happened behind the scenes).

I also assume that Heatblur needed IndiaFoxTrot the first time because Heatblur had not developed for MSFS before.

But the key is the sales of their last collaboration. If the sales were not good, I can’t imagine Heatblur continuing with MSFS.

I hope this leads to more DCS World developers to enter the MSFS market.

 

 

14 hours ago, Tuskin38 said:

Imagine Heatblur re-doing the default F-18

I think an F-18 (non super hornet) is on Miltech's roadmap.

F-4 looks nice, but I am waiting for their F-16!

8 hours ago, abrams_tank said:

That’s very positive for MSFS. I assume Heatblur and IndiaFoxEcho had good sales of their last collaboration for MSFS, Heatblur was happy with the sales, and decided to do their own plane for MSFS without any partner this time (this is my educated guess, there is no proof this is what happened behind the scenes).

I also assume that Heatblur needed IndiaFoxTrot the first time because Heatblur had not developed for MSFS before.

But the key is the sales of their last collaboration. If the sales were not good, I can’t imagine Heatblur continuing with MSFS.

I hope this leads to more DCS World developers to enter the MSFS market.

 

 

Yep. If I had to guess, HeatBlur's addon development standards are far deeper than IFTs.

The MSFS F-14 has beautiful 3D and graphics modeling, but the systems, flight control surfaces (in particular), and flight model are all rather sub-par.

Like to the point I won't do a serious flight in the MSFS version, where I frequently do so in the DCS version.

Some of that can squarely be laid on sim limitations, but we also know that IFT generally takes a middle-of-the-road approach to fidelity and flight model (particularly).

Now that HB have seen it, they want to fully exploit the capabilities of the sim in a way most other developers do not (this is their same standard in DCS, btw).

This is really good for us, and will undoubtedly lure some people to give DCS World a try.

///

I'm curious if Jorge has a specific aircraft in mind for his First Party collaboration, and if HB will ultimately agree to dev a First Party addon of any kind. I sure hope it comes to fruition!

///

As to other DCS devs in MSFS, well, we've already got Flying Iron Sims making an A7 Corsair for DCS, and IFT was, IIRC, the very first DCS / MSFS crossover (MB 339).

Razbam (Harrier, F-15 Strike Eagle, Mirage 2000, Mig-19) got their start in FSX many years ago, and they're in a place where they're probably tempted to re-diversify back to MSFS...

There's really not many other devs (Eagle Dynamics makes most of the add-ons themselves).

One who could probably do a bang up job is Aerges, who make the Mirage F1 and C-101 for DCS. Those add-ons are constantly being improved (updated pretty much every single month!), and are quite well executed.

I'd rate Aerges to be fully on-par with Just Flight.

It's all good news for us 😎

Edited March 16, 20251 yr by UrgentSiesta

6 hours ago, regis9 said:

I think an F-18 (non super hornet) is on Miltech's roadmap.

I agree - that intentionally blurry profile shot they showed seems to be a Hornet of some kind.

I'd prefer a Hi Fi Super Hornet E/F, of course (the Default one in game just doesn't cut it) but a Hi Fi "legacy" Hornet C/D would do me just fine, particularly if they can get it deeply integrated with their own SuperCarrier addon ❣️

I'm waiting for their Viggen 🙂 

Ridiculous...you cant fight with it in MSFS.

2 hours ago, Boomer said:

Ridiculous...you cant fight with it in MSFS.

Why does that matter? Some people just like to fly fast anywhere in the world.

Military aircraft must sell well or multiple aircraft addon creators wouldn't keep making them.

Edited March 17, 20251 yr by Tuskin38

7 hours ago, DunRingill said:

I'm waiting for their Viggen 🙂 

Yeah - it'd be great to flex a Mach 2 STOL plane that can legit operate on 1500ft runways 😁

6 hours ago, Boomer said:

Ridiculous...you cant fight with it in MSFS.

If that's the way you think, I hope you don't own a firearm...

I live in a place where I see a broad spectrum of military aircraft on nearly a daily basis.

None of them are running combat sorties (thankfully).

I can see them on adsb exchange and the vast majority are doing what are obviously VFR cross country, IFR navigation exercises, and a heckuva lot of cargo ops.

And when's the last time you tried carrier operations? If you think you're a crack pilot, give that a try. I hope you like the taste of humble pie, 'couse you'll be eating a LOT of it.

Military aircraft are a LOT of fun to fly because they're high performance aircraft that have flight envelopes well in excess of anything civilian.

But one of my favorite features of .mil aircraft is simply that they offer an excellent view out of their canopies. E.g., there is no better sightseeing aircraft than the F-16 with its frameless bubble canopy and ultra low cockpit rails, with the possible exception of the F-22 due to its super cruise and literally Care Free Handling qualities (yeah, that's a quote from IRL official USAF sources).

Oh, and didja know they're all IFR qualified and have really nice nav systems...

You should give it a try - you might be surprised. 😎