Flying on mighty wings with Heatblur’s DCS: F-14B(U)!
Quick summary· AI-generated
ShamrockOneFive gets an early hands-on with Heatblur's F-14B(U) upgrade for DCS World. The preview focuses on reacquainting with the Tomcat after time away, highlighting the much-improved HUD as a centerpiece of the systems upgrade — now more Gen 4 fighter in feel with higher refresh rate and clearer symbology, similar to the Hornet experience. The piece notes Jester AI has received new menus and visual updates reflecting late-1980s avionics. The author frames this as part one of a series and emphasizes the module is still in development but expects a Heatblur-quality launch.
Excerpt from Stormbirds
If what I’ve seen over the last few days is true, it seems like you won’t be waiting all that long to get your hands on Heatblur’s DCS: F-14B(U) Upgrade for DCS World. I was very fortunate to get an early preview of the module so I could fly it and get some thoughts written down ahead of its launch. In part one of the series I’m taking you through the journey of returning to the Tomcat and getting reacquainted with a type that I’ve put a fair bit of time into but not all that recently. It’s time to kick the tires and light the fires with the F-14B(U)!
Focused on flying
I’m pretty rusty on DCS: F-14. I flew it quite a lot when it came out and had quite a bit of fun with it. I think some of my most memorable bits weren’t flying the Tomcat in combat, which I did do a fair bit of, but rather the challenge of putting the jet on the deck safely and with a good score. The F-14 is one of those ultimate carrier-based fighter experiences and any version is going to push you to fly it to your absolute best.
What you’re about to see is a work in progress effort by Heatblur to get the F-14B(U) ready for public consumption. Since doing this flight, the developer has put out additional builds that have continued to chip away at bugs and get things ready to go for launch. I fully expect a Heatblur quality launch for this aircraft so not to worry… this is normal for developers as they get ready to launch a module.
In this first piece, I’m really just focused on getting back into the pilot’s seat and re-learning how to fly the Tomcat. It’s a beast of a fighter and the F-14B(U), despite some of the upgrades, is still very much an aircraft that straddles two generations of fighters just with a more pronounced gulf – between the more analogue generation 3 and an increasingly digital generation 4 fighter. That’s not a knock against the Tomcat as a simulation experience but rather an advantage for those chasing down a highly interactive experience.
One of the first things I noticed once up in the air is the much improved HUD. Its no secret that the updated HUD is a centerpiece of the systems upgrade and while I haven’t dug into the combat modes, it’s clear that we have a more Hornet-esq experience with a high refresh rate, a lot of data on display, and very clear symbology. The older variants were more generation 3 than 4 in that respect and this one puts it firmly in gen 4.
Another thing that I’ve noticed is that Jester has new menus and a new look drawing on late 1980s…
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